Hackberry Trees, etc, #4

Very interesting picture. Many possible titles.
Perennial garden:

Some of the delphiniums.

Thyme lawn.
Rabbit is art.

Alpine-pond area.

Candelabra primula.

Bottom of little stream-pond area.

Sorry: previous is top.
Now bottom.

Outside:
mulleins and (sunflowers?).

Sharon,
Re David: amazing what someone can do with knowledge, energy, planning
and creativity. Merlin's Hollow (David said paper got it wrong re Merlin) is one of his many horticultural, landscaping, environmental and naturalist achievements. No wonder he is Aurora Citizen of the Year. Think I would make it 'of the Millenium'. Geological time spans would be a bit too obscure!
Charlie.

Hi Charlie,
Goodness, how it has all grown since the last pictures.
What happens in winter when all his perennials die down? What does the bare ground look like?

Reminds me of a young woman, former student, said to me one time. "Oh look at your yard, it looks like the yard of that old woman fortune teller who lives out in the country, her's has no grass either, just bloomin' weeds."

I had to laugh at her and the idea of 'bloomin' weeds'.....but I do have some areas of grass, more even than I want.

Great photos, and seems as if you had a wonderful tour yesterday, while I sat and enjoyed the stormy display of thunder and lightning all afternoon. Much needed rain, though, and my plants are very happy. So am I, since I don't have to water today.

Back to your picture:
There's something organic or maybe astronomical about it.
Maybe it's mysterious. It's not surrealist (threatening?).
Too natural.
I'm sure Buddy would see it as gastronomical.
Chemist in me also keeps saying 'the chemistry of combustion'.

Great about your rain Sharon.
As you imply, perennial gardens (if there is enough space) rise up during the growing season. Merlin's Hollow is snow covered in winter. David has an eye for winter shapes (plant and art).
Now off on garden tour. Back later.

Aurora garden tour today.
Yellow loosestrife.

Same place: front:
evening primrose and beebalm.

Another place:
hardscape and (conspicuous consumption?).
Few perennials.

Next garden: Eremurus (lemon- foxtail lily).
Have never used this. Got to try it.

Succulent bed.

Very neat.

Good design?
Steps to where?

Think all the gardens had mulched perennial beds. Know it is a good idea from several perspectives. However, to me, mulched beds, especially with widely spaced perennials, look more like collections of plants than flower beds; maybe like china in a china cabinet, rather than china in use. Guess it's all personal taste!

The lemon lily and the steps to nowhere caught my eye, two different reasons of course. Love that lemon colored unusual plant, and don't know that I have ever seen it before.The other photos are great too, but I am not one for succulents, since I can't grow them well here and they always look, well, bare and prickly to me.

And the steps to nowhere. Goodness, what symmetry. It would drive my muddled mind crazy. I like the steps of course, and it is neat, but good grief, for what? Well, I guess for those who prefer order and symmetry. Maybe someday I will have an organized, symmetrical mind, when I grow up, but it seems unlikely.

Great photos, seems as if a good time was had by all.

Got the idea of the steps to nowhere from a lecture by David on garden design in which he said an arch should be an arch through to somewhere.
Some people put trellised arches at the back of a flower bed, against a fence, to grow vines on.

There are two opuntias (prickly pear type) which grow in the Southern Ontario. But I also feel they don't fit into our gardens. Rightly or wrongling have also not warmed up to ornamental grasses here, except perhaps in commercial properties.

Was very interesting to see the gardens. Much preferred the curved flower beds to those with straight lines. Liked the blocks of color. Appreciated the way people made the most of their lighting conditions.

Good idea about arches and steps.
But the first sign of an errant weed would send the caretakers into a dither on that set of steps, I think.

I would have thought to see more straight lines than were in the photos. Surprisingly eye pleasing with all the curves.

Went to seven gardens and only saw obviously straight lines in one.
Was impressed with the diligence of the gardeners in most of the gardens e.g. few weeds or plants needing deadheading.
Don't remember seeing any staking in any of the gardens and only noticed a very few of the plants that do require staking.
Didn't notice any fall perennials, like asters and fall monkshood, but non-hardy fall mums, purchased in late summer or early fall, are very popular here.

Jazz and Daisy are at it again.
Leftover from last night's fireworks and the concert in the park about two blocks away. They hid under the bed for the duration, and have been hissing and snarling ever since.
Not sure what went on under that bed, but it has continued all day long.
At least Daisy is down from the fridge.

Love the action shot, Sharon.
Fisticuffs.
Poor little mites. Still suffering sensory overload.

Hello Charlie,

Missed you and your pictures today, but then I guess it was my turn to write.
I weeded today, then a neighbor had built two long narrow benches for me. I was going to put them out front beneath a couple of windows and set some potted plants on them, but first I had to paint them. I purchased a dark reddish paint, thinking it had a lot of brown in it, and wanting it to look more rusty than it did in natural light. As it happened, it took on a purple cast.

Not what I wanted. So I went back to the hardware store, and tried to find a rust color. No...it was either orange or red or brown. No rust. I really wanted spray paint anyway, but could not find the color. So I had them mix one for me, and hopefully it will be what I want.

I didn't get it done because it clouded up and I thought it might rain.
So tomorrow's job.

In the meantime, it didn't rain, and we have a lovely moon.
Hope you had a great day!

Mercy goodness. Thought I would never get caught up. As always the chat and pictures are lovely. PC went down over a week ago and would just allow me to lurk now and then. Well, I sure showed "Windows" the door. Purchased iMac laptop this weekend.
I know you have one as well, Sharon. Not sure I am smart enough for this beautiful piece of machinery. Did purchase the One to One package and hope to go back to the retail store tomorrow for my first session. Finally called ISP last night to help configure internet. Seems Apple is not straight on with all of Windows. Am really excited about this new toy.

While I had so much time on my hands not being on-line, we reinvented our deck in conjunction with our neighbors. I know I have mentioned it somewhere else. It feels as though we have moved. While all that was going on it was over 100 everyday and the garden suffered greatly. Pouring city water on in copious amounts doesn't help, too many chemicals. Looked like a school for Mary Poppins as I had umbrellas of every size and description over plants to keep from baking them. The suns rays are so intense that even a plant that is described as "full sun" can't survive. Here in my territory that really indicates what I would call bright shade.

I have really, really missed you. Sharon, getting back to my old self.

Christi

For goodness' sakes Christi, it's about time you got here. I was seriously considering winding my way south hoping to find you. But Charlie has posted so many wonderful plants, I just stayed right here waiting to see more. Aren't his gardens wonderful?

Now it's your turn to show us what you have been doing. Master the iphoto part of the iMac and pictures, pictures, pictures. I have had this Mac since my birthday in November, and yes, it is quite different. But I still have my old computer too, and now I can't do a thing with it. I forgot all I ever knew about Windows. Somehow I thought you had a mac to begin with, and if you did it is not much different than a lap top, I think.

So good to see you back with us.

Charlie, wake up, wake up, it's a beautiful day!

Hi Christi and Sharon,
Christi - your recent weather sounds like a gardener's nightmare, but your new computer sounds like fun.
Sharon - dentist's and King City Garden today - I've got to take help with me
to the garden. I must be nuts trying to save the customer money. Biggest problem is neighbors' poplars which are invading the flowerbeds and coming up in the middle of shrubs. Got to work on the school garden tomorrow, but doing it with help. Will have a few new pictures tomorrow. Funnily enough, a friend E-mailed me yesterday, asking for instructions about planting and growing daylilies. Oh boy, did he E-mail the wrong person! Told him you'd said they were very hardy and about your lifelong familiarity with them. He seemed a bit nervous about ten daylily plants arriving in the mail. I wanted to tell him not to get too hyped up about planting them, because I suspect that might have been included in your advice.
Charlie

You might tell him to soak the tubers of those that were in the mail for a day or two, just to give them a jump start. I think Christi (?) got some in the mail and one was blooming in the box it came in recently.

They'll be fine, I'll be back in a few minutes with today's DL photos. They are still blooming after 8+weeks. Crazy things.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2009 8:51 PM

Thanks Sharon,
Passing the soaking info on now.

Sorry, had to check comments on today's article.

OK, daylilies have been blooming nonstop since May 7, or at least that is the date on the first photo I took of them this year. They are still blooming non stop. They are both dependable and diligent. I don't think I could love another plant any more than I do the daylily. They don't expect much of me, just are happy to be here.

These are the same old blooms, but still going strong today.

And the groups, which I love more than the single shots.

Ok. I'm convinced. Daylillies and Star Gazers are second to none in the plant world.
A whole 'nuther obsession. Just what I needed. Kind of partial to begonia's too.
Don't ask me what kind. I don't keep up with that. If it is alive, it is beautiful.

Been having terrific luck with some plants from a to be unnamed coop. Didn't get as many as I ordered and they looked doubtful but with a little love and care every single one is alive....albeit very tiny. Wish me luck. These are little more than embryos.

Love you

Christi

I don't have Star Gazers, do you have pictures, Christi?

Absolutely spectacular blooms.
So much variation.
As a generalization, you would say that perennials typically (at least here) bloom for only two or three weeks in the growing seasons, which is the main reason you need so many different perennials in a perennial bed. Quite a small number do bloom for 6 to 8 weeks. It's going to be very interesting, how long the daylilies I started planting three years ago bloom for. I'm certainly hoping for a Western Kentucky bloom period. I also need to get familiar with different mature plant sizes of different daylilies.

I have two very very tall daylilies, and they always need to be at the back, but the other thing about them is that they are the last to bloom. That works well, if they have been planted in the back rows.

One is the old fashioned double orange, name starts with a K, and for the life of me I can't think of it, but here it is. A very very tall late bloomer. Probably as tall as 4'.

The shortest, also having the smallest blooms, are the stellas.
I have stellas of several different colors. They are just about a foot tall most of the time.
The most common are stella d'oros, golden in color.

I also have some that are yellow, some burgandy, a very dark nearly black one, and this tiny one as well.

The others have a variety of bloom sizes, including the really huge ones, but most of them are at the most about 2 feet tall. I have more of them than anything else. A lot of them are much bigger than my hand.

Here you can see the taller bi colors to the right. Some are about 4' or maybe more, up around my nose, and I am sort of close to 5'1" on a good day.