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October 28, 2007

Garden at the house built at the beginning of XX century

Looking at the neighbours gardens is always very inspiring and gives great new ideas for own garden. Below pictures are taken at the garden sorrounding the old house. I love such places, cos they have soul - there is always a spirit of past generations.

I would like to share the pictures, so take a tour...





Old Pinus silvestris is a very strong point at the entrance. Granit path is composing perfectly with modest and evergreen plantings. On the left Viburnum rhytidophyllum and on the bottom Pachysandra terminalis - wonderful evergreen plant with shiny leafs, not changing colour in the winter.



Pachysandra terminalis on the right and Cotoneaster at the house. Rhododendrons are fitting this architecture in amazing way.


Magnolia fits great with Rhododendrons and Pachysandra.









On the back of the house, there is growing huuge Quercus robur. Its majesty and size gives an ultimate feeling of safety and continuation. Absolutely magic tree - name celtic druids comes from greek name 'dryas' (quercus). It grows up to 50 m and lives over 700 hundred years. Its younghood ends at the age of... eee... 200 :) . We all are little kids...

Here it looks great with white Begonia pendula and Dendranthema.





Pachysandra terminalis picture is ending this tour, ment to be a little inspiration.


October 19, 2007

afternoon sun

Sempervivum in the pot - that's result of my search for low maintenance plants to grow in the pot...


Hedera helix in today's afternoon sun...



October 18, 2007

let's ignore the cold oustside

Yes. Let's don't see it!
Let's look at the pictures I have made in the last weeks instead.


Semervivum in the pot I have discovered after being tired of watering various blooming plants, or rather not being able to water them regularly. You know how it is. You water it everyday, or even twice a day, and then... suddenly... unexpectedly... there comes a day that you are busy with other parts of your life... and your plants are not able to recover from that one day. So I started to look for solutions. Sempervivum and other plants liking drought are first class solution.


Some types of gras goes well in the pots too. This one I bought one year ago. It was growing in one of the beds and actually disappearing among other plants.
I was surprised to see its beauty after moving to pot! It shines!
Unfortunately I don't remember the name - for that I have to wait until next year...

Hemerocallis I have got from mama, when my garden was still empty. So it was one of the first plants here. What is the name of it?

Do you also have a feeling, that on the pictures everything looks better? Or rather on the pictures - you see it in objective way, because you do not see: empty places to be filled, plants to be moved (and until you do it, they simply make your eyes aching), plants to be treated, because of the spots on the leafs etc. I vote for second version! Ooops, voting is very popular word since we have election on Sunday and there is big campaign to encourage us to take part in it. Anyway.
In this section most bothering for me is Perovskia atriplicifolia, which does not look well in this place and has to be moved. I am walking around and thinking how to compose it and where to plant it. I have some ideas already.

Biggest surprise for me is this Euphorbia characias Humpty Dumpty. I am very fond of english gardens and when I was sweeping through magazines (The English Garden - my favourite) I was amazed by biiiig euphorbias I could see sometimes on the pictures. Looking so breathtaking and ornamental. I was not aware that some of them are hardy enough to grow in zone 6. What I also didn't know, that they are evergreen! and they look marvelous in the winter.

Very beautiful, little bluish-green perennial for gardens - Euphorbia characias Humpty Dumpty


Lonicera periclymenum Serotina has everything: beautiful scent and is blooming entire summer until October

Hellenium autumnale yellow-red-brown in colour. I do not know the name of it - if you know please let me know :)
It looks great, but it is blooming pretty short, or I do something wrong? Any tips?


In this pot there is wisteria growing. It ill be trained as 'tree' and probably will grow in soil after I finally decide the place for her.

Aralia elata will hide street view and neighbour's house - one day. Today it is just 1m tall.

Unexpectedly... this year... the ugliest part of the garden became the nicest. Parthenocissus covered fence and is hiding street, pines and taxus grew. Taxus media Hicksii will be dense and dark green hedge one day - a great background to display other plants on the bed in front. Pines will be a northern windshield after they grow.
So for the first time, this year I felt like this part became real garden :) REAL :)
But actuallytoday... when I take closer look, I am getting little nervous, because most of the plants which are growing there, are NOT in their final spots. And it will be me who will move them.
Colchicum autumnale is flowering here end of August and in September. I was so surprised with that, that I had to have it in my garden. Today I have a feeling that it is a rather oddity in the garden, cos its colour does not suit the season...

Dahlia - like a little sun. The fly u see was very stabborn - I was trying to scare it, so it goes away from my picture frame, but NO. I tried several times. It definately wanted to be pictured.


Streptocarpus also received from mama :) who is a great fan of them.


Maybe this clematis is not most beautiful one, but it has to be appreciated for it's low requirements and unstoppable vigour. If you have any problems with growing clematis take Clematis x jackmanii - one of the most pest resistant. It flowers entire summer as well.

OOh, here it comes one of my favourite group of plants, which is hydrangeas. This one is Hydrangea paniculata Tardiva. Beautiful shrub flowering in the season, when most flowers are gone, so it is more than welcomed in he garden. It opens it's beautiful white flowers in August and blooms for 2 months. If you want to have hydrangea paniculata blooming also in October look for 'Limelight' - hydrangea that blooms latest in autumn. It is still blooming in my garden. At the beginnig flowers are in little limon colour, then they transform to cream white.

Cuninghamia lanceolata - evergreen conifer native in China. Not typical for Poland, because not fully hardy in zone 6. Mine is 3 years old. For first winters I was covering it, but this year I will not do it - it grew out of his child's years, I guess.
It has unique ability, to get read of frost damaged branches by itself - I read it somewhere, did not see it. Do you have any experience?


Raspberry Polana is still having fruits that I eat straight from the shrub. It gets fruits rom July until october, on this year's branches, so it is easier to maintain - doesn't need staking.

Tired? maybe cup of hot tea, coffee or milk? Yes. I go to get some... green tea I guess...


October 16, 2007

His Highness Mr Atomic

Sleeping a lot and eating a lot in order to grow faast... I took him from my company collegaue. We just moved to a house. House without cat? My son loves cats, which we couldn't have while living in the city. There is also practical reason... cat keeps mice away. What I didn't know at that time, that His Highness Atomic will expell all moles ruining my garden in the summer :) and since then my 'mole trouble' is gone.
Growing fast...




There is one thing very special about Atomic. He likes to sleep on his face :) Not all the time, but we caught him several times. It always fascinates...


This is how it looks from the side :)



He seems to be very comfortable...
This is another time... and position little different :)
My dear huzband takes picture of just washed Atomic, which is cleaning himself from all "dirt" he caught while being washed :)

Mr Atomic just washed.
Cold days are coming - already nights are under 0, so having little extra warming facility during afternoon nap is like christmas candy at average day...
"... do you think I don't know what I am doing?..."



Recommended further reading I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats

October 13, 2007

October sun


October sun is still warm. Brings energy and optimism. Maybe you would like to take a morning cup of coffee with me... in October sun... and take little walk in the October garden?
I am not going to say I like October. I do not like September and November either, but there is always a hidden reasons behind everything :) 3 last seasons were full of hard work in order to 'make garden happen', because of my intrinsical run to create it. As result, at the end of the season usually I was tired and didn't feel like working any more. OK - first year was exceptional - but that is natural - neophytes should be forgiven :)





This year I planted Pelargonium in pure compost to see what will happen. It has proven the proverb 'compost is a gold for gardener'. Plant was flowering entire summer whithout additional fertilisers - I only made sure it got enough water. Flowers were opening over and over. It grew only few leaves :)



I was sad that my plants are turning yellow or red or disappear completely (like hostas). I was sad, that it is getting cold, season is ending and pleasure of staying in the garden has to be suspended untill next year.

This year there was not so much planting, as result there was much less work, so I look at the garden with different eyes and guess what happens. I see colours! They were there before too... but I looked at them and I 'didn't see'. World around us is projection of our brains. We are what we are able to see and recognize.
I see autumn colours in my garden this year - thats a change for me. What is your change this year?


I really see colors! Even if 3 year ago I planted this hedera and parthenocissus together to exactly achieve this effect, I see it - meaning - 'I enjoy it' for the first time.


Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris convar. vulgaris var. cicla - sounds scary, but tastes really nice :) and look nice as well :)


Composting bin and wheelbarrow are girl's best friends :) luckily there is plenty of water this year - thats third ally :)