I was hoping you were closer to Cincinnati than Columbus, CG. I'll be driving up to Bloomington, IN in the next month or so to help daughter #2 move into the condo she's buying, and would love to see your beautiful clems. I don't think I'll have time for a drive that long.
Once she closes on the condo, she's going to look into enclosing her patio. Has to be done to the condo assoc's specs. If she does it, she'll have a bed to plant in on 2 sides. I'll have to do some research on what will survive in her zone.
ClematisGuru's 2009 Hardwick Hall Clematis Garden
CG everything looks so beautiful! I especially love the layered shrub look with the blue spruce. What are the two large shrubs next to the spruce??
thanks punkysmawma, the blue spruce is a fat albert and the two other tiers are two kinds of spirea and the taller blueish shrub behind the fat albert is an artic blue willow. they look good most years, but this is the total blending of the tiers i had in mind, took a few years to achieve...just a few, hahah i think it was the artic willow you were asking about. sometimes i prune the spirea back before it blooms, or one of the tiers so i delay the blooming on at least one tier. this year i will cut the lower level of spirea back before it is even finished blooming to get a second bloom of pink from it. the hedge is very enjoyable. hedges and such are my favorite after clems...common woody shrubs, a delight! nothing precious!
irwells50, wish you were going to be closer. is her zone 5 b over there? i think they get more sever weather than we do as far as storms, but it may be the same zone. if it is full sun i think a massed in border of non climbing herbaceous integrefolia types would be a dream. i plan to put one in , but do not know where yet. for someone that was not an obessed gardener it would be easy care too.
thanks figaro for the feedback, i am at the airport going to work in nyc for 4 days to get a rest form the garden. a few days away gives new perspective!
today was gorgeous in the garden. durandii is like a favorite pair of denim jeans, an essential part of life.
the hemlock arch is a cool little shortcut on a hot day at hardwick hall.
josey just keeps getting better and better. i had to trim her hydrangea trellis back a little today. josey's food is good for the hydrangea too and it got a little carried away.....
have to post sugar candy again, hope not being boring. took this one today. some of the blooms are 8 inches across. don't know why more folks don't grow this one. the only negative is that she likes to sprawl and ramble not be forced upward, but that makes it a great clem for naturalizing in semi sun
The hemlock arch looks like a perfect place to just sit and meditate. I can only imagine how pleasant it is to walk through your property with your morning coffee (or whatever beverage) and enjoy the clems and the beautiful scenery.
I love my first walk outside in the morning with my coffee and pocketful of lever loops just to see how much the clems have grown and check for new blooms. Watching the hummingbirds makes it even better.
Have a great trip and please share more photos when you return.
thanks sharkey. i will keep it coming, as we have only just begun.
and i have to remember to smell the roses and meditate....vs pull that weed, move that gravel, water that bed, kill that bug,
etc etc
CG, looks like Bloomington is in 5b, although I found an article dated January, 2008 that indicated it was becoming warmer, and should be in 6a, so who knows?
And she is definitely not a dedicated gardener, although all she's had a chance to grow so far are what she can put in planters on her balcony.
you will have fun helping her decide what to put in!!!!
I'm sure Bloomington could pass for zone 6a. I grew up in Central Indiana -- Bloomington is quite a ways south -- a beautiful area!
It sure has beautiful rolling hills, and every time I go I want to bring back a blue spruce to try. If I could find one that was small enough to sit upright in the back of the SUV I'd buy it. I'm not sure if the issue with them here is too much sun, or not enough water. There are 2 I know of in town, but they're both over 30 years old.
We used to go to Brown County park every October to see the fall colors. The tree-covered slopes (to me they were more like small mountains) were breathtaking!
mrs cholmondeley was just coming on as i left the garden monday when i left for new york. here is a last photo i took then.....can't wait to check the action tommorrow!
LOVE that clematis....she is so pretty. It must be such a treat to come home after being away for several days and see how the clematis have changed!
was amazed at the growth upon my return. got in very late last night. the morning walk around with lever loops and nippers led to a 3 in one spray binge on ground covers and shrubs which led to...on and on and suddenly it was late afternoon.
many surprises today. mostly good, and some of the young plants really took a leap.
lots in bloom. will post thru the weekend.
and my welcome package from the international clem society was here and all my breaks were spent reading the materials.
interesting.
just downloaded todays photos. here is one i love . durandii leaned over to a newly opened hagley and they look beautiful together, the light made the blue pop in the durandii. hagley hybrid has an inky blue ring around the stamens that is a precious marker of hagley hybrid that is usually not noticed if the clem is in full sun
very pleased that pamela recta, planted last year in two locations is blooming in both. i coveted this clem. a small flowered species.
oops , above photo is mandishurica ( sp check on that), another small flowered species planted last year. here is pamela recta today.
today also showed more growth , but no blooms yet, on a species recta we call "recta monstroso" she is 7 feet tall, all new this season growth on typical hollow stemmed recta shoots and will soon be covered in small white blooms.
this is one of my favorite species clems.
mrs chummie blooming tall and healthy
sugar candy BIG bloom with the best of elsa spath.....
one of ramona's first appearances this year. she is in several areas in the hardwick hall clem gardens, but this is the first to bloom......
star of india having a good year. fussy , unreliable clem who graces us with her appearance occaisionally.
marie b first 09 blooms, any many more to come, with a clematis sunset is my last post tonight......need to rest up for tommorrow's garden binge. pea gravel mulching takes a lot of energy and there is much to do.
They are all gorgeous as always Guru....
I am suprised Star of India is fussy for you. This will be my third year with it in the groud...the first two years for me were fine....the plant never got that full but it had a lot of blooms of it from the time I put it in the ground....maybe this will be the year it takes off for me. How long have you had yours? My flower looks slightly different than your flower but maybe it is because mine is still young?
This is a second year photo (last year).
This message was edited May 30, 2009 7:30 PM
mine has been in for about 5 years. to be honest it is on a area where it is not quite as supervised as some of them clems, it is on the back side of a trellis and the area it faces it a work bench kind of place to store pots and stuff. it is full sun, is yours in partial shade? i think the central bar and coloration are more pronounced when not in full full sun?
mine should be a lot bigger than it is, but it is like a steady back of the pack soldier vs a star or leader.
Mine is in full fun along my fence.....
took another shot of star of india today to see if different light showed the central bar more. here it is. it is having it's best year ever.....
welcome to Hardwick Hall today
wish we could attach multiple photos to one post on daves.......
today was like the first day of summer, but no humidity and gorgeous breezy 75
this terniflora is 10 years old and has free roam of an ancient thorny locust tree......
this is the first paul farges to bloom this year....the plants are all from cuttings and layerings which came formmy initial and only mother plant. we have paul farges in about 5 locations and enjoy it very much. good for a large property, not the small garden.
the plants will be laden with creamy white blooms that are larger than a terniflora bloom and are all in bloom by mid june, blooming for a few months straight. it 's a sprawler. knowing it's downsides (big and sprawling) if you have the location it is a winner...way beyond terniflora for coverage, earlier blooms and interest.
this is a broad view of the garden i call the "clem walk"
the retaining wall enables you to view from eye level, and you can tend the plants from both sides..garden has been in for about 6 or 7 years. blooms coming on here now ........starts with the atraenes and on to early large flowered, they are lingering this year waiting for the vitacellas and integrefolias......
what a great genus of plants!!!
in clems we trust......
time to appreciate nature.....
I am smiling yet again....thanks for sharing!
always hoped rouge cardinal would bloom with the peonies. they are but it is not as good as it could have been, as peonies really effected by the col rains and not holding up well.oh well.
CG, glad you're back. Missed your daily photos. Please tell me how long Mrs. Ch has been planted. Is that more than one vine? She is stunning! I planted one about two weeks ago.
I've already started next year's wish list. I'll probably have to put Star of India on the list after seeing your photos. I've already planted Rouge Cardinal, another of my favorites.
hi sharkey. mrs chummie is in her second full year, put her in in late summer or fall of 07. was a well rooted gallon. on that arch, only one plant. i am pleased with the vigor and blooms, have had not wilting or other issues with the clem.
blooms are coming on strong, the clem sliked the cold winter. i have heard they are more vigorous after a very hard winter and from the looks of it, that seems to be true.
Maybe that's why they are so slow to get started here. The third year they sure dont leap. It takes about 5 or 6 years for them to be anything special but they are worth waiting for.
I like your combo with the peonies. It's a shame how bad weather can spoil them. It was a great idea though. Maybe next year it will be better.