The good, the bad and the ugly of my 2011 garden
My garden and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it and it hates the neglect I visit on it.
I thought I would revisit the garden at the end of this year and think about what was good, what was bad, and what was really ugly, in hopes of having a better garden in 2012.
Let us start with the good. To see the good, it helps to have tunnel vision, blocking out all the bad :)
I didn't do much for early spring, but I had a few pretty pots. I used to plant a lot of tulips, but the deer love them and I got tired of feeding them!
Here is the good with the bad...pretty pots (Good), weeds, dirt (Bad)
Here is an area that is always beautiful. The coreopsis is a non stop bloomer from early July until late September, even into Ocotber. The purple balloon flower looks really pretty and comes into bloom at the same time. I wish it bloomed longer, but sometimes I buy an annual version that is just coming in to bloom as the perennial one is on its last hurrah. I just keep it in it's nursery pot and plop it in the area.
The urn adds to the handsomeness of this area, I think. I was particulary happy with the caladium (though it did lose a lot of it's color with all the shade), and the Creeping Jenny. I should have trimmed the Jenny more to keep it full. It still looks good here, but later in the year it got very straggly.
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Mid summer I added this little blue Juniper and the white Caladiums with the pink veins. I LOVE them. These plants look so pretty with the marigolds and the light pink impatience.I also added the little shrub. It adds a nice textural difference. Our summer was hot and dry and the Juniper, Caladium and that purple plant in the background never even noticed!
The bold pink double impatience adds a great pop of color that enhances the caladium.
I had some pretty summer pots. This one looked great all year. The Pentas bloomed non stop and didn't suffer at all from the heat.
An arborvitae, begonia and two house plants that looked wonderful all year.
Well, that's it for the good. Tomorrow I'll bring the bad. I've enjoyed seeing the garden and am hoping these posts will help me to see what worked and what didn't. I hope you enjoyed a little summer during the dark winter days! Please come back tomorrow for Part II!
I'm also linking to Gypsy Mama for a fun post about "missed entries", drop by and enter your favorite unread post.
You had some lovely pots in the garden! I enjoy looking at photos of our garden too in the winter to see what changes I would like to make and it is fun to dream about it!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your lovely comments.
Wishing you all the best for the New Year!
Carolyn
Hi....your garden is simply lovely and oh, so peaceful. There is nothing like the beauty of flowers, is there?
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and many blessings.
Barb
Well certainly everything today is "good" It is always a treat to look back on the best time in our gardens when winter has a hold on us!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a warm Christmas holiday greeting from afar!
hugs naturegirl
Your garden looked so pretty. My poor garden was sorely neglected last summer. Hopefully this summer will be better. I'll be checking back to learn some good tips.I'm following so I wont miss out. Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is lovely... I find sometimes It is tedious, however I do move forward. Winter time seems to be alittle disappointing, because there isn't alot of color. I always look forward to spring time. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely garden! I only see a delight.
ReplyDeletePatti
I love gardening but won't say that my garden is beautiful as yours in the pictures. It takes a lot of time and energy.I am such a nature girl that now whenever we plan to travel somewhere my daughter tells me that they are not going to see any garden. Happy New year to you and we'll keep in touch in 2012.
ReplyDelete