Mother Nature 1; Chris 0

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time looking at gardening books, magazines and web pages.  It is beginning to cool down here and my thoughts always turn to the garden this time of year.

Our vegetable garden was a mostly a bust this year.  Every cucumber was bitter, the ground squirrels (we have at least a hundred of them) got every tomato, and my zucchini produced not one squash!  Can you believe it?  Zucchini, which I am usually giving away by the basket full, DID NOTHING!

The corn is ready and the few ears we have tasted are good.  The squirrels don't seem to like the eggplant, so perhaps we'll get a few of those.  Basically, I'm just finished with the vegetable garden for this year...

On the bright side, I have developed some plans to rework the landscaping around the house.  I've been trying to turn what is basically California pasture land into an English garden.  NOT WORKING, the grass always wins! So, I am going to defer to Mother Nature and try to do thing "her way"!

The photos below show one idea I intend to incorporate on a blank wall between our two back decks.  Don't you love it?  A trellis similar to this will provide interest without giving the grass any place to grow!  There, take that you darned grass!

I realize that a structure like this will require maintenance to stay looking nice, but I am willing to do that.  Maybe the whole garden needs to go vertical??  Ha!

What gardening challenges have you had this year? 

Isn't this a great idea?

Sometimes, you need shade, but not necessarily a big table.  I know there are all kinds of heavy iron, stone & wood bases for umbrellas.  But this is just so pretty!  It adds more life and softness to this little destination.  I'd love to use this idea in my garden.

What ideas are you dreaming of for your outdoor spaces?  I'd sure like to collect more for my inspiration folder!

Cheers!  Chris

Treillage

I am a big fan of treillage. (n. Latticework, especially a trellis for a vine.) I think a garden is always more interesting with a trellis placed as a focal point here & there. Whether it be to adorn a blank wall, or freestanding in a perennial bed, I love them!

My garden is really only in it's infancy. Trying to carve out a garden where the northern California grasslands are constantly battling with me to reclaim the space is quite a task. But, whatever small space I am able to turn into garden is going to have some treillage for certain!

I've been saving photos in my inspiration file for a while. Here are a few I'd really love to use in my garden.

A trellis box like this one would be great at the corners of the knot garden.

Look at this beautiful spiral trellis! All it needs is a climbing rose or a clematis.

Would love to find a place for an arbor made of twigs...

I'm liking this idea to fence around the rose garden. I'll have to be 8' tall to keep the deer out!

And then, when I win the Super Lotto, I'm going to shop HERE to buy a few of these! LOL!

Do you have a trellis in your garden? I'd love to see it!

Cheers!

I Love These Ideas!

Remember the beautiful Japanese Maple tree we just brought home to our garden? I purchased it at my very favorite garden, High Hand Nursery in Loomis, CA. This isn't just a nursery, it's a destination!

While we were waiting to make our purchase, I snapped a few photos with my cell phone. The picture quality isn't great, but these items just fascinated me, and I wanted to share them.


This tall ceramic pot is planted with succulents. The top is planted similar to a "rock" garden. Then on the sides the holes have a small "hen and chick" type planted at the top & a burro tail planted below. It is going to be spectacular when it grows in some. Did you notice the iron bench with the planted seat beside it?

The nursery has the largest collection of garden art actually in use, that I've ever seen. Below, this planter had just one bronze flower in it, but it was very striking.

Speaking of bronze garden art...Who could resist this snail baby? I think this might be coming home with me if it's still there when I go back the next time!

Oh boy! Do I love what they have done with this old stove! Again, they've used succulents here, but there is another in the garden, which during the spring and summer is planted with very colorful annuals.

But this is my very favorite. It is beautiful in its simplicity. They have takes a piece of bronze wall art, a lily blossom, and laid it face-up in a clay pot, then planted moss around it! Simply gorgeous! And it wouldn't be difficult to duplicate.

I plan to go back to High Hand Nursery for a longer visit, with a better camera soon. There is the Cafe in a beautiful conservatory, the shops in the old fruit packing shed and even a gallery featuring local fine arts. There is just so much to see! By the way, the folks who work in this nursery are not only experts, they are genuinely nice people! And the food in the cafe is delicious, seasonal, and a work of art on a plate!

I linked to their website in the first paragraph of this post. You have to check them out. And if you live in the area and haven't visited, you must!

Enchanted, Chris

Small Space Garden

My sister lives in Silicon Valley, because that is where her work is. She would rather be living on a farm, or at least an acre or two in the country! She is an avid gardener, ecouraged I think, by the years she lived in England.

However, the style of the neighborhoods where she lives is big houses with postage stamp sized yards. So that limits the amount of gardening she can do. My sister is a determined girl! She has taken the small space she has and turned it into a beautiful example of le petit jardin.

While I was visiting last week, I took these photos of her fron garden. It is a wonderful, colorful space. She has managed to use her small space very well, don't you think?


This is her front door & steps. (Please ignore the two plants in plastic pots. I bought those to bring home with me.) I can tell you that sitting on those steps with your morning coffee is a real treat!



I took this photo of the garden from the sidewalk.





Here is the rose garden in the parking strip between the driveways. There are a gazillion daffodils and tulips here in spring. The dahlias here have tons of buds, but no blooms yet.





This is the small color garden under the Japanese Maple tree.




The gladiolas (mostly finished blooming) at the other side of the garden.





Finally one of the "dinner plate" dahlias which IS blooming now. This beauty was at least 8" across! Sis said they get as large as 12" later in the season!



My sister is yearning for property. She had retired from her career, which was a stressful one. I am praying that her dream comes true. She & I are secretly planning how we can move her family here, near us, where she can have her gardens! Her husband is a city boy, and not quite ready for it, but WE WILL PREVAIL!

I hope you've enjoyed this small garden tour. It's a preview to a much larger one that's coming soon!

Green thumbs up! Chris

The Empire Mine - Garden Tour

This is the final installment of The Empire Mines Tour. The highlighted text below will take you to the previous posts.

We have toured the mine & mineyard, the lawn area and the front of the owner's cottage and the owner's cottage, now we will visit the gardens!

The gardens were pretty & green, but we were too late in the season to see much in bloom. It was a warm day, and the stroll along the paths was enjoyable. I must make it a point to visit in late spring or early summer. That rose garden will be spectaular!

As you look over the decorative iron railing surrounding the fron lawn, we there is a terrace watercourse that leads down to a reflecting pool. Love the waterlilies!

Next, we take a walk to the back of the cottage, heading down into the walled garden. These are views of the back of the cottage, the brick steps to the carriage path and carriage house.









The following are photos I took of the structure of the garden, and what I could find that was blooming.

View of the cottage from within the rose garden. The very back rose, next to the vine-covered wall is a Cecil Brunner that has been in the garden since the 1890's!








This is an antique China rose called "Old Blush". The lead master gardener (all volunteers) told me it was her favorite.

There are iris beds and a fish pond at the bottom of the garden steps.

The purple coneflower and the sunflowers still blooming!

I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Cheers! Chris

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Taking a Short Break!

I am up and at 'em early this morning. I have a very busy day planned!

Yesterday's Sunrise

My sister Sallee is the most accomplished gardener in our family. Her husband is also quite the garden whiz. He grows the most gorgeous dinner plate sized dahlias you have ever seen! Sallee has come to visit us for a few days to help me get my winter garden in. How's that for a great sister?

We are trying something new this year. I will be taking photos as we progress over the next couple of days so I can show you all what that "something" is.

I won't be around until the weekend. But be sure to come back to see the garden. I think this is the most clever thing I have seen in a long time...

Have a great couple of days! Chris
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Just a Clump of Grass!

I really love English-style gardens. Lush, green, well-kept. Give me a boxwood border, trimmed topiary, wide perennial borders, and I'd be in gardener's heaven! Someday, I will have just that, even if only on a small scale.

Now, we have 10 acres of mostly "wild" vegetation. I have been thinking of ways to use native, drought-tolerant plantings in our landscape. I saw a garden of ornamental grasses in a magazine recently, and it really caught my eye. My favorite daylily farm has a demo garden with lots of these grasses and I love the varied colors and heights, the interesting "plumage" of the seed heads, and the movement as the sway in the breeze.

When I mentioned to my husband that I wanted to find a place for such a garden, he looked at me a raised brow. "Doesn't sound too interesting to me", he said. I really need to take him to the daylily farm to see the grasses for himself.

Then, I happened to notice a clump of some kind of grass growing next to the irrigation ditch that snakes through our property. After much persuasion, I convinced him not to take the sickle bar mower to it! The results are what you see pictured below! I think it is so cool!

Last night when we took a walk along the ditch path, I asked him if he couldn't imagine a garden full of these graceful beauties somewhere on the property. He said "Yeah, might be nice...".

I'm making progress, for sure!

Chris

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Of Gardeners Great & Small...

First, my apology to James Herriot, who authored the "All Creatures Great & Small" books, for bogarting his title idea. I LOVE his books and if you haven't read them, you've missed a delightful experience!

Although we have had both very nice and very cold (for us) weather here in Northern California, we are now enjoying the warm-up that comes with Spring. With that, come the wildflowers. As I walked to the garage yesterday morning, I glanced across the lawn and the site of the Lupine struck me! Only the Great Gardener could have sown such a wonderous sight! The irrigation ditch that snakes through our property is fairly natural looking, discounting the galvanized crossing pipe, although it is man-made. I could never have done such a beautiful job of lining the banks in purple majesty, nor would I have thought to...

Bush Lupine

Every where I look, there are blooms popping up! These yellow flowers, which I haven't identified yet, are all over the property.

Even walking across the lawn, to the edge where the mower can't reach, yields small discoveries! These little beauties are nestled in the taller fringes.

I am sure wildflowers are a sign that God loves us! With no effort on our part, we are given such beauty to welcome Spring!

As for a gardener of the "small" variety, I planted the Iris pictured below in the bed by my front porch. I have 7 or 8 iris there, but only 3 are blooming, so far. The pink is named for Beverly Sills. I have lost the tags for both the two-toned blue & white one, so I can't provide their names. But they are lovely, even if anonymous!

Chris

The Gardening Bug!

It is time for a new garden! When we put the addition on to our master bedroom, it created an area that is shady all day! I am thrilled! Now, I can have a few plants that were never going to make it through the summer in our sometimes scorching heat!

The space is right outside the guest bedroom windows. Which by the way, I have decided would be a wonderful place for French doors. What a lovely thing for my guests, a “secret garden” to enjoy!

Above, is Japanese Maple "Corallinum". What you see in the picture is its spring foliage. It then turns to green in summer & crimson in fall! I'll be looking for this one!

I am envisioning a Japanese maple, hostas & ferns, and maybe even lily of the valley & English violas. It will be a cooler, shady retreat from the high summer sun. We even have a pond form just waiting to go into the ground. Could there be some Koi in my future? I certainly know our resident frogs will enjoy it!

I don't know the name of this pink Lily of the Valley. I had the photo saved in a "favorites" folder. I hope to find it too!

This English Viola is called "Etain" and it is gorgeous. It is available from a local nursery, so I should have no trouble getting my hand on it!

Hopefully, this beautiful hosta, named "American Icon" will find a place in the garden too!

We’ll have to fence it since the deer will dine on the hostas and the critters that prowl around at night will be after any fish in the pond. For that matter, we may need to put a net over it. The egrets & herons will be eyeing the fish too! Okay, maybe fish aren’t a good idea…I still like the idea of bamboo or reed fencing. It will suit the style I have in mind AND serve to discourage unwanted visitors.

Then there’s the matter of the big, ugly air conditioner condenser that sits against the wall. When I mentioned to my husband that we should move it, I got a sideways glance. I think it is going to stay, so I’d better be thinking of some kind of screen!

I am going to measure & lay out the space on graph paper and start planning today! More “adventures in the dirt” to follow soon!

Cheers! Chris

Spring Days

Although today we are supposed to have showers, the weather in Northern California has been beautiful for the last week! The temps have been in the uppers 60's to 70 degrees, and that is just fine with me! Just about perfect I'd say.

Last weekend I was in my frame/craft shop making cards. The soft and warm spring-like weather inspired me to make this little banner with the leftover scraps. It is hanging above my computer monitor to remind me that even if Spring isn't officially here yet, it is just around the corner!

After speaking to my cousin Terri in Columbus, Ohio, I think I need to send her one that says "Hurry Spring!". They have been dealing with the "100-year Snowfall" and I don't envy them one bit!

Also responding to the spring weather are the Spanish Lavender and Freesias. When I planted the lavender, I moved some freesia bulbs. Obviously, I didn't get them all! I love the way the bright yellow blooms are entwined with the lavender. It really is time to get out into the garden and get my hands dirty! The storms in January blew mulch and weed block fabric out of place. I have weeds in places they've never been! I'd better get at 'em before they take over...

Now where are my gardening tools?

~Chris~