Showing posts with label barberry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barberry. Show all posts

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Fall Colors out Front

My front flowerbeds are filled with delightful colors, even once the flowers have gone.
 
The front porch bed.

Oakleaf hydrangea, I knew I could count on you for some gorgeous fall leaves!

Snowball bush, with peony and Echinacea seedheads in the background.
Love it!

Boxwood, rose, and other foliage

Barberry

The guillardia are hanging on, and those lovely red tones blend in just fine.

Catmint seedheads, with purple ninebark in the background.
 
 
Plus a bonus: strawberry foliage up in the garden
 
If our winter is as mild as the weatherman claims it will be, we will be enjoying these colors for a few more months!

Sunday, May 31, 2015

End of May Views: Irises & Peonies

 
Welcome friends!
I garden in Eastern Washington state, zone 5.
 
Usually there is a lull in my garden around this time of year: the spring bulbs have all finished and the roses have yet to start. This year has been a little different. A warm spring has brought about early roses blooming, and my poppies really stepped it up this year to fill in that gap.
 
Must have more poppies! 
 
p.s. Just heard a loud thunderclap. Guess I won't have to water tomorrow! Yes!
 
Back Flowerbed
Back bed overview, deck looking to fence.

'Yellow Topaz' rose blooming early
I love the scent of these roses, but they shatter so easily that I don't try to pick them any more.

Mockorange starting to open up.

Back bed overview, looking toward deck.
These penstemon right in front are bee magnets!
They are always humming every time I walk by.
I haven't seen any hummingbirds sipping from them, though I've heard they attractive to hummingbirds. Maybe I don't have enough planted.
The poppies always look really orange in pictures.
In person they're more of a peachy pink.
Either way I'm loving them!
 
Back Slope
For anyone new here, my back slope has terraced vegetable garden beds, then the rest is pretty much weedy grass, some wildflowers, and aspen trees.

These geraniums are not wild--I moved them from the back bed after we moved here a few years back. They are thriving in the dry shade on this side of the slope.
I don't even pick out the long weed grass that comes up between them anymore.
Or the dandelions, as you can see.

Wild daisies and lupines.

Isn't this one pretty?
I think my wild lupines back here are hybridizing.
I've never seen a bicolor like this one blooming back here before.
I just planted several pink ones, hoping that they will be able to live in the clay soil like their wild counterparts. (And also hoping to get some more hybrids!)
 
East-side Terrace
 

Ninebark blooms.
I didn't realize that this pretty little shrub would bloom. Bonus!

 
 Front Terraced Flowerbeds
Have you noticed how everything is terraced?
Welcome to my world!
 
The potentilla in front is always a pretty little accent to the stars of the show: the irises!
I added the alliums last summer, so I'm glad to see them blooming.
Not sure what variety they are, since they were a pass-along.

Peonies in back: 'Top Brass' (the white) and 'Paula Fay' (pink).
The white ones smell exquisite, while the scent of the pink is faintly reminiscent of a rotten potato.
Up front, the pink salvia is a volunteer from the other side of the flowerbed! 
The purple doesn't seem to mind so I'm leaving it for now.
 
Close-up of the 'Top Brass' peony.
This flower is sort of funny-looking, and I mean that in the nicest way.
White skirt, poofy yellow middle, then that awesomely ridiculous little fluff of pink on the very top. It's like a cupcake decorated by a 3 year old!
It makes me smile every time I see it!

Geranium 'Rozanne' (I think)
Front corner.
 
Now for those gorgeous irises!
 
 
More of the alliums I put in last summer.
I just love these flowers!
 
I'm not sure which variety of iris these little white ones are.
They were also a pass-along, so if you know, do tell!

{sigh}
Love it.
 
Street view.

'Rose Glow' barberry adding some color to this part of the terrace.
 
Columbine, wild daisies (yes, in my flowerbed!), and the sorbaria playing so well together.
 
Front Porch Bed 
 
 Last but not least, I've been enjoying the subtler colors and patterns of this little flowerbed, whenever I can tear my eyes away from the irises, that is!
 
Heuchera and euonymous
 
spirea in bloom
I like how the white on green echoes the foliage of the euonymous right now.
No, I did not get the both in the same picture.
Next time!
 
Thanks for taking a look around with me!
Check out other gardens at: The Patient Gardener
I hope to hear from you again soon!


Thursday, April 30, 2015

April End of Month Views

Hello, friends!
I'm linking up to Helen's End of Month view meme, which can be found here:
 
Let's get started, shall we?
 
Back Flowerbed
 
Tulips are providing nearly all the color at this point with the mockorange giving some needed height.
 
Looking down toward the deck.

 
L-R: mockorange, 'Mariette' tulips, rose
Oh, and one random iris in front.

Geum is big and bushy.

More tulips surrounding mockorange bush.
Tulip distribution is a bit uneven, so that's something I would like to work on for next spring.
 
Vegetable Garden

overview
The bottom terrace is completely planted with spring veggies.
Obviously, nothing has come up yet.
The bright green on the bottom is oregano.
 Greenery on top are strawberries.
 
Pea sticks!
I planted some "Pole Sugar Snap Peas" this year, so I thought I would give pea sticks a try.
Those are dead aspen branches stuck into the ground for a trellis.
If the aspens come alive again and start growing in my garden, I'm going to be mad!
 (Knowing aspens like I do, I wouldn't put it past them!)
 
Shade Bed
 

It's all columbines and heucheras in the shade bed these days.
I haven't seen any sign of the hostas that used to be in here too.
Maybe they'll still come later...
 

 
 
Raspberries
 
Starting to fill out.
I need to get back over there to compost and weed.
 
 
Front Flowerbeds
 
Overview

 
Front: Middle Terrace (where most of the flowers are)
 

Tulips again giving most of the color.
If I can, I want to dig up the lighter-colored ones to put elsewhere, and get a few more of the vibrantly-colored ones.

The bright green on the left is a new delphinium I put in, to replace the phlox that was mostly dead.
I put in 3 and they're all in this middle terrace.
I'll try to point them out in the pictures.
They are all 'Blue Mirror' variety.
 
The tulips almost seem to glow in this picture, don't they?

On the right is one of my new 'William Shakespeare' English roses that I put in place of the daisies.

This photo should be named "Second Chances."
Those little spots of green in front are the hydrangea from the bottom front terrace, which I thought was completely dead until about 2 weeks ago. This spot gets more shade than the former, so maybe that will help it perk up.
The peony growing in back was transplanted from a friend's yard in the middle of last summer and pretty much looked dead the whole rest of the year. Surprise!
I will be really surprised if it blooms this year.
 
A few different varieties of muscari with phlox in the background.
Still on the middle terrace.
 
Sem False Spirea, with columbine, salvia, and of course tulips.
This lovely little shrub brightens up the shady corner here beautifully.

 
Front: Bottom Terrace
 
Grape holly (Mahonia aquifolium)
This is thriving in a tough spot, which I'm glad to see.
It has tripled in size since I planted it, and even had a few of its signature bright yellow flowers earlier this spring.
 
 
Boxwood, barberry in a pot, plus another barberry.
I need to decide where to plant this extra barberry.
It has not been doing so great down on the bottom terrace, so I replaced it with another one of my new roses.
 
 
Another 'William Shakespeare' rose, replacing the barberry, as mentioned above. I planted it good and deep, and I'm really hoping it takes off and adds a shower of deep crimson roses going up the wall.
 

Looking down the bottom terrace.
 
 Tulips by the mailbox.
I'm actually thinking of taking these out.
It's hard to keep this area weeded, with no real flowerbed here.
Plus, all the real flowerbeds are just a few feet away.
They would transplant nicely, I think, to the back flowerbed.
 

 
If you made it all the way through that, way to go!
This is my favorite time of year, with things changing daily, it seems.