GARDEN ACCESSORIES

Garden accessories should  be ….

                                                                          

wildly whimsical…

                                                                   

or one with nature.

THE GARDEN UNFOLDS

An overcast and rainy day. Great for the garden, good for photography. In the last post the photo of the entrance to both the Camellia Walk & Circle of Friends was not clear so here are some taken today.

                                                                  

This is where the Camellia Walk begins. a few yards over to the right  lies… (keep your eye on the pink flowering camellia)

                                                                     

the walkway that leads to the Circle of Friends. Note that the pink flowering camellia plays a role in both garden rooms.

                                                                  

 

The east side of  The Circle of Friends, punctuated by variegated boxwoods (Buxus sempervirens ‘variegata’). This space is actually oval in shape.  All the plants in this little garden were gifted to me or were cuttings from the gardens of friends, hence the name. It is encircled by camellias (as background structure) and hydrangeas.

                                                                     

On the west side, the structure of camellias is the back side of the Camellia Walk. Like most areas in the garden it is unfinished however, what I plan can be found here.

 Leaving this area and following the path we intersect with the Camellia Walk . (it curves round)

                                                                      This is marked by the interesting texture of four upright Japanese Plum Yews (Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Fastigiata’) and underplanted with variegated Japanese Sedge (Carex morrowii);  the idea being to tie in the variegation and create an ‘Elizabethan Collar” around the yews.

A few yards past this intersection lies the Mourning Bench. As I have said before; one can pass it without noticing. It sits between the two variegated boxwoods on the right. Below…

                                                                 

 

If this path is followed further,one gets to the Potager. We have been walking north. Below, the view from the north looking south back through to the meadow.

                                                                 

The repetition of  the Variegated Box & the Carex create  rhythm and serve to tie the sequential spaces together into a coherent whole.

To be continued…

© All photos & text

GLORIOUS DAYS

The weather has been beautiful this past week and there is no better place to spend these glorious days than in the garden.  Below, The Meadow gets its annual mowing.

                                                                      

                                                                       

It always looks so verdant after the cut. Next the Daffodils  will pierce the ground and spring will be back in a few short weeks! (always an optismist.)

The photography however, has not been very satisfying. Too much glare now that the canopy is thinning out. Guess I’ll have to try earlier or later in the day.

                                                                 

One of my favorite blogs is Edith Hope’s Garden Journal.  Her last comment made me realize that I need to show long shots of the property to give some context for the photos. So here are a few…

                                                                  

The front of the house, circa 1844. The meadow is to the right (east) below…

                                                                     

                                                                      

East side of the house from the meadow.

                                                                      

The east side of the house from the entrance to the ‘Camellia Walk’.

Backtracking just a few steps….

                                                                     The meadow terminates at the entrance to the Camellia Walk on the left and the walk to the Circle of Friends straight ahead.

Here you can see some ‘Garden Arithmetic’; the camellias form both one side of the Camellia Walk as well as the background for the hydrangeas on one side in The Circle of Friends.

The expression is divide to multiply your space!

I’ll continue the tour with better photos this week.

© All photos & text 2010

PHOTO TOUR

                                                               

                                                                                                         

                                                                   

                                                                    

                                                                      

                                                                  

 And in the potager…

                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

© All photos 2010

REBLOOMING CLEMATIS

If you have been following this blog you know I have a passion for clematis. (see categories)

                    Clematis ‘Madame Edouard Andre’I was hoping some of my plants would re-bloom this autumn but such is not the case.  However, my friend Lyndy Broder has many and she was kind enough to send me some photos. BTW she grows well over 300 of them in her Georgia garden. (I’ll post her garden this coming spring..it is a real treat.) Meanwhile, these are blooming  in her garden NOW, in NOVEMBER!!!! (I love gardening in the south!)

                                                                     

Clematis ‘Reimans’, an Estonian hybrid, above, C. ‘Angelique’ below

                                                                     

                                                                 

Clematis ‘Solina’ blends beautifully with these asters…

                                                                    

Above, Clematis cirrhosa ‘Lansdowne Gem’  has nodding bell-shaped flowers and  evergreen foliage.

Whenever there is a question on Clematis I call Lyndy. She is on speed dial during pruning season,  putting down her secateurs to share her vast knowledge. And I do mean vast. She is on the Board of Directors of the International Clematis Society and contributes regularly to their website. Recently she wrote the section on Clematis for Allan Armitage’s book on Vines & climbers.

 To her credit, all this knowledge was aquired within the last 15 years when she developed an interest in Horticulture, AFTER she retired from a 9-5 !

                                        Clematis ‘Ville de Lyon’

All the above photos were taken by her brilliantly talented daughter MIA BRODER.

AUTUMN SHOWS OFF

My dear friend Carolyn K.D.  sent me these incredible photographs from the mountains of North Carolina where she and her husband spent a glorious week.

                                                                             

                                                                   

                                                                      

These colours remind me of the late September pilgrimage to Vermont my family would take.   Autumn is an incredible season.

Photos © CKD

CAMELLIAS! CAMELLIAS!

Blooming now

                                                                          

Camellia sasanqua ‘Maiden’s Blush’  above

                                                                   

Camellia sasanqua ‘Jean May’ above & below

                                                                       

                                                                   

Camellia sasanqua “Daydream’

                                                                   

Below, one of the Ackerman Hybrids,  C. ‘Winter’s Charm’

                                                                    

                                                                      

Does this look familiar? I posted on this area in spring when the Azaleas were blooming. This is the walk to the compost.

Dr. William Ackerman  of the National Arboretum crossed Camellia oleifera & Camellia hiemalis or C. sasanqua  to produce a plant hardy to 10F. If you live in colder climes…the Ackerman Hybrids are for you.

It has been said that the trinity of Southern Gardens are azaleas, hydrangeas & camellias. The latter two giving the longest show. These Camellias will bloom a full 6 weeks.  THAT, is a show!

                                                                

The above beauty never had a nametag. AND speaking of a long show…

                                                                      

Some hydrangeas are still stunning.

On a personal note, the last weeks have been very difficult.  I will try to post more often in the future.

© All photos & text 2010

RANDOM THOUGHTS

                                                                     

 Evergreen ferns keep the garden looking lush in winter.

                                                                     

Here the Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora)  adds texture to the camellia walk, (above & below)

                                                                   

so does the Arborvitae or Moss Fern (Selaginella pallescens) (below)

                                                                    

 and the Tassel Fern. (Polystichum polyblepharum)

                                                 

Seating,  painted matt black, does not detract from the real interest..STRUCTURE & PLANTS!

                                                                  

 This is after all, a garden. ( I am all for a touch of whimsy… just not here.)

The individual differences in seedlings will always amaze me. Below, Toad Lilies (Tricyrtis hirta) that seeded themselves.

 

Finally… why I do not want curtains.

                                                                      

                                                          ( Mom, this is for you)            

 

STRUCTURE IN THE GARDEN

                                                                   

With their rich evergreen foliage camellias are used in my garden to create the ‘ architecture’. They form the ‘walls’ in my shade garden which give it structure.

                                                                   

My walls talk.

  © all photos & text 2010

THE CAMELLIA WALK

When I was planning my southern garden, I knew I had to have a Camellia Walk.

                                                                    

 Many years ago, when I lived in Massachusetts, I would regularly  visit the Lyman Estates. It was there that I saw my first Camellias. A visit to Mr Lyman’s greenhouses in February was an incredible sight. There were greenhouses where  grapes were ripening during winter, fragrant Jasmines & Daphne. One greenhouse was devoted to Camellias and they formed a spectacular avenue.   It was a southern garden in a series of greenhouses.

I know that this was where the seed for our move south was sown. I wanted to garden & live where it was possible to have Camellias bloom in the winter. I am by the way Canadian, a native Montrealer, so I am no stranger to long, grey, dreary winters. Below, my antidote…

                                                                       

  the entrance to The Camellia Walk …AKA …The Winter Garden.

                                                                       

 Truly Southern with its  swept dirt, curved path; it leads from the back of the house to the compost & (former) chicken house.

Underplanted  primarily with evergreen ferns & Lenten Roses  (Helleborus orientalis), it never looks bare even in the dead of winter. In fact, that is when it comes to life!

                                                                  

Stay tuned for more!

© All photos & text 2010

GOLDEN DAYS

Another perfect day in the garden. I love the quality of  light at this time of year. Look at the shadows in the meadow.

                                                                  

The air is scented with the fragrance of the Tea Olive ( Osmanthus fragrans) and the perfume of Elaeagnus.  Both huge fragrances from the tiniest of flowers.

                                                                   

More projects made their way onto the’ To Do’ list… below a project

                                                                         

abandoned in spring, waiting to be completed.

(The Putti, above, has been with me my entire gardening life.)

                                                                      

 There is a  brick pattern I would like to replicate for this area which is an entrance to the cutting garden. All these projects must fit into the maintenance schedule. That sounds like I am organised…I am not. My gardening is usually emergency management, although I do go out with a plan.

                                                                   

Look at this cluster of berries!! No wonder the birds are building nests in all the shrubs.

                                                                   

 Good food source, although it will take several frosts before these berries are palatable for our feathered friends.

                                                                 

AND, Clematis texensis ‘Catherine Clanwilliam’ gets the Energizer Bunny Award. She is still blooming.

© All photos & text 2010

THE MEADOW

The Meadow is located where the walk from the Circle of  Friends terminates on the south side. When I first saw this area I knew this would be where I could try “The English Thing’ with naturalized bulbs.

                                                                   

Since the foliage of the bulbs must be allowed to mature and the wildflowers must be allowed to ripen their seed, no mowing is allowed. Voila… a MEADOW! 

                                                                      

Totally delightful, easily sustainable, pollinator friendly …. a gift for living away from the city. I wish you could smell it after it gets it annual haircut.

Daffodils (Narcissus) in early spring followed by Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata) and Trilliums (Trillium cuneatum), and NOW  Spider lilies (lycoris radiata)!! 

                                                                        

© All photos & text 2010

OOPS!

I might have been too hasty in suggesting the introduction of the The Camellia Walk . It’s really not ready for its close-up! Quick peek down below.

                                                                     

 And there is only’ Hana Jima’ blooming there now.

                                                                   

 Sparkling Burgundy,  below, (there are 3 of them in the garden) is located in the circle of friends, and the other two are not part of the camellia walk at all.

                                                                   

My friend Marsha has Camellia japonica ‘Daikagura’ blooming now! (thanks for the photo Marsha.)

                                                                    I have been out gardening from dawn to dusk. Weather is perfect and much needs to be done as one season ends and another begins.

                                                                    

The cutting garden along with the potager  has been seriously neglected this season due to health issues. So now its  time to pay the piper . I do this with the ‘weed dragon’

                                                                                                                                  

and no matter how careful…there is always some collateral damage.

                                                                  

 Still, I use this tool. For large neglected  areas … perfect.

                                                                   

 Eggplant & basil still producing in the potager. But  salad greens must be sown now & cabbage, kale, onions & garlic. I hope I am not too late on the winter veg.

NEW GARDEN SEASON!

We finally got some rain…

                                                                     

a good, long, soaking, rain and temperatures have dropped to somewhere near ‘normal’ for this time of year. Hard to believe we are at the end of September begining of October!

                                                                        

One of the self sowing, perennials in my garden is the Toad Lily (Tricyrtis hirta). This plant has graceful arching foliage of matt, fuzzy, texture and flowers that look like orchids (below) which open along each axil of the leaf.

                                                                  

 Its bloom time coincides with the first camellias, marking a NEW GARDENING SEASON.

In my garden, the first Camellias to bloom are the Tea Plant, (Camellia sinensis)

                                                                    

Camellia sasanqua ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ 

                                                                    

 and Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana Jima’. (below)

                                                                      

 Typically the sasanqua camellias  bloom through the autumn followed by the japonica type that will continue all winter. More on the differences in the next post, when I welcome you to ‘The Camellia Walk.’… another part of  the garden.

© All photos & text 2010