The Garden Tour, Beds 1 & 2

Hubby, the brood and I moved to this house in November of 1997. Thanks to accommodating friends and their hefty trailer, a shamefully large number of plants came with us. My garden was born [out of dandelion-infested sprawl] the following February. I say this to all of you who have newer gardens and wonder whether yours will ever fill in and be the garden of your dreams. Unless your wallet rivals Bill Gates' [or God's] then patience will be required. But as they say, there is joy in the journey.

Okay. So here we are at the north end of the path that delineates beds 1 and 2. I developed this area as an afterthought/remedy to a failed attempt at 'Fall Gold' Raspberries. I should have known. The fence [now hidden by the plants on the left side of your screen] took the afternoon sun and raised it to deathly degrees. And to make matters worse my hose didn't reach. Now, the raspberries are re-situated and I have a better strategy for my hoses. But it still gets hotter than Hades in this area.

Four or five steps down the path, the purple spikes of Teucrium hycranicum 'Purple Trails' [You'd think it would be "tails" but apparently not] charms the resident bee population. Two years ago during a nursery outing I saw it, had to have it and that's all there was to it. And I'm thrilled to death with its continuous summer performance. It deserves a place in every dry, sunny border.

A bit farther, this photo was taken in 2008. Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' on the left above a fabulously chartreuse carpet of Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' and a doable color-echo Sedum alboroseum 'Mediovariegatum' on the right. The dang Gaura got a little too tall and had to be corralled.

This photo is also from 2008. I'm looking back from where I just came. The pink Penstemon took a major hit the following winter and very little of it was left last summer. Errant sprigs of blood-enducing Berberis thunbergii 'Rosy Glow' pop up in the foreground. In the background, the tall plant with the curvy, down-turned foliage is the aforementioned Seven-Son, not quite in bloom yet.

Do you see the mirror? It's supposed to fool you into thinking the garden is bigger than it really is. Last spring it fooled a bird into thinking it was more beguiling than it really is. [Sound familiar, Darla?] Lespedeza thunbergii with its cascading purple pea-like flowers is next to it. 'Alma Potschke' Aster is the pink flower on the left--part of the late-summer ensemble.

Phlox paniculata, Echinacea cvs. and Monarda didyma 'Raspberry Wine' stand out as we look backward along the path. Catherine pointed out how close together my plants are and she's right. There are several reasons for this, the main one being I'm a plant hoarder and have to squeeze them all into limited soil.

And the final photo is taken as I step backwards onto my north lawn. On the right is a dwarf Zebra Grass, Miscanthus sinensis 'Strictus.' On the left, next to the whiskey barrel is the deep green of Euonymous japonica 'Microphylla.' Without fail, this plant takes a hit when the temperatures dip into the teens. Tip die-back is a given but last year I lost a whole row of them. The plant you're looking at was the only one worth salvaging.

No guarantees in the garden. [Hey, a good title for a book.] Yes, the garden is always in flux. More to come.

The Garden Tour, Far North Area

Fuchsia 'Whiteknights Amethyst'

This installment will feature borders, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the arbor behind 4.

By the way, my banner photo is border 9.

All of these photos were taken between August and October, 2009.
This shot and the one below are facing south towards the rest of the garden.

Keeping with my "do it on the cheap" mantra, I used broken concrete rather than those really cool and costly flagstones. Not perfect but good enough.

Of my Hebe trials, [most are tribulations] the highest tolerance to cold temperatures goes to the tiny, silver foliaged Hebe sutherlandii. Little pruning is needed. What? You thought it looked this good with my constant primping? [tee hee] Behind it is Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten,' a larger leafed variant on the common, culinary S. o. that seems to better tolerate PNW wet winters.

The dramatic foreground foliage is Catalpa bignonoiodes. Say THAT five times real fast. Or once even. The tree is Heptacodium miconoides or Seven-Son Flower. It's not in bloom yet so this photo must have been taken in July.

Check out my burgeoning Hesperaloe parviflora or Red Yucca in the clay pot. I had a three year, ongoing frustration with local nurseries that seemed to either refuse or ignore this must-have. Finally Big Dipper Farms in Washington State came to my rescue. No blooms last year but that's because it was still a baby. I can be patient, sometimes. The Seven-sons Flower is in bloom here.


Things are leaning towards that late summer look. You know, billowy and unkempt. I'll take that right about now.

There is a chair inside the arbor for relaxing, huh, huh. Originally after hubby built this the plan was to install a bench swing. I'm glad it didn't happen because it would have proven a hindrance to my [ahem, copious] tending of the surrounding plants. [Stop laughing.]

Looking south towards the rest of the jungle.. er, garden.




My apologies for the photographic imperfections. Heuchera 'Midnight Rose.' MIDNIGHT, Grace, not noonday sun. Duh.

One last thing, if I might. Should you decide to leave a comment [thank you, thank you] could you please tell me if you can view my sidebar? It seems there are discrepancies [code for "Internet Infighting," an esoteric twist on cyber-bullying] with certain browsers and mysterious incompatibles posted on my sidebar. [Isn't it time for them to grow up? Silicon Valley, are you listening?]

Testing 1,2,3

So, here is my first post on the ever-popular Windows Live Writer, highly recommended by enamored fellow bloggers. In keeping with my oft trouble-making inquisitive nature, I’m testing its limits while simultaneously relishing one of the perks of getting older: loss of hearing. Plenty of time for all those outdoor demands knocking at my brain.

Thank you to Darla and Anna for alerting me to the MIA Comments pop-up option on my previous post . There was an issue with html, undoubtedly something I caused. Please email me if it’s still an issue. Thank you very much.

Although this photo was taken last year, my blueberry plants are almost at this stage now. I predict swarms of happy bees in short order.

Are the rest of you Blotanists as bummed as I am about Blotanical? It’s going to take a bit more effort connecting with each of you but know you’re in my thoughts.

Now, weeds, here I come.

*Caution: Gloating Ahead*

Those of you watching the Olympics probably know that, much to the consternation of the officials, El Nino weather is all about mild temps here in the Pacific Northwest. I know. I shouldn't gloat but I'm shamelessly doing it anyway. I got to play outside today. Yippee! It was enough just being able to do my thing, but I had the added pleasure of frog-speak and birdsong to serenade me and two cats with their typical aloofness doing their best to distract me. Figure that one out.

Don't you just love these dwarf Bachelor Buttons? I took this photo last summer. I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe... they will reseed.

First and foremost on the agenda, the long-overdue, wear-your-grubbies-because-you'll-be-covered-with-more-spots-than-a-teenager-on-a-chocolate-binge task known officially as STMFTP or "Scoop The Muck From The Pond." We're talking seriously long overdue, folks. I was thinking that any members of the indigenous frog families that could be considering expanding their clan might be a bit more attracted to a body of water devoid of the unmistakable anaerobic stench that comes with six inches of submerged, rotting leaves. Not just frogs either. People. Believe it or not my gardening friends, the photo below is a blurry rendition of the CLEANED pond.

The two photos below are of the same area in summer. I need to stare intently at these so the winter photo won't plummet me into an uncontrollable, crying, what's-the-use-I-suck-at-gardening fit. No water is visible thanks to the burgeoning Parrot's Feather on the far right. See it? The Parrot's Feather, I mean. Not the water because... Okay stop the merry-go-round.

Above: the pond is just to the right of the fat string of driftwood my son brought me one happy day last year. Believe it or not, I couldn't locate any photos aimed directly at the water. Weird.

Pulmonaria 'Reginald Kaye' is just one of the surprises I embraced after removing a wheelbarrow-load of last year's, uh, let's just call it "bounty."

A glance at Daphne transylvanica 'Summer Ice' makes me think of fellow Pacific Northwest gardener Catherine. Is yours about to bloom too?

Lonicera fragrantissima Winter Honeysuckle is starting to bloom. On a warm spring day this plant is nose-candy extraordinaire! In summer, however, the plant, with its random, inexplicable stem die-back, is hard pressed to garner any ribbons.

Top left: Aquilegia vulgaris 'Woodside Strain' is up and at it while party animal Silene dioica 'Clifford Moor' [right] never did go to sleep. Bottom left: Here's a shameless rendition of the sad, sad winter garden. Isn't it lovely? NOT. With the aforementioned pond on the right, the aforementioned cat undergoes her preening duties dead-center in the path where passersby can conveniently trip over her. And, [right] the wheelbarrow's net worth of my efforts. A good, hot soak in the tub sounds good right about now.

Click on COMMENT below to voice your reactions. Thank you.

Warning: Spring Alert

I suppose I should be careful with this post. Be sensitive to all of you who are buried in snow up to your eyeballs right now as the grip of winter obstinately flaunts its white knuckles. I probably shouldn't mention the Daphne odora or the Wintersweet or the Snowdrops. There is even an early daffodil variety that is... oops. I got carried away there for a second.

Kudos to all of you who shared photos of the garden show in Seattle. That moss recliner had me drooling as the idealistic side of my brain incessantly roared its, "How can I do that in my garden?" mantra. Any of you got one of those? It's kind of annoying actually, always getting me to do things that cost too much money, time and stress. I tell it to go away but it always returns with a vengeance when I look at you all's cool photos!!

This is Hydrangea 'Buttons & Bows' from last summer. "Shade!" it kept screaming. Predisposed with louder tasks, I didn't quite get its SOS until one noonday-scorcher too many. The dang thing is in a container, on wheels, for gosh sakes. How hard would it have been to slide it to a shady spot? My poor plants. I don't know how they put up with me.

Here is the aforementioned Chimonanthus praecox or Wintersweet. From the photo below you can see that the shrub is not exactly a standout. Its in-leaf state is equally prosaic. But the scent of these diminutive flowers...ooh, la, la.

A humongous thank you to Randy of Randy & Meg's Garden Paradise. Would you believe little ole me is now in the presence of greatness? Yes it's Randy's very own interactive butterfly CD. I'm honored. How is your flamingo doing now, Randy?

One last thing. I can't resist posting my TARP of the month. Brilliant blogger Christine @ Last Frontier Garden, this one's for you.

Begonia, Stones & Feda

Hi Everybody~~
I'm grateful, humbled by your kind words. You all went above and beyond with your encouragement. My heartfelt thanks to each and everyone of you for indulging my publishing pipe dream. You're seriously awesome!

In keeping with tradition, I present my pink preamble: This begonia was a July freebie--a right time, right place, acquisition. With my nervy goal to snub the Zones, it came indoors during December's Plant Cruelty stint [a nasty stunt]. Lacking the foresight and common sense so critical to successful gardening endeavors, with what turned out to be a temporary rising of the mercury, Begonia was relegated to the outdoor covered deck area where it could huddle safely with its more impervious compatriots. Wrong. Let's just say Begonia is black mush right about now.

The above and below photos are opposite sides of a nearby street. The wall above was built a few years ago using that now ubiquitous cottage stone or whatever it's called. The below photo is a more naturalistic wall, still under construction. Do you have a preference?

I think the cottage stone has its place and successfully tidies the area as intendid. However, the bold defiance, the fearless intrepidity of this developer is admirable. Yesterday shrubs and ground covers were planted. By mid-summer they'll be spilling over and softening the craggy edges.

But don't let my assessment influence your opinion. Do you prefer one method over the other?

Finally, Freda B. Me has been a part of my [tacky] garden art repertoire for going on three years. With the seasonal disrobing of Rosa 'William Baffin' winter is her time to shine. Don't tell anybody but my kids think she's creepy. Do you think she's creepy?