Old Country Gardens

Hello from Germany

2008-07-20T06:30:00.002-04:00

Hi all!

A quick hello from me, here in Hofheim, Germany (near Frankfurt).

Our flight home is tomorrow morning and as promised, I've got hundreds and hundreds of photos to share.

The number one favorite flower here of mine are "stockrosen" or Hollyhocks. They are eveywhere you look and just stunning. Hydrangeas are also everywhere in every shade of pink you can imagine.

The weather has been cool and wet but the people warm, wonderful and the food...delicious! I don't dare go on the scale for awhile after eating every possible type of wurst I can get my hands on.

Be back soon!
Melanie

Vacation Time!

2008-07-05T16:20:00.004-04:00

We are just about packed up and ready to go on our wonderful vacation to Germany. As a final blog, I thought I'd show you a few images shot in the past few days.

Up top is Calie the wonder-doodle who has once again captured a hapless chipmunk in the see-saw. As you can see she is quite determined to give it the ride of it's life as she makes first one side and then the other go up and down.

The Hydrangeas are just beginning to bloom and I expect when we return in just over two weeks that we'll find an abundance of these amazing flowers waiting for us.

One of my all time favorite flowers is blooming now. This Stachys monieri has been in my garden for so many years I don't remember when it first arrived. It's very similar to the named variety 'Humelo' that has become popular around here but this one is a wonderful pale pink.

The daylily show has just begun and hopefully I'll still catch the last act when we come home. 'Radiation Biohazard' here is indistructable even with lots of rain storms coming through.

Hemerocallis 'Flight of Angels' is another show stopper, so cool and serene that I just had to stop and drool for a few minutes.

'Smoke Scream' on the other hand has a loud brassy call but you still have to stop and admire it's beauty!

One final look at Calie. While she's sipping water from the pool I'll be sipping some of the world's best beer and wine. A dog's life might be grand but I'd rather be me right now.

Expect me back some time the third week of July and I promise, I'll have lots and lots of photos! Many of my relatives that we are visiting are gardening fanatics like me and I just can't wait to see what they are growing and share it with all of you.

Bye,
Melanie

Hypericum 'Brigadoon'

2008-06-30T11:09:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago when I attended the local daylily club meeting, they had a sale going on. Members brought in plants from their gardens and sold them in the back of the room. Most of the plants were perennials and since I was running late, I missed seeing most of the choice plants.

One member though had a few special things left. Frank and his wife Laura are known to collect unusual specimens so I looked very carefully. There were two pots of Hypericum 'Brigadoon'. Now I've never been too excited by Hypericum but I thought "why not" and decided to bring one home.

The plant is in a one gallon pot and had lots of yellow buds. The Hypericum I have in my garden has small nickle size single blooms and that's what I expected with this one.

Imagine my surprise when the first bud opened up and I saw this flower! Wow!!! It's a "stop you in your tracks" kind of bloom.

This time I vow to do my research and give this beauty the correct location. The sites I've looked at so far show it with golden foliage. The plant I have has a light green foliage but then those sites also say that it needs full sun to get that lighter foliage. I don't think Frank & Laura have that much full sun so it will be interesting to see what happens when I give it a prime spot.

Now I just have to decide if it's going in the long driveway bed or the rock wall around the pool. Right now I'm leaning towards the pool area as it's a summer time bloomer.

I'll take a photo again once I decide where to place this beauty.

Acanthus spinosa

2008-06-29T10:29:00.004-04:00

Acanthus spinosa, also known as Bear's Breeches is another perennial in my garden that I know very little about. This beauty was planted out front in a fairly shady spot about 5 years ago. I'm not sure it has bloomed every year.

Doing a google search on it this morning I see that it likes full sun to part shade. Also, the photos I found on line were stunning, big massive clumps of blooms. It requires little care, at least I haven't done anything special here. Average amounts of water so it seems happy with what the surrounding perennials are getting. Also, I haven't seen any signs of pests on this plant.

In this photo I stepped back so you can see the Acanthus as it's set in the garden. I'd say this is one of my less inspired combinations. Obviously this plant can really shine if it's in the right location, I think I need to try it in more sun but I'm not sure about moving it.

Do any of you grow Bear's breeches? I'd love any tips on growing this beauty.

For those of you who read here regularly, I guess you can tell that I'm winding down. Getting ready for my trip has become a full time job and this week will be just packed with last minute activities. I will only have time for a few more posts before we leave and there won't be anything posted again until late July.

Hope you are all still here when I get back!

Melanie

Callirhoe

2008-06-27T11:26:00.003-04:00

The other day I posted a photo about a plant but couldn't remember the name. Well here it is, Callirhoe involucrata. Now please don't ask me to pronounce this out loud, I can usually come up with a decent pronunciation but this one has me totally stumped.

I've had Callirhoe in the garden 4 or 5 years now. The same two plants, never more, never less. I bought them in a small pot and over the years I've learned little about them.

Callirhoe doesn't stand up on it's own, it needs surrounding plant material to clambor along or a rock wall to cascade down.

It has no pests that I've seen except for rabbits which occasionally find it absolutely delicious.

The flowers only open when the sun is up, they close up in early evening but the strong magenta color still makes the closed buds beautiful.

Today I went to Mobot's site to learn more about this plant. It is part of the Malva family and can grow as far south as Texas (Pauline, are you taking note?). Also, it likes dry to medium soil so I'm guessing it would also do well for Gail in her stony Tennessee soil.

This plant is native to America, I wonder if any of you folks overseas seas have it in your gardens?

If any of you have tips on how to propigate this plant, leave a message. I remember hearing it seeds around but I don't have any seedlings here that I know of.

1 + 1 = Another 1

2008-06-26T10:18:00.002-04:00

A few years ago my younger daughter Emily decided she wanted to hybridize some daylilies. Typical of a child, she looked at the process in a whole different light. First she came up with the name she liked and then she looked for the flowers that she though would give her a seedling with the right qualities.

Her name of choice was "Mac & Cheese" so you can guess what color daylilies she decided to work with. This first photo is 'Nutmeg Elf' and it gave Emily the color she wanted. She used this daylily as the pod parent.

The daylily Emily chose to use as a pollen parent was 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', shown in this photo.

All together I think we have 5 seedlings still from that cross. This is the first one to bloom this year. It has clumped up nicely and has excellent budcount and branching. I can't say the flower form is too different from either parent though.

Here you can see it in a clump. It stands quite tall for a small blooming daylily, both parents have that trait. While it will never formally be introduced, it's an excellent plant to have in the border.

I hope the other seedlings bloom before I leave for Germany so I can photograph them and show them here. One of them has an excellent form but unfortunately doesn't have the bud count or branching that this seedling has. Then again, maybe this year it will be better.

Tickled Pink

2008-06-25T10:23:00.003-04:00

This week it seems I'm using lots of color in my blog postings. Today's title though really has nothing to do with color in the garden. Instead, something happened to me yesterday that I have to share here.

In ten days I'm heading to Germany with my mom. We have a train pass and besides visiting lots of relatives, we're going to see as much of Germany as possible in 15 days. In order to get ready for the trip I've been taking nice long walks every day so I'm in tip-top shape. Last night I went to our high school and walked on our new track.

As I was walking on the track a woman I recognized jogged past me and we said "hello". On the next lap she stopped me (she was VERY excited) and said she had to show me something. She handed me her cell phone to show me a picture on it. It was a photo of a Japanese Iris. Then she explained that she had bought that Iris at one of my plant sales.

I don't know what I was more tickled about. The fact that she was so excited over a flower or the fact that she had a picture of it in her phone so she could show people. Either way, she really made my day :-)
This post isn't really about flowers but of course I had to put up some photos. The top photo is the bloom on Centaurea dealbata in a sea of Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' (can you tell I use this Nepeta like crazy?)

The name of the plant in the bottom photo has just totally escaped my brain. Hopefully it will pop up again and I can post it here. If not, maybe one of you will jog my memory.

If I did Roses...

2008-06-24T09:00:00.003-04:00

This past Saturday I attended a Long Island Daylily Society meeting at Planting Fields Arboretum. The meeting was a short one and I had 15 minutes to run through one of the display gardens. Since it is June, I decided to go for the rose garden.

The first view one sees is a long pebbled path bordered by a massive wave of Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'. I thought this was an excellent choice since Lavender isn't always reliable here on Long Island. One big change I noticed was that many of the roses in bloom were smaller fairy type roses. Either it's the season or they've been changing out the tea roses once they die.

Walking down this path was an amazing experience as the air was filled with the buzz of the thousands of bees at work. Even when there was no wind the blooms on the Nepeta waved to and fro as the bees collected their pollen.

The sun was quite bright so this photo is a bit harsh. I loved the color combination of the hot pink roses with the lavender Nepeta blooms.

At one point the garden meets a crossroad (path) that takes you past the perennials. Spaced all along it are posts that are holding up bowers of roses.

It was the most delicious feeling to walk down this path. When you put your nose up against an individual bloom there was no scent but with this multitude of blooms, the whole air was delicately perfumed.

Looking up this is what you would see, it was just heavenly.

One final look upwards. I could imagine being a little girl and lying down on the pebble path as the rose petals rained down. If I grew roses I would want to grow them like this.

Lavender Illusions

2008-06-23T11:19:00.003-04:00

The humidity today is so high it feels like the air is wet. Yesterday I posted about the yellows in the garden, today we'll look at the lovely colors the Iris Ensata (Japanese Iris) are showing.

This first clump here was the inspiration for the title of this post, Lavender Illusions. What a lovely color!

This is that seedling that I showed earlier last week. It doesn't seem to open all the way so I guess it will be tossed on the compost heap later this season. Then again I might not be able to be so heartless and I might just have to move it some place else in the garden.

Another clump in bloom out front. This one is a deeper color, more blues and purples showing here.

Japanese Iris are so easy to grow. They like the same conditions as my daylilies. As much sun as possible, lots of good compost, fair amounts of water and dividing every 5 years or so. How can you go wrong with these beauties?

Yellow season

2008-06-22T09:21:00.003-04:00

Last year I was posting on a garden list when another gardener posted about how she doesn't like yellow in her garden. I was shocked! So many of the perennials I love are yellow, it's such a strong, happy, sunny color that I never thought somebody would deliberately leave it out of their garden.

As a tease for her I made the above collage in hopes that I would persuade her to fall in love with yellow.

Yesterday as I walked around the garden I thought of her again. It's yellow season in my garden. All the pinks, purples and blues are fading away and the yellows are popping out all over.

Coreopsis are hitting their peak. There are two kinds in this photo, my favorite is Coreopsis 'Zagreb'.
The yellow Kniphofia is also at it's peak. I would love to find more of these that do as well as this one variety. In the past I've had quite a bit of success with some Kniphofias only to have them totally disappear one year.

Here's a close up of the bloom on a Coreopsis lanceolata. I think that is the variety although this isn't my original plant. This type of Coreopsis is short lived but if you leave some heads on they will self sow and you will continue to have them in the garden.

Just winding down are the pale yellow blooms on the Ruta graveolens (Rue). I'm pretty sure they give me a second big bloom flush in the fall. Yesterday I found a few new seedlings which makes me quite happy :-)

Asclepias tuberosa can stop me in my tracks with it's stunning beauty. I now have two clumps along the driveway and it looks like a third one is starting further into the bed.

Hidden under my climbing rose I found the daylily 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' beginning to bloom. This poor baby needs to get moved out of there ASAP!

Another daylily has begun, lots of yellow in this one too, it's 'Wings of Chance' and this photo doesn't do it justice.

The Corydalis lutea is still blooming up a storm. That's one long blooming perennial if you ask me.

As a closing shot, I'd like to show you a flower I came across yesterday as I ran through Planting Fields Arboretum. I was there for a daylily meeting and had about 10 minutes to run to the rose garden and then back to my car. On the way I spotted this beauty but could find no name tag.

If I had to pick a name, I'd try Centaurea but I'll hold off and see if anybody else has a better suggestion. It was growing in full sun and at least 4 feet tall (well over a meter).

Off to walk the garden,
Melanie

Party time

2008-06-21T08:45:00.002-04:00

Well here's a strange blog from me. No photos!

Yesterday my youngest daughter had a pool party with about a dozen teenagers here. The morning was spent running around getting things ready, no time for blogging :-(

This morning I awoke to find several girls sleeping in my den, all around my computer that I normally blog from.

So, this is just a little note telling all of you that things will be back to normal once I can get access to my camera and my photo files.

Last night we had the biggest thunder storm of all. The thunder never stopped, it would still be rumbling from one strike when another one would start crashing through. I'm off to check out the garden.

In the words of Arnold, "I'll be back".

Tips for Cutting Flowers

2008-06-19T09:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I put together a stunning arrangement (if I do say so myself). Of course when I finished up I realized I was incredibly late and ran around like a chicken without a head. I totally forgot to take a photo of the finished product!

Still, as I was cutting blooms and arranging them, I thought of the many tips I had learned over the years of workshops thanks to my Nathan Hale Garden club.

The number one rule is to condition your material. That means to hydrate them. I used to walk around the garden with a beautiful basket to gather my cut flowers. As pretty as it looks, it's not the best for the blooms. Now I go out with a large bucket or two half filled with water. A bucket full of water would be better but is too heavy to lift.

It's surprising how few blooms you need to make a stunning arrangement. You can use all kinds of foliage to fill the vase. In many cases I use foliage from perennials that have finished blooming.

Once you've cut your plant material, bring it to a shaded work area. Then fill the bucket to the rim so the plants are up to their necks with water (tepid water is better than ice cold water).

Many arrangers leave their material to soak in a bucket over night but I never seem to plan ahead enough for that. The next step is to strip the plants of their lower leaves. Any leaf that is going to be under the water line is a bacteria factory so strip it off the stems. You can see the black pot on the left for the stripped leaves. They go to the compost heap when I'm done.

The best time of day to cut flowers is early morning when they are freshest. The second best time is late afternoon to evening. The worst time is during the heat of the day (unless you are cutting from a shade garden).

Look for plants that are overcrowding their neighbors and use them as filler material. The various Lysimachias are great for this along with the taller Nepetas.

Try to reach down and make a cut so the stem is as long as possible. When I putting together the actual arrangement I usually make a second cut so they fit the vase.

Today I'll look around and put together a list of plants that last long in the vase.

Another kind of T D day

2008-06-18T12:07:00.003-04:00

Just a few days ago T D stood for "To-Do". For many people T D stands for TouchDown. This morning, T D stood for Technical Difficulties.

We have been experiencing a number of brownouts and short electrical outages as the pre-summer thunder storms roll through here. The computer that I store my photos on was down this morning and I'm not the right person to mess around with it.

Of course now we have lift off, and I have no time. I'm in the middle of cutting huge bouquets of blooms to make a special arrangement that I will be delivering later today. I am taking photos of the process too.

One lesson I learned today, the Lysimachia in this photo makes an excellent cutting flower. I need to let it take over a bit more so I have plenty to combine with the Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' which always give me lots of filler material.

Be back soon,
Melanie

Feelings

2008-06-17T07:55:00.004-04:00

This morning the garden is soaked. While the rain came later than was forecast, it did come. The cool air and the multitude of bird songs made my garden walk-about a true delight.

Did you ever notice how different flowers make you feel? As you walk around and look at the magnificent blooms, what goes through your mind?

This clump of Kniphofia just stopped me in my tracks. A delicious sense of anticipation stole over me as I tried to imagine how this spot will look in another two or three days. Underlying that was a sense of satisfaction as I've waited many years for a little 4 inch pot of Kniphofia to grow to this size.
Apparently plants can be whimsical too. I laughed out loud when I saw the jolly hat on this Allium bud. Around here the nickname for Digitalis is fox-glove. In Germany they call them fingerhut which translates as finger-hat. I guess Allium-hat is also appropriate.

Centaurea dealbata is one of the first perennials I ever ordered which means I've had it 20 years or so. At my first house it was only a small clump and I brought a slip here with us 12 years ago. For 11 years it struggled but it survived. I had planted it in the wrong conditions, a pretty shady spot with poor drainage.

On a whim I split the sad plant into three tiny pieces last year and moved them to new locations. They have rewarded me with the most amazing growth and bloom. To me they look like they are romantically involved with the Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' at their side.

The orange glow of this Lychnis conveys the feeling of shock. I grew this plant years ago but didn't know enough about companion planting to give it the right spot. This week I must have taken a dozen photos of it combined with the Salvia verticilata. They make a perfect combination and not one photo does it justice.

Patience is the feeling that comes over me when I look at this spot. This Sedum took years to mature so I've decided not to pinch a piece this year as it finally looks lovely here.

Surprise is the feeling I have when I look at this Iris bud bursting into bloom. This is the same Iris seedling I posted about yesterday, I can't wait to see it all opened up! By the way, it definitely did not come with the daylily that it is growing up against. That daylily was sent to me as a bare root and has been there for 3 years now.

The fluffy blooms of Filipendula 'Kakome' make me think of tough and determined. How's that? As soft and delicate as they look, I divided this perennial this spring and it was in a sun baked location that dries out quite quickly. As you can see, it laughed at adversity which makes it one tough cookie in my book.

The Baptisia alba (White Baptisia) is just awe-inspiring. It takes my breath away every time I stand near it and gaze at it's elegant beauty.

Simple Coreopsis (tick-seed) is such a happy looking plant. Something about the color yellow makes me want to smile. Add the color and the cheerful daisy form together and you have pure joy.

What feelings do you feel when you look at the different blooms in your garden?

Iris mystery

2008-06-16T10:44:00.004-04:00

This morning I found a mystery waiting for me in my garden. This Iris ensata (Japanese Iris) was in bloom. The mystery? I know for sure I didn't plant it in this spot. It was right against the Belgium block of my driveway.

As I looked around, I remembered that in the past few years I've been lax in removing spent pods on some of my Iris. Could they have seeded?

Suddenly my eyes spied this small group of Iris ensata about to come into bloom. Ok, now I was sure that these weren't planted by me. Why would I plant an Iris in the middle of a daylily clump? Not only are these two plants conjoined at the base but I know I've never had a Japanese Iris growing in this spot before.

This is quite a surprise to me. Neither of these photos do justice to the colors in the garden. Even tweaking isn't getting me the color I'd like to see.

As the light conditions change through the day I'll try again to capture what is here. Apparently, there are some new Iris in my garden but I'm not complaining.

Has this ever happened to you?

Fathers Day Gnomes

2008-06-15T09:18:00.004-04:00

Today's post shows two of my favorite garden accessories. They are garden gnomes, in German you would say Gartenzwerg (at least that's what I remember).

These gnomes are pretty old, they came here when a builder tore down an old shack just two doors away from us. Much as I'd like to see them with fresh paint, I'm afraid it would take away part of their charm and value.

The first gnome isn't seen often, I moved him this week because he was already hidden behind hosta foliage. His name is Hans.

This gnome is Claus. Although you can't tell from the photo, he's pretty big and quite heavy too. One of the reason I love these gnomes so much is because they remind me of my father. My Dad loved the outdoors, he would be outside any chance he could get. I remember hiking with him at Bear Mountain, berry picking at Alley Pond Park, shell gathering at Jones beach and many more excursions.

Dad was born in a small town that is in Poland today. When he was born the area was part of Germany. He was 12 when he fled with his mother and sister as the Russians were coming. They walked for many weeks before settling in Stuttgart.

Both gnomes have pipes which also reminds me of my dad. Unfortunately, we lost my both my dad and my husband's dad way too early because of lung cancer.

My girls don't have an Opa or Grandpa to call today but they do have a great dad. While I care for the flowers and the gardens, he cares for the house, the trees, the shrubs and of course, the lawn.

Right now he's making chocolate chip pancakes for his daughters. What a dad!

Happy Father's Day!

Flower Arrangements

2008-06-14T09:48:00.004-04:00

Is your first thought "Why is Melanie showing us her toilet bowl"? A few days ago I posted that I was making flower arrangements using cut flowers from my garden. Well, I finally got around to taking some photos of them and one of them is sitting on the top of my toilet.

It's actually quite charming if I do say so myself. Tucked into this tiny vase is a few sprigs of Coreopsis 'Zagreb' (not yet open), Viola 'Bowles Black', Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' and my new favorite addition of Rue.

This large arrangement is in my den, next to my computer where I am sitting right now. For some reason my camera hates this room and I never ever get a good photo taken in here.

The local craft store Michaels was running a sale this week. Two vases for $5. Most of them were small and cheap looking but I found two of these large "jars" and they are nice and heavy.

Although it's hard to see what's in this arrangement, I'll list them all here. Hosta leaves, Baptisia 'Screaming Yellow', my driveway Daisies, spent heads from the Alliums, and grass stalks from Miscanthus sinensis 'Strictus'. I love to use grasses as accents in arrangements.

This little arrangement is sitting on my hallway table but I put it outside on my bistro table to photograph. It's so simple and yet might be my favorite of the bunch. Three Hosta leaves, Baptisia 'Screaming Yellow' and Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'.

I made this same arrangement earlier in the week. The Hosta leaves will last for two weeks at least but I had to replace the other material after 5 days. That's fine by me.

Tuesday night my husband was at a fancy affair and brought home the table centerpiece for me. It's just lovely and is sitting on my kitchen table. I don't think I've ever arranged things in a mass like this, I tend to go for loose and informal but I love the way this looks. To be honest though, my friend Kim could do a better job.

This arrangement was made last Sunday with flowers cut in the middle of the day during our heatwave. After 5 days it looked pretty tired and needed to be updated. It was sitting on my youngest daughters night table.

First I pulled out all the plant material. Then I washed the inside of the container and filled it with fresh water. The Hosta leaves as usual were fine and I reused them.

This time I added the blooms from Alchemilla mollis (Ladies mantle), Ferns (don't know the variety), Hakonachloa (Hakone grass) and the hot pink Silene armeria. I had hoped to surprise Emily but she surprised me instead. She came home with no voice and a fever. After a quick trip to the doctor we found out she had a raging sinus infection so I decided that I wouldn't put these blooms back right next to her bed for now.

I belong to a Federated Garden Club and many of the women there are amazing flower arrangers. It's never been a passion of mine, I just manage to scrape by when we have a judged show. Still, after all these years a few tips and rules have rubbed off on me.

This weekend I'll take photos of the mechanics of flower arranging and put together a post giving the tips that I know (it won't be a very long post :-) )

Have a wonderful weekend,

Melanie

Nooks & Crannies

2008-06-13T07:45:00.005-04:00

When we first had our rock retaining wall installed around our pool, I never thought I'd become this enamored with the nooks and crannies. Oh I knew I wanted to have a few Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks) set in the wall but it really was a very little thought.

Getting things to grow in those nooks and crannies was harder than I thought it would be. Thankfully, once I got them going, mother nature took things in her own hands and has done a wonderful job adding to the design.

One hurdle is that some of the spots I want to grow lots of succulents in, are really fairly shaded. The top photo shows some Sedum dasyphyllum growing merrily in a spot that only gets a few hours of direct sun. This is the smallest Sedum in my garden, smaller than the eraser on a pencil.

The thought behind putting Thyme in the cracks was that when people would walk on the thyme, it would release it's delicious scent. Instead, people tend to step awkwardly here to avoid stepping on the Thyme.

This might be more Sedum dasyphyllum, it's about to bloom. I'm not sure I put it in the wall, it might have packed up and moved there on it's own. I also see there's a little entrance way to a chipmunk palace on the right side, grrrrr. Maybe they planted it here?

By far the smallest Sempervivums in my garden are these very webbed ones here. I've taken offsets and put them in pots but they look awful in that type of setting. I think they're perfect right here where they can fill in this crack.

Right above them is a Sedum that doesn't mind the good amount of shade thrown by the daylily foliage around it. Sometimes you think you have a spot with enough sun and don't realize that the surrounding plant material blocks much of the sunlight.

A white Dianthus cascades across a boulder set in the wall. I was afraid it wouldn't bloom this year as it looked very unhappy last month. I think the problem is I never cut it back and the stems were so long and lanky. This year I will remember to give it a good haircut when it's done blooming.

Considering how many succulents I've stuck into the wall, there's still lots of gaps. The hard part is the soil washes out from rains or from the sprinkler system. Worse yet, you think you have it all packed in and a chipmunk decides to use that spot as the back door.

This clump of Sempervivum has been photographed more than any other. It's getting to the point though that it's way overcrowded and I know if I don't thin it out a bit it won't be able to sustain itself in this manner.

Only one red Sempervivum has taken hold in the wall. I'm sure I didn't stick that Sedum right in there next to it but I'll let it grow and see how it looks next year. Maybe it will take me by surprise :-)

As always, shoes make the best container to add some more interest to the wall.

This kind of gardening gives me a complete different feeling that other types of gardening. There's no hauling of compost, digging massive holes, dragging hoses or heavy duty work of that sort. Instead, my usual tool at hand is a simple dandelion fork.

Do you do any kind of rock gardening?

The "To-Do" List

2008-06-12T08:03:00.004-04:00

Are you a list person? Do you make to-do lists?

I don't make lists. If I have a busy day or busy week ahead of me I write out schedules. Pages and pages of schedules but I don't like to-do lists.

They say that writing lists is good. My husband Don is a list person and it really works for him. He prioritizes things, does them and crosses them off the list.

Not me.
This is a cut through in my longest perennial border. The border is about 125 feet long (37.5 meters) and just about at the half way point I have this little cut through. It was necessary because the pipes for the underground sprinkler and the on/off valve (the round cap that is askew) is in this spot.

Two weeks ago I was able to easily walk through here. The top photo was taken three days ago and the second photo was taken this morning. It's almost impossible to see the stepping stones. Forget about actually cutting through this spot.

If I had a to-do list, cutting back this area would be on it.

Thursday is the day our lawn service comes to mow the lawn. Between my watering and the intense heatwave we just experienced the yard looks like a jungle.

If I remember to get back out there in the next hour I should cut back all the fallen stalks like you see here. They will last a good week in a flower arrangement but would not last a minute after the lawn service starts cutting.

My side yard is a disaster. I always seem to find more plants to pot up. The chipmunks run through here like it's a maze and Calie the wonder-doodle plows along behind them like a bull in a china shop. There are upturned pots everywhere.

If I had a to-do list I'd put "clean up side yard" on it. It would also be nice to add "make official holding beds for plant material in limbo".

The Cymbalaria murilas (kenilworth ivy) has totally engulfed this section of my rock wall. In my opinion it loses some of it's charm when you can't see the rocks underneath. I would have to put this on my to-do list too.

Uh oh, the peas are falling! Chicken little would not be happy to see this spot in my garden. The peas have put on such a growth spurt that they went above and beyond the stakes and now I should try to figure out something to support them better.

In this same area I have my potted tomatoes and thanks to my friend Kim, I now know I should be pruning them. Since I haven't even staked them yet, I think I'm running behind schedule a bit.

Phew, it's a good thing I don't have a to-do list. I'm tired just thinking about all the things I'd have to do.

Watering the Garden

2008-06-11T07:10:00.005-04:00

Today I have one goal, water the garden. It might not sound like much but around here it could take me all day to finish this task.

Our heat wave has broken, last night a cool front came through and today should only hit 87 degrees (30.5 celsius). That's still well above normal for us but at least I can work outside for most of the day. While massive storms surged all around us, we got a few gusts of wind and no rain at all. I had hoped for some moisture so I wouldn't have to spend a whole day watering.

Unfortunately, I'm not feeling well. I don't know if it's the accumulation of too many days of heat or the fact that I attended two meetings with meals yesterday and ate food that I don't normally eat. I can barely make myself get up and move, which is highly unusual for me.

When we bought this house 12 years ago it already had an underground sprinkler system installed. We were told it's a "golf course" system. Since I don't golf, I can't say for sure if that is correct. There are "outlets" in the ground spaced quite far apart and I have to "plug in" a large sprinkler head where ever I need the water.

We have massive water pressure here and I can run 4 of these heads at a time. But I still need to pay attention to the timer and go out every 1.5 hours and move the heads to different locations.

All the planters require hand watering and since I've potted up lots of tomatoes I will be carrying many watering cans around the yard today. Thankfully my schedule is empty and I can take my time getting this done.

Yesterday I totally missed blogging. I was up at 5:00AM to take my cousin's daughter to the airport. When I got home I had a garden club meeting where we had the most amazing speaker on Feng Shui. I went in expecting to be bored and instead I was fascinated. I had to laugh when I realized I had my compost heap in my Wealth/Power area of our property. I have no intention of moving it though since I consider compost to be black gold. Then I was off all evening at a PTA dinner. No wonder I feel lousy today.

Time to go out and start the first set of sprinkler heads. Hopefully I'll get to photographing some flower arrangements today too.

Stay cool,

Melanie

Flowers for Gail

2008-06-09T07:51:00.004-04:00

This post is for all of you but most especially for Gail. Gail is a fellow blogger who lives in Nashville Tennessee and always finds the time to leave nice comments here.

Gail's blog is Clay and Limestone and one of these days I'm going to get to Nashville and we are going to go for a nice long walk. The name of Gail's blog says it all, she has some pretty tough soil conditions to work with.

Yesterday I had a photo of a watering can that was filled with volunteer seedlings. Gail had inquired about them and I answered that one was Silene armeria (catchfly).

You can see in the top photo that it can handle just about anything, seeding itself into a crack in my south facing brick patio.

Silene armeria was given to me many years ago (at least 20 years) by a co-worker when I actually had a "day job". Carmen gave me a little slip in a 4 inch pot. Who would have thought that I'd have waves and waves of this happy plant all over my garden today.

While Silene armeria combines wonderfully with many plants, this Iris isn't the best combo but I wanted to show you something that would give you a size comparison. It's hard to plan combinations with this plant as it's an annual and you never know exactly where it's going to seed.

There have been times that I've weeded my Silene aremeria to the point that I thought I had lost it. Now I just leave it be as it never seeds into the lawn or becomes a pest.

One thing I often forget is that Silene armeria makes a good cut flower. Yesterday I made up several small arrangements to put in my house since it was just too hot to stay in the garden.

Today I'd like to stop at Michaels Craft store to pick up a few more cheap bud vases so I can have little nosegays in every room. If I manage to get this done I'll try to remember to take photos.

Stay cool, it's going to be another sweltering day here on Long Island. At least I now have a fan blowing on my while I type which makes a world of difference.

Hotter than Hades

2008-06-08T11:02:00.004-04:00

It's just too darn hot. Too hot to take photos, too hot to type as my hands stick to the keyboard, too hot to be outside. Phooey.

When I look at our weather site, it lists the high temperature for today to be 90 and if you scroll a little it also shows our current temperature of 96 (feels like 103). I guess they don't update their own information as I expect it will get hotter yet today.

(Updated at 1:10 PM, the weather channel lists the temperature for zip code 11746 as 102 degrees (feels like 110). I feel like a sponge.)

Wish I felt as cool and crisp as these driveway daisies look.

This watering can was not planted. Nope, it had a hole in it and last year I had it planted with annuals. Both of the plants in it now are volunteers that seeded into the can from nearby. I guess I can't complain about this!

A good hot weather chore is to plant more tomatoes and basil. I guess you can never have enough of either of these. Since I'm planting them into huge tree pots, I can do this chore in the shade and move them into the sun in a few days when this heat spell finally breaks.

We have no air-conditioners installed yet in the bedrooms and there is no air-conditioning on our main floor so I will leave you now as I can barely stand sitting here any longer.

How do you cope with this type of heat in your garden?

Morning thoughts

2008-06-07T09:04:00.004-04:00

Walking around the garden in early morning, in a simple sundress, camera and cup of coffee must be what heaven is like. My brain marvels at nature in all her glory, blessings are all around me.

Slowly as my mind unfolds I see new combinations and think of new ideas for the garden. Too sleepy still to act upon these ideas I just wander from spot to spot to enjoy the beautiful bounty of blooms.

This morning I noticed the hardy Begonias were beginning to grow. Their unusual colored leaves look lovely next to the deep purple of Sedum 'Postman's Pride'.

My sole rose bush is beginning to bloom. 'Westerland' is a climber and I love it so much that at this time of year I wonder why I don't ever plant any other rose bushes. It looks amazing with the deep purple backdrop of the Physocarpus 'Diablo' (purple ninebark)

The Lamium in the shade bed has put forth a huge flush of blooms. I hope it grows to the left and fills in a space that was left behind when a large Pulmonaria suddenly disappeared.

The Geranium nudosum has begun to bloom too. While many of my hardy Geraniums are at peak, others don't even have flower buds yet. This one likes the shade and I look forward to it filling in around my Hosta.

An "Ah Ha!" moment struck me as I came to this part of the garden. I've been disappointed with this Amsonia that looks much more white than blue to me. Just a few minutes earlier I was walking down the front border and thinking that there was so much pink and blue there and not enough white. Now I know what to do with this Amsonia.

The good old standby Geranium sanguinium is just a gigantic mound of blooms today. In another week or two it will start to lean over and get messy looking but right now it's glorious.

More waves of Geraniums, these are cantabrigiense 'Karmina' cresting over the rock wall. Can you see my gnome Claus relaxing there?

The pollen was so golden and fluffy on the Tradescantia that I looked through the viewfinder to focus on it when suddenly a bee arrived. Guess the bee agreed with me and thought that pollen was perfect.

One thought that came to me several times was "must let the Stachys byzantine grow. I've had years where there was lots of lambs ears and years that it had been over-thinned. It's just such a perfect combination plant that I realize I have to let it go loose and form some good sized colonies.

As I came back to the house I see this mornings project. I need to clean out the breezeway and pick up all my tools and half finished pots along the back patio. Calie was having a reflective moment too as she sat here for quite some time with only her nose twitching like crazy as she smelled the delicious scent of nature in the air.

I hope you are all showered with garden blessings today.

Foxglove Fantasy

2008-06-06T10:35:00.003-04:00

This morning is the calm before the storm. It's cool, damp, overcast and perfect garden weather. The storm on the horizon is not a rain or wind storm, tomorrows forecast is for temperatures to soar to the mid 90's (35 celsius) and stay there for several days. Many of my poor spring perennials will surely suffer.

Right now our biennial Digitalis purpurea (Foxgloves) are bursting into bloom all over the garden. Luckily, I remember to let these beauties scatter seeds everywhere so I always have a large population of them. To be honest, I actually weed out many of them just before they begin blooming as I have too many of them!

In this opening photo I wonder if you can see the mutant scape coming up on this one plant. It's super fat and yet super thin. As it starts to bloom I will need to take more photos.

Here's a stepped back view of this area, you can see all the bloom scapes just beginning to open up their glorious flowers.

Further along in this part of the garden all the blooms are of a similar color. I try to remember to cut back the darkest purple blooms and only let the white and pale lavender blooms go to seed. The dark color though must be dominant as the majority of blooms are always dark purple.

Behind the biennial variety of Digitalis is the perennial sibling Digitalis lutea. It has pale yellow blooms and with the heatwave that is coming, I expect them to open up any day now.

I wish the perennial variety was a bit more prolific, I'm only up to three plantings of them so far.

In the herb bed are these huge white specimen. I could stand there for hours staring at them.

As a closing sneak peek, here's a Tradescantia (spiderwort) that just began blooming. I have no idea if this is a named variety or a seedling that popped up but the flowers are larger than any other in my garden and their color is wonderful.

So many gardeners have told me that they cannot get their foxgloves to reseed or reappear in their gardens. I guess my advice is to not cultivate the area near them or cover it with too much mulch. By the way, past experience tells me that they grow like crazy in a garden heavily amended with composted manure.

Do foxgloves grow for you?