Janet, loved seeing the picture of your double petticoats again, I cannot wait for mine to grow. Latest photos are great, your whole garden is just breath taking. You need to come and spend some time with me, of course you have to work in my garden.
By special request (part 2)
You are so ...so GREAT!!! Thanks for your photos .I'm learning and dreaming !
Hi yellowkid, I hope you have fun here! I'm just jealous that you live in Italy, I drove to Rome and absolutely want to move there, somewhere around the northern lakes, or the hills between Bologna and Rome anywhere where there is good food, good weather and great views! The local wines are Soooo drinkable too!
Oh WOW!!!!!! Is this where you live?
http://www.tecuting.it/c056017/hh/index.php?x=4f24189bbf869f3b1b44c9993cc432a6
I saw so many old hilltop villages but didn't have time to stop and explore them, that is amazing!
Donna, I read somewhere you were going on a long trip, I hope you got warmed up to get you through the cold, but home with it's comforts is always more inviting.
Vi, I thought you would like that one again! Work in your garden? I don't think I could help myself, I can't get through my garden without pulling a weed as I pass! Now if I ever come your way.......
As promised, a view of the bank behind the bath tub, some still to clean on the bend, but it won't take long when the weather allows, I did manage an afternoon out on Friday but finished tidying the rose bed.
This message was edited Mar 4, 2007 5:45 PM
The bed with Delphiniums, looking from the back view to the Phormium. I still have the other side to finish cleaning up, not a lot, the new foliage is already springing up.
The bed with the red lilies, the poppies and iris are moving now. You can see the moss which grows in the autumn, I just rave it around with the trowel and it goes later but a mulch would stop it. I have had other needs for the compost, and I'm not sure I want to mulch the iris and geraniums, but a thin layer mixed with ash might do the trick if I keep it well away from those.
The bed on the right is the rose bed. The grass is more lush on that bank, all the top soil looks to have been pushed there from the lower areas. It's nearly due for it's first hair cut of the season!
From behind the rose bed, across most of the side garden. The path to the right of the rose bed is the one I took the long shot down to the pergola. I think this shows fairly well how I have married up curves as well as straight lines.
The two large curved beds continue their flow around the smaller bed between the two. Each side of the smaller bed is also in flow with the curves around the backs of the larger beds, rather like a spirograph! The long curve on the new bed near the drain finishes and returns with a continuous flow from the back of the species Dahlia bed next to it.
The straight part across the bottom of the bed to the right of the rose bed continues from the straight side of the rose bed. That is the red lily bed, and I have also mimicked the kite shape at the top of the rose bed, but with 3 edges, or two points at the top of it, but it marries them together.
One more for now, the new bed, you can just see the species dahlia bed to the left at the rear, where the curve continues from the back of that to the other side of the new bed.
As you can see, I had some plants in, and most laid out in their pots even when there was still grass to be dug! This was on 2nd June last year.
wallaby, more great photos, very inspiring. I have not been able to do anything outside yet, very wet, and cold. It is raining again today. But tomorrow is supposed to be springlike. I do hope so.
Donna
Wallaby, so beautiful and so peaceful - your gardens are incredibly inviting!
Donna, hope you get a chance to be outside - if you're like me, you just plain feel better if you've experienced the great outdoors in any way, shape, or form!
wallaby1, thank you so much for sharing your pictures; your garden is absolutely beautiful!
Yes Wallaby1 , I live in that old hilltop village.It is very very very old.I live near the Amerina sreet and the necropolis.Sigh!
Darn and double darn, 'page can't be displayed'! And I wiped my copied words for something else!
Can I just go straight to the pic? Hi everyone!
This is just past the bath tub, going from the house to the shed, the greenhouse next to it is behind all the plants in pots! You can see I have had to put pots next to the Hosta bed, so much space and I fill it!
The fern in the right foreground is making me so envious -I wonder what it is ? I love the combination of ferns ,flaxes and blue hydrangeas at my home too ,with hostas to cover the ground .-altogether an inviting ,fresh coolness.
Emelle
The fern is Athyrium felix-femina, or Lady Fern. I did put it in before but lost it! This one will tolerate some sun, it certainly did OK last year in all the heat we had.
I love lady ferns! They grow wild in the woods all around me; I MUST remember to take plenty with me when I move.
We have had two spring days, not as good today but it improved in the afternoon. I managed some more tidying, finished the delphinium bed, and today got a barrow of compost mixed to plant yet more bulbs! It felt really warm yesterday, temperatures probably around 12-13C, mid fifties F. There was a Red Admiral butterfly flitting around, some bumble bees, me flitting around....
Neal you MUST get some Lady Ferns, they are so easy and grow huge. It is next to the paved area and likely has it's roots gettng moisture held there, when I dug to put it in there was barely room to go down, I hit something like black coal.
Following around the bend by the hosta bed, there are some self set Campanula carpatica and Omphallodes which self set from O. Starry Eyes, but these don't have the stars! On the right is full of Lily of the Valley. In spring there are purple crocus, with Narcissus Jet Fire and Iris reticulata. It's too dry there for much to grow in the summer, I planted Anthemis nobilis Treneague, a non-flowering Chamomile which smells of aniseed, it all disappeared except some near the end where it gets some rain.
Narcissus Jetfire in early April by the hosta bed.
Wallaby, sounds like you have been busy!!! I really like your little fenced in garden (photo #3258137) - so natural looking!
We've had a number of days in the 50's here now, too. In fact, it is 53 this morning, but the wind is blowing fairly strong so it doesn't feel that warm at all!
Busy again Murmur, two days without gardening, shopping, recover from shopping, Friday was a little colder but yesterday and today it was spring, the next 10 day forecast is promising around 12C, 54F. I have been taking pots out the house to the greenhouses, no space in mine but there is in the neighbour's! Today was a mix compost, pot up bulbs day. Plus took pots of cannas etc out of the garage to put in the greenhouse, the temps in there are now up to 25C, 77F.
I have some seeds germinating too which I sowed in the winter, and have lots of seeds to sow still, more garden to clean, and.....it never ends does it!
The crocus next to the hosta bed were flattend by hail this year, last year I have pics on the 28th Feb, 6th March, again fully open on the 23rd March, they lasted for a long time. This year it's warmer and they don't seem to like it.
The 6th March shot
Janet, those are really beautiful!!
wallaby great shot of my favorite color in crocus
Donna
Thanks Vi and Donna, the purples on their own seem to glow in dappled shade.
Day of rest for me today, I wore myself out and although the temp was 12C, 54F, the clouds are over and there's a cold damp breeze. I've been dropping off sat at the computer! No good, much to do.......
The next one was on 23rd March, you can see Narcissus Jetfire buds, I have some open now this year.
The other side of the path from the gate end, Lily of the Valley fills the bed and now that it's well established stays green all summer. Scilla hispanica along the top edge.
In the built up bed around the tree a white Rhododendron, which I moved from where I now have a veggie strip. More scilla around the trunk. This was 11th May 06
Lovely, lovely, lovely - I really can't say enough!
Murmur, I'm gald you are enjoying it!
Amongst the Lily of the Valley I have a fern, Polystichum setiferum Congestum, which keeps it's frond until the end of the winter then they generally break at the bottom so I cut them off. New fronds always look great, this was taken 31st May 05.
What a delightful contrast to the smooth foliage of the Lily of the Valley - I have written that one down and am going to look for it.
I have a lot of ferns, many still in pots waiting for a home. I planted one today so I could use the pot, I put it where I am revamping the bed that had the Viburnum.
There are more ferns around the ede of the tree bed, Polystichum aculeatum always grows well. This was 8th May 06, nearly fully fronded. They are very attractive while unfurling too, a Shepherd's Crook. It also keeps it's fronds until the end of winter.
ohhhhhhhhhh wow... I've really enjoyed all the pics and have looked up many many that I wanted and was not familiar with :)
Funny.. I saw hydrangea80.. and thought, gee I've not heard of that hydrangea before.. I'll look it up!! :) I figured it out!!
I'm certainly looking forward to the growing season here and I must take more pictures :)
Susan
Glad you liked it Susan, good job you figured out the hydrangea too! There are plants with numbers after them though, I have a Fuchsia called Fuchsiade 88.
Tulip Shakespeare is in flower now in the built up bed behind the Clematis trellis, they've been there for a few years now and have increased well. The flowers have never been so good as they were in the last two years, I have mole runs under them so maybe the tulips are winning. Ferns and a hydrangea fill it after.
This is last year's pic.
This message was edited Mar 20, 2007 1:43 AM
Lovely.. Do your tulips come back every year? They don't here.. so I no longer get them. I enjoys the ones planted by property management companies :)
Susan
Susan, these are the dwarf species types, they do return and naturalise, you should be able to grow them too. I have others which are still fairly new in the ground, they are coming up now. Johann Strauss, Stresa, Electra, bakerii Lilac Wonder, praestans Unicum which is variegated. Lots more,
http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/image?query=species+tulips%27
WOW!! Never seen anything like that in GA..
Wallaby, it is curious that you can grow tulips in zone 8, but I can't.. They do not return here and I've been told that our winters are not cold enough?? That has something to do with them. I've been told that only Darwin Hybrids will make it and return, and the vast majority of the ones I did plant fail to bloom, as the initial bulbs were too small, and I just leave them there for early green filler.
Also, I've seen neighbors that plant them and get the perpetual disappointment that I first did after planting.. green foliage with no blooms. There is a huge apartment rental company in town with many many upscale rental properties throughout the area.. they charge incredible rent so I never did live there when I was single, but they are the leaders in planting tulips in the area. They have incredible shows and I just gladly pass them by and take notice.. but leave the tulips for them. They replant every year for them.. An amazing amount of work.. which I'm not willing to do.. and then after they show, it all must come out and be replanted with others.. no thanks!! :)
Susan
You will find many of the taller hybrid tulips don't come back, I have had some return after a 6 year regrowth! Tulips are native to areas with hot dry summers and cold winters, but not that cold, we have few frosts and mostly not below -5C (23F) but do have one or two sometimes a little lower.
The secret is to grow them where something else will take up water in the summer, not necessarily in a hot sunny spot as I have some under the tree in the hosta bed, the hostas take the water, and the tree loses it's leaves for winter. That's where I had some parrot tulips and some others return after 6 years. Electra, which you might have seen on my threads is the dwarf double red which has a strong honey scent, it's around the edges of the raised hosta bed.
I have had some which didn't flower for years too, wrongly named but a species, it turned out to be T bakerii Lilac Wonder. I had it in a metal tub, it was spreading by loopy runners on top as well as the bottom, and the foliage grows over winter. I moved them to the hosta bed and they flower every year now after some time to establish, also increasing well, but I thought they were too small for a start although species bulbs are smaller. They may also take longer for some to establish as species are not like hybrids, made to flower reliably from the outset. The foliage is broad and glossy, attractive on it's own.
Tulips don't need feeding with nitrogen, that is likely to produce just foliage, they need Potash, the 'K' in NPK. I don't give them that either, but have on the odd occasion watered the hosta bed with a soluble tomato food with high PK. The variegated one praestans Unicum, Stresa and Johann Strauss I started in pots of good leafy compost, they barely flowered but increased and after a year or two put them in the ground, they are now establishing. I like to give some a good start in pots before they go in the ground so they can renew themselves with natural food.
Some of the late flowering single tulips do return reliably, I have some tall yellow and reds which were already here, more than 9 years, they are in a semi shaded spot where the snowdrops are. I did find some names which I though they might be but have forgotten them!
Gavota has returned so far too,
6 Years!! ?? I'm clearly not as nice and patient as you are Wallaby!! goodness.. I'd think it was an act of God by having forgot I ever put something there and I had a bloom six years later! :)... I appreciate your advice.. but I try to hang out with some of the better local gardeners and I've never seen tulips that weren't fall planted to come up that spring.. Their must be a reason for it other than the cold if your in a warmer climate? Maybe I will ask our local radio garden guru about this.
Lovely Bloom.. I'm so glad we all get to take pictures of our blooms and enjoy them year round and share as well. :)
Susan
The zone only gives the maximum low you can expect, we freeze for 11 months and 2 weeks of the year! A slight exaggeration, but we can have very cold weather in the middle of summer, the maximum average for July and August is only 21C, 70F. The only 2 weeks you can usually rely on to be warm are the first 2 weeks in August! I went to an airshow at the end of June a few years ago, all winter clothes were needed!
Tulips here are sold planted from September to early November as a rule. The 6 year ones did flower one year before they had a long rest! It was a bonus to have them return.
Here's one of the ever living ones, 3rd May last year.
Hi Janet, I have never seen that Gavota before that is lovely.
Hi Vi, Gavota was a new one around in the last few years but I'm not sure if it is still offered, I imagine it is. It has an old fashioned sort of colour, what I imagine would fit into a Victorian era!
They are later, this was late April.
Yep, really lovely.
I've been out of commission most of the winter and am way behind on the cottage gardens thread, but am so delighted I found these two of your enchanting garden. It revives my spirits so much to see all the wonderful things you grow and your skill at mixing them. The Papaver Coral Reef are delightful. Thanks you so much for the tour of you garden.
Susan