Kathy's Garden Tour - July 14, 2011

As the sun sets, Kathy hosts the last of the garden tours through her beautiful hillside garden.

 

Kathy has created a beautiful garden of mature plants which she has placed with attention to detail.  In spite of the steep slope, which creates special challenges for any gardener, the change in elevation adds to the beauty of the garden.  

 

This mature sedum with red edging demanded our attention. 

 

 

Kathy has a good eye for placing the right plant in the right location.  Here, a large clump of daylilies sets off a variety of ornamental grasses and other perennial plants.

An assortment of daylilies in bloom surround one of Kathy's trees.

The swirling pattern on Kathy's gazing globe provides a suggestion of activity and movement, even in the still of an evening stroll.

 

Sun and heat-tolerant perennials thrive among the rocks in Kathy's garden.  The contrast between the rocks and the plants is very pleasing.

Kathy has an outstanding collection of ornamental grasses.  Here, two ornamental grasses of different sizes have blue tones in common.

Tall ornamental grasses in the background provide interest with their banded markings.  A variety of other grasses and perennial flowers grow downhill from the tall grasses.

 

Nearly hidden from view among the ornamental grass is this garden cherub.

Beautiful roses bloom along the front path.

 

A "Bird and Breakfast" house stands ready to welcome Kathy's feathered friends into her garden.

Where there is no soil in which to plant a garden, Kathy has created this pleasing container garden, using a variety of plant material and containers.  The little wagon on the left holds a miniature garden in itself!

 

A raised bed provides excellent drainage for this welcoming garden.

A mature climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris) blooms as it climbs up the porch supports.  When young, the climbing hydrangea is slow growing.  It takes several years for a young plant to mature and bloom.

 

Keeping a watchful eye over the garden is this flower fairy.

A wooden walkway leads to a garden arbor.  The solar lights invite the garden guest to explore the area beyond the arbor.  Kathy's talented husband made the walkway and arbor.

A fire pit is the perfect place to roast hot dogs or marshmallows on a summer evening.

 

Making the best use out of limited sunny areas, Kathy has created a tomato garden against the back of her house.

A mature Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) cascades beautifully over the side of the planting box.

 

Kathy ended our garden tour with refreshments.  Thank you, Kathy, for your hospitality!

Renee's Garden Tour - July 14, 2011

As we arrived for the fourth garden tour of the evening, this stunning pair of Bleeding Heart plants (Dicentra rosea) greeted us at the entrance.  None of us had ever seen Bleeding Heart plants that large before! 

Renee led the tour through her gardens under mature oak trees.

As the garden tour participants enjoy a stroll through the newest part of Renee's garden, our attention is drawn to the lush growth of moss that covers the ground in the shade of the oak trees.

Renee's shaded lawn provides the right conditions for moss to grow.  Here, Ann enjoys the soft, carpet-like qualities of walking on the moss.

In addition to her large, established plants, Renee has recently started this garden of new hostas.  Gardeners always seem to find new spaces to plant a garden.

Hostas and ferns are a natural pairing, since both plants love shaded sites.  The red impatiens add color.

Garden decor can be a lot of fun, as in this case of a dog statue with its very own dog house.  Visitors have to look twice to see if the dog is real.

Hostas surround the trunks of the oak trees.  In addition to looking very attractive, the hosta plantings are also practical.  The tree is protected from bumps and bruises by the lawn mower. 

Garden tour participants appreciated the special touches in Renee's garden, such as this mushroom figurine tucked against a tree trunk.  Unexpected surprises like this mushroom make gardens more interesting.

Renee made this leaf bowl, using a real leaf as a mold.  The colorful marbles catch the eye of garden visitors, and remind us of childhood.

More of Renee's artistic touches are evident in this planter.  Renee applied broken tile pieces to the sides of this large pot to make a more interesting container.

The bright yellow of this Asiatic lily demands attention.  The brightly colored Asiatic lilies generally bloom first, followed by the Oriental lilies, which are often quite fragrant.

This large lighthouse is centered in a bed of irises, which bloomed in the spring.

Renee's metal flower wall hanging provides blossoms for her, even during the winter months.

To provide a bright spot in a shady area, Renee chose this variegated hosta featuring a white center stripe with green edges on each leaf.  The variegated weigela shrub behind the hosta repeats the white and green coloring on its leaves, but in reverse.  The green weigela leaves are edged in white.

Renee looks at everyday things with a creative eye.  This gazing globe is actually an old bowling ball!  

Against a trellis wall, Renee has planted several clematis vines.  It makes effective and beautiful screening. 

To prevent soil erosion, Renee has planted daylilies along her fence line.  Daylily roots are effective in holding soil together.  The daylilies also eliminate the need to trim under the fence.

The corner of the fence line makes a wonderful place for another new garden.

The balloon flower (Platycodon mariesii) is one that is loved by children and adults.  The flower buds inflate like balloons (see the round buds in the picture) before they burst open into flower.

Renee's pond garden is designed to be viewed from the front.  Renee has planted tall ornamental grasses and other tall perennials in the back of the pond.  Ground-hugging plants in the front will never obstruct the view of the pond.

The low-growing plants at the front of the pond are a nice assortment of sempervivum plants, such as hens-and-chicks.  These plants tolerate sunny, dry conditions.

Renee takes full advantage of one of the few sunny spots on her property with this collection of sedums. 

This variegated sedum is an excellent example of the species.  Sedums have thick, fleshy leaves, which allow the plant to tolerate dry conditions.

Nearly hidden, and almost unnoticed, is this statue of a dog, digging in the earth. 

This happy mushroom fellow brought a smile to all of the garden tour participants.  Thank you, Renee, for creating a garden that provides beauty, inspiration, and smiles!



Marie's Garden Tour - July 14, 2011

Marie hosted the third garden tour of the evening.  Welcoming us into Marie's garden is this little frog statue.  But this isn't the only frog in Marie's garden.  Many real frogs have made Marie's pond their home.  The plant to the right of the frog is a dwarf Weigela called 'My Monet', which grows to a height of only 12 to 18 inches.  In spring, it is covered with beautiful pink flowers.  With its variegated foliage of green, cream, and a touch of pink, the plant is a beauty even when it's not in bloom. 

Marie grows plants around her pond... and IN her pond!  Marie and Lloyd have several aquatic plants, including hardy water lilies, double flowering arrowhead plants, corkscrew rush, and lizard's tail.  For safety after dark, solar lights are arranged near the pond.  Evening visitors can clearly see where the edge of the pond begins, as the soft lighting enhances evening enjoyment of the pond and the surrounding garden.

 Taking center stage in this picture is a potted lime green Heuchera called 'Key Lime'.  In recent years, Heuchera plants have become available with colorful foliage ranging from lime green to peach to the darkest purple, depending on the variety.  One of Marie's favorite dwarf plants is also pictured below.  The tiny hosta in the lower, right corner is a miniature hosta called 'Blue Mouse Ears'. 



The garden tour participants enjoyed Marie's collection of miniature plants.  Marie gave each garden visitor a map of the garden surrounding her pond.  The map helped us to identify the miniature plants that surround the pond.  Marie also shared a list of suggested sources for the plants. 

This sun-loving plant is known as Hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum).  It's quite happy to be growing on part of an old tree stump.  It is very tolerant of hot, dry conditions.

A sun dial marks the time on sunny days.

One of Marie's dwarf daylilies is this yellow beauty called 'Demetrius'.

 

Another tiny plant is this dwarf Monarda 'Pink Supreme', which grows to only 15" tall. 

Another of Marie's gardens contains a variety of different types of plants.

A beautiful rose is accented by a statue in Marie's prayer garden.

On the other side of the prayer garden is Marie's "Creepy Garden".  This garden is delightful for the names of the plants it contains, such as daylilies named 'Creature of the Night' and 'Bela Lugosi'.  This garden is an expression of Marie's keen sense of humor.

One of the more unusual items in Marie's "Creepy Garden" is this statue, which is named "Le Pleurant", which means "The Weeper" in French.  A pleurant symbolizes solitude, spirituality, introspection, and sorrow.  Pleurant figures have been used to show mourning so intense that it is also isolation - shutting away the world out of pain.  Historically, a person who suffered great loss would go to the monks and request to be a pleurant.  If granted, they would spend a year or more under the heavy cloths, completely cut off from the world.  The pleurant would use their solitude to work through their pain, trying to find God and overcome the great emotional burden they were bearing.  And when the pleurant felt that their need was finished, the pleurant would simply remove the cloths and return to the regular world.

This Petunia 'Phantom' has an unusual color combination of yellow and nearly black.  The purple is so dark that it appears to be black.

Perhaps even more unusual is this nearly jet-black petunia called 'Black Velvet'.  The flower petals really do look velvety.  It's an appropriate addition to Marie's "Creepy Garden".

Marie has a green thumb, especially when it comes to growing hostas.  Here is a large hosta clump in full bloom.

Here, a foundation planting of hostas always look fresh.

Marie shows the garden tour participants her newest garden, which contains daylilies Marie has collected from a variety of sources.  The yellow and orange flowers are marigolds.

Marie shares information about her daylilies with garden tour participants.

Here are some pictures of Marie's other daylilies.

At the end of Marie's tour is this beautiful, variegated Sedum.

Marie has created many gardens with different themes.  The miniature plant garden, the prayer garden, the fun "creepy" garden, the daylily garden, and others each contain plants that provide beauty and interest all season long.  Thank you for sharing your garden with us, Marie!  And thank you for sharing the great information too!