I've been working on this bed for about 4 years now, and it's getting more and more cottagy, and I'm liking it more and more.
I'll start with a close up of my hardy geraniums and my Lady's Mantle (I added the Lady's Mantle last year from trades with Katie59 and Herbspirit - thanks to both of you!)
Here's a close up of what I consider my rosy part of the garden. I have a Knockout rose and a Blaze climbing rose. Also in bloom in this area are foxglove, rose campion, Phlox "Morris Berd", Iris sibirica "Papillon". I really ended up liking all the different shades of pink/rose/red in this area.
Here's a head on view. Other things blooming that I haven't already mentioned are Digitalis grandiflora (perennial yellow foxglove), peach leaved bellflowers, scabiosa, columbine, verbena, and petunias (my only annuals).
And last but not least, the view while sitting in the hot tub!
Here some pictures that are from a raised bed that I've been working on for 2 years. Most of the plants in here are from divisions or from winter sowing
Here's a closeup of one of my princess victoria louise poppies
And here's the same bed, but taken a few days later (today!), and my red poppies are now blooming.
Another of the reds
And one more of Princess Victoria Louise. Sorry for all these pictures, but I'm so excited about these poppies. This is their first year that they are blooming. They "slept" last year after winter sowing.
Gorgeous! I think your garden is very cottagey.
Beautiful! Your hard work shows!
I like the effect of a cottage garden against a clearing - looks like you got it just right.
Karen
Thanks for the compliments! Here's a picture of the whole raised bed.
View of the raised bed from our family room and kitchen eating area.
one of the most beautiful gardens i have ever seen.:o)
Oh my gosh, Lola. Thank you so much!!!
Beautiful cottage garden. I'm a big fan of Lady's Mantle and I love how you used it. Of course you're excited about your poppies. Who wouldn't be. Thank you for sharing with us.
Just gorgeous, pgt. I love the wooden fence backdrop. You have some of my favorite flowers. Good job!!
I love it. So the lower growing blue flowers are hardy geraniums? I need to get some.
I agree - that first photo of the lady's mantle and geranium is stunning. I'm going to add lady's mantle to my blue area!!!
Lovely garden - I like the cottage garden look. Very pretty.
You have a beautiful garden. I am going to copy your baskets sitting on the wall. Great idea.
Gwen, Julie and I have an overabundance of lady's mantle. Do you need some?
Hey pgt,
Your photos are really good too! What kind of camera do you use are you doing anything fancy to get those shots looking so good? I know nothing about cameras but I've been trying to get some shots of my garden and the photos are coming out looking terrible. Any tips for a newbe garden photographer?
Not sure yet. I have some I can dig up and spread around. I'm also going to purchase some alpine lady's mantle which is a much smaller plant. I was actually going to just buy a flat! Can you believe it?
Gwen, don't you dare spend money on them. We can bring you a big bunch when we go to Montana.
Okay! I'll let you know how far my own volunteers go. I'd probably have a ton but the area it grows the most in is an area that buttercup is slowly taking over. Even tho I pull pull pull. I may resort to the nasty-chemical-that-must-not-be-named. Has anyone had good luck using that to get rid of the nasty little buggers?
Thanks for all the compliments guys!
Wonderearth, I have a Canon EOS, which is an SLR digital camera. I love it. I don't do anything fancy, but I find that I get my best pictures on cloudy days, or early in the morning. But, sometimes I'm too impatient to wait until the right moment, and just take pictures when I feel like it, or have a free moment (with 3 little boys it's hard to find one of those moments!).
Here's a picture from today. I cut back my Johnson's Blues on the left side b/c they were starting to look really straggly. My Veronica is starting to bloom, my blaze roze is blooming and my daisies are starting to bloom. I had to cut down some Digitalis purpurea b/c they were both starting to fade, and they were getting infested with spider mites. Uggh. My hydrangea bud are just starting to open. My Campanula persicifolia's flowers have started to fade, but there are lots of little buds forming on the stalks. I also cut back my salvia.
I must have forgotten to attach the picture !
A closeup of my roses (knockout and blaze) and you can see some rose campion in the back.
Another bed with my Digitalis grandiflora in bloom.
Here's another bed with wintersown Geraniums "vision violet" and "vision pink". There is also Campanula garganica "Dickson's Gold" and Tradescantia "Sweet Kate" in there.
Close up of Campanula garganica "Dickson's Gold"
Wow! These are gorgeous, pgt! Don't think I could ever tire of looking at your garden. Love the Knockout and Blaze together. So very pretty!
Oh my goodness!! I just finished admiring your beautiful garden. Everything is so lovely, I agree with Judy, I would never tire of looking at it. I can't even decide which plants I like best because they are all so stunning!
Pam, check out www.Heronswood.com website. There's a hardy geranium that's called "Southcombe double" that looks so pretty. Did you ever grow "Jolly Bee?" They have that one too.
Hye, the temperature is 99 here, can we come for a dip in your pool? Do you have a close up of your Iris. Hard to see it in the pics I looked at. Is that pink foxglove Candy Mountain? If that gets planted this Fall would it produce blooms in spring of 2011?
You guys are all so nice! Good for my ego! Thanks so much.
Pippi,
I do have Jolly Bee, but in a garden at a cottage we have up in the poconos. I really like it. I can't really tell the difference between Jolly Bee and Rozanne, and can usually find Jolly Bee cheaper.
I don't have a close up of the iris :( I'll have to take one next year. I have a few varieties of foxglove in my gardens that I've grown from seed. The kind that I have the most of is Camelot Rose. I grew it from seed (winter sowing), and that same season it bloomed, but not until late summer/early fall, and it was pretty short. Its second year (this year) it bloomed in the spring and was tall and beautiful.
I have read that foxgloves are a biennial but sometimes will bloom the first season. Here in the PNW, they are sort of a 'weed' albeit a nice one that many of us allow to remain in the garden, and there are so many in bloom every year, it's hard to tell when they bloom (first or second year). I can say that I have many many small clumps of the leaves that are not blooming this year (we're nearing the end of our bloom time for them right about now) but I expect will bloom next year.
