The Bones of Winter

1/25/13

woods behind my house

     We've had three light snowfalls here with the fourth one coming today.  But the real story is the bitter cold that has enveloped the mid-Atlantic region the last several days.  It has been in the teens at night and the 20's during the day, but the wind chills have made it feel like it is in the single digits.  I know in the northeast it is even colder.

     The bare trees without their leafy disguise are showing their bones.  I took these photos of the trees around the rental house we are still in.  Several crises have developed during the renovation of the house we bought which pushed our move forward three weeks.  But we are finally moving in one week.  Can't wait.

oak tree

kwanzan cherry tree

magnolia tree with bird

magnolia tree close up

sunset on the woods

     Even though winter is my least favorite season, I am able to find beauty if I look.

Awaiting Spring Blooms

1/12/13

     These three gardens are on the side near the front of the house.  In late November right after we closed on the house, I planted about 50 Dutch Master daffodils in these beds around the rose bushes that are in the center of each garden  I am anxious to see what color/kind of roses are planted here, since they were through blooming when we bought the house.  In about ten weeks I should see the daffodil blooms.

Dutch Master daffodils

 

front garden

      In this garden along the front of the house I planted St. Patrick's Day daffodils and Delft Blue hyacinths.

St. Patrick's Day daffodils

back yard garden

     In the back yard garden I planted three kinds of daffodils:  Rushlight, Gigantic Star, and Papillon Blanc, as well as Delft Blue hyacinths, crocus and several colors of tulips.

Rushlight daffodils

Gigantic Star daffodils

Papillon Blanc daffodils

     My next post will tell about the tulips I planted.  We are moving in two weeks, and we are still renovating and running boxes over to the new house which is about 4 miles away from the house we are renting.  I will be glad when all this is done and we are moved.  But I can dream about my gardens in the meantime.

Winter Beauty

12/23/12

     Whew!  I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted.  I do not recommend buying and renovating a house during the holiday season.  I have had to make too many decisions this last month about flooring, lighting, appliances, fencing, doors, etc.  And then to have to make gift decisions not only about Christmas, but also three family birthdays has made me feel like a zombie with a mind of melting jello.

     Now I have only a fireplace redo to decide on and then a move into the house in three weeks.  I am thankful for Christmas eve and Christmas day when all I'll do is spend time with family.

     I have managed to spend a half hour each day walking the dog and these few photos are of winter beauty I observed on our walks.  I don't know what these berries are in the first photo.

     These are seed pods from a Rose of Sharon at the woods edge.

poinsettia

     This is winter beauty on my kitchen table.  I bought this at the local grocery.  I hope I have time to post at least once more before we move to tell you about the bulbs I have already planted at the new house.  Merry Christmas to all.

A New Yard

11/21/12

Kwanzan cherry tree

     A few days ago we closed on our new house.  Now the fun begins to turn it into a home.  We won't be moving in until mid-January because of inside renovations.

     The house sits on an acre of land, and there is a lot of lawn which I realize is a no-no for many gardeners.  We are supposed to be growing meadows to support wildlife.  But I love the spacious, open feeling of the property.  We do have woods behind us that I hear have resident foxes and many deer.  There is a country feeling to the neighborhood.  A few weeks ago I took the following photos of some of the bushes and trees that are growing in the yard.

crepe myrtle

loriope and holly

Japanese laceleaf maple

pine

   

rhododendron

black walnut

dogwood

     This is about half of what is growing in the yard.  I don't believe there are any perennials except around the cable box in a front corner of the yard.  I will be planting about 150 bulbs this holiday weekend.  A Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Surprise Fall Blooms

11/8/12

Arum italicum

     After being glued to the TV for days staring in disbelief at the destruction after Sandy, and then burning the midnight oil watching the election, I had to get outside.  It has been cloudy, windy and cold here since superstorm Sandy.  As I walked around the yard, I saw we had no damage except a few fallen limbs.  But I came upon some unexpected blooms.

     The Arum italicum plants, which produced orange berries in July/August and then died off, are emerging again.  The leaves emerge in autumn and are evergreen throughout winter in warmer climates.  Since this is my first time watching them grow, I will note how they do in winter here.  The leaves are similar to caladium and resemble Jack-in-the-Pulpit.




hardy cyclamen

      In a shady, somewhat inaccessible area near the house, I was surprised to find hardy cyclamen blooming.

azalea blossom

     A spot of red caught my eye in the front yard.  I investigated and found one lonesome azalea bloom on an azalea bush stuffed between two other bushes.  The yard of this rental house keeps surprising me with unexpected blooms.

Fall Flora and Fauna

10/25/12

aster ericoides

     I've been so busy with family things (a couple of minor surgeries, buying a house), that I've missed blogging for a few weeks.  We won't be able to move into the new house until mid-to-end of January, but I hope I can get some photos of what is growing in the lovely yard in a future post.

     We have had our first frost/freeze in the surrounding area, but not in my immediate area.  I have observed the gradual march of fall into the area, starting with the acorns falling at the end of August, then the pine cones in September, now the leaves in October.  The trees are just about at peak color here.  I took some photos of what is happening in the woods on the flood plain in my neighborhood.  I have seen only two of the aster ericoides bushes at the edge of the woods.  This herbaceous perennial is soil and drought tolerant.  There are many bushes with berries at the edge of the woods.

     I am not sure what the above bush is with the yellow berries.  A type of bush honeysuckle?

bush honeysuckle

     This is a bush honeysuckle.  There are several species that grow in the area.  Some species, from Asia and western Europe, are considered invasive.

wild grapes

     The wild grapes continue to ripen throughout the fall.

box turtle

     This box turtle has been spotted a few times in the back yard.

white-tailed fawn

     I have seen lots of fawns come through the back yard.

two fawns and mother doe

     Most of the time the fawns roam the back yard woods with their mother.  There are two fawns in this photo, one in the very center.  Mom is at right.

grey tree frog

     I took this photo in August.  The frog is sitting on a branch of the Japanese laceleaf maple in the yard.

     There is at least one and possibly two chipmunks that live in the yard, but they have always managed to scurry away before I could photograph them.  Every now and then I see a fox trot through the back yard, but it is always to quick to photograph also.

Ladew Topiary Gardens

10/2/12

hunt scene

     This past weekend I visited Ladew Topiary Gardens north of Baltimore, Maryland in the hunt countryside of Harford County.  The Garden Club of America called it "the most outstanding topiary garden in America."

     Harvey Ladew purchased the 200 acre Pleasant Valley Farm in 1929 and created flower and topiary gardens on 22 of the farms's acres.  Mr Ladew grew, trained and maintained the topiary shapes himself and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal of the Garden Club of America.  Once a year topiary trimming begins in July and takes three months.  As you enter the gardens, the first topiary is the hunt scene with horse and rider, hounds and fox of clipped yew.  It has become the international symbol of the Ladew Topiary Gardens.

swans on waves

     The Great Bowl is a 2 acre bowl-shaped lawn where summer concerts series take place.  It is surrounded by topiary swans swimming upon waves of yew.

sculpture garden topiaries

     The sculpture garden contains several topiaries such as sea horses, a heart with an arrow through it, and a butterfly on a flower.

Chinese junk topiary

     Many statues, fountains, and pools are found throughout the gardens.  This Chinese junk floats in a pool with many fish.

pool with fish

the Terrace Garden

     The Terrace Garden contqains three terraces of Canadian hemlock hedges sculpted into obelisks, windows, and garlands.

part of the Terrace Garden

     In addition to the topiary gardens there are also 15 flower gardens.  Harvey Ladew was one of the first in America to create garden rooms, each devoted to a single color, plant or theme.

The iris garden conatins 65 iris varieties and 770 plants

The yellow garden contains all yellow flowers and shrubs







The rose garden contains shrub, climber, and china roses

        Mr. Ladew was a self-taught gardener who died in 1976.  The Manor house, in which he lived, and the gardens are on the National Register of Historic Places.  I am so glad I finally visited these gardens.  The topiary gardens were spectacular and delightful, and the flower gardens were among the most beautiful I have seen.