For the benefit of those who have trouble loading a long thread, this is the continuation of the same named thread.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/688073/
So, I guess more pics are wanted!
This is an 8th June 05 shot of the bath tub. Iris laevigata Snowdrift, it had a lot more blue on it this year, perhaps the heat caused it. Behind it you can see a fern which has grown quite large, and will take some sun, Athyrium filix-femina or Lady fern.
Still busy I see.
Coreopsis from today...
The question is - can bromeliads and hippeastrum be part of a cottage garden?
How about ferns (one of your favorites)?
"from today".... you just had to rub it in a little, didn't you? LOL at how easily I get "zone envy" this time of year!
That amaryllis is stunning... looks like one I should recognize... 'Cocktail' maybe?
And a Happy Birthday to you critter!
Dale do Coreopsis really flower at this time of year? They take a while to get going here even in summer.
Hippeastrums were a favourite of Victorians I believe, but not of those maybe who had cottage gardens in those times. As changing trends have always been a part of gardening I guess we can make up our own rules, I certainly do! If you can fit it in, and fill the garden up, and you can call your house a cottage, then it's OK!
My Adiantum peruvianum has grown a new frond inside but the air is drier with having radiators on and it's drying up, perhaps it should go in the bath room. I won't be having fires for much longer.
You can see my Coreopsis verticillata Zagreb in leaf just over the top of the Papaver Coral Reef, surrounding the short Paeonia leaves, and that was on 6th June 05.
In flower, 17th July.
Here is a photo I took last week. And yes this coreopsis blooms all year long.
So does lantana and euryops.
So does gaillardia. Upper right
Wallaby & Dale, I am turning green (partly because it's been raining and I'm getting mossy, but mostly because I am envious!!!). Lovely, lovely photos of such beautiful gardens. Sigh . . . PLEASE Spring, hear my plea and arrive early!!!!
Yes Murmur, I agree with you. I still have snow where it was piled from the roof, but I can finally walk around most of the garden. Of course nothing is showing signs of new growth yet. Yesterday the day before were our nicest days of the year so far, mid 50s. Today was cloudy and windy, but i planted some seeds in the gh.
wallaby such soft touchable poppies and buds.
Dale, very attractive pink, yellow and lavender flower combinations.
Thanks, Wallaby, and thanks for sharing more of your wonderful garden photos! I love the delicacy of that coreopsis against the variegated holly leaves.... you have such an eye for combining textures!
Critter, I forgot to wish you a happy birthday!!! Well, better late than never - hope it is/was a super day for you!!! (I think you have three more minutes of your day left as I write this!!)
I don't mind too mch not having blooms all winter, there is usually something for each season, absence makes the heart grow fonder doesn't it? And in colder climates we can grow many plants that can't be grown in warmer climates. Those plants must wear themselves out Dale!
A longer shot of the poppies, this is the bed with species Dahlias, they grow soon after so when the poppies die back the area is covered, I have lilies and Delphiniums there too as well as a few other things. Geranium versicolor you can just see, next to it there are some self setting wild looking Corydalis which I have not identified. It is very pretty purple-red, has very delicate ferny foliage and fills in the gaps perfectly, all unplanned, it dies back later and self seeds. Rose Just Joey by the pergola.
Yes they are short lived. But, what a show for the couple of years they live.
Wallaby, Wallaby, Wallaby-thank you for more photos-what a wonderful place you call home-its truly magical-
What are your winters like?
Pam
Thanks pmulcaire, winters here are not ideal, but I don't know who thinks any winter is! At the moment it's 9C (48F) which is warmer than usual, but it's grey and damp feeling, we reallydon't get much rain but it feels like it! If the sun would shine this temperature would be great to get out and garden, some days at lower temps can be grey but if we happen to not have that damp feeling, and it's totally still with no winds, it can be pleasant. Sun is needed to encourage and warm the muscles, it's amazing how it lifts your spirits. The average winter temp. is around 6C (43F), we have lower, sometimes higher by +/-2C on average, occasionally days around freezing temp. Nights can be often as warm (or cold! as day temps, or very little lower but we do have the occasional frosts, sometimes only a handful of about 4 in the winter and no lower than -5C (23F), other times more and with a few lower, we had one last week which was -7C in the greenhouse, probably -9C outside (16F). These are mostly after we have sun! The clouds do have some benefits. Spring can be variable, we can have winter temps well into April. We are subject to many weather systems from all directions off the seas and nearby land masses, it can keep us from getting too cold, but can also keep us from getting warm. Some people living in lower latitudes suffer much colder weather, such as Todd in Newfoundland, we have the warm sea current on our side, cheers for that!
A shot through the tall species Dahlias with Lilium Marco Polo, the smaller pink flower on tall wiry stems is also a dahlia which has ferny foliage, not sure which though as I keep finding different ones which look similar. This is looking over to the bed with the red lilies. You can see Just Joey, the rose, and to the left some dead poppy stems which I do remove once they are fully dead and I get around to it, but they are well camouflaged.
How do you clear away all that must get frozen when the temps dip? We have had our first hard freeze here in Arizona in 16 years-and I am just overwhelmed a bit-where to begin-I have never lost so many plants-
Again, you are so generous with your posts-I wish I could find a more clever way to thank you-but thank you so much!
How long was your freeze, pmulcaire? If just a few hours, the root systems may still be OK.
They die back after frosts and I end up with some dead stems, they're not quite like the hybrid ones which can go soggy, they tend to dry and are thinner. I have taken some off but still some to do, it's just a matter of breaking them off.
beaker is correct, I would leave them a while and see where they grow from, it depends what plants they are, some may regrow from the stems, some from the base or roots.
It's my pleasure pmulcaire!
Some ground cover, Delosperma ecklonis var. latifolia I have on the bank near the house, where there is a path and the fuchsias next to the house, this is on the other side of the path where the bank is not very deep and disappears next to the side door. These are supposed to do well on a dry sunnybank, and are supposed to be a little tender but mine always regrow however bad a winter we get, they may benefit from the closeness to the wall but they do set seed as well as grow from the old stems. This was in June 05, on the corner where it gets less sun and stays more moist, I find they do best when kept moist, it was colder than the norm then. Last year they did increase better over the drier parts but then I didn't have a mole digging them up quite so often, too dry for worms!
Nice looking Delosperma, I have tried several, with not too much success on my south dry bank. I was under the impression that they appreciated warm dry conditions, but now think I must supply a little more moisture.
Here is a picture of the east end of my windbreak on the bank. I don't think the area where I have planted the delosperma shows in this photo.
Donna
The delosperma and other ground covers are planted at the feet of the evergreens which are Juniperus Hillside Spire. I think the flat blue juniper is Juniperus San Jose.
Donna
Donna I think moist and free draining suits them, but they didn't get much water last summer and did fairly well with the heat. I have a self set on the other side of the path at the edge of the fuchsias, they got more water than most things and the occasional liquid feed, that one grew to a really nice clump.
Dahlia Bishop of Llandaff at the end of the Fuchsias next to the side door. The Phormium around the corner is one I grew from a small seedling, simply called purple Phormium but it's probably P tenax purpureum.
I love Bishop of Llandaff, have grown it in my garden. Nice photo.
Bishop of Llandaff is a toughie, I came across what I thought was a red stone while cleaning up last year, it was the tuber grown to the surface! I tried to dig it up to bury it lower but it wouldn't budge, it had gone through a harsh winter and still grew.
The path behind the bed with the Acacia tree, the blue Hebe I grew from a cutting, it needs cutting back when it gets too big but it is good at replenishing itself. The bumblebees loved that last year, you can see a blue Buddleja next to it, it is a spreading one, loved by butterflies and bees.
Across the path is Forsythia Fiesta, it stays short and bushy and has lovely variegated leaves.
The Clematis tumbling is C flammula with Kasmu, flammula grew so many stems it got blown down by winds and took some rose branches with it as support, it is also heavily scented and flowers for ages.
This message was edited Feb 22, 2007 12:15 PM
Janet, I just had a major attack of zone envy. I have always heard the name, 'Hebe' but never really knew what one was. I just poked about in plant files to read about it. That is a wonderful grouping. Thanks, Patti
Patti some Hebes here are hardy, others a little tender. I have a red one which has been knocked back a couple of times, but it usually has some at the base which recover. It's a gorgeous colour, not a red red, it's at the back in this pic near the hedge. It got knocked back last winter but I like it too much to get rid of it, I have some in pots too as back up but they were outside! They are fine but do need ground space.
wallaby, your last two photos above, are really enchanting. I can see myself slowly walking in the area and so enjoying.
Donna
A virtual walk in winter, feel free!
I never get bored with walks around the garden, there's always something new to spy.
The other side of the Clematis flammula with Kasmu. Phlox Nicky is a vibrant purple, the colour tends to intensify when the light levels drop. There is a rose behind the Clematis, Crazy For You, not visible in this pic but it does grow tall. That's the rose the Clematis used for support and took some of it down to the ground, but this was in July 05.
Lovely! I'm trying to remember the name of the white and purple blooming phlox -- maybe 'Laura'? -- it would make a great "color echo" combo with 'Nicky'... I need to find 'Nicky'... :-)
What's the plant with the blue blooms in the background behind the tree trunks? The blooms are almost like butterfly bush, but the foliage looks more delicate...
Beautiful planting combination -- again!
Thanks critter, it is a butterfly bush, Buddleja, I don't know the name of this one as I got it in a group of colours. The habit is spreading with more delicate leaves than many, they are quite silvery when young. It has an orange eye, the pic has shown it almost purple in the shadows but it is a more blue.
There is already a colour contrast with the white Clematis, But without that I think 'Laura' would do the job. I sometimes prefer the stark contrast of single colours more than dual colours.
http://www.robsplants.com/plants/PhloxPanic.php
Blue Buddleja, the one in bud you can see is a pink with huge flowers.
Wallaby1-are you a Master Gardener (with a degree)
We don't have those courses here, but there are college courses of a sort, and degree courses in Horticulture, I just found a few examples
http://www.horticulture.org.uk/IoHeducFD.htm
I wouldn't get on well with one of those, once they start to tell me what I should be doing instead of listening to what I want to do there would be a major bust up! I hate all that rigid organisation, we are adults and have our own ways of keeping ideas and plans in our heads but some of these degree courses treat us as if we are at kindergarten! I guess this is where the artist comes in.
Wallaby, you make me chuckle - and your gardens are so incredible that you would be teaching classes, not taking them!
In the US, however, the Master Gardening programs are wonderful - in my county (and I think probably most), the classes are information on plants, diseases, etc., Anyone who takes the class (and they are free) gets this absolutely incredible book of information. The only "cost" involved is giving back 50 hours per year to the community - it can be done by volunteering to answer questions at a nursery, or weeding in a public garden, etc. I am really looking forward to taking the classes next year (2008 - Tuesdays & Thursdays throughout January and February). Most areas offer the classes every year, but our county is small so it's every two years.
That sounds to be a great community effort Murmur, it's all pay here. There may be some grants available to some but the govt. has cut back seriously on those.
Next to Phlox Nicky I have a Pittosporum Tom Thumb with wavy leaves which turn a deep red-purple, the new leaves are olive green. It's a dwarf shrub and slow growing, supposedly hardy to -6C (21F) only but mine has taken much more unharmed. I have Clematis Piilu, translated meaning Little Duckling, planted at the back of it and it rambles through the plant, also a slow grower so they keep up with each other. The later flowers are single but I have had both on together.
Wallaby, that is gorgeous!
In Minnesota, you can do the Master Gardener's classes either free or for 500.00. If free, you commit to 50 hours the first year and then 25 hours annually thereafter to maintain your status. What I don't like about it, locally ( Twin Cities) the classes are only offered during a weekday while out in the rural areas, they offer the classes during the evening.
Beaker, I know what you mean - they're only offered during the day around here, too. I am retiring from my part-time job at the end of the year (possibly sooner if my daughter needs me when her baby is born in September) so am hoping all goes well so I can take the classes as planned. If they had been offered during the evening, I would have done it long ago.
Janet, everything in your garden is just incredible, I don't think I have ever seen another one that comes anywhere near as lovely.
