Color and Texture and Shape

I know I have posted photos like this before. Oh well I enjoy it and hope you do as well.

Lavender ladies

I started this lavender from seed this spring. I had not had much luck in the past but here they are. I will either move them this fall or not plant the Zinnias and Cosmos so close next year. The blooms smell amazing.

Borders, Walls and Fountains

It always starts out looking like this...

I love using rocks to define the flower beds and also crate raised or somewhat raised beds. Its free first of all. Does it get any better than that? I think not.

It might not look like much now but when this fills out it will look much nicer. Not to mention getting the remaining grass out as well. I realize that a good gardener will amend the soil before planting. I do it all somewhat backwards. I try to add good soil with each plant as I plant them. I then try to compost in the fall and add leaf mulch.

I found her in the weeds at my cousin's house. I remember her when I was a child. My aunt had her in the center of what was to be a fountain, but I never remember any water running through her. I plan to remedy that. Remnants of the actual basin she stood in is still there. I will try to take some photos of the basin tomorrow. She definitely needs some work. She will never be showroom new, but she still has some class and style about her. Even with half a nose. lol

A trip to the winery

My cousin had never been to Oliver Winery. I thought this was a disgrace. lol It is awesome just to walk through their grounds and take in the serenity. Oh yes its even more serene with a bottle of Soft Red.

The view from above the falls.

I must have some of these.

The fish were Huge.

My Solomon's Seal looks nothing like this. Imagine one of these plants half the size and eaten by something. Thats what mine looks like.

Summer show stoppers

This Hydrangea is called Pinky Winky and she is living up to her name. The photo does not do it justice. But she is turning quite pink, trust. By the way I took quite a few photos of her and none were doing her justice.

This Sweet Autumn Clematis has taken over. I could n0t be happier. The fragrance is out of this world. I have this planted around the Lanai Patio and the aroma just wafts through the air. I am so having a Luau next weekend. It is time for Leilani to make a triumphant return. lol

I am not sure you can make out the three plants on the bar. They are my new babies. I found them at Lowes on clearance. $1.89 each. Now how can you pass up any plant for under 2 bucks. Lord knows I can't. My cousin always tells me I need to go to a meeting. lol Plantaholics. The three plants on the bar are a Mandevilla, a Tropical Hibiscus and Maui Red Ixora and in that order.

Flowers that caught my eye this week.

I drove out to my aunts house this past Sunday and saw this beauty on my way. I did not get out of the truck but it looks like a white compact Rose of Sharon. That is my guess anyway. I will have to drive back by and hopefully see the owner outside. I love talking to peeps about flowers. It is my experience that most gardeners love to talk about their gardens and are all eager to give their two cents on gardening. I have received countless nuggets of information this way, and sometimes even starts. Hopefully I can find out exactly what this is called.

This is my aunts Pee Gee Hydrangea tree. This is when I wish I new how to graft plants so I can have one of these myself. They want waaaaaayyyyyy to much money for things like this. So for now, I will just post pictures of these from other gardeners.

This hydrangea, which I think is a Pee Gee shrub form. This is across the street from my aunts, in another of my aunts lawn. My cousin had purchased this from a mail order catalog like Michigan bulbs or something. But she cannot remember what it was called. I missed it while it was in it full glory, but she is still pretty glorious as far as I am concerned. I took a picture of this plant last fall and it was fabulous even then.

New Visions and Japanese dreams.

So I was sitting watching television, another passion of mine, and started doodling. And the next thing I knew, I had reworked my front lawn into what I think is a vision. If I do say so myself. Granted that this is not a weekend project, lol, but rather an idea of what the gardens might become. I have been thinking about a lawn less yard for awhile now, but never put pen to paper. I realize that its a little rough and jumbled. In my head it makes perfect sense. Its definitely not to scale but I hope it comes across in translation.

And so it begins. I needed to first remove the overgrown Yews from the north side of the house. I also had a burning bush that I had to cut down. I hated doing it actually but it never turned red because of the lack of sunlight. These were the only shrubs at the house when we moved here over ten years ago. I have been wanting to chop these down for along time, but was concerned about it being bare.

Another angle.

All gone... I will be making this bed about three to four feet deeper than it was originally.

Future compost/mulch.

I thought I would drop dead trying to dig out the roots of the departed Yew to plant this Holden Rhododendron. I ran out of daylight and ended up hanging a light out of the window to finish planting. lol I took these next photos the following day. I planted two PJM Compact Rhododendrons on either side. After this photo was taken I planted a hydrangea next to the large Rhodo. It is so small you wouldn't be able to see it, even if it was in the photo. lol Off the subject, but damn, do I need to wash the siding of the house. omg

Here is little China Girl Holly. I am trying to get more evergreen plants in the gardens. I wanted this one to break up the corner of the house and separate this front bed from the Heirloom garden.

All that will be left to do is divide up the front Hostas and get them started in this new Rhodo garden. I can then put some sun lovers in front of the Hostas. Any suggestions? I also need to decide if I want to keep the brick border in this area or to convert to the field stones. Hmmm

I want to make a couple of these gardens with a Japanese theme. Not beat you over the head with Buddha statues and such, but with a lot of Japanese planting. Ok maybe one Geisha tribute, lol. This is a Kwanzan Flowering Cherry. Its an ornamental tree that has pink blooms in the spring. I wonder if it will have any blooms this spring. I am thinking I might have to wait a couple years.

Here is a Kousa Dogwood tree or Japanese Dogwood. This will bloom in the summer when the other dogwood blooms are nothing but a memory. Now I just need to find a spot in the garden that will be an ideal home for a Japanese Maple. Maybe a couple of them. lol They are one of my favorite trees and they come in so many different varieties. I better save my pennies, because they are higher than a cat's a$$ if you ask me. lol

Sorry I could not find a better photo at the time of this writing, but here is the best I can do. Notice the Large Forsythia in the upper left corner of this photo?

And here it is now.

Right behind the car in a heap. She had gotten so large and out of control. It was getting quite difficult to get in and out of that parking spot without scraping the cars. It will come back and I will keep her in a more manageable size. As for this mess, its off to become next seasons compost/mulch.