I have photos and thanks to share that have been accumulating since the RU. Hope you enjoy. I'll add as time allows.
The first is the entrance to the garden. Hyacinth bean seeds were gifted by Cindy_GA when we met at Garlicfest last year. The petals fall on the large stepping stones below making for a magical entrance.
Kiseta provided the coleus to landscape under the old oak. They went nuts. A single, different coleus went under the bird bath.
Wholyhosta gave me several varieties of toad lilies. Some have bloomed and some are just starting to bloom. So exotic looking and perfect around my garden tub and the bird bath.
This Salvia gregii 'Lipstick' is so interesting. The flowers open red and turn white! Note the change in color in the last two photos as the flowers age. This was gifted by Elaine last year (two years?) along with several other salvias doing nicely.
Was it you, Sterling, who gave me the gardenia baby? She's been potted up twice and is a big girl now. Covered for months in blooms earlier this summer.
Moonflowers on an arch going over the garden path. There are some flowers but they always seem to hit their stride around now.
Soyu cucumbers, a Japanese heirloom, were incredibly productive and long lived. They are still producing. This single plant was grown just for seed. Think I'll have tons of seed. The ones in the pile are Boston picklers. There wasn't enough time to get much canning done what with our daughter's wedding this summer.
We built an arbor of saplings to plant Harry's Black Jungle butterbeans on. Those too were gifted by Cindy_GA. They grew and the grew and they greeewww! Lot's of beans to pick every week. This is yesterday's harvest.
My hyacinth are scrawny little twelve inch plants , except one that made it to six ft . No blooms . Is there a secret to growing them in GA ?The ones in Tex are doing fine and should have seeds from them .
Well, they need warm weather to get a good start and an even supply of water when they begin to run. Mine are growing at the entrance where there was a packed gravel road. The soil is hard clay and gravel and only inches deep. Each year I add compost and dig around with a finger hoe to loosen and remove more gravel. I think mulching the bases of the plants really helps to keep the water even and the roots cool. In fact, that is probably the single most important growing suggestion.
Here they are this week. Starting to produce a lot of beans. The hummers and butterflies love these.
I got photos of the moonflowers at sunset. The scent would knock you over. I'd love to be able to photograph a luna moth visiting but the flash doesn't go off once it gets too dark.
The habenero peppers make wonderful shrubs with their brightly colored lantern-shaped fruit. I grew two varieties this year from seed saved from the Buford Highway Farmer's Mkt., one is orange and one red. I'm also growing Scotch Bonnets but they are not producing. I make and can Jamaican jerk seasoning from either of these peppers. The flavor is so unique. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_jerk_spice
Here is one of two Brugmansias that Wholyhosta (Brenda) gave me, Brug. First Belle. This is my first time growing this plant. The flower was beginning to open yesterday. Hoping to get a more open flower photo today.
Brenda has given me lots of beautiful plants including several varieties of toad lilies. Here is Tricyrtis Lightening Strike. The variegated foliage is especially nice.
I am indulging the parsley worms (really the caterpillars of the Black Swallowtail butterfly) because I love the butterflies. The earlier ones polished off the parsley and now these late season hatches are dining on Florence fennel. That's okay, I harvested fennel bulbs early in summer. The remaining plants are for seed which the 'pillars don't eat.
Everything looks so nice .
Some rain would help and here it comes.
no rain here - gets all grumbly looking but no rain.
I don't know about the gardenia... that's a maybe... but I'm not sure - so many plants sent on their way, you know! I have such a wonderful pomegranate tree - actually the variety is called Wonderful, how about that - from one of the swaps and I cannot remember who gave it to me. Cute Asian girl at a mid-state swap a lot of us went to...
Gotta love pass-a-longs. This week I am digging several chaste vitex trees - about 2' tall now - for a nature garden sale. Plus I have a number of baby cassia senna shrub/trees about 1' tall. LOVE those as they attract the sulphur caterpillars.
I am so happy it is finally getting cool enough to do a bit of work outside.
I do love all the critters now showing themselves. This tiny frog was happy to pose - that big ball on the right is a scrunched up sweetgum ball.
and I just love finding a mantis... they are so hard to find
Laurel.....everything looks so good in your gardens. I especially love the vines!
And First Belle is looking good. Try to wander by in the evenings......this brug has an exceptionally nice fragrance. And the Luna moths love the brugs! They are one of the pollinators!
Good capture in your photo, sterhill.................I have found a few mantis this summer.....first-of-the-season tiny ones back in late May and then by mid-summer the huge mature ones that startle you with their size. I found a huge brown one in my morning glories making like a stick!! :D
Brenda
Hey sterhill, I love finding the mantis and even though I have bugs galore, I can't seem to keep a mantis around.
Enjoyed the walk through your garden,,, I can smell those moonflowers and brugs now....
Elaine
Moon flowers relax me, and I love trailing vines.I hope that next brings me more time in the garden.This year I have been "Driving Miss Daisy", but Barbara is getting better, and able to do more on her own.Another time eater I have this year, is Chickens.A chicken tractor, is a very good time robber.I'm building a pin for them as soon as possible.They have a sound they make, when they want to go to greener grass.This accurs all too often.
Sterling, I have tried to grow the chaste tree, from seed, and propagation method, but failed.Whats your secret?
Laurel, you have the most beautiful garden. I know it takes time, but I must not be willing to work that hard. Mike
It's one thing to appreciate the garden, Sally, but it's folks like you, Wholy-Brenda and others who have helped bring it along. I've not included Randy's gifts nor Ken's. Mike's p'butter bush is in a big pot next to my outdoor tub and his buckeye is potted at the back end of the garden.
Sterling, love the "wildlife" photos. Toads and mantids are always welcome in the garden. Great pics.
Brenda-nutz, the one problem with mantids is they also eat each other. lol Very territorial.
Mike, I'm sending wishes for Miss Daisy to be healthy soon. Chickens are a very worthwhile time eater (keeps you out of trouble). We used to raise rabbits and ducks. As for Vitex agnus castus, my Atlanta one drops seed onto our stone and gravel patio and those sprout. The one in north GA does not self-sow. I think it's the builder sand, a course gravel substrate between the fieldstones, that works as a good medium for germination. BTW, mine bloom twice; once in late spring for four to six weeks and again in late summer. The late bloom is not as heavy, but nice.
The double rose of Sharon is a wonderful shrub. It was blooming when ya'll visited and it's still going. Wish I had better photos. I have shared babies with several DGers. The third photo is a red Mandevilla. It's got lots of blooms. I had trouble a few years ago overwintering a pink one after digging it up so I potted this one and masked the pot with other plants. I'm going to cut it back off the post and transfer it into the solarium for winter this year. Hoping that not digging it up will allow us to enjoy blooms in winter.
Thanks Laurel , and Brenda has loaded me up too .Her and that Sandy have an assortment of Everything . I won't accept any more plants , running out of room . Everyone has been so generous .
The peanut butter plant I got from Mike is strutting its stuff and still in big tub . I have to decide where to put it next spring .Somebody , maybe Sandy , gave me an E E last year , and after taking it to Tex and bringing it back this last spring , has grown to about 8 1/2 ' tall . I'll dig it one more time and it will live in Texas . The bulb is about as big as a football . I've cut all the leaves off except the center one and will save enough root (I hope ) to just transplant .It has three babies .
A neighbor brought me a double Rose of Sharon to id and I trimmed the bloom off . That was last year . It's now 12" tall and bloomed . I'm so lucky . And it's pink .
I cut all the leaves off the E E and took it back to Tex . It came out and got about five ft tall then bloomed it's heart out . When we left Texas , it had been in the ground five months and still blooming . We didn't have a freeze this last winter so even my hyacinth kept growing and blooming . I just hope the boy I hired to mow will do his job . The johnson grass was over the back yard , solid . A spading fork to pry it up still took over a month .If he keeps it mowed , at least it won't go to seed . First year I've had to deal with it . Wonder where it came from .
I have bales cooking and they were at 120 ° yesterday . Have five bales of pine straw to put down , probably not enough . Went to the quarry and bought 670lbs. of rip rap to dam the ditch down the road . It is always graded by neighbors while we are gone and it had washed a ditch 2' deep in places on the other side of the road from our drive . It was a trick to back up our utility trailer , up hill and turn to get in the drive without front tires of van going into ditch . We poured concrete in the wash in the road twenty years ago . it was fine until the neighbor started scraping the road . Now the concrete is three to four inches above the roadbed . Gotta tell that guy to worry about his frontage and leave ours to us . We are always gone when he "Improves the road ."
One of Brenda's irises is fixing to bloom 5 or 6 spikes and they will be the yellow ones .
Sounds like you've come home to a lovely spring. I've been under the weather. Hopefully we'll get to Maypop this weekend to work and enjoy some blooms.
Don't get sick on us , Laurel . To tell the truth , I think you push too hard . Probably wouldn't hurt to slow down a bit .You're like me trying to keep up two places .Hope for better reports .
Trying to stay healthy. Slowing down is not an option. I have four places to keep up with, not two. I have to be back in Miami in two weeks.
Well I am on bed rest till Monday or Tuesday. Doc says I over did it and will need to slow down the heavy lifting.. Lol Like that is going to happen. Any way so looking forward to seeing you all again this hear. Ralph says he is very happy to come too. You areone of the few people to get him to take a Saturday off for!!!!!!
Here is are pictures of my woodland plants I will be bringing.
Mud-Elf, please remember me on those woodsy plants. I love them, but so far have't had a good start. Mike
(here am I trying to get to sleep, but to no use. Mike)
Mike, I have plenty of them to share. I will put you down for 3 each??? Or do you need more? I have hundreds of the ferns and trilliums. The others not so much. Well that is what I see close as I can walk today. I will have the grand kids dig up lots when they come to visit again.
It sucks having the back out of wack. I have to much to do tight now to be crippled... Sigh..
Mike , go make a sandwich when you can't sleep and watch t v in a comfy chair . At least if you can't sleep you can gain some more weight .
Ha ha, Sally! Actually if he can't sleep he should officially let me know he is coming to the RU! I guess this means you are joining us once again, Mike, and I'm going to add you. Feel free to put up your trade list whenever the lightening strikes.
Elfie, get better fast. This is no time to have back problems. **Edited to add please put your photos on the swap thread so folks who don't know can see them.
This message was edited May 5, 2013 11:02 AM
Yes, I thought every one knew what I'm thinking . BTW when is the RU? More accurately, how did I miss it, except for the fact, that I have been like a dog, trying to hide three bones, and then my putter has been down for so long. Not trying to make excuses but , things hit me when I least expected them. Mike
I feel bad not having a trade list , but will dig and bring some just give aways . I may be able to bring some cuttings , in pots , unrooted . I've not been home long enough to get any roots growing .
Elfie, three will give me a good start, and I hope you are feeling so much better.Looking forward to seeing you, at "Maypop". Mike
Mike, I've known you long enough to have figured out what you are thinking. What you are doing is another story. :>) We are looking forward to seeing you at Maypop as well. You have been a regular visitor for all our RUs and we look forward to your company.
Please check out the Georgia thread for the RU invitation post as well as the swap and white elephant thread info. I have spent the last few days dancing with the weather to get the veggie garden in and packing for a trip to Miami on Tuesday. If I am not as communicative for a bit it is because I am on the road again. WE are looking forward to seeing you all.
Laurel
Have a safe trip and have a good time . (Hope the contract holds up .)
