(For those of you wondering, the carpet that's draped over the swing is 100% acrylic and I figured I'd get it cleanest to store for the winter by letting the rain do it.)
Here is the north quadrant --
Edited to say that's chamomile I've planted around the center stepping stone.
This message was edited Apr 2, 2007 10:58 AM
East --
South --
And west --
And here is the "Ingrid Bergman" blooming -- she was one of those the aphids wouldn't leave alone --
Lovely garden! It's really coming together.
Glad you clarified about the rug. I was wondering what was going on under there.
*grin*
It's no wonder the aphids love Ingrid. she's a beauty!
this is starting to look like a garden :-) can't wait to see your arch covered with vines/flowers!
Oh, I can't wait for it to fill in! The passifloras are twining little tiny tendrils around the arches and I'm all kinds of excited about it. You KNOW I'll tak epictures!
g_m, you never know when a little... canopy... will come in handy. ;)
'specially in the moonlight.......good time to hunt for slugs in the garden. :-)
Mmmm... my favorite...
Brigidlily
I used to work at a living history museum in Indiana. In one of the vegetable gardens, they had a twig arch similar to yours and they would grow scarlet runner beans on it every year. It got to be so beautiful with the cascades of red flowers and then the bean pods hanging down. I've always wanted to try to duplicate it but haven't been brave enough....
Linda
OH, WOW!!! Beans would be gorgeous! I have a few veggies in there, but I think perennials will work better here.
But there's lots of yard left... hmmm...
Took more pictures yesterday as things are blooming and growing and making me happy. Here's the east quarter:
I don't know what's up with my computer -- for the 3rd time, here is the south quarter. You can see the passiflora climbing up the arbor, and some new portulaca.
And the west:
AND finally, the north:
hey, brig...green things, AND flowers AND climbing things...Oh, my! it's going great! looks like all your roses are doing very well & blooming. what's growing around the stones in the center? looks like it's spreading & green. and I just love all your cute statuary and pots 'n things. what fun it all is.
gram
Thanks, gram! That's chamomile in the center, and a major reason I wanted to shade the garden!
In the west quarter you'll see a Blush Knock Out rose. If I EVER had a rose hedge, that's the puppy I'd put there. It just won't stop blooming, and the flowers are so pretty. I'm trying not to think about how the weeping willow out front would look with a ring of them around it... hmmm...
Chamomile? roman or german? I was just reading a thread on the two types,but never came away with a clear idea of which is best? Your opinoin?
German, and I'm not entirely sure what the differences are, but I'm under the impression it's considered the "true" chamomile, though I think you can make tea out of either of them. I think there's a difference in the growth habits, but mainly I have German because those are the seeds I found.
Boy, I'm glad those waters were muddy before I stepped into them!
PlantFiles is great for figuring out things like this! :-)
English Chamomile, also known as Roman Chamomile or Lawn Chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile is a low growing perennial, see http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/32272/index.html. I beleive this is the one that is considered best for tea and is often grown as a ground cover.
German Chamomile, Matricaria recutita, is a taller annual that often reseeds prolifically to return each year, see http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/291/index.html.
That's what it was. Okay; I was thinking for some reason the English was the German, not the Roman. My reason for buying remains the same. :}
The German chamomile is the one most often used for tea. Roman chamomile is often available as an essential oil (not full strength! it would be too much if it were full strength) I have both in the garden.
Really? I tried making tea from some German chamomile blossoms, and it was nasty (bitter)... I figured I had the wrong plant... or maybe just the wrong cultivar or something. But you are my go-to person for advice on herbal teas, so I'll give that one another try!
More than you probably want to know on the topic:
http://www.herbalgram.org/default.asp?c=chamomile
http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/newslett/ncn11166.htm
http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/chanobilus.htm
http://www.florapathics.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=41
Did your German chamomile get heat stressed before you picked it for tea? Were the blossoms very mature? Either can cause a stronger concentration of the plants essential oils and might possibly have made it bitter.
Thanks! You know, it was mid-summer when I tried it for tea, so heat may have been a factor -- who knew? LOL
Perhaps you could harvest the chamomile blossoms at different times of the year and/or during different growing seasons and compare the taste. Please report back on your findings. I learned about the effects of drought and heat stress on hot peppers the hard way! (yes, I was examining my tongue in the mirror, finding it hard to believe that it was not charred black with a hole seared into it. LOL!)
LOL... we had the opposite experience last year, with a batch of salsa that just wasn't getting hot no matter how many jalopenos I added... I finally tasted one and discovered that the rain had pretty well washed out their heat!
Oh, I hope this doesn't take a half hour to load, but I took some pictures yesterday. Here is the north quad:
Here is the east, with a nice row of calendula at the edge there, and I don't know if it's visible but there's a little spray of flax right behind the angel --
The south, with a splat of portulaca that wouldn't grow in its pot --
A closeup of the chimenea, with the nasturtiums doing what I wanted, but not quite as dramatically as I'd planned. I think it will be too hot for them all too soon...
And finally the western quad, with "Honey Sweet" rose blooming and lettuces gone to seed. They'll be in the compost bin before too long.
I got my seedling markers mixed up; I thought this was an admittedly odd-looking echinacea but turned out I'd put in ground cherries... VERY happy mistake...
Here's a cluster of tomatoes from the eastern quarter --
Paprika pepper from the north...
And a passiflora, hopefully overtaking the arbor.
Wow! Your Calendula is already in bloom. Mine makes me impatient.
Your herb garden is developing very nicely BL ~ atta girl!
Thanks! I'm partially also thinking of this as a kind of sampler -- I'll find out what really will grow well here, and next year put that knowledge to use. It may become more of a potager, or I may cull out everything but perennials. It's a lot of fun work, whatever I do! I was surprised for some reason the calendulas have done well and the marigolds haven't. Live and learn!
Started from seeds I would imagine? I used to buy marigold plants but they really never seemed to enjoy the sweltering humidity.
This is my first year with pot marigolds. They started easily from seed. With afternoon shade and deadheading, they are supposed to last thru the summer.
I am getting a trade of french tarragon in the mail tomorrow and am sweating keeping it thru the meltdown. I vascilate between clay pot and in ground. Location, location, location! Sometimes I wonder why I ask for challenges.
