A Tour Through my Garden on a Very Hot Day

Sorry for not blogging for two weeks. My life went on overdrive again and there was simply no time to do it.

We are having a heatwave here in San Diego right now, with temperatures raising up to 98 F/37 C and it is very unpleasant to be outside. I can't take the heat very well and there is no way for me to garden in this weather except to do the absolutely necessary maintenance chores like deadheading and spot watering very early in the morning.

Nonetheless, today I managed to record another Periscope video, touring part of my backyard and showing two vases with roses from the garden. Skylar, our Doberman, had an unexpected guest appearance in there as well. Please have a look:

Hope you enjoyed the video and wishing everyone a nice weekend.

See you in the garden!

Christina

End of Month View - The White Garden Bed June

My apologies for coming in very late with my monthly post documenting the development of my White Garden Bed, but work simply didn't leave me any time to blog prior to today. The photos that I used for this post were all taken on June 29th though, so what you see is really how the bed looked at the end of June.

I have to say that for the first time since I started to take part in this meme, I am truly satisfied with my White Garden Bed. The plants have filled in nicely, there are lots of white flowers and you can finally see that it is designed with a monochromatic white color scheme in mind.

The biggest change that I made last month, I planted a new rose, you can't even see in the first view of that bed, but I come back to that later. Besides that I bought seven plants of Gaura lindheimeri 'Belleza White', which are placed behind the white column with the silver gazing ball. I also took off another layer of fronds of the right cycad, because I couldn't stand to look at the sunburned fronds anymore.

June 2015

May 2015

I think it is justified to call the change between May and June quite dramatic. The Dianthus 'Floral Lace White' are in full bloom and all four roses (from the left to the right: 'Pope John Paul II', 'Chandos Beauty', 'Moonstone' and 'Auckland Metro') are flowering more or less profusely. 

Here is a bud of 'Moonstone', the rose in the center of the bed, that is just opening. Very beautiful rose, but the leaves are starting to become infected with rose rust, again. 

Mature bloom of 'Moonstone'. The flowers are undeniable very pretty, but I am never really happy with a rose, when the leaves are very sickly. 

When I started to participate in the End of Month View meme, this white angle shot was my initial first view. Between the last rose to the left and the Pygmy Date Palm to the very right there was just a huge crater of a hole, which is now filled with a rose and plenty of soil. Unfortunately, you can barely make out the small leaveless canes in front of the dark blue post of the fence.

I had a little mishap with this rose, because right after I planted it, we went to Portland and when we came back all its leaves had gotten brown and most of them had already fallen off. I finished the job and plucked of the last leaves, in the hope that the rose would start to leave out again. I believe it was either over or under watered or it simply suffered from transplanting shock. Even though the rose looks like it is dead right now, I am relatively sure it will survive. I guess next month we will know more. 

In this photo you can see the rose a little better. Initially I wanted to continue the White Garden Bed up to this area, but after much contemplation I decided that the White Garden Bed will become to big in proportion to the whole size of my backyard. So I decided to plant a pink rose ('Memorial Day') here to have a color transition to the area to the right side of the White Garden Bed. I am not entirely sure if this is the right decision, mainly because I have such a hard time to visualize anything. But the good thing is that if I don't like it, I always can change it.

June 2015

May 2015

In my second End of Month View it is very clear that the Hybrid Tea Rose 'Moonstone' has become the star of the White Garden Bed in the moment, but...

...'Chandos Beauty', the rose to the very right, can also produce very lovely blooms. At the time the photos were taken it had only two fully open flowers, but those were stunning. 

I don't know why I am so crazy about this small plant, but I am really in love with Dichondra sericea 'Silver Ponyfoot' (it is the small plant in the foreground of the white garden statue). I think the metallic shine on the leave is just doing me in. For the longest time I thought the plant wouldn't make it, after it had been transplanted from a container into the ground, but now several month later it seems to have recovered and is growing actively. It is supposed to be drought tolerant, exactly what I need with the ongoing water restrictions. 

My bearded Irises 'Platinum' surprised me positively. Both plants to the right and to the left of the rose 'Moonstone' in the middle of the White Garden Bed were blooming. Altogether I counted five flower stalks, which is unheard of so far. I think, Iris flowers are almost as pretty as rose blooms. 

June 2015

May 2015

In my last End of Month View shot you can clearly see how profusely the white agapanthus is blooming. It is really fantastic this year. The leaves of the amaryllis belladonna behind the white column with the gazing ball have completely died back and I removed all the dried up parts. 

Here is a close-up of the white agapanthus. Isn't this a beautiful flower? To me agapanthus in bloom is the substitut for the alliums that we can't grow here, because it is too warm. 

Probably my most favorite rose in the whole garden: 'Pope John Paul II' growing right next to the agapanthus on the right side. 

The flowers are hard to beat in terms of their beauty and for an Hybrid Tea Rose they come in great quantities and the rose has a quick repeat. 

My husband cleaned up the dried up parts of the lamb's ears in the foreground. And they look so much better now. Behind them you see the Gaura lindheimeri 'Belleza White' more clearly. I haven't had time to plant them into the ground yet, but I think they will look quite nice there. 

I am in love with the airy, butterfly like blooms. They are so dainty and seem to flutter if there is a light breeze. Best of all, Gauras are supposed to be really drought tolerant and planting them is another step to help my garden to cope with the drought conditions, but still look pretty.

Even though I am late, I am linking my post to Helen's The Patient's Gardeners Weblog, who kindly hosts the End of Month View meme each month. If you haven't visited her yet, please pop over and see how her's and other gardens looked by the end of June. 

See you in the garden!

Christina

End of Month View - The White Garden Bed

And finally the spring blooms of the plants, mainly the roses, have brought some much needed white color into the White Garden Bed! There is quite a bit of change to observe between the March and the February photos and I am so happy about that.

March 2015

 February 2015

Besides the fact that some plants have started flowering recently, I made some small changes to the bed as well. I placed my white statue that was formerly beautifying the Hybrid Perpetual Rose Bed into the White Garden Bed and like it there quite a bit. I also planted four new plants, two heucheras 'Venus' and two dichondra sericea commonly called 'Silver Ponyfoot', in the center of the bed, which albeit tiny also make big difference to me.

Here is a close-up of the white statue. It was made by an artist friend of us and was a house warming gift when we bought our first house here in California. Needless to say that it is very dear to me!

This photo offers you a closer look at the heuchera 'Venus'. I am completely in love with this small plant because of its silvery-white foliage and the beautiful veining on the leaves. It is supposed to produce creamy-white flowers in the spring, which would also go well with my white color scheme. The plant label said, that the heuchera would like partial sun or partial shade best, so it is planted in ideal light conditions, but I wonder if our climate is not too hot and dry for a heuchera to be happy. Time will tell! For now the plant responded to the transplant from the container into the ground well and I enjoy it as long as I can.

Both dichondra sericea 'Silver Ponyfoot' are struggling after transplanting them into the ground and that is mainly my fault. These plants were sitting in pots for over a year and when I removed the black plastic container the roots were completely pot bound. To loosen them up I serrated the root balls in various areas with a knife, but I might have over done it a bit.

The other one, looks much worse, leaves are even dying in the center of the plant. My gardener said that this plant is growing like a weed in his home town in Mexico, so I hope that indicates that it is a tough plant that will come around and survive.

Here is the trio of the newbies to the White Garden Bed: The white statue and the heuchera and the dichondra sericea. I love how the silver color of the dichondra is picked up by the heuchera and vice versa.

March 2015

February 2015 

The photo of the center of the White Garden Bed shows, besides the flowering roses, two more things that are standing out by the end of this month. One is the flowering alstroemeria Princess Lilies 'Claire' in front at the foot of the left cycad (Sago palm). And the second is that the left cycad is producing a new layer of fronds. 

Last month I was still wondering what exactly the color of the alstroemeria would be and I am very pleased about this creamy white nuance that the flowers have been taking on. The plant blooms obviously profusely and could take the heat wave that we were having recently in a blink of an eye. I am starting to get the feeling that this one is a real gem. 

  

Zooming in even closer, the beauty of the flowers is even more evident. The little dark "freckles" on the blooms are so charming!

This image shows the center of the cycad, and you can clearly spot the layer of the new fronds in the middle of the plant. I can't tell you how glad I am about that the cycad is able to produce a new top layer of fronds, because I think the plant hasn't done it for about two years and the older layers of fronds have become quite ratty looking and are badly burned by our hot sun. This is not so obvious on the photos, but trust me, it is truly the case. Can't wait to cut the lowest layer of fronds off!

March 2015

 February 2015

The last wide angle shot of the White Garden Bed taken from the left side looking over to the right. The roses from the left to the right are: 'Pope John Paul II', 'Chandos Beauty', 'Moonstone' and 'Auckland Metro', all Hybrid Tea roses. The one that truly stands out is 'Chandos Beauty'. This rose has been doing fabulous this spring and just looking at it makes my heart leap. 

That being said, 'Moonstone', the rose in the middle of the cycads, really sucked this month. It got infected with rose rust so badly that I decided to partly de-leaf the rose. The new shoots were then severely plagued by powdery mildew and have been partly removed as well, including the flower buds. Therefore there are only a few blooms on it. That 'Moonstone' can get rust and powdery mildew in my garden is nothing new, but getting it in spring this badly is. I am seriously considering to remove it, since it is taking up such a prominent position in my backyard and I am sure, that I am able find a more healthy rose for my organic non-spray garden.   

Here is a close-up of 'Chandos Beauty'. This rose has been almost completely healthy this spring, despite the fact that it is living in the same conditions like 'Moonstone'. 

from the left to the right: Pope John Paul II, 'Chandos Beauty', alstroemeria Princess Lilies 'Claire'

Writing this post has made me realize, that besides one little glitch, I am just saying 'Moonstone', how satisfied I am with the White Garden Bed in the moment and I will enjoy it as long as it lasts. Of course, I still do have some plans to improve it, though. Please stay tuned! 

This is my contribution to Helen Johnstone's End of Month View meme at The Patient's Gardener's Weblog. Thanks for hosting it, Helen! Please click on the link and find out what other gardeners have to show at the end of March.  

See you in the garden!

Christina

End of Month View - The White Garden Bed

On the first glance at the photos there has been embarrassingly little change happened in the White Garden Bed between this End of the Month View post and the one from January.

February 2015

January 2015

This is mainly due to three reasons. Firstly, when I shot the photos for this post, it was a mostly cloudy, overcast day and I took them later in the day time than the ones for the January post, with the unfortunate result that everything looks kind of "brown" in the February photos and the plants are "disappearing" into the mulch.

Secondly, and that is the bit frustrating part, I, with the support of my husband and the gardener, have worked hard on this bed, but that work doesn't show on the photos. All plants are fertilized, a decent layer of new mulch has been put down and a big new hole has been dug to the very right of the bed (not visible on the photo above, it is obstructed by the pool spa). Of course, I would have loved to have filled the bed with perennials and annual spring flowers already, and believe me, knowing that the next End of Month View post was due soon, the temptation was great. But I know, that in my garden I always have to be patient and reasonable and work on improving the soil first, otherwise nothing is going to grow well here in the long run.

Thirdly altogether there was very little time to work on this bed, because I was still pruning and fertilizing the roses in the whole yard and without that being done as soon as possible there will be no rose spring flush in the garden. So this had definitively priority over working on the White Garden Bed.

Are you tired of my explanations and excuses why there is not much change to see on these photos by now? Yes? Then let's actually focus on what has changed.

February 2015

January 2015

Well, the roses have leaved out and have grown quite a bit in comparison to February. If you look at the February photo to the very right you can spot the massive hole that has been dug to accommodate one more rose. I placed a rose in its black plastic container into the hole to see how it would look in this bed and I think this is a good location for it. 

The rose to the very left, 'Pope John Paul II', wasn't even pruned on the January photo, as a matter of fact, it was one of the last roses planted into the ground that I pruned this year. But to my own surprise it has already produced a new basal cane which is carrying a spray of buds and a pristine new white flower is blooming in the middle of this spray already again. 

Here is a shot of the new spray of 'Pope John Paul II'. I love that the buds have a green tint, before they are opening to a very clear white color. 

The photo above shows a closer look at the big hole to the very right of the White Garden Bed that has been dug for the new rose. I always prefer at least 3' deep x 3' wide holes when I plant a new rose, because as you can even see on the picture, my native soil is very poor and contains many rocks of all sizes. The excavated soil gets completely replaced by a planting mix from E.B. Stone, called Rose Grow, which is especially formulated for planting roses. This stuff isn't cheap, but I have very good experience with this soil mix. The roses are really thriving in it in my garden, so it is worth the expense to me. 

February 2015

 January 2015

In these two photos you can more clearly see the difference in the roses. One plant that also has continued to fill out is the alstroemeria Princess Lilies 'Claire', in the foreground in front of the cycad to the left.

Here is close-up of alstroemeria Princess Lilies 'Claire'. Isn't it looking juicy and healthy? You almost want to take a bite...

And if you look even closer at this plant, you can see the very first blooms emerging. I can't remember the exact color anymore, only recall, it was a very light one, therefore I can't wait to see the buds opening and hope that they fit into my white color scheme.

Hardy geranium 'Biokovo' to the right side of the cycad on the right in the bed is still blooming prolifically. It is good to know that this plant has a flowering period of at least four weeks.

Just another view of the White Garden Bed.

Even though I haven't been planting anything new into the White Garden Bed within the last month, I have been thinking a lot about what I could possibly plant there. Since it is a very narrow bed it is not realistic to expect to have an impressive display of white flowers there at all the times unless I exchange annuals on a very regular base. So I thought I would go with Vita Sackville-West's approach in her White Garden, and use silver and gray leaved plants in this bed, which come the closest to white flowers, but are there year round.

I have these two dichondra sericea, 'Silver Ponyfoot' sitting around in my pot ghetto for quite a while now and thought I will plant them into my White Garden Bed and see how this looks. When the sunlight hits their leaves they have an almost metallic shine to them, which I find quite fascinating. Another good thing about these plants is that they are supposed to be drought tolerant.

Hopefully next month I have some more progress to show and I would be happy if you would come back to check in with the development of my White Garden Bed.

I am joining Helen Johnstone's End of Month View meme at The Patient Gardener's Weblog. Please click on the link to see views of other gardens at the end of February.

Wishing all of you a nice rest of the weekend!

See you in the garden!

Christina