Monday, May 29, 2006

Garden Tour

As promised, I'm posting some garden pictures. If you want to see more detail, just click on the individual photos:


Let's start in the front garden, where this walk meanders to the front door. Except for one large urn planted with annuals, everything here is perennial, and has been planned for four-season interest. Here in the late-spring garden, "Zing" pinks at the foot of this peony add a nice little jolt of color. On the other side of the walk is my favorite rose, David Austin's "Evelyn," which was developed for Crabtree & Evelyn to use in their rose perfumes. Below it are bunches of lavender that have just begun to grow and will soon line the walk with beautiful cobalt blooms. To the right of the lavender is some dying daffodil foilage which is giving way to the lush ferns that will crowd around the whiskey-barrel fountain to make a nice little oasis.

At the top of the photo is a hedge of David Austin's "Heritage" roses, which are just beginning to bloom. The five bushes are more distant than they appear in this picture--they're on the far side of the front yard. Not pictured (maybe later) is the powerfully fragrant climber, "Zepherine Drouhin," that greeted me with a heavenly old-rose scent when I walked out the front door to take these photos.

The red roses you see on the right are "Knockout." Although not fragrant, the bushes are good performers.


Now we've moved to the back garden. My blue chair (built for me years ago by my hunk o' burnin' love) and its yellow-topped table sit out all year, even in the snow, because we use the patio in all but the very worst weather. That means the furniture needs painted every other year; and as you can see, this is the year. My husband, an architect, also designed and built the arbor you see in the background.


I'm crazy in love with roses. They're everywhere in the front and back gardens. And in this small bed, I'm allowing English ivy to grow underneath them. Yes, the ivy hogs water and nutrients, and the roses would probably do better without the competition. But I like the look, and whenever I stick a rose into a bud vase, I can grab a handful of ivy to go with it. (I cut the ivy back when it tries to climb up the bushes.)


The birdbath you see in the background is very popular with our feathered friends. They like that it's nestled close to a hedge, which gives them not only privacy, but a convenient place to perch while they flutter themselves dry. What they don't realize is that I have a clear view of their ablutions from my kitchen window.

Surrounding the birdbath are the potted herbs we use for cooking. My favorites are the basil, rosemary, chives, and spearmint.

The roses I had on the arbor last year weren't doing well, so we yanked them out and put in some new ones. These are "Blaze," not a favorite of mine because of their ordinary form and lack of scent. But they'll quickly cover the arbor and they'll bloom all summer, making a nice focal point for the patio and tempting us to enter the back yard.

I don't want to put up any more photos because lots of you use dial-up connections, so this concludes our garden tour. Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend. Be sure to hug a veteran!

17 comments:

jel said...

very pretty ! :)

Amy A. said...

You are so talented with the garden stuff. So pretty!

Katrina Stonoff said...

Wow! This is beautiful!

Did you do all the work yourself (besides your husband building the arbor, of course)?

Danica Favorite said...

Brenda, it's gorgeous! My garden is slightly less spectacular, and you're giving me something to live up to. :)

Mirtika said...

What splendor. I always dig the garden pics.

The blue of that wooden chair is just perfect in the midst of the green and pick and other colors.


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

My garden is laughable compared to yours.

Mir

Camy Tang said...

WOW! Gorgeous! What a beautiful "office" for you.

Maybe I can blow up pictures of your garden and hang them on my office walls so I can pretend I have a backyard even half as nice as yours. :)

Camy

Anonymous said...

all i can say is WOW...That blue chair is just about as beautiful and inviting as that hammock...I still show everyone that picture and use it often as a wallpaper to brighten dark moods! Thanks for these pics and SEND MORE!! I could never tire of seeing your beautiful talent!

Brenda Coulter said...

I'm so glad you're all enjoying the pictures. Thanks for commenting.

Katrina, I'm the princess and my husband is the garden slave. I buy a rosebush and then stand there daintily sipping iced tea and pointing while he goes to fetch the shovel. Yes, I prune the roses and trim things and divide perennials and bulbs and do the deadheading and so on. This princess wields a wicked trowel, but she does not operate shovels.

The blue on that chair is my favorite color. I sweet-talked my husband into using the same paint on the trellis in the black raspberry patch--it's all green back there, and then you see a nice little jolt of blue. (There's a silver lace vine on that trellis right now--maybe I'll get a photo of it later.)

What you people haven't noticed in these pictures is the overgrown stuff and the weeds. I'm a fairly "casual" gardener, having decided years ago that the overgrown, overblown cottagey style is best suited my energy level.
;-)

Pilgrim said...

So pretty. I'd write romances, too, in that yard.

Brenda Coulter said...

Oh, sure you would, Julana. I can hardly get you to read romances!
;-)

Bonnie S. Calhoun said...

Beautiful gardens...I'm proud of you! Just don't take any of the poor things indoors!

Catherine West said...

I'm moving in too!!
I LOVE roses but I hate the blackspot they always seem to get here! I don't know...some do well, others don't.
Anyhow, great blog and I will be back again.

Brenda Coulter said...

Thanks very much, Cathy.

Bonnie, I cut fresh flowers by the armload and bring them inside. But currently, the only living plants in my house are three African violets that have adapted to not being watered for as many as two or even three weeks at a time (yes, I'm forgetful)--and they actually bloom.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous garden! Mine is weeds and dirt right now. A clean canvas to work with, but overwhelming at the moment. :)

Brenda Coulter said...

I'm sure you'll make something nice out of it, Audra. Have fun!

MJFredrick said...

Can I come live with you? Gorgeous!

Brenda Coulter said...

Mary, my sweet, if you're willing to weed, I'll start getting a room ready for you. ;-)