girlieq50

Celebrating the romance and beauty of flowers

My Garden

Welcome to my zone 5 garden. An heirloom rambler adorns the picket fence as rosa 'Alba Semi Plena' finishes its bloom time in the background. Hybrid alba rose 'Royal Blush' and Iris 'Sugar Blues' offer intoxicating fragrance.

Siberian iris, bearded iris, and hybrid rugosa rose 'Therese Bugnet' bloom beside the barn. Usually Vireos or Purple Martins occupy the nearby birdhouse.

H. 'Blue Angel' takes center stage in the east garden
where royal hues reign.

'Parisienne Pink' lilies nod happily beside the sun-washed deck while shade-tolerant hostas greet callers at the front door.

Roses

Since I began growing roses I've developed a special love for English and heirloom roses. The heirloom roses don't seem to mind my sandy soil, and they perform heartily. However, it's always a struggle to get abundant blossoms from any other kind of rose except the rugosas or landscape varieties. Blessedly, when moisture, sun, and fertilizer are in perfect balance this is what my eye beholds:

'The Shepherdess' 'Carding Mill'

'Pat Austin'

'Leander'

'Golden Celebration'

'Alba Semi Plena'

'Royal Blush'

Click on the "Garden Hardscapes" link below to view photos of a cleverly embellished suburban garden while reading an article on the importance of form and structure in the landscape:

Garden Hardscapes

The "Dahlia Diva" link will take you to a photo page of colorful dahlias growing in a friend's garden.

Dahlia Diva

Joanna Kovalcsik

Hosta

My favorite flowers are roses, but I have a passion for hostas as well. In the summer of 2008, I discovered that there was such a thing as a "hosta community." After joining a local hosta society I began to add more hostas to my collection. H. 'August Moon' and H. 'Krossa Regal' are two of my favorites.