Shrubs

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AN INVITATION

To a peek through parts of my garden. Nothing is styled here, this is real-time. Hoses snaking around beds and weeds.

                                                                           

Poppies, from a dear friend who acquired them from a 90-year-old gardener 40 years ago. End of this month we will celebrate her 94th birthday.

                                                                     

 some semi double, some single,  all stunning.

                                                                       

I spread the poppy seed on cultivated soil in the late fall, after a rain. These seeds need light to germinate. If they were scattered in cultivated dry soil & then watered the soil would cover the seed, excluding the light.

I always allow the seed pods to ripen. After extracting the seed to be used in bread making and saving some for the garden, the pods are used in  dry arrangements. This is an annual show.

And there are more Clematis.

                                                                     

This  Clematis is ‘Multi-Blue’,  the Viburnum  is ‘Michael Dodge’.  The viburnum  flowers will turn to clusters of  yellow berries in the fall when HOPEFULLY, the clematis will bloom again.

                                                                      

Another clematis, ‘Duchess of Edinburgh’ cascading through a Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans).

And finally,

                                                                      

The Potager. Growing now, Onions, Leeks and garlic. All the beds are enclosed with wire to keep the rabbits out.

© All photos & text 2010

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PLANTING GONE AWRY

Sometime, no matter how much thought goes into companion planting, It just does not give the results anticipated.

On a Variegated Tea Olive (Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Variegatus’) I planned a creamy white Clematis to peek through Tea Olive’s foliage.

 

                                                                            

 I did not plan on the green foliage of the Clematis!

                                                                      

So… variegated leaves peek through clematis foliage to pick up the creamy white flower!

Not exactly what I had expected. Pretty still.

© All photos & text

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DOWN THE GARDEN PATH

Curved paths create mystery. They take us to places we cannot see.

                                                                            

On the way to the compost bin,  I am greeted by Southern azaleas  (Rhododendron indica).  ‘George L. Tabor (pink) on one side and ‘G.G. Gerbing’ (white) on the other.

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Secrets of Companion Planting

“The best associations are between plants which have one element in common and another contrasted.”     – Dame Sylvia Crowe  (Distinguished British Landscape Architect)

Here the common element is the color white, while the contrasting element is size.

Large blossoms compliments of the Chinese Snowball (Viburnum macrocephalum); small blossoms are the white Lady Banks Rose (Rosa banksiae ‘Alboplena’).

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Versatile Climbers

Clematis ‘Asao’ made its appearance this week. Raised in Japan, this beauty graces the shrub Viburnum dilatatum ‘Michael Dodge.’  The Viburnum will bloom later and so will Asao, thus extending the show in this area of the garden.

In their native habitat, Clematis climb through shrubs & trees without hurting the host plant. They lift themselves by twisting their leaf stalk gently around the nearest support. I like to go along with nature. She knows what she is doing.

Imagine more of your shrubs doing double duty.