Sunday, January 25, 2009

Story of 2008's New Flower Bed, Part 2

I left off the story of my new bed on June 8th.  Around this time, I found the Cottage Garden Forum on ivillage. There were several people there, including Cameron, from Defining Your Home Garden, and Nell, from Secrets of a Seed Scatterer who encouraged others to start blogs. I finally gave it a try in October, and am currently near my 100th post. As time went by, other people also started blogs, and there were several threads on the topic.  One of them, "Do you blog your gardening?"  includes bloggers' links, some of whom you may already know.  

I planted several kinds of foxglove, and enjoyed their blooms.  I am hoping most of them have survived the fluctuating temps of this winter.  This pic was taken 6/15.  I think it's a strawberry one.


This Vancouver dahlia was a splurge, and it bloomed the whole summer.


By 6/15, I had given away the amsonia I had put in the corner, and replaced it with a crocosmia. The blue flowered plant is a small type of delphinium, I think, blue butterfly. I placed pots and watering cans around to fill in some of the spaces.


I was planting things in this bed all summer, and putting pics up in the Cottage Garden Forum, getting lots of encouragement that it would fill out.  This was taken 6/18.


This plant, a perennial bachelor button, was part of the circle bed. The gold balls will look like the yellow one when they are in full bloom.  This was taken 6/25.


I can't remember the name of this clematis, but it was planted around 6/30, and I cut the flowers off after taking their pics so the plant would root well.  It didn't start growing until close to the end of the season.


This pic is from 7/6. The helenium, red hot pokers, and pine leaf penstemon were part of the circle bed.


On 7/6, the moonflower I had moved from my veggie garden is growing, as are the sunflower seedlings near the fence.  The cardinal creeper in the blue pot is starting to grow on the fence, and I found a couple cypress vine seedlings that I moved to the ground on each end of the fence.



I don't remember if I mentioned that Larry had asked me if I could think of something to put near the curb next to one of my other curb beds, since the weeds were taking over the grass. Do you think I said I'd have to think about it?  Nooo!  It didn't fill out as much as I wanted, so I'll be putting more plants in there in the spring. Here it is 7/7, next to the lovely red fire hydrant. I should probably find some red blooming flowers to put there.


18 comments:

  1. It looks really nice. I like the small iron gate you have around the back of the bed. I found a lot of nice garden blogs on that very thread you mention. A lot of great information of the cottage garden forum. I'm usually just a lurker there.

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  2. Well it's simply stunning, can't wait to see what happens this spring, I too am trying cottage garden look..........YIPPEE It is so much fun...

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  3. You have done so much work there, it is really very nice. Its nice to have areas where you can expand. I'm still thinking about what we can do this spring, if anything. Are you going to have any room to add more plants this spring? It is already filled with beautiful varieties.

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  4. Catherine,
    Did you see there was a thread asking for the lurkers to reveal themselves recently? I'm glad you followed the link.

    Darla,
    I am so excited to see what has reseeded. I also have some bulbs planted. It is fun!

    Jan,
    I don't know yet if I'll have room to plant. I will if my annuals didn't reseed. If my memory is serving me correctly, I think that area of yours is a good one to expand a little at a time, unless you are in the mood to do more at a time.

    I have some other areas that need plants moved or added, so I will keep busy. I also have some weeds greening up in the veggie garden.

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  5. Sue, those picutres really make me want spring to hurry up and get here, I am ready for some nice warm weather.
    Your pitures are great.
    Prayers, Bo

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  6. It's looking mighty good Sue. Also look like you have an Angel trumpet? Aren't they great?

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  7. You have a lot of variety. Foxgloves are one of my favorites but they are a little difficult in my area. Love that pink color on yours.
    Marnie

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  8. Sue,

    Your gardens are going to be so glorious this spring and summer. I love all the accents that you've used and your plant selections are great.

    Cameron

    PS Thanks for the mention. Glad you were inspired to start this blog.

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  9. Good morning Sue. I bet you are really looking forward to gardening this year. Love your foxgloves and that dahlia is beautiful.

    Cottage Gardens is a great place to hang out. I've been there a few years now. Great info, great friendships.

    FlowerLady

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  10. Sue,

    How good that you found gardeners who helped you achieve your goals...100 posts is a big deal! I do like your garden. You've given me some good ideas..dahlias for certain and a few more vines. Thank you. Do keep warm! gail

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  11. I love seeing the development of a garden, Sue. Yours really filled out over the summer, but I can only imagine what it will look like this year!

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  12. Sue, LOVE the pic of the pansies on the blog title! So friendly and charming. :-)

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  13. I love your photos, Sue. I really like the washtub up in your header. I saw a double washtub on legs at the goodwill for $40. I didn't buy it, but regretted that decision. Was that a good price?

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  14. Sue, the new flower bed is lovely.

    I love your new header photograph.

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  15. Enjoyed your post and lovely plants for your new bed. Hope everything comes back happy and healthy this season.
    Never heard of pine leaf penstemon,but then again...never heard of alot of plants I seen posted on blogs.
    Love the cottage theme.

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  16. Bo,
    Thanks for the compliment on my pics and for any prayers you send my way. I am so ready for spring and gardening time to get here!

    Tina,
    I have some pics exported for my next installment, where you will see that you were right about the angel trumpet. You have good eyes! I have what I call a moonflower, which I think is a datura, which I have that reseeds, and this spring, found a purple blooming one.

    Marnie,
    I am a plant collector. I think that's why I am going for a cottage garden look. The foxgloves I've grown in the past have not survived the winter, or reseeded. I hope these do. (Some are perennial, and some biennial.) I had several kinds, and they all bloomed! I hope I have some in there still.

    Cameron,
    Thanks for the encouragement and compliments. A lot of the pics I'm now posting are "reruns" for you, as I've put some of them up in the cottage garden forum. I like posting pics here, because I can put as many as I want on my own space.

    FlowerLady,
    You were one who also inspired me to start blogging. Thanks for all your encouragement, too. I am still having problems catching up, but hope to this weekend.

    Gail,
    I'm in the upper 90s right now in my blog posts. I'm glad you got some ideas from my flower bed. I want to try some different kinds of dahlias, too. My husband didn't pay attention to me when I asked him not to throw away the sack they were in in the car port.

    Rose,
    Between the plants growing, and me planting more and more, it did fill out pretty well. I am thinking it will be fuller sooner this year.

    Kris and Sweet Bay,
    I had tried to figure out how to make a collage so I could put something different than all that snow for my title photo. I gave up and found this one. It has been noticed, so I think it was a good choice. I love my wash tubs!

    Patsi,
    Thanks for the compliment and well wishes for my plants. They are truly having a challenging winter with fluctuating temps, and snow coming down, melting, and coming down again. The pine leaf penstemon should be fine, though. It's been there awhile.

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  17. You will have to tell me if your Foxglove return in 2009! I've not had them reseed for me, nor have they returned for a second year! (Too bad, because they're so beautiful!!)

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  18. Hi Shady,
    I'll have to post about whether the foxgloves come back or not. I am such a dead header, but I think some got a chance to set seeds later in the season.

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