Tropical Garden Visit in November

We did not have much of a fall season in Connecticut.  The foliage colors were less than brilliant.  The garden died back slowly and then snow and 9 degree temperatures finished it off quickly.  but today we enjoyed fall-like temperatures and overcast sunshine in a tropical botanical garden in Naples, Florida.  A strange way to relive fall!

Giant Lily Pads

Exotic hues of water lily blossoms from fushia to 

almost neon violet and chartreuse like this one did

not recall fall in New England!

Bird of Paradise and a green lawn

and an outdoor patio orchid garden

told me we weren't in CT anymore!

My favorite part of the Naples Botanical Garden was the 

Southeast Asian gardens.

And I walked the labyrinth while I meditated too.

The gardens included glass creations by 

Hans Goto Frabel

who blows glass by hand

with borosilicate glass.

A really remarkable Garden Moment!

Mid-September and the Hummers Are Still Here

We've been expecting the hummingbirds to leave by the 15th, the traditional date, but we're still seeing them!  They could be other hummingbirds from up north now migrating south past us.  They are hiding in the asters and sipping in the butterfly bush.  I watched a Cooper's hawk snatch a lone goldfinch at the feeder yesterday.  I'd hide too because it was not a pretty sight to watch from my window.

There is something else new in the garden--morning glories!

They should be Moonflowers by the tag, but they seem to be blue--and open in the daytime.

The Monarchs are busy in the Sedum blooms.

And the bees love the asters.

With 3 inches of rain this past week, the garden is having a moment of renewal.

Forget the Burning Grass

The Rudbeckia are doing just fine!

The Buddleia are a little short and pale, but holding forth in the heat.

The Zinnias love the heat more than

the 6 inches of rain in the past 2-3 weeks.

The Hellenium is sparse but blooming.

The Helianthus are still upright and prolific.

I found a single, pale Hydrangea bloom

hidden in the middle of the bush under many leaves.

We are in another official heat wave this week.

But the 'Limelight' Hydrangea blooms are spectacular.

Summer is right on time despite the heat--

and Fall is fast approaching.

High Summer, Low Precipitation

I've been watering for three weeks for neighbors who are traveling. I have persisted through heat and humidity--and very little rain!  Well, yesterday we had 20 minutes of a downpour that perked up the plants a bit, but mostly ran off the hard-packed earth as demonstrated by the grass on this hillside.  I've been watering the border and it also gets shade in the late afternoon and is, therefore, still green.

Larry put a TreeGator, a slow release watering system, on the Japanese Maple on the cliff.

We'll see how it improves with some TLC.

Larry was out this morning trimming the fence line.  A hot job!

The helianthus love it--and so do bees!

The Campanula or Bell Flowers are out, white and blue.

Bug alert on the day lilies.  I still don't know what they are. I just pick them off.

The Rudbeckia is starting to show up in the Bellis perrenis Daisy clump.

and more bees!

Even though it's dry, the garden is alive 

with sights and sounds and scents.

Reading a New Garden Book

I'm enjoying this Lively book about an 80-year old garden writer's experiences, garden history, fads, and thoughts.  She basically likes to get down in the soil, but misses it due to aging issues like knees that don't work.  I have the same feeling, but can still get down on a gardener's knee pad to do the "green thinking" that she describes so well.  It's not quite meditation because you can fill your mind with plant selection, insect pest solutions, past successes and failures and future plans.  The activity outdoors, though, never fails to ultimately clear your mind and bring on the green thinking of  a garden mediation.

What I'm green thinking about today:

Success: first bloom from the blue balloon flower.

And a first day lily--but what's the matter with the petals?

Oh, a beetle!  Not sure that it's a Japanese beetle. 

Not metallic shiny enough...

I'll need to watch this plant.

I love the coneflower petals just unfurling.

They seem to be late in comparison to others around the neighborhood.

The daisies are blooming too.

I love the contrast against the deep shade below and beyond.

They'll need to be divided next year because they are too close to the A/C unit which had critters living in it this spring.

William's tree will be 10 years old this month.

It was just a sapling from Sara's tree in Wallingford.

And what are the fairies doing today?

The past, the future, the present, the successes, the failures, the solutions.

Fantasy, reality, color, light, texture.

Memories, magic and moments.

Green thinking and total relaxation!

Heat Wave

We're having a heat wave!  We're in the 4th day with no end in sight over the holiday Fourth of July.  We've been watering our plants and those at 3 neighbors too.  I'm water-logged from so much hose wrestling.

In the garden, nothing much is happening.  The plants are just keeping their heads up.  The lilies are about to bloom; the balloon flowers are in bud, and the hydrangea has no blooms visible.  They should all keep their blooms and buds in tight until we get past this heat wave.

The hollyhocks, on the other hand, are just amazing!  They have moved out to the window near the bird bath all by themselves.  They are tall, plentiful stalks and blooming fully.

The perennial sunflower is also magnificent, although it has been wilting mid-day in the sun.

And the zinnias love the heat.  They are ablaze with colorful blooms and many buds.

We all need to hang in there and hope for a break in the heat and humidity.

Garden Walk in Laurel Ridge, First Evening of Summer

With a neighbor, I organized a Garden Walk to visit the patios and plantings around our condominium community.  We had about 20 homeowners participating and about the same number walking.  I took some photos on this lovely first evening of summer as the sun went down.

I started walking at the top of the hill, visiting this patio of new homeowners who want ideas about how to develop a private garden when other homes are close-by. They have the advantage of a fence and some large shrubs, but the tall white pines are going to be cut down soon.

Below is a patio with mature plantings and careful maintenance over many years

that can be an inspiration for them.

Colorful plants in pots, a variety of textures and colors in green, a long view to the side highlighted by the sunset, and a cozy seating area for outdoor living make this a perfect patio secret garden.

Staked signs guided walkers around homes and cul-de-sacs of interest.

This cul-de-sac had been newly mulched after all the grass was removed in the circle.

The neighbors are going to plant for more color but must also remember piles of snow in winter.

Another patio was set for dinner.  Instead of low bushes forming the 

'walls" of the garden, there are benches with planters and pots and saucers of water for wildlife.

Some homeowners don't make the patio the focus of the garden, but create a view instead.

This slope is lined by a stone wall, bird feeders and a variety of green plants on the hillside.

This patio viewed of a slope with Tall Fescue which waves like the ocean in the wind.

Some terraces act like steps leading up the hill for a vantage point from above the long grass.

And here is a garden focus viewed from a sun room and deck.  The grass on the hillside is not the main event, but the bright chairs and hammock, the vintage iron screen and a colorful garden whimsy bring attention to the mountain laurels and the woodland beyond.  Stones lining the woodland edge delineate the bed from the difficult-to-maintain slope and draw your eye right up to the main event.

Some patios are on a ledge. Moss can add interest and green to contrast with the hard gray of stone and pavers. The rock wall continues the line of the boulder and forms the "boundry" of the hardscape.  The laurels of the forest understory bring the green up from planters to the tree tops.

And some of our gardeners have hardscape all around in cement porches, columns, walkways and driveways.  The frog garden ornament seems to say "Oh, my! It's hard and dry here!"

But color can bring it all to life.

Here's a front porch full of colorful bloom--and wildlife.

The curve of shrubs and trees and flowers brings the birds and animals right up to the hardscape of the front porch at a street corner.  Privacy, the scent of blooms, and the sound of birds make a perfect secret garden in plain sight.

There's opportunity to create vignettes everywhere in nature.

and fairy gardens too!

Our Garden Walk tonight gave us many ideas.