Sunday, May 31, 2015

End of Month View - The White Garden Bed

This month I didn't do many new plantings in the White Garden Bed, since I was very busy working in other parts of the garden. In general at this time of the year maintenance already occupies the biggest chunk of my garden time (gosh, how I wish I had more of that!), so planting new plants takes a back seat.

Nonetheless I planted six more white flowering dianthus 'Floral Lace White'. Besides that I cut back one layer of fronds on the left cycad and weeded the bed thoroughly. Other than that I just enjoyed seeing the plants grow and bloom.

To support my white gray/silver color scheme in this bed I placed a white terracotta sphere, that I previously had positioned elsewhere in the garden. I also put two new silver garden glass balls on wooden dowel rods and stuck them into 'Moonstone', the Hybrid Tea rose that takes center stage in this bed, to add a little bit more interest. I bought the silver garden balls, they are called Rosenkugeln (rose balls) in German, together with my mother when I was visiting her in Germany last year and, because of the memories that are attached to them, they are very special to me.


May 2015

April 2015

If you compare the photo from May to the one from April the White Garden Bed has filled out nicely, especially in the center. The teeny-tiny dianthus plants in the middle in the front of the bed have grown quite a bit. 'Moonstone', the rose in the center of the bed, which I had to defoliate last month because of a severe infestation with rose rust, has leaved out again.



Here is a closer look at the middle section of the bed. 



To my own surprise after deleaving 'Moonstone', the new foliage came back completely healthy and the rose has now set plenty of buds. 



I am really in love with these glass balls. They have an interesting finish which reminds me a bit of glass Christmas ornaments and it might be the same technique in which they are produced. They echo the silver gazing ball that is positioned on a white column more to the left of the bed. 


May 2015

April 2015

Here is the second view that I always show in my End of the Month View post. I am quite happy with the way this part of the bed looks in comparison to last month. There is still more soil to see than I would like to, but I am working on that. By the way, alstroemeria Princess Lilies 'Claire', the plant in front of the left cycad, blooms profusely since two months now! It has given me so much joy already and I am so very happy that I purchased it in the first place!



Zooming in a little closer...



This picture shows the white terracotta sphere a little better. It has a nice ornamental surface, but could use a new coat of paint. One more item to put on the garden to-do-list. The plant next to it to the right is geranium 'Biokovo', which has really bulked up in the last couple of months.



I am a little bit concerned about the cycad. It has made a new layer of fronds, but they seem to be smaller in terms of the length and size than usual and so far they don't unfold properly. Hopefully that will still happen. 


May 2015

April 2015

The third regular view of the month shows the whole bed seen from the left side over to the right. To the very left a white flowering agapanthus (sorry, don't know the name of the variety anymore) is just starting to bloom. The yellow leaves that you can see behind the white column with the silver gazing ball belong to amaryllis belladonna 'Fred Meyer Whites'. It is normal for this plant that the foliage completely dries up before summer, but of course it doesn't look that great in the moment. In an ideal world all four roses ('Pope John Paul II', 'Chandos Beauty', 'Moonstone', 'Auckland Metro') would bloom right now, but, oh well...



Here is the white agapanthus getting ready to bloom. It has a good amount of flower stalks this year and it should be spectacular when all the blooms are open. 



Close-up of an agapanthus flower.



The rose that is blooming profusely right now is 'Auckland Metro'. Her foliage was also somewhat affected by rose rust and I had to pluck a few infected leaves, but overall the bush still looks decent...



...as you can see if I get a little closer. The flowers of this rose are huge and they have a good form.



Here I caught one bloom of 'Auckland Metro' with the camera that came close to perfection!



I leave you with one more shot from a different angle of my White Garden Bed.


Hope you enjoyed this entry. Please do pop over to Helen from the Patient Gardener's Weblog, who kindly hosts this great End of the Month View meme and take a peek at what other gardens look like by the end of May.

I would like to finish by extending a warm welcome to all my new followers. I am so glad you found me in the vast world of the internet and decided to visit me regularly!

See you in the garden!

Christina



21 comments:

  1. I really like your new decorative garden elements. The silver spheres and the terra-cotta globe are perfect additions. Are the silver spheres very breakable? The close-up of the agapanthus flower is beautiful. I just received a couple of agapanthus plants from a friend who was dividing hers. I am wondering if they may bloom this year? Probably not...

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    1. Deb, thanks, I am afraid the silver spheres are very breakable as they are made out of glass. So I better not drop them, the dog is not playing wild in this bed, we don't have strong storms etc., but I still want to take the risk and see what happens.

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  2. Bonita decoração, lindas flores!

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  3. Looks great! The Agapanthus will soon be spectacular. 'Auckland Metro'--what a beautiful rose--not familiar with that one.

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    1. Gail, I snatch up 'Auckland Metro' briefly before Vintage Gardens nursery closed. So far I am very pleased with this rose. I am still sad that this rose nursery had to go out of business as well :-(!

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  4. That's filling it out very nicely Christina and the agapanthus blooming is something extra to look forward to :)

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  5. Ach wie schön - die Agas blühen schon bald. Unsere haben noch keine Blütenansätze, es ist noch früh im Jahr. Ich würde liebend gerne jetzt mal in deinen Pool abtauchen, es ist kalt hier - und grau.

    Sigrun

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  6. ¡ Esta precioso con la nueva decoración. Besos y buen día.

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  7. Oh my, it really has started to fill out hasn't it Christina? Everything looks great and I can't believe how quickly the entire rose leafed itself back out. Amazing. I wonder if the new layer of fronds have been affected by your awful drought conditions recently - not that I would know really, us gardening in such opposite conditions.
    I can't go without mentioning the Agapanthus - it's going to be a wee beauty. I have a white one that struggles to bloom despite feeding etc it has only ever bloomed once in 4 years. I do not give up though.
    Those glass balls are exactly as you describe, similar to christmas decorations. I suppose if I go up into my attic and get out all the ornaments I no longer use I could create something similar. If I were the crafty type that is - sadly, not all that crafty.
    Enjoy your week Christina and many days of happy gardening I hope. Torrential rain and gales forecast here AGAIN!!

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    1. Angie, I have the same suspicion that the drought and awful heat that we have been having in the last four years has affected the ability to grow properly in my cycads. Some cycads in my neighborhood don't seem to be suffering, though. I think, I have to do some more research on that topic and see how I can help mine.
      Hope your torrential rain and gales are not getting too bad!

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  8. It's looking good, Christina! That 'Auckland Metro' rose is indeed perfect. I'm also impressed by the performance of your Alstroemeria - I wish the new one I bought was doing as well. (I should probably feed it.)

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  9. I know it's supposed to be spring but the light in your garden makes it look like the height of summer. The roses are looking great, I could almost smell Auckland Metro (if it has a smell!). I like how your garden borrows from the landscape around it. Each ties in very well with the other.

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  10. That white rose is extraordinary!! And your whole bed is filling in beautifully friend! The art that you have added adds the perfect amount of visual interest and blends into the garden perfectly!!! Happy gardening Christina!!! Nicole xo

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  11. Your white garden is filling out nicely! Noticeable differences looking at the photos from April.

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  12. Lindo, lindo!

    Logo você terá agapantos...amo!

    E essa roseira carregadinha?

    Branca, tão linda...que belo jardim!

    beijinhos, tenha uma linda semana,

    Lígia e =^.^=

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  13. Dear Christina, you do not have to paint the white sphere. Why? I like it the way it is, with a little patina on it. Relax and enjoy your garden. It looks so tidy. Time to take a swim instead of working in the garden! Groetjes, Hetty

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  14. Lovely to see your white garden bed develop, and ‘Moonstone’, the rose I so adore, is safely back on track! And a white alstroemeria like yours is definitely going to be in my garden next year alongside my pink one, mine is still in a pot but flowering profusely right now. And 'Auckland Metro' is another rose I have admired on your blog before, so unusual to see proper white roses that stay white. I have one myself, 'Susan Williams-Ellis', but then flowers are tiny. Good luck with your white garden bed, and I love those ornaments!

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  15. The white garden looks so cool and lovely beside the pool.

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  16. The spheres are beautiful ornamental features, but the roses in your header are phenomenal!

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  17. La rose Auckland est vraiment une petite merveille resplendissante. Les fleurs sont certes très grosses mais cela ne me dérange pas, elles sont trop jolies et le rosier au port parfait porte bien ses fleurs. Je les trouve joliment disposées sur l'arbuste. J'ai une potée d'agapanthe blanche qui se prépare à donner des fleurs et cette année les boutons sont nombreux. Je cultive mes agapanthes en pot que je rentre l'hiver.
    Belle soirée, à bientôt...

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  18. Deine Rosenkugeln sind toll!
    Wie sich alles spiegelt - wunderschön.
    Ich habe 2 aus Glas. Meine beiden Großen haben
    sie in einer Glasbläserei für mich gemacht :-)
    Liebe Sommergrüße
    sendet dir die Urte :-)

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