The PS Garden

[MaisOuiMadame]

Thanks to everyone's suggestion (thanks Matata and Calliecake) I talked to a landscaper...
Seems like I want an informal landscape garden (I kept saying "romantic and vintage cottage garden feel"). I also want fragrant bushes /trees/ and an orchard patch and a herb garden corner....
Unfortunately they said they can't do much for now. Since we have to cut the water supply in the house during the works, they said it is best to leave the lawn alone (it is WILD). Without reliable irrigation a new lawn and new trees and shrubs aren't a good idea.

They came and took out some bigger shrubs and wild new trees and we planted some flowerbulbs for autumn... (we have a water basin that is enough for the smaller patches) to keep the kids entertained.
I just thought I could do more in the garden before moving into the house...
I'll upload a (pretty blurry, sorry ) picture I took of our old stairs that imho sum up the vibe of our place ...

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Sadly, this is not my garden. These are pics I took at the international orchid show at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in New York.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Sorry: I posted the same pic twice.

 

[soxfan]

anemones...

 

[Matata]

anemones...[

I LOVE the color. Mine are white. I'm going to look for some the same color as yours. Gorgeous.

The topiary thingies in the parterre need to be shaped. I'm going to do it myself although I'm worried I'll butcher the poor things. The Dianthus planted in the corners of the parterre are almost ready to bloom and the verbena is blooming and spreading to fill in the empty space.

 

[OreoRosies86]

My tulips bloomed!!!! First mini win!

 

[bibiloves]

Hi guys!

I haven't read every comments in this thread but I'm trying to work on my flower beds this year. I've been trying to find cafe Au lait dahlia to plant but can't find any locally. Does anyone has any idea where I can buy the cafe Au lait dahlia tubers from?

 

[Arcadian]

Im finally seeing fruit on the soursop tree. Last year it was very abundant. this year not so much. I'm not much of a fruit eater, and this one was kinda...rough going because of the texture...lol I was ok with it taste wise. probably better as a smoothie (though it takes forever to get those seeds out of it...)

btw last time I added a photo I don't think it took, how are we added these again?

 

[PintoBean]

Some updates! I should have gotten more pics last week before the flowers started wilting!

 

[PintoBean]

Question - why is my mesclun salad on the left side of the rectangular white container flowering? Do you eat the flowers too? I just cut off a leaf or dozen for my salad right?

The pots on stands are my tomato plants with marigolds.

 

[Matata]

Question - why is my mesclun salad on the left side of the rectangular white container flowering? Do you eat the flowers too? I just cut off a leaf or dozen for my salad right?

If you don't cut enough leaves off and/or if the weather gets too warm, all lettuce varieties will bolt and set flower. If the flowers are tasty, eat them. If you want your mesclun to last longer, try moving it to a cooler, shadier spot in the garden, make sure you cut the flower stalks off as you see them start to grow to keep it leafy.

 

[Matata]

What difference two weeks make. Everything that hasn't yet bloomed is growing fast and buds are showing up everywhere. I'm most excited about the peonies which were planted last year and didn't bloom -- big fat buds on those. The Master Gardener's Fair is this Saturday and I'll buy the rest of the veggies I want to grow this year. Cleaned out the greenhouse yesterday and pulled out all the pea and bean plants to make room for lemon cucumbers, cantaloupe and maybe watermelon.

 

[telephone89]

Hi guys!

I haven't read every comments in this thread but I'm trying to work on my flower beds this year. I've been trying to find cafe Au lait dahlia to plant but can't find any locally. Does anyone has any idea where I can buy the cafe Au lait dahlia tubers from?

I am growing some café au laits this year too! I called a few of my local places and ended up finding one that had it, but my friend had also suggested buying online if I couldn't find them.
I just did a quick google search and quite a few popped up, but they only ship to Canadian addresses. Not sure where you are, but you might just try googling 'dahlia tubers online café au lait' or something!

 

[VRBeauty]

Matata - those little pinks are so cute! Truly one of my favorite flowers!

PintoBean - your tulips are lovely! It's well past tulip season here, but I did rescue a few tulip seed heads today. The tulips are much simpler than yours - more like species tulips - and they grow in a lawn of sort of native grasses that only gets mowed once or twice a year. I'll try poking the seeds into the lawn this fall and see what happens. Nothing to lose, right?

It reached 92 degrees here today. Quite a bit warmer than average, but still a good reminder of how ridiculously short the planting season is here in the Central Valley. A good reminder that I need to plan and plant in the fall whenever possible. Over here, fall planting gives plants a chance to develop a good root structure before the hot weather set in, and for most plants, it greatly increases the likelihood of success. Even with spring plantings, earlier is better when the summers (or spring!) are as brutal as they are here.

My gardening today consisted of gathering seed pods from the grape hyacinths (muscari) growing around the two old elm trees in front of my house. I rather suspect the trees will be cut down this summer. They're very old and suffered a lot of damage in the drought, and I'm guessing the city will opt to remove them rather than just removing the dead limbs. If they do that, I hope to rescue the muscari bulbs so I can re-plant them around whatever trees are planted to replace the elms. The seeds will be a back-up. If I don't need them here, I'll distribute them in the abandoned cemetery I've adopted!

 

[PintoBean]

If you don't cut enough leaves off and/or if the weather gets too warm, all lettuce varieties will bolt and set flower. If the flowers are tasty, eat them. If you want your mesclun to last longer, try moving it to a cooler, shadier spot in the garden, make sure you cut the flower stalks off as you see them start to grow to keep it leafy.

Wahhhh?!?! Are you kidding me? The weather has been yoyoing. I thought the lettuce would get the memo! I will chop the flower off and tell the mesclun to...
LEAF me alone!

 

[PintoBean]

What difference two weeks make. Everything that hasn't yet bloomed is growing fast and buds are showing up everywhere. I'm most excited about the peonies which were planted last year and didn't bloom -- big fat buds on those. The Master Gardener's Fair is this Saturday and I'll buy the rest of the veggies I want to grow this year. Cleaned out the greenhouse yesterday and pulled out all the pea and bean plants to make room for lemon cucumbers, cantaloupe and maybe watermelon.

Omg I want fresh watermelon! I've never had one off a tree or vine or however they grow! How much is admission to your wonderland garden?

 

[LLJsmom]

I don't garden but I want to tell you all that your gardens are absolutely beautiful and I admire all the work and dedication you put into them. They have definitely born fruit, and flowers!! So lovely. I will have to pop in again to see more amazing pictures. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Matata]

Bloomed today and we just had a tremendous T-storm with hail and I'm afraid to go out and look....

 

[VRBeauty]

Bloomed today and we just had a tremendous T-storm with hail and I'm afraid to go out and look....

Lovely!

When I was a kid, we'd sometimes pick columbine and suck the nectar out of the spurs! Funny thing was, that was in Utah, and I don't recall ever seeing hummingbirds there. Now of course I'd leave the flower and nectar intact for hummingbirds.

 

[Arcadian]

Bloomed today and we just had a tremendous T-storm with hail and I'm afraid to go out and look....

So gorgeous! I had 3 colors of columbine, the periwinkle, the burgandy, and the whitish yellow (which only lasted 2 seasons)

 

[Matata]

Went to the county master gardener's fair this morning and has a grand old time. I bought red peppers, sweet Italian peppers, watermelon, cataloupe, herbs. BUT, what gave me the most intense pleasure (and merited pics) was buying a Meyer Lemon Tree for the greenhouse, a whirlygig, and a bird sculpture. The whirlygig is 10 ft tall. The bird is made from reclaimed bits 'n pieces -- body is a shovel head; bird head is a post hole digger; feeties are rebar. The gentleman who made it made sure to tell me that a bottle of wine fits perfectly in the bird's mouth. I think it's very cute and looks like a pterodactyl so I named it Tera.

 

[Arcadian]

Hopefully you guys can see this. I have NO IDEA what this is!!

Its growing on the north side of my house (I face east) its growing under a palm tree and seems to be kinda wild. Does not appear to have a smell though (I'm scared to taste it, its Florida and lots of stuff here tries to kill you ...lol)

Patchouli is growing well. it has doubled in size. in the heat of the day you can smell it.


Soursops are coming in! Not very many because the tree had some damage from last year's hurricane, but I see at least 4 at the moment.



No gardenia blooms unfortunately. I was told considering I just planted it, give it some time. I will also try to get some pics of the plumeria tree but its rather...large...

 

[Austina]

Living here in England, there are lots of plants that love our weather. Our daffodils and tulips are over now, but the irises are just blooming.

We have lots of roses in the front and have added a few more this year. We have some old fashioned that are just about to bloom too. We have rhododendrons in the back garden, just the common purple variety.

I noticed today my Nelly Moser clematis is blooming too.

We have hundreds of bluebells in the front garden - I don't know where they've come from, I didn't plant them, and the soil was all virgin!

Just a few photos if you're interested, from last year.

 

[redwood66]

Oh gosh all of those are lovely Matata, Arcadian and Austina! I can't grow a rose to save my life but DH did buy me a gorgeous hanging fuschia basket for mother's day.

 

[canuk-gal]

great thread!!!!!!!!!

 

[Matata]

My Peonies are blooming!!! They are bigger than my hand. Memories of grandma. The garden is looking awesome. Got some purple stuff blooming -- can't remember the name of it. And I have some Meyer Lemon babies about as big as my pinky nail. The tomato plants are growing like crazy and my garden of weedin' will soon be a garden of eatin'.

 

[Austina]

I love peonies, but you have to find exactly the right spot for them or they just don't grow here.

 

[House Cat]

Ok, all plants are ordered or bought and the photos I am posting are my inspiration. This will be the border of my front yard...which has been nothing but mulch for more than a year! It won't look like this for about three years because the plants will need time to grow.

 

[Matata]

I love that House Cat. That's what my garden is starting to look like and it was planted 10 months ago. I don't recall where you're located and if you have harsh winters but we had a particularly cold, snowy winter this year and all the baby plants put in the ground last summer came back with a vengeance. You may have a lusher garden in year 2 than you expect. Can't wait to see pics.

 

[Austina]

It'll be absolutely beautiful @House Cat.

A few more of my roses

Love this striped Harry Wheatcroft


This is an old fashioned David Austin Rose

P