Saturday, June 01, 2019

The garden in May - fragrance

 The geum, Mrs.Bradshaw, that grows in the front middle garden bed, under the Smoke bush with silver/red sedum with yellow blossoms as a carpet.  Mrs. Bradshaw is beginning to spread out in its allotted space, at last.
The oriental poppies are always a show stopper while in bloom but are rather messy thereafter.  I will try to cut back the leaves and save the seed pots this year.  They grow in the flower bed along the side of the old garage and show up nicely against the white of the garage.
 The tree peony did not seem to do as well as usual this year.  Maybe the big snowfall we had tended to beat it back a bit.  I will feed it some good compost this year and hope to bring it back to its old spectacular self next year.  As usual, fragrance is lovely.
 the iceberg rose by the entry way, is currently full of blossoms.  It always needs to be cut back from the entry way, giving me some lovely roses for the table bouquet.  It has a light fragrance.
 The Gertrude Jekyll rose, of the David Austin family, is highly fragrant.  There is another deep red David Austin beside this rose that blooms sparsely but is also highly fragrant.  There is another rose at the front corner of the house, that is a light pink with a light fragrance.
These flowers competed with the Lilac tree that enhanced the back garden for weeks when it was in full bloom.  The hyacinths also added a strong fragrance to the Spring garden. 
 I was happy to see this wine colored Jackamani clematis climbing up the cedars in the front garden.  Its a superb color.  It is blooming profusely.  I must get a cutting from the deep purple Jackamani clematis moved into this front bed, next to the lovely little hebe in the garden bed by the front tree.  This combination of colors should be marvelous and will move the garden upwards as I am running out of space. 
 This, I think, is the Nelly Moser Clematis.  It grows wonderfully well up to the deck and surrounds the deck water feature with bloom.  It is in full bloom now and looks spectacular.
The globe flower, Trollius Chinensis, is a new plant in the garden.  I got it from the Cannor sale in March, where they sold off their old stock at $20.00 for all you could pile on your tray.  By the time I got to the sale there were slim pickins' left.  Never-the-less, I did very well by getting 31 plants.  Just one did not grow.  I took 6 of them to the VIRAGS show and sale.  The rest survived the transplant, and grow around the back garden.  There is another Trollius in the pond, in a gallon pot sitting on the bog bean pot, where I hope its soil stays moist and keeps cool as it does not like it hot.
We have had a very good month of May.  I have done a lot of renovations and added new plants in the garden.  The care and attention to watering,  adding fertilizer and improving the soil pays big dividends in the appearance of the plants.

Friday, March 15, 2019

The max amount of snow to February 13th

 The front tree loaded with snow on Feb. 12
 Peony Tree seed heads with their snow caps on.
 Closer to the heavy, wet snow piled on the tree branches on Feb. 13
 Overview of the max snow.  The hedges are beginning to be flattened out 
 Icicle in the sunset on February 13th.
By February 25th most of the snow has melted and these crocuses are looking good again.
As of the 15th of March the crocus field has lots of bulbs up, but some pig has been parking their car on part of the crocus field and the bulbs are flattened out.  

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

The snow piled higher and higher

 The lantern in the Japanese/Moss garden.  Shooting from the window under the deck.  I have recently found the name of the plant with the big leaves.  I believe it is the castor oil plant, although it does not have red leaves and I have never seen it bloom.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricinus  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricinus
 Railings on the 12th piled higher with snow.

 A closer look at the fluffy, wet snow piled on the deck railing. 
 The bird bath with at least a foot of snow piled up on it.  Beside it the basil plant had gone to seed and I left it in its pot.  I wonder if any of the seed will germinate. 
 More of the chairs, table and deck piled with snow.  I had cleaned the snow off the bin by the deck door and was putting out the humming bird feeder on it in the morning.  Wish I had taken a photo of it.
 The icicle out the dining room window at its maximum size.  It grew from the melt and repeated freeze.

            The bushes and the power line across the street.
 The david is heaped with snow.  The bamboo is weighted down to the ground  with all the snow on it.
More of the snow piled on the deck railing and the bay laurel behind it.
The bird bath on the deck heaped with at least a foot of  snow.  The basil next to it had gone to seed.  I wonder if any of the seed will germinate.