Our Garden Gate

Posts Tagged ‘growing flowers’

Front gate with Clematis

It has been a nice, warm summer so the flowers are thriving this year.

The arbor built over the south gate a couple of years ago has finally been covered in roses this year.

All of the Clematis are finally maturing enough to really begin to put on a show. Most of them are 3 years old, some are 4 years old.

Here are some shots of the garden that include roses, clematis, hollyhocks, catmint, salvia, peonies, irises, feverfew, centranthus, lavender, daylilies, oriental lilies, snapdragons, hostas, dogwood, delphiniums, larkspur and many others.

Astilbe blooming in the shade of the back yard garden

New Dawn rose covering picket fence by driveway.

Roses under the Aprium tree.

New Dawn roses covering the south gate arbor. Queen Elizabeth roses in the background.

Larkspur, Roses and Delphiniums with Feverfew in early morning sun

Lilies planted spring of 2012.

Clematis on the picket fence by the Roses and Feverfew with Hollyhocks in the background.

Sally Holmes roses in the back garden

Walkers Low Catmint in front garden

hostas in front garden

Lamium blooming in the shade of the front garden

Snapdragons grew from seeds thrown from plants last year.

Grape vines covering the arbor. Many, many grapes coming this year.

Clematis blooming on a post of the arbor over the deck.

Full Moon Rising roses blooming on the picket fence by the driveway

Full Moon Rising roses

Full Moon Rising rose bud

This is one of those lemons/lemonade things.

For some reason, none of our Asparagus survived this winter. I don’t know if I hadn’t planted them deep enough or if the winter was too bitterly cold, or if there was a disease or fungus or whatever. But no Asparagus.

Dead Asparagus bed.

So…after looking at that empty bed for a few weeks, waiting and waiting, I decided to dig. At first I was digging to see if there was anything happening down below. When I found all of the Asparagus gone (DOA) I decided to really start digging.

I get excited when there is a blank space in the garden because it’s so fun to plan an new garden area and to make it happen. This new space is between a peach tree and the grape arbor. At the back is a 6′ wooden fence and large rocks in the front. A blank canvas.

I wanted something that would grow tall in the back, taller than the fence but not tall enough to shade the grape vines on the arbor. I wanted something in the mid-range in the middle and a little shorter closer to the front. Then much smaller plants in the very front.

New flower bed just planted.

On top of all that, I wanted plants that would have a long bloom time  and be long lived. In other words, a permanent bed. I don’t like spending a lot of money on annuals that have to be re-planted each and every year.

I chose Hibiscus (Rose of Sharon, Hardy Hibiscus, Althea are other names) for the back. They will grow to about 8-9′ and bloom all Summer and Fall.

In front of the Hibiscus I decided to use Centranthus ruber (Jupiter’s Beard) since it can get to about 4′ easily and blooms from Spring through Fall. A very tough and beautiful plant and so easily grown.

In front of the Centranthus I used Garden Phlox. It too has a long bloom time and is very easy to grow. It will reach about 30″.

For the very front I planted Snapdragons. They aren’t perennials but they have re-seeded freely in my garden so I think I can could on them to re-appear each year.

On each side of this bed is a stand of Hollyhocks which re-seeded a few years ago and I just let them stay.

Now the fun of watching and waiting. It’s one thing to plan it all out and know what each plant is supposed to do, but  waiting and watching for the magic to happen is part of the joy of gardening.

Garden Phlox

Hardy Hibiscus, Rose of Sharon

Snapdragons

Centranthus ruber, Jupiter’s Beard

Lilacs and Tulips

Oh happy day when the Lilacs are finally in bloom. I’ve always loved them and had planted 4 a couple of years ago. They haven’t done much until this year and there are quite a few blossoms to enjoy. They smell so good and seem to last a long time.

In my Dad’s yard were huge Lilacs that bore massive amounts of blooms. I would cut arms full each year to bring home. I realized that in the house a little goes a long way. They have rather heavy perfume. But when the weather is nice and warm (it’s getting there) I can open the windows to get some ventilation. Then I can have them everwhere without driving us out.

This bouquet is for a friend’s birthday, but soon this house will be smelling good!

Tulips blooming in the spring

After a very cold, snow laden winter and a very chilly, wet spring (since March 21, the official beginning of spring), we finally have some sunny and warmer weather. What a beautiful day it is and even though the yard looks pretty bad still with all the winter debris still lying about, there is beginning to be some growth and even a few flowers.

The fruit trees are in bloom and the tulips are doing their thing, which is being gorgeous.

Tulips from the garden

I look forward to a all that’s coming in the garden, perennials coming back up, blooms beginning to pop everywhere, little tiny fruit beginning to form on the apricot, apple, plum, peach and cherry trees. I guess most of all I look forward to just being in the garden, whether working or relaxing, just being there, instead of shut up in the house.

Plants wintering over in the house.

Speaking of house, this week all the plants that had to winter over inside get to go back out and the house will return to normal. It is kind of nice have them around us when the winter is raging outside, but enough is enough and the house always seems so much larger after they are all returned to their outdoor places. They’ll be happier and we will too.

Stock plants for sale at nursery

I did try Stock last year and absolutely LOVED it. It is so beautiful with its pink, lavender and white flowers,  but the most wonderful thing about it was the way it perfumed the air all around it. We had so many comments on how good our deck area smelled and it was all because of the Stock.

See last years post about Stock at: http://wp.me/p1OXDF-20u

The thing about Stock is that it likes cold weather and can’t tolerate heat. So plant very early in the spring. We enjoyed them for a long time, until the summer heat knocked them back. What a nice surprise though when the cool weather of fall came, Stock seedlings began to grow and got almost big enough to bloom again when the first frost came. I planted small plants from a nursery and also planted some seeds to see how they would do. Both did great.

That why I’m hopeful that it re-seeds, and this spring will be especially sweet.

Stock info

After being inundated with a couple of feet of snow (which has been on the ground now about 2 weeks), and being house bound

Delphiniums, Asian lillies, Yarrow,Hollyhocks and Centranthus

because of the ice storm yesterday that left a quarter inch of solid ice on driveways, sidewalks and roads (the interstate was closed, as well as all the runways at the airport) I am SO ready for spring and summer.

Sweet smelling Phlox and Roses

It’s times like this that I’m so glad that I’ve taken lots and lots of pictures of our garden so I can, not only enjoy looking at them during the cold days of cabin fever, but to also evaluate the garden to see what’s working and what might need some tweaking.

Here are a few shots of warmer times in our garden.

Queen Elizabeth roses reaching about 8'

Fresh flowers from the garden

Grape vines covering the arbor

Clematis on gate and Phlox

Fruit tree and flowers,garden

Hollyhocks

Purple Cone flower and Day Lilies

Iris, the perfect flower

Sugar Snap Peas beginning to grow

Asian Lilly

Grapes ripening on the arbor

Heaven on Earth roses

Yarrow

The Snapdragons in these pots are volunteers from last years plants.

Since I’d never grown Snapdragons before last summer, I had no idea what a wonderful plant it is. Not only is it pretty, and the kids like to make the dragon’s mouth open, but it re-seeds freely. This year I planted lots and lots and next year I hope to have them filling in everywhere.

I did learn that there are taller varieties that grow to 3′ – 4′, and that would determine where they should go in the garden. I have some of both in my garden.

The other plants that I know re-seed, at least here in zone 6, are Hollyhocks, Cosmos, Bachelor Buttons, and sometimes Zinnias. I’m sure there are others, those are just the ones I know of.

Butterfly Eyes

Brandy Rose rose and Sage

Columbine

Easy Does It roses

Clematis on arbor gate

Chives and Sage in bloom

Climbing Blaze rose on outside of back fence

Pink Irises

Centranthus in bloom

Snapdragons in a pot

Transplanted Rhubarb has come up (Lettuce, Beets, Swiss Chard, Kohlrabi, Tomatoes, Green Beans and Onions in raised beds)

Butterfly on Centranthus

All the Hostas made it through the winter

Creeping Phlox in bloom

Iris

Rose Bud

Very fragrant Graham Thomas rose

Early Clematis

Iris

Springtime in the garden is magical…at least this spring it is. Last spring was so cold and wet, maybe that’s why I’m appreciating this year so much.

Even though the flowers are just beginning to bloom, there are so many more that are just waking up and setting buds. The saying with perennials…”first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap“. This is the third year for most of our perennials and I am expecting some leaping.

So much to look forward to in the garden this year.

Foxglove grown from seed.

Gardening is a hobby that is time consuming and can get expensive. But it doesn’t have to cost a lot. There are many ways to have a beautiful garden without spending much money. Shoestring gardening can be done easily, following these simple tips and gardening how-to’s.

Most of my garden was created by shoestring gardening. I grew some perennials and biennials from seeds. All of our Purple Cone Flowers (Echinacea) were grown from one packet of seed, which took a little longer but I sure got a lot of plants for $1.89. The Foxglove (Digitalis) growing all through our garden came from one seed packet. Both of these plants reseed themselves, as do many other beautiful flowers.

Some of the other flowers I’ve grown from seeds are Delphiniums, Zinnias, Cosmos and Hollyhocks.

Echinacea grown from seed

This is just one way to have plenty of flowers without spending a lot of money.

Growing fresh vegetables from seed is super easy and cheap, cheap, cheap. Check out more ways to garden on a shoestring and have a beautiful, productive garden.

Hollyhocks grown from seed

Cosmos grown from seed

Zinnias grown from seed

Irise

My Dad was a gardener and he grew a lot of things, from roses to fruit trees. He had a beautiful collection of bonsai that he had cared for for about 25-30 years. He loved growing Rhododendrons and also had collected some beautiful Irises. Unfortunately, as he aged, and as his macular  degeneration became worse, he was unable to garden as much as he wanted to.

A couple of years ago we helped my Dad clean out his Iris bed. The weeds had taken over and the Irises needed dividing. We

Iris

dug them all up so that we could untangle the roots of the weeds from the Iris roots. There were too many to fit back into the newly prepared bed so we took the ones that were left over. There was no way to know which ones were planted in his garden, and which ones we got. They didn’t bloom that first year after moving them, but this year they have been spectacular. Not all of them have bloomed yet, but here are pictures of the ones that are blooming now.

Sadly,  Dad passed away on Christmas day. I like to think that he is enjoying these beautiful blooms as much as we are.

Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris

Cosmos grown from seed

When we bought our house 2 years ago, we removed almost all of the lawn, leaving only the parking strip in the front and a small patch of lawn on each side of the front walkway. That left a lot of empty space to fill. Even allowing for the future deck, grape arbor, raised vegetable beds, fruit trees and garden paths, there were still a lot of empty flower beds.

Since plants cost so much, especially perennials and shrubs, we had to figure out the least expensive ways to get the plants we wanted.

We planted some of our perennials from seeds, like Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea), Foxglove (Digitalis), Canterbury Bells (Campanula) and Delphiniums. It takes longer to get mature plants and blooms, but you sure get a lot of plants for your money. All of these did really well and come back each year.

Most of our flower beds are filled with roses and perennials, the majority of which were bought this time of year (Sep. & Oct.) when they had been marked down 50-75% because it’s near the end of the growing season and merchants want to get rid of them.

Some of the ones we bought looked pretty sad after a long, hot summer in a pot, but because they were perennials, it didn’t matter. I knew that if we got them in the ground and took good care of them that next Spring they would come back out and be beautiful.

Echinacea grown from seed

So check out the garden centers and nurseries, don’t forget to check grocery stores that carry plants. Online nurseries also have some great deals because they are also trying to get rid of their stock before winter. It doesn’t matter if the plant is a little ratty looking, as long as it’s alive. This only applies to perennials, not annuals, which will die at the end of the season anyway.

A good source of free plants is from friends who have mature plants that need dividing. This is such a good source of plants because if a plant needs to be divided then you know that it grows well in your area.

Taking cuttings from plants and rooting, then potting them, is another good source of free plants.

Have an idea of the size of the space you’re trying to fill and read the plant labels to see if it’s a good fit. Perennials look good in groups of 3, 5 or 7 plants.

Use markers with the plants’ names and stick them in the ground where you plant them, because when they die down in the winter it might be hard to remember what you planted and where.

Not doing that is why I have some mystery plants in my garden that I hope to learn the name of one day.

Until your shrubs and perennials mature and reach their full size you’ll have room to plant annual seeds such as Zinnias, Cosmos, Bachelor Buttons and Marigolds. I’ve used these to fill in the spaces and they make great cutting flowers. Save the seeds from these and you’ll never have to buy seeds again.

You can have such a wonderful yard and not spend much money, just track down those bargains, don’t be afraid to plant seeds and make some good gardening friends who like to share.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6575025

Early Clematis in bloom on iron gate of grape arbor

One of the earliest signs that Spring is really here, is the early Clematis bursting with blooms. I have a lot of Clematis and unfortunately I bought most of them before I understood the different blooming/pruning patterns completely.

After a season of the quick, early bloomers and then a season of the last all summer and into fall bloomers, well I thought I’d really made some poor choices of some of my Clematis. But, now when the early ones are blooming so beautifully, when most other plants are just setting buds for blooms, I’m thinking the early ones do have their advantages. After a long winter (and this one wasn’t all that bad) it’s so nice to again see some color in the garden…the earlier the better,

Flower bed all cleaned out and the roses have been pruned

See this mornings post for the “before” pictures of these flower beds.

Underneath all of that old, dead debris from the winter, green life is pushing its way up. It’s amazing how much growth has taken place. It won’t be long before everything is getting big and setting buds for spring and summer blooms.

I cleared the asparagus bed and was amazed to see asparagus spears already appearing. It must be this mild season we’re having. Bad timing for us since we’re about to leave on vacation, I guess I can get someone to harvest the spears for me so they will keep coming. Since this is the fourth year on the plants, maybe we can get a few weeks of cuttings when we return home.

Flower bed by south gate all cleaned out

The peonies are coming up and the roses and many other perennials are leafing out. The apricot, peach and aprium trees are in bloom. Even though I have only a few hyacinths, they are in full bloom, as are the daffodils.

I lost a lot of tulip blooms to the deer last year and so this year I’m trying to protect them with some mesh. I noticed today that they have chomped down the tulips in the front flower bed that I hadn’t covered, but the covered ones are still looking good.

Once I’ve finished with all this not-so-fun clean up, then maybe I’ll get to sit back and enjoy watching the garden come to life.

Creeping Phlox, Hardy Geraniums, Daylilies, Wormwood and Liatris all coming up in the front corner bed.

Winter mess to clean up in the spring

This is an unusual spring for two reasons. First of all, because I was away all last fall and winter, I wasn’t able to clean out the flower beds and prepare them for winter. This means more work this spring.  Second, thankfully, we had a very mild winter and the spring seems to be early and mild.

So the weather is bidding me to come into the garden and clean up the mess I should have cleaned up last fall. It’s amazing that everything can appear to be so dead, but as I pull away the piled up leaves and debris, there is already life stirring underneath.

Flower beds by south gate ready for spring clean-up

Flower bed on corner by the stop sign

These  are  “before” pictures of a small portion of our garden. I will post more pictures later on to show progress and to show all the growth taking place “down under”.

Primroses for sale

Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than emperors.

- Mary Cantwell

Garden Design (Green is Flower Beds)

Before the “real” gardening season gets underway, I wanted to take time to posts some pictures of some of the most amazing orchids we saw for sale in a garden center in California in February.

Orchids for sale in CA.

I like orchids, but I’ve only seen them grown seriously once. Most people may grow one potted orchid, trying to keep it alive and blooming as long as possible. When I lived in zone 8, I visited the greenhouse of an orchid grower. He had some beautiful plants, very healthy. See http://wp.me/P1OXDF-1cd.

I have never seen the variety that was available for sale when we were in southern Ca. The colors were unbelievable and the plants were so large and healthy. And, they were much less expensive than the ones I see for sale here in zone 6.

It made me want to try to have at least one.

Orchids for sale at garden center in Ca.

Orchid

Pink Orchid

Orchid Zygopetalum

Yellow Orchid

White Orchid

White orchids

Absolutely Gorgeous Orchids for sale

Clematis in bloom

There are basically two types of Clematis, ones that flower in early spring and those that flower beginning in summer and bloom ALL summer long. They are pruned differently, so it’s good to know which you have (and if you don’t have any Clematis growing, you are definitely missing something wonderful), so you’ll know when and how much to prune. See (http://wp.me/P1OXDF-Ps).

The ones that bloom in early spring don’t need any pruning. If you need to prune to control the size or shape, at least wait until after it finishes blooming.

Clematis on post by deck

The ones that bloom all summer long (and fall too) need to be pruned back to about 12″ to 18″ from the ground. This will help the plant grow more vigorously and to have way more blooms. This needs to be done while the plant is still dormant, before it buds out in the spring. The stems and leaves will be all dead and crispy, so pruning will be easy.

If you don’t get around to pruning, no problem. It won’t hurt the plant, and you won’t get as many blooms, but the plant will be okay.

Clematis

Clematis are so great. If you’ve got something for them to climb on (they like sunshine but also like for their roots to be in the shade), whether its a post, trellis, fence or a bush or tree, plant at least one. I really like the Reiman, it’s a steady bloomer, but there are so many good ones out there. See http://wp.me/p1OXDF-fF

When you buy a Clematis, it’s best to get a potted one that is already at least 18″ long. If you get the really small ones, they can take a little while getting established. Soon, the garden centers will have plenty to choose from. Check em’ out.

Pansies in Las Vegas March, 2012

It’s about time for the Pansies, Crocus, Hyacinth, Tulips and Forsythia, to name a few, to start showing their faces all over the place. The days are warming up and even though the nights are still chilly, and there is still the real threat of more  hard frost before the middle of May, it’s hard not to get spring fever when the daytime temperatures are in the mid 60′s.

As I survey our “end of winter” garden/yard, it’s hard to believe it can ever recover. All it takes though, is a couple of flowers to start showing up and the winter blues evaporate and the excitement and hope of spring take over.

Cute Pansy Faces of Spring

Some of the really early birds, like rhubarb, have already popped up and started unfolding, but it is the spring flowers that create the excitement and joy of spring.

I’ve been missing gardening…can you tell?

Stock plants for sale at nursery

When we were in Arizona recently, I discovered a wonderful plant with beautiful flowers and a heavenly scent. They were growing in a pot on the front porch and they perfumed the whole area. The blooms remind me of larkspur a little. The plants were called Stock or Matthiola and it is an annual.

I intend to not only have them in pots on the deck, but growing in the flower beds all around the deck and grape arbor. I love plants that smell so good that they make the whole yard smell great too.

Depending on your climate, these plants can be grown from seeds or bought as seedlings at the local nursery. If the climate is milder, they can be sown directly into the garden, otherwise, they can be started indoors and set out as seedlings. I think I’m going to try to direct sow and also pick up some at the nursery. It’ll be fun to see which ones do the best. Since these plants prefer cooler temperatures, they should be planted early. They need full sun but can tolerate light shade.

These plants are sensitive to too much moisture, so make sure they have well drained soil. Adding plenty of compost will keep them well fed to produce lots of flowers.

Stock varieties can be 12 to 36 inches tall, so check the label to see which ones your getting so you’ll know where to use them in the garden. The taller ones will work in the middle or back of the garden while the shorter ones need to be out front.

If you pinch the seedlings back, the plants will be fuller and also produce more blooms. These make good cut flowers, so plant plenty.

Primroses at Plant Nursery in California

Okay, I really wasn’t expecting to find such a huge selections of plants available in February…not even in California. I’ve never seen such a variety of plants offered and the prices were pretty good too.

I sure did get the fever. Even though I’ve almost maxed out our small quarter acre yard, in my mind I was rearranging all of our flower beds to try to accommodate some of the gorgeous plants we saw, some I’d never even thought about growing before. It’s probably a good thing we had so far to travel and our car was so overloaded (citrus, dates and yet more pots), or I might have been tempted to buy plants that might not be suitable for our climate. But it was fun dreaming.

Gerber Daisies For Sale

I did get some really good ideas for potted plants. In these photos you’ll see what an unusual combination of plants have been used.

Cyclamen, Heuchera and Begonias in Hanging Basket

I doubt that seeing the photos will have the same effect that walking through the nurseries and seeing the plants had on me, but maybe you’ll be tempted to get out to your local nurseries to see what’s being offered this season, maybe try something new. Just be careful to read the plants requirements carefully to make sure it will thrive in your garden.

Contrasting Foliage in Potted Plants

Succulents For Sale