Friday, May 29, 2009

Learning to know each other

Stewartia pseudocamellia buds, like little peas waiting for June and July to come to show off their pure white contents.
K

No, this time I won't be rushing to move and replant and dig up. I promise. I will take it slowly (which, according to my husband, does not come naturally to me...), get to know my garden better and see, what I really needs to be done. And then, in a well-planned way, go to action during the autumn and early next spring. This is the plan, at least. And so far, being busy with other things, I've been really good at adhering to it. I dug in the Anemone nemorosa 'Vestal' plants that I had in pots. And I have been dead-heading numerous Rhododendrons, just out of pure stress. I like the popping sound of the spent flowerheads when I nip them off just above the juicy, new shoots. And it makes a big difference to the look of the garden, when the old flowers are not hanging around like used handkerchiefs.
K

A flowering white Dogwood, Cornus florida, above some old Rhodos. They grow actually over a meter below the stone terrace with Spanish lavender in the front...

K
Buzzing activity in the lavender hedges; there are at least twenty meters (60 feet) of them...
K
I took some shots of some plants in the garden that I like. There is (luckily) no structural work to be done and I really like the overall plan of my new garden. But there is a circular lawn surrounded by a flowerbed, now filled with Spanish lavender, that I would rather see filled with lovely, flowering perennials in cool tones. And I could move the lavender to the front, where the cold winter took many of the large, established plants... Also, there is a large area in the back that has been left totally unlandscaped. It does not show from the actual garden as it slopes downwards (towards South), but why waste such a large area of land? Maybe this could be a perfect place for a kitchen garden? Or a jungle for the girls, who still love disappearing in the bushes and playing fairies? All these possibilities...
K
Azalea 'Everest' is now covered with almost luminescent white flowers; it looks almost bridal while flowering. It has been used throughout the garden, and I love it.
K
The "island bed towards the street, with three big Magnolia grandiflora 'DD Blanchard', Euonymus alata 'Compacta', Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy', Iris sibirica 'Ceasar's Brother' and Lavandula stoechas 'Otto Quast'. A nice, draught tolerant combination together with several large stone boulders.
K

2 comments:

Daniel Mount said...

I have a friend who is a cook. She says god made her a cook because she was vain about her hands. They are now always nicked up from little cuts and even have some big scars. I think god makes impatient people gardeners, because it is a way to slow us down. You can't rush a garden. Though I, like you, like to jump in and get things moving. Let me know how you do with the slow gardening process. I need some tips. "Vestal" is an amazing plant.

Karen said...

Wow, looks like you've got some room to roam there! How nice, an unplanted area to do with what you wish, without any guilt about ripping out the previous-owner stuff. It took me years to get around to starting to remake what was here before - I won't claim extreme patience, more like lack of time, confusion and laziness. I don't know that what I'll put in will look better, probably not actually, but at least it will be more "me." Your plans sound good - that's too much monoculture (lavender) for an area that could be such a stunning border, with so much more color, texture, and height variation. Will be so fun to see what you come up with!!!