Splendid group of photos Woody, it all looks terrific.I love all the wonderful ferns you have, my garden sure is lacking in that area, and many ferns do pretty well here. Glad to see that Vyv is holding her own after the unfortunate wilt incident. What do you call the area where Marios tuteur will go ? I've been referring to it as the roof garden, but Im sure you have another ID for it. I really like the area and how it's arranged.

Kathy in Napa

Kathy - it's just the front bed :-)

I think you were right about the brown colored rain barrel...I'm going to keep that in mind as I look for rain barrels.

Everything looks so lush! I really admired the rogersias! I'm just putting them in this year.

Hi Misty!

Saucy

Wow Woody! everything looks wonderful! You've done so much with your gardens since I visited a few years ago. Love the clematis and huge hostas. Marvelous! I surely hope Vyvyan makes a complete comeback. Did I tell you I've bought yet another because I love yours so much! Crossing my fingers that this one survives.

Deanne

Woody...I can't wait to see your tutor too (hey I like the lyricism). :-) Anyway, I remember when you shared a drawing you had made of it.

You're gardens are *gorgeous*..isn't it amazing how everything will perk up and look so lush after a nice rain...I'm glad you got it.

Love that long shot with Misty...I would love to walk that path.

You are certainly in full bloom right now and it's *all* lovely. I agree Ramona is looking lovely. That was my first Clematis a gift from Rose who owned the old home and greenhouse by me (that is sadly gone now). My Ramona is still alive!...though no blooms. She's all shaded out and should be moved and given a good spot she deserves...like your Ramona. I was always a little nervous about moving her, but now it seems I might as well as she certainly can't be her beautiful self where she is.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

Ei

Saucy - I love rodgersia! All mine are Rodgersia aesculifolia. All the information on them say they need moist conditions but I don't find that to be true. Certainly the leaves are bigger in damper conditions but I have ones in dry shade under the white pines and they do fine. So do the ones in the front porch bed in the rain shadow of the roof - they only get watered when I remember to, which is not as often as I should! The ones in the picture with the Remona clematis are under the oak canopy so once the oak has leafed out, it gets quite dry there. They are very tough plants! Here are the ones in the porch bed - you can see that they are a bit smaller in leaf size but still vigorous.
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Deanne - yes, we've done a lot to the garden since you were here - time to head north again and check it out...? The big hosta in the Ramona pictuse is Bressingham Blue. I have several of those. I was disappointed in them at first. It took a couple of years for them to get big, but they are now BIG! I meant to divide a few of the hostas in the patio bed this spring but they took a long time to appear this year - and then they grew so fast I didn't have time to get to them until they were too big to divide! What happens if you never divide a hosta?! Does it eventually die out or split off into multiple crowns on its own? I think Vyv is set to make a comeback but the flower show will definitely be less this year. I hope you have good luck with her this year in your garden.

Ei - isn't it nice to have plants with a 'history' in the garden?! I'm worried about what will happen to my Ramona - the neighbours on the other side of the fence she's on are elderly. I expect within the next 5 years or so that house will be sold. The most likely thing that will happen then is that it'll be torn down and replaced with a big, fancy house. The new owners would no doubt want to replace the somewhat tatty chainlink fence with a solid monster one and there will go my garden conditions on that side. I'm hoping I might be able to persuade a new owner to go for something like a Jerith 400 series aluminum fence that has the look of a classic wrought iron fence and would be suitable for an upscale home. The closer spacing of the pickets would give some privacy while still allowing for light and support for growing plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jerith fences

How pretty and romantic everything is looking, Woody! I just love all your romantic blues and whites. And how great that you can do the veggies/fruits in containers - I should try that.

Neighbors are always challenges - we each have our own horror stories of some sort, I expect. That's a gorgeous fence -- I hope you find them amenable.

I really love how lush everything is looking this year, rain we are all so happy about!

-cindy

Lovely, Woody! I've always wanted to try Rodgersia but can't find enough free real estate in the shade garden. Thanks for sharing yours!

You could consider installing the fence yourself, on your side of their fence...just a thought.

I have a hedge that is a monster but it keeps my privacy in the backyard. If it ever comes down, then I will have to fork over the money for a privacy fence.

Re the fence - we'll probably just wait and see what happens - hopefully the neighbours will last as long as we do and it won't be an issue :-) I certainly have a better understanding though of the neighbour to the north's fears when we bought this place and started a major renovation. They begged us not to do the big, solid fence (which we had no intention of doing anyway, but they didn't know that until after they had a chance to talk to us...) Maybe the neighbour to the south would sell the house to one of their daughters - the neighbour to the north is the son of the original owner. If that happened, there'd be no problem because the daughters love our garden! :-) Or maybe a new owner would not mind a see-through type fence if it was a suitable style. We would certainly contribute to the cost if they went for something like the Jerith 400 series. Actually, the greatest privacy issue for the property to the south is not one that can be fixed by a fence. The way the properties slope, our office looks down on their backyard and the current patio area in their yard is almost directly under the south window of the office. The only way they could reasonably make a private patio area is to extend their house (presumming a tear-down and rebuild or major reno) down the property line across from the office and then put a patio in the L that would make with the main part of the house. Or a simple alternative would be to put a pergola over it - that would give more privacy than a fence. There already is a 6' solid fence along their patio area, which worked until our addition extended this house past/above it... So hopefully it will all either turn out to be something we don't have to worry about afterall or something where we can come to an arrangement satisfactory to both property owners. Time will tell...

Your gardens are looking fabulous! I love the romantic colors.

Michelle

Woody, the tiny rose you gave me a few years back (from under the lights of your plant stand) has been blooming nicely this year! Pale pink blooms....

gb - does it have scent? Some do; some don't - I don't remember if that one did. Does it have true canes yet? That one little plant will form a colony in a few years so watch out...!