Open gardens 2019
garden nut z9b
5 years ago
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Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Show Us Your Landscape/Gardens - A Photo Thread - February 2019
Comments (29)Claire, I have saved one in the past and think (italics) that the bulb bloomed again, but with fewer blossoms. Too many years ago. This bulb may have spent himself having produced 13 blossoms -- a twisted stem of 4 blossoms and 2 straight stalks, 5 blossoms on one stalk and 4 on the other, but I will save him. When the blooms are fully spent, I'll remove the stalks leaving the leaves on the bulb throughout the summer. I will put them outside by the end of May, post frost date. Previously, I put a finished bulb in shade, facing north next to the garage, and did nothing until mid-October, pre-frost, when I removed the leaves and trimmed its dried roots. Then started all over in new soil, but I really think that held-over bulb had less enthusiasm for a second go. I have two to hold over this year, so we'll see if a north-facing summer outdoors encourages either to become energetic in autumn. Jane...See MoreBirds and other mobile features in the garden 2019 #3
Comments (76)Nice thought about the nursery, but the garage pet door has been closed since losing Ivy in May, 2017. Years ago there was an opossum nursery in a corner of the garage in back of a stack of old storm windows. Several times the mom fell into our recycle bin in the garage which is how we saw 'playing possum' in action, or, the lack thereof. After Ivy, the cat hole remained open until the smell of rotting squirrels in back of the lawn tractor was noticed. I assumed it was a fox that was coming in the generously-sized pet panel door and using the garage as a pantry. Disposal of the squirrel carcasses (3 - all pointing the same way one on top of the other stacked by a methodical being), and having to clean everything, made closing the cat hole an easy choice. Now, when opening the door to the garage, I no longer face shining eyes or hear anything larger than a mouse. It's a fairly busy wildlife backyard, a 1/2 acre of native plants and trees for them to use, so I've chosen to make life a bit easier for me by not meeting strangers in the garage. Raccoon was startled by something that did not enter the camera's range. I'll never know what made him/her stand at attention. But 44 minutes later, she, or a family member, returned. I'd like a 360° camera. Need an overhead cam or aerial surveillance, lol. Now there's an idea... Jane...See MoreShow Us Your Landscape and Gardens - A Photo Thread - June 2019
Comments (49)I’m back. I didn’t get a chance to take the photos I was looking for, but I’ll try again tomorrow. I was just looking back over this thread, and I see I missed some of the posts. Deanna, you asked for updates on the Amsonia. I just noticed yesterday, that it is still blooming and looking very fresh. And I’m happy to hear that your Northern Hi Lights azalea is fragrant. I’m going to keep that in mind. You have a lot of Rhododendron and Azaleas. I have very few. I should try for more. You have a sailboat - how amazing. It’s out of the water getting painted - will you be getting it back in the water this summer? That’s a nice combo with the fringed dianthus and the Geranium. I like the pink. I wish I had more geraniums. I saw an article in a garden magazine years ago of a collector of cranesbill - wow - her garden was amazing. She had all kinds of them, Tall ones too and they all mingled together really well. I haven’t seen anything like it since and I am always on the lookout for some of the varieties I remember but I haven’t seen any yet. Maybe I dreamed it. [g] My Nepeta is still blooming. It’s having a great year. Still upright in full sun. Reminds me, I have Salvia, that I just started to cut back on to allow for rebloom and I looked out the window and saw gold finches sitting on the stems and appear to be eating something. I didn’t think there could be seed right now. I didn’t know they like Salvia. That is a very pretty color on that viola. Claire, Your Hosta near your railing is getting so big. I have Geranium ‘Biolkovo’ as well. What a great, easy care plant it is. I also have ‘Karmina’ with it. They are a good combo. Yours looks so pretty with the bleeding heart. Look at how tall your foxglove look. And erect. I am going to have to take a photo of how badly rusted some of my foxglove are this year. I don’t remember having that happen before. I think one I have is ‘Snow Thimble’? I was just noticing that I have two Foxglove that are very robust with healthy foliage and one just started blooming and to my surprise it is sturdier, stockier flowers and stems. I was at the nursery where I bought them last and I spotted them there. Good thing because I couldn’t remember the name of them and really want to have more of them. It’s a Digitalis mertonensis. What a difference next to the purpurea. The foliage is completely clean, with erect flower stems, next to rusted flopped over purpurea. I’ve been noticing amazing blooms on the Kousa dogwoods in our neck of the woods. They must love all the rain. Aren’t you lucky to have daylilies that your Mom might have planted. And fragrant too. I haven’t netted my blueberries either and the birds will get them, I’m sure....See MoreShow Us Your Landscape and Gardens - A Photo Thread - July 2019
Comments (69)I went to Michael Gordon’s garden about 5 years ago as one of about 6 or 7 gardens in a full weekend of garden visits. He used to keep a blog but I stopped checking it when he seemed to lose interest a few years ago. I guess he moved over to Instagram. I really love those Garden Conservancy open garden days. It has large sprawling rural gardens like mine and small jewel boxes like Michael Gordon’s or Deanne’s just chockablock full of beautiful and often unusual plants, and I learn from them all. I did notice Dr. Gordon’s Stewartias. The first one I saw after hearing about them here on GW is at Cole Gardens in Concord, NH, part of the display gardens there. And several are scattered around the UNH campus so I make time at work to periodically to pass by them, among other unusual trees there. I have tried clematis in a bunch of different shrubs and have had varied success. I’ve found that the size of the clematis needs to not overwhelm the shrub and a less densely leafed clem like Little Bas works better. The shrub needs to have stiff enough branches to support their own blooms as well as the clematis, so Quickfire hydrangea works well, but Strawberry Vanilla hydrangea wouldn’t. Suckering shrubs don’t work, but Donald Wyman lilac, which is a different species than common lilac and doesn’t sucker, works well. And when I plant, they are usually something like 4’ apart, depending on the shrub’s expected size, and planted at the same time. I give the clematis an inexpensive support, usually bamboo, for the first couple of years since the shrub typically takes longer to size up. But the majority of my clematis have metal supports and if they wander into nearby shrubs it is a coincidence like the dark purple one in the elderberry....See More
jacqueline9CA
5 years agojakekuro
5 years agogarden nut z9b
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
jerijen
5 years agoI can second Jackie's recommendation of "Schmidt's Smooth Yellow." It's wonderful in my Coastal SoCal garden -- and totally disease-free. Buds show traces of red but open to a beautiful butter yellow . . .
And eventually fade to a pleasing warm white, so that the bush is multicolored.
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
5 years agojacqueline9CA
5 years agogarden nut z9b
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoAnother good rose in the catalogue is miss keays pink noisette “faded pink monthly“. it can do well in areas that roses normally wont do well. Mine is in a Raised rockery area with a bamboo like plant behind it and it blooms well and puts out a lot of growth.
pacrnca
5 years agogarden nut z9b
5 years agojacqueline9CA
5 years ago
Rosylady (PNW zone 8)
5 years ago
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jacqueline9CA