Garden Shots- Share your "whole garden" pictures here!

Tabasco - I had exactly the same thought as huggergirl. Your place is just lovely.
So peaceful - love the way the shadows play on the green.

I have some beds that have bloom distributed through-out the seasons and some
that peak in one spectacular bloom and then are just blah the rest. For example,
I have primula that bloom (with camassia, siberian iris & trollius) a few weeks in
May but right now, that bed is saved only by folliage color contrasts from the
yellow filapendula & deep green rogersia).

Tam

Tammy - I planted viking queen (a cane hardy bred in Minnesota) on either side with a sweet autumn clematis and some hollyhocks around the base. I know what you mean about the roses. I've got almost 50 rose bushes but the new ones I planted this year I'm concentrating on only those truly hardy ones that don't have as many issues in my zone (it's so hard to resist the austins for me though lol).

Tobasco - your yard reminds me of a peaceful park!

I've been so busy getting perenials started that I haven't done too much with annuals except in my containers, I'm going to try that. Also I try to keep in mind that when I see something blooming at my nursery, it might be earlier than it will bloom in my garden next year because it's been growing in a greenhouse all winter.

Hi Everyone,

Beautiful gardens, as always. ;-)

surfcity,
Postage stamp size or not, your yard is gorgeous!

huggergirl,
Oh my gosh! The photo in post # 6757623 is really, really beautiful! And I love the flowers in the wheelbarrow.

peonyrosegirl,
Very pretty bed in post # 6769459. I like the stone and the steps and the birdhouse is adoreable. Pretty purple and pinks. Is the purple in the top left of the picture beebalm? And your stone walkway with the pergolas in very pretty too, and what a view! And wow, the stone walkway in post # 6769532 is aweome! Your home and yard are lovely.

Tammy,
Your rose arbor is really pretty! I like the wide opening to the ‘garden room’. The lilies against the stone wall look so pretty, great job.

Tabasco,
Your yard IS picturesque! I love all the island beds and those chairs look like the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful view.

Here are a couple photos of another garden, only this one is in my back yard.

Sherry

Hope I haven't already posted these. Here is a closer up view of part of this bed.
Sherry

Sherry - you can post those again and again as far as I'm concerned. I love that sweeping
branch of the evergreen and the warmth those red lilies add the scene.

Tam

Sherrygirl, Those last 2 shots are beautiful,your gardens are sooo very pretty.Thanks the last photo is of my sore spot ,Iam not real happy with the bed next to the garage,its messy right now due to a bummper crop of wayward larkspur ,I wish they would have came up behind the cone flowers,not in front of them,argg,still very pretty,I will get over it !!!

Lovely shots everybody!

Tammy, your garden room has matured so beautifully- everything is getting huge!

tabasco, for years June was a "green only" month in my garden- spring perennials finished and summer annuals lagging. Your garden looks cool and serene with nicely contrasting textures, a nice look between bloom flushes.

Sherry, I love the crimsons you've added to that garden area! Such a pretty contrast with all the cool colors, and really stands out in the more shadowed areas.

I visited a garden in Bowlingreen, KY last week that I found so charming and inspirational. It belongs to a single mom who's renting a tiny house on a farm. The setting is lovely and she has transformed the house and lawn into the most adorable cottage-cottage garden. Practically everything she has inside and out were free or from thrift stores and rummage sales. She repairs, paints, and refinishes lots of pieces she finds, and displays rustic pieces so nicely in the garden. She is a horticulturist employed by Western KY University, and has access to free starts of lots of plants (throw aways, cuttings, collected seed, etc.).

I was most inspired by her cottagy food garden. This shot was taken as I was walking from the house toward the garden. In front of the split rail fence, there are several varieties of Daylilies, Lilies, variegated pineapple mint, and Fennel.

Then entrance to the garden:

To the left of the entry there's a raspberry on a trellis with Lavender, Lilies, and Castor beans.

Entering the garden you see her earth box- raised beds and a cattle gate that serves as a trellis for hardy Kiwi vines.

Some of the raised beds, one full of healthy looking carrots, and each with bearded iris at both ends. I like the little iron head board used as a trellis. There's a raised bed of strawberries to the left of the cattle gate.

For this shot I continued turning to the left as I entered the garden. There are variegated and globe Basils in that last raised bed, and Asparagus behind that. You can see some Dill and annual blooms right next to the entrance.

As I turned left a little further, there are Basil, Squash, Okra, Beans, and Cannas. While I was there, we positioned a wicker love seat and chair in this area- the love seat in front of the Castor bean on the right, and the chair to the right of that. She found them on the side of the road in someone's garbage! She figures she can get one season of use out of them in the garden, then burn them in the fall, LOL.

This is looking to the right after entering the garden, where annuals are sprinkled among Swiss Chard, Dill, Tomatoes, and Peppers. The galvanized tub is so cute!

Peppers and Tomatoes, and Cucumbers crawling over the fence.

I found this a clever way to support her tomatoes.

Looking from the garden to the house:

And last, this little bed in the front yard, where she has a salvaged chair- her sitting spot to watch the setting sun.

Lovely Neal.

sherrygirl-yes those are grand marshall bee balm and I'm so glad to see them coming up - they're such a happy flower and the bees (of course right?) and the butterfiles have been all over them so it's fun to watch. I just love the combination of colors you mixed with the evergreens in you last photos - it looks so lush and full!

Surfcity - I agree with Sherrygirl about your yard - fantastic and sometimes I think a smaller yard is the perfect backdrop for a cottage style garden - it looks so cozy filled with all those beds. You're really doing the look!

Here's a shot of my clematis this year, the crazy green shrubs are limelight hydrangeas that are just about to flower, it takes awhile but the blooms are great - really huge and pretty.

That's a gorgeous garden, peonyrosegirl. Nice touch with the window box on the second floor, too.

What do you use to hold the clemmies up? Do you tie the vines by hand or is there something hiding underneath?

I purchased gutter trellises this year, which have really come in handy, but I wish they were white instead of green.

Thanks peony8 - what are gutter trellises? I'm always looking for a better way to tie up those vines. Basically I drilled eyehooks into the columns and strung wire around them. And also I had some rose vines climbing the same posts last year that had died almost completely back (gotta do a better job covering those this year lol!) so I left the dead canes in place and the clems have covered those too.

By the way - I got myself a garden gate magazine and your right - it's gorgeous. I love all the great ideas and pics!

Gem, loved the picture show of your friend's cottage garden. Very creative. Especially her fencing. Did she make that herself??

peonyrosegirl, your porch vignette is very lovely. The limelight hydrangeas will be a wonderful pairing with the clematis. (the c. must really love it growing up your posts!)

I could spend hours ogling everyone's photos. So fun to see everyone's flowers in bloom!

Here's an update on the bloom in our garden. (It's not exactly a cottage garden, but it is a conglomeration of this and that, mostly for the butterflies!)

peonyposygirl, I love your porch arrangement of plants- lovely!

tabasco, she sure did make that fence herself! She totally amazed me. The fence is actually just stacked I think. I've been plotting out my own similar version. Your garden is gorgeous! Love your color contrasts and echoes!

This is part of the garden at the rear entry of the house, where everyone enters. There were 3 blue spruces packed in that little space, that we removed last fall, so this is the first time I've had any color here- a really nice change!

Love love love your lily garden! Wish I could get mine to grow! You make me envious! 0-;

Not really any color echoes here, mostly color chaos! But oh, well...:

Great pictures everyone!
Huggergirl, maybe you could try collecting the seed heads off those larkspurs when they are ripe and sprinkle them behind the coneflowers, where you want them, for next year. That seems to work well. I just think it looks so pretty, and that would make it the way you want it too.

peony8 - oh that is so cool - I have looking for something like that for awhile. You could probably adjust that to fit all kinds of posts and structures and let the clematis cover them right up! I know what you mean, I have siding in the back of the house and I don't like to drill anything into that either. The front posts are solid wood so that was an easy fix.

Tobasco - I love your "color chaos" photo, it's perfect.

Thanks gemini_sage for starting this thread, It's so helpful seeing everyone's combinations together - great idea.

Yes, definitely a great idea, and I plan to steal ideas shamelessly!

Just think of it as gathering inspiration! I'm sure inspired by all your wonderful pics! I've been weeding and cutting back stuff that has finished blooming, making room for the late summer annuals, Dahlias, and the late perennials. As soon as I get the piles of stuff picked up and in the compost pile and the paths mowed I'll get some new pictures. Gotta be done before Friday night as some friends are coming over for dinner and to tour the garden.

We're having such a nice growing season in these parts this year. I heard this is our coolest start to July in over 100 years, and so far we've gotten plenty of rain, but no too much. It has been a very pleasant contrast to the last couple of years, when everything was crispy by this time.

Tammy, your clematis is incredible. I've never seen blooms like that before.

Gemini - the whole time I have been looking at everyone's pics here. I keep thinking ... man my garden is way behind this year. Not just in comparison to everyone's here but even against how things bloomed last year. My Monarda are just starting to open now. Usually they are in full bloom by now. I have one Coneflower open. Not much going on here still, at least not in the whole scheme of things. I do have blooms but they are spread out through different beds. Can't wait until the sun comes out - we have had a very lot of rain and cool weather. In the last month I think we've had only a handful of days that have reached 80! Very strange summer here so far. Although it has been awesome for adding my new plants. I got some bare root roses at the tail end of planting time and it has been perfect for that and moving stuff around so I am trying to look at the brighter side of it. :)

I think this is my favorite thread on DG and look forward to participating in depth in a while. But, for now, since this thread is heavy with the most wonderful pics -

*** could we continue with a New Thread for us slow dial-uppers? ***

(with links between old and new threads for continuity?)

thanking you in advance,

karen

Meredith, its been an odd year here too, but on the other side- most things bloomed really early. I had some of the most unusual combinations this year, to be blooming at the same time. This is the first time I've had bearded Iris, roses, peonies, annual Poppies, and Lilies all in bloom at the same time. We have been having cooler than usual temps lately, which the garden has loved. Same here with planting seedlings and moving stuff around- I've taken advantage of it!

Karen, got a new thread started here- glad you're enjoying it as much as I am :-)

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1012837/

I posted what my whole pool garden looks like from May through July on the perennials forum. I think it's fun to see how the garden changes from month to month (and sometimes from week to week). Anyway, I think it's a cottagy garden and thought I'd share it hear. Here's the link . . .
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1017917/


(This picture is from June 1st)

Alll these garden views are so INSPIRATIONAL!! My yard is only 4 years old. This is the view out the front door. My partner JUST finished the picket fence two days ago.... wish you could smell all the lavender right now.

Here's a link to it's restoration process (post fire and being bulldozed out)..... step by step. I'm so happy I kept a log of how the progress went. We were down to just ROCKS and sand in the beginning.

The photo diary link - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1018194/

This message was edited Jul 23, 2009 6:25 AM

highmtn- I was shocked at why someone would ever do that to your yard and felt so horrible for all that loss. But WOW it is looking so beautiful now and that fence is wonderful - I would love to have it!! Can I ask why the contractor thought that bulldozing your property was a good idea? Just curious as a survivor of home building myself lol, I was always amazed at the "different" ideas the contractors had from mine regarding what was important. One of my favorite lines was "WHY would you want to save these trees, they'll be in the way and you'll only have to pick up the leaves later!" . Beautiful job, and I know what you mean, I'm only a few years into mine and it really does take time doesn't it?

Well........SHOCKED is an understatement. I was so hysterical when I came back to see my place that I called his wife and asked if her husband was on CRACK when he was working out here (and I was NOT nice about it)! I took several photos and emailed them to her. I came out a few days later to a couple planter pots and a chair sitting on the lot. It just upset me more. I also took the photos to the financing bank (who recommended him) and they were ill. I had purchased this "pkg deal" loaning on debris removal and site prep...and he was the contractor they had lined up. Re: plowing my yards completely out. His defense was that he had to take the building lot down to "native soil" so that he could pour the foundation we paid for. I have never owned a manufactured home before, but I was old enough that I figured it would outlive me anyhow...lol The other reason I went with a Marlette manufactured home was due to not being able to get a local contractor to start a house fast enough. The way it was I lived in the Super 8 with my dd and 91# dog for TEN MONTHS! It really is an unbelievable story. Honestly...the fire was the easy part.

Anyhow...the home is not on concrete stingers (as they call them) it's on a full concrete slab. My lot is on a knoll, and he claimed he was worried about erosion and sagging. So...as he tried to defend his careless MORONIC actions I drug over a flattened patio chair and he said "well.....I hit that stuff backing up. You should have moved it (We weren't HERE!) I was working full time, and living in a motel. I guess had that patio set not been there he would have HIT the whole fence...he acted like I should have been happy. He was a lazy worthless guy...and had I had the money I would have fired him mid-project and gotten someone new. I just saw him sitting in a restaurant a couple months ago and I am wondering if my "crack" comments were more accurate then I had believed. I work in a hospital, and I know strung out drug addicts when I see them. He looked like he had just crawled out from under a rock.

So...we have persevered, and the place is coming along. We have not even BEGUN to address the mess he made of the backyard. We did get the masses of debris hauled off that he was paid to remove. I was done fighting with him... I just wanted him off the property.

PGT
Love the photos... what method do you water with?

Would everyone share a little about how they water? Over head? Soaker hoses? Sprinkler systems?

Thanks!!

Highmtn,
I use soaker hoses.