Today we are visiting Margot Navarre’s garden in Bellevue, Washington.
I adore my winter and spring gardens but am getting into the summer spirit of gardening.
Lysimachia (Lysimachia punctata, Zones 4–8), Alchemilla mollis (Zones 3–8), lavenders (Lavandula species, Zones 5–9) and Nepeta (Zones 3–8) all perform without a lot of water, as well as no fertilizer and no pesticides. There are lots of bees in this space—a healthy ecosystem. It is the sunniest space in my garden, so we grow a variety of garlic, tomatoes, and herbs in the galvanized containers. I always grow a different type of flower in one of the containers, and this year it was cosmos with sweet peas.
This is how my front garden looks after the snowdrops have vanished. (You can check out the snowdrops here: Snowdrop Magic in Margot’s Garden.)
Ground-cover drifts of Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’ (Japanese painted fern, Zones 4–9), Saxifraga × urbium (London pride, Zones 4–9), and epimediums (Epimedium species, Zones 5–9) prevent weeding as all the ground is filled in with plants.
These Tulipa clusiana ‘Peppermint Stick’ (Zones 3–7) miniature tulips in a container get moved to the garden beds when they are finished blooming. I enjoy the little plants making an impact.
On the deck, the vine with the silvery leaves is one from Dan Hinkley’s collection, an Actinidia (Kiwi vine).
Maianthemum racemosum (Zones 3–8) and rhododendrons from the deck looking into the woods
Cardiocrinium giganteum (Zones 7–9) will often take up to eight years to flower. These are offsets from previous bloomers and take less than half the time to flower. Located in my dry shade woodland garden, they are the largest lilies in the world. They are native to the Himalayas, China, and Myanmar.
My mom and my husband in the woodlands are taking in the lilies. Six were blooming this June.
The scent smells like a vanilla butter cream with a hint of lemon frosting.
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Comments
Fantastic! Everything is gorgeous. I love your gardens! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you
So lush and splendid! How tall did the Cardiocrinium get?
They lilies grow up to 8ft. Some grow higher and some a bit shorter
They can grow up to 8 feet and some can get taller.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing. That silvery vine is gorgeous. And those lies. Oh my!
The name of the vine is Actinidia pilosula and one can learn more about it in the “The Explorer’s Garden “ - a book on Shrubs and Vines from the four corners of the world by Dan Hinkley
I love the epimediums planted under/in front of the painted ferns- great companion plant combo!
Giant lilies wow!
And I love your deck surrounded by plants, and your surrounding woodland...they way you planted Solomons Seal under the Rhodies!
Just beautiful!
😀Thank you all for you nice comments. We live in a city where properties and getting torn down and replaced with extra large homes with little space for gardens.
Those Cardiocrinium giganteum are outstanding!
What a magical garden you've created - stunning! It always hurts to see perfectly fine homes being torn down and big ugly things going up with no space for plants.
Love everything! 2 takeaway ideas for me here, just a bit south of you: bulbs in the galavanized containers I inherited, and some GIANT lilies (but I'm guessing I will need to put them in the deer-fenced areaL, but really? dry shade?! Awesome!
We don’t have deer in the woodlands but recently saw a deer eating my geraniums in our garden strip on our our dead end street. Maybe you can put stakes around your gigantic lilies if you have deer. Yes, dry shade and have made the best of it! You can too! Cheers
Your Cardiocrinium giganteum are magnificent! Congratulations! I only wish I could grow them here in my zone 5b. I will just have to enjoy them in your beautiful photos.
Thank you. They aren’t too difficult in my zone to grow but require a lot of patience and always on the look out for red lily beetle pest.
What a spectacular garden!
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