One of my favorite grasses is the tried and true Calamongrostis 'Karl Foerster' pictured above and below. I don't recall them ever looking quite this good in the past and they're doing well in many locations throughout the gardens. Maybe they favor the unpredictable weather we've experienced for the past three months... heat followed by freezes... 95 degrees followed by several days in the 70's and then back to the 90's... the 70's part happens to be where we're at right now and virtually no rain for weeks. As long as the well holds up I can keep things looking good, although of necessity I've had to let portions of the lawn go totally dormant.
At any rate, I thought I'd couple my last post with a bit of miscellany about the gardens... here's a combo I kind of like... a plant of 'Stella d'Oro' combined with 'Daub's Frosted' juniper and purple cone flowers to follow...
These asiatic lilies opened a bit late for 'The President' clematis that usually accompanies them... a few purple blooms are in evidence however, and the 'Carefree Delight' roses are looking good... daylily blooms will show up any day now...
Another favorite combo for me is Hydrangeas 'Annabelle' and 'Invincibelle Spirit'... to my mind there is something very gentle and refined about this combination.
I am gradually working towards a garden without annuals but have a ways to go before that concept is achieved. I really do enjoy annuals, but little by little I hope to make the gardens more self-sustaining. The Proven Winners 'Vista Bubblegum' petunias and Lobularia 'Snow Princess' are filling out nicely in the bed pictured below... Maybe I'll never completely achieve my goal, but I have managed to cut back from 5000 annuals to less than 2000 this year... I think that is progress of a sort... note the 'Tolleson's Blue' Juniper that I added at the end of the bed last fall along with more of the hydrangea combo from earlier... textures and form in this first photo... perfect for an 'old man's' garden and almost carefree for my 95th birthday and beyond!
The clematis 'Violacea Venusta' has really started to fill out and I've noticed no wilt in any of my clematis this season... this can probably be attributed to the dryness as most years there are a few plants that succomb...
Please forgive more photos of clematis plants that are still at their peak... it's a good year for them...
I haven't pointed out many of the hostas this season but they are also having a good year... just add water! ... and I've had to do a fair amount of that. The photo below is but one of several areas that feature hostas. In this case, the focus is really on three plants of 'June' and a closely related 'Touch Of Class'. The bed contains numerous other cultivars as well...
I will close with a few general pictures from the gardens... as noted previously, we are getting very close to lily and hemerocallis season, but in the mean time I am taking pleasure in the form and textures evident in the gardens prior to their bright blooms... take care, Larry
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