Another sunny Saturday, another load of photos.

2 Mar '08 8:34 am

For a second straight Saturday the sun is shining and I find myself out in the garden, bent over my ... camera. My shutter finger is plumb worn out. To my credit I did weed out nearly all of the center dry bed - and sweep up the debris after school one day this past week. Since most of the photos are in that part of the garden you can try to find the ones I missed.

2 Mar '08 11:05 am

Am I right? It looks like a lot of your plants are of the desert variety. If not desert, then certainly arid conditions. You have a most beautiful garden. My wife thinks so, too. She looks at your pictures here and says to me "See? That's just how I want our yard to look!" So thank you very much, Mr. Brat, for setting the bar to a standard that's practically impossible for me to attain! d'oh!

I told her "You'll have your petunias and like 'em!!" Shame on you

She said "I hope it's not too cold tonight. The doghouse isn't insulated." Shocked

Actually, we are just in the process of filling out our first order from a seed catalogue. I hope that all goes well. Amongst the order is Salpiglossis, Double Petunias, Portulaca, Gazanias and stuff like that. Deborah's treat will be an Orange Marmalade Hosta and my treat will be Elephant Ears for my grotto.

I am most impressed with the strange plants in your garden (well, they're strange to me). In the third picture, on the left side, what is the plant in that large pot? It's really something.

Keep your eyes open, I'll be starting my new summer season thread as soon as we get some seeds planted.

Do you know much about cactus? Perhaps you can tell me what's wrong with my Fairy Castle cactus.

Christopher

2 Mar '08 3:34 pm

All of the plants in that center bed are plants that can make it without extra water - except for the Sally Holmes which grows on that side of the center arch. Sally seems so foolproof that I suspect she wouldn't keel over dead if I didn't make an exception for her but I owe her better than that.

The pot in the third photo with the sun face on it has a Baby Luv rose (a dwarf, single yellow) in it. It never has thrived there and if I could think of where to move it I'd yank it out of there today. Sorry about forgetting to put descriptions on the photos. All of them are of the center dry bed or of the pond area, except for the second and third to the last. Photo #16 is of an Aeonium flower. I've been taking a lot of photos of these to figure out how it forms this conical shaped flower. Photo #38 shows new leaves of Gunnera m. breaking through a dead leaf from last fall which I used to cover the growing tip. I think their growing tips are one of the most interesting looking things in the plant world.

Sorry about the bar and all that. You might point out the difference in climate. When I've gone out to Washington D.C. and New York in early Spring I've found it positively drpressing to see all the mud and muck where the snow has melted but plants haven't yet awakened. Still, I'm always so amazed what can be done in gardens all over the world -though certainly not by me. This is a connector to Helga's garden in Iceland, taken recently. I suspect you two have similar conditions though she may have some advantage from the marine influence and low altitude.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/helgab/413918772/
Here is the same garden taken last July. This is my favorite picture of her garden.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/helgab/698949737/in/set-72157594560071702/
It isn't a huge garden but I love the lines and textures and the way the whole thing feels so sculpted. The fact that this garden lives in such a demanding climate makes it all the more precious somehow, as is what you are able to do in your climate. I look forward to the renewal of your thread, as I'm sure you must too. Probably the biggest difference in our gardening situations is that the contrast in seasons is so much more extreme. I suppose one's anticipation, joy and perhaps melancholy too must be more intense in your climates. Here, Spring and Summer isn't the return of life to the garden so much as it is the changing of headliners from one cast of plants to another. Perhaps not as much to get excited about?

9 Mar '08 7:12 am

lol @ the 'doghouse' quip GN Very Happy

Mark your garden is looking great.
You have mainly yellow shades atm, is this the dominant colour all through the garden?
I particularly like the pond with the plants around it and the way it just melts back into the garden.
You are inspiring me to devote space to a 'dry' garden which would suit the one area I have here that drains very well Wink

I have attached a few pics for you to see (hope you don't mind) that I took at the botanical garden in Auckland. I went there a few months back. They are described as 'dry gardening' Very Happy

9 Mar '08 2:08 pm

Of course I don't mind. Wow. At first I thought these were pictures of the area you were considering doing over in a dry way. But then I couldn't figure out why you'd want to disturb it or how you could possibly make it any more 'dry-appropriate'. (It pays to read carefully.) Nice photos!

25 Mar '08 12:20 am

I hate you Mark. LOL
Heres my garden.

25 Mar '08 6:50 am

...you just have to look hard enough otnorot! You see, while your garden is all flat and devoid of distraction you have the ability to study it and imagine anything new anywhere you like Wink

Think of it as being a clean canvas, just waiting for your artistic sweep of color! Applause

btw, as usual I am jealous of your snow Cool

Another sunny Saturday, another load of photos.

Another sunny Saturday, another load of photos.

It Looks Like Desert Grandeur to Me

You're right, Christopher.

garden

always a silver lining..