Have you seen the price of decorative hose guards lately? Well, I have and it made my blood pressure rise! Since early spring I have been on the hunt for pretty hose guards to prepare for the inevitable dry spells of summer. My flower beds curve around the yard and gazebo.So pulling the hose to water can damage plantings along the way. But no way can I spend ten or more dollars each on metal sticks to keep my hose in check, no matter how cute they are.

So I came up with an idea. Two expandable metal curtain rods purchased at a yard sale for fifty cents with a pretty fleur de lis top got pulled apart. Now I had four sections that were my potential hose guards. Off to the hardware store to purchase short pieces of rebar at $1.60 each and off to the garden shed to pull out some leftover spray paint. I did take one of the rods with me to get the right diameter size of rebar. Note that there will be one rod slightly larger than the other.  Take the smaller one with you so the curtain rods will fit over the rebar easily.

Paint the curtain rods and let them dry, pound the rebar in the ground with a hammer and slide the painted curtain rod over it. Now you have a hose guard that will swivel as the hose pulls across it and is a pretty garden accent, too! Less than $2.00 each and they work great! My hose guard searching days are over and I still have money to buy more plants!

curtain rods become hose guards

materials ~ rebar , curtain rods and paint

Paint the curtain rods the color desired

new hose guard by the hydrangeas

My Country Flower Basket

For the last arrangement in TheDCH Floral Workshop series, “The Nose Knows” was the theme. A country basket filled with free form meadow wildflowers, garden cuttings and fragrant florist flowers was created by instructor Brenda Tunis.

Incorporating scent into your flower arranging was the focus. Brenda had clipped samples from her own yard for us to smell and identify including Tansy, Sage, Thyme, Lemon Balm, Mountain Mint, Spearmint, Bronze Fennel and Parsley. Did you know that plants in the mint family have square stems?

Then, on to the arrangement where we first gathered all the materials (see below) and began filling the wet oasis in the basket.

samples of fragrant plants from the garden: Tansy, Sage, Thyme, Lemon Balm, Mountain Mint, Spearmint, Bronze Fennel and Parsley

Queen Anne’s Lace

Sweet William

Cornflower

Iris

Stock

Sunflower

gathered materials ready to arrange in wet oasis in a basket

 
Steps:

• Place greens in first (we used Camellia Bush clippings, Ivy and Baker’s Fern). You can wrap the basket handle with ivy if desired.
• Now put in the Sunflowers and delicate Cornflowers (wrapped with floral wire)
• Place Sweet William, Stock and Iris in the arrangement and fill in with Queen Anne’s Lace
• Add branches or curly willow for added height
• Use wired ribbon to make a bow accent

** note ~ water daily and your flower basket should last about a week

Greens go in first using Baker’s Fern and Camellia cuttings!

completed country basket

a finished basket

a finished country basket

ready for an alfresco meal

Yesterday, June 8th, was the Newark Garden Tour sponsored by the Newark Arts Alliance. Fourteen amazing gardens were open for visiting and made for a day of inspiration. This diverse collection of gardens covered the gamut from vegetable gardens, habitat gardens, sculpture gardens, water gardens, to sunny and shade gardens. There was definitely something for everyone’s personal tastes and interests. Our only problem was that there were too many gardens for us to tour in the five hours allotted and we had to miss two! What a good problem to have though.

An extra bonus was that each garden was unique and many of the homeowners were present to identify plantings and tell us the story of their own garden’s evolution. It is said that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their garden and it was wonderful to get to know these gardeners through their planting efforts. Even though there had been downpours the day before, you would never have known it, every plant was fluffed , trimmed and ready for viewing. Except for a few puddles here and there and some wet grass, the gardeners had righted any mishaps caused by the weather.

A lovely day in the gardens, then home full of ideas to put to use in my own!

For more information:

The Newark Arts Alliance http://www.newarkartsalliance.org/

Here are just a few of the many wonderful sights we saw!

Water Lily

Old Spring House

Dried Gourd Accents

Little Bird Woman & Knockout Roses

Hotter than Hades the last few days, in the 90′s, and the flowers and I are wilting fast! Hopefully, tomorrow’s predicted rain will materialize and cool us all down again. So, a quick stroll to capture the blooms of the day as they may not hang on for long in this heat.

And what extra surprise did I find ?  To my delight, bumble bees have made a wren house into their new hotel! I had been planning to make a pollinator hotel. Looks like they beat me to it.

Each day, something new. That’s what I love so much about gardening: the constant change and anticipation.

Happy Gardening!

p.s.

One of my readers identified my little inherited statue as “Joy” by Isabel Bloom and they are on the Internet at http://www.ibloom.com/  But, I think I’ll keep calling her Little Bird Woman since I have been  for quite some time and it fits her.

Fairy Rose

Native Foxglove

Baptisia

Deutzia Shrub Blooming

Bumble bee Hotel

Shrub Rose

Clematis “Rivera”

Ninebark “Coppertina” Shrub bloom

tin roofed birdhouse

Amsonia Bluestar

Peony from a friend ~ the best cultivar!

Rue ~ herb with bluish leaves

Blooming Topiary

At a recent workshop, TheDCH floral instructor, Brenda Tunis, led us through the steps of creating a beautiful blooming topiary. This is an easy, but quite striking floral arrangement perfect for your dining or picnic table.

For this arrangement we used the following materials:

a clay pot & saucer with a plastic insert

3 stems of tall yellow lilies (forms the topiary)

bupleurum (greens), delphinium, alstroemeria, waxflowers to fill in the base

a butterfly or bird can be added as an accent

raffia or ribbon as desired to tie the lilies together

Follow the easy steps below to make your own floral masterpiece! Brenda also suggested that we try using tall stemmed garden flowers for the topiary and herbs and other blooms from our gardens for another blooming topiary version. I can’t wait to try that out!

Step # 1 ~ trim the oasis so it fits into a small plastic container, then insert in your clay pot

Step # 2 ~ place three long-stemmed lilies together and push into the oasis, then tie with raffia or ribbon

Step # 3 ~ use the waxflower, alstroemeria, bupleurum, and delphinium to cover the oasis

Everyone has a lovely topiary to take home!

~ a blooming topiary arrangement ~

On a recent balmy spring evening, the Arden Garden Gild visited the grounds of the Goodstay Gardens on Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. At the height of its spring bloom, the collection of six enclosed gardens was a sight to behold. Breathtaking peonies planted in long flowerbeds filled the air with a lovely scent. Roses, iris, columbines, rhododendrons and many other lovely blooms filled the garden with color, accompanied by bird song as dusk approached.

Dating back to the late 1600′s, this colonial garden has undergone several restorations and improvements: in the 1920′s by Ellen Coleman duPont Meeds and Robert Wheelwright and, for the past twenty years, by the Friends of Goodstay Gardens group.

Goodstay Gardens is an oasis in the city, a trip to the country through a stone gate entry. Here is a  small sampling of the beauty contained within. I hope it inspires a trip of your own to discover this garden gem.

See a wonderful article by Moira Sheridan on Goodstay Gardens at http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130509/LIFE0402/305090014/Friends-Goodstay-Garden-Wilmington-celebrate-20th-anniversary

Face Book site for The Friends of Goodstay Gardens https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfGoodstayGardens?fref=ts (with many more pictures)

Teapot Birdhouse in the Jackmanii Clematis

In looking around the garden, I see a theme has developed. It’s all about the birds and flowers. With approximately one hundred birdhouses, I suppose my collection is now nearing intervention status! Some are decorative and some are functional with clean-outs, but long ago I found out the birds are the ones who decide which is which. A bossy little house wren has commandeered the gazebo garden where she and her hubby have taken up residence in a blue bird house, chasing any other birds who dare to come near.

Every new flower is an awaiting surprise and , as I stroll our garden, bird song greets me. A red fox streaked across the front lawn this early morning, probably from the cat food on our porch. We’ve had lovely rains and everything is an intense shade of spring green.

Viburnum Blooming

White Double Columbine

Mazus Repata ~ groundcover

Dad’s dark burgundy iris

Outhouse Birdhouse

Catmint ~ Nepata

Stone Birdbath

Bleeding Heart “Valentine”

Birdhouse & Lonicera

Mahonia berries for the birds

Dragonfly in the Columbine

Variegated Weigela Florida

Pink Columbine

Leucothoe Shrub Blooming

We added a gazebo right away because we missed the one we left behind!

Hard to believe but we just marked our fifth anniversary in our “new” old house. Many , many projects later, we still have a few major improvements to finish. This spring is exterior painting and new garage doors, but we are hiring those done. Even though I’m a good painter and have painted houses before , inside and out, my ladder days are over!

For me, the most rewarding changes  have been accomplished in the landscape. My best friend teased the daylights out of me when we bought a house with “tortured shrubbery” (clipped into box and spiral shapes). But it was a half acre after a tiny lot and, even though two-thirds of it was covered in ivy and pachysandra, I knew there was a wonderful garden waiting to happen. And, there was a garden shed and an extra garage on the back of the house to store all my garden tools, pots and whatnot!

Believe it or not, I have downsized a bit by planting more shrubs and perennials and less high maintenance plantings such as wisteria and akebia vines (got to stay off those ladders, remember?). Many of the plantings are natives or hardy as heck, so watering can be minimized. Tucking two to three inches of mulched leaves around everything keeps the moisture in and the weeds down, too. I plant thickly so there is little room for a weed to grab hold.

There is no grass at all on the sides and behind our home. A large section of the back yard is a fenced and mulched dog yard. Our firepit patio is located there but, otherwise, it is an open space for Labs to run and tussle. Instead of planting grass in the side yards, I made wide flower beds and paths of pine mulch. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather trim and fuss with flowers than cut grass. We keep a small section of lawn in the front so the neighbors don’t get scared, but I am starting to think a picket fence and street bed might be nice!

Some ivy still remains, but new raised beds are usurping some of its space. When I retire in June, I might just go at the rest of it and have it gone for good! In a garden, there’s always something new and another idea to try or chore to be done. This garden should keep me out of trouble for quite a long time!

“Before” lots of grass, a few shrubs and the rest of the yard was ivy and pachysandra.

“After” flower beds have been widened, new flower beds added and garden accents such as arbors, a gazebo and birdhouses enhance the landscape.

Ivy had been cleared, a mulch path made and a fence put in for the dogs already before I took this “Before” shot.

Garden Room replaced the single garage and a shade flower bed and arbor are now part of the scene.

see how my mom has inspired my Pacific Northwest garden

Hi! I am Meg, Barb Rosen’s daughter, and I am writing today to show my mom how much I love her and how she has inspired me in my garden. I may not have birdhouses, ladders and birdbaths galore but mom has cultivated my love for what we like to call “the wild and wonky” garden. My garden has a way to go … that is what I love about it! Come take a peek to see how my garden has changed over the last few years with many thanks to my mom’s creative (and affordable!) ideas.

I fell in love with this cute cottage because of the huge yard with plenty of space to garden but I was overwhelmed and did not know where to begin! Mom knew immediately what to do: some fresh paint to play to the country cottage charm, bamboo to cover the chain link fencing, clematis on trellises on the front and side porches to add coziness, and a plan to slowly eliminate the front lawn and transform it into more garden space (and less mowing!). How does she think of these things!?

Country cottage charm inspired by mom!

Note the wild and wonky arch made of cherry tree trimmings, the expanded side porch garden and the hexagonal raised beds … all inspired by mom!

Another wild arch!

And another. I got a bit carried away … just like my mom!

Mom thought the shed was adorable and what an amazing spot to feature a rock and succulent garden. This flowerbed was problematic. It does not get much rain because it is protected by a larger cedar so drought-tolerant sedums and succulents were the way to go!  I didn’t need to start with many  … they spread like crazy!

Note the stack of pavers anticipating my next project … the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

I love the really dark, moody and geometric flowers and mom has suggested that I pair them with bright flowers to make them pop. She has so many great suggestions!

Before: Front garden

Before: Side garden

Before: Shed garden

After: Front garden

After: Side garden

After: Shed garden

Mom, I love you! You inspire me in my garden and in my life. I may even be inspired to learn how to take better pictures Love, meg