Did you pick your house because of the size of the yard or the size of the house? This Connecticut gardener had clear priorites, and is enjoying every bit of it!
"I told my husband when we were in the market for a home that i didn't care about the size of the house, I only wanted enough land to have my gardens. These are few pictures of some bright areas of my summer gardens. Hope you like them as much as we do."
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Comments
Your pictures show you weren't just an empty talker...you definitely "walked the walk", dug in the dirt and now have beautiful flowers and interesting bushes and trees that fill your gaze. I almost always have energy for a little more gardening and yet I might be too tired to vacuum. Is that the Japanese maple called 'Butterfly' in your first picture? It has such lovely variegation.
No empty words here. Lol
Im not sure if the name of the maple.
I found it off to the side with no tags at my favorite nursery.
Great find...lucky you!
That jumble of colors and textures has to bring you delight every time you walk outside. I really love how you've repurposed the stumps for plant stands and garden centerpieces!
It absolutely does. If im home i walk my gardens a few times a day. I tell my german Sheppard..."Come on Sage, lets go patrol the gardens" HAHA. Even my dogs name is after a favorite plant. LOL
It's definitely the size of the outdoor space! That's where you will find me, much like yourself, as I'm sure everyone else who frequents this site. Who wants to to tend a house when you can tend a garden, and it's quite acceptable for it to remain a little "dirty." I'm glad to see you chose the yard space. The garden is delightful, with room to keep spreading out. Love the Japanese maple, and I've always been fascinated with balloon flowers. Thanks for sharing.
Every day I think about cleaning house vs garden 'work', Garden wins out most days. Just want house to be 'clean' enough that we don't get sick~~~~
So true..keep the garden beautiful and the house tolerable.
I so agree!
I LUV All Your Photos An Information Thank You , I'm Realy Trying To Make My Garden Look How I Want IIt To Feel An Look Like Somewhere You Would Want To Feel Good
Thank you, Cheryl. I do my best as a gardener to share the labor and the love, and a little information if I am able to do so. It's a lot of trial and error, certainly in the beginning, but there's nothing like creating your own beautiful space that does make one feel proud, relaxed and a little special.
Whereabouts do you garden? Have fun with your endeavor...it's good for you. in so many ways. I promise. The others here will tell you the same.
IN TH FRONT , AN HAVE PLANTS ON MY FRONT PORTCH
What a fun garden you have! There is so much of interest and a compendium of wonderful plantlife to admire (and for my gardening personna, to identify.). I had a funny thought imagining that the sweet blue birdhouse in the first photo might be your house (no, honey, we don't need more than one square foot to live in...we have the garden!)
Lol thats so funny. Thank you, i love my gardens
I wanted to buy this house that we live in now because of the fireplace and the plants here. I could tell that someone before me had loved plants: white lilacs, big old oak trees, old azaleas. I have added tons more and have loved my garden soooo much !!
Aren't stumps wonderful! I stopped the tree company from finishing the job of removing a dead tree near the house when I realized I had an opportunity to grow Japanese hydrangea vine Schizphragma on this 8 foot stump. Too bad it won't last forever. Lovely mix of perennials! I see you have discovered that painted fern can take a few hours of sun. Listen up gardeners painted ferns with some sunnier perennials! Nice design opportunities. My husband and I may have to move one day when we can't take so many stairs. And like you, to make the list the property's gardening potential comes first! I love your rock edging. Are all those rocks from your property? I lived in Rhode Island for 16 years and loved all the old stone farm walls.
Thank you so much. Yes the rocks r all from our property.
This is lovely. You've obviously made good use of the space you asked for. Were there any beds or flowers there when you started or was it basically a flowerless yard? What variety are the orangy-red coneflowers (?) in the second picture. I keep seeing ones similar to this and love the color but haven't yet invested in any of the newer ones coming out these days.
No. I planted all about 10 yrs ago. Thank you so much!
The cone flowers are Cayenne Spirit
I planted a similar looking one called 'hot papaya.' That could be it.
I have not had luck wintering over the new fancy varieties of coneflowers such as 'Fatal Attraction' 'Pink Poodle', and 'Merlot'.? I am sticking with the hardy purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea! ? Zone 5-6
I'm zone 6... I have a number of the new varieties. I leave the leaves down on my flower beds through the winter, maybe that would help protect them and bring them back. I add each year in fact :)
I agree leaving a blanket of leaves is a good idea; I only clean my gardens out in late spring. Thanks for sharing your garden??
Thank you. This has been so much fun. I so appreciate everything you have all said. Kindred is what we all are.
In the winter come late feb. Early march im so eager to see what the new season brings. Love the smell of freshly dug earth. Its my little slice of heaven on earth.
That's my concern with the newer varieties. Then last two winters here have been terribly cold with little to no snow cover so wintering over is something to consider. But this summer I saw several different orangy-red coneflowers in the garden walk and they are scrumptious looking. Maybe if I wait till spring and plant then so as to give them a whole growing season to get established and mulch as Pamela suggested they might make it. We'll see.
I am a big fan of the variety 'Cheyenne Spirit' which comes in colors like cream, red, coral and if they aren't in bloom, you don't necessarily know what color the individual plant will be. My hot reds from last year did return which I was grateful for. Here's an example of a 'Cheyenne Spirit' which came back from over the winter.
Really nice. That may very well have been one of the varieties I saw. You're a lot farther south though than I am. I'm supposedly in the new zone 6 but the very top so I'm taking that zone designation with a grain or two of salt. I may though try some of those this spring. I really like them!
These look gorgeous. I planted a creamy white coneflower about three years ago and thought it had died, but this year it popped up and flowered! Sometimes I think plants in my garden sulk, then when no one rescued them they heaved a big sigh and decided to grow.
Ha, kind of like getting a teenager to clean their room...ignore the whining and stand your ground and you might be in for a positive surprise.
So funny, so true!
Hi Patricia,
I am growing 'Sambrero Salsa Red and Solar Flare and am having tremendous success with these. I have tried many and they either do not overwinter or get aster yellows. But these two have now survived two very cold winters and are in good soil. I had read they survive with excellent drainage. Well a good loam, which I have, is well drained. It isn't fast draining like sandy soil. So I am thrilled.
Yum, yum especially about the color of 'Sombrero Salsa Red' ...and how awesome that it comes back true. Hope you don't mind if I pick your brain because I am esp. interested in varieties that don't get that deforming disease. So, it's called aster yellows... I didn't know that. I have clumps of coneflowers on occasion that show the symptoms and because it's usually ugly, I dig them up and throw them away. Do you do anything special to prevent it? And are you finding 'Sombrero Salsa Red' more resistant? I really hate knowing my garden is harboring the disease.
Aster yellows is transmitted by leafhoppers. So you did the right thing by disposing the plant afflicted with aster yellows. So you can't prevent it, other than by growing disease resistant plants. Yes Salsa Red is more resistant as is Solar Flare. I knew that some of the new Echinaceas would be good garden plants but could well get lost in the avalanche of new ones coming out yearly so I felt compelled to try so many. Thank goodness I found two good ones out of the lot.
It's absolutely fantastic that you found some varieties that are more resistant. I am definitely going to keep my eye open for them. I buy a lot of my perennials from a local wholesaler who's sometimes receptive to requests for the following year. I sure hope she can find a source for Salsa Red and Solar Flare that makes economic sense for her bottom line. Please share ,throughout the year, any other varieties you give a thumbs up to. Thanks.
Thank you so much everyone. This has been so great. I hope you enjpyed them as much as i do everyday.
Wise move! Obviously your husband agreed and you have been able to indulge your passion for plants. I do love your cheerful mix of perennials and see you are another advocate of cramscaping. There can be no dull moments in those flowerbeds!
Adequate garden size (what size is ever adequate?) was definitely my priority too.
Yep! Never a dull moment :) Never enough gardens or flowers. Cramscaping, I like that adjective. HAHA
Obviously a good choice.When we were building our house I was working at some greenhouses. So my garden was mostly planted before the house was finished. If a tree or plant had lost it's plant tag I could buy it at a good price because they couldn't sell them without the proper tag. Love all the colours, rock work and design elements.
:) Thank you. Me to!! HAHA
I just knew I'd find the perfect job in the end. Unfortunately I am now too "senior" to be hired! Never mind, I can still shop.
Well Pamela...a true gardener at heart! Gardens come first! I so enjoyed looking at your mix of plants. I can see your yard getting smaller and smaller because of more and bigger beds. There are always more beautiful plants and trees to enjoy! But what you have done is quite nice and inviting. The plants looked well loved and I know what you mean about cramscaping! That's my style too. Less weeding for sure! I always say that God gives us rainy days so gardeners can clean their houses. And let me tell you... our home is quite dusty and unattended because we have had hardly any rain here this summer. But we have gotten a lot done around outside. Its all good! Have a wonderful summer!
You as well. Thank you so much for your words. I agree. The house can WAIT. My plants NEVER LOL.
Well. Reading through all the comme
Oops! Reading through all the comments has been very amusing today - we are all very clearly focussed on our
Gardens and the house can go take a jump til we are ready and the weather is too awful to get outside.
Beautiful and full of those little whimsical touches which just show where you love to play.
Lovely of you to share your garden.
So sorry that me and the iPad are not in sync today!!!
Thank you Eddi. I do love to play. Lol
beautiful
Charming garden with personality aplenty !!!!
???
So pretty. You made the right choice ?
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