Companion Planting
CONNOISSEURS GARDEN TOUR 2
To continue the garden tour…
all were meticulously appointed…
lushly planted pots…
with a Belgian Fence as background, below…
a private putting green that can double as a Bocce Court!
The best treatment for a driveway and large parking court… antique cobbles in asphalt…
Beautiful side door… 
A Mediterranean style home deserves a Mediterranean style courtyard, below.
Then there was THE GARDENER….
I’m told he never stops working nor has he ever asked for a raise! Below, the no maintenance garden…
Interesting treatment for steps….
and finally one of my favorite gardens, below…
There is a marvelous screened porch….
overlooking a stunning English Knot garden.
Admittedly, I did not get to all the gardens. There were eleven gardens on the two-day tour and I saw only nine, in one day.
I strongly suggest this annual tour held on Mother’s Day weekend to benefit The Atlanta Botanical Garden. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
GARDENS FOR CONNOISSEURS TOUR
There is nothing like a garden tour for some inspiration and the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s “Gardens for connoisseurs Tour” is one of the best.
The gardens, all private, ranged from highly manicured to woodland all in the heart of the city.
Here are some photos I took…..
I liked the way formal elements were incorporated in to this woodland paradise….
as well as a formidable Bonsai collection.
Also, the groundplane changed to mark the transition from one garden room to another…..
Then there is the patio area around the house….
And opposite the French Doors……
I could go on and on about this garden, it is 2.75 acres with two creeks and boasts 300 different cultivars of Japanese Maples. I did not want to leave.
In stark contrast, the next garden was about as formal as Versailles! Well actually, Vaux le Vicomte , the predecessor to the gardens at Versailles.
The above garden in search of Edward Sissorshands and an assistant!
The tour will continue. I took over 250 photos!
GARDEN TOUR 2
I am tickled that the rambling rose Etain is blooming for the very first time,
I have envisioned it climbing 20 feet up the Oak tree.
On the other side I have planted ‘Rambling Rector’, another rose that could, under good cultivation reach to 30 feet. So I have hopes for this area to have real impact …..in time.
The Oakleaf Hydrangeas have formed their flower buds and are just starting to open, beyond them are the fig trees.
What I have long called the Viburnum Court should be refered to as the clematis court, since there are far more Clematis than Viburnum now.
Shame on me… those majestic shrubs are reduced to being supports for my Clem addiction!
Whenever I pass the Schiaparelli bench I congratulate myself on choosing the paint colour.
Here is a good example of either buying a plant while it’s in bloom or ordering from a reliable source.
The Clematis was supposed to be white…. oops, sorry, love it just the same , in fact this is a happy accident.
A quick peek at Clematis Josephine … So feminine!
And Clematis ‘Polish Spirit’ above.
I am just now getting around to pruning the dead flowers off the Hydrangea macrophylla. If one waits long enough there can be no mistakes, the new buds are obvious.
Earlier on I would have pruned more for shape than flowers; but now that I have the choice, I left some of the awkward branches for cutting.
When the Clematis are done… we will move on to rapsodising over the Hydrangeas!
GARDEN TOUR part 1
“You should have seen it last week!” The familiar phrase heard from gardeners, when showing visitors around. Well to avoid that I’m posting a time-lapse kind of garden tour. Photos from the garden over the last two weeks.
The Dogwoods in the meadow, like most other spring-flowering plants, cooked in the 80 degree temperatures. the blossoms did not last long. Above, in their moment of glory with the native Phlox (Phlox divericata).
Above, the view from a second floor window, Dogwoods, Lady Banks Rose (white selection) & Viburnums. Those ‘Snowballs’ (Viburnum macrocephalum) are trained into trees.
Love the tree right by the house.
Early clematis, blooming now for several weeks.
Along the North Border….Viburnum ‘Kern’s Pink’ & Baptisia…. (below)
followed by Viburnum opulus, Purple smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ ) & Styrax obassia ..heavenly fragrant bells.
Clematis ‘Carnaby’ & Cotinus ‘coggygria ‘Royal Purple’
Look at those knockout roses below.. not pruned this year, they are lush & voluptuous reaching almost 6 ‘ tall.
The rose,’ Madame Alfred Carrier’, burst out of her restraints..
so….the trellis is moving again… to paraphrase Margery Fish, “In time she will learn to walk!”
All leading up to the Shocking Pink Schiaparelli bench.
To be continued….
FROM GARDEN TO VERANDA
Bringing bouquets from the garden onto the veranda is a nice way to connect the garden to the house.
None of the big pots of hydrangeas are here yet. I wait till the 15th of April before taking them out of the Bothy. That is our last frost date.
As mentioned in earlier posts; If they make good companions in the garden they will combine well in the vase.
Going to post a Spring Garden Tour…stay tuned.
“THERE IS NOTHING OUT THERE”
Famous words from Margaret Moseley. For 44 years she has created an incredible garden. She designed and planted everything herself and has done all the maintenance, except grass cutting. (“that’s not gardening”) Only recently has she hired some help.
These photos show “nothing”.
Can you tell pink is her favorite colour?
Can’t wait for the next visit. I always learn something new from her garden and I have seen it several times a year for the last 19 years!
I am sorry the photos of her Kwanzan Cherry Tree that was in full bloom the day I took these photos were so blurred.
FROM THE VERANDA
Same view from the window in the Living Room. Dogwood & Wisteria.
HGTV INTERVIEW
Read all about it, my interview with HGTV…. All about hedges and their usefulness.
CAN IT BE ….SPRING?
I can’t believe I went from this..
to this in one day!!
How wonderful to be back in Georgia, where it appears we are in full-blown spring….
The gardening to do list grows daily as the overwhelming season is upon us. Trying to separate the list into A) what will make an impact in the garden visually, and B) plant requirements. e.g. weeding and feeding.
All the camellias, both in the Circle of Friends, and the Camellia Walk are in bloom along with the Hellebores.
Permeating the air is the fragrance of Daphne odora…. The garden is truly magnificent. A celebration of all the senses.
The daffodils… well, they deserve their own post.
GARDENING IN THE SOUTH
Perhaps what I appreciate most about gardening in the south is the fact that it is year round.
While many of the deciduous hydrangeas are loosing their foliage, the Arum groundcover is coming into its own and will soon blanket the ground.
Then there are the shrubs that bloom a second time. Above, the Chinese Witchhazel (Lorapetalum chinensis) in its second flowering.
For the rest, far from looking bare the camellia sasanqua are putting on quite a show. From a distance they could be mistaken for cascading roses ….
Close up, just as enchanting with as much diversity in form.
The potager is done with the summer crop and we are now planting garlic (late), seeding lettuce and arugula, planting kale, cabbage and broccoli. Believe it or not the summer peppers are still going strong, I just harvested these….
When the summer wildflowers die down I can see the bee hives…. wish you could taste the honey….
No, we don’t do that, we have a beekeeper in fact the bees are his, we just supply the nectar and then share the honey, good deal!
FINALLY!… WELL,SORT OF..
It has taken a few years but I finally have a purple Clematis blooming with the yellow berries of the Viburnum Michael Dodge…..sort of.. She is Elsa Spath and she is usually all purple.
Recreating Eden Landscape Blog 