oh yes - liked it very much! What beautiful gardens you have, such variety, and everything looks so healthy and happy! The stands of lupines are just FABULOUS and I Love those white columbines, so elegant.

Tell me.. is the pink tall flower to the right of the foxglove in that picture a verbascum? I've got seedlings of a verbascum chaixill Album that are suppose to look something like that (next year when they bloom)

Nancy

tiff - you have the MOST beautiful gardens I've ever seen.

We all can appreciate and admire all the work you have put into your gardening and all the HELP you have given all of our newbies (and oldies, like me.. :0) )

Your pictures belong in a Beautiful Homes magazine! Really!

Carrie

Nancy,

I'm thinking you meant to the 'left' of the foxglove in photos 8 and 9. You are right, that is a mullein/verbascum. I have deep pink ones in the gardens but this is my favourite. The flower petals are an old peach/pastel pink. It took three years to flower but has been there for 5 years. Usually the winter will take them to flower heaven after 3 years here.

Carrie,
As per usual, you are making me blush. :O) I bow to the Zinnia Profusion Goddess!!

Tiffy,
That is stunning! I honestly can't say what pic or plant is more beautiful. Wow...
Thanks for the eye-candy :-)

Linda

Tiffy,

It's simply gorgeous! You and I are both in zone 5/6 but
the timing is really different. We're ahead into early
daylilies and first bloom of echinacea. I had an old packet of wild lupine seed from Pinetree seeds (2006) and
just trampled about 1/3 of them into an open place on my
hill about 3 days ago. I'll see if anything happens and
wintersow the rest.

Chris

I'm just speechless Tiffy!!!

It just gets more beautiful every year and I am also anxious to see more :)

What is that tall white one from the dog's view? I love it!

Vera

Oh gosh, Vera. You got me laughing so hard that I had to wait a minute to answer you. That is the - and there IS only one plant there - Dame's Rocket which I was trying to ID earlier this year. LOL!! Isn't it sweet?? When you walk by it and the Lupines you smell the sweetest perfume. I think the both of them are in competition for who smells the best. :O)

I've never seen a DR grow like that. Usually they have just one stalk, but the base of this plant was so huge it moved over the Sweet Williams, or should I say 'pushed' over the SW. Now you can see why I couldn't believe it was a DR.

(Thanks for the chuckle. I needed that. Having a crisis moment over where to put 10 Astilbes I got for 50 cents each at WM the other day...)

Chris,

I see Vera's pictures and I think the same thing. How different! Where are you? I am in Nova Scotia, Canada, just a dory ride away from the Atlantic Ocean. We are blessed with our summers which go right into late October at times.

I hope your Lupines make it. If not, do winter sow them as they like the cold for germination.

OMGoodness Tiffy!! how gorgeous!!! i do love the verbascum!! i wintersowed a bunch and some i got from angie, i haven't heard from her in ages!! :'(
i'm the same, i cannot say which one i honestly love the absolutely the most??!! LOL thank you for sharing your gorgeious pic with us!! i can't imagine the time it took to plant all of that!! WOW just keeps coming to mind!! with me and my ideas of my small little raised garden ideas!! LOL ~Medo

I have given up growing lupines. Thank you for letting me enjoy yours. They are magnificent! Thanks so much for sharing - I just love your work.

Dames Rocket? That must be foliage from something else in front!
Have never seen white Hesperis.... That very common weed up here is always pink. Is currently on the monitor list as addition to the noxious weed list here and has been added to other states Noxious lists already.
It sure is too pretty to be so bad LOL!

Beautiful, gorgeous, stupendous, magnificent, exquisite, splendid, charming ..... okay, I'll have to to the thesaurus to get more words!

Now I'm waiting for the second installment ....

PV

Thank-you graciously Bakemom. I know it's probably too hot in Ohio in the summer for them, so the little wild one I left to grow in the gardens after culling lots of others last week will have your name on it. :O)

You are right Vera. The foliage in the front of the DR is from two footings of Lupines in there. Here the DR bloom deep purple, light lilac, and white. The whites are not as common and I will be saving seeds. They are quite easy to control here and only grow in pockets here and there. In these parts everyone wants them in their gardens.

PV,

The second instalment will be posted later this evening. Right now I'm planting pots for my deck. Aren't you proud of me?? :O) I like the 'exquisite'!

wow.

(she whispered in total awe)

... and then there was Miss Kim's response which quietly made me smile with satisfaction... :O) I know you are busy these days and am glad you saw the photos. I'm sure you'll be creating great gardens in the Carolinas very soon.

PS - Totally off topic here, but DD is now taking piano lessons and I'm enjoying the music in the house.

WOW! I want a blue poppy too! I have never seen those before! Your whole garden is lovely.

Tiffy,

You are my hero..... What a green thumb you have.....I am jealous. Really I am ........ BARB

Tiffy: It honestly is more beautiful every year. Those blue poppies are to die for- I am in awe every time I see yours.

And aside from the gorgeous plants and flowers, nobody has ever made rocks look better than you do.

Karen

Very beautiful. Enjoy seeing how your gardens progress over the seasons.

Thanks everyone!

Evonne,

Not sure if you answered in another post about where you are located. If you are a zone 5/6 in the northeast you might be able to grow the Meconopsis Blue Poppies. They take a while to go from seed to bloom but are worth it. I did lose two plants this past winter, but have more sprouts ready to go in.

Karen,
I do mosaics and it's been suggested I do some on the rocks, but they look great just like that. I won't mess with a good thing. :O) Thanks!

Your gardens are beautiful! I like the white columbine also. I'll have to get me some.

Well Tiffy, what can I say? WONDERFUL!!! You made my day. I spent the weekend indoors (de-cluttering, UGH!)because we had rain and thunderstorm all weekend, so this was a sight for sore eyes. Keep 'em coming!

What a great first post to read after being out of town for several days - Tiffy your gardens are stunning to say the least ~~sigh~~ I have to just sit and enjoy your lupines - can't grow them here - Thank you so very very much for sharing your little piece of heaven. Now onto your other thread and more eyecandy.......

Lynne

Tiffy: your gardens are gorgeous. When I see all that you can grow I think, hmmmmm, could I live with colder winters?

I love, love, love that columbine. What a beautiful shot...I mean flower! :)

Lisa

Northerner,

De-cluttering. Hum... Got one of those dumpsters I could have for a day or so?? My DD is a little clutterbug. :O)

Lynne,
Just went for a drive. It's Canada's B-Day today so we went out for supper. You would have loved the Lupines in the ditches and roadsides right now. All you see is purple drifts at this time of year.

Lisa,

I do enjoy the winter too. No weeds!! :O) Truly, it is a beautiful season.

Thanks for the thoughts from all!

Thanks for the info! I am in CT and definitely adding blue poppies to my list!!!

I came across this post from search on Meconopsis. I grew some from seed to blooming last year (took 2 years), and lost them this past winter to gophers, I think, or possibly too much dampness, or possibly even snails! But, I lean toward the gophers because it seemed too much of a hole there!

Anyway, it's interesting seeing your photos, because I'm just incredibly fond of lupins, and have been growing a lot of them here. I just ordered hundreds of seeds, including some of the "woodfield hybrids" from a grower in the UK that is seriously improving the old Russell strain. I got some last summer from Bluestone perennials and they made the most gigantic plants, with huge leaves! Several went from being 2" plants to mounds almost 2 feet wide right now, and multiplying like mad, making really thick clumps. One of them is even apricot colored, but they're all beautiful. I also grow tree lupins, which are a breeze here.

Anyway, I'm going to try about 10 different types of Meconopsis, like Lingholm, betonicafolia, sheldonii, grandis (grandis was the one that bloomed for me before), regia, etc.

Looks like you've got a great place for growing perennials, thanks for the inspiring photos!

--Ron

OH I am suffering from a serious case of poppy envy. I love those blue poppies, but I in zone 3/4 and don't know if they would grow here.

Everything else is beautiful too!

But those poppies.......sigh

Jenny P

tiffy

I love your gardens. How did you manage to grow lupines. Both of my attempts have showed no results and the poor little lone survivor who tried to make well dh managed to ruin it for him. Lovely garden.

Paula

Ron,
You must be on the coast? I am floored that you have succeeded with Lupines and Blue Poppies in California. Great job!

Jenny,
There is a garden in Quebec, Canada where they have been growing these for quite some time and it is a zone 3/4. The difference I believe is that they would have cooler summers than you. That doesn't mean you can't try it. :O)

Paula,

Lupines grow wild here. There is no trying. Just the annual culling of Mama Nature's sowing. I do wish everyone could grow them.

Tiffy, I'm probably within 10 miles of the coast, as the crow flies, and we're in a low spot that gets colder than the surrounding areas at night and in winter, plus northern California in general has cool summers (except inland). The lupines self-seed all over the place, so ones that are in impossible places get dug up and potted for a while until they're in good enough shape to plant somewhere more appropriate. I believe the lupines like you have were developed from species native to here, so it's not a total surprise they grow here (lupinus polyphyllus is native to Sonoma county).

I know a lot of people that have tried the blue poppies here, but most gave up, but I had good success my first try, raising two plants to flowering, so I know it can be done. Now I want to try as many as I can. One had incredibly blue flowers, the other more purplish. The pictures of the blue one at the link.

--Ron

Here is a link that might be useful: Meconopsis photos

I grew meconopsis two springs ago. They grew well all summer in pots and were planted out that fall but they did not return the next spring.

Thank you for this post. I was inspired, not by your beautiful flowers, few of which grow in this climate, but by the rock wall. I suddenly realized while looking at it what I needed to do about mine.

Nell

I stumbled into this thread while searching for something else. It made me so happy I decided to bump it for everyone to enjoy!

OMGosh! Beautiful!

Absolutely beautiful!!! Those white columbine are the first I have ever seen. I'll be after those. Oh, and the blue poppies, and...

Breathtaking!
I have never seen white columbine,is that a special one Tiffy?
Your gardens are so very pretty,thank you for sharing such beauty.
cAROL

Seedmama you made my day. :O) Sometimes I need to be reminded that things aren't always so cold and dreary as they have been in the last while. Thank-you!

The white Columbines... Amazing what you get in trades. These were sent to me in the first years I winter sowed and I remember them being marked 'Unknown'. In June and July they brighten up the shade gardens so nicely. :O)

Happy to share and glad you enjoyed!

Tiffy I remember these photos esp. the coffee cup. lol
It was a great idea to bump this up the gardens are GORGEOUS!! I recieved DR in a RR this year and am looking forward to growing them after seeing yours. I had read they were invasive but I'm going to give it a try.

Annette

I didn't look at the date and started reading the first post 'Literally. Took the photos last night.' and thought, "What?"
LOL

Thanks for pulling up these photos of Nicole's lovely gardens.

I was out sprinkling some poppy seeds today as expect snow tonight. Sprinkled them in the new iris bed as it is the only bed not covered in leaves and snow.

Annette,

You cracked me up!!! The coffee cup. DH says he picks-up more dishes in the gardens when the season starts then he does in the house. LOL!! I must admit I had to go back and have a look at where it was. Recently took photos in to the garden club and the members were looking for the coffee cups in the photos. they spotted 5.

BTW, you'll love the Dame's Rocket. Don't forget to smell them. :O)

mnwsgal,
I have yet to do the spring sprinkling of the poppy seeds. Thanks for the reminder. It's so nice to see them coming up here and there.

These are absolutely GORGEOUS flowers!! They are all amazing, but I truly adore the columbines. Does anyone know a source for seeds of the white one? Thanks for bumping this up; it was the highlight of my day and I plan to go back and look at it every single day until things look less dead and dried up here. Is part 2 coming!!?

Just found Part 2 Chickenmom. :O)

Here is a link that might be useful: Part 2.

What a treat - I fall in love all over again. Thanks for the bump, seedmama!

There is a Part 2 ...

WOW, the pictures are breathtaking. The lupines are absolutely beautiful. I've never grown lupines before. Will they grow here in central NC? Anyone have any tips for growing lupines? What do they like/not like?

mnws- I already sprinkled the seeds on the iris bed on Saturday! You did it, too? Well, that's ok. We'll have twice the show come June.
(There were no leaves or snow because I had to rake them out first and cut down the crappy iris foliage)

Tiffy,

Wow!
I am in zone 5b and we are still brown here!
Nothing green in sight!

Your yard is an inspiration!

Mary
z 5b KS

Oh gosh Mary. Look at the dates. The original post was made in Late June 2008. :O) Right now I'm still covered in leftovers from 5 ice storms this winter although I can see a bit of the lawn today in one area. YES!

Love2garden,
Lupines are cool weather flowers which grow in lean well drained soil. They don't like heat. You might try some in part shade in NC's zone 7.

Tiffy I did not spot an coffee cups in the 2cd set of pics. Did I miss any? LOL at the garden club ladies doing a count! Can you do a round 3 of pics from latter in season? We are all enjoying you gardens-beautiful.

I will most definitely smell the DR

Annette