For a feast for the eyes, check out this thread:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/712169/
A California Cottage Garden...
oh wow...very purdy:)
Yes, Zuzu's got the most glorious roses in her garden! I'm so envious, I'm not that far from her but only have room (and good sites) for a few. Aren't those photos incredible?
She's not only an incredible gardener, but an outstanding photographer as well. I was glad to read she is taking many of her roses with her when she moves.
In many of the photos there are glimpses of forget me nots and other self sowing annuals peeking from behind the roses. I love the casual, cottagy feel this gives a garden of roses.
Oh, you guys. This is so weird. Neal had asked me to post some pictures of my garden in this forum, but nothing's really looking spectacular yet, so I came over to post some of last year's pictures and found all of you talking about me. That's so bizarre!
Anyway, thanks for all the nice things you're saying. Incidentally, Jkom51, I used to live on the corner of Ramona and Piedmont Avenue and it was the best place I've ever gardened. The weather is so perfect there. I used to buy things once and never have to buy them again -- Impatiens, Lobelia, Bougainvillea, Tibouchina -- all the things I now have to buy every single year and treat as annuals.
So, down to business. As I said, my garden isn't really full of blooming stuff yet, but I have some pictures from previous years. It isn't a true cottage garden, because I don't grow any vegetables. I'm a flower floozy, and if it doesn't bloom, I don't grow it.
My garden is the result of a combination of insatiable greed and a shortage of space. In essence, I cram 2 acres of plants into half an acre of land. I don't do any kind of planning. I just go to a nursery, buy everything I like, and then try to find empty spaces for the plants somewhere. The result is fairly chaotic, as you can see from this picture:
Here's another view of the utter chaos:
Here's something a little more orderly:
More chaos:
Here are a couple of photos that I took for the rose forum, but they provide a good view of some other plants. This rose, by the way, is Tambourine.
The roses in this picture are Veilchenblau (violet), Proud Land (red), and Else Poulsen (pink).
This is a big pond that's full of plants. The yellow Mimulus is growing in the pond.
This picture was taken at night with a flash. All of the flowers show up so nicely at night.
Chaos or not, it is sheer Heaven, Zuzu!!! I can close my eyes and picture myself walking through it inhaling all the wonderful fragrances . . . ahhhhhhhhh!!
Roses, poppies, alstroemeria, lychnis, and iris:
Thanks, Murmur. It is fun to walk through, mainly because you can't see 5 feet in front of your face in most parts of it, so it seems to take forever. All of my paths meander, so you could never see the whole garden unless you went up on the roof. Here's a spot where five paths come together. I just took this one a few days ago, so it's not a jungle yet.
Here's another nighttime picture.
And one that was taken in much too much light:
Here's a picture from this year. If you've seen pictures of my Wisteria in the past, you'll notice that it's been severely pruned back. It was threatening to eat the house. Now you can actually see the Japanese Maple growing under it.
This is also from this year. Some things are finishing up (Lilacs), the Weigelas (and the cats) are in their full glory, and other things are just starting out (Cannas, roses, etc.).
This spot will have a lot more color in a few weeks:
Here's why I'll never plan and I'll never have a neat and tidy garden. I planted one Godetia in a pot on one of the decks. A few years later, I had Godetias coming up everywhere. This is where they were growing in pure gravel last year. This was supposed to be a scree bed for some tiny little alpine plants that don't like soil, but the Godetias started coming up and I didn't have the heart to pull them out. Somewhere under all of that are some sweet little alpines.
LOL, I could'nt stand the thought of any of the folks over here missing the show, especially since nothing says Cottage Garden like roses. "flower floozy"! I love that term, LOL. A few herbs and berries are all that are giving my garden a Cottagy authenticity, but I think it is the casual, organized chaos look that is the main attraction for so many of us.
Zuzu, thanks so much for sharing your colorful slice of heaven! Can't wait to see what happens when you work your magic in Florida :)
Neal
Zuzu, your place is astounding - sheer joy to anyone who views it (whether via pictures or in person - oh, my, in person would be a thrill!). How large is this piece of property? Will your new property in Florida be a similar size? I'm excited for you to have a new place - I moved to where I am now in September of 2002 and I had a blank canvas. I was thrilled beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to do all the creating myself. Wisteria is gorgeous - but it can almost be scary!!!
Thanks, Neal. There isn't much point in trying to be less chaotic when a gopher can come along and ruin your design in five minutes.
Murmur, this garden is only half an acre. The one in Florida is more than 3 acres. It also will be the first blank slate I've ever worked with. My first few years here were taken up mostly by getting rid of what was already here: a veritable jungle of blackberries, ivy, holly, pyracantha, and cotoneaster -- most of it painful and none of it very attractive.
Three acres!!! Won't you be having the greatest time ever???!!!
My whole lot is only 75 x 125, but compared to the postage stamp sized lot we had in Seattle, it is enormous! I honestly thought it was big when we bought the house, now I wish it was at least twice this size . . . ah, well . . . some of us are just never satisfied!!!