Friday, September 17, 2010

Fertilizer Friday in the Rain










Well, hard to believe, but it's Fertilizer Friday again.   The days are just flying past. We are still on 'vacation' so Carl was home this morning. 

Since I usually take the majority of the pictures for the blog, today I asked Carl if he would take some.   (Ok, and another reason I asked him is because it is raining and I didn't feel like getting wet.....oh, dear...I'm not very nice, am I?)

 Every person has a different perspective on their own garden, so here is Carl's:




  The Pachyberm on the north side







River Bed







Carl always says he likes pictures of gardens that show how the beds were laid out, in other words, though he likes the flower closeups, he much prefers to see the 'Big Picture'.



The 'Pan Fountain'--Carl built this out of recycled lamp shades from an old high school gymnasium, it is one of my favorite garden ornaments and the sound of trickling water is so soothing.  (It's not one of those fountains that makes you feel like you have to, ah.....tinkle......blush, blush, if you know what I mean!)




The Fountain Lady bed.







 The Formal Garden




Autumn Joy sedums are starting to show color




Quarry Pond--look how hard it was raining, poor Carl!




Slightly different angle

Getting wetter!




The foliage colors really show up nicely when it rains.




North Hill of Quarry




I only have a few 'Indian Summer' rudbeckias left here on the East Quarry Berm, but the Dahlberg daisies are still going strong.
 

I planted the Hyacinth bean out by the waterfall and it started climbing the 'Tiger Eyes' sumac.



Quarry pond from the North Quarry berm



Everything on top of the Quarry hill is getting a little crowded, time for some selective pruning and moving!




Check out the 'carpeting' under the Pouting Angel's feet.......it's a creeping thyme, but I don't know which one right off the top of my head.




The hostas by the Escarpment are looking pretty good, they haven't had too much insect damage.



The mums are starting to flower



And many are still in bud--the miscanthus is also starting to turn red.
Calamagrostis brachytricha 'Korean Feather Reed Grass' has nice plumes
The Formal Garden dome seen from across the bridge
Back to the Pachyberm..........Oh, so THAT'S where I left my shovel!!     

The sweet potato vine and Salvia 'Victoria' combination.......along with 'Ice Fountains' Carex........I am so dreading our first frost this year.  I wonder how many blankets I have?  Maybe I could cover the whole garden??
The big rock is getting wet in the Red Bed and I guess it's time to replant the grass in the lawn again too...with all the rain this year and the periodic flooding, we mostly have weeds.
Red Bed from the other side
Another angle on the salvia, sweet potato and sedum on Pachyberm
Even though they flopped, the sedums look good with the rocks in the rain
This is my first year growing Scarlet Runner Bean.  I planted it by the split rail fence in front of the house and it didn't climb very well.........next year I have to remember to tie it up somehow.  Any suggestions? 
d

Hydrangea 'Kyushu' flowers aging to a beautiful pink; am I supposed to prune this tree now, or wait until spring?  I hate to cut these flowers off and even in winter, they make for a pretty silhouette.  

We had been gone for only four days on our vacation and I was so surprised to see how much the garden changed in that short time.  This time of year the garden takes on a whole new look, almost like a jungle! and I am often a bit overwhelmed with it, but it's good to look at everything and make plans for what needs to be done next year.  (Another overwhelming feeling!)  Ah, but gardening is a joy, isn't it?

Thanks for seeing the garden this week from Carl's perspective!  Now go and see what everyone else has blooming over at Tootsie's Fertilizer Friday!


 

12 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I loved that rainy tour from Carl's perspective. All the pictures are wonderful. I like seeing 'the big picture' of other peoples gardens. I don't really have that here, we have corridors, rooms, and hidden areas within our little 1/4 acre.

I loved the picture with the windmill, then the one with the little red barn in the background, picture #15. My DH has been impressed with Carl's gazebo in your formal garden since I first showed it to him awhile back. It looks lovely in the rain. The pan fountain is fantastic. I love the flopped sedum picture too.

You both have done so much work, and it's done with love, you can tell. It's beautiful, relaxing and inspiring.

Thank Carl for walking around in the rain to take these pictures. They were a real treat. I love the names you have given to all the areas too.

I can hardly wait to get over this cold/flu bug so that I can get outside to play in our gardens, especially after your tour.

Hope you are feeling better Karen.

FlowerLady

Missy said...

Tell Carl he did a good job. There are so many layers to your garden. Each view is different. Love the pan fountain and the creeping thyme.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Karen, your property looks so lush! I need to try some other hydrangeas, but where am I going to put them?

Your Sedums look like mine, but they are so lovely, I am just going to let them flop.

Eileen

agreenearth said...

What an inspiring garden, wonderful design and plant. It has been a joy to see your photos.

Granny Lyn's Garden said...

I must agree with the others ,I love Carl's pictures.It fun to see the wider views and not just the close ups. You gardens are so beautiful. Mine look nothing like that, I sure have a long way. I love the way the plants look, in the rain. And wow, the water feature Carl made you, is.... well, I just don't have words to describe on much I love it. I am already thinking about what I have in my junk metal pile that I can use to build something like it...But for now,I just have to go back through this blog and enjoy your pictures again.

God Bless, Lynda..

Alea Milham said...

So lovely! Your garden definitely deserves wide angle photos - It is absolutely beautiful!

Maureen said...

How beautiful! I loooove the pan fountain. Hats off to Carl!

Linda May said...

Wow! you have so much space. I love it, but I can only dream. I especially loved the rock pool and the formal garden dome.Amd.... I love the red celosia

Sandy said...

God I love your garden! I have the space and yard but have Florida ucky weather.. it's rainy season and everything is muddy and wet all the time...
Thank you so much for your visit to my 'garden guest room'... and your so sweet comments.. your hut? lol
Sandy

Diana LaMarre said...

I enjoyed Carl's perspective.

I kept looking at the recycled lamp shades turned into a water feature. I would never have guessed they were from a lamp. It just looks like an expensive art object.

Thanks for getting all wet to show us, Carl!

Karen said...

Thank you, FlowerLady, for your kind comments. I think garden rooms and nooks are so special, this is something we have to work on here, because we're too wide open to have the necessary enclosure to make intimate spaces.

I hope you feel better every day, I think of you often!

Missy, I read your comment to Carl, and he smiled! He doesn't get enough credit for all his hard work around here.

Eileen, I know what you mean about trying new hydrangeas, and even in this two acre garden, I am at a loss for a place to plant new ones, too. I forgot to 'root prune' the sedums this past spring and I think that's why so many of them tipped over--but then, the flooding rains didn't help either.

Thank you Greenearth!

Lynda, with your talent, you could create a fountain that would amaze all of us! I'm in awe of your work!

Thank you, Alea, Maureen and Linda May, I have to keep pestering Carl to do another photo shoot!

Sandy, yes, the house resembles a hut lately, complete with dirt(y) floors. I hope your weather turns nicer soon.

Zoey, Carl has an inventive mind (and an entire shed FULL of things to invent, but that's another story, sigh). The pan fountain was a happy marriage of many articles of junk from his stash. I should do a post on it....hmmmmm...and it was based on a VERY expensive piece of artwork we saw years ago. Thankfully, ours was free!

Beth said...

Absolutely stunning, Karen! You have such diversity in your various beds! Hope you are feeling better.
Blessings, Beth