Tulips at Gilmore Gardens

Cherry Corner is full of Tulipa 'Apricot Impression' this May.

Welcome to Garden Blogger's Bloom Day in Pennsylvania!
We are finally in full swing for spring around here and we are absolutely loving it!

While we have been working like crazy on our new gardens at Havenwood, our old garden is blooming away effortlessly this spring. It is amazing to stand back and watch it go... rather like seeing your beloved child run and win a race all by themselves. We did have two spring clean up times this spring, cutting back out sticks, etc. And another nice layer of mulch. But really, it was very little for such a beautiful show...

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ September 2013 GBBD

Blooms and foliage in my zone 5 garden for September.

Welcome to Pennsylvania in September!

We have had quite a variety of weather in the past weeks. One day it is unbearably hot and dry with the temperature over 86 degrees F (30 C). The next day we are all in winter coats at the damp morning soccer game in 40 degrees F (4 C). Despite all of that drama, the garden is still blooming on...

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD August 2013

Pink Anemone japonica, Spirea 'Goldflame', red Canna 'King Humbert' and white Cosmos fill the Front Walk garden this week.

Welcome to August in Pennsylvania! We have quite a few flowers this month since the Japanese anemones and meadow rues have started their long season of bloom and the black-eyed Susans are prettying the curb. Come take a walk around!

Dahlia 'Jean Marie'

Our first dahlia is blooming this week in the Front Walk Garden, Dahlia 'Jean Marie'.

As summer comes to our garden, the Front Walk continues its succession of blooms that started in early April with Anemone blanda 'White Splendour' and Tulipa 'Princess Irene'. Next was Tulip 'Cum Laude' and Allium 'Purple Sensation' in May, and Oriental Poppies (Papaver orientalis), more Allium and Catmint (Nepeta) in June. Dahlia 'Jen Marie' is next on stage, with the supporting cast of Cosmos and Ammi majus. We shall see how it goes as we move into August! So far, so good...

Color for the Weekend: Pink

Pink flower of Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' scattered in the Shade Path Garden. White variegated Sedum 'Frosty Morn' stands out among the blue Hosta and palmated Geranium foliage.

 A few combinations from around our garden this weekend, all with a little pink...

Oriental Poppies, Allium and Nepeta in the Front Walk Garden

Blinding Papaver orientalis, round Allium 'Purple Sensation' and delicate Nepeta 'Walker's Low'. 

This week in the Front Walk, the electric orange Oriental Poppies (Papaver orientalis) are just starting to bloom.  My plants have really bulked up in the past few years and there promised to be a grand display in the next two weeks. Complementary colors are provided by Allium 'Purple Sensation' and the blue flowers of Nepeta 'Walker's Low'. 

Allium 'Purple Sensation' and Tulip 'Cum Laude' Combination

Our Front Walk garden on May 17th.

One of my favorite surprised combinations happens in the Front Walk garden this month. Tulipa 'Cum Laude' and Allium 'Purple Sensation' make a beautiful pair here, the latter just beginning as the former finishes. The blue forget-me-nots (Myosotis) add to the blue theme and the chartreuse foliage of Spirea 'Goldflame' adds some punch. You can just see the foliage of the Japanese Anemone coming up in the area, which helps to cover the rather unsightly Allium foliage while it blooms.

Read more about the Front Walk garden on the map of our town garden.

While we were away...GBBD May 2013

Full of tulips at Gilmore Gardens in May!

As excited as I was to be touring Chanticleer and Winterthur last week, I was a little sad to be missing the over 200 tulips we planted last fall in our front garden! So, while we were away on our spring trip, I asked my friend Melissa Ellen to take some photos of our tulips. Melissa did a great job! I knew she would, as she does a wonderful job with photos of everything beautiful on her own blog, Melissa Ellen's Loft. If you are in need of some pretty ideas for your home, give her blog a look. Thanks to her for all of the beautiful photos in this post!!

Color for the Weekend

Orange and purple-flamed Tulipa 'Prinses Irene' and blue forget-me-nots (Myosotis) in our Front Walk last spring.

Remembering April... I am looking forward to seeing some more of Tulip 'Prinses Irene' in our Front Walk this year!

The Last of November

Echinacea purpurea in the Hill Garden

Pink Dahlias in the Front Walk Garden

My unnamed, pink dahlias have not been staked very well this year (...what has that gardener been up to anyway!...), but they are still blooming away this fall. 

These are the moments to savor in the garden in Pennsylvania before the coming frost. It looks like it might be a near miss here on this coming Sunday night as they are predicting a low of 34 degrees F (1.1 C). But who can think of that when looking at these summer beauties?  Not me.

See more of the Front Walk garden in all seasons here.

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD Sept 2012

Pink Dahlia with Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' in our Front Walk Garden.

Welcome to Pennsylvania in September! My garden has definitely perked up for fall. We finally had a normal amount of rain for the month, which is the first month since last year. The plants are putting on new growth, looking greener and flowering a bit more. Here are some highlights from around our two-tenths of an acre at Gilmore Gardens.

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ August GBBD 2012

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Mandevilla 'Pretty Pink' in PA zone 5 for August.

Welcome to August in my Pennsylvania, zone 5 garden! It is not what I had hoped that it would be, but the garden is perking up after having some much needed rain in the past two weeks. I took these photos last night after another rain came.

Large-flowered hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos 'Pink Elephant') in our Driveway Garden is blooming away this month.

More in the Driveway Garden: Hibiscus 'Pink Elephant',white Miscanthus 'Dixieland',  a tall blue Buddleia and Agastache foeniculum 'Golden Jubilee'. The ground cover in front here is Sedum 'Acre' which is a much used cover plant in our gardens.

Garden Party at Gilmore Gardens

Our annual garden party in Pennsylvania is in the beautiful month of June!

I wanted to post a few photos of our 3rd annual Gilmore Garden Party that was held the first Saturday in June this year. June is such a beautiful time of year in our gardens, which I am especially appreciating now that the garden is a bit ratty from our dry summer.

I set up the food in the kitchen, since I am shy of being caught in the rain like we were for our first party! We were, however, able to eat outside this year thankfully. The little girls so look forward to dressing up in all their finery. It was a fun, relaxed time of yummy food, walking through the garden and the ever popular hunt for little garden trinkets amongst the flowers. My girls could not wait to find their birdies! In past years, we have had a flower identification hunt with an illustrated guide. It was so nice just to share being in the garden with so many friends.

A garden party needs a yummy cake: Almond cake topped layered with fresh whipped cream and the most scrumptious strawberry icing!!

Poppies, Allium and Catmint in the Front Walk Garden

Our Front Walk Garden

The Front Walk is sited at the front of our property and is in full sun during the summer months. (See it on the map of Gilmore Gardens.) 

This month, the vibrant orange Oriental poppies (Papaver orientalis), purple Allium christophii and blue catmint (Nepeta 'Walker's Low') have taken over from the spring tulip and allium show in early May, and the Allium 'Purple Sensation' and forget-me-nots (Myosotis) at the middle of the month.

 Shocking Oriental poppies (Papaver orientalis) and star-shaped purple Allium christophii viewed in front of the yellow-blooming Sedum 'Acre' in the Front Woodland.

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD May 2012

Our picket fence covered in a red Clematis 'Earnest Markham' and heavenly-scented dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis). Potted Allium 'Purple Sensation' on the steps.

There are tons of late spring blooms for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day in our Pennsylvania, Zone 5 garden. We are at least three weeks ahead of schedule, with many plants blooming now that usually do not have their day well into June. Most of the tulips are gone as of about a week ago, though the late single Tulip 'Cum Laude' is just dropping its petals this week. The phlox scents the whole yard right now.

One of my favorite large-flowered Clematis, C. 'John Warren' on the flower trellis in the Driveway Garden.

Tulip 'Princess Irene' and Tulip 'Cum Laude' with Spirea 'Goldflame' in the Front Walk Garden

Tulip 'Princess Irene' and Tulip 'Cum Laude' with Spirea 'Goldflame' and forget-me-nots (Myosotis)

We are living in decadent color these weeks at Gilmore Gardens in Pennsylvania. I cannot seem to keep up with taking photos enough to capture all of the changes. Here are a few vivid photos of the tulips in our Front Walk garden, which is situated in full to part sun.

GBBD April Flowers in Pennsylvania, Zone 5

The Circle Lawn on April 15th, 2012.

 Welcome to GBBD April at Gilmore Gardens in Pennsylvania, Zone 5!

Our garden is still a month ahead of where it normally is in spring.  It looks much more like May from last year than April.  We are located on a corner lot in our little town, so we have lots of passersby with which to share our spring celebration. Our location contains gardens in shade, semi-shade and lots of full sun. See the map of Gilmore Gardens to link these areas together in your mind as you look around.

Spring Combination: Forsythia and Pachysandra terminalis

Try a Forsythia shrub under-planted with Pachysandra terminalis for a finished looking spring combination.

Some of the best gardening ideas can be found all around the local area where you live. Just look around with the eyes of a curious gardener. Even in the most unlikely places, you may find some wonderful planting ideas. Cosmos in sidewalk crevices... wild asters in the railroad grade... veggie pots on an apartment steps. This combination came from observing my neighbors plantings on the way to dinner one evening.  It is found along our Front Walk and is effective, though incredibly simple.

The Front Walk ~ May through December 2011

May 10, 2011

May 20, 2011

June 4. 2011 (path-side view)

June 14, 2011 (street-side view)

August 12, 2011

September 7, 2011

November 8, 2011

November 11, 2011 (just days later)

December 1, 2011

See the map for the location of the Front Walk at Gilmore Gardens.

Since our current view is a snow one (which you may see in my photostream of "Current Views of Gilmore Gardens" in the right-hand column), I am posting these succession planting pretties instead for Carol at May Dreams. 
Happy GBBD!