Things to Divide and Share

Jupiter's Beard
Pincushion flower
Mouse-eared coreopsis
Two big lilies (need to be moved and divided)
Fleabane
White phlox
Giant asters
Zagreb coreopsis

Anyone interested in any of these?

Garden at July's End

Garden at July's End

Compare the back garden this year to last year....quite an improvement don't you think? It was a bit drab last year!

note to self

Possible additions to beds in Fall/Spring:
Crocosmia (lucifer?) brilliant red, nice foliage, 4-5' tall
Verbena bonariensis - purple, self-seeding annual, 6-7' tall
Actaea simplex (brunette) possibly in corner of back LH
Make the back RH bed a campanula bed! different varieties/bloom times

When we fill in the back and build the fence...remember the lovely bench/pergola at Trethewey house, with hydrangeas and blueberries planted in with it.

Mid-July Garden-08

Early June garden-08

blooming:something new every day!

blooming

Experimental garden

Here's the back 'experimental' garden April 2, 2008. I've only planted the back rows, but have some windflowers on the way from Veseys to border the front. It's experimental because I don't know what some of the plants are yet.

Back, from left to right: astilbe (inidentified), bleeding heart, unknown plant, pink asters, bachelor's button, bleeding heart, unknown plant.
Next row from back: creeping thyme, unidentified grass, astilbe, butterfly lavender, some type of creeping penstemon.
First row: Alpine poppies, jacob's ladders (dwarf), unknown plant.

Hopefully by the end of summer I'll be able to fill in some of the unknowns in this garden!

Impatient

Spring will come...
but not soon enough for me!
Here is the promise of Spring (they weren't killed or scared away by all of our frosty chilly weather!!):
Crocuses, daffs and tulips, all on their way up...planted when I was barely able to bend down, due to being highly pregnant!

Seed Collection

Information on Seed Collecting for annuals and some perennials:
http://www.seedandsower.com/collecting-seeds.asp

Misc

These 'hens and chicks' were prettier when they were flat, but now they are definitely more interesting! On Hornby Island, we visited an artist's studio who had these and other similar plants cushioning old chairs...it looked really cool, though a bit un-sittable.
Very interesting seed heads on the clematis.
Love the colors, pretty good for a 5$ basket huh?

Front Left Garden-August 1.07

This bed needs more annuals or edging next year, and something to go behind the lupine on the left that will bloom from mid-July on.

Front Pergola Garden-August 1.07

The sages did really well in this garden, but there's a bit of a bare spot on either side of the right hand one. I'm not sure about a center-piece plant for the garden...I'm experimenting with a lily that was a gift from Nakisa, but I'm not sure if it'll come back, and it's done blooming by mid-July. I definitely need something longer blooming, like the sages.

I love the fleabane and star creeper in here, and the snaps surprised me and reseeded themselves.

I'm a little concerned that the veronica speedwell 'Royal Blue' is invasive as it is spreading everywhere...we'll see what happens I guess.

There is a purplish colored grass that I'm considering for this garden, maybe paired with the yellow with purple-centers 'osteopermum' (sp) annual? But it definitely needs a feature plant.

Waterfall Garden-August 1.07

I'm a little concerned the Mexican Hair grass is outgrowing it's bounds, but don't want to move the red coreopsis because it brings the brightest color to the area. Hmmmmm.

Balloon flower looks nice here too.

Impatiens work well under the cedars where other things die.

The mouse-eared coreopsis (2) beside the impatiens were finished flowering mid-July and weren't that impressive. They may need to move. It might be better to replace them with a bigger bed of impatiens next year.

The creeping speedwell is really pretty and blooms in late spring.

Front Step Garden-August 1.07

I tried to do a bit of a formal planting scheme for Nu in here as he doesn't always like the cottage style that I do...I don't know how formal it is. I used New Guinea impatiens for edging, and closely placed Gazania in the middle as foreground for the perennials. The two lily plants were great, but both were done blooming by August and looked a bit dry through the season. The coleus should have been in a place with less sun as it faded. Rudbeckia started blooming late July. Astilbe is looking a bit wilty here, I think it might be too hot for it. I love the crocosmia in here, but not the bachelor's button...I don't think I like it anywhere! This bed probably needs more annuals and sun-loving plants in it next year.

Vegetable patch-August 1.07

Dill, Lettuces, Beans, Cucumbers and Rhubarb....

I think the dill needs more sun.

Beans grew very very well from seed. Cucumbers did alright too, mainly the seeds that were started indoors, but none are producing yet. Lettuce grew well from seed. The rhubarb is TOO BIG and needs to be divided, even though I just got this patch this year. They say it's good not to harvest it the first year, and never past the July long wkd, as it allows the root system to develop and nurture the plant. I'd say mine's not having too many problems!