Happy Thursday, everyone! Today we’re revisiting one of our favorite gardeners and commenters, Tim Vojt!
Those of you who read the paper version of the magazine will have noticed that Tim’s front garden was just featured in its pages. Congrats again, Tim! Your garden is just awesome.
Anyway, about today’s photo Tim says, “Here are some photos of my containers this year. Last year I tried a few containers in the scorching sun on the south side of my house. This year I added more full-sun containers, home-made from old mixing bowls with ceramic drill bit drainage holes.
There are also some photos of my garden, mostly demonstrating my love-affair with milkweeds. I have quite a few different species, but the common milkweed is the most established and for some reason they grow unusually tall.
I had monarch caterpillars for the first time this year. I lost all of my lavender in the bad winter, but surprisingly the banana plants survived the bitter cold. The photo of the banana leaves is looking out our kitchen window.”
As awesome as always Tim. Thanks!
Comments
Those are the most beautiful leaf nibbles ever, aren't they, Tim? I would have have such an "oh, goody" feeling if I had a monarch caterpillar taking up residence in my garden. Great job with your containers...love your arrangement of your groupings and making such good use of your steps ...gives a real showcasing effect. The close up of the mauve milkweed (yes? I'm not confident about my milkweed identification skills) is just gorgeous. What are the interesting little things to the right of the lovely trumpet lilies...I'm stumped and yet it will probably be obvious when you tell me. It's cute the way they seem to be pointing at the lilies so excitedly!
Your identification skills are great; the mauve close-up is common milkweed, and yes, who could mind having milkweeds eaten by monarch caterpillars! :) The crazy, white pointing things are some type of onion or garlic that volunteered in the garden. It doesn't bloom. Those heads just make dozens of little bulbs that make way too many other plants that I yank out.
Ha, annoying weed onions or garlic, huh? I'm smiling because based on the picture, I found them so endearing with real personality! I will definitely not try to search them out to add to my garden. Thanks for the info and warning.
I didn't mean to say they aren't endearing and full of personality.......for a weed! :) I do like to leave some for that moment you see in the photo. We haven't seen your stupendous garden for a while. Hint, hint.
Sweet of you to ask about my garden, Tim. I have gone off the deep end with 2 new projects this year but I'm still tweaking things. I have been enjoying my daylily beds so maybe some pictures of those will find their way to gpod.
Your containers and garden are evolving Tim. Gotta love flower power in the summer garden! Do I see at least 4 agaves in one of the photos? What is the black leafed and stemmed plant in this grouping? Is that ornamental black pepper in a tall rusty pipe? I find the containers equally interesting including the rusty garden art on the lower left side of the same photo. What is it? Is there a story behind it?
Thanks for introducing me to the lovely milkweed. I can't say I've seen them in these parts. Looking forward to seeing more of your garden and containers.
As Jeff quotes Loree of Danger Garden fame, there's always an agave! I lost most of the hardy ones I had in the ground over the bitter winter, so will have to be content with container specimens. You are spot on about the ornamental pepper. Those actually grew from seeds that fell into the container in the fall. The container is a chimney liner from our house when one had to be removed. The rusty garden art with that grouping is a car-tire-attacher-thing, showing my ignorance of mechanical things. One of my best friends is a mechanic and he was throwing it out, but I thought it was beautiful.
Chimney liner - brilliant!
all great as always! are those agapanthus ? mine died this winter. how are the plants adapting to the loss of the great tree? your milkweed is pushing me to make room for some here. AND if you look hard enough,,,,,,there is always an agave
I made sure that there were agaves to find, just for you. I've slowly been moving some hostas and other woodlanders from the formerly shady front hill. We've had a lot of rain this year, so I think that is helping some of the plants adapt to full sun. I have two types of hardy agapanthus that I bought from Seneca Hills ( sadly closed; I loved Ellen Hornig's plants!). I don't remember the species, but they have been in the ground for years. The Asclepias syriaca are crazy runners and I don't know why mine are so tall. Usually they stay about 3 or 4 feet; mine are pushing 9 feet now!
Mornin' Tim... as always, your combinations are fun and your groupings are perfect. (How could they not be with my fave agave's holding center stage?) You have also convinced me to get off the fence and add milkweed to my gardens. Did you get yours from a nursery, mail-order or from the roadside?
Hi Sheila! I mail ordered seed for A. incarnata Ice Ballet, A. speciosa Davis strain, and A. sullivantii from Butterfly Encounters. (Their web page says they are taking a break, but I'm sure there are lots of other seed sources.) My A. syriaca, in the photos here, started as one plant from seeds from a friend. I'll be happy to mail you a pod from my extra-tall plants (this species sends out runners far and wide!). If so, email Michelle G. to connect us by email.
Thanks Tim... I'll contact Michelle.
Hi Tim, beautiful, as expected! You have set the bar high and never disappoint!
Is that a Hummingbird Moth hovering beneath the close-up of the milkweed flower? I have heard of them but never seen one. How lucky to get both that and the Monarch caterpillar.
Thanks so much! Yes, it is a hummingbird moth. I was so excited to see it and glad that I had my phone/camera with me. ( I do wish the photo quality were higher on the new web site!)
i'm right there with you about photo quality, Tim . and no enlargements available, these old eyes NEED enlargements. i'm still not convinced this format is new and improved
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