old tool/garden shed

As always, just beautiful, Celeste. They may have gotten weedy later but they were perfection during this time. And just look, you got to learn a new skill-picture taking with left hand!! Thanks for sharing these gorgeous shots. BTW, was one of these walls the culprit in your fall? If so, you had no chance of escaping without injury, did you? Hoping you are better.

Kate

I’m speechless, such a lovely setting!

Sherry

A grand view from the road side. Not seen by people? Looks as though the deer cooperated while you were disabled.

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS! I still found a few more, if you can stand it. I didn't take pictures of every garden, being that some of them were more 'weedy' than others and not as presentable....every gardener has 'those' gardens....lol.

Mantis, yes.....the borders by the road are seen for sure. They definitely get attention. But the rest of the gardens are scattered all over the front, sides, and back of my house. No one sees the ones in back but me & DH. The deer cooperated because of the motion-activated sprayers which were hooked up (you can see a peek of one of them in photo #4 of the second set of pics). These work for me!

Kate, the wall I fell off was quite a bit higher than those pictured.....darn it. It is a retaining wall about 5 feet off the ground and I fell onto concrete pavers.

Your gardens were gorgeous last summer! And I would say your photo skills with your left hand are high. Thanks for sharing your garden tour!

Debra

Celeste........Breathtaking ! Thank you for sharing . I hear you when you say you are the only one doing the work in the gardens. Me too. I love the stone borders. I would be hard pressed to even find one good sized stone around here . I have added a few when I can find them but those stone walls are lovely.

I wonder, how long you have been collecting daylilies and reveling in their beauty. Are you an artist too by any chance ? If not , you are one in your gardens . I am so happy to see that you plant all different colors together too , no monochromatic scenes . I personally think that shows off each daylily more effortlessly as there is nothing of the same color competing in each image.

Just really lovely and seriously not bad for using your left hand to take the images.

signet....thanks. And you are very astute.....I AM an artist, or at least I have painted a few paintings in the past. Also, rocks around here are so plentiful you cannot dig down an inch without hitting one. Most are smallish so I use them in my garden beds but some are huge and I can't dig them up. That's why NH is known as the 'granite state'. Wish I could ship some off to you......we have too many! And I just plant my plants wherever there's ROOM for them, with no regard for color schemes or theme. I don't plan my beds, they just happen. But I do enjoy bright pops of color everywhere and my gardens reflect that.

Oh, and I forgot to answer one of your questions, signet. I have only been into daylilies since I think 2010 which is astonishing since I have between 600 - 700 cultivars. When I analyze that fact I realize I am a little loco. haha....but aren't we all?

Funny that the subject got around to rocks. When we moved to our current home it was a new subdivision. There was a rock in front of our unfinished home the size of a VW bug. We are a short distance from a river carved by glaciers. The name of our subdivision is Boulder Hill, very fitting here also, digging is an adventure.

Sherry

And the roses at end are?

Wow Celeste, these are just beautiful! I can't imagine how much more beautiful they must be in person! Thank you so much for showing us these!

Brad

As always, Celest, your garden is gorgeous and is paying you for the works you have done on i through the years with continuing breathtaking beauty. I would love to spend some time just sitting in the paradise you have created, The weeds encroached on pretty much everyone as the season passed along, and you will be able to get in there and clear up whatever is bothering you that we aren't seeing for the lovely flowers. Just stay off those walls cause we get a bit more fragile each year.

kay

Celeste - what a treat and an inspiration to see all this beauty! I'm saving the thread as well to enjoy when the snows fly! Thank you!

Alex

Mantis, the roses in the last photo are: dark pink = Pomponella Fairy Tale; and pale cream/pink is Cream Flower Circus, also known as Garden of Roses; it takes on a fuller form when completely opened. Both are floribundas by Kordes of Germany.

Sherry, we have what are known as glacial erratics here too, brought down by the ice 200 million years ago. There is one called Madison Boulder that is one of the largest in the world. Yes, it's so humungous it has it's own name! LOL. They estimate it weighs 5,000 TONS. If it was in my yard it would dwarf my house! It's always a challenge to dig where there's lots of rocks but at least I make use of them building garden beds.

Thanks for all the comments everyone!

I think a Thesaurus full of great adjectives might cover how beautiful your gardens are. Love the mass of colors. Right up my alley............Maryl

I am on my phone right now, but will really have to look at this thread again when I am on the computer. Your garden looks great Celeste even with my phone. Could be featured in any garden magazine, I am just so impressed with how tidy everything looks. Just absolutely beautiful. Your roses are so perfect, is there a single bit of black spot on a leaf? I had a lot of trouble with that, even with spraying. Would still have a few roses though if Japanese beetles did not devour them

Celeste, do you fertilize your plants? Or they naturally look this wonderful because of the good soil you start out with? If you do fertilize or amend your soil annually, what do you use?

Thanks, Maryl, Nancy and Karen!

Nancy, I downsized from over 300 rosebushes to fewer than 30 now because of the Japanese beetles. Roses were my first love and it pained me to do away with them but there was no point to all my effort just to feed the beetles. So I was very selective with which ones I kept. Only the most disease-resistant, hardy, and those that were not beetle magnets stayed. I never spray but these 'keepers' never succumb to blackspot or disease...they're just naturally healthy. Otherwise I would have chucked them. It is truly 'survival of the fittest' in my garden. I got tired of being a slave to my roses.

Karen, I do very little fertilizing. I don't even think I did at all this year. My garden has gotten to be too much for me. It all depends on how tight my budget is in any given year....lol. If I have the cash I will go to the feed store for fertilizer but many years I let it slide. I have used fish emulsion, Miracle-Gro, or milorganite in the past (not all at once, of course, but have used those). One thing I do every year in the fall is mulch with shredded leaves (mostly oak). I don't know if I will this year because of my injury but I do feel that the shredded leaves amend the soil nicely. The best part is they're FREE and DH has a leaf shredder machine and we have so much leaf drop in the fall that we have to get rid of them anyway. Other than that, I am thinking my plants sense I'm crazy about them and they just grow on love.:)

Thanks Celeste! Just wondering what your magic formula was! Just as I thought. It isn't something that can be bought. :)

Celeste, I wish I lived near you! I'd so enjoy seeing your gardens up close. And I'd try not to become that annoying neighbor who is dropping in too often... =)

Hee hee - me, too.

Alex

I would LOVE to have all of you come and visit.....more than you know! None of my neighbors are into gardening and my adult children are not gardeners. I have begged extended family to come over but everyone is too busy these days. My husband likes the overall effect the gardens lend but doesn't actually study any of my plants up close and tells me that 'all daylilies look alike' which of course gets me fired up. I could have all of you back me up when I attack him....lol.

I found a few more pictures for those of you still looking.....

some more of my raised rock beds for the daylilies.....

I’m speechless, can’t find the words to describe the beauty here!

Sherry

Good God, Celeste - how can you have been caring for all this by yourself for years now? Did you build those rock walls as well?

Yup, your gardens are to die for !!! I so wish that I could visit . So much love poured into those gardens . Those folks near you friends and family have no clue what they are missing .

I feel like I am watching one of those infomercials where they keep saying, “But wait, there’s more!” Because you keep throwing more beauty out here. If I remember correctly you did indeed build those walls and borders yourself, did you not? Just more lovely garden you are sharing. I do know the feeling-no one comes to view my gardens either. I may run into neighbors at the market and they might say “Nice flowers“ but not interested enough to actually come look.

Kate

I too would love to see the gardens! Love these pictures Celeste!

From the sounds of things, most of us don't get visitors like we'd like. I give an invitation on Facebook and in Sunday School class every year, and last year finally one couple came by. And I have another friend that always takes what I've split [but her husband now said she has enough]. But that is all.

THANKS you guys.....you're the best!

Yes, I did build all those beds and borders of rocks myself. Crazy, I know. And there's more to it than meets the eye because the rocks had to first be dug out of the ground. Then stacked and built up, which isn't easy because they're mostly round rocks, not the wonderful flat landscaping rocks you can buy. Sometimes they tumble down since they're not cemented in place and they're assorted sizes. They aren't the prettiest but they are FREE and I refuse to buy better-looking rocks....:) Then I had to move loam by wheelbarrow from the loam pile to the beds (I buy screened loam to avoid all the small stones that are naturally in the soil). My yard was all forest when I moved here and there are still roots and stumps from all the trees we cut down so it is impossible to plant directly in the ground. That's why I make raised beds. You can understand now why my getting so severely injured has been upsetting. I have always been strong and able to do anything I want and recovery has been super slow and I question if I can handle all the workload from now on. But considering I hurt myself because I fell off a rock wall, maybe I should stay away from rocks from now on!! LOL

Celeste - don't stop doing what you're doing. But yes, you will have to slow down and take it easier than you have. You have accomplished something amazingly beautiful, as have others here on this forum. Carry on, but stay off the rock walls. :)

Alex

Just amazing! Those rocks must weigh at least 20lbs and more. Your garden is a piece of paradise and a treat for all of us to see. Thank you for sharing! May these photos give you comfort and sweet dreams while your arm and shoulder are healing.

Absolutely lovely gardens, Celeste. You have created a place of beauty. If you are serious about visitors, send me a message since I am within relatively easy driving distance, just north of Concord, NH, and you would be equally welcome here. I have visited with a couple of other New England gardeners I met here on garden web (New England forum) and have truly enjoyed the visits. My garden has got to one of the few in NH without rocks since we are on outwash from a glacial period lake and are on a giant bed of mixed sediments.

i noticed your posts in the various color and pattern threads. I would love suggestions of sources for daylilies that do well in the frozen north. Do you buy locally or mostly mail order?

Wishing you continued healing. Thanks so much for posting your photos!

Hi NHBabs! It's nice to hear from a fellow Granite-stater. It's hard to believe after yesterdays frigid temps (Brrrrr) and all this SNOW that one day we can even dare to dream about visiting gardens....it seems like a faraway dream. I hope I will be able to keep up with my gardens next year. I got zero fall cleanup done and now spring will be a daunting task. IF I can get my garden to be presentable I will contact you. I would love a garden friend. Thanks for your kind invitation.

As for daylily sources, my favorite one is Harmon Hill Farm in Hudson. Maybe you have heard of them? Carl and Marlene Harmon are wonderful friends and sell thousands of varieties directly from their field (which is a lovely way to spend a day). I have bought many of mine from them and because they are grown right here in NH you know they will be hardy. As for other sources, I have done mail-order from many different vendors and even off the Lily Auction. What I like about going to the Harmons is that you get to see the daylily personally. You can judge for yourself if it is what you want in your garden and how well it grows. Many times I ordered something online and realized it doesn't grow well here or that the photos of it made it look better than it really was. They do have a website so you can get your wish list made over the long winter. Take care and stay warm!

Thanks so much, Celeste. I appreciate the recommendation of Harmon Hill Farm; I will check them out. While I welcome a break from the garden and enjoy snow, I wouldn’t mind if winter didn’t start quite as early as it did this year! Having the website to daydream with will be fun. I have been taking note of several of the photos you have posted as doing well for you, figuring that our gardens have similar enough conditions that daylilies that thrive in your garden should be happy in mine as well.

Enjoy the winter. Hoping that your garden has weathered your enforced break well.