Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Cornflowers in pink not blue
Future Presents

For Christmas this year we decided to buy a garden.
It was on sale and I had a coupon. (where have I heard that one before?)


We are grateful to have the planting spots already laid out by the previous owners, but of course we want to insert our own ideas of what should be planted there. First, we are adding to a foundation of familiar items that we brought along from our former garden, like dependable and shade loving hosta.



One can never have too many hosta. Hosta Blue above and below Hosta Royal Standard
And for the shade we will also introduce a cultivar of Virginia Bluebells. I think we have some in the forest already, but these are bred to be larger. We'll see about that .

It's hard to get excited by sedum, but lately I have developed a deep love for their dependability. Droughts don't seem to bother them and if we do get plenty of rain, then they really grow big. And late season color doesn't hurt either.And what is May without Poppies? I ordered a grab bag o'poppies, which even if it turns out to be all red ones, it won't matter. I'll love just those. And real primroses which I always saw for sale as potted plants at the grocery store, but never had the courage to try in my yard. I believe the gentler climate here will be perfect. Hopefully the soil will be OK too. When I visited North Carolina last May I saw huge stands of Lupines like this one The Chatelaine. I've had Lupines in IL but expect to have more here in TN. And we must have Asiatic Lilies. These come as a grab bag too. 15 for $9. Who knows what'll bloom, colorwise, and does it matter? The pale colored ones smell so fabulous and the brighter colored ones are just great too.

We know that we lost a few fruit trees so in replacing them I have decided to add a fig. I had my first fresh fig last year, and loved it. So if I can grow them here, I will be so happy. Since we are looking forward to a much longer growing season, there are so many more things that we can plant here, and expect to see them returning perennially. Pink and white Pampas grasses, which will border the pond. The ducks should like these.



And what I am most excited about is Hydrangeas. Big bountiful bushes full of huge mopheaded flowers. I have several already in the yard, and am adding a red and blue variety. We have acid soils here, so they should retain their specific advertised colorings. A neighbor down the road had unbelieveable blue ones all summer. Huge is an understatement.


Hydrangea Royal Red


Hydrangea Royal Purple



And Hardy Fuchsia! I must be dreaming. Let's see if growing in the ground and not in a hanging planter will make a difference. I pray I keep them alive.


Dave wanted some vines to cover the retaining wall and so Trumpet Vines were ordered in orange and yellow. They are everywhere locally so we have confidence they will thrive in our yard too.



And for the birds, Echinops Ritro. I saw these in Switzerland and grabbed a few seed heads. I will add those to these. The leaves have spikes and looks mean but aren't.

Shasta Daisies, for May and June because we like them.

Black Eyed Susan's for August because nothing else will be blooming.

We don't expect to see anything arriving until March. And then they will not be delivered all at once. I will greet UPS with my boots on, the shovel shapened and my wheelbarrow at the ready.

12 comments:

  1. A note from the ATL area of GA. The trumpet vines are most fabulous but can be pushy. Don't let them take to a tree, they will bring it down in no time. We have had to shore up a shared chain link fence with an additional steel upright to carry "granny trumpet vine". The pampas grass harbors rats. I don't mind rats but rats will prey on the duck and chicken eggs. Look for a butterfly bush and a mock orange. They thrive down here.

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  2. That sounds exciting to be able to grow some of the things that don't do as well in IL. It looks like you will have blooms all summer. And I never used to like sedum and now I have them in 4 different places. They always perform and give you another leaf texture in the garden.

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  3. Wow that all looks very exciting! I wish I had your green thumb. How did I wind up being the plant killer in the family?

    See you soon!

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  4. Wow! That is definitely worth a drive to Tennesse to see! Your other garden was awesome and this one has a whole different flavor.
    Merry Christmas... and Happy Birthday... tomorrow? or the next day?

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  5. Anonymous7:57 PM

    Do a little research on planting the poppies here. I've had NO LUCK (of course we are not on a ridge like you) and my fave gardening source, Bluestone Perennials has a "not for the south" code by their Oriental varieties. I think it may have to do with depth of planting--up north they had to be very deep, so maybe very shallow here???

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  6. Hi Mel,

    What a lovely idea - a treat each time you look at them - not just for Christmas!

    A word of caution though - if either of you are prone to allergies, Lupines are a common reactive number - I love them but have to LEAVE the instant I see them - and I gather that's not unusual. Have a go and see how you find them.

    Happy Christmas,

    Virginia

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  7. Dreaming of flowers in December is wonderful. Caution though, Pampas grass in nice in a Subdivision yard but I have seen it become invasive in a country setting, pretty much choking the life out of a pond and wetland area.

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  8. Your purple thistles (Echinops Ritro) are great in dried flower arranagements and hold their color for several months. Harvest them when they first turn purple, but are still hard and spikey.
    Happy Holidays! Marcia D

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  9. Mel, be sure to pick up some Coreopsis plants....mine were small the first year. I planted 3 close together and the next year I had a huge mound-like form with a profusion of small yellow blooms ~ they bloom from early summer through to early fall. I had never had them until moving to NC and I'm on a ridge too and they do well here. Also I planted some Liriope which I had never seen in California, but do so well here and are so graceful.

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  10. Can't wait to see the garden in bloom!

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  11. I had my first fresh figs from my neighbor when we lived in NC. We had to pick as many as we could before the hurricane hit. Now I love them, especially, grilled with some goat cheese. Yum!! Merry Christmas,dear heart!!

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  12. mmm, I agree. You can never have too many hostas.
    Can you grow cosmos? They bloom all through August here in Oregon and are pretty easy to grow from seed. They come in shades pretty close to the poppy picture you have (minus the black).

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