Thanks everyone-you all make it worth all the work!!!! :)
The weeds-how i hate those!!! I try to stay on top of the weeds as much as possible but they do get in there!!
I have a mantis tiller that I use to keep most out and i hoe the rest!!
Ive already killed a 2cycle mantis-got the 4stroke now! I have tilled for 8hrs straight weather permitting!
ya'll can come see me anytime!!!!! i will send you home with lots of plants!!
i do have knautia to share if anyone needs some! :)
notmartha,
I love your paths, they set off the whole garden. What type of gravel do you use? The gardens are wonderful.
peagravel, my DH knows a guy at the gravel place and he gets like a 1/2 ton for 10.00
he could have shot me when he came home and found i had bought 5lb bags for 3.00 ec
Glad that was one of my fiirst small gardenpaths!!
See all the growth in that gravel-I have to round up every yr to keep weeds and seedlings OUT!
I just tilled under a bunch of the hollyhock babies!
I have to ask you: Do you do all the work yourself? Your gardens are staggeringly beautiful.
The pic of the arbor and the path actually brought tears to my eyes - it's just so inviting and so peaceful looking. You truly are to be commended for your creation.
yes i do it all myself.
My dh (past 2yrs)has kept the dayliliy gardens tilled between the rows. I do between the plants
He will do one garden project a yr for me-we built the white and black trellis and the GH!
He does help me set up the fountain
the daylily beds start in June too!
How large is your property? It is really breath-taking.
well we own 5 acres of 160 acre family centennial farm!!!
there are 3 family houses on the 160-ours my mil and then a smaller rental house!
That's wonderfully decadent. We squeeze ourselves onto 1/2 acre, and feel lucky!
I'd be thrilled with 1/2 an acre!!! Our property is 75 x 125 feet, and is enormous compared to the little spot we had in Seattle (however, I did have a true cottage garden!). I have managed to fill up the new place with flower beds in four years. Can't afford to move again so will have to make do!
Dori -- It is absolutely wonderful! Wonderful, wonderful!!! Roadtrip next June !! I believe Martha would love your place, BTW.
You answered the question abou the weeding, but what about the staking...everything is standing up with no visible means of support.
Please don't tell us you tilled under the hollyhocks! I feel like enough of a chump for buying 3/$10.00 at Bluestone as it is. (A few months before I joined DG-- didn't know you just threw out seed.)
Suzy
Dori,
I do believe you have the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen! Thanks for sharing all of this beauty with us!
Terrie
Dori,
2 questions.
It doesn't appear you have room to hoe, let alone use a mantis, between your plants. How do you weed in close?
On an entirely different thought, Is Martha your mother?
Dave
I do stake the delphiniums becuz it seems that as soon as they are ready to bloom here-its tornado season and we get some very strong winds across those open farm fields and a few tornados(had one at the plant trade 2yrs ago)
ok dave-i do hand weed sometimes-but believe me there are weeds in that there garden! I do my best to keep
them under control-i do have roundup in a 2gallon sprayer! :)
GAG GAG GAG-NO NO martha is NOT my mother!!! GAG i really dont like her!
I do wish i had her Latin gardener though!
Oh, that Martha!
Dori, so I guess what you are telling us is to stay ahead of the weeds, don't let them reseed. I have a new hoe that I bought, but did not get a chance to use because of all the health issues I had this year. The hoe has a small V shaped head it should be good getting around the base of the plants.
I prefer to hand pull weeds, for me it is relaxing or should I say it releases any pentup anger.LOL I have a folding garden kneeler with sides that helps me get back up, (bad back ).
Chris
breathtaking gardens NM - beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Notmartha,
There's little I can say that hasn't already been said, but your garden is absolutely gorgeous!!! I'm inspired!
Notmartha,your garden is a fairy dream.Thank you
Dori, as usual, I was mesmerized while taking a stroll in your gardens. One of the best cottage gardens in the world ... IMHO.
Someday ... as I keep saying, I will take that stroll for real.
toofew~
Nice to see someone from another country post on our threads. :o)
Welcome yellow!
This message was edited Feb 21, 2007 3:29 PM
Dear NotMartha,
Fine Gardening needs to pay you a visit and take a photo op for their magazine! I maintain gardens professionally for a living and in my opinion I think you have even the perennial guru Traci DiSabato-Aust beat by a mile!
If you ever have a plant swap, I will drive from Chicago to attend. I lparticularly love those rose campions.
You're gardens are so wonderfull and beyond words!!!!!
I have just found this beautiful garden - - - I want to wander along the inviting little path too ..
Emelle
thanks so much for your comments it means alot to me! :) I have worked very hard on my gardens over the years and its great to hear that people like what i have done!
TY TY TY
dori
GoNative- you are always welcome to come visit and grab some campion while your here! i luv to share!
I'm not sure of the etiquette here- I would love to put these photos in my computer files for my own personal enjoyment - one in particular I would like to use as a screensaver . Is that OK with you Notmartha ? Your land looks very flat - it is always a challenge to make a garden in a flat area ,with drainage ,contours etc. and you have created a perfect , incredibly sweet garden of dreams .
Emelle.
yes you can use them if you would like :)
i live in a very flat valley here- i call it the ditch!
The land was farm field before i made my garden and its tiled for
drainage!! I do get some water setting in early spring in a few spots!
thanks and enjoy
dori-ya'll made me smile today!! :)
Let me just add to it - I agree with the suggestion about Fine Gardening - it truly is a "fine" publication and your gorgeous gardens would be a perfect addition.
Thank you so much for sharing your garden -it is easier to find the photos again if I have them in my own storage system ,and they are just for myself - a bit like my well worn garden books really . I am on farmland too and it is really good soil -I am so fortunate. Your garden is so extensive - what happens to your garden in winter ? Is it covered with snow ?Do you lift your plants to store somewhere ,or is the whole garden re-planted each Spring ? We don't have snow here ,but severe frosts ,and most plants are dormant except camellias and rhododendrons ,so everything is just left in the gardens ,perhaps covered with frost cloth ,so managing an American garden is a new concept for me .
Emelle.
I dont plant anything i have to lift- learned my lesson yrs ago.
Everything stay right where i plant it!
PS - I've just found your Winter scene in another post -magic in Winter as well ! I've put a photo of part of my garden there too.
Emelle.
emelle I was just looking at that thread-your gardens are beautiful and warm looking!!!
everyones gardens are wonderful
here is my winter fog frosted garden waiting to awaken
That's so beautiful it gives me goose bumps (and not because it's obviously very cold!!!). Incredible - a winter wonderland for sure. I don't think we've ever had anything so gorgeous out this way.
I have never seen anything like it ! Magic !
Emelle .
Wow, that winter garden is amazing. Thank you for sharing.
the other link!
tropical hibby from a co-op long ago
I'm glad you brought this thread back up, notMartha. : ) I didn't have it marked, and couldn't remember where I had saw it. I have it saved now.
I love looking at your flowers. : )
~Lucy
Thank you, notmartha, for the wonderful photos of your garden. I saved them into a picture file to inspire me!
I agree with the other comments - you're definitely NOT Martha - you're Better-Than-Martha!!!
wow, beautiful and inspiring!
Just curious about your spread of Bach's - do they self-sow there, or do you throw out seed in the spring, or actually set out seedlings?
Just lovely! I have to ask ... what kind of soil do you have? I can't get over the variety of plants that you are growing in your amazing garden! Very nice indeed!!
