http://statebystategardening.com/la/blog_02_summary/ en jred423@gmail.com Copyright 2012 2012-04-19T22:39:56+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/purple_coneflower/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/purple_coneflower/ Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is one of the most rewarding perennials I have.  It is hardy and a blooming machine.  It's also the # 1 plant that I am asked about when someone is touring my garden.  I get the "What is that plant?" and the "I love that plant!" and the "I love that plant!  What is it?" statements all the time.  Even my 5 year old niece, Charlotte, requests cuttings of it frequently.  It is a bold and unique plant that gives more than it takes. Like most perennials, I have found that it takes a year for them to truly show their greatness.  They bloom all of spring and summer and a bit into fall.  Now this past year, due to our mild winter, my Echinacea never stopped blooming.  No, I'm not kidding!  They have been blooming for a full year as I write this.  Now, what more can you ask for?  There are new varieties out that bloom different colors.  I'm experimenting with a white one called "powwow".  It is supposed to be a smaller variety and does seem that way.  I planted groupings of them last spring and they seem to be filling out.  No blooms yet on these though but the future looks promising.  I'll keep you updated on the "powwow" progress. So, go out and try a few of the original purple coneflower.  You won't be disappointed.  Just give them a little sun and a little water.  In return they will give a whole lot of love. This Echinacea purpurea in my front garden is mixed with daylilies, annuals and roses.  It is called a cone flower because of its prominent cone in its center.    Perennials 2012-04-19T21:39:56+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/daylily_already/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/daylily_already/ What's this?  I walk out side early this morning and there is a Daylily bloom!  I do have varieties that bloom early in the season but that is still late April, not at the very beginning.  Upon further inspection I have found many more Daylilies with big buds on them.  I guess this mild winter has everything happening a bit sooner than usual.   So without further adieu...The 1st Daylily bloom in my garden.   Cottage Garden, Perennials 2012-04-03T13:07:39+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/wordless_wednesday/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/wordless_wednesday/   Cottage Garden, Perennials 2012-03-28T11:51:37+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/whats_going_on_in_my_garden/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/whats_going_on_in_my_garden/   Cottage Garden, Perennials, Roses, Shrubs 2012-03-07T12:27:25+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/some_things_happen_by_luck/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/some_things_happen_by_luck/ We have been going through a bedroom remodel.  So being put into a period of upheaval combined with it being winter, I can only say that well.....I've been distracted.  Now things are settling down and I can focus on the garden once again.  The remodel went well and the bedroom turned out awesome.  However, the biggest surprise was the role the garden has played in making the bedroom super awesome!   We replaced the 2 old yucky windows that we never looked out of because there were old and yucky and we added a 3rd one right between them.  So what a surprise it was to see through the new windows that there was a terrific garden on the other side.  The question now is does the new bedroom make the garden or does the garden make the new bedroom?   The 1st view of the new bedroom, walking into it.  You can see the windows to the right. Now we are turning into the bedroom and here is the 1st glimpse of the garden through the 3 windows. Here is a full view from the bed.  Isn't that awesome.  The view is just filled with plants.     The following pictures are taken from the windows.  I'm placing them in order from left to right so that you can get a visual of what it looks like in its entirety. The allee is on the left and my favorite rose, Mrs. B. R. Cant is on the right.  This was a big surprise to see how great the garden looked from the bedroom.  There was never much thought when designing the garden about its view from this vantage point.  Sometimes no matter how much you plan and plan and plan, things can still fall into place unexpectedly.    I'm a big believer in a hedge.  The Sweet Viburnum along the back is a hardy evergreen shrub.  It grows quickly and will satisfy the most impatient gardener with its stamina.  The hedge has blocked out all of the roof tops around me.  Making my garden feel  cozy, private and even enchanting.  Looking out and seeing a wooden privacy fence would not give the same experience. When walking into this garden, you forget that you are in the heart of the city.  I just can't wait for spring when the Natchez Crepe Myrtles leaf out and Mrs. B. R. Cant starts blooming.  What a sight that will be!  I'll be sure to post more photos from this view point as the seasons change.        Cottage Garden, Shrubs 2012-02-15T12:38:56+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/virginia_vacation/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/virginia_vacation/ We spent the week in Virginia Beach visiting my sister and her family last month.  It was lots of fun and many gardens to tour.  The Norfolk Botanical Garden was awesome.  Below are a bunch of pictures of a variety of gardens we visited.   It was so much fun looking at all of these gardens.  You can get so many great ideas.  Good design is really hard to create.  I have re-designed many beds through my gardening years.  Looking around you and paying attention to design elements in different gardens can really assist your direction in your own garden.  2011-11-16T13:32:22+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/quote_of_the_day6/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/quote_of_the_day6/ In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.  My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.  ~Abram L. Urban 2011-10-28T23:02:25+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/fall_clean_out/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/fall_clean_out/ I have been waiting all summer to clean up a few of my beds.  I had lots of daylillies in a couple of beds that just were not working, which is why they are now in my holding garden for future use (See earlier post).  Also, my hydrangea hedge is starting to shape up.  The large front bed has evolved through the past few years and is finally becoming what it needs to be.  The bed has looked great every summer since the beginning but has lacked structure for the winter.  Unintentionally, it was a trial by error bed and things that had never been planned just snuck up on me.  Which is where the hydrangea hedge comes into play.  I had one Endless Summer Hydrangea survive hurricane Gustav back in '08 and have recently added more to the bed with plans of it becoming a hedge on the back side of the bed.  The one in the middle is obviously the hurricane survivor.  The Endless summer collection has proven to be a very hardy hydrangea.  I have convinced friends to plant them and they have had as much success as I have.  These are the "Original" Endless Summer.  They have proven to be strong, sturdy, beautiful shrubs. This is a bloom in December of last year.  Yes!  December!  Well, I should re-name this post Endless Summer Hydrangea.  I didn't realize I was gonna have a moment.  LOL!  Moving on.... I had daylilies planted all around my Sky Pencil Hollies.  I don't know what I was thinking.  So messy.  Next year I'm going to plant more Mondo grass.  I plan on filling the whole bed with it.  Think minimalist.  Eventually I will have a fountain in front of the hollies, facing the lawn.  I know, I have big plans.  I'm always dreaming and then scheming on how to make it happen.  The fountain has been rid of the indigo (see previous post).  It feels so much better. I extended the existing planting of Frost Proof Gardenias.  I figured out how to deal with Frost Proof's....don't do anything to them!  I have a healthy collection and they became that way after I practically ignored them.  So that's what is happening this fall in my garden.  Gardening is an evolution.  You can plan, plan, plan but there is always something that has to be tweaked.    2011-10-21T20:19:17+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/confessions_of_a_plant_horder/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/confessions_of_a_plant_horder/ I am known for keeping plants in pots for years before finding a place to plant them.  So for most of my friends it is no surprise that I am sacrificing my vegetable garden for plants I have no place for at the moment.  The "kitchen garden" is now officially called the "holding garden".  I still have room for a few more flower beds and so I have decided to keep a collection of daylilies and a few roses in a holding zone until the bed can be built.  Which may be a year or 2 because for me a bed can not be simple.  Oh no,  it has to be a production, hence that it might be a year or 2 before I can afford to do it.  LOL.  Besides that and there are a whole number of things I want to do to my garden.  I just never know where to begin.  New front walk, curbside/parking bed, hallway garden, more edging, less edging, more shrubs, less shrubs...it goes on and on.  Due to all of my wants, I am constantly adding plants and moving existing plants in the garden.  This can sometimes cause a problem of me having excess plants.  I have given plants away.  I've also traded plants for plants, which doesn't actually help my situation of having too many plants. I have even been able to fill newly built beds with existing plants from my garden.  Sometimes I even have to kick some to the curb because of lack of space and need. The daylilies and roses are going to be held here until needed.  I will not be growing vegetables here for the next few seasons but sometimes a gardeners got to do what a gardeners got to do. The kitchen garden is now the holding garden.  Cottage Garden, Kitchen Garden, Perennials 2011-09-28T13:37:26+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/the_process_of_gardening/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/blog_02/the_process_of_gardening/ Its funny how something unexpected can cause great change in your garden.  The tropical storm that came through a few weeks ago forced a Rose of Sharon down.  It was one of those things that I had been debating about doing for the past few months and Mother Nature made the final decision for me. The removal of the tree really opened my eyes to what the space should be.  So now I’m ripping out the indigo (not a fun job) around my fountain and will replace it with more Frost Proof Gardenias.  The Frost Proof get tall enough to hide the deck behind the fountain and will create a nice back drop for it as well. The Althea was smashed between the Crepe Myrtle and the Red Bud.  It was useful because it totally screened the deck from the rest of the garden.  Which is why I planted it there a few years ago but the garden sort of evolved around it and it was necessary for the Althea to move on.  Now I'm going to continue the plantings of Gardenias that are under the Red Bud and bring them across the space. Sometimes it is hard to picture the future of your garden.  Like when you are so used to looking at small trees, it can be difficult to imagine the space when they are tall.  The Crepe Myrtle and the Red Bud will create a nice canopy once they grow up a little more.  They will close the gap. Removal of Indigo is not fun. It has grown into my path this summer.  AHHHH!  What a mess.  I look forward to the neatness that the Frost Proof Gardenias will bring. So once again, one change creates a whole new vision.  Gardening is definitely not static! Cottage Garden 2011-09-20T11:29:23+00:00