August already!

Well, again a long drought between blogs and lots of rain on the flowers -but the summer has been crazy with a trip to Aruba and the Aloe Vera Farm -that was so interesting.  I have already bought 2 aloe vera plants and planted them in warm sheltered spots in the garden. Hope they survive. They are really easy to use -just cut a leaf and it them like a fish and rub the gel on your skin -no sticky finish; your skin will drink up the wonderful gel feel so soft!

Also TWO trade shows, a big one in Columbus OH that was really busy- but 3 days on the trade show floor gets a bit too much.  Then the 2 day show in the newly revived SNA -Southern nurserymen's Assoc in Atlanta GA -2 days is great and I love the interaction and the chance to meet with friends, customers and fellow booth staff -old and new.  It is a great talking place and a good opportunity to see a lot of people in one place and in a short space of time.  I always think trade shows are very good value for the networking chances they offer.  There is a lot more optimism in the industry too which is very encouraging.

 

Of course I was also in the play, The Red Velvet Cake War as a German Psychologist -one minute very prim and proper and the next falling in love and chasing the guy!!!

But, back to the garden at home -yet more huge weeds -with so many trips away and so much rain this year the weeds have really taken hold.  Some pull up so very easily and others as you know I'm sure are tougher and deeper.  The crusher run drives are  a mess too with so much grass and weeds growing through.  I really have to use round up; I can't see a way round that unless anyone can offer advice on killing weeds on paths and driveways -quite a large area too as I love walkways through the various garden areas.  I love to get in among the plants not just see them from a distance and paths through beds beckon.  They say so clearly "come and see"

Fabulous Flowering Tulips

Here is another idea for planting tulips directly over rocks and water -no dirt.  The water stays just below the level of the bulb so as not to allow it to rot.

Well it would be if I knew how to turn this picture on the blog -there must be a way of turning it upright.  But you get the idea!!

This is the early turiumph tulip Oscar -isn't it neat?

Wine garden

Wine garden, cocktail garden, 5 o'clock garden or, as my husband calls it -my acoholic garden!!!
Well, a garden should be a place to have fun and indulge in fancies.  Right?  I have a series of gardens in our one acre site and I have been asked quite a lot about my alcoholic garden. So here it is.

It is a corner of the garden where all the plants have the name of alcohol.  A great setting for a cocktail party don't you think?  The plant on the left is Atropurpurea 'Burgundy Glow' while out of site is an old apple tree with a wine bottle humming bird feeder and a parrot (5 o' clock somewhere and there is a sign with that on also!!) A red and a white grape grow over the home made arch and the wine bottles serve as edges as you can see.  Anyone know of any easy way to get rid of those wine labels??  The small berberis is Berberis thungbergii "Royal Burgundy" The lilies coming up  are Muscadet . I also have  Lilium Grand Cru in there.  Those gladioli are "Wine n Roses" and there is a Clematis Pink Champagne on the side fence with the Iceburg Rose (well it is stretching it a bit but you do need ice!) and another grape. The elephant ear Colocasia esculenta  "Mojito" obviously has a place there with tulips Burgundy Lace and T. Tequila Sunrise. The bright green little bush is Deutzia Chardonnay Pearl  and behind that is Viburnum Brandywine.  We also have Weigela Midnight Wine and W. Summer Wine.  Later we plant Caladium Brandywine en masse too with Tomato Brandywine. There are alcoholic day lilies and Heuchera, Ajuga, Bearded Iris, Canna etc etc.  I do need Narcissus Mint Julep though.  does anyone have any to swap?? Oh I now have Camellia 'Tama Vino' in there  too. The stepping stone -another of my fancies -each area has its quote- this one says
"......and wish to all
Flowers in the garden, meat in the hall,
A bin of wine, a spice of wit,
A house with lawns enclosing it" ! Robert Louis Stevenson
On a wooden table hidden in the background I wrote 'Eat Drink and be merry -for tomorrow we die" Ecclesiastes

With theme areas it is a fun to look for plants and it is amazing how lots of friends and colleagues join in the hunt. I am always being asked for updates at trade shows too.  So for all of you who have swapped acoholic plants for bulbs a big thank you and here you can see some of those treasures.  It is a great talking point.  From a gardening point of view it helps to break up the chore of weeding as you only have to concentrate one one area at a time and not get overwhelmed by the whole garden.
Last summer was the first of our now to be annual English Garden Parties .  I was born a Brit after all.  Hats are obligatory by the way!!!! Everyone loved dressing up and we had lots of requests to make it an annual event. So hats and croquet it is. 

Fall harvest

Still picking gorgeous dahlias and beautiful colored caladium leaves for indoors.  Also picked 2 figs today -mmm delicious.  There are still a few peppers ripening.  I tried the new sweet pepper Merlot in my 'alcoholic' garden -all the plants have the name of alcohol!!: Caladium brandywine, Viburnum Brandywine, Atropurpurea Burgundy Glow, Deutzia, Chardonnay Pearl, Colocasia Mojita among many others.  I also have a white garden, an Asian garden, a South Carolina Garden, a rock garden and so on.  Having fun with the garden means spending more time there and it is amazing how other people help you look for plants or suggest them, or even pass along plants that they know will fit into a theme.  It is a great talking piece too for a party.

What ideas do you have for garden areas or themes?

Lycoris

As the days shorten and the nights are turning cooler we are rewarded with an explosion of color from Lycoris Radiata.  The red version is headturning and en masse definitely breathtaking.  Be sure to plant right near the surface in a sunny site and then leave them alone! They are fine in grass too as you can see.  They don't like being mulched or planted too deeply nor do they seem to respond too well to fertilizer.  What an awesome perennial bulb.  Common names include Spider lily, naked lady due to the lack of leaves until after the blooms are done, though that is generally attached to the pink variety for some reason.  The yellow variety is a little more unusual and not quite so hardy.

April

April showers bring forth May flowers -and endless weeds!!!  What a year so far -unbelieeable weather so many hot days already -the daffodils were great but it has definitely not been a good year for tulips.  Many were stunted in the warm weather -they need more cold than most places could provide this spring.  They didn't last so well either -but that is gardening.  You cannot control the weather! But there are real pluses too -
My gorgeous rambling rose Cecile Brunner is already in full bloom (oops never got it pruned this year either!!)and the blueberries are swellin . I have been picking asparagus for days now -mmmm -delicious! And of course lettuce leaves, sorrel, spinach and swiss chard.
Must find some time to get on top of those pesky weeds though -I hate using chemicals, but the paths are impossible unless I keep them controlled I try to weed by hand in the flower beds and definitely in veggie patch but goodness they have shot up so fast and so flourishingly this year -i despair of gaining the upper hand!! Help!!!! Anyone want to come and help me weed???

November flowers

Acidanthera in November?  Just Gorgeous! And Snowdrops at the same time? Oh, and that heavenly scented winter honeysuckle -Lonicera fragrantissima -just a few twigs fills the room with a delicious scent.  It makes a beautiful vase with some of the paperwhites that are also blooming outside right now too.  And the beautiful white fall Camellia in my white garden.  What a wonderful mix of  white flowers.

Don't forget winter trees too -the bark of the river birch too is just stunning against a blue sky.        Well the 12 month garden is now reality after 4 years of work!! Enjoyable work I hasten to add.

Happy Gardening to all. 

fabulous flowers

Well it may be raining today -and a good thing too on all those bulbs planted earlier this year, but a look out the windows in any direction, shows gorgeous drifts of yellow and creamy white splashed with purple, pink and blue.  Daffodils of all kinds and sizes are peering through everywhere, every day, in an ever increasing crescendo of color.  Hyacinths, Iris reticulata, Ipheon and clouds of white apple and plum blossom make up the supporting chorus.  What a joy.  Even a few snowdrops have manged to come back for me and tulip leaves are everywhere, returning from last year.  The very first little pink and cream Kaufmannii tulip in a pot by the shed is actually opening -on March5?     Now check out these pictures:

 Cardboard and newspaper placed over the grass and watered, then covered with bulbs

 OK, so we have access to more bulbs than you but this works on a smaller scale too!

Cover the bulbs with dirt and mulch

So there it is - my 'PEPNOD'  -Patricia's Easy Plant No Dig method -Wow it worked getting the pictures up there! So now you can see how we planted thousands of bulbs in an afternoon! Also the shape is such that it is very easy to mow around, saving yet more time later in the season  I will keep you uptodate on their progress.  Now I do admit to using weedkiller around the edge for the first season, then in the fall when the ground is moist I will dig out around the edge for the future.  That apple tree on the left by the way is blooming its heart out right now.