Month: June 2010

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GARDEN TOUR ENGLAND & WALES

Its travel season again.  If my passport does not get here in time, I will  be homebound. I am consoling  myself with  photographs from trips past & exercising a mighty imagination!

with Tara Dillard (left) above, we enjoyed this perennial garden which we entered via. . .

this opened gate, (above) we found. . .

along this wall.

Look at the perfectly edged Vegetable garden below. Can this be real? No mulch, that means constant weeding & cultivating!

Look at these gardens below. The English are masters of the ‘mixed border’.

Notice how the repetition of tall plants gives the  border  below rhythm, while the one above is colour driven.                                                                     

Ancient yews,

some clipped into fantastical shapes,

elegant balustrading punctuated by a pot on every pier. . .                                                              and  the incomparable countryside …                                                                      There must always be time for tea.

and more gardens. . .

featuring hydrangeas!! I know I promised no more … but these  are not mine and I can’t help that others find them as appealing as I do.

© All photos & text 2010

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MORE HYDRANGEAS

This hydrangea is most unusual. Also, I do not know which it is. When I bought it it was labeled Hydrangea subsp. sargentiana. Since then, Elizabeth Dean of Wilkerson Mill Gardens (where it originated) was told it was not a true sargentian, the hairs went the wrong way!   Whatever. It is one of the last to bloom and I love it.

                                                                     

This is a large plant,  6′ tall

                                                                      

with large fuzzy leaves,                                                                      

    buds that remind me of cauliflower                                                                    

and lacecap inflorescences.

In her Atlanta garden, Penny McHenry grew several fuzzy leafed hydrangeas and although they all had different names, we could never see many differences.

 Mike Dirr says “The Hydrangea aspera group is a mess, and I don’t know anyone who could reliably identify the middle ground variants between H. aspera and subsp. sargentiana”

Just a few more and I promise no more hydrangeas till the paniculata group starts its show.

                                                                     

Above, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Fuji Waterfall’.   Below,  Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Beaute Vendomoise’ slightly drooping… it is hot!

                                                                      

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Fasan’  above, aka ‘Pheasant Twilight’  one  of the Teller series.

                                                                     

Hydrangea serrata ‘O amacha’ nishiki above, opens white and slowly turns to red.

                                                                      

Hydrangea serrata ‘Kyosumi’ above, and finally, below, H. serrata Kurenai.

This hydrangea too opened white and turns to red. See it here.

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MEANWHILE, back in the garden…

The hydrangeas are at their peak. This year they are particularly beautiful having benefitted from a long cold winter.

                                                                           

                                                                        Hydrangea macrophylla (unknown) on left & Hydrangea macrophylla ‘ Lilacina’    above

                                                                      Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’ is non-stop hose in hose flowers.

                                                                      

                                                                     

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ on left and Hydrangea macrophylla ‘White Wave’  (above)

                                                                     

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Hayes Starburst’ a variation of the native  found by Hayes Jackson.

As a result of last weeks garden tour, I have added a pot to the Circle of Friends.

                                                                      

                                                                     

Much better.  Someplace for the eye to rest.

PORTRAITS:

                                                                     

 Above Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Jogasaki’  Below, Hydrangea serrata ‘ Beni Gaku’

                                                                      

The stunning  Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Geoffrey Chaudbund’

                                                                     

And the mysterious “From Penny’s back door” If anyone can ID this I would appreciate it.

© All photos and text 2010

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MORE GREAT IDEAS

That Brilliant idea in my last post was that of Robert Meaders’, architect extraordinaire.  Also seen in his garden…

                                                                        

A welcoming collection of pots,

                                                                     

 an urn, perfectly placed in a border.

                                                                     

Another pot, that echoes the foliage of the hostas and the hydrangeas beyond.

                                                                      

Many other delightful & unique features  make this garden truly special.

Thank you Robert.

©All photos and text 2010

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BRILLIANT IDEA!

Seen on the garden tour last weekend.

                                                                          

Between two windows, a blank brick wall is made into a sensational seating area.

                                                                     

 Not only does it overlook the garden, it reflects it!! Yes, that is a mirror. Brilliant!

© All photos & text 2010

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GARDEN TOUR

Yesterday I ventured into Atlanta for one of the annual garden tours.

This year the majority of gardens were small  urban spaces, well-appointed  for outdoor living.

                                                                            

Above, a comfortable chaise in shade for reading and listening to the sound of the waterfall (below).

                                                                     

                                                              

Festoons of ivy grace an otherwise nondescript wall along a driveway.

                                                                       

Lushly planted window boxes.

                                                                     

And below, a private putting green!

                                                                     

I will share more highlights during the week.

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NOT A GOOD THING!

I tried to grow some Clematis with Hydrangea paniculata, the late-blooming  panicle hydrangea, (sometimes refered to as ‘Pee Gee’ or ‘Tardiva’.) but this is not successful.

                                                                   

  Clematis Purpurea Plena Elegans In Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pink Diamond’    ( above & below)                                                               

This hydrangea is pruned drastically early spring. When the clematis starts to grow, the branches of the hydrangea are low and bare .  There,  they intertwine. The hydrangea however, keeps on growing, thus  the clematis  blooms deep in the shrub and not in front, where it is wanted.

 Here Clematis texensis ‘Gravetye Beauty’  hidden in  foliage.                                                                   

 Another lesson learned.

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HYDRANGEA TIME!!

The very first bloom on ‘Mini-Penny’. (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Mini-Penny’)

                                                                     

Oakleaf hydrangeas line a path below

                                                                     

leading to more heavenly hydrangeas.

                                                                     

Above, a glorious mix of Hydrangeas. Oakleaf (Hydrangea quercifolia) Annabelle (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) and blue mopheads,(Hydrangea macrophylla) assorted, many of them Penny Macs.

                                                                      

Variegated kerria (Kerria Japonica ‘Pictum’) weaves it way through Hydrangea “Annabelle’ (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) Gold Heart Ivy (Hedera helix “Gold Heart’) climbing the trees.

                                                                   

The ‘Circle of Friends’ consists of camellias and hydrangeas, either gifted to me, or those that arrived via cuttings from friend’s gardens. The identity of some have been lost, they therefore  wear ID tags that read ‘From Penny’s back door’ or ‘Lacecap at Penny’s stream’, indicating where they originated.

The inverted pot served as a plinth for St. Fiacre, but he is temporarily needed elsewhere. (I have a shortage of statuary.)

                                                                     

   Above,’ Penny Mac’ (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Penny Mac’) Blue, and ‘Madame Emile’ (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Madame Emile Mouillere’) White.

This show is just starting. I rely on the hydrangeas to carry the ornamental garden through the summer months. As the blossoms age they become papery. They can then be harvested  for winter arrangements.

© All photos & text