Comments

1. 
   perenniallycrazy 05/13/2015

   Awesome Jeff! I can imagine smelling those fragrant flowers from where I am. Wish you had more photos. Three does not cut it for me.

2. 
   hortiphila 05/13/2015

   What a fabulous photo of the Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)! I'll bet the fragrance is fantastic!

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   that tree is pretty big now and you're right the entire back yard along with mock orange and calycanthus smells like heaven

3. 
   meander_michaele 05/13/2015

   Jeff, your photo with the fringe tree acting like a delicate white curtain makes me feel like I am right there peeking over your shoulder. The only thing missing for me is evidently the beautiful fragrance that goes along with it. And, you already know that I have a serious case of allium envy...out of my six pricy bulbs from the fall, I have one stalk that is giving me a flower. Yours look stunning and perfect.

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Mike, my one gripe about Allium and i don't know what to do about it or if anything can be done is that the leaf tips start to look ragged just as the flowers are coming into full flower

1. 
   meander_michaele 05/13/2015

   Ha, but at least you have flowers (and leaves). I can see my lousy allium bloom as I sit here typing at my place at the kitchen table...what I call my "starship command" post and this female version of Captain Kirk would love to be looking out on a constellation filled bed of purple allium.

1. 
   beckysspring 05/13/2015

   Meander, you have the best way with words! I too planted several Allium last fall and have one bloom to show for it... They do look a little silly all by themselves.

2. 
   user-6536305 02/15/2016

   Alliums could not be kept in the ground long unless digging them up. Grow elephant garlic instead. Their flowers are as pretty as Alliums (not so purple) also edible. In Vancouver, BC, it is a perennial.

1. 
   meander_michaele 02/15/2016

   Thanks for popping in on this conversation, Lillian Ho, and sharing the suggestion of planting elephant garlic instead. I googled that and you are correct that the flowers can be quite showy. Thanks.

4. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 05/13/2015

   Jeff, those are such great shots! I love the pine straw mulch. Really makes me miss the old, soft white pine we lost several years ago. Are those gunnera poking up through the straw or a rhubarb or what? If you can make time, crate up that big chess-piece in the first photo and ship it up to me, care of Greedy Tim in Want Everything I see, Ohio, please.

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Tim, the chess piece is a cast iron fence post from a garden renovation at an 1830 home, the cleient didn't want them. i always do. that is rhubarb, my struggling gunnera is maybe 6" tall

5. 
   greengenes 05/13/2015

   Well how great is this to wake up to seeing Jeff's Yarden! WooHoo on the fringe tree! Gorgeous! The view is beautiful of the lawn in the background. Lovely for sure!

6. 
   wGardens 05/13/2015

   Really looking great, Jeff! The fringe tree is awesome. I have a couple and they "wow" every year. And the allium make for a great statement. Looking forward to seeing more!

7. 
   user-4691082 05/13/2015

   The fringe tree is making me so jealous! My allium haven't come up yet. I can't really remember where I planted them! I have been researching mock orange. Which one do you have? I'm into fragrance...Thanks, Jeff, you never disappoint!

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Rhonda, i have NO idea about the mock orange it was here when we moved here and the house is almost 70 years old. i have planted Minnesota Snowflake but it barely has a fragrance, this one is deliciously fragrant

8. 
   annek 05/13/2015

   I didn't know which iPad screen to stay glued to this morning...the one with your beautiful Yarden photos or the one listing the USDA hardiness zones for every plant you entwined (the fringe tree can grow down to zone 3. Yippee!!). I enjoy your sense of whimsy and fun, Jeff, and can hardly wait to see photos of your morbidly obese pots

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   PLANT at least 3 american fringe trees, you will never regret it. they are slow growers but flower at a young age. i didn't know they were that hardy!

9. 
   VikkiVA 05/13/2015

   Hey Jeff, Lovely photos of your garden. Is your fringe tree a Chinese or American fringe? I have a Chinese and it is by far the best tree ever! In the first picture, don't you just love how the sun shinning thru the leaves of your Japanese Maple make it look like it is blooming red flowers? I got a kick out of your brass chandelier! Vikki in VA

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Vikke, my fringe tree is the native American variety and i love it. locally people call them White Ash. Japanese maples are always a pleasure. i did that chandelier on the patio sort of as a joke but with the solar lights it gives just the right amount of light so you can find your drink easily

10. 
    GrannyMay 05/13/2015

    Wow! That fringe tree is amazing! As are your alliums and Japanese maples, Jeff. There is always something to admire and covet in your garden. Hey, where's the Agave?

1. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 05/13/2015

   I'm really falling down on the job. Too busy coveting to even think about finding the agave (which apparently is impossible today!).

1. 
   GrannyMay 05/13/2015

   Oh no! I fully expected Jeff to point it out to you, saying "Gotcha!!"

2. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   May, i don't know where the agave is. i sent a BUNCH of photos so the agave is most likely in the others

1. 
   GrannyMay 05/13/2015

   Jeff, I'm glad you didn't forget. This is now a tradition!

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   May, i just got a new agave,,,,,,,Dragon Toes,,,,,i'll hide it in the next photos,,,sort of like where's Elmo

1. 
   GrannyMay 05/14/2015

   Of course I had to Google that - " Agave pygmae 'Dragon Toes', dwarf, chunky leaves, red teeth", sounds like another charmer. We'll all be searching for it for sure.. You'd better send larger format photos :)

11. 
    beckysspring 05/13/2015

    Jeff, your photos and your gardens once again are beautiful! I love Fringe trees and Japanese Maples. Can't wait to see your containers! In Maryland we are going on 3 weeks with out any rain to speak of but the grass is still growing way too fast!

12. 
    hostamom 05/13/2015

    I foolishly gave away a very small fringe tree many, many years ago without even researching it. I got it at a plant swap. How old is your beautiful tree?

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Nina i have lived here for 23 years so it's older than that, i moved it here from the other house

13. 
    Nurserynotnordstroms 05/13/2015

    Good morning all,Jeff your gardens are such a treat to the eyes and oh how a cup of coffee and a slow meander through such beauty would be such a treat. I can only imagine the fragrance. I have been wanting to add a Calycanthus"Aphrodite " and you pushed me over the edge when you mentioned it. I am going to try and locate her soon. I love it when a fellow gardener steers you into a great decision.

1. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 05/13/2015

   I have Calycanthus "Hartlage Wine" and it's a stunning performer for me. It has the huge leaves and broad flower petals of the Chinese parent, but the upright reddish brown flower of its American parent. I have "Venus" too, but I find that the white flowers start to brown really fast and it hasn't performed quite as well. Looks like "Aphrodite" is the new and improved "Hartlage Wine". Good luck!

1. 
   Nurserynotnordstroms 05/13/2015

   Thanks for your info Tim,good to know about Venus browning out

2. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   i have grown aphrodite but there is very little fragrance from those large flowers. the old standard calycanthus has a great fragrance as does C. floridus 'Athens' . i have never grown Hartlage Wine or Venus

1. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 05/13/2015

   I do think Calycanthus fragrance is a relative thing. They smell a little putrid to me, but not to excess! Sort of fruity, too.

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Tim, i have one that smells a little putrid but others that are exactly like strawberries. i don't think i would buy one unless it was in flower and i could give it the nose test

14. 
    thevioletfern 05/13/2015

    Is that Fringe tree? Fringe-tree envy! Beautiful!

15. 
    sheila_schultz 05/13/2015

    Your yarden is lush and lovely with a healthy dose of humor thrown in...as always!
    I'm green with envy. My gardens were looking sooo good until the 6" of wet snow laid them out flat last Sat. My nepeta was round and full, not it's having a really bad hair day! Oh well... Keep sending in the photos Jeff ;)

16. 
    GrannyCC 05/13/2015

    Jeff thanks for introducing me to the fringe tree it is amazing. I will have to do more research although I am not sure where I would put one. Your garden as always a delight to look at. Waiting with bated breath to see your containers! Maybe you can share how you get them morbidly obese. I agree about the Allium foliage. Fortunately mine are tucked in some Campanula which is a bit of a bully but it does cover up the messy leaves.

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Catherine, that fringe tree is Chionanthus virginicus and NOT C. retusus. i much prefer virginicus,,,,,,,,,,,VERY fragrant. tried to add a photo but disqus won't let me because it's over 2MB

17. 
    user-7007140 05/13/2015

    I am late checking GPOD today - got a nice surprise when reading the title. Jeff your garden always looks so cared for so I looked at the first photo and thought it looked very nice - then up came photo 2 and my heart quite literally skipped a beat! I have seldom seen anything more gorgeous than that Fringe Tree. And it's SCENTED. And I don't have one and I WANT one.
    You are making me broke - what a way to go.
    Thank you SO much for posting this. Now, where is my shopping list!

    Ps only 3 pictures, we need more.

1. 
   user-1020932 05/13/2015

   Eddie, you DO need a fringe tree. the american ones are rarely available for sale / at least here. when i find them i buy all they have and they are fragrant not odiferous. i have sometimes been surprised by the fragrance of some plants,,,. euphorbia for one

18. 
    Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 05/13/2015

    I agree, Eddi. More images, please. Susan, we are accustomed to seeing a lot more photos on posts. Can we get more than three for our addiction? cheers, tim

19. 
    Meelianthus 05/13/2015

    Jeff, thanks for sharing the always beautiful photos of your gardens. I thoroughly enjoy seeing what great scenes you have created. Your allium are stunning, I don't seem to have a great deal of luck with those, maybe it's too wet here.

20. 
    janeeliz 05/13/2015

    Awesome photos , Jeff...esp. the one with that gorgeous fringe tree.Oh, my goodness, I can just imagine the scent! Your garden looks very lovely and fun with all the alliums blooming their heads off and your collected items.

21. 
    Cenepk10 05/14/2015

    Those alliums make me very jealous. Mine have never bloomed. 3rd year in the ground. Everything is so pretty !!!!