Garden Pics: 'How Does Your Garden Grow?' ...#8

OOOhhh Ginger, just beautiful! Love the pic with the pair!

My cedar trees are starting to bloom with a little help from Cl. Westerland.

I am just enthralled with the calla blooms from beginning to end...

And the last one for this morning....this was Mom's gift to herself this winter, and we were going to put it up for her for Mother's day....but it took her a while to decided exactly where she wanted it. She finally made her decision, and we got together and put it up last night so it will be there when she comes home. Was almost dark when we finished, but was still worth taking a photo.

I sooooo want one in my yard!!!

That is really nice. I love my arbors. The Clematis are growing up so fast it's amazing!

Ginger

Julie, I'm with you on the callas. They always reminded my mother of funerals, but I haven't been to many, so I don't have that issue. I love them when they're huge.

That is a beautiful arbor. (You know this question is coming). Where did she get it?

Kathy, Mom got the arbor at Sam's Club. It was expensive as a garden accent, but we have both been going on bouts of "life's to short to not do something you really want" since losing Dad, and that was her justification for getting this one. Had always wanted it, and by darn she was going to have it.

It is almost impossible to find on their website because it is not called what you would expect it to be...it is a "Versailles Open Top Pavilion". We almost pulled our hair out trying to find it by searching arbor, gazebo, etc.

A link if you are interested:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=415735

Thank you. I'll take a look at it. Is it as sturdy as it looks?

Still great pics all of you to many to list, Don't have much that has opened yet. Waiting Wating LOL

Love the arbor, But is the tree in it or outside of it. Inquiring minds want to know. Ha Ha

I was supprized I only lost 2 Dals ( miss my spell check) last winter.

Kathy, IMHO the arbor is one of the sturdier ones that I have seen. We were able to move it up into it's spot (we built it on the lawn) with just four of us with very little (relatively speaking) trouble. It suggested to move it with six to eight people. Now that it is level, it is very sturdy.

Tills, very nice garden! You had most of your dahlias in pots over the winter didn't you? Losing only a couple in pots with our rotton cold for a long time winter isn't too bad!

The tree is what is left of Mom's corkscrew willow that fell over in the snows this fall. We decided to cut it off and use it as a stand for a decoration and put starts around the yard in better locations. It started to grow again right after Mom decided this was where the arbor was going. It will be getting a haircut!

Beautiful combos. Love the pavillion.

No Rarejem, these are ones from Carla who has moved to AZ. and where planted in the ground last spring. The ones in pots I just got this spring. There is a old tread on my visit to Carla's ( Cocoajuno) Wish I had the pics on this puter, but they are in my blog from last year

These just opened

Tilly.... Your place is looking great. Love the campanula.

Rj.... I love your color combos too. I guess that there might not be a reason to the rhyme of which shades of purple and orange go together. we'll just have to see it in person to know if it's right or not! That arbor is great.

Ginger... That second one of the butterflies is great! the first one is good too, but I like the other better.

Katie... I agree, the background colors of the PNW definitely make many things stand out, but so many others look bland.

the focus isn't great on this, but it was the best that I could get given the wind.

The whole plant. I need to stake it up some.

flower with spider.

different shade of alstroemeria

then after the sprinklers

I really like how the bed by the driveway looks at this time in the day.

and the last.

Full moon maple.

Pretty bluebell Tills!

RC, Jealous of the alstromeria...slugs decimated mine. I really like the pic with the water drops :). Your driveway is just lovely, and I love the maple! With the sun/shade combo it looks like parts of it are glowing!

Not many pics from last night...rain has beat the heck out of stuff, and the cool weather is keeping my daylilies from opening well. Oh well...that's life in the PNW!

My lilies on my deck started to pop out yesterday.

Sabie was the only daylily that opened well for me yesterday.

And another of my Jap. iris showed it's first bloom.

Red-I really like the spider on the flower. It's such a pretty flower and a somewhat sinister spider....

Here are the rest of the butterfly pictures. http://www.gingerrambleson.blogspot.com/

Julie-The orange lilly is FAB!

Ginger

I actually meant that with our grey-blue sky and shades of green backgrounds, many very pretty things don't stand out the way they might where it was sunnier and not so green.

Purple, orange, and chartreuse are colors that we might be wary of using in our homes, but when we use them outside, they can help to create dimension by breaking up the green and grey.

Kathy, you are right about the bright colors. I think that is why am drawn so strongly to plants with red or chartreuse foilage...they stand out rather than fading into the background.

I feel very fortunate to be able to use my forest as a "backdrop" for my gardens, and find that bold colors just "jump" from that canvas while the pastels add a lovely variance of color but tend to blend in to the background rather than standing out.

I'm appreciating anew my lychnis right now. I have a stand of white/pink, a portion of which has reverted to the magenta and they are looking beautiful in a problem dry/clay spot under the eaves. I wonder how I can incorporate some orange there . . .

California poppies?

Great minds think alike. :-)

I'm not sure about them for two reasons - 1. The "problem spot" is right by the steps onto to the deck, and I don't think there's enough room for the sprawl. And 2. The poppies might now stand up tall enough for the colors to be close to eachother.

On the other hand, there's no down side to trying. I think the poppies and the magenta blossoms on the lychnis would be oustanding. If I don't try it here, I'll try it elsewhere (it's not like I don't have lychnis coming up everywhere . . .

I have tons of Ca Poppy seed if anyone wants some. Send me a d-mail!

I think it would be a stunning combo! Even if the poppies didn't get quite tall enough to be "with" the lychnis, the contrast in colors and foilage might make a nice "layered" effect...kind of like a layered jello desert! And if they are by the deck, it would be a nice effect looking down into the color combo. Like you said...no harm in trying!

Bea, I have been very jealous of the Ca Poppies in your pictures. I had tons of them in my last yard, but they DONT like how wet my current yard is. The also apparently aren't fond of the soil under cedars, as I have tried them in my few dry areas, and they just haven't done well there either. I finally decided that my yard would be ok without....

RJ..if you want something Orange..The orange cosmos are pretty and I think they will take a bit more moisture.


Found this beauty at the nursery today. It is a Zinnia called Zowie Yellow Flame. Of course it came home with me.

I also had 4 of the varigated lantana jump into my cart. I have not seen a varigated one before
so I knew I had to photograph it. It is called Samantha with lemon yellow blooms.

The lilies are all blooming like crazy.

Pink lilies

And the DL's - this one is called Kate Carpenter

This poppy is interesting. It had a white section which I thought was a pedal but it is connect so I guess you would call it a white streak.

Any my Lavaglut rose looking very pretty today. Just love this rose!

Thanks all.

Katie.... i agree completly about those color combos. I love the foliage on Lychnis. It stand out in most places.

Rj... I was hoping that I had placed the maple in such a spot where the lighting would have that affect. So, I'm glad that that spot worked out. Lovely pics of yours too! I need to get some more Iris ensata.

Bea... great pics. The zinnia and the picture of it is fantastic!


Ok all.... time for ideas for a new thread name. Any thoughts?