A Chance To Show Off As A Xeric Garden

Well, this has been the year for my alley garden to step up and perform in the intense heat we have had the past weeks.  It has been fortunate that rain has also been in the picture along with the heat and I haven't had to drag the hose out to the back to water.  However, last year I think I only watered a few times all summer in the alley garden.

The Alley Garden

It has really grown this year and, of course, I am always concerned about the garbage trucks wheeling over the  plantings.  So far, this has not been a problem, and my neighbor in back of me has planted grasses in her alley space.  This could be catching and if it is, this alley could be a great place to take a stroll or a garden walk.

Centranthus Alba

Panicum Northwind

The Panicum Northwind looks great, along with the sedums and nepeta Walker's Low.  I am not sure yet about the Gaillardia Mesa, but it is the first year.  This is not an eye-popping color garden, but is very wispy and muted as far as colors.  That's okay with me as it looks sort of meadow like and is certainly carefree.

Gaillardia Mesa

The Agastaches have a licorice smell when you brush by them or bend down to take a sniff.  All of these plantings are waterwise, meaning they require less watering than most other perennials.  I do not use mulch around these plants but have them surrounded by river rock so that the soil does not wash down the alley in a rainstorm. 

Agastache Blue Fortune

Agastache Rosita

I will revist the Alley Garden when the sedums begin to bloom.

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

Chicago Rosy

As you have probably noticed, I have several dayliles that have Chicago in their name.  I have a favorite Chicago daylily and it is Chicago Rosy.  It is tall, it is large and it blooms for a long period of time.  I don't enjoy dividing daylilies every year, like Stella D'Oro, so I appreciate it when maybe every three or four years I can share my daylilies.

Chicago Rosy is probably a four or five year division candidate, but it is a great performer during this time of multiplying.  The flower is large, orange-red in color and has strong scapes that show in all directions.  It grows 25 - 30 " with 6.5" flowers.  http://seasidedaylily.com/ I have ordered from them several times.

My Love Affair With Heucheras

Coral Bells, does anyone even remember this name?  As far as I am concerned I am glad it is gone.  I can't tell you how many coral bell plants I purchased only to see them disappear or pop out of the ground during our harsh winters.  The delicate little leaves, spindly flowers and lack of vigor stopped me from using them in my landscape many years ago.

Voila!  The heucheras came into being with an explosion of large leafed villosa hybrids that withstand our winters, take a good amount of sun and delight us with their unusual colors.  I know there are some who do not like the carmels, citronelles, chocolates, mochas and so on.  But, I for one, say hurrah!  We finally have heucheras that blend into our environments, with bright green groundcovers, tan grasses, prairies, fall leaf colors, etc.

Around The Garden

I can always count on my daylilies!  I have not noticed any damage from earwigs, japanese beetles or the rabbits.  Even though many of my perennials have grown out of bounds this year, the daylilies seem to stay within range and bloom at the appropriate time.

Several of my clematis have gone crazy needing more support than usual to stay upright.  Interesting that Heliopsis Lemon Queen, which is usually quite tall by now, seems shorter than ever. Maybe, it didn't like all of that rain!

The vegetable garden is giant, if a small garden can be giant, some curl on the tomato leaves, but not too bad.  We have already had some of the Burpee peppers that I ordered, supposedly mild - whew quite hot.  I am really liking the idea of planting some flowers on the edges of this garden.

A Collectors Garden

I took a little field trip today to my sister-in-law's garden, not leaving my brother out, but it is her garden!  She is a collector as long as I have known her which is about forty years.  Her garden is not only a personal reflection of who she is but a creative endeavor that displays all of her interests and talents.

This is an example of a completely renovated garden over a period of a quarter of a century.  The home was built in 1925, and many improvements have been made on the house and the garden.  The pond was original and made of cement, not a preformed plastic.  It is stocked with goldfish, lilies, water hyacinths and some pond grasses. 

There are rememberance gardens for our family members who are no longer in our lives, one for her mother, father and my mother.  They are genuine with my mother's favorite saying on a plaque, her fathers work boots planted with flowers and plants that have her mother's name, her mom's birdhouses and fountain.

Please enjoy the photos of Barb's wonderful garden!