Nasturtium 'Cherry Rose'
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Onward with the tour,
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Onward with the tour,
Moving on. This installment is the second garden "room." The photos were taken in the summers of 2008 and 2009. Referring to my map at the bottom of the page, we're looking at the north lawn and beds 7, 5, 2 and 8. In this photo, the patio is just to the right.
Obviously this is 2009 because my lawn is looking pathetic. There was an unfriendly grass species launching a takeover and this photo shows my continued [and unsuccessful] attempt at eradication. Lawn is not one of my higher priorities, obviously.
The dark foliage just above the 7 is Azara microphylla a casualty of Winter 2008. It lived happily for ten years in my Zone 8 garden, with deliciously scented flowers in April.
The red Japanese maple is a seedling from my friend Carol's tree. It keeps its red foliage all summer unlike some species that darken and fade as summer wears on. How cool is that? In the container is Cupressus macrocarpa 'Wilma Goldcrest.'
Icky lawn.
These last two photos are looking north
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35 COMMENTS, Click here to add yours:
Grace, did you forget to give this post a name? It won't be available for picking. With or without a name I enjoyed it, as always! Colors, textures, shapes ... everything is here! Ideas are everywhere, in each picture. Paths and containers - I need to incorporate them into my garden. Your garden is an inspiration.
As for the burning garden waste, it would remind me of my life in a countryside. But it was before the idea of recycling was born!
Dear Grace, No, neither am I able to understand the mentality of people who a)light bonfires on the first spring day and b)who light them in a residential area. Happily, in London all bonfires are disallowed by law. As you say, there is every opportunity to recycle.
Your garden is packed with interesting plants which, one can easily see, are very carefully arranged not only for colour, but form and texture as well. I imagine that with such close planting weeds are less of a problem than they might otherwise be.
What I do so enjoy about the tour, and I trust that there will be more, is the way that the garden unfolds - to see a garden in one instance is a little dull.
Hi, Grace ~ Beautiful! I love to look at your garden. The red maple is very pretty. One day, I hope to get rid of our grass and just have outdoor rooms. Thanks for the info about the oxalis. It's not my birthday. Actually, I stopped at 40. Earth day is my birthday. 4/22/?
Neighbors are like family you can pick them. I have a couple in my neighborhoods that are the most inconsiderate people on earth. Regarding your problem, don’t you have a local ordinance about open fires? We do in our county and violators get big time fines.
The pictures of your garden are lovely.
None of our neighbors here use a burn pile, but at our last house our next door neighbor was not the brightest bulb and he decided to do his burn pile in the summer, and used gas. Up went a few trees as well! We lived in Coburg at the time and they don't do yard debris recycling.
A few questions for you...are your hydrangeas naturally pink or do you change them with amendments? I also notice your hostas look fantastic for being in the Pacific NW, and are not chowed like lettuce. What do you do for your slug/ snail control?
Grace, Your flower beds are so beautiful that I wouldn't even have noticed the icky lawn. I'm with you on the burning issues; I'm surprised that your municipality hasn't banned outdoor burning yet. -Jean
Grace, it is always a wonderful surprise, and a treat to see more of your garden.
How absolutely beautiful.
Jen
Grace,
You could call the fire department, surely the city has an ordinance against burning in town. We live out in the county and rarely burn. I have been known to burn off the hillside to the pond, but now that meg lives here I don't do it.
Pulled up 20 gallons of rooted acorns today in the main perennial bed. Meg got in 3 rows of peas too.
Grace, you do yourself a disservice to include that rant along with beautiful tour pictures! All I want to talk about how rude the burning is!!! RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE! But beautiful pictures...
Grace, I could not care less about your lawn ... why not throw out a carpet or blanket with pillows... in shades of pink of course. Really who would notice your lawn when there is a paradise all around it!? Just beautiful! I love the stone paths too! I cannot find the number 7 in the fourth picture where I think you refer to your Azara m. being lost?? I see 8 ... you do not mean that you lost that beautiful tree ... wait a minute is that a seven on the ground... you lost the one on the right ?... there are two dark foliage trees here... to lose either would be awful... sorry for your loss. Ten years is a long time to know a tree. Now as for the ranting which is quite justified... I admit to being a brush burner... but my smoke goes into the forest or up into the air... not good in any case... only I have to do something with it and there are just so many piles I can make for wildlife. Having said this... I would NEVER burn if I were in a neighborhood! You should talk to your neighbors and get a petition and take it to your selectmen and women. The town should not allow it. Good grief who knows what they may be burning! That is just awful. I do feel for you ... just when it is lovely outdoors you have to go inside... close all your windows. Do they give you any warning? These kind of people make me so upset! Thoughtless... no excuse. Good Luck! You cannot make enemies of your neighbors I know ... very sticky... what to do... I suppose you have tried to reason with them? Truly the town should not allow it ... what if you had asthma!? I will have to go back and look at your beautiful garden shots to calm down. ;>)
You rant as much as you like, Grace! Your garden looks so gorgeous, it doesn't deserve to be sullied by smoke and selfishness
You really took the trouble to place each beautiful plants in their specific position. Lovely.
Burning is bad for the enviornment and even to the nature. The smoke can even kill some beneficial insects.
My personal pet peeve is, well, I actually have two or three...But the one that really makes me crazy is the the neighbor who has to mow/weedwhack/leaf blow early in the morning.
Your garden has a wonderful richness that makes me think anew of my early dreams of an English cottage garden. Today is the first time I noticed the hardscape of pebbles, paving bricks and mulch that give structure and are the perfect foil for the plants.
Gail
I totally totally agree with you on your rant! I was raised too southern to actually say anything to a neighbor who is quite frankly pissing me off, but I indulge in wild imaginings of exacting revenge. Downtown we are on top of each other, so by now I have elaborate plots against everyone! hehe.
As far as your gardens I might have to copycat. I just love them. Colors and shapes and everything.
Ah, that tour was breathtaking, Grace. As far as the rant, I say rant away and hope to change opinions over time. We don't live in suburbia, but my parents do... and when I visited a couple of weekends ago, I was horrified by a woman down the street burning all day for two straight days. The stink even seeped into my parents house by the second night -- and they're up the hill, many yards away. Then my sis, who lives in a much more posh version of suburbia up north, complained that the same thing happened to her and her husband the next weekend, and it was prolonged enough to get into the house and linger for days.
It's horrible! :(
p.s. What I love about your lawn is how tiny it is... and how it doesn't distract one from focusing full and rapt attention on the gorgeous borders and beds. :)
Grace - I have the solution - your neighbour should move next to my neighbour - I will move next to you - and then the two could burn to their heart's content! Mine has a knack of choosing days like you described for his bonfires. He also has a small dog that yaps incessantly at times :( On a more cheerful note your borders look in the pink as always :)
Yowza! Your garden is smokin'!
In New York State, it's illegal to burn "stuff" anyplace. Still happens. But not in the city where I am -- nothing worse than barbecues.
The garden is stunning. Luckily, here in my neck of the woods, we don't have such burning problems. I am, actually, the only person on the block who tends to his own garden. Everyone else has gardeners whom haul it all away. I think if someone did burn last year's vegetation, I would be happy that they were at least putting in the effort.
I would rant about that topic too! ugh. I also wouldn't think it would be allowed "in town" as they say. I know we have ordinances prohibiting that here too and a superb recycling service so there's no reason for it.
Does this happen just one time a year? or often?
Now back to your garden. I hardly even looked at your grass either ~ there's so much else to see. I think you have the kind of garden you have to look at over and over again. So much stuffed into it and it's all fabulous. I really love how you use containers.
Loving this garden tour! I didn't even notice your grass, just all the lush green and pink in your gardens! Grass is at the bottom of my priority list. I actually mowed mostly moss this weekend and I don't even care that the moss has taken over :)
I can't believe in a suburban neighborhood people were burning, that seems wrong to me in many ways. Some people are just clueless I guess.
Hi Grace. Your county must not have laws about burning yard waste. A few years ago, the situation got so bad in the area where my parents live, I would get this horrible feeling of smothering when I went to visit them. (I have allergies that are aggravated by air pollution.) People with asthma or serious problems must have been in a panic. Recently the county passed laws to stop the burning and force people to recycle organic materials. I sympathize with you, your neighbors must be clods.
Marnie
First -- your rant -- I'm amazed your neighbor gets away with that! It's illegal to burn around here, and I don't even live in the city limits.
Next -- oh, those gardens of yours -- I could just drool over your pictures all day long. Just gorgeous.
Ugh to the burn pile! I feel the same way about all the power mowers and leaf blowers, they always fire up on the nicest days too. Noise pollution on top of the air pollution. Yuck!
Lovely lovely garden pics - who cares about the lawn, with all those other gorgeous plants to look at! :) I bought 2 'Wilma Goldcrest's last year and never planted them. They seem to have survived. Love the vintage bucket yours is planted in - maybe I will have to steal that idea!
Glad you liked the pink post in your honor. It is just the pinkest time of year around here and who better than you to truly appreciate it?!
Oh, Lordy I hate to think what would have happened if the wind had been coming into your yard.LOL! I live in the sticks and no one hardly ever burns outdoors anymore. The only thing around here is burning is the campfires at the parks. Then it usually just smells of something good and makes me hungry. LOL!
Another pretty tour of part of your garden.You just have so much in all of the nooks and crannies. Love the hydrangea and roses.
Girl is just doesn't take long to mow your north lawn. ;-)
Lona
Grace, yes you are missing something. Well, not you, personally. Your municipality is missing a by-law to prohibit the burning of garden debris. By-laws help keep the peace between neighbors.
Shouldn't every post begin with a rant;) We have burning here in the Last Frontier, but quite often our summers are very dry and the Fire Department will put a burn ban in effect. Not too many years ago a man burned some of his brush and thought he put it out. He ended up burning hundreds of acres near our town and the fire departments all over the area had to scramble to get it contained and away from the "big" city. Open fires are for rural areas only in my humble opinion. Though I do enjoy a firepit in the garden (but that's contained).
Maybe you should do a top five "annoying habits of neighbors" post.
Christine in Alaska
I so agree about the burning leaves! I'm loving this tour of your garden!
I have a life theory that everyone has to have an annoying neighbor - it's some sort of universal law. Bummer about the burning, that's a frightful habit for a neighbor to have. It's funny that I have never even considered that you have neighbors - you do such a good job of completely screening out the existence of surrounding properties. Enjoying the tour. Happy spring, I'm sure some of your plants are starting to reappear now.
I'm so enjoying the tour of your beautiful garden Grace. You can rant as much as you like, I'm with you all the way!
Jeanne
Everyone around us has burn piles. There are strict rules about when the burning can take place, but...these guys burn plastic! The stench is horrible, and can't possibly be less than horrible for health. Can we hatch a devious plot to stop the madness? Count me in if you think of one.
On a happier note, I love the way you indulge your passion for pink without getting all gooey. You are slowly winning over this decidedly unpinko gardener.
Grace, your rant is completely justified. I'm eternally grateful the City of Portland where I live bans yard burning (it can be downright dangerous, but I think their objection is environmental hazards). We have been known to offend briefly when lighting our barbeque, but it only lasts a few minutes...sorry neighbors!
The tour posts are lovely and so welcome when our outdoors is just beginning to come back to life. Thank you for the gorgeous pinks and greens!
There is a subdivision above the farm and this afternoon one of the neighbors lit a total smoke bomb. Gee, thanks.
Lovely views of your garden!
I know what you mean, Grace...a more rural area is fine, but not in suburbia. It really does seep into your curtains, rugs and furniture, too. I used to have that problem when I was in an apartment and left my windows open...so thoughtless. And I think it IS illegal in most suburban areas, you might want to check that out & file some reports if you haven't in the past.
As for your garden, I drool whenever I come to your blog! I don't know how on earth you manage it...I would love to have that to go out and 'play' in!! Love your 'lawn', too...labeling North and South sound so formal & sophisticated! You have the right idea with very little grass to maintain.
Too bad you didn't have a nice dead warthog or fetching road kill that you could have brought over to ask them to smoke for you. If nothing else, they'd be sure you weren't around the next time they decided to set the neighbourhood a blaze. I'm with Jim - your garden is 'smokin'. Gorgeous textures, layers, colours - I'd put a blanket on the lawn and just dream away.
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