Hey John, welcome! I'm a big fan of your writing!
What gardening blogs do you read?
Oh wow, a celebrity among us! Hi John! It's very nice to "meet" you. Thanks for joining us! I really enjoy reading your blog.
Karen
Happy to be here and thanks for the kind words! Just returned from a lunch time plant shopping spree. My car looks like a jungle with the shrubs poking out of the windows in the parking lot.
I received a timely e-mail soliciting for pictures for a dcgarden blog, http://dcgardens.com/
From the main page:
What’s here
- Photos, videos by month of the fabulous gardens in the Washington, D.C. area that are open to the public.
- Where to learn to garden, where to buy plants, a local garden blogroll – anything to help get new gardeners started.
Who
We’re DC-area gardeners helping to promote the public gardens we love, and encouraging more people to garden. This is an all-volunteer project. No advertising or monetization of any kind is being pursued for this website or our Youtube channel.
ONG, I work mere minutes away from an excellent nursery too (Behnke's) and I have to pack a lunch every day so that I can't go plant shopping. Based on what I've read on your blog and discussions I've read in other threads in the Mid-Atlantic Gardening Forum, I think you and Sequoiadendron4 would get along well. Here's a link to threads he's started: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/threads.php?user=Sequoiadendron4
Terp, I looked into the DCgarden blog a few weeks ago but I guess at the time it seemed like it was still under construction. Thanks for the reminder, I'll look again.
Woohoo!! Terp
Hi, John. If you haven't been to a DG get-together put May31 on your calendar. Check out the threads about it in the mid-Atlantic forum.
Jan23 - will do!!
typwc - will def check out his threads.
It is fortunate that I do *not* live too close to a great nursery, as I would spend way too much time and money there if I did--LOL!
Ah, Catmint, you are so close to Behnke's.... maybe I should keep that a secret from you ....
Behnke's? I'm close to that? ;-)
Hey ongardener- count me a new fan.
Hey guys, recent posts mention Heliotrope, deer resistant, and an amazing hardy geranium with dark maroon foliage, 'Espresso' I think.
ONG: I subscribed to your podcast. Looking forward to it!
sallyg - thank you!
It is Geranium 'Espresso' and it has thrived for me in partial shade although I prefer the foliage to the flowers.
Yep, I'm a follower, too!! That Espresso is a beauty. Agreed that the foliage is a standout!!
yeah, I think we definitely have to get Ong into the swapping... (evil grin)
Yes, definitely we need to get him swapping. There's lots of things I have been eyeing greedily on his blog.
muha... muhaha.... muahahahahahaha
Ong -- do you give your Espresso a lot of water? I just bought some -- and found it was the first of my plants still sitting in their store-bought containers to go limp -- even faster than some coleus. I thought it could take a bit of drought, so I may need to rethink where I plant it!
happy, my bigroot geranium, which looks close cousin to Espresso, is tough as nails even it it wilts, it never dies. It was the "living roof" of a big vole condominium one year without ever showing a sign of stress.
(rubbing hands together with eyes squinted)
Quote from sallyg :
It was the "living roof" of a big vole condominium one year without ever showing a sign of stress.
(rubbing hands together with eyes squinted)
LOL Sally! Sure hope the voles have vacated the condo by now! :-)
Hayell no. I will never be free of voles! That area in the back corner, vole heaven. I think there's a giant vole metropolis about ten feet deep down there and they just keep making new exits ......
By the way, my next DG article is about thugs. Any resemblance to actual gardeners I have traded plants with is purely coincidental.
Happy, I have a few Geranium 'Espresso' - planted end of season last year. They came back this year and are doing well in a part shade location. No supplemental watering so far, but we've had so much rain that they've been getting plenty of watering this spring. I won't know until we get some dry spells how they'll do without it, but I'll pass the info on.
ONG, I recently checked out your blog too - nice! Our spring swap is at my place this year (May 31, Lucketts, VA). We'd be glad to have you join us if you can make it :)
Terri
I remember reading on ONG's blog that he has wet, slow-to-drain clay soil throughout his yard.
ONG, it'd be great to see you at the swap!
Some of the recently planted 'Espresso' have been watered regularly while others were simply forgotten (they were hidden behind some daffodil foliage), but they all seem to be doing well.
I have a few of the Espresso from Happy. They are planted under one of my rose bushes, so morning/dappled sun, and medium to moist soil--doing well so far!
ONG cracked me up tonight ...
http://www.obsessiveneuroticgardener.com/
LOL Sally. It is a beautiful plant, whatever it is...
OH!
The one I was referring to was Put Down the Shovel...(bleep)
This mystery flower is well known to me, and coleup....
Yes, I enjoyed Put Down the Shovel, too! Nice reminder to take the time to enjoy our gardens.
So, what is the mystery flower??
Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed.
What do you all think of this garden?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l8WqZTb-lXE/U9Vv9dSolmI/AAAAAAAATj4/zYNM_aqiB4s/s1600/Pond+2014.jpg
Seq and Catmint, I have a feeling this is your style. :)
Gita, this is probably what your backyard would look like if you didn't have all those maple roots to deal with!
The picture is from this blog: http://gatsbysgardens.blogspot.com/2014/07/back-at-pond.html
SS--You seem to know me well.....
I DO have a hodge-podge garden....no plans to speak of--just color all over.......
Ahem--actually--very subtle planning.... Jeff also seems to approve of this style...
The 1st link--even thought it is beautiful--seems a bit of "overkill"....
How long does it take for the owner to plant, water, dead-head, weed, and fertilize
something this broad and complex???
Besides--taking care of the pond...
g.
honestly, that first pic is wayyy too busy for me
Oh my gosh SSG, that garden is gorgeous!!! That's what I would aspire to have mine look like but I fall way short of that. So beautiful!
I love that garden too, kind of how I would like my yard to look, just on a smaller scale and no pond.
Quote from sallyg :
Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed.
A milkweed I still don't have in my garden. ;-)
Quote from ssgardener :
What do you all think of this garden?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l8WqZTb-lXE/U9Vv9dSolmI/AAAAAAAATj4/zYNM_aqiB4s/s1600/Pond+2014.jpg
Seq and Catmint, I have a feeling this is your style. :)
It is totally gorgeous, SSG! :-) Would love to have a garden like that!
If I had lots of time, I might examine that first 'busy' garden and see if it really could be naturally planted and blooming that way. Are they all in season? And what does it look like at other times?
Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed.= Is a beast in a garden bed.
I'm sure that person puts an insane amount of time into that garden, which I would gladly do in my yard too if I didn't work and had an unlimited supply of the greenbacks.
I think there are many, well-chosen perennials in that garden.
Need to look real close.... G.
Hard to me to know for sure what some of those flowers are, but I have not found any contradictions either. Still, every perennial blooming now, likely was NOT blooming three weeks ago, and likely won't be in bloom three weeks from now. THEN what will it look like?
Agreed, it is for the gardener with unlimited time and money.