Clematis: Omoshiro, 1 by pirl

pirl wrote:
Quite alright, Etelka! Thank you for the lovely compliments.

I started gardening under the guidance of a neighbor, Pauline Isabelle Reid Loeffler, and her initials spell my name of pirl. That was in 1968 and back then we didn't have large properties in the neighborhood - everyone just had 60 x 100. It was fine since I was raising my two children so time in the garden was limited. As they grew my gardens expanded.

In 1991 Jack and I moved 80 miles east, here on Long Island, and now we have 30 gardens and I have lots of time to devote to the gardens in summer and lots of time to look at plants in catalogs and online in the winter. Each year I seem to buy fewer plants and delete more and more plants. I have extensive collections of clematis, hydrangeas, Japanese irises, daylilies and we have a vegetable garden along with a separate asparagus garden.

We have very few neighbors out here that have gardens. They usually just have basic foundation plantings and not too much of anything special.

We have been on the Southold Historical Society Garden Tour both times they've held it, in 1998 and 2005, and people did pay the society for tickets!

Here's a view of part of the back yard and gardens.