Friday Favorite: Found Flowers
I spotted this little columbine blooming in the back border, behind a few other things. It’s quite a looker, with it’s double flowers. It may be Aquilegia ‘Barlow Bordeaux’, I’m not positive since I didn’t plant it.
My other columbines are all singles. There’s a a deep purple one blooming by the back door that I brought from Ohio and a very light pink that I found growing under the porch. I’ll be saving seeds from all three varieties to see what I get.
Do you grow any columbine?
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Back in the Garden
This past weekend we were off camping up in northern Maine, then we were back for the fourth and a boat parade and afternoon of sailing. Now it’s back to the office, housework, and garden work. It’s amazing how quickly things can grow, even when you’re only gone a few days. When I left the peonies were in full bloom.
When I came back they were all gone. That’s OK though, peony season is glorious, even if it is very short. We now move on to hydrangeas, peony poppies, and a flush of other blooms. Even though perennials offer a short season of bloom, they can be staggered to provide color and interest throughout the summer. As I drive around I’m always noticing things blooming in other gardens that I might be able to incorporate into my own.
What’s blooming in your garden this week?
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Quote of the Day: Rosemary Verey
“Although I arrived here more than fifty years ago, I constantly try to see the garden with new eyes. This is the wonderful thing about gardening; trees are ever growing taller, shrubs developing, ground cover taking over. Then scene changes and every year has its own character, influenced by frost, rainfall, and sunshine – elements over which we have no control; but we can aim to pan so that each season has its moments of interest, with winter scent, spring blossoms and bulbs, summer exuberance and autumn color.”
Rosemary Verey in Making of a Garden
I’ve read this book several times and had it in my shopping cart at Amazon. This past weekend I was lucky enough to score it (and a few other gems) at the local library sale. Amazingly, I paid only $1 for it.
Gardening books are something I read over and over again, they never collect dust around here. I’m always happy to add a few new volumes to my library, especially when I can get them at such a great price. I especially love books like this one that document the making of a garden and follow that garden throughout the years. Too often we see gardens at their height and their best, and not during the seasons, when young, as they grow and change.
What’s your favorite gardening book at the moment?
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Friday Favorite: The Little Hosta
I have this lovely little hosta that I got from my mom, she got a start from a friend. I have no idea what variety it is, but it’s one of my favorites. The bluish color and the shape of the leaves is quite lovely. It blooms on very sturdy stems and is a particular favorite with bees and hummingbirds. The plant overall is fairly compact for a hosta, it would be perfect along a path or in the front of a shady border.
I should make a trip over to the Viles Arboretum hosta garden, perhaps I can find it among their collection and figure out what this one is names. You can see photos from my trip there a few years ago in this post.
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Belfast Garden Club Tour Garden #2
My local garden club (which I should join but have a hard time getting to their Tuesday afternoon meetings), puts on garden tours every Friday during the summer. I really love this schedule. Since I got to town to hit the farmers market, the grocery store, and run other errands, I’m always in town on Fridays. In the summer I add garden tour to my list of places to go. Garden number two was in town, which was nice. Whenever I visit a garden like this I think to myself “wow, this is really small” and it’s not really. It’s almost a double lot garden. But since my current property is so vast and the mowed/garden areas are so huge, I’m always think they’re small.
One of the first things I noticed when stepping into this garden was the turf underneath my feet. Good turf is a beautiful thing, both in look and in texture underfoot. We hear a lot about lawns and the horrors of them, but a nice small square of good turf is truly a wonderful addition to the garden. I’ve been wanting to add a small piece of good quality grass somewhere in my garden.
The perennial borders were filled with lovely perennial: roses, euphorbia, campanula, ligularia, clematis, peonies, and hostas, along with shrubs and small trees. The kousa dogwood in the middle of the back lawn was superb!
The hostas, ferns, and goats beard under the mature trees was peaceful and calming.
One of my favorite things was the clematis vine on the side of the barn blooming its heart out, there really isn’t a better climber for a garden in my mind. Check back for upcoming gardens on the tour (and maybe some from last year because I don’t know if I shared many of those with you).
Do you have local garden tours in your area?
