Comments

1. 
   candicedirckzeperera 08/25/2015

   beautiful. good things take time and gardens and plants are no exception. thanks for the inspiration.

2. 
   NCYarden 08/25/2015

   Well I certainly love the new wall of plants, especially in the first and second photos. Amazing. Great to see your excitement with expanding the garden around your home. Looks great. Thanks for sharing.

3. 
   HelloFromMD 08/25/2015

   Wow, I love the diversity of plants and how you pumped up the color with annuals. Your garden on top of and below the stone wall is perfect. I am jealous because I have always wanted a stone wall to garden around! Please send in more photos of the front so we can see more closely the plant combinations. Beautiful gardens and also a change of style from exuberance to Zen. You have been working hard and it shows. So beautiful in only 7 years.

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thanks. That rock wall is one of my favorite features as well. It is topped with very old granite fence posts.
   the house is over 200 years old and was the old meeting house here in Greenfield New Hampshire .

4. 
   user-4691082 08/25/2015

   Is that a rowboat under the tree? If so, very clever with the oars! Are the dahlias hardy in your area? If not, are they difficult to store and replant? You have created a feast for the eyes!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thanks. See the comment above for an explanation of the Stone basin with the differ.
   I'm in zone 5, so I have to take the Dahlia bulbs in every winter and store them which I actually have a very hard time doing but I'm getting better at.

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Dipper that should be!

5. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 08/25/2015

   You've done so much eork and have gotten a big payoff. That's one of the healthiest 'Black and Blue" salvias I've ever seen. Love the hardscaping and especially the gravel garden. I'm glad I went back to look for the rowboat Rhonda mentioned. Took me a while to find it and then a bit more time to see it is a Japanese-style wash basin with a bamboo ladle. Very cool!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thanks. That is my more zen part of the garden. I put the Japanese maple and rock there before I knew that it was forming the beginning of a tsubukai or ceremonial washing place for the Japanese tea ceremony.

1. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 08/25/2015

   You've done a beautiful job with it. Some people can plan out a garden all at once, but for me it often comes in bursts of inspiration based on the serendipitous placement of a couple of things. Very cool. Oh, and the granite fence posts are absolutely killer features!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   I have collected and dragged with me from house to house granite post but to find those on top of the wall and then to find a beautiful 9 inch by 9 inch by about six or seven feet granite post in the backyard was an added bonus.
   I am very much a spontaneous gardener, very ADD.

6. 
   meander_michaele 08/25/2015

   I wonder if your home's previous owners ever drive by and look upon all that colorful exuberance and sigh with admiration and envy. Your landscaping now brims over with joyful liveliness and personality. I'm sure it's the go to place in your neighborhood for birds and beneficial insects. What is the interesting shaped plant right behind the 'Black and Blue' salvia?

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thank you. :) It's a type of amaranth. I use them in all their shapes and forms to give wonderful color and texture.

7. 
   buckgardeners 08/25/2015

   I love love love the stone wall and brick paths. They make all the difference in the world - as if your garden has been there for 70 years. Beautiful all around.

8. 
   wGardens 08/25/2015

   Your gardens look fabulous. And oh, so cool that your home has historical significance! The stone walls and brick pathways are so eye-catching and a wonderful backdrop to your lovely plantings. Do send more photos sometime. Your garden is special! Thanks for sharing!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thanks. :)

9. 
   Quiltingmamma 08/25/2015

   lovely gardens and so much work in 7 years. I really enjoy that side lot view. The light makes it all so serene. I saw the granite pillar and said 'I have one of those!" Should have known it was from the 'granite state'. And let's hear it for amaranth. I got hooked on them after a September visit to Monticello.

10. 
    eddireid 08/25/2015

    I was wondering whether your house would be old - so happy to have picked up the right clues! Your garden is beautiful and created lovingly which is a great recipe for making such a success of it all. The best part of gardening ( for me anyway) is just soaking it all in and then the little thoughts which creep in and suggest a little tweak here, a little something there until the magic happens.
    All the stone and paths are perfect backgrounds.
    Thank you for sharing.

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   You are very welcome. It's a very sponteneous garden in some ways but in other ways I mull a change over for a long time. I always wanted that patio to the left of the front door but didn't get it done right away. The curved path to it came first. If my body wasn't complaining so much I was going to have a pond in the Japanese garden part but it is on hold for now. I may plant iris in it and just have it as a swampy area.

11. 
    thevioletfern 08/25/2015

    Wow! LOVE the Love Lies Bleeding. I like to grow Amaranth, too. My favorite is Hopi Red Dye. Seeds from Johnny's.

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thanks, Hopi Red Dye is in the mix here. I found it cool that it is used to color bread in South America.

12. 
    user-7007076 08/25/2015

    I really love the photo of the stone wall with the ground cover spilling over it. I love the dimension and especially the aged look it gives to your garden! What plant is that in the third photo with the purple spires? It is very lush and lovely!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thanks.
   It's Black and Blue salvia. I love the color. And yes, it is healthy for sure!

1. 
   user-7007076 08/25/2015

   Ahh, thank you. It is far from being in my zone unfortunately. Thanks for plant's name. It is very lovely.

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   It's an annual here as well, but well worth it.

13. 
    VikkiVA 08/25/2015

    Your garden is certainly eye catching! I love the variety you have incorporated as well as your pathways and rocks. We don't have natural rocks or stones in our soil here in SE Virginia so if I want them I have to buy them. Do you leave things grow until the frost or will you be "thinning out" as the season wears on? Vikki in VA

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Thanks. :) I only take things out if they get ratty. The amaranth will die early sometimes but I leave it because it sometimes assumes fall color even when dead. It still will have nice texture and form.

14. 
    greengenes 08/25/2015

    Wow,Warren! I love it! How interesting and eclectic! You are a real cramjammer!

15. 
    hontell 08/25/2015

    beautiful, Warren, cramscaping at it's finest!!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/25/2015

   Haha! Thanks. I think. I have a little insecurity about it being messy and not well controlled. Especially when on European Gardening Facebook group, some Italian lady called it "messy."
   But seriously we all have different tastes in gardens so no problem!

1. 
   greengenes 08/26/2015

   That's right, Warren. I love your taste!

2. 
   Nancy44 08/27/2015

   It is NOT messy. It is wonderful !!

3. 
   eddireid 08/27/2015

   Well, I can tell you not to worry about such comments; there are those among us who love profusion and (apparent) confusion. And most of all this is Your Garden! You go for it Warren, it is completely delightful.

16. 
    GrannyCC 08/25/2015

    Lovely and charming garden. You have done a lot of work. Love all the rock walls and the Zen garden. Your plants look healthy and happy.

17. 
    user-7007327 08/25/2015

    Love your combination of colors and textures. Wonderful secret paths.

18. 
    sheila_schultz 08/25/2015

    The great thing about getting to GPOD late is having the opportunity to read the other posts so I can pour over the photos once again to see what I have missed on the first go-round! Warren, your gardens are like a giant buffet, a delicious feast for the eyes...so many different flowers with great textures and colors to look at, so many details to take in! Wow, I'm going back for another helping!

19. 
    perenniallycrazy 08/25/2015

    Looks like a very happy and healthy perennial jungle to me. The stonework is so charming too. Great work Warren!

20. 
    GrannyMay 08/25/2015

    Now that's what I call a privacy screen! That glorious, colourful jumble of annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees must bring a happy smile to anyone passing by. I'm sure you must have a lot of people stopping in their tracks, just to have a better look.

    Love how you've planted up the ancient stone wall and also the very peaceful Zen garden!

21. 
    christianesterges 08/25/2015

    I fully share Sheila Shultz' vision of your beautiful garden !

22. 
    user-1020932 08/26/2015

    well, i'm late and glad i stopped in. GLAD to see your garden here Warren, i have enjoyed and loved it on FB for a long time! it looks great, if that is "messy" i wanna be a slob . love it all

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/26/2015

   Thanks. It makes me and many others happy. People who like clean and spare can avoid the English style part and focus on the zen part! :)

23. 
    Cenepk10 08/26/2015

    Where are you ? We have many of the same plants. Love LOVE Love your garden ! The Amaranthus is coming along beautifully !!!! I started some from seed. Mine arent that far along - just beautiful & grateful you shared !!!!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/26/2015

   Thanks. :) I am in Greenfield, NH. I have a nursery that always has at least 3 or 4 types of Amaranth. Plus I grew some from seed but I'm way too impatient a gardener to wait for seeds.

24. 
    Cenepk10 08/26/2015

    Warren - how long does it take the allium to look like that ? ( poking through the powis castle artemesia ? ) i have mine planted with the may knight salvia- i get the leaves ( for last 3 years ) but no blooms. I cannot wait to get to work & see your garden on the huge monitor - instead of phone & ipad !!!! Making me so happy !!!!!

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/26/2015

   Thanks. You can see far more than you want probably ;) if you go to my facebook page.
   I buy the Allium bulbs and plant them in the fall and then they come up in the spring. And then gradually die back. I'm not sure why.

25. 
    Nancy44 08/27/2015

    Just gorgeous ! I love it that you are not enamored of velvety grass. I tried to see if there were evergreens to look at in winter. I am sure you have thought of everything ! Love it.

1. 
   warrenaldrich 08/27/2015

   My wife insists that there be some grass in the front yard which is fine as it sets off the garden nicely anyway! :)
   I do have Japanese Maples and various conifers in the mix here but they are over whelmed by the height of the perennials and other flowers.