Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Evolution of a Garden

All summer long, and earlier, in the spring, this garden has been a great source of delight to me. I call it the Rose Garden because there are 3 rose bushes planted here, but it could just as well be named the Clematis Garden.
Here it is in early June before we decided to enlarge it.

The Jackmanii Clematis, growing tall on the left (this picture was taken before the blooms began to open) is really the star of this little corner, producing a mass of purple blooms from June 21st this year and lasting until about the 2nd week in August. Carnaby, the other clematis that you see in the corner, has its main burst of blooms earlier in the spring and then reblooms on and off all through the summer.

Here's the Jackmanii on July 9th in all its glory. Posted by Picasa

Here's the Carnaby on June 14th.... Posted by Picasa
....and again on July 30th, growing on the first bent wood trellis that Ross surprised me with on Mother's Day.
You can see in the top picture how it spread around the corner and needed a second trellis to keep it growing up instead of sprawling all over the garden. Posted by Picasa


There are perennial Sweet Peas beside it which also sprawl all over the place, so......Posted by Picasa

......my dear husband made a second bent wood trellis to keep them looking tidier. He's always so willing to help out :) It's shaped like a heart and turned out a little higher than he anticipated, but the Sweet Peas have climbed quite high on it at this late stage of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if the Carnaby Clematis heads over that way too eventually.

A few weeks later we decided to bring the garden out a little because we needed a sheltered place for the 2 new Hydrangeas.

The space in between gave me a perfect place to fit in a new Munstead Lavender,

......a Heuchera (Coral Bells) with dark leaves, plus numerous other bits and pieces. Posted by Picasa

The new Queen Elizabeth (pink) Rose has 3 blooms here......

......and the hydrangeas were providing some pretty pastel colors.

The Hydrangea on the right was more pink.......

.......while the one on the left produced blue flower heads.

The dainty annual Diascia has been one of my absolute favorites this summer.
Growing behind it you can see the marigolds whose seeds were sent all the way from Germany by Anita, one of my dear blog friends. I'm still waiting for the white flowers to open....hoping and praying they'll beat the frost. Posted by Picasa

And here are the yellow flowered Four O'Clocks that Marion, another dear blog friend in Wales, sent to me last Christmas. I killed the first seedlings of both, started early in spring, by foolishly overwatering the poor things, so I started more. Posted by Picasa

Marion, these blooms are all the more delightful to me because every time I see them I think of you. But they're blooming on Welsh time I think, because they open at 9:00AM instead of 4:00PM :)

Anita, the Marigolds have lots of buds but they are taking forever to open!! Nevertheless, I'm enjoying the pretty foliage and thinking of you whenever I look at them :) The world of blogging is such fun! I'm absolutely loving that purple Verbena behind the Marigolds.

Here's Fiona playing near the Lavender when the Marigolds were still small.

And here's why I call it the Rose Garden: Mr. Lincoln blooming with the Echinacea (Purple Cone Flower) has had quite a few lovely blooms this season.

My no-name pink has done very nicely this summer, with more blooms than usual.

Queen Elizabeth was planted last Fall and was inspired by Nature Girl, whose blog is where I first saw this beautiful rose. Posted by Picasa

Petunias and "Sweet Alice" (Alyssum) which of course reminds me of my very dear blog friend, Alice :)
A wider shot to show you all these new flowers together. Posted by Picasa

Sweet little Gus deserves equal time on the blog with his sister Fiona.

When I trim plants or a piece is broken off I often stick them in a pot to see if they'll grow. More often than not they do....and here are a couple of the results. There's a few fuchsia cuttings and a piece of pretty purple Bacopa in among the Marigolds and purple Alyssum.

The view from the other end with Miss Cleo, and the Obedient Plant in the background (over by the corner of the shed).
I was headed down toward the fence garden to plant a "passalong" lily when I stopped to take this last photo. See how red the vines are on the big elm? The Fall colors are beginning to look very pretty but this week has felt like the middle of summer. The weather has been absolutely wonderful and we've even had a little rain tonight and this afternoon.

I hope your week is bringing you as many blessings as mine is! Posted by Picasa

32 comments:

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Oh Kerri, you really have a wonderful rose-clematis garden filled with so many colours and plants blooming now. It is a real splendour! It is always a pleasure to visit your blog and see a new (for me) part of your beautiful and big garden!
Have a good time!
Barbara

Alice said...[Reply]

I was enjoying the history and journey through your lovely expanded garden, and then I discovered I WAS IN IT!!

How much do I wish that I really was in it! It must be wonderful having gardens made of elastic - just stretch them out a bit more and fit in a few more plants. Actually, we have room to do that too to some extent but lack the water to make it a success.

You really have the prettiest garden, Kerri, and the loveliest 'garden slave' on his hands and knees making things just for you.

I hope the flowers 'keep on keeping on' for many weeks yet.

Deborah Raney said...[Reply]

That last photo and the view beyond your pretty garden is absolutely glorious! Love the pumpkin near the wheelbarrow. That's a sure sign of autumn for me.

I loved seeing this evolution of your garden through the months. Thank you for the tour!

Terri said...[Reply]

That reminds me of the plantings around our old house. You've done a beautiful job! And how wonderful your husband can make a bentwood trellis. I loved it!
God bless.
Terri

Anonymous said...[Reply]

The colors of your garden are beautiful! But that clematis surpasses them all. What a beauty.

We have warm weather too---too warm for my taste but typical for this time of year: mid-90s and humid. Blech.

Susie said...[Reply]

Dear Kerri,
I enjoyed seeing the progression of your beautiful garden. The heart shaped trellis that Ross made is just lovely. I know your kitties must enjoy their time playing out there. Do you have a catnip planted for them too?
We're quite warm here (90's yesterday!) That's typical for late Sept here..
Enjoy your beautiful weather and gorgeous garden..
love and ((hugs))

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...[Reply]

Even a small patch of land can bring such delight....:)
and what a pretty heart shaped trellis your husband made for you..lucky,lucky you, Kerri :)

hope you are having a great week, Kerri......and enjoy your fall....i see a coupla pumpkins adorning your place already :)

verobirdie said...[Reply]

With such a trip in your garden, we sure will have a beautiful week. Your garden is beautiful, and more important, full of friendship and history. And how nice to have a husband making heart shaped treillis for you. Isn't love ?

Susan Tidwell said...[Reply]

"a great source of delight"

that about sums it up, for all of us - thanks for the walk thru your garden!

I just glanced at your profile, and saw that we like some of the same things - John Denver, James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkle, Sue Grafton, John Grisham...

have a great day!

Oh- what kind of t-shirt are you?

Mountain Mama said...[Reply]

WOW! Your gardens are incredible. Oh how I wish mine were so tidy and beautiful.
I have never seen such a beflowered clematis. What's your secret?

Diana LaMarre said...[Reply]

Kerri,
That is one beautiful garden! I can't believe how colorful it still is.

That clematis is to die for! I wish I could grown one half as nice.

Cathy said...[Reply]

I just love looking at your flowers! That clematis is unbelievable. You must feed it a lot?

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

The garden was lovely before you enlarged it, Kerri - now it's even more spectacular, and that trellis by Ross looks like garden art.

Still chuckling over the lovely yellow, Welsh "9 O'Clocks"...

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Tammy said...[Reply]

Just like Feona I would be right near the lavender...love the scent and recently visited a garden full of it...ahhhh I could have stayed there forever!

All very lovely blooms!!
:)

Giddy said...[Reply]

What a beautiful planting bed you have made! I just planted a small Jackmanii clematis this year, and while it bloomed a bit, I look forward to many more blossoms next year. You are such an inspiration to us northern gardeners. Your Gus looks very much like my Spike, and oh yes, we are going to the animal shelter next week to find a suitable companion for Spikeums. I'm a bit partial to calicoes, but any lovable kitty will do.

Shelley said...[Reply]

You yard is like Eden Kerri. You paint the world with flowers!

CountryGirl said...[Reply]

Kerri - Your photos are wonderful as usual! I bet you are glad you enlarged the garden there by the house, it's gorgeous. I love that Ross helps you with your projects, it makes it all the more fun! I do love the trellis he made you, I see if Ron will make me one.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Your garden is beautiful. Thanks for the tour. I love the different clematis too. My clematis has flowered for the first time this year and I am so pleased. Sara from farmingfriends

Jo's-D-Eyes said...[Reply]

Hi dear kerri,
Thanks for your Garden story and where and the names of the flowers are really helping me, I san always search on your blog for flowernames!

have a great week and thankyou for you nice comment on my blog, :)

You're blessed Kerri:)

Sue Swift said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri – this is an invitation to join the Garden Bloggers Retro carnival. I don’t know if you’ve ever come across the concept of a Blog carnival – if not I’ve explained it in detail on my site today (Oct 1). But basically the idea is to revive an old post which you think is worth rereading, or which you think new readers might enjoy. Send me the link to the post, and in November I’ll publish a series of posts describing and linking to all the posts people have nominated.
I hope you’ll join in and we have a fun carnival!
Sue

Memories Catcher said...[Reply]

Beautiful garden.I like a lot the colors.I like the cats too.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

Now I know where all the beautiful flowers are, hehehe. There haven't been many flowers here except for a carpet flower and a little pink tea rose that I believe love drought conditions.

It still hasn't rained here.

TUFFENUF said...[Reply]

Just catching up on my favorite blogs and I am enjoying all your wonderful photos! Thanks for taking the time to share all your flowers with us!

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...[Reply]

You still have so many bright colors left! Things are a bit dreary here. The jackmanni is a show stopper. I would love for my husband to make me a trellis like that but I won't hold my breath waiting. Have you considered renting Ross out to the rest of us? Think about it, you could probably get a 'round the world trip in the bargain!

Cris said...[Reply]

Kerri, long time huh, so sorry... Your blog is going to be used as source of inspiration when I create my garden... really, I am going to show it to a friend who does garden plans, in a year or so, when our house is done constructing!

Anita said...[Reply]

Kerri, I so much enjoyed looking at Gus and Fiona next to "my" marigolds! Your new enlarged rose border looks great and the blue clematis is absolutely stunning! What a wonderful summer garden, thanks for the tour!

Best wishes, Anita

Wicked Gardener said...[Reply]

Beautiful clematis! I've been wanting to try it, and it seems like a mixed bag for bloggers. Some really have trouble with it. Any advice?

Barbee' said...[Reply]

Kerri, your flowers are beautiful!

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Hey Aunt Kerri,

It's me Candy. It's so sweet to read and look at your beautiful pictures. Best still is when I see pictures of your loved ones... like the picture of Uncle Dean making a trellis by hand just for you. I feel the love you both have for each other. It makes me teary eyed. :) Love also the pictures of your grandsons picking out pumpkins and of Kathy on her birthday. Send my regards and love to Uncle Dean.

Candy and David

Windyridge said...[Reply]

Your garden is beautiful! Where in NY are you? We are about an hour south of Syracuse. Can I add your link to my blogroll? I have a farm blog and a blog about NY.
The farm is here: http://onaridge.blogspot.com and is about the sheep,goats,rabbits,kids etc and other stuff.

SOLARA said...[Reply]
This comment has been removed by the author.
sweetbay said...[Reply]

Sigh... that Clematis is so beautiful. We can only dream about growing Clematis like that here! And I especially love that last photo -- it's just wonderful.