Wow, Marlorena, you pack an astonishing amount of lovely garden into a small space! Could you let us know how large your lot is? Your garden is a great example of the fact that having limited space will not prevent anyone from having a great garden!

OK - others of you out there - let's see your "long shots" too!

Jackie

..thanks so much... I'm glad you liked them..

Vaporvac… that rose is 'Felicia' the hybrid musk... I know Erasmus has a huge bush of this rose which puts mine to shame... but I do have to keep things in check here otherwise I would be swamped... thanks again..

I don't know the actual size of the garden Jackie, but it's larger than many modern properties have these days here...

Marlorena...your garden is absolutely beautiful! The way you grow your roses shows your expert pruning and training skills. Do you know how many roses you grow in total? I love the way you have your climbers trained on the fences, and all the perennials mixed in with the roses. It's pure English heaven :)

All beautiful! These are some for my garden from last spring. The first one is Queen of Sweden.

-Chris

Fantastic photos Marlorena and Chris.

Sweeping lawns and curvy paths, wonderful Chris... not everything is seen at once..

Roselady.. thank you.. only about 60 roses now I think... I can't manage any more than that... I try to make it look more than it is.. thanks so much..

Stephanie.. I like your landscaping and those Lemon Lime Nandinas... I might see if I can get one.. nice bright foliage...

Hmmm..I just tried to post more pics, and the post entirely disappeared (after the pics appeared to work.) Will try again, with fewer pictures at a time.

Also, I want to thank Chris for posting the stunning long shot pictures of his (her?) garden - so inviting - they make the viewer want to walk down those paths toward the distant vista. Perfect.

The below pics (which I guess I should post 1 at a time) were taken mostly last year:

Peeking in to our little side garden from the driveway:

Straight on view from the Southern part of the sidewalk in front of our house:

Here is another one - Full on view of the garden taken from the Southern part of the sidewalk:

Getting brave - will try 2 this time:

Sidewalk facing North from the middle of the sidewalk in front of our property:

Last one - sidewalk also facing North, from the Southern edge of our property:

You must be famous in your neighborhood!

Wonderful photos everyone! Thanks so much for sharing!

Jackie and Rosylady, I love your properties so much. You've done such great jobs with them. Rosylady, what kind of poles are those that you made the tripods out of? Marlorena beautiful as always. Always just an explosion of color. What is the Rose in the 9 photo? Unfortunately my photos were taken in early spring and you can't really get an idea of what the garden looks like when all the annuals fill in and more perennials are in bloom.

So, Chris, the solution to your last remark is to be sure and post more pictures on here in a couple of months, or whenever your garden is in full bloom! So lovely. Marlorena has a fantastic garden in a small space, and our lot is only 1/3rd of an acre (lots of which is taken by the house & driveway), so it is so nice to see your expansive space and what you have done with it!

Jackie

Chris.. thanks.. it's 'Mme. Antoine Mari' in photo no. 9... I prune it back to 3 foot each winter to keep it compact for the summer... we need to see more of your garden this year...

Fantastic Jackie, as usual... not everyone would bother with areas outside of their own boundaries..

A lot of hard work has gone into everyone's gardens here...

Lovely thread. I've said before, Jackie, that I'd be walking my dog daily past your garden, if I was lucky enough to live nearby. Love the view through the arbour.

Stephanie, I'm intrigued by what appears to be a large drop next to your garden? I love your path, and as Marlorena said, what a pretty, fresh green the nandina is. I look forward to seeing more photos as your roses mature.

Marlorena, I'm down to about 20 roses. I'm amazed that you have managed to pack in 60. Such a treat to see more of your garden.

Chris, what a lovely photo with QOS in the foreground. I want to step right into it, mug of tea in hand, one early Spring morning.

I've posted this before, but it's the only 'long shot' of my garden I have. Taken at dusk. Unfortunately for taking photos here, with my rubbish phone camera, the light is usually too strong.

Titian, with a shot like that, one doesn't need many. Exquisite. I know these aren't "long shots", but I'm sure everyone here would enjoy seeing pics of your stone steps and reflecting pond with the water lilies.

Vaporvac - that is one lovely photo!

Marlorena, when we moved in here I inquired with the City, and as they have no money to maintain the strips next to the sidewalk, they said it was OK to plant on them. We do make sure to keep short paths (there are 4 of the, not counting our driveway) which go from the street to the sidewalk, so drivers can get out of their cars after parking.

Jackie

I'd love to claim credit for such a lovely Garden but I think that's titians!😉

chris209....your garden is so beautiful! I love the sweeping lawn with the curving beds filled with shrubs and flowers. It reminds me of our next door neighbour's garden when I was a child. When you entered their backyard, it was a paradise with a large, lush green lawn in the center and beautiful beds all around it. It looked like a park! I remember that he was always at war with the moles...everyday he was out there with homemade concoctions trying to smoke them out, poison them, capture them, or scare them. It was very entertaining :)

Jackie...I agree with vaporvac, if I were your neighbour I would go on a walk every day to see your garden! What a gift to the neighbourhood.

titan....your garden is stunning with the tree and the evergreens and the terracing. I really love the way the tree is a focal point.

Thank you Rosylady. It’s definitely very peaceful back there, although I’m usually out there working and not relaxing :) Found a few more older pics on my iPad but they don’t show much of the roses. The property is a half acre but probably seems larger in the photos.

Chris, love the QOS and the way the bearded iris pick up the color of your weeping tree! The pink tulips are gorgeous, I love tulips and don't have any at my house. I love the second to last picture with the river birch? and the small green and white plants. They look like they would sway in the wind and I like movement in a garden. The textures are perfect!

Jacqueline, This is such a neat arbor going into your side garden, if I were a kid that is where I would play and it would be my fort! The sidewalk parade of blooms would brighten anyone's day and I think it's so wonderful when people that grow beautiful gardens are willing to share the beauty with others freely. I can think how it would be a highlight to anyone whose having a bad day to drive by and see the beauty or walk and smell the blooms.

Trish, that's a gorgeous picture! I love the stone with the evergreens! What kind of tree it that, centerstage? It's lovely!

Thank you all for posting your pictures, it's so inspiring!

Chris - more lovely long shot pictures! Thank you so much! My favorite is the one with the pond and the vista beyond it.

Nola and Roselady, thanks for the comments. Nola - here is a pic which is a better pic of the arbor you noticed, although not much is blooming except the hostas. My DH designed and built it from scratch, and it keeps some of our very old very large bushes from falling down and blocking the path:

Jacqueline, beautiful shape to it and such a charming, idyllic entry! It's great that your husband could build it, it suits the spot perfectly!

Such lovely gardens! Thank you all for posting pictures! So many beautiful scenes to help keep us fed until Spring. :) And so much inspiration. I’m afraid my gardens are nowhere near large or coherent enough to warrant long shots. You have given me something to strive for.

chris209...wow!!! I am glad you posted these non-rosy shots You're right, because of the way you've designed your garden with the winding paths and trees it looks much bigger. I also like your color palette of the whites, pinks and purples...it adds to the relaxing feel. Do you have kids? If so, they must enjoy playing in that garden.

jackie....you are so lucky to have a husband who builds structures! That's a beautiful way to hold up your large climbers and keep the path clear.

Thanks Nola. All the stone work was here when I bought the house, so I can't claim any credit! My neighbour told me it was done by a chap from the Botanic Gardens in Sydney in the 40's. The tree was probably planted around then too. It's a Jacaranda.

Trish

This thread almost brought me to tears because I'd forgotten quite how incredibly beautiful your gardens are. This has been food for the soul. I don't have any recent photos because the rats, rabbits and ground squirrels have eaten every perennial, small bush and bulb (irises) that I had, and the bottoms of all the roses, so it's very sad-looking. I'll just post pictures from before the summer of 2018 when all the devastation began.

Some more photos.....

Absolutely Exquisite Ingrid. Did the rain last year help at all?

Ingrid, your garden is so peaceful and elegant! You really have the touch to bring grace and beauty to your home! Love the picture with the pink blossom tree! We have problems with rabbits, then last summer a cat just showed up out of the blue (probably someone dropped it off) and problem solved. We also have some large hawks here. :)

Trish, I should've known a Jacaranda, I follow someone on Insta berry.cottage.gardener and her tree is always to impressive. You have a beautiful place there to relax and enjoy!

All of these pictures have given me ideas, thank you!

Ingrid...there's just something about your garden...maybe it's the mist, or the hills, but it's just so beautiful and atmospheric. The antique shrub roses look particularly good in your garden....maybe the colors juxtaposed against the gray and brown of the rocks and hills. It's a truly one-of-a-kind rose garden!

Thank you so much, Vapor, Nola and Rosylady, for your wonderfully kind comments. I'm so grateful for the years I enjoyed here of having a garden, and if it's not so great now at least I have the memories and the photos. The rain we had over the last two days have made the remaining roses (around 30 of the 80+ I used to have) produce large and healthy new shoots, so I am happily looking forward to some lovely spring blooms!

I am so excited you got rain, Ingrid! I cannot wait for your photos. We really need you here.

Ingrid, thanks for sharing. All your photos are just lovely. I hope your garden grows beautifully this year. Just curious, any idea why you have such a rodent overpopulation issue in recent years. You'd think drought would cause their populations to dwindle. Have the predators disappeared for some reason?

Ingrid, what is that beautiful pink rose in the second picture with the very large blooms? I think I need that one. ;)

Ingrid, I have missed you this winter, but totally understand taking a break. Your garden makes my heart skip a beat. Hopefully the owls, hawks and coyotes that I know should be in your area will find your garden soon. I was so relieved that we started to get rain again. That last storm brought 0.7 inches to my garden. I got a rain gauge to measure.
Chris, I love your garden. It reminds me of my grandma’s yard. We always loved to visit and play in the yard.
Jackie, your sidewalk plantings are stunning. I would be walking there every day,if I live near you.
Titian, your garden looks so peaceful and such beautiful blue leaves on that tree. Our patio is 3-4 feet higher than the surrounding garden so that is probably the drop you are seeing next to the Lemon-Lime Nandina planters.

Thank you all! I'll try to be more of a presence here as much as I can. We had quite a bit of rain two days ago, and also today, so yay! I'm cautiously optimistic about spring bloom, although fewer than a third of my roses are still alive. The rat problem is pretty serious here and I haven't heard why the increase. I've heard of rats in friends' gardens lined up on the fence in a row, even during the daytime, or dozens of them snacking in fruit trees. I'm hoping that the predator population is on the upswing, with hungry little ones to feed soon. For several years the predators seemed to be in a decline overall, and I suppose these things go in cycles. Still, the garden is not presentable with so many bare patches where the roses used to be, and my beloved irises and every other perennial gone. Fortunately some of the sea lavender remains and is blooming.

Nola, that rose is Bishop's Castle. I still have it but have moved it to a different spot since the afternoon sun was too much for it there. If I were to plant new roses, which I very much doubt, I would plant them only where they receive afternoon shade. I wish I could find a plant, short of cacti and succulents, that the critters would not eat, but with time they ate everything, including all the plants I bought because they were touted as being unpalatable to animals. At this point I'll enjoy the roses that are still left, and be immensely grateful for any rain and predator that comes my way.

These are VERY EARLY SPRING (mid March) 2 long shots of the garden along the sidewalk in front of our front garden, TAKEN YESTERDAY. I don't usually post these sorts of pictures, as they only show some early flowers and roses blooming, but thought I would this time. The massive amount of bright orange bulbs are sparaxis, which are bulbs from South Africa which love our climate. They spread here, obviously. The colors also include yellow, and an amazing dark magenta, but I guess the bright orange is the original and fall back color.

Jackie

Gate on the right is the entrance to the garden. (Gate and fake stone "wall" are both original from 1905).

These are all so pretty!

erasmus....will you please post pictures of your garden? Yours is one of my favourite GW gardens!!

jackie...I love the fact that there's no soil visible at all in your garden! What a beautiful collection of flowers...swoon-worthy.

It's like walking through a wild flower meadow. Very soothing to the soul!

In those beds out by the street next to the sidewalk, we just planted 2 kinds of fairly robust ground covers - vinca minor and African daisies, and lots of bulbs, and a few roses. The ground covers battle it out, depending on the season and how much sun they get. The bulbs have all proliferated and spread around with no help from me. The roses do need to be protected from being overrun, so they are mostly behind some sort of round plastic barrier bed edging. Bare dirt invites weeds, IMO and experience. This way we have hardly any weeds, except for wild onions which are bulb weeds! (But handy to grab if you are making stew or something, and suddenly realize that you have run out of onions -

Jackie

Thank you , Roselady. You are kind. I am usually not that pleased with my attempts at long view pics of my garden. I think because the long views were not as big a priority to me when I planted it as just finding a spot to cram in another plant. My garden can look wild and wooly. It is full of paths, and small views.

Here is one long view not down a path but across a path.

Erasmus - just the kind of garden I like! I do the same thing - the issue for me is to find somewhere where a new plant will be happy - I do not "design" anything, or obsess over colors. Difference between collecting and designing, I guess. In the end, it looks like yours - the more the merrier!

Jackie

Gee, erasmus! That's gorgeous! Any chance you could share the names of those roses? They look fantastic together.

Thanks.. Golden Celebration is on the right edge. Nur Mahal is the red one near the arbor. Alchymist is on the arbor. Evelyn to the left of the arbor. The close up one is Westerland. Here is Alchymist closer up:

That's the prettiest picture yet! I think it was another of yours that made me want that rose someday. Do you have it planted next to Lavender Lassie? Dreamy!!! I had NO IDEA Nur Mahal was such a gorgeous colour!!! I need that one for me hill... I have Wilhelm which is a bit brighter maybe. Is it a climber or just a large bush?