LOL You know, they say that Siamese were bred to closely bond with their Samurai owners. I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing yoga with you.
show your volunteers
I had not heard that katie, but she really seemed to be watching and then started stretching. It would have made a cute one for one of those funny video shows, except I don't know that I would let myself be taped!
Chris, you should never be without verbascum again. Mine reseeds like crazy. You got a pretty color.
Volunteer petunia.
Volunteer Butter and Eggs I've had since 1981
Billyporter - those are outstanding! I have this plant, but have never had more than maybe 5 or 6 blooms to a stem at a time. Maybe I have the weed version and you have the cultivated plant version? Yours certainly look happy!
Suzy
Those Butter & Eggs really do look luscious! I hope you have a plate with toast ready!
I just love volunteers for cottage gardens. But I do avoid the really avid self seeders
'cause I just don't want to fight too hard for the lovelies I do want. I have a garden by
my greenhouse I call the pink garden. I've planted soapwort, penstemon hirsutus,
dianthus, nierembergia and alyssum - I'll come back and edit the name when it comes to me*
They all self seed with delightful results.
This message was edited Nov 18, 2007 4:37 PM
Here's the same bed a few weeks later - you can see the nierembergia
and pansies (I forgot about them!)
or the larkspur & rudbeckia in my "peony bed" You can't see the peonies
'cause they are behind all the exuberance going on in front.
And a close up of the rudbeckias & larkspur
Wow Tammy, your flowers are beautiful. Good job. : )
~Lucy
thanks Lucy.
Suzy, I don't know. We dug bergmot from the ditch along the highway and planted it. It died and the butter and eggs grew instead. I've moved it all over. Right now it's in poor soil with an eastern exposure.
PrimroseSue, :)~
Tammy, your pink bed and peony bed are so pretty. Nice greenhouse too. Love the cat :)) . What a great yard!
Well, They sure are pretty, even if they did come form the ditch!
Tammy, I goofed big time -- I was thinking I should try for a little bit of this at my house
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4207324
and I just bought 2 packs of Campanula 'Isabelle' from the www.Seedman.com sale. I just now reread your plant list and Campanula wasn't even on there. LOL! A year ago last spring, you also showed a plant that you called Big Betony (I think) and I am still looking for that one.
Regarding things that reseed, I had a patch of Calendula I could have taken a photo of today, but now it's probably too late ince it's going to be well below freezing tonight.
Suzy
That's kinda funny - I *finally* found the Betony that Licolnitess had put up a picture of.... ah, the inspiration we find in each other's gardens.
Now, about that verbascum....
It was Lincolnitess???? And here I thought it was Tammy! No wonder I couldn't find the post again.
Verbascum wouldn't make it here to bloom. I'd take one look at that foliage and pull it for a weed. It took me 15 years to get Asters. I'd buy them every spring from Bluestone, and then by August, I'd have them pulled as weeds and wonder why I never saw the flowers in October. Another one I just recently pulled was Oenothera. I had one called 'Sunset Boulevard' and when it bloomed, I wondered why I sowed seed of a yellow primrose weed. THEN, later when I'm looking at my Journal, I realized it was going to turn pretty colors after it had been open for a little bit.
One plant I took a photo of was Dock (as identificed by DG ID forum). I know I planted it because the plants were staggered artistically, but I had several places where I planted it and the tag was lost somewhere in the huge foliage. I planted seed of Bloody Dock, the the veination wasn't showing up -- out it went.
Big weeds and weedy plants don't last long here, and Big Betony would probably be the same thing. But I still want it! LOL!
Suzy
If we're talking about the same post, lol - yup, I believe it was Lincolnitess - one of the first posts I saw on this particular forum. I think she mentioned that she had to wack most of it down (or was that her bee balm?) but left a bit each year. I got it from Bluestone, too.
Your post makes me chuckle - I go too far the opposite way and nurture and care for way too many plants that end up being weeds.
Suzy, was it this post?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=2900699
This message was edited Nov 23, 2007 7:06 PM
I dug out the betany practically hours after I planted it. Got scared after reading
about it. It is pretty though.
Tam
You mean, the way it spreads? Or is there something else I should know about this plant???
Hello All !.........I love your Cottage Garden photos! They are all so beautiful!! Cottage Gardens are a favorite of mine, also. We have a place behind the barn where I throw any extra seeds, tiny starts, and extra "I don't know what to do with this, but I just can't throw it away!" plants that I have left over. My grandchildren call it... 'the secret garden'..., because when everything is up, they can almost disappear in there! The butterflies are thick there and there is an old pathway made from creek-stone left over from a flowerbed. It didn't start out as a flowerbed, but I would never get rid of it now....they get too much enjoyment from it each Summer!
I only took three photos of it........here is the first photo. (These were taken with a 35mm, sorry!...hopefully Santa will leave me a digital camera this year!)
Second photo behind the barn.
Third and last photo behind the barn!
I think I made a mistake. I was thinking it was "bouncing bet" or Saponaria officinalis
but after looking it up, "betany" is something else. My bad.
Tam
Oooo granny - those are gorgeous pictures! I just bought a couple of larkspur
seed packs at 50% off ... I love throwing them into the mix. They mix beautifully
and are terrific in cut flower arrangements too.
grannyh....behind your barn is beautiful. : )
~Lucy
Thank you!.......it turned out to be quite the surprise. Sometimes the leftovers turn out to be the best! Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving!
I think I will try that, granny. Lord knows, I have plenty of extra seeds to plant. : )
~Lucy
Lucy....I just give them a toss and let them land where they may. I'm sure yours will be beautiful! Please keep us posted in 2008 on how your extras are doing!
Tammy....I agree with you on the Larkspur....they are beautiful in the garden and in a vase. When we were children, we would try to find the 'little bunnies' in each of the blooms. It was something my own granny taught us to do years ago! Now I show my own grandchildren how to find 'the bunnies' in the Larkspur blooms!
Granny...I want that garden in front of my barn. It is awesome! I love those Larkspur's and am so glad I have some seeds that I plan on winter-sowing! Thanks for the great pictures!
Ok granny, you talked me into it. I'll let ya know how it works out. : )
~Lucy
Gorgeous, Granny! Thanks for showing us that - now we gotta go talk to Santa about that camera, lol.
Shew, Tammy - you had me going for a bit there! That's okay, I was short on coffee, heh. I have the Bouncing Bet in my front pasture - about the only thing the horses have yet to destroy.... but I think it's because it's hard to get to. Does it spread like wild fire or something?
I haven't let it get a foothold but if you look it up, you'll see its
a "noxious weed &/or invasive" I am determined not to let anything
invasive loose on my property. So... I'm very cautious.
Smart woman. I am especially careful about that sort of plant as I live in a heavily forested area (which, of course, is chock full of invasives, but I'm not interested in adding to the problem).
Figures the horses just don't like *this* particular one... but of course, they could spread it through the manure just as easily. Did you happen to notice where it was native to?
Oh, my, I see I need a barn! Those photos are wonderful granny!
Suzy
jumping in after just hmmmmm maybe 6 months of hardly any dg- but the gardens here in nh (mine and clients) are almost to bed (tho i did lift a little frozen top soil to put in a few more bulbs today...) so i have time to get back on line... but wait a second... there was a discussion up there about betony... and suzy- you can so grow betony, i think- it grows fine here (5A)- and i really find it well behaved... so i'm confused.. i have several varieties- some bigger leafed, some darker, some closer to pink... some adorable miniatures...soap wort, the bouncing bet farmhouse variety (not the more rock garden ones) is what i think is a nuisance..self seeds plus has roots to china that you never get out..... but betony- its definitely on my plant list.. i like it because it provides kind of a gentle note in the midsummer garden- plus can take a little shade.... nice flower for a bouquet... bees love it... i'm all for betony....... nice to be back! sarah
Sarah - its all my fault! I confused "betony" for "bouncing bet".
And how wonderful to have you back! Did you take any pictures
of your gardens over the summer? hmmmmm
LOL - Tammy, see, here's your silver lining.
i always appreciate the pictures of your lush garden, tammy...i think i got pictures of the crocuses last spring, then that was it! the tidal wave of activity began. next year better... oh now looking back, i see you already cleared that confusion up- the bouncing bet, betony thing... brrr cold outside..... here's a secret- i'm gald for the break i get in the cold months! s.
Grannyh love your "cottage garden!" Do you happen to know the name of the purple dahlia (Post #4226392)?
Hi rachierrabbit....I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures! The name of that purple dahlia is 'Thomas Edison'. When I first got 'into' dahlias, years ago, 'Thomas Edison' was the very first one I bought. Now, I grow most of my dahlias from seed each year. I love the surprise of what the blooms turn out to look like! I love the color purple in flowers, so I always plant some 'Thomas Edison' each year. Some of my tubers were a little shriveled this past Spring, so I just gave them a toss out by the barn. (I guess they weren't ready to give up yet!) It gets about three and half feet tall and can get eight inch blooms if given the proper space.