People ask me about gardening all of the time. It intimidates so many. I am always happy to answer questions and share the knowledge that I have gained over the years. I feel sort of silly posting all of these unflattering pics of the guest house gardens right now but it's mu current obsession so it's all I have to show. Following this project will be interesting to anyone who wants to fill in areas under established trees or to create a cottage garden. You just won't see the end results for a few years! I continue to fill the area between the patio stones. It is slow going but I think the end result will be so satisfying compared to what I currently have. I wish I could wave a magic wand and have it all be perfect right now. Instead it will be a gradual and sometimes frustrating journey. Gardening, if nothing else, is all about patience.
I simply love walking around the garden just as the sun is rising so I can see what grew while I was sleeping. I might be sound asleep but the garden never is. There is a lot of energy being exerted while I am dead to the world. My mother's favorite flower and one of mine too, lily of the valley. One of the most fragrant plants you can grow. These began to open overnight.
And nothing makes me quite as happy as seeing new fronds popping up through last years ferns. I talk to them and tell them what wonderful jobs they are doing. It's like seeing an old friend again.
I've planted quite a row of foxgloves along one of the fences and they are almost ready to bloom.
I've very carefully planted 'ajuga reptans black scallop' around the base of this well established perrotia tree. Not only do you need to have patience waiting for everything to grow, you need patience while digging between the roots. It is best to plants the smallest species you can find. I like to split my hostas, ferns and lady's mantel to use when I am under-planting. When you introduce new plants to large trees, they have to fight the root system. The tree immediately steals the nutrients from the new plants and will drink up a lot of the water you give them. You need to water them more than you normally would and add fertilizer and they grow.
You should always be ready to transplant. I've planted things on one side of my garden only to find them on the opposite side a few years later. I try to transplant to areas that have similar conditions. Gardens are constantly growing and changing so you need to adapt and grow with them. A metaphor for life.
Another lettuce pot. With the rain and cool weather we are having, these guys are almost dancing. I will be planting lots of these so we can have salads everyday.
There are several kinds of snapdragons and red and pink dianthus growing next to my celery. I love homegrown celery and always plant it. I've been planting it under this large birdcage for several years now so the groundhogs can't get to it. I just open the door on the cage and snip away when I need it.
I love instant results but with this sort of a project, I've embraced dreaming about the future.
Sweet woodruff, japanese painted fern and a hosta by the lower pond. Once the planting is done for this year, I will mulch these areas to help retain moisture, control the weeds and make everything look tidier.
I make bean poles out of found or recycled objects. My snap peas are just about to start climbing. The beanpole was made using an old umbrella base with a pole inserted into the tube and a garden stake at the top. I use twine which is attached at the top of the pole and hooked around the edge of the pot. I have several of these which will give me all of the beans we can eat.
This is what many ares look like right now. Not quite the prettiest thing you've ever seen. There are hostas, new as well as established. New phlox, lady's mantel and ugly pachysandra. But hang in there with me, it will get better. I am pulling pachysandra out buy the handfuls and transplanting them all over the place, much like the creeping jenny. They have always seemed like lazy filler plants to me but I won't mind having them in areas where they really just work as ground cover. Plus, they are downright horrible looking this time of year and are much prettier in about a month.
My espaliered apple trees have ten blossoms on them. Not sure we will have any apples this year.
My coppertina ninebark is leafing out next to daylilies, dianthus and a newly planted fern.
Often, I plant things in pots so they can be moved to different areas. I do this until I find the right spot for them and then they can be planted in the ground.
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The Japanese hakone grass is opening it's leaves.
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This statue used to be at The Green House when The Blog Tech lived there. When I placed it in his garden, one of his friends said it looked like Mary. I immediately stuck a ceramic pentagram on her chest and named her Lilith. No Mary's in my garden!
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