Gilmore Gardens ~ GBBD June 2014

Catmint, Nepeta 'Walker's Low', and Geranium 'Orion' beside the road in the Curb strip this month.

Welcome to my little garden in Pennsylvania!

June is here, and we are enjoying it both at our new garden, Havenwood, and at our old garden, Gilmore Gardens. Here are some pretty shots from Gilmore just after the rain last evening...

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!

Front Curb Planting (aka The Front Woodland)

Our daylilies are all in bloom this week in our curb strip

July has brought the daylilies (Hemerocallis). The catmint, Nepeta 'Walker's Low' is just finishing up around our corner, but still has twinges of blue and lots of attraction for pollinators.

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD June 2013

Our Shade Path Garden full of yellow perennial foxgloves, Digitalis grandiflora.

Welcome to Pennsylvania for Garden Blogger Bloom Day!
There are lots of flowers to see this weekend around our small, town garden. Come take a walk around...

Curb Strip Plantings with Nepeta, Sedum and Iris

Catmint (Nepeta 'Walker's Low') grows low mounds in our curb strip over ground cover Sedum 'Acre'.

The garden is pulling into summer, which make it time for many of my favorite perennials. In our curb strips (known also as parkways, hell strips, etc), we have removed all of our turf and planted beautiful, low-maintenance plants instead. These areas have required some weeding in spring, but with that little time investment (as compared to spending 20 minutes mowing them every week!) we get something that is even nicer to look at, draws pollinators and help make this outlining area part of our garden. Now, we can walk down the sidewalk and enjoy the changing scene every day.

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'. 

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!!

Curb Strip with Irises, Catmint and Allium

Our Front Woodland was entirely turf just a couple years ago.  Photo taken May 25th, 2012.

This pretty blue and white combination developed over the past year in our Front Woodland. The blue Siberian Irises came with our house, so I am not sure of the exact variety. I did learn that when you divide and transplant Siberian Irises, they take a while to settling in and start blooming again.

Blue Siberian irises grow from rhizomes

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.

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!

July Scenes from the Front Woodland

The Front Woodland is in the sidewalk strip at Gilmore Gardens. It is just a couple of years old, but is filling out quite nicely this year. It has progressed from the daffodils of April, to the foxgloves and irises of May/June, to the daylily display of July.

A baby tulip tree can be seen sprouting up in the middle of the daylilies (above), which will give shade and balance our tall house when the old maples are gone.

These daylilies have all grown from one large clump that came from my husband's childhood home. They are the common orange daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) which you may see along country roads at this time of year. 

Here they are planted with Hemerocallis 'Stella d' Oro' and across the sidewalk from the blue catmint, Nepeta 'Walker's Low'.

I like the combination of colors here more this year than I did last year. Last year I was ready to rip out this whole lot of orange flowers. I guess I have stretch my color boundaries, especially in not minding that a few pink geranium flowers pop up in this area from time to time!

It makes for a much nicer walk along the sidewalk, anyway. Quite colorful.