Category: Perenniels

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Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Lily Love

Salmon pink Asiatic Lily

What’s not to love about these lovely salmon pink Asiatic Lilies? They are easy to grow, thriving in a shaded position, putting on a splendid show now that the Azaleas having finished flowering. According to the books, Asiatic lilies are among the easiest to grow. They’re very hardy, need no staking, and are not particularly fussy about soil, as long as it drains well (although they do better if you add a good mulch and plant them in compost enriched soil).

Here are my newest Bloomers …

Salmon pink Asiatic Lily

[one_half]Salmon pink Asiatic Lily[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Salmon pink Asiatic Lily[/one_half_last]

[one_third]Salmon pink Asiatic Lily[/one_third]

[one_third]Salmon pink Asiatic Lily[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Salmon pink Asiatic Lily[/one_third_last]

Salmon pink Asiatic Lilies

See? Whats not to love?

Happy Gardening
xxx

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Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Iris – flower for a Goddess

Iris

“Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to take the souls of women to the Elysian fields” ~ Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers

Irises have always been my favourite flowers so I was disappointed when a landscaper told me I would not be able to grow them in my garden. Very dissapointed in fact. As a compromise we planted Dietes, a South African wild Iris. I like them well enough. What I like is the leaves, strong, strappy upright growing and they bend slightly at the top. They provide form and interest against the other plants in the garden. The flowers are ok, but unimpressive.

I wasn’t ready to give up on on the idea of having Irises and when I saw some for sale at a rare plant fair I bought six of them to try (how I wish I had bought a truck load full of them!). They are Louisiana Irises – Colorific, Sinfonietta and Stanley Blue. What I bought was the rhizomes with just a few leaves (cut really short). I planted them and hoped for the best … And the best happened!

Right now two are flowering and all the others have buds. Each individual rhizome has formed a clump and they will be ready for dividing in Autumn (Yay! More Irises!)

My gorgeous Irises …

Iris

[one_third]Iris[/one_third]

[one_third]Iris[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Iris[/one_third_last]

Iris

[one_third]Iris[/one_third]

[one_third]Iris[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Iris[/one_third_last]

Now that I know I can grow Irises I am on the hunt for more and have found someone in Johannesburg who specialises in Louisiana Irises who is going to be sending some to me next week. I’ll be replacing all the “spent tulips” with Irises. What joy!

Happy Gardening
xxx

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Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

September Foliage Follow up

Welcome! Join us for Foliage Follow-up

I took some time out today to take some photographs of the foliage in the garden to link up with Pam at Diggings for Foliage Follow Up.  “Foliage Follow Up” is a monthly gardening meme where Pam and other garden bloggers showcase the beauty of foliage in their gardens on the 16th of the month. Please join Hercules and I as we stroll through the garden. It’s not just the flowers that smell good … according to Hercules!

[one_half]Welcome! Join us as we stroll the gardenWelcome! Join us for Foliage Follow-up[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Festuca Glauca shinesFestuca Glauca shines[/one_half_last]

[one_half]New growth on Nandina pygmaeaNew growth on Nandina pygmaea[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The sun kisses Carex evergoldSun kisses Carex evergold[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lovely new growth on Star JasmineLovely new growth on Star Jasmine[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lovely variegation on the Pandorea “Charisma”Lovely variegation on the Pandorea "Charisma"[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Silver-hued Helichrysum petiolareSilver-hued Helichrysum petiolare[/one_half]

[one_half_last]New growth is pink on the Chameleon plantNew growth is pink on the Chameleon plant[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Moving on … What else should we show?Moving on ... grass is foliage too[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cape Thatching Reed looks greatCape Thatching Reed looks great[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Beautiful as a contrast (in the Veg patch)Beautiful as a contrast (in the veg patch)[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Brightening up a dark cornerBrightening up a dark corner[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Another contrast in a dark spaceAnother contrast in a dark space[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Acorus gramineus ‘Variegata’ – a favouriteAcorus gramineus ‘Variegata’ a favourite[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Love the contrast of the dark leavesLove the contrast of the dark leaves[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Sun kissed dark foliage of NandinaSun kissed dark foliage[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Bright green Lavender dentataBright green Lavender dentata[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Thats all we have to show today! Bye bye!Thats all folks! Bye bye![/one_half_last]

Thank you for joining Hercules and I on our Foliage Exploration! We hope you’ll join us again next month. For now we wish you …

Happy Gardening
xxx

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Annuals Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous Perenniels

Bugs eye view

It is amazing what we see through our eyes. But what if we could see through the eyes of a bug? It is of course impossible for humans to percieve what an insect sees, but we think that a compound eye, consisting of 2 to 20 000 lenses will project a sort of mosaic image. So our eyes are very sophisticated to see near and far, like we do.

What an amazing world opens up to us when we add lenses to our eyes, in the form of a magnifying glass, macro lenses on cameras or microscopes.  I love looking closely at things, flowers, leaves and insects. I also have a nicroscope in my kitchen that I use often to see what is bothering my plants – a fungus or an insect. When I can get that on camera for you, I will definitely post it, but in the meantime I will use my camera!

[one_half]Borage in bloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Onion flower[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Violas still in bloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Bulbine[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Leopard Tree’s new leaves[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Blueberry blossoms[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lavender always lovely[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Fuschias – the bell of the ball[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Wild flowers in my back garden[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Rosemary blooms delight[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bugs eye view[/one_half_last]

Happy Gardening
xxx

 

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Annuals Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Love in my garden

[one_half]Love in my garden[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Homemade fence[/one_half_last]

I stood on my deck this morning looking out into the garden and marvelled at all that has been achieved this past year and had 100 ideas of what I still want to do. I always thought that there was an end to what you do in a garden, once you have ‘landscaped it’. This, I have now learnt, is not so. There is continuous change, always new growth and even more new things to try. I have come to understand the way I work in my garden. It comes from love and it comes from trying something new. It starts with an idea. I have the freedom to do as I please – thanks to my non-gardening hubby who is always there to help – when I ask! I build and dig and play and through all this a wonderful place emerges.

[one_half]Wild flowers in my back garden[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Buffy wanting a picture taken[/one_half_last]

My gardening friends always on the ready. Sometimes too enthusiastic but always by my side when I am playing in the garden.

[one_half]New rose buds -with pesky critters to boot[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My fig tree is in bud[/one_half_last]

Everything is starting to bloom – all brand new. Here are my two favourite plants – my roses and my fig tree. You can feel the love! Here are some more new growths.

[one_half]Guara in bloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lavender still a winner[/one_half_last]

[one_half]A brand new corn flower[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Jasmine’s are everywhere[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Planter full of love and bulbs[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Quince tree with new leaves[/one_half_last]

I love spring xx

Happy gardening

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Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Grass feature revisited

[one_half][/one_half]

[one_half_last][/one_half_last]

[one_half][/one_half]

[one_half_last][/one_half_last]

On the 5th of April, our great day trip to Elgin took us to Fairholme, where I bought all my grasses in my patch – well 90% of them. It is now 5 months later – whew, time flies – and the grass patch is still quite dormant – until yesterday! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the dry tufts of Panicum virgatum and Miscanthus are finally showing signs of life.

[one_half]PanicumVirgatum “Shenandoah” now[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Panicum Virgatum-ShenandoahThis is when I bought it[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Eragrostis Curvula now[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Eragrostis CurvulaWhen I bought it[/one_half_last]

As you can see, the grasses are showing a few sprouts, so this will be a spectacular area once these grasses mature and achieve a nice height. I am a patient gardener! Even the way they looked when I bought them, I will be totally satisfied to see all my grasses reach this original height!! But the potential of what I can expect will be surprizing! I love these grasses and I will definitely add to my garden more grasses in different areas.

[one_half]My Carex Buchanii[/one_half]

[one_half_last]I love the Carex Amazon Mist[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The “Red Baron” needs some growing[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The sisyrinchium in bloom[/one_half_last]

You might ask what the big patch of green is behind the bird bath – well, these are corn flowers. I scattered seeds in a bald patch and these have come up. I am looking forward to these flowering.

Enjoy your weekend gardening xx it is a bit cold today so I am going to spend some time visiting our friends’ gardens.

Happy gardening

xxxx

 

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Christine's garden Design Gardening Home page features Perenniels

All about Change – the Azalea bed, then and now

The way it looks today

If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.  ~ Author Unknown

I’ve long hung on to the overgrown trees I inherited in my garden, believing that excessive cutting back or pruning would change things radically. I was wary of changing things too much. Mostly, I was wary of losing my fiercely guarded privacy. You see, I’m a very private person, reclusive some will tell you. And mostly, I liked it that way.

And then I started this blog, and suddenly, things were a bit less private. Strangers were “looking” over my walls and into my garden. It actually felt quite nice. Some of those strangers have become gardening buddies and I look forward to their virtual visits to my garden and mine to theirs. Then it dawned on me … perhaps cutting back a tree or two to let in some more light was not such a bad thing after all. Maybe just prune back a little … and so we did. And guess what? Nothing terrible happened. In fact, the sun peeped through and it made both the plants and me smile a bit. Perhaps time to prune back a bit more? Let more light in? Why not?

Get the tree feller in, see what he says. He said two trees HAD to go or they would cause problems with the foundations of my house within the next two years. Oh dear … more loss of privacy? He chopped them down. Then he cut back the others. Hard. Quite a shock to my system. It’s taken quite a while for me to get used to all the light (and seeing some neighbour roofs). But I’m still here, nothing bad happened and … now I like it! I can see the mountain – I have a view! And I see the sun and the sun sees my plants and they seem to be smiling back with their lovely blooms.

Today I’d like to share with you the jungle I was hiding in and how I have transformed this area which I call the “Azalea Bed” over the last three years …

Before – no light, no sun, just overgrown trees

After – Now in September 2011

After - September 2011

More “Before and Afters”

[one_half]Before – Dexter as a puppyDecember 2007 - Dexter as a puppy[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The same area (and Dexter) todayThe same area 4 years later[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Another “before” with baby Dex[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Today Lilies & Azaleas grow hereToday Lilies grow here[/one_half_last]

My “brag book”  – the way it looks today

(click to enlarge)
[one_half]The way it looks todayThe way it looks today[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Can you see the Mountain?Can you see the Mountain?[/one_half_last]

[one_third]Azaleas and LiliesAzaleas and Lilies[/one_third]

[one_third]Looking to the mountainLooking to the mountain[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Looking from the other viewAnd from the other side[/one_third_last]

The last photograph shows the bed from the other side (with the mountain behind me). There is of course still work to be done in the front of the bed and once the Tulips have died down in the bed opposite the Lilies & Azaleas I will be planting perennials in there (not doing the Tulips again next year).

I should probably have waited to show this when all the Lilies are blooming and when the Prunus is covered in blossoms … but I’ll just have to show you how it looks then again … it will be another whole new look. I can’t wait!

Happy Gardening
xxx

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Annuals Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

The first Asiatic Lily and other Joys of Spring

First Oriental Lily in bloom

“If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom” – Terri Guillemets

Plant, care, watch, wait, stand back and admire … repeat.

How immensely satisfying it is to plant a bulb, seed or seedling and watch it develop and finally bloom. Had I known all this 30 years ago I may well have made very different career choices in life. How I envy those who chose the road of Horticulture or gardening as their profession. Don’t get me wrong, I love my work, but oh my! I admit to loving my garden a whole lot more! What a Joy it is to step outside on a Spring morning and discover new blooms and fresh new shoots on plants. From bulbs that are blooming to plants specially selected for foliage … add some loving care, a good downpour and then a bit of sunshine and … Ta Da!!

And here we have today’s surprises …

[one_half]First Asiatic Lily in bloomAsiatic Lilies[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Freesias wherever you look…Wherever you look there are Freesias[/one_half_last]

[one_third]Ixias about to flowerIxias about to flower[/one_third]

[one_third]Sinfonietta Iris budSinfonietta Iris bud[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Lemon tree covered in budsLemon tree covered in buds[/one_third_last]

[one_third]Sigh, I love them … so prettySigh, I love them ... so pretty[/one_third]

[one_third]The first Lily in all her gloryThe Lily in all her glory[/one_third]

[one_third_last]All these colours on one plantAll these colours on one plant[/one_third_last]

Today the first of the +/- 80 Liliums I planted is blooming, and how gorgeous it looks. Of all the bulbs I planted I am finding the Liliums the most satisfying. All the bulbs have come up, some are standing 1.5m high and all are covered in buds. The Lilium Longiflorum (St Josephs Lilies) bulbs were planted towards the back of the bed and the slightly shorter Asiatics were planted slightly forward. The overall look of the bed is fabulous – even without the flowers.

The individual plants are strong and standing proudly upright (no staking required although I’ve read it is sometimes required) and I enjoy the shiny green foliage that has filled the bed and makes it look most promising. (I will do a post soon to show before and after photographs of this bed – It’s an amazing transformation – my absolute favourite right now).

Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying the fruits of your labour, regardless of the season!

Happy Gardening
xxx

I’m linking this to Weekendflowers # 10! Click to visit!

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Annuals Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Happy Spring Day

The 1st of September has arrived! To you my gardening buddy and to all our friends out there – HAPPY SPRING DAY!! I am so excited that it has finally arrived. Who would ever have guessed that Spring would be such a special season for me!! I used to see it come and go, enjoying the colours and the flowers but now – with the Gardening Blog  and my gardening friend – it is such a special occassion. My buds are flowering and my seeds are sprouting!

HAPPY SPRING DAY! Enjoy your garden today!

Enjoy my garden delights! This is my peach tree in bloom – so gorgeous!!!

 

[one_half]Borage blossom

[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Sweet Jasmine[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lemon blossom buds[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Dierama – Angel’s fishing rods[/one_half_last]

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Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Bulbalicious Beauties on this Fabulous Friday

The gorgeous Freesias

I thought I’d share some of the beautiful blooms being produced in my garden by the bulbs I planted back in April. It’s only the start of the blooms and I’m loving them! My favourites right now are the gorgeous Freesias that are providing a bright splash of yellow to an otherwise uninteresting corner in the back garden. They seem to light up the whole area with their bright yellow flowers and lovely scent, and are quite a show stopper! Why didn’t I plant more of them? I’d happily have had hundreds more of these and a few less of some others. Now I know for next year!

Freesias in the planting scheme

Fabulous Freesias …

[one_half]The lovely FreesiasThe lovely Freesias[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lots of flowers and budsFlowers and buds[/one_half_last]

Other Bulbs flowering today …

[one_half]Pretty in pink RanunculusRanunculus[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Exotic Tulip from the Hadeco rangeExotic Tulip from the Hadeco range[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Exotic Tulip from the Hadeco range *Exotic Tulip from the Hadeco range[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Another pretty TulipAnother pretty Tulip[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Another lovely exotic TulipAnother lovely Tulip[/one_half]

[one_half_last]A gorgeous DaffodilA gorgeous Daffodil[/one_half_last]

About Freesias (from Wikipedia)

Freesia Ecklon ex Klatt is a genus of 14–16 species of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, native to Africa. Of the 14 species, 12 are native to Cape Province, South Africa, the remaining two to tropical Africa, one species extending north of the equator to Sudan. They are herbaceous plants which grow from a corm 1–2.5 cm diameter, which sends up a tuft of narrow leaves 10–30 cm long, and a sparsely branched stem 10–40 cm tall bearing a few leaves and a loose one-sided spike of fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped flowers.

Freesias are very popular garden plants, grown for their often strongly scented flowers. The most commonly cultivated species is F. refracta, which was crossed with F. leichtlinii in the 19th century. Numerous cultivars have been bred from these species and the pink- and yellow-flowered forms of F. corymbosa. Modern tetraploid cultivars have flowers ranging from white to yellow, pink, red and blue-mauve. They are widely cultivated and readily increased from seed. Due to their specific and pleasing scent, they are often used in hand creams, shampoos, candles, etc.

* I have no idea what type of Tulip this is – I’ve checked my original order and I didn’t order this (or anything that looks remotely like this). Perhaps it was a “freebie” or it is a mutation of some sort (is that possible?). If it weren’t for the foliage I would seriously doubt it even is a tulip 🙂

Happy Gardening
xxx