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The First Peony - 'Shima-Nishiki'

The Tree Peony 'Shima-Nishiki' is the first to bloom. The name means "fire flame" in Japanese, an apt title to describe the red blooms striped with white. Occasionally, there are solid red blooms. Every year this peony gets better and seemingly overnight, the puny-looking bare branches are suddenly fleshed out with a tremendous profusion of leaves. The bush is dense, forming a 4 ft. mound. Our plant resides at the top of one of the terrace beds in back where it gets some morning sun and dappled sun (mostly shade) for the remainder of the day.  We have many peonies in the garden and they all came from Adelman Peony Gardens in Salem, Oregon. It is worth a drive just to see their beautiful display garden in May. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Huntsville Spring Garden Tour

This garden featured an array of hydrangea types, including "Annabelle" and
Oakleaf (behind the statue) as well as mophead and lacecaps (macrophylla).

On Saturday, we drove to Huntsville to attend the Spring Garden Tour, a self-guided tour of five private gardens in the historic district. It was a very hot day but all of the gardens were shaded and they were all within walking distance of each other. I did not think it was too bad hot even though Michael was sweating bullets. We ran into gardening friends Cyndia and Steve, who took us to a terrific place for lunch. They also took us to another fantastic garden that was not on the tour. I will post photos of it soon. It was a good day!



 The gardens were small and many of them were designed by Bill Nance, a noted landscape designer who died two years ago. As hot as it was, one thing that I noticed was how calming and cooling the gardens were. Lush green lawns were bordered by boxwoods, hydrangeas, ferns, hostas and other shade-loving plants. The tour was a great way for homeowners to get ideas for landscaping small spaces.

The same garden viewed from an elevated porch. The open lawn area makes the garden feel much larger. Notice the mixture of stonework and brickwork for the pathways.


Another garden featured a container planting with a plant I don't see that often - Plumeria.

This courtyard garden has clipped boxwoods and ligustrum standards under a Japanese maple.

 
I loved this ivy-covered shed behind the residence. Actually I am not sure if this
belonged to them or the neighbors. I thought it was cool.


This garden had lots of various elevations and steps which always appeals to me.

A serene front garden.

A small Japanese maple, underplanted with liriope, enhanced by a perfect placement of a statue.

A bird bath by Birmingham artist Frank Fleming.

A beautiful potted ivy.

A small gazebo surrounded by lush plantings.


I love the pop of color of the coleus in the urn.

"Annabelle" hydrangeas along the fence in a side garden. The light green leaves hanging in the foreground are from a Sweet Bay magnolia. There were several beautiful specimens of that tree in this garden.



The side garden.


An ivy-covered wall and a bench.


 
A unique bench




This garden was not on the tour but we walked past it along the way. Isn't it charming?


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Jean CampbellJune 9, 2014 at 2:46 PM

    Thank you for letting us see these gardens through your eyes. The litany of plants seen, the shade patterns -- there are no gardens to equal those in north Alabama and north Georgia.

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  2. AlisonJune 9, 2014 at 4:23 PM

    Thanks for sharing your pictures from the tour. I once dated a guy from Huntsville, AL. That was a lucky escape, now that I think about it. I love the covered porch.

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  3. Lisa at GreenbowJune 9, 2014 at 4:56 PM

    I liked several of the places that you highlighted. Ivy can cover many ills in a garden. I would love to have a screened porch similar to the one you showed. That last photo shows a very charming place. I can't wait to see the next set of photos of your tour.

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  4. RebeccaJune 10, 2014 at 4:05 AM

    We haven't taken our first Garden Tour for 2014 yet - so what a delight to see these gardens. Porches, large potted plants and all the green are some of the things that made my heart beat faster. Oh, and I DID like the one not on the tour!

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  5. sandaJune 10, 2014 at 4:38 AM

    Nice photos of beautiful gardens. Enjoyed the glimpses into these tour gardens.

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  6. UnknownJune 10, 2014 at 8:53 AM

    Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing your photos. I love shade gardens!!:O)

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  7. chavlinessJune 10, 2014 at 10:16 AM

    Always nice to peak into other folks' gardens to be inspired. Paved pathways are a great garden feature that is suitable to all gardens regardless of climate zones. I love the one with the urn as a focal point.

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  8. UnknownJune 10, 2014 at 10:39 AM

    It is always a pleasure to see gardens as you capture them with your eye and camera! You have a unique and beautiful eye. It is hot here too in Maryland this week, and our Annabelle hydrangea will be the only hydrangea that will bloom (still green) this year in our garden -- the winter killed the blooms on all the other varieties. So thanks too for the eyeful of hydrangea down your way.

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  9. outlawgardenerJune 10, 2014 at 11:32 AM

    Lovely gardens and great pictures! Thanks for taking us along. Sounds like you had a great day in spite of the heat.

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  10. AaronJune 10, 2014 at 3:13 PM

    Very nice, but I like your garden better :)

    Of these, I'd say the ferns and clematis are my favorites.

    The others a bit too ... formal and sedate for me. Well, except for that riotous final photo!

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  11. CyndiaJune 10, 2014 at 8:23 PM

    It was a joy to see those gardens with you and Michael, Phillip! And as usual, your photos are much better than mine! I heard that Athens had their tour on Saturday too. I wish I could have seen that one as well.
    Decatur's tour was lovely, as usual, and I saw some very different gardens, as well as old favorites. Put that one on your calendar for next year!

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  12. JenJune 11, 2014 at 6:17 PM

    plumeria! I'm so impressed they have theirs blooming so early, mine do not bloom until mid july. I wonder how they do it, must have a greenhouse to start them in or something?

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  13. LesJune 18, 2014 at 5:19 PM

    Do you think the keep the ivy on the shed to keep it from falling down?

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