Dirt Therapy

Dierama dracomontanum (Angel's Fishing Rod) and Rose 'Marjorie Fair' Rose 'Essex' and Lavender 'Phenomenal' Alstroemeria 'Sweet Laura' Clematis durandii Clematis 'Vancouver Morning Mist' A container with African Daisy, Pineapple Sage and Cuphea 'Honeybells'. Clematis 'Arabella' pops its head in from afar. Clematis 'Tiaga' Cotula 'Tiffindell Gold' (Gold Buttons),  Carex 'Bowles Golden' and Verbena Galega hartlandii 'Lady Wilson' (Goat's rue) Foxtail Lily (Eremurus) Rose 'Marchesa Boccella' Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula)  Check out Carol Michel's May Dreams Gardens blog for more bloom-sharing bloggers! Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Evie and Bill live two streets behind ours and I've been helping her renovate her garden. We met them years ago on one of their daily walks past our house. She's been asking me for a long time to take over her garden and do whatever I want! Her main request - lots of color and year-round interest. And hummingbird friendly! The first project has been the huge berm that is in the front. It was choked with iris, daylilies and native aster. They spread easily in this loose, elevated soil. Bill and Michael helped and we finally got it cleared over two half days. I'm sure some of the roots are still there so it will have to be monitored closely. Evie loves dogwood trees and I planted a 'Venus' dogwood on the berm near a laceleaf Japanese maple that was already there. From there, I was uncertain as to what to do and after mulling it over for a while, I decided to use drifts of perennials and annuals. I think some evergreen plants should be added later this fall but for now...

The last of 'Veilchenblau' blooms are fading after a three-week stretch which is fairly typical. No more blooms on this one until next year. This rose, first introduced in 1909 by J.C. Schmidt of Erfurt, Germany was an offspring of 'Crimson Rambler' which marked a milestone in climbing roses in 1893.  'Veilchenblau' is one of my favorite roses. The flowers are spectacular, blooming in large clusters of a color variation that begins with dark reddish-violet buds that open dark and gradually fade to lilac. White streaks are also visible. This color shift occurs over the extended bloom time so you have all the different hues going on at once. The foliage is also quite nice, thornless (or almost thornless) and light green in color. It is said to have a scent of green apples but I do not notice this. This time I'm growing the rose on a fence although it has room to stretch up over the gate. It can reach 12 feet. You can see random new shoots reaching for the sky....

'Dublin Bay' with lupine and Clematis 'Jackmanii Superba' on our front gate I hope the colors in my rose photos come out okay as I suffered an accident involving a tree limb and my eyeball. Day one was agony (and of course it would happen on a Sunday) but I am feeling better today and after seeing my eye doctor this morning, I feel a lot better. It actually happened on a good weekend as the weather is too hot to be working in the garden. I decided to work on photos I've taken over the past few weeks to recuperate and escape the heat. Of course, that involves working on the computer and in Gimp in which great eyesight is needed. Bear with me! 'Lady of Shalott' The roses got off to a late start this year because of the cool spring. It has also been wet which has encouraged black spot. Powdery mildew doesn't seem to be as bad this year.  'Alchymist' 'Mary Rose' 'Marie Pavie' 'Lady Emma Hamilton' 'Gertrude Jekyll' bei...

Following the garden tour last Saturday, the gardeners who were on the tour got together for snacks, drinks and recovery. We met at Laura Scott's garden, who lives just a few miles from our house. I had not seen her garden before and it was a treat. Despite living so close, her house and garden is like being in the country. Very quiet, bucolic and big! Laura has an artistic eye and she is very good at creating vignettes. The garden is a series of rooms with a vegetable garden, herb garden, perennial and shrub border, a mini-pond and the list goes on. And I just remembered there is an orchard and a peony field! The photo above and below show the water feature. I absolutely love Clematis recta - a new plant to be on the look for!   Another plant that I loved was the pink Bowman's Root ( Gillenia trifoliata 'Pink Profusion' ). I have the white-flowered variety but didn't know that a pink variety existed.  One plant that I'm vaguely familiar with but rarely see is ...