Let's see your favorite garden harmonies

Thanks, Venu...but any "harmony" that exists there is due to pirl's suggestion and advice...she got me into the color harmonization "thing" and she is a master at it.

Like most guys, I'm not good with all that, but I have learned an enornmous anount from pirl.

Cyndie - having property and a home in Maine that extends to a lake is my idea of heaven.

JD - Thanks but you were a willing accomplice and you've done such great work with plants all by yourself.

I almost missed this........1000????!

JD, that is definitely a symphony as Venu said, I can smell it from here.

Wow! This thread is nothing short of breathtaking. What gorgeous photos!

Oh polly...to have so much SPACE !!!

This is the best thread top come along in a quite a while...this one and Zu's new one...

unfortunately most of my roses aren't very fragrant...I opted for color and quantity over fragrance...but a few are nicely scented.

KEEP THOSE PHOTOS COMING !!!

63 acres here. And while having such an amount of space is great, trying to plant and tie the beds together can be a challenge. At first I made beds all over the place, little islands, and now I'm trying to connect the dots, and it's not easy. When you have a smaller area, I think it's easier to see the bigger picture. Plus I have to always be concerned about how much I can care for. Last year my daughter had knee surgery, and I had to take her to Drs appts, and PT every other day, and the weeds just got away from me.

Venu - are you talking about Zuzu's roses?

Or Pirls 1000 daylilies?

Or Polly's irises?

LOL

I keep telling you I don't have 1000 irises.

Actually only about 800, but that's bearded and beardless.

But you have MORE than 1000 daylilies, right?

2,000 but you know I'm sincere in wanting to delete half of them!

I'd bet you'll have 1,000 irises by the end of the year.

I'll shoot for it. But I draw the line at 2000 anything.

We'd both enjoy having a gardener who's as careful as we are to help out.

Azalea 'Hilda Niblett' with a sedum that has a matching edge.

Here's a close-up that shows it more clearly.

Miscanthus Gracillimus and eupatorium Joe White, at about 10 feet tall.

Does this gardener count?

Polly, are you talking about the man or the cat? They both look careful.

That's my husband Russ. He is an absolute gem in the garden. He admires my plants, he helps weed. He does the heavy stuff. He can even tell a weed from something I planted. Don't ask if he's a gem around the house, though.

The cat, Opie, goes where Russ goes. I have all these little pond forms that I keep water in, with holes in them to water my Japanese irises. Opie helps me garden by putting critters in them, field mice and moles. Another thing a husband is good for in the garden.

Can you clone him?

Well, I was actually referring to the coleus, but reading the ensuing questions gave me a chuckle. The only plant I have a 1000 of is weeds.

Polly, make sure Opie doesn't get too enthusiastic and put Russ in a pond. Bad Kitty!

Having 63 acres for a garden would be like owning an entire STATE !

I can't even conceive of it. I was thinking it would be equivalent to 126 gardens the size of mine, but it actually would be more, because it doesn't have 126 houses on the property and my half-acre includes my house. Truly mind-blowing.

I feel the same way as Zuzu and Mike. Just walking 63 acres a day to make notes on what has to be done would wear me out. Just where is that vodka?


Russ is also known as Hunk o' Burning Love!

Zuzu - you could have more than 126,000 roses!

I already did the math, Pirl. It would be more than 154,854.

Oh, Zuzu! You could squeeze in a few more since you wouldn't have multiple garbage pails! Think of all the kitties you could have. I'll let you do the math on that one!

I can't clone my husband Sue, he's one of a kind. Believe me he's one of a kind in a lot of respects, and I say that semi nicely.

A lot of people around here own acreage. Some in the 1000s. It's very common and I don't see it changing, as people are leaving, due to no jobs in the area, and the bad weather. It's cheap to own property and our taxes are quite reasonable.

Most of our land is wooded, and we have a wetlands and a muck on the property. I bet your roses would grow well in the muck!

We have walked the property line, but to walk the whole property would take days. We have trails through the woods, and I have planted some bulbs way out, and it's fun to see them in the spring. There's a lot of traffic out there, snowmobilers, hunters, four wheelers.

How about some suggestions for an underplanting for my lilac 'Lilac Sunday'. I would like something that acts as a groundcover, it could be a bulb, or a perennial, but it needs to be able to take some shade, as when Lilac Sunday is in full bloom the panicles hang down quite a ways to the ground.

Oh pretty lilac! How about ajuga, variegated liliope, sedges or Lily of the Valley?

Ajuga is a good idea. I'll have to check out the varieties to see if one matches. Liriope, and most sedges aren't hardy for me. Some of the sedges are, I'll look at those. And lily of the valley is too invasive here. Even the pink one. Horrible spreaders here. And the lilac sits in a garden bed, but currently only has mulch around it's feet. And I'm trying to get away from the mulch, and use plants as groundcovers.

I'll check into ajugas, thanks!

By the way the lilac is a chinensis kind, and wouldn't get enough cold in your area, Sue. Barely enough in mine, only down to Z7.

Yeah, I figured as much. Some day I may look into getting one for my area, I do love the scent. Maybe I'll just head up to Zuzu's when hers is in bloom and steal a bouquet, she's not fond of that smell so I would be rescuing her!
By the way, in case no one has ever seen this, here's a picture I took last spring at Zuzu's. I love going there to visit the roses, other blooms and kitties and then go on fun nursery forays with Zuzu, we always fill up the back of my Yukon. I made it several times last year.

Polly, I was just skimming the Dutch Garden cat and saw a goundcover that might work for you. Bunchberry, native to NE, zones 3-7. I don't have it, so can't attest to it's attributes, but it looks nice.

Your lilac is so beautiful, Polly. I think ajuga might be the ideal answer.

Sue - that's beautiful. I love photos of Zuzu's gardens.

Now I have to check Bunchberry, thanks to venu.

here is a pic taken at my friend's house, rosa Ebb Tide w/ oyster plant. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/650/
this tradescantia doesn't usually survive planted inground in our area, I have tried several times; I hate it when that happens. You see tons of them on central/south FL.

I love your photos of my garden, Sue. You always manage to avoid all of the garden hoses and other annoying details and make it look like a fairytale garden.

I'll let you know as soon as the lilacs bloom so you can rescue me from their fragrance, although I'd like to see you sooner than that. If I had Polly's acreage, we could fill your Yukon with all the shelter dogs and cats scheduled for euthanasia.

I love the photo of Zuzu's garden. It looks much bigger than a city lot!

Which ajuga is that Pirl?

I'll check into Bunchberry, thanks venu!

Here they are with labels.

I have some of that one. I think it would go good under the lilac, especially since Pirl won't let me do lamium. If I could find a groundcover geranium that would reflect that color it might be nice, also.