July First Evening Photos

Two tiny geranium cuttings I just pushed in the dirt of this hanging basket and they are both blooming. Geraniums are so easy.

The begonias my friend gave me are lovely.

An overview of the bed to the left of my walk. The peonies are finished but the greenery in the foreground is still nice. The same for the lilies of the valley that are my main groundcover to the left all the way back.

Mainly pansies and a few begonias mixed in. I pinched the pansies daily. My mother always said the more you pinch them the more they will grow. And she was right.

I started some ferns in this corner and they should spread over time. The impatients that were a give are doing well too. 

The hanging basket with the tiny geranium cuttings.

An overview of this corner of my world.

Hope everyone has a great long July 4th weekend.

See you again soon, I promise.

xo

Click any photo to enlarge.

Saturday Vibes

I brought a few lily of the valley plants with me from my former home. It has taken over 20 years for them to become a ground cover that gets bigger every year.

Nothing earth shattering here, just the picket fence that surrounds my air conditioning unit, my gas meter, and my electric meter. It looks so nice since it was painted last summer. Have a great weekend. xo

Houses and Gardens I like

Southern Living has a great article with many more charming photos HERE. These are a few of my favorites. Enjoy. xo

Patio Gardening

Somebody's been busy forcing bulbs in terracotta pots and it's paying off. What a delightful small walled garden. found here. 

I took my pruning shears on my walk this afternoon and got carried away cutting down multiflora rose. It's pervasive and has to be controlled along my paths or it will soon take them over. It was very satisfying. The thorns on those wild rose bushes are evil.

xo

The Winter Garden / Great Book

What I'm reading now. One of my favorite gardening books.

THE WINTER GARDEN

Structure, planting and romance in the garden in winter.

Eluned Price

Photographs by Clive Nichols

Author's dedication:

In memory of my beloved parents

Corinne and Justin Price

who taught me how to look

CONTENTS

Introduction

Structure in the Winter Garden

Planting in the Winter Garden

Romance in the Winter Garden

The Plant Directory

Index

Mine is a hardcover first edition published in 1996 with the destjacket. It's a large, beautiful book that is still available used. 

Search for it HERE and fill out form yourself. 

Search for used hardcover editions HERE with title and "hardcover" requested in search parameters.

xo

Purple Ornamental Kale: Replacing my Geraniums Outside

I put three of these in planters in my front garden after digging up and replanting my red geraniums to overwinter in front of the sliding glass door downstairs. When the long curtains are closed, that area becomes a greenhouse and the geraniums love it. I have always preferred ornamental kale to mums outside in the fall because they are cold tolerant and are still going strong long after the first hard frost zaps the mums. 

xo

Victorian Garden Cloches in Cast Iron

I always admire these cloches in Charlie McCormick's garden in England. @mccormickcharlie on Instagram click here.

Charlie ofen has long rows of them in the spring.

They are expensive but so very authentic. Curious?

Claverton Cloches Click and look. Swoon.

Oh well, it doesn't cost anything to look.

xo

Old Wheelbarrow with a Metal Wheel in A Country Garden

I've always wanted one of these old wheelbarrows. 

Don't you love this relaxed country garden. 

Source: Victoria Magazine, page 4 of an article.

Side View of My Hanging Files

This is the final view of my hanging file so you can see the shape of the file boxes. You are also allowed to peek into my living room in a seldom seen corner.

Thank you to Lisa Smith for identifying this artist as LAURA STODDART 

https://www.laurastoddart.com/

Her website is wonderful.

I used my scanner this morning to duplicate a group of gardeners I liked on a page I ripped out of a magazine. I've always liked this unknown artist and his long-legged characters.

It's nice and cool today and all of my windows are wide open once again. Happy Sunday. xo

Your Dog & A Gardening Poster

Here is another Illustrated Quote I made long ago and posted back in December 2010 so newer followers probably haven't seen it. 

The seed planting posture made me laugh. I use this position too when I have on my "good" clothes and don't want to get my knees dirty when weeding. Poster image found on Pinterest.

Dahlia Bud Opening: Day 2

My first year with dahlias is just starting to happen. I took this photo a few minutes ago on Sunday morning after an overnight rain. This is day two of my first bud beginning to open.

The plant is taller than my old boxwood and still growing. I was given a box full of tubers and planted them all not knowing whether or not they were viable and with no idea of the color. I think most of them came up but the heights are all different. I will be sure to pull them up before the first killing frost and store them over the winter. I will keep posting this particular bud as it opens more each day. See yesterday's post on Instagram for day one in the opening process. xo

Great Garden - Planted from Seeds

Everything in this great garden was grown from seeds. I have worked outside for the past two days weeding and enlarging and planting. Now I am ready to open some seed packets! Have a great weekend! xo

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My Mom Anna's Daffodils at My Cottage

I am so happy I dug up these daffodils my mother planted, from a spot I couldn't see without going outside, to a spot I can see from my kitchen window. Last spring was their first year and this year I do believe they have already multiplied. They are a later booming variety too and I like that. The daffs I transplanted in an area close by with a sundial have already almost bloomed out.

How does your garden grow? I am having such a good time outside this time of year. I have been organizing my barn/garage too, no easy feat! xo

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Blooming Hellebore in My Garden

I worked outside yesterday from dawn until dark. The Hellebore I planted last spring is spectacular and such a welcome spring flower that survived beautifully after being buried under two feet of snow for so long. I neglected to write down the name of this Lenten Rose but I think it must be Spring Party. I searched online and found a photo.

The mature foliage on my hellebore looks exactly like this. The leaves are large and leathery. I am very happy to have this old fashioned plant in a corner of my front walled garden. Photo found here.

I clipped off all the giant mature leathery leaves that looked like the photo above because they were just lying on the ground and didn't look tidy after my spring cleanup.

When to Start Your Garden Seeds in Your Planting Zone

I found the most amazing link for all of my gardening followers who start their plants from seeds. WHEN TO START SEEDS CALCULATOR

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MARCH: Planting Bulbs

Eugène Samuel Grasset (French 1845-1917) 

The Beautiful Planter 

Calendar page for March 1896

via

Eugène Samuel Grasset was a Swiss decorative artist who worked in Paris in a variety of creative design fields during the Belle Époque. He is considered a pioneer in Art Nouveau design.

A Winter Garden in Sweden

Winters are long in Sweden so why not design your garden to be beautiful in the snow?

Read the article about how Maria Dremo Sundström achieved this look with hers.

I wonder if she was inspired by Dutch Landscape Designer. Piet Oudolf? See a video about his Dutch gardens and a film documentary below:

Beautiful Endpapers: Fantasy Garden with Bookplate

Read the poem on the bookplate here.

Click above image to enlarge.

A Beautiful Winter Landscape

There is beauty in the natural winter landscape if you don't cut everything back. This one is especially lovely. via

Stunning Flower Photograph

Hagoromo Chrysanthemum by Magda Indigo

Who knew mums could be so lovely?