Oriental Patio Garden Before and After

Making a perfect design means making it perfect not only for the people that will spend  there most of their time, but also decrypting ‘genius loci’ – the spirit of the place. Gray and dull Warsaw calls for colors of different kind.

While searching for the divine inspiration, oriental part of my soul whispered to my ears, and not even realising how I knew that the best would be ‘The Oriental Opulence Spiced a bit with Decadence’. Client loved it! The colorful concept found great space in the client’s heart. And we made it!

Have a look at before and after photos.

If you would like to see more photos click here and hop over to the Oriental Garden portfolio page.

#orientalgarden #orientalgardens #warsaw #warszawapraga  #chillout #orientalchillout #middleeasternstyle #ottomandesign #londongardendesign #patiodesign #terracedesign #urbangarden

If you don't want to miss next posts of Ewa in the Garden subscribe here:

Enter your email address:

Impressive Dogwood Sibirica Hedge

I have a chance to admire this hedge for last few weeks and every time I am passing by I simply have to take a minute to take a closer look.

Since first little fluorescent green buds appeared on the red wood of that variety of  dogwood (Cornus alba) Sibirica, entire hedge is really  showing off.       

Deciduous hedges have one big defect – their leaves are disappearing in the winter time. But at the same time there is one bigger advantage. If the shrub is chosen properly it offers alternating attractive look in different seasons. This variety of dogwood seems to be really  good  choice for hedge.
If on the top you will find the time and will to shape it, then the effect can be double attractive in the winter as well.

In the spring it also blooms in white.
Just don’t be tempted to plant one or two shrubs, because there will be no effect at all.

My apologies go to dogwood, cos I have underestimated you for years…

Happy weekend gardening!

#cornus #hedge #dogwood 

Santolina on my way, gardening in Algarve, Portugal

Santolina is an evergreen scented shrub. Remember to prune it bravely in the spring to maintain the dense shape. Santolina is Mediterranean native plant, but it will survive in cooler climate as well. Tolerates from 6 climate zone. Very popular in UK gardens, not so popular in Algarve.  

Santolina chamaecyparissus can be planted in stone gardens, because in these harsh conditions it will feel very well. Sparse water needs make it great xeriscaping plant.

Photo taken in Loule, Algarve, Portugal.

Pyracantha coccinea by surprise!

Want to see surprising way of growing pyracantha? Just have a look at the photos. Pyracantha trained against the wall as espalier – don’t you think it looks really pretty?

Recommended further reading The Flower Recipe Book

This photos are taken in Netherlands, but I've seen many examples of pyracantha trained against the wall also in UK. 

If you would like to see great examples of fruit trees espaliers click here.

Recommended further reading The Flower Recipe Book

Pruning my sad lavender

My neglected lavender survived until her time came to prune.
The snow melted, revealing the lavender's naked sadness. She looks so sad because last year I did not have time to deal with it. But that's okay.
I trimmed it yesterday to a height of about 15-20 cm above the ground, and this year should look much better. I hope that this year my lavender will look like it used to. 

On the photos you may see half pruned shrubs.

Guelder Rose Anomaly

Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose, Water Elder, European Cranberrybush, Cramp Bark, Snowball Tree) flowering late September is nice surprise. After closer inspection she said "Those stems were broken"....

Pruning lavender for more flowers

“Prune lavender twice a year – in the summer right after blooming and in the spring before its starts to grow again” – I can’t say how many times I’ve heard and read this sentence again and again. Without real explanation and understanding why to do so, I used to follow the rule of early spring pruning only for preventing my precious lavender from becoming too leggy. So equipped with the tools when the snow have melted, I pruned my lavender back really hard.

After studying closely many wonderful pictures from lavender farms I realized that they prune it in different way – the shape of the shrub seems round and flowers appear on all sides of the lavender sphere. Also last spring when I visited Hampton Court gardens I studied closely the beds planted with lavender. Even in mid May, after such hard and long winter Europe suffered this year, almost naked lavender shrubs looked beautiful and well tended – shape made the difference.

The key to success of getting most of lavender shrub is to prune it lightly in the summer actually. After flowers turn brownish and they represent no value to visiting bees, you remove the flowers by clipping the flowering stems close to the hard wood, but then there is usually many other stems that grow – prune them all lightly – just the tips. This will give them a chance to a lot of new growth that will flower. Although some of them will flower again this year, majority will flower next summer. Whilst clipping your lavender try to get the slightly round shape – clip lower the side stems and higher mid stems. This will give more light to the middle stems which will produce more new side shots. With the time also your lavender shrubs will become wonderfully spherical.

This is how I pruned my potted lavender yesterday. It was time to prune it - I have watched a bee bumping fast with dissapointment from one flower to another, so it was a sign there is nothing more interesting there :)

Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica - huge blue berries shrubs arrived!

Edible honeysuckle - Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica bears huge (!), blue berries (up to almost an inch long) and doesn't require acidic soil. Perfect for my edible garden :) I was worried at what condition the plants will arrive, because Poland is hit now with real heat. We have similar temperatures as Spain does right now (BTW congratulations of world championship!)

... it looks they seem to be in perfect condition. No planting now, no no! too hot. We wait until it cools down.

Recommended further reading The Backyard Berry Book: A Hands-On Guide to Growing Berries, Brambles, and Vine Fruit in the Home Garden

If you want to have berries on Lonicera kamtschatica, there is at least 2 varieties needed. There was promotion and 4 were in almost the price of 2, so I bought: Lonicera kamtschatica "Siniglaska", "Dlinnoplodna", "Woloschebnitza" and "Tschelabinka".
I am so happy to add this wonderful plant to my edible garden - it fruits when young, is very hardy and fruits already in May - late frost is not damaging the flowers.

***************************

If you would like to improve your garden to a beautiful paradise, let me help you to design it. We can work online. Contact me at ewamariasz [at] gmail [dot] com.

Happy Gardening!

Xoxo,
Ewa

Recommended further reading The Backyard Berry Book: A Hands-On Guide to Growing Berries, Brambles, and Vine Fruit in the Home Garden

Viburnum plicatum in full bloom after 4 years

Viburnum plicatum 'Cascade' made me happy last year with the first blooms ever. This year which is its 5th year in this garden its covered with flowers...

If you take few minutes and take a closer look at the flowers, they not only flower 'in layers'....

.. but also flowers show off with ruffled, subtle patterns... 

Regretfully, Viburnum plicatum's flowers are not frangrant - which I always love to get as a bonus. This time bonus is the lenght of blooming period - 4 weeks.    

Russian sage self-seeding

Russian sage volunteered and got rescued by me. How could I resist? It clearly says "I feel well here!". 2 years ago I moved the mother plant and new russian sage appeared 5 meters away. Are concrete bricks so comfy to grow? No. Maybe they give enough warmth and shelter to russian sage seeds? 

Even if seeds are comfy among bricks, the plant is not. I decided to rescue this wonderful and amazingly fragrant plant. Lift brick using weeder is not easy, but plant must be happy. The stem was completely flat! Poor thing - no space to grow. Now, temporarily it found good place in the pot. 

Russian sage - Perovskia atriplicifolia

Hydrangea propagation easiest way

Hydrangea paniculata "Limelight" 1 year old

While pruning hydrangea paniculata Limelight last year - I looked at the cuttings and thought it is a total waste just to send it to hydrangea's heaven. Why not to try to have even more Limelights? I cut them into 20 cm pieces, made sure there are at least 2-3 pairs of buds - and just like this, stucked them into pot filled with plain garden soil. No tricks. No gimmicks. No growth hormone. Niente. Nothing.
Why 2 pairs of buds? 1 pair above the soil, so it can grow leaves, 1-2 pairs in the soil for growing roots. It was 8 cuttings in total. All of them started to grow in 2 months. 
This baby one on the picture will be send tomorrow in exchange for comfrey (Symphytum o.) - I hope she will have good travel.
Comfrey is very valuable source of fertility in the organic garden. Great source of potassium - important element for setting fruits, seeds and flowers. Comfrey leaves contain 2-3 times more potassium than manure.

Santolina chamaecyparissus pruning time

We can do no great things, only small things with great love. ~Mother Teresa

Pruning Cotton Lavender now makes it looking better for the rest of the year. Even cutting back very short will do no harm - it will be fine. Next pruning time comes in August.

Look how much I have pruned it last year -- >> Santolina pruning 2009

Top 10 most beautiful rhodo pictures

This hand picked collection of rhodo pictures is unique selection to admire. Under each picture you will find the link to author's gallery - where you can see even more rhodies to get inspired.
What strikes me while looking at the gardens is the sea of patience.
Enjoy!

Picture: mozzercork

Picture: neil_roger

Picture: Irish_Fireside

Picture: Bettaman

Picture: EbergCanada

Picture: TimGreen

Picture: me’nthedogs’

Picture: John Wesley Barker

Picture: J. Robinson

Picture: Jacki-Dee

My life with Poinsettia - second year

If you remember my Poinsettias from last year, you don't need to click here to see how it looked like last Christmas and after Christmas. I kept it since then, it got 1 month dormancy period end of March and here it is! Tadadam! No special tricks applied - it turns red free willingly. No cartons to put on it, no closet to stick it for the night. Nothing. Only water and sunlight in the day.
Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it wort to be kept and taken care after Christmas?

This is Blooming Friday, so hop over to Katarina and have a look what's blooming today in different countries.
If you would like to overwinter your Poinsettia check here how to do it.

23 Most Beautiful Lavender Photos - Hand Picked

Lavender - magnificent plant. It can sooth your soul and aching muscle or back. And if you take a closer look, it seems it should be present in every garden. Why do garden designers use it in landscapes? Maybe because it is so dependable? You can also pick up flowers and prepare your own lavender oil or you may get lavender bath and you can have it almost fresh all year round.

For today's Inspirational Monday I made up a special collection of hand picked, most beautiful pictures of lavender.

Picture by derekwt

Picture by Libraryman

Picture by pietroizzo

Picture by Lyubov

Picture by ricoeurian

Picture by Lilly

Picture by Russell Heistuman

Picture by nefi

Picture by 4nitsirk

Picture by WSmith

Picture by Paradoxico Beck

The Devonaire Eye

Picture by tkellyphoto

Picture by tkellyphoto

Picture by crocus08

Picture by Sean Fraga

Picture by SFBart

Picture by The Lebers

Picture by Bill M

Picture by cleber

Picture by alasam

Picture by Bill M

Picture by digiyessica