daffodils

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A TASTE OF SPRING

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When I was out walking in the garden today I was admiring the camellias. They are the evergreen structure that forms the bones of the garden and they bloom to boot!

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daffodils in the Wordsworth meadow are up and some are already blooming   …… but

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the meadow was not cut last summer so there are plenty of weeds, and several trees and limbs are down. Victims of the  heavy saturating rains and strong winds of late.

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One of the first times I’ve seen the incredible flowers of the ‘evermottled’ ginger…….. blooming at ground level.  I have not often seen them as I’m hesitant to crawl around the garden on all fours when it is cold and damp. This one just jumped out at me.

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Spring is here again!

 

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DAFFODIL ENVY

I am suffering  from Daffodil envy.

This morning I opened the computer and found the following photos on one of my favorite blogs THE GALLOPING GARDENER.

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And here I was feeling so proud of the Wordsworth Meadow! 

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Nevertheless, scenes like this were my inspiration.  

The photos were taken  at The Valley Garden in Surrey England by Charlotte Weychan. Charlotte travels and visits fabulous gardens.  Check her blog for a wonderful armchair visit to some of the best gardens.

I better get busy sourcing and planting. I think I need several lifetimes to achieve something like this!

Thank you Charlotte for use of your photos.

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SPRING!

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Spring is announced in the ‘Wordsworth Meadow’

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It does fill my heart with joy!

Every year the display increases. Presently scouting old abandoned homeplaces to rescue more Narcissus to add to the meadow.

If you have been reading this blog then you know these are ‘old timey’ bulbs that have survived for years unattended. The modern cultivars  I originally planted  disappeared after a season or two.

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The sweep of Narcissus on the left in the above photo is a younger planting than the one on the right, equal number of bulbs. Time is a huge element in garden design.

MORE SCENES FROM AROUND THE GARDEN:

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Prunus ‘Okame’ and Spiraea, wish you could hear the bees  a -buzz at the ‘all you can eat buffet’

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     Helleborus orientalis & Narcissus and the ghost of last summer’s Hydrangeas.    

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Of all the garden areas, it is the ‘Wordsworth Meadow’ that holds my heart.    It is still unfinished….

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THE CUTTING GARDEN

Between trying to weed, (while avoiding the bees) clearing the  remaining winter debris, feeding & pruning the clematis that have already budded,  trying to finish the seed selection and ordering … it has been a busy time. Spring is here…there may still be cold snaps but we are on our way.

                                                               

Above, scenes from the Bothy and the endless ‘to do list’

                                                            

The daffodils in the cutting garden are slowly diminishing and should be replaced this fall. Some have lasted several years, others just one or two seasons at most. Replanting this area is quite a challenge since there are no guidelines in the autumn. One thought was to plant the bulbs in peat pots and then transfer them to their appointed rows in spring when one can see where they are needed, but that plan never came to fruition. 

Several years ago I devised another scheme …  transplanting Muscari where the daffs had failed. Muscari sends up its foliage in the autumn so it would simply be a matter of trading the Muscari for a daff bulb. But when the spring came and the blue Muscari bloomed with the remaining daffs, the scene was so spectacular that I decided to leave it. Now however, this area needs attention.

                                                             

 Some Daffs have come up ‘blind’ this year; that is lush foliage but no flower bud. I am attributing this to the lack of cold weather…we will know for sure next spring, but this section of the cutting garden is a big disappointment this season.

                                                      

Above, these were 100 Tete`a Tete (head to head) narcissus..now it is only ‘Tete’ and very few are left. They did give a wonderful show and filled many mini vases over the last few years. I will replant that variety.

Do you have a favorite variety of daffodil?

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THE WORDSWORTH MEADOW

“For oft’ when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood

They flash upon that inward eye…”

                                                                                 

 The meadow is a moment in time.  The  living garden, evolves…. the daffs fade… this moment is gone.

                                                                                                

 One looks forward to this annual ‘happening’ with much anticipation and it is celebrated with much wine.  Spring has arrived!

                                                                                         

“I gazed -and gazed- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.”

                                                      

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THE DAFFODILS

The Wordsworth Meadow is in full glory. The very first time I looked at this property, before I saw the interior of the house, I imagined this area flooded with sweeps of Daffodils “fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

                                                                                

It was a privet and wisteria  jungle that took me months to clear. Then the planting began. the first autumn I ordered  500 bulbs recommended for the south.  The following year I planted more, but when spring arrived, only a fraction of the original planting returned. 

                                                                         

Does this look like 500 daffs? Today,this is what is left of the original planting.

                                                                         

Devastated, I thought my plan for this area would have to be abandoned untill I passed an old deserted homestead with a neat line of daffodils… big, fat,full clumps with many blooms. If these daffs could survive and INCREASE over the years….they were for me.

                                                                          

And so it began, sourcing,  digging, dividing and replanting.  Yes, I ALWAYS ASKED FOR PERMISSION.  I still regret those that were bulldozed to make way for a strip mall before I could find the owners.

                                                                                   

There are no words to describe the joy these bring every spring as I watch them multiply over the years.

Do you think it was worth the effort?

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CAN IT BE ….SPRING?

I can’t believe I went from this..Image

to this in one day!!Image

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.

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THE MEADOW CONTINUES….

The meadow continues to delight. The last of the daffodils…

                                                                                   

 are joined by  Woodland Phlox (Phlox divericata) and  Trilliums (Trillium cuneatum).

                                                                                        

Unfortunately the colours do not photograph well, the Trillium are a beautiful shade of claret, which is very effective with the blue Phlox.

                                                                                          

                                               

Every one has different markings ………amazing!!

© all photos 2011

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THE CUTTING GARDEN

 

                                                                                        

The cutting garden is located adjacent to the potager. It was in fact where my husband attempted to grow melons for several seasons. I usurped the space when  the ‘bones’ of the shade garden (Circle of Friends, Camellia Walk ) and the Viburnum Court, were planted. 

                                                                                          

 A  cutting garden devoted to supplying flowers for the house was one of my  prerequisites  dreams, when we were looking for a house with acreage. This space was in full sun, already cleared, tilled, in a word…perfect.

Divided into three distinct areas, the first, primarily for daffodils (Narcissus).

                                                                                         

 It is here I indulge myself in all the named varieties that ‘do’ in the south…even a few that don’t but are guaranteed to bloom the first year.

                                                                                                        

 Here also, are a few daffodils I have rescued from old abandoned homesteads, whose origins remain unknown.

                                                                                    

I never cut flowers from The Meadow. It is planted exclusively with heirloom bulbs I have rescued & divided over the last 13 years. (More on why in another post.) Meanwhile, enjoy the early show in the cutting garden.

                                                                                         

                                                                                             

It is so rewarding to share this abundance, I have taken to sending bunches home with friends who visit. Daffodils spread joy & the promise of spring.

© All photos & Text 2011

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A HOST OF GOLDEN DAFFODILS

“…A host, of golden daffodils…”                                                                        

“…beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

                                                                                                                                                                               

“They stretched in never-ending line………..”

                                                                                                                                                                            

“And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.”

                                                                        

My meadow… a landscape inspired by a poem.

To hear Jeremy Irons recite Wordsworth’s poem…  http://www.facebook.com/#!/BluestoneGarden

© All photos 2011