Tag: grasses

Big clean up!

Today was a go go go day! I had my fabulous hubby as keen to get the garden in great shape. It has been looking shabby and dry and all the spent vegetable plants needed to go. I want to make way for my March planting and get the soil ready for this. I am totally exhausted but so happy that we managed to do the whole garden – every inch was checked and fixed!

[one_half]Here we start – bright and early[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cleaning the protea bush – hard work![/one_half_last]

Ok – enough of the ugly stuff. I didn’t bother to take photos of the before because it is really not a pretty sight! Let’s go straight to after shots! We’ll start with the front, move around the side and then to the back of the house. Then the chicken run!

[one_half]Front grass mowed and beds cleaned[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Grass patch needs little work – just some water[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Fuchsia cut right back so roses have room[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Roses deadheaded and fed with Sudden Impact[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Front garden neat – awaiting stones for path[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The protea bush cropped just before I mowed[/one_half_last]

Ok, now for the side garden – the veggie patch area.

[one_half]Weeding took forever but worth it[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Front view of veggie patch[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Looking back on the veggie patch[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Oops! Still need to plant these salvias[/one_half_last]

Ok, now we are coming around to the back garden where I have my fruit trees.

[one_half]Area raked and fruit trees mulched[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Fig tree got a real good haircut[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Potato (bush) tree bed all clean[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Looking through Potato bush bed into garden[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Beds cleaned and grass mowed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Chicken run cleaned up too[/one_half_last]

Whew. Thats it! Gonna hit the sack now. Tomorrow i’m going to order the stones that we want to put around the house. Ok, that’s a whole new post.

Happy gardening xxxx

Tags blooms, garden, gardening, grasses, organic garden, plants, trees

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

A few words about grasses on Wednesday

Post author By Christine
Post date January 25, 2012
25 Comments on A few words about grasses on Wednesday

I know I go on a bit about ornamental grasses and how much I love them (are you tired of this subject yet?) and so rather than bore you with another one of my rants on how amazing, spectacular and gorgeous grasses are, I thought today I would show you in photographs why grasses belong in my garden …

The Mexican Petunia is a beautiful plant in its own right and looks really stunning … but look how extra-stunning it looks with the dainty flower heads of the Panicum virgatum just peeping through. And it does that without detracting from the beauty of the plant – I love these two together.

Miscanthus sinesis “Zebrinus” and Salvia Coccinea are both plants worth having in your garden. But look how stunning they are together! Another reason I love grasses – gorgeous alone but whatever you put them with just seems to “pop” right out of the bed, straight at you!

The Weigela is sadly not doing much this year because I believe I pruned it at the wrong time. But look how simply gorgeous the few blooms and all the foliage look against the soft flower heads of the Panicum virgatum. Just lovely.

So my few words about grasses on Wednesday are …

If you don’t already have, just get some! Find your favourite grass and then start with just a few. You will find they brighten up the dullest areas, are gorgeous on their own, in combinations and en-masse and provide interesting colour almost all year round. It’s a no-brainer for me.

What’s your favourite grass?

Happy Gardening
xxx

More of the pretty …

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Tags grasses, Panicum virgatum

Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous Perenniels

Heat of the Summer

The heat of the summer days does take its toll on the garden. It is usually 2-3 degrees higher here than in the city of Cape Town. So if my friend, Christine, says its 30 degrees in her garden, than its usually 33 degrees here. A few of my plants are now dropping leaves and flowers – notably the fuchsia, but my neighbour was very surprised to see it still blooming, so it lasted well.

The crickets are out at night and I hear the lonely high-pitched sound of the mating frog. In the hot afternoon, you hear the cicadas and the grasshoppers stake their claim on large green leaves. The sun is high and the air is dry. The garden waits for its daily watering …

[one_half]This grasshopper lives on the corn-stalk[/one_half]

[one_half_last]An old skin shell of a grasshopper[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My grasses are doing well in the heat[/one_half]

[one_half_last]They are now growing and filling the spaces[/one_half_last]

But they do need watering regularly.

[one_half]My Miscanthus growing tall[/one_half]

[one_half_last]But some are feeling the heat[/one_half_last]

In this early morning shot (8am) – it was already 25 degrees

[one_half]The Leopard Trees are strong and resilient[/one_half]

[one_half_last]But everyone needs a drink of water[/one_half_last]

Summertime is for lazy days in the sun and swimming in the cool pool. I know most of our friends are in winter, but I hope that we can spread some sunshine your way.

Happy gardening xxxx

Tags Bugs & Pests, garden, gardening, grasses, plants, trees

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Reviews

“Grasses” by Nancy Ondra – A Review

Post author By Christine
Post date January 19, 2012
12 Comments on “Grasses” by Nancy Ondra – A Review

Grasses by Nancy Ondra with photographs by Saxon Holt

This month I’m joining Holley of Roses and Other Gardening Joys in doing a book review on a favourite gardening book from my personal library. From front cover to back, “Grasses – Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design” by Nancy Ondra with photography by Saxon Holt, is a visual feast. Even if you don’t read a word of this book you will be inspired to start gardening with ornamental grasses – the photography and layout of the book had me hooked from page one.

But it’s not just about the visuals. Here is why I think you should add this book to your library of gardening books …

The photography is outstanding. These are not just photographs of random grasses, they are photographs of skillfully designed garden settings where grasses (often in combination with perennials and other plants) were used to create scenes that are not just aesthetically pleasing, but, for want of a better word, WOW! I’ve added a few photographs below to show what I mean about the huge “Wow” factor this book created in my mind, before gardening with grasses was something I’d seriously considered.

The blurb on the cover says “Select beautiful ornamental grasses, combine them with perennial flower and other garden plants and care for them so that they look great year-round. Photos, plans and plant lists for 20 unique garden designs, along with more than 160 colour photographs, provide inspiration for using ornamental grasses in a variety of garden settings“. This books certainly delivers.

The book is divided into four distinct sections; Getting to Know Grasses, Colour Palettes, Seasonal Usage and Selecting for Location. In her usual very well written and conversational style, Nancy takes us through the ABC’s of gardening with grasses from identifying grasses right through to designing with and caring for grasses in your garden. Section one looks at the different types of grasses, flower forms, growth cycles through to choosing the right grass for your site. She further goes on to discuss how to plant, vare for, divide and finally cut back your grasses to ensure the best year-round display.

Easily my favourite section of the book, the second section; Colour Palettes; looks at the various hues and shades of grasses from reds, coppers, bronzes to steel blue and silver. Each colour group is dealt with in-depth and a list of examples with descriptions is provided. Throughout this section the author and photographer provide us with wonderful inspiration in the form of outstanding photographs of colour and plant pairings with a small design detail indicating the plants used (see example in the fourth photograph below).

The third section of the book looks at using grasses in combination with perennials and other plants in any garden setting or gardening style and shows how to use grasses to create the look you want to achieve in your garden.

Finally, section four will assist you in making the correct selection for various sites (the recommendations for dry, wet, hot and shaded sites are very useful). For every garden element, from borders, pathways, and containers to location challenges such as shade, slopes and for privacy, this book offers descriptions to aid in specific grass selections and planning considerations. You will find easy to use reference lists showing you which grasses work well in different situations and under varying conditions such as hot, dry sites, shaded areas and moist and wet sites.

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Even non-gardeners will appreciate the coffee-table book quality of this wonderful book and will agree that the photography by Saxon Holt is inspiring. Most of the photographs of grasses are taken in combinations with other plant materials so you get the feel of the various grasses in the landscape. I’d rate this as a “must-have” in any gardening library. If you only buy one book this year, get this one!

Now pop overr to Holley’s blog and see what other books have been reviewed this month: January 2012 Gardening Book Reviews

About the Book Review meme

Garden Bloggers Book Review is a monthly meme hosted by Roses and Other Gardening Joys (20th day of the month). Whether its vegetable gardening, flower gardening, specialized gardening, design, landscape, or even fiction (that includes a garden, such as ‘The Secret Garden’), Holley invites you to share your take on the garden books you have read. “Each of our gardens are different, and each of our tastes in garden books will probably be different – but I think if we tell what we like (or not) about each book, we can get a good sense of the books we might want to add to our collection”. Join Holley on the 20th of the month and share one of your books with us all.

Tags book review, gardening books, grasses

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Pretty feather grass

For a long time I admired the pretty Mexican Feather Grass on many blogs including The Whimsical Gardener (Austin, Texas), Creating my own Garden of the Hesperides (Lazio, Italy) and my local favourite, Elephant’s Eye (Western Cape, South Africa). I really love the look of it and decided I wanted this in my garden. But I’ve learnt over the past few months that the nurseries stock things here in cycles. Mexican Feather Grass has not been on the “availability list” since I’ve been looking for it (off season I’m assuming).

I mentioned this to my Mom who was very excited to find a few packets of seed in her local Garden Centre and she posted me all that was left on their shelves. Each little packet came with 25 seeds. The first packet I planted was a flop (I’m guessing I planted it too early in our season). As the weather started to warm up I tried again with the remaining few packets and look what we have now …

[one_half]Mexican Feather Grass from seed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Mexican Feather Grass seedlings[/one_half_last]

Typical though, Murphy’s Law and all that, no sooner were my seedlings looking like they might actually morph into that lovely grass I’ve seen on the blogs, when I found two at a nursery about two weeks ago. Of course I bought them and planted them … Aren’t they pretty?

[one_half]Feather Grass in the Rose Bed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Feather Grass Makro[/one_half_last]

I’m really looking forward to having more of it in my garden although I’ve been warned that it reseeds itself like crazy and can become invasive. Fortunately I like weeding so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for me.

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags grasses, mexican feather grass

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Diary of the Switch Grass

I love the grasses Ive planted in my garden these last few months and am looking forward to watching them grow. My first “grass purchase” was earlier this year, in March, when I bought the Panicum virgatum “Shenandoah”, (also known as Red Switch Grass or Shenandoah Switch Grass) and planted into a container. I have lots of sedge growing in my garden, Carex evergold, which has really come into its own this spring, each individual plant has doubled in size and looks simply beautiful.

Inspired by numerous blogs and two books, “Grasses” by Nancy Ondra and “Designing with Grasses” by Neil Lucas, I decided to expand my grass collection and am now the proud grower of Festuca glauca and scoparia, Miscanthus sinesis variegatus and zebrinus, Panicum vigatum “Warrior” and “Shenandoah”, Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) and Imperata rubrum … and I feel like I’ve only just got started!

Here is my Shenandoah at different times of the year … and I’ve enjoyed them all.

March 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

I love how quickly they grow, how beautiful they look in the garden and how trouble-free they are!

Happy gardening
xxx

Tags grass garden feature, grasses

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Shopping + gardening = happiness

Post author By Christine
Post date October 23, 2011
6 Comments on Shopping + gardening = happiness

Gardening is supposed to be therapeutic and I sure know that shopping usually makes me feel better, so a visit to the local nursery was what my “inner-doctor” ordered for today. And what a joy it was to find something I’ve been looking for forever! Miscanthus sinesis giant variegata was waiting for me – three of them sitting there (I always buy in threes). So of course they came home with me, no hesitation, lovely healthy looking specimens. I couldn’t resist a few extra finds …

Now all I have to do is finish the “big clean-up“, dig some holes and in they’ll go.

My newest acquisitions

[one_half]Miscanthus sinesis giant variegata[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Imperata Red Baron (Thank you Barbie!)[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Miscanthus sinesis Zebrinus – ditto[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Dusty Miller – I love this[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Inspection of the new acquisitions[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Great! My purchases have been approved![/one_half_last]

Yes, I think I am actually starting to feel just a little bit better. Just goes to show … Shopping + gardening = happier.

Now, if the sun would just shine …

Happy gardening
xxx

Tags foliage, grass feature, grass garden feature, grasses, plants

Barbie's garden Design Do it yourself Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous Perenniels

Before and After

I have been watching the growth of my garden and, with the gentle prodding from our friends, I had to do this post to showcase the tremendous change that happened in my small part of the world in the short 6 months since I started my whirlwind, one-woman landscaping exploit. I will do each part separate: I have divided the garden into front, veggie patch (along the side), the fruit tree area (back east section) and the back garden (the entertainment area).

The Front Garden

BEFORE:

Remember the front area with the huge lavender bushes that took over the whole bed? They also hid the dry river bed that I so lovingly created…for no one to see! The grass was dry and patchy. I loved my garden like this….. funny how we grow as gardeners! These pictures were taken right in the beginning of our blog in January.

[one_half]Remember my huge lavender bushes?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My pride and joy, but outgrew their place[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Already starting to look tatty and woody[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The protea bush and the patchy lawn[/one_half_last]

THE ACTION:

The action starts in earnest round about April – it all began with the Leopard Trees then the redesigning begins……

[one_half]The hard work starts ….[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The lavenders are a memory now[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My rose patch at the end of June[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The new grass patch in June this year[/one_half_last]

AFTER:

These photos were taken this week, so this is how my garden is looking like NOW!

[one_half]Its all looking so green and healthy[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tall corn flowers are temporary as gap filler[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My rose patch is thick and bursting with health![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Can’t wait for the roses to bloom[/one_half_last]

[one_half]I love how lush and full it all is![/one_half]

[one_half_last]The fuchsia is also happy and well mulched![/one_half_last]

I am really pleased that all the love and care you give to your garden, it gives it right back! The mulching and feeding and watering. It is all so rewarding.

Wait until you see the before and after photos of the back garden – you will not believe it is the same garden! Well, I’ll leave that for tomorrow’s post!

Unfortunately, my roses are still shy, so I will have to wait some more before I do a rose post!

Happy gardening to you all xxx

Let’s all send our love to Christine who misses her home and animals and her garden and her gardening buddies!! Send her home safe on angels wings xxx

Tags Design, flowers, garden, gardening, grasses, mulch, plants, roses, trees

Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

from wheat fields to vineyards

Post author By Barbara
Post date October 11, 2011
12 Comments on from wheat fields to vineyards

Today I had a work appointment in Stellenbosch and it is a good hours drive from where I live in Philadelphia (Cape Town, SA…..) I always love the drive because I take all the back roads through farms, wheat fields and vineyards.

Imagine if your back garden was a wheat field or a vineyard…….. enjoy!

[one_half]From the fields in Philadelphia….[/one_half]

[one_half_last]To the wine farms of Stellenbosch[/one_half_last]

The drive takes me through the dairy farms and the wheat fields of the Swartland to the beautiful and famous wine farms of the Stellenbosch area – names like Simonsig, Nooitgedagt and Kanu are all well known wines we enjoy here and, I am sure, overseas too. And they are all along the way.

[one_half]The grasses along the road are fabulous[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Some more along the way…[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Then comes the natural flora of the area[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Natures own garden along the roadside – lovely![/one_half_last]

[one_half]The signs of human life – fruit orchards in bloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Travelling towards Helshoogte in Stellenbosch[/one_half_last]

Stellenbosch – Cape Town

[one_half]The beautiful views of vineyards are everywhere![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tranquil settings[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Famous wine farms – Zorgvliet[/one_half]

[one_half_last]On the way to Hillcrest Berry Orchards[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My final destination – Hillcrest[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lunch on the terrace and this is the view![/one_half_last]

What beautiful places to explore and enjoy. We are so fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world! Glad I can share this with you!

Happy Gardening xxx

Tags flora, grasses, natural flora, plants, roadtrip, stellenbosch

Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Going Green

I had taken a number of photographs towards the end of September because my garden is bursting with green. I don’t know if you remember, but I used Blade Runner on my lawn at the end of July. Julie, from Neutrog, kindly sponsored some samples and all I can say is WOW! I am very impressed!

I am so impressed with the look of my lawn – it has never been so lush. I have struggled with a patchy, brown lawn in my front garden for years. No help with the chickens scratching it all up. So, I decided to lock them out and really look after the lawn. But still, no real results. Until I used Blade Runner. It has made the world of difference! I have also noticed that the fruit trees are also healthy and green and dense with leaves!

[one_half]Front lawn – looking lush![/one_half]