An April Tour Of My Garden

Saturday, May 5, 2012

I wanted to give you a quick tour around of my own garden today. These are photos I took a week ago and things are already looking quite a bit different. I will try to take shots in similar spots throughout the year to compare how things change through the seasons. One thing about my garden is that I have a lot of tropicals which don't really get going until late Summer but continue well into late Fall. It's fun taking walks around my neighborhood in October with all the changing leaves and Fall colors, to return to my luscious green garden, looking more like a setting for a Mai Tai than trick-or-treaters.


Above are two of my favorite plants--cerinthe (which was actually evergreen this Winter, it was so mild) and the illusive checkerboard fritillaria which I have planted three times. This is the first year I have seen a bloom, and what a bloom it is!



The color theme in my Spring garden is yellow and purple, though by Summer it will have shifted to hot colors of orange and red. This is a pairing that brings me so much joy. Our neighbors have a small grove of these dark purple lilacs which have never been pruned and reach two stories high. I have never seen such an impressive display of lilacs. I trained my banksia rose up into the lilacs and this is the view out my livingroom window.

 Every room of my house has been filled with lilac bouquets for the past couple of weeks and I'm so sad that they are beginning to fade now. To console me, the peony and rose buds are swelling though.


I mentioned my tropicals and here is one of my favorites, starting to grow by leaps and bounds. The Chinese Rice Paper Plant loses most of its leaves here in the Winter but quickly springs back. This is a baby from the mother plant that's just in its second year. I expect it to grow several feet this Summer. I love sitting under these giant green umbrellas!


On the South side of my house I have palms and Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, which is a contorted hazelnut and so much fun during the Winter. It is just setting its leaves now so you can't see all the cool corkscrew branches very well.


The white flowering dogwood is in full bloom now. This tree is a not stop party. I love it's autumn leaves, it's red berries, it's ethereal white flowers, it's beautiful Winter bones. And underneath are the Spanish bluebells that I have a love/hate relationship with. They are always appearing where I don't want them but I do love the little ring they make at the base of the dogwood.


Also on the South side of my house are my veggie patches. Not a whole lot going on there at the moment--just some seeds getting going, celery that overwintered, and some young lettuces and radishes. I use chives to line my garden as seen above and those are about ready to flower. The mint is so invasive so I only grow it in containers and even then you have to watch it. I'll share more of my veggie patch soon.

8 comments:

  1. You have made my day - so lovely does your garden grow!!

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  2. And YOU have made my day--thank you for stopping by and your kind words!

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  3. Gorgeous garden! The roses in the lilacs are so beautiful! Am going to use your idea of putting mint and a few other things in pots to help the spreading...thanks for the tip! DNK

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  4. Thanks Deloris! In addition to helping keep spreading herbs like garlic chives, marjoram, and mint contained the idea of herbs in pots can also be really convenient because you can place them closer to your doorstep so when you're cooking you can easily step out and snip a few things.

    I have a DIY planned where I put together a little doorstep herb potager.

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  5. Your garden is filled with beautiful flowers! It’s like paradise when you’re walking around it. I personally love the purple flowers. They complement the yellow ones perfectly. I think it’s because of the contrasting hues that makes them a perfect combination. :)

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  6. Thanks Jamie--so glad you like it! I hadn't really thought about it until doing this post but I really do seem to be attracted to that yellow/purple color combo in both foliage and flowers. And I am craving more and more flowers over time.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. Having a color theme really enhances the beauty of a garden. And I like that the plants you’ve chosen change colors or leaves along with the changes in seasons. It would be a great change of atmosphere too! Anyway, your garden space is really big. I’m not sure if I can manage taking care of such a big space. Kudos!

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  8. That lilac bouquet really looked beautiful. It’s nice to have your own garden full of plants and colorful flowers, right? You don’t have to go to a flower shop to pick flowers for your rooms. You can just pick straight from your garden. :D

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