Saturday, July 23, 2011

A Walk Through the Garden - Part I

It is mid-summer now, and my garden looks so different from what it used to be in spring.

Fragrant Masterpiece, a shrub from John Clements' Heirloom Roses

I grow several varieties of campanula, and they have just begun to bloom. Campanulas are such a diverse family of perennials, big and small, blue and white, and I love them all!

C. portenschlagiana x poscharskyana "Birch hybrid"



C. poscharskyana "Alba" (Serbian Bellflower)

I took a risk and bought Wild Blue Yonder (below) from Home Depot this winter. I don't usually buy roses there because of low quality of stock, mislabelling and lack of care, but this one just seemed to stretch out its stumpy canes to me begging to take it home, and so I did. I have not regretted it yet.



Feverfew is one of my favorite perennials. The bright white and yellow flowers set against chartreuse foliage really lighten up my planting bed, and its season of bloom is quite long too. I was told it would re-seed, but I haven't had a problem so far: my beds are so heavily mulched that nothing much has a chance to sprout. Sometimes it is not such a good thing as I would love to have more feverfew...




The little white bloom below is catananche caerulea "Amor White". They are short-lived and I am hoping to save some seeds and grow more plants next year. They last forever in a vase.


I have a few showy border penstemons that provide a lot of color in summer. All of mine bloom all summer long, deadheaded or not (mostly not as I don't always have the time).




Verbena bonariensis is irresistible to any bee, butterfly or hummer. I have taken so many pictures of it this year, all with someone taking a drink of nectar from it. I highly recommend this plant.

32 comments:

  1. Masha ~ What a lovely walk through your gardens. All of your blooms are lush and lovely. That last photo is fantastic.

    Have a lovely weekend and thanks for the little garden tour.

    FlowerLady

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  2. I love feverfew. I once did a daisy garden and it was a great performer and held its own with the big guys. Love all your images, just beautiful.

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  3. beautiful photos and nice flower colors too.

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  4. Beautiful photos. you have a lovely collection of perennials.

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  5. They are all so beautiful! I didn't know a drooping rose can look so good.

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  6. FlowerLady, thank you. I am glad you enjoyed it.

    Donna, I love it too. In fact maybe I will buy more next year, it seems to be longer lived than marguerite daisies.

    Andrea, and RR, thank you. I am glad you liked the pictures.

    One, I think a rose looking at a stone wall is very romantic :), that's why I grow it there..

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  7. Have always loved your roses and other flowers in your garden and of course your superb photos!

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  8. Thank you, p3chandan. I love your photos too!

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  9. Pretty roses, and thanks for the look at some of your wonderful companion plantings. The bee picture is stunning! Like you said, the garden changes, and time marches on. Yours seems to have transitioned from spring to summer beautifully.

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  10. Masha, I always love the posts where you take us on a garden tour through your own garden! Besides the roses I really like your companion plants, especially the blue campanula is appealing to me. I am wondering if I could grow this here in San Diego. I also will check if Verbena bonariensis is thriving here. It is always so nice to provide food for the bees and the hummers. Thanks for the wonderful glimpse into your personal garden paradise!
    Christina

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  11. I love campanula. I have some that are ground cover under my aspen trees. Your white ones are stunning.

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  12. Holley, thank you. I love to see the seasons pass in the garden.

    Christina, I hope these plants work out for you. All campanula varieties I tried have worked out great for me. Check out Annie's Annuals, I think she recommends a lot of plants for zone 10.

    GirlSprout, campanula as ground cover for aspen sounds really wonderful. I hope you post pictures.

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  13. As always, beautiful photos. Your garden is splendid and I so enjoyed the walk with you. All of your flowers are beautiful and healthy and lush. Wonderful! Thank you for the lovely stroll.

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  14. How wonderfull pictures!
    I love the first rose, so elegant with that nodding aspect.

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  15. Great plants in your garden. I have been pleased with my photography of late, but when I look at yours Masha, wow!

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  16. Blooming Rose Musings, thank you for your compliments. I am glad you enjoyed this post.

    Corina, thank you, it is a very fragrant rose, but unfortunately very sickly. Like you, I love the blooms and hate the bush...

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  17. Alistair, thank you, and don't be too hard on yourself - I love looking at your pictures, they make your garden come alive for me!

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  18. Ale u Ciebie kolorowo i pięknie musi być w ogrodzie. Ostatnie zdjęcie śliczne. Pozdrawiam cieplutko

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  19. Thank you, Giga. I am happy to hear from you again!

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  20. So beautiful!! Love the picture of the honeybee in flight, and what a wonderful image of Fragrant Masterpiece.

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  21. Thank you, sweetbay, I am glad you liked them.

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  22. Beautiful summer garden, Masha ! Campanula is a great plant ... love all your pictures !

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  23. Thank you, Dani. I am glad you liked them.

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  24. I also have verbena bona. and the pollinators love it! Gorgeous tour!! I've tried and tried to grow catananche and finally gave up. My climate is just too humid. At least I can enjoy it virtually through your beautiful blog!

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  25. Casa Mariposa, thank you. I plan to collect seeds and start it that way next year. I was told it is very short-lived.

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  26. Masha, I love walking with you through your garden ! The last photo is incredible ! Congratulations !

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  27. Hello, Masha! So nice to see the beauty in your pictures! I love your blog. Your blog is one of the ones I most look forward. Everything is so pretty!

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  28. Do you ever order your roses online? What nursery do you use? I ordered a Ginger Syllabub rose but what I've been growing is a different rose! Pretty but zero fragrance! I think the company I used sent me the wrong rose. Who do you recommend?

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  29. Isabelle, merci. I love walking through your garden too!

    Sandra, thank you, I appreciate your lovely compliments so much.

    Casa Mariposa, I order mostly antiques on their own root. A lot of modern HTs and florries need to be grafted for best performance. Also, I use mostly West Coast nurseries to save on shipping. For East Coast gardeners, I have heard that Roses Unlimited (www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com) is a good one, and also Pickering from Canada (I think they sell a lot of modern roses grafted on multiflora, laxa and maybe canina). If you don't mind paying cross-country shipping, the largest private rose collection in the US is at Vintage Gardens (www.vintagegardens.com) in California. There are a couple of good nurseries in Texas: Chamblee's (www.chambleeroses.com) and Antique Rose Emporium (www.antiqueroseemporium.com).

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  30. Thanks!! :o) The Great Rose Experiment will be underway this fall. Happiness!!

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  31. You are welcome! I can't wait to read about it on your blog.

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  32. Your garden is inspiring - I'm sure you have visitors all summer long wanting to look at your beautiful garden.

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I am so glad you have stopped by!