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Sunday, June 26, 2022

Vacation Retreat Garden


On vacation last week at the shore in Rhode Island,
we drove up the driveway to find some nice
garden beds surrounding the rental house.
The pool house or casita as Barry explained
was originally just a bathroom, shower and laundry.
It was expanded with a living area, full kitchen,
a bedroom, a patio and an outdoor shower.
The garden bed near the casita's front door
had an old-fashioned mixture of dark-purple-leaved
Ninebark, Asiatic lilies (not blooming), daylilies, 
hardy geraniums, pink Spirea--and a resident frog.


A stone path led under the first arbor
covered with Wisteria. Barry said he 
had recently trimmed it back after 
it bloomed prolifically 
in long, cascading blooms. 
It still sent out long tendrils
we could watch grow each day from
the kitchen table inside the big house.


A second arbor led to the path around
the side of the house in the shade 
dappled with sunlight as seen
on this lime green Heuchera.


Another turn in the path led under
a third arbor and into a
small lawn full of sunlight.
 An old rock wall
defined a deep drop-off. 
Pines and two old trees framed 
the view of Ninigret Salt Pond and
 the Atlantic Ocean a mile away.


A perfect place to play after the beach!









 

Sunday, June 5, 2022

Successes and Surprises

 

Surprise!

The poppies all bloomed at once today 
along with the pale pink peonies.
That confluence has not happened before in
13 years since I began this garden.
 

And they are blooming with
the peach roses, the purple and 
yellow irises and the blue
catmint.  What a colorful
treat they make for a
gardener--and a bouquet.


Success?

All the hybrid mountain laurels
are blooming too. The white laurel 
has a few blooms on a lower stem.
It has never bloomed before!
I read about a trick for improving
underperforming trees and bushes.
Drill 4 - 6 holes around the plant
halfway between the trunk and dripline.
 Fill the hole with slow-release 
organic fertilizer pellets for 
gradual release over 6 months.
Better results next year with
increased vigor and bloom?
We'll have to wait patiently
for success--or--surprise.




Success and Surprise!

I was able to use polymeric sand on
the patio pavers to fix the cracks
myself with not too much
time or effort.  I had some help
from Garden Man with the 50-lb.
bag of sand (The last one for sale
at Paul & Sandy's today!).
A push broom and a soft bristle 
hand brush with a dust pan
made the job easy.
So did the gentle breeze,
the clear skies and the shade!
Pat on the back
for an old gardener 
learning new tricks!