Purple Coneflower and Mugwort

Echinacea purpurea and white-flowering mugwort (Artemisia lactiflora 'Gutzhou')

A lovely combination for late summer/autumn. This combination was one that we spotted at Stan Hywet house and gardens in Akron, Ohio in their Great Garden. See more about this garden in my series on Stan Hywet... here. 

Rosy Plans for the Year

Rosa 'Scepter d' Isle'

Rosa 'Ferdinand Pritchard'

Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll'

*All Rose photos in this post from David Austin Roses, US

While the snow was still flying here in Pennsylvania and a hot cup of tea was an imperative (!), I spent an evening sitting on the floor planning out our vegetable gardens for the summertime...

Climbing Rose and Clematis Combination

Clematis 'Madam Julia Correvon' blooming with our pink climbing rose.

It is rose season at our house!

The pink climbing rose is blooming this week and oh, so fragrant. Last year I added a clematis to it, and this is the first year they have bloomed together. Clematis 'Madam Julia Correvon' is a beautiful red climber that we also have on a trellis by our Circle Lawn (see it last week).

More of Cherry Corner in April

Cherry Corner: pink weeping cherry tree, Narcissus 'Pink Charm', Tulip 'Apricot Impression', Muscari armenicum, Sedum 'Acre' and much more.

Sunny Plant Combination: Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' and Sedum 'Red Carpet'

Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' and Sedum 'Red Carpet'

Two great plants that seem to live together in harmony... the North American native Yellow Tickseed, Coreopsis 'Moonbeam', and the low spreading Stone Crop, Sedum 'Red Carpet'.  

 I caught sight of these two playing nicely at a family stop on our summer trip to Virginia. We also stopped at two great gardens along the way. More photos coming soon!

Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' and Sedum 'Red Carpet' are thriving in this extremely low maintenance garden by a walkway.

Driveway Garden at the end of June

Driveway Garden in June: Asiatic Lily 'Rosella’s Dream', Geranium 'Orion', Lavender, Allium sphaerocephalon

Summer is in full swing around here in PA! It has been hot and the hose has been out more than once for the kids and the new perennials which are barely hanging on through this heat.  It has been a warm summer for sure and quite dry. I am a bit sorry for my garden, though really I am mostly enjoying that it is not a cold and gloomy summer like it is some years.

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.

Visit to Carolyn's Shade Gardens in Bryn Mawr, PA

View of Carolyn's Shade Gardens

Pam and I had a wonderful visit to see Carolyn at her gardens in April. What a beautiful garden! And certainly a plant lover's delight.

One of the defining characteristics of Carolyn's garden are all of the amazing, old trees around her property. No wonder she has found a love for shade gardening! The trees act as a luxuriant setting for everything else. Other people may have cut trees down for more sun exposure, but I am thankful that she instead created gardens that fit her surroundings and even added many more beautiful trees. Creativity is sometimes best displayed when we learn to work with a seeming "garden challenge." 

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 'China Town' in Cherry Corner Garden

Tulip 'China Town' in Cherry Corner Garden with dark Heuchra 'Palace Purple' and variegated loosestrife, Lysimachia punctata 'Alexander'.

Another new tulip this year, Tulip 'China Town'. This one is in our Cherry Corner garden. (See map for garden location in our small town lot.)

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.

Tulip 'Persian Pearl', Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete' and purple-tipped Echeveria: A Spring Container Combination

Tulip 'Persian Pearl' and Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete'

Spring bulb container with Tulip 'Persian Pearl', Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete' and purple-tipped Echeveria

Tulip 'Persian Pearl', Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete' and purple-tipped Hens & Chicks (Echeveria)... I love the pointed tulip and hen together.

A sunny combination for our patio that began in March this year and bloomed through the first half of April.

A bit of catch-up posting this week of the flowers that have been flying by in the warm March and April temps. We did get a bit of snow this weekend and a nice chill temperature, so hopefully we can continue to enjoy our tulips! See our other tulips pots here.

Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete' and Crocus 'Grand Maitre'

Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete' and Crocus 'Grand Maitre' in the Hill Garden.

Spring is moving along at a fast clip this year, with most things blooming a month ahead of time. Here is another simple combination that I do not want to miss sharing.  I am so pleased to have planted this pair in our gardens this year: the little cyclamen daffodil, Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete', and the large purple Crocus vernus 'Grand Maitre'. They were planted in several groups throughout Cherry Corner Garden and the Hill Garden.

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.

Before & After at Gilmore Gardens

Change in the garden... in life...
     this is the way the world was designed, though we like to sometimes tell ourselves otherwise. 
                 It is good for us to embrace change. 

Today we are featuring a few glimpses of the changes at Gilmore Gardens
over the past three-and-a-half years.

   This photo was taken in spring 2007 at the very first drive-by of our home-to-be (though we did not move in until that fall of 2007).  Note the lovely stump memorial on the hill beside the driveway, complete with octagonal timbers, gravel and plastic deer. Also, see the equally lovely garbage cans under the staircase. Not to mention the house that is rusting away (yes, rusting, because it is sided in steel).

   That is our Hill Garden in May 2011, which includes Phlox subulata in purple, Tulipa 'China Pink', Tulipa 'Sorbet', blue Muscari armenicum and an ornamental pear tree under-planted with Sedum 'Acre' behind the flowers. Also, a painted (yea!!!), rust-free house and rose trellis to cover the cans. Definite improvements.

For more about the transformation at Gilmore Gardens, 
come over to Sweet Bean Gardening where Hanni is featuring 
Wife, Mother, Gardener and our gardens for the day! 
Thanks, Hanni!

Garden journal escape...

     I know that as a gardener in Pennsylvania I should be accepting of snow at this time of year, but I am weary of it today.  As it started falling Tuesday afternoon, fluffy and white, I put on a brave smile while thinking, "Yes, it is here again, but it will certainly not lay on the ground for long." Two days later, I am kind of itching to move on with life, for more color and less white.  Even four-year-old Grace, who was anticipating this winter's snow starting last July (no joke), said this morning, "I wish the snow would melt so that we could have more flowers again."

   So here we are, learning perseverance through the seasons of life by waiting as patiently as we can for these last snows to fall... watering the earth, hydrating the roots, giving respite before the heat of summer... and putting the cold weather in perspective by writing down the happenings in my garden journal.

 
   This is the third year that I have used a date book as a garden journal... which is an all-encompassing journal for me that holds my notes from my garden book reading, monthly calenders where I can record the main blooming attractions, days to write down my gardening tasks, notes from gardens we visit, plants I buy, and brainstorming for new combinations, bulbs, annuals, etc.  And a place where I can record the weather each year so I know what I expect... mostly.

   A glimpse of three years of March... this year definitely containing more snow than the other two. I  feel a little panicky when I look out the window right now, but looking ahead to April in my past journals brings calm assurance that the snow will stop... by June for sure.

   A view of how I organize myself: blooming plants & combinations on the monthly calender (left) and tasks in the day-to-day blocks (right).



   A sneak-peek at my Thompson & Morgan seed order for the season (right)...


   A look ahead of what to expect in April... this record from 2010 (below).





  Rosemary Verey, one of my gardening heroes, encouraged new gardeners to "take note as you go" (Rosemary Verey's Making of a Garden, 17).

   Learn to build up your knowledge of plants, not only to be able to recognize them but to know what growing conditions they like or dislike, when they will flower, what their leaves will contribute before and after flowering, how they will relate to their neighbors.  This knowledge comes only with familiarity, observation and experience (pg. 17).

   I have enjoyed being more methodical about the art in my garden.  Recording my thoughts and schemes has helped me both to fully appreciate the moment and to learn more through reflection by reading past entries.

Perhaps this is your year to start a garden journal too?

For anyone wondering: I have really enjoyed using these Brush Dance date books, after finding one in a Floridian gift shop in 2009 when my husband and I were on a get-away.  They are beautiful and earthy. 

 

Snowy March Combination

This morning, I captured one of my favorite early spring combinations covered in a light dusting of snow...

     
     The ground work is laid with dark leaved Ajuga reptans, symmetrical hens & chicks (Echeveria hyb.), and evergreen Phlox subulata.  In the middle shines the white of Crocus vernus 'Jeanne d' Arc'. These ground covers work great together - filling in very quickly! They look great all year round.

     The germ of this idea came from a photo in the book, Rosemary Verey's Making of a Garden, by the great plants-woman Rosemary Verey.  She under-planted these same crocuses with purple sage, to great effect.  She has some excellent color combinations that I am still working to emulate, though I think I most strongly hold to her design ideas.   

 Echeveria

     Close-up of an Echeveria mommy looking magical with a dusting of snow.

Gilmore Gardens via Belgium...

Our old pink rose with Clematis 'Etoile Violette' woven throughout in June.

Thanks to Isabelle at A Little bit of Paradise for her feature of the combinations at Gilmore Gardens.  We share a lot of the same garden inspirations in Gertrude Jekyll and Christopher Lloyd.

She has some great combinations also... beautiful borders full of roses!
Go here to see them... and use the helpful translator in the left column if you have not brushed up on your French lately.

Favorite Garden Combinations of 2010 (Part 9)

   We have reached Late Fall, November in PA, and the end of the growing season at Gilmore Gardens.  It has been enjoyable to relive and doubly appreciate all that is here after just two-and-a-half years of intensive gardening.  The killing frost came the first week in November 2010, which was a month later than usual.  One of my favorite areas was still the Hill Garden...

      
   Though the plants are quite common, the combination here is not one that I have seen elsewhere.  The purple barberry (Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea) are beautiful in their deepening color, the lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) still beg to be touched.  But it is the Sedum 'Autumn Joy' that steals the show, with its foliage passing through chartreuse on its way to yellow.  The Phlox subulata is filling in around the cracks, still holding its place as an anchoring evergreen.

   Touched with snow just a few weeks later, the delicate stems of Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Filigran'), standout against the reddened barberry leaves (right).










   The irresistible texture of Stachys byzantina (left).

 

   

     Here was a fun treat!  The cool-weather loving violas decided to put out some last minute blooms again - their last bid at propagation for the season (above).  I love their dark purple seen with the red berries of the burning bush (Euonymus alatus) and the orange-yellow leaves of the ornamental pear tree (Pyrus calleryana).  Again, very common plants, yet they are more lovely together in combination.

   Below is a full photo of the Hill Garden, which looks down on the driveway entrance.  I am thrilled the fast-growing pear tree has started to fill its role in just two years.  Also, I am very happy with our autumn color display, though we do not have room for a wilderness of foliage on our property.

  

   The Bradford pear, Pyrus calleryana (above), which is lovely in foliage, though is now known to be invasive in some areas of the country.  

  

   The last of the combinations for late fall is in the Driveway Garden...  Aster hybrida 'Peter III' still is blooming profusely at this late date, and looks perfect with the ripening rose hips from the old pink rose by our house.

   And here is 'Peter III' with just a dusting of snow...  
lovely end to the 2010 bloom season.

Other photos from November (clockwise from top left): vibrant Aster hybrida 'Peter III' in the sunset; immature hawk sitting in the maple tree out of our back door, casually eying our bunny's hutch; sunset on the aster, rose bush and young rose of sharon skeleton (Hibiscus syriacus) by our back door; looking down the Shade Path from the Circle Lawn.

Snowy November - photos from the end of the month (clockwise from top left): love the structure of the new alberta spruce topiary behind the patio (table soon to be stored for the winter); burning bush (Euonymus alatus) with its pretty but toxic berries; Sedum 'Autumn Joy' dusted with its first snow of the season; two little cuties all bundled to enjoy the great outdoors before the snow really comes.

If you would like to start at the beginning of the 2010 season, go to Part 1: Early Spring

     Or see a glimpse of Gilmore Gardens in December.