Care Free Plants

My Cactuses are still doing great, I love plants
that are care free...

Haworthia

Virginia Creeper does not like to be watered
much butdoes love humidity.

and the Crown of Thorns.

Can you smell it?

There is nothing like the fragrance of a Jasmine
plant, so sweet,

I picked this Star Jasmine plant at Traders Joe
Store for only

$8.99 in a 6" pot size.

Reasonable price- "Great"

Sweet fragrance in the middle of winter time-

"Priceless"

Succulent Serial Killing

I admit..... I kill succulents..... not on purpose of course.... I absolutely
love succulents! I adore their shapes, textures, and colors. I pretty much
love everything about them, but for some reason in my possession most succulents
die - even the resilient ones. Except this kalanchoe, which I've had forever,
but I don't really consider it a succulent since it seems to survive.

It blooms every year for me and is just starting to set bloom now.

I've even done well propagating it. See the plant in the top center in the photo below.
This is just one of the many I've propagated from this plant - which are super
easy to propagate anyway.

You'll also notice the jade plant and the Christmas Cactus - yes both still alive. The
jade plant is another succulent I seem to do well with, but the Christmas
Cactus.... well I've only had it a few months so I'm not sure if that counts yet.
I bought this paddle plant (which is a member of the kalanchoe) at
the Rhode Island Flower Show 2 weeks ago. I've wanted one of these plants for a
long time, but was too afraid to buy one for fear I'd kill it too. But, when I
read that it is a member of the kalanchoe family I figured that I'd give it
try. We'll see... I've only had it 2 weeks.

Here is another succulent that is doing OK.... I don't know what kind it is but I'm sure one of
you wonderful bloggers does. I bought it as a tiny plant last summer for a dish
garden.... it's the sole surviving member... *sigh*. Hey maybe it's another
kalanchoe! ..... I think not.....

Here's are 2 more plants I bought at the flower show.... keeping my fingers crossed with them.
Someone please tell me what they are since they came without tags.

This one I bought about a year ago. Is this a Hen and Chicks? It has looked pretty
bad in the past but all of a sudden it seems to have picked up and is growing
babies - this was right after it bloomed! Yup! I'm excited!

I think I'm doing all the right with these succulents. I don't water them
often...... I wait until they are very dry. I transplant using them cactus
potting soil in pots that have drain holes and they are in a west facing
window.

I have the most difficulty growing varieties of sedum, which should be pretty foolproof, but
sedum especially seem to die as soon as they are near me. I've tried planting
them outside, inside, in pots.... I've tried to talking to them.... begging
them to stay alive..... even bribing them.... OK not really but you get the
picture! The only thing I can think of is that I may have a problem with low
light. Most of my yard is partial sun and shady. The only really sunny spots
are reserved for the veggie garden and perennial flower bed. There's not much
direct sun coming through the house and I have no south facing windows - only
west.

I welcome all and any advice from you succulent experts. Boy can I use it!

If you love gardening ... share your pictures on GLOW!

Morning everybody ... or afternoon ... or evening .... wherever you are. I know that many of us are suffering terrible
withdrawal symptoms from Blotanical
(and you'll soon know whether it's up and running again if you click the
link!!). It's been several days since we've been able to access Stuart's
brilliant website for all us like-minded plantheads, and I don't know about you,
but I miss it - no picks, no messaging through our plots, and no new bloggers to
follow! It's certainly made me work a harder on the internet and frantically
sign up as a follower on the gardening plots I love, because at least that way,
I can access all the latest posts. It also prompted me to create a new group on
Facebook for Garden Lovers, which I've named Garden Lovers of the World - or GLOW for short - and if
you're a member of Facebook, you
may wish to join and share all your wonderful garden pictures with other
members.

I don't have Stuart's talent to set up a blogging platform, but I'm sure many of you will have contributions you'd like
to add, plus links to your own gardening plots and, most importantly, wonderful
pictures of plants and gardens, so please feel free to take a look and
share.

I also wanted to tell you about another new project - "What on Earth" -
nothing to do with me, but might be of interest to you and your children, (or
grandchildren!) for National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW), which is
looking for any plants, animals or other living organisms that you see and don't
recognise. As they say:

"The aim of What on Earth is to spot, collect and identify as many species as possible over the course of the week,
painting a fascinating picture of UK wildlife for us all to observe and enjoy.
Organised in partnership with The Open University’s iSpot website, NSEW’s
specialists from all fields of natural science will examine, identify and
catalogue as many finds as they can over the course of the week and
beyond."

Hope you all have a great weekend .... and if you're not under several feet of snow, happy gardening!

Two more California delights - Hakone and Gamble

I haven't visited a Japanese garden before, so the Gardens of Hakone came as a real delight when I visited California recently. Used as a backdrop in many scenes from the film "Memoirs of a Geisha", this charming 18-acre garden was the brainchild of San Francisco
philanthropists, Oliver and Isabel Stine, who commissioned Naoharu Aihara to
work alongside a Japanese architect and design the garden for them on a steep,
hillside plot in 1917. Isabel Stine travelled to Japan to look at gardens there
before work began on her own plot and she named this garden after the
Fuji-Hakone National Park.

Hakone changed hands in 1932, when ownership passed to an East Bay financier, and again in 1961, when the gardens were bought by a partnership of prominent local families who restored them to their former
splendour, before selling them on to the city of Saratoga in 1966, for $145,000.
The city then hired Kyoto-trained landscape architect, Tanso Ishihara to carry
on with the restoration work, but when he died in a tragic accident in 1980, he
was succeeded by his former student, Jack Tomlinson, who continues to maintain
the gardens today.

In 1984, the Hakone Foundation was formed to preserve the gardens for future
generations, and its future was finally secured at the turn of the century when
the David and Lucile Packard Foundation became involved. It now receives over
40,000 visitors a year and is busy developing a full cultural programme. It's
worth remembering that Hakone is quite glorious at this time of
year because the blossoms are rampant; the camellias very much in evidence; and
the rhododendrons majestic.

Combine this with a visit to the Elizabeth Gamble Garden (above) at nearby Palo Alto and you'll have a great day
out. This 2.5 acre property is designated as a Point of Historic Interest and
includes a restored 20th century house and formal demonstration gardens,
entirely maintained by volunteers. A great place to see what grows and with
wonderful hellebore displays at this time of year. Former home of Elizabeth
Gamble (of Proctor and Gamble fame), she left the property to the City of Palo
Alto on her death in 1981, and it is now open year round - and it's free to
visitors! Lots of other flowers in bloom too right now, including more
magnificent magnolias and camellias!

The one you've all been waiting for - Filoli!

I'd heard so much about Filoli before I went there that I wondered
whether it would live up to my expectations, especially after my recent visit to
Viscaya.
But it did, because there's no doubt that it's a really beautiful garden.
From the moment you arrive and walk through the olive grove to access the main
gardens, you are aware that this property is different .... very different from
others! It has sweeping vistas across open countryside; wonderful planting and
you get caught up in a huge stage set.
Located just 30 miles of San Francisco, the
mansion that forms the central focus of Filoli was built for William Bowers
Bourn II and his wife in 1915. Bourn made his money from gold mining, and it is
his credo: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man;
Live for a
just cause", that gave the property its name FI-LO-LI. The estate covers some
650 acres, but it is the 16 acres of formal gardens surrounding the
Georgian-style mansion that visitors come to see.

When the Bourns died in 1936, Filoli was bought by another wealthy Californian magnate, William Roth, who owned the Matson
Navigation Company, and under the stewardship of his wife, Lurline (who is
commemorated on a plaque in the garden), the gardens were further developed, and
became recognised as one of the great formal gardens of America. In 1975,
Lurline Roth donated the house and 125 acres to the National
Trust for Historic Preservation, and they continue to maintain the
property today with the help of committed volunteers. Today, Filoli is classed
as one of the great gardens of the world, and deservedly so.

It doesn't matter where you look in Filoli, there is always a magnificent view, like the one above- looking up towards the High Place from the Walled Garden. The extensive formal gardens are divided into
terraces, a Sunken Garden, Walled Garden, Yew Walkway and swimming pool
pavilion, to name just a few, but what will strike you about this garden, is
that is immaculately maintained, glorious to walk in, and will lift your
spirits. I visited earlier this month, so the emphasis was on spring flowers - many coming into bloom - and acres of daffodils, blowing in the breeze, wonderful magnolias and camellias. But what is so clever about the planning and planting at Filoli, is that it won't matter what time of year
you visit - there will always be something in bloom. This is a garden that you
need to visit and re-visit, because it will never look the same. It goes
straight to the top of my US garden list, but perhaps that's because it reminds
me of England!

I'm leaving for North Carolina today (if the weather permits) and hope to see some gardens there, but Filoli is the garden that sticks in my mind right now!

Winter wonderland in North Carolina!

I thought I was in heaven when I went to Filoli, but yesterday I went to a garden in North Carolina that set my heart soaring
even higher – the Daniel Stowe Botanical
Garden in Belmont. It’s quite one of the most beautiful gardens
I’ve seen on my travels this year, and what I couldn’t believe was the way it
looked in the middle of winter - the temperature was just above freezing and
this has been the weather pattern for weeks here – yet the garden looked serene
under a Carolina blue sky and with many plants in bloom.

This site was the brain child of Daniel and Alene Stowe, who
bought some 450 acres in 1989 and set them aside with the idea of making a
garden in the years to come. This was no mean feat and Stowe, who had made his
fortune in textiles, wanted these gardens to be perfect, so although
construction and planning went on throughout the 1990's, it was not until
October 1999 that 110 acres of gardens finally opened to the public. Just over
10 years later, these gardens continue to bloom, and they certainly go right
into the top league that I've visited on my travels.
The Canal Garden (top and above) is quite astounding, with its glorious fish sculptures and fountains … and this was the
middle of winter, so I can only imagine how wonderful it must be in full bloom
in the summer! And this gives access to the other eight garden "rooms", which
must also be quite a sight to behold in bloom.

Today, much of the garden is beginning to mature, so each year will see more plants in bloom. But it also has the added
advantage of its magnificent Orchid Conservatory (above), which is not only
beautifully designed, but you will see bromeliad, orchid and epiphyte displays
that make your heart leap, like the wall below. Much thought has gone into these
displays and they are certainly unique.

The Conservatory only opened in 2008, and the amount of planning, both architecturally and botanically that went into this building, is abundantly obvious when you look at features like the epiphyte arches (below), which allow you to see just how these plants grow.

I have no qualms in saying that this is one of the best gardens I've visited in the US and one that I shall go back to time and time again, to see it throughout the seasons. This must surely be one of the most innovative and exciting botanical gardens to open in the last twenty years
and I will certainly return whenever I visit North Carolina!

A Fruit And Veggie Garden To Keep The Deer Out!

If you would still like to be entered in my drawing for an 11" x 11" print on
canvas made to look like an oil painting just click here 100th
Post Giveaway to go and leave your name in the comment section
AND if you would like 2 entries just put a link in
your column to my blog mentioning the giveaway and let me know you did that. It
will be easier for me to have all of the names on the same post when
transferring them for the drawing (next Monday). Thanks

A Garden To Keep The Deer Out!

My neighbors have a beautiful garden and the deer don't get even one little
bite of anything! Of course they do enjoy the flowers and she has never even
seen her Lilies!I guess it started with the Marionberries - the deer wouldn't leave them
alone so that was the deciding factor on fencing everything in. I think there
are even fences inside the fences! But it's really a beautiful garden and even
prettier knowing that no one gets to munch on it but you!There's a really pretty trellis with a Clematis on each side at the entrance
to the garden. Some of these pictures were taken a while back so the Clematis
wasn't blooming.

Daylilies line the front
They have Marionberries, Blueberries, Strawberries and probably more I don't
remember.

A huge patch of Rhubarb and they also have Asparagus that comes back

An orchard of apple and cherry trees - maybe more I'm not sure. But they haven't
been able to get any cherries because of the birds eating them. She had heard
about hanging shiny things in the trees to keep the birds away. She had some old
CD's and hung them in the Cherry trees and this is the first year the birds have
left the cherries alone!

Here's another shot with the Daylilies blooming
A butterfly was nice enough to pose for us

This was taken earlier - coming down the driveway you can see the Rhodies
blooming in alternating pinks

I believe this was a Dutch Iris that was blooming because she had a white one that
was finished and I think maybe that's where my white Dutch Iris came from that
showed up one year - a little bird thought I needed one too.

She didn't know what this was but it's very attractive and different.

Japanese Iris Variegata - very pretty with it's varigated leaves

Brunnera Variegata Siberian Bugloss - I didn't realize until I got home and looked at the
picture of the tag that this was a Brunnera. I think I may need this one for a
different look in my shade garden. Something has been nibbling on the leaves
she's going to treat.

I was pretty happy to get to share in her seeing her first Lily blooming. EVER!
When she told me about a month ago they eat the buds of this one I told her to
get some Liquid Fence and I guess it's working. What a shame to have missed it
on other years - it's just beautiful.

Sweet Williams

Maltese Cross

Hardy Orchid

And last - isn't this different? It's a Euphorbia Tasmanian Tiger