That would be David Austin— roses.

Who doesn’t love a romantic garden? The fragrance, the charm, flowers billowing over paths. If you want to add some instant romance and Old World charm loveliness to your garden, then planting English bred David Austin roses is the way to go. David Austin roses have the look of old garden style roses, fill the air with lovely fragrance and with repeat blooming no wonder I’m smitten with these roses for my cottage style garden. I must confess though, it’s the full billowing fragrant blossoms of these roses draping from my arbors, trellises and containers that have me hooked. Also, my nose can’t get enough of them. These roses are so full petaled that sometimes people mistaken them as peonies in my garden.

Having added many David Austin roses about 2 years ago (many still considered babies), I must admit not all have been successful in my Zone 7b garden. I am a no-spray organic rose gardener, so a few did succumb to black spot and disease. However, having gone through several I have narrowed it down to these beauties; (Note: Some are new this spring that have yet to show their survivability).

Here are a few of my favorite David Austin roses in my garden today….

The lovely ‘Evelyn’ is absolutely beautiful. This was my first David Austin rose purchase. I’m training mine as a small climber (6/8 feet) in a small corner of my garden near my back deck. Even though ‘Evelyn’ tends to get blackspot from time to time, due to a part sun location, I keep her in my garden for her grace and wonderful fragrance.

 I love pink in my garden. I actually have a bed of just pink roses, one of which is ‘Bishops Castle’. This rose has lovely large pink blossoms with a delicious strong fragrance. I plan on planting another next spring. Mine is getting pretty tall about 5 feet. ‘Bishops Castle’ tends to hold its lovely color even in the heat of my summers.

 A lovely red rose with deep cupped shaped blossoms and a nice fruity fragrance. The red color does tend to fade to a reddish-pink when they age or perhaps due to the sun. I have mine planted towards the back of my rose bed since it grows quite tall (6 feet) in my garden.

“Princess Alexandra of Kent’… a fitting name for such a lovely rose. New to my garden this spring I must say that I am impressed. It’s beautifully shaped pink blossoms have a wonderful lemon scent. So far it’s a prolific repeat bloomer and holds its color very well in my morning sun location.

 A new climber to my garden, so its still a baby, this David Austin climber is quite beautiful. It has pale, soft pink blossoms that fade to white and a wonderful fragrance. Very healthy, resistant to blackspot thus far. Looking forward to next spring when it will produce more blooms.

 One of my favorite David Austin roses -‘Huntington Rose’. I had two in my garden until early this spring.  Sadly, the deer devoured them both. I’ve included this to my list since I plan on planting more next spring. It is a prolific bloomer, wonderfully fragrant, good disease resistance and has exquisite pink blossoms. I highly recommend this rose.

Another newcomer, ‘Jubilee Celebration’ has beautiful large full blossoms and an unusual color of pink/orange/apricot. Lovely fruity fragrance. Mine are planted in large containers. David Austins catalog notes this rose does well in hot and humid climates in the southeast (mine Zone 7b); we shall see how this rose fares through one of my summers….

‘Tess of the d’Ubervilles is a very lovely rose that I am growing as a climber in my garden.  Bright crimson red blossoms and a wonderful fragrance. Beautiful.

 Oh my, the lovely ‘Darcy Bussell is probably one of my favorite. Beautiful rich red/pink rose blossoms with a mild citrus fragrance. One of the smaller DA roses,one of mine is growing in a large container, another in the front of my rose border. Rebloom is good and pretty resistant to blackspot.

 So try adding some romance to your garden—you never know what might happen…

My Gardening Friends,

It’s been a long time since I last posted on my blog and I apologize for that and the lack of pictures. The need to help others and myself dominated the better part of these last 4 months. I’m glad and hopeful things are finally getting back to normal.

My garden is bursting with blossoms everywhere. All my hard work in planting bulbs last fall paid off. The tulips have just about finished their explosion of color and my peonies, irises and roses are gearing up for their beautiful display. Right now the Japanese Maples and azaleas are in their splendor (pics to follow in another post).

Here’s a peek of some of my tulips blooming in my garden this Spring….

Every year I plant this purple and pink combination ‘Strike Me Pink’ in this bed. These colors blend beautifully with my emerging JapMaples.

Till my next post…..hope you enjoyed!

My Daffodils are taking center stage in my garden this week. Many I planted years ago; I planted 300 more last fall. Some of my daffodil choices are: Ice Follies, Carlton, Double Campernelle and Pipit, just to name a few.

Here’s a peek….

Daffodils from previous years in my garden…

Next post…my tulips in all their splendor.

      As 2013 draws to a close, its time to reflect on my many garden moments throughout the year. 2013 was an exceptional year for my garden; blossoms galore, abundant rainfall, tolerable summer temperatures and shhh… magazine photo shoots, to name just a few. I’m hoping mother nature will bless my garden once again for 2014.

So, just sit back relax, and enjoy my 2013 garden virtual tour….Cheers and Happy New Year!

January/February

Camellia’s, the ‘Winter Roses’ in my garden….

March/April

Painting my garden with beautiful roses….

Tulip ‘Spring Fling’…(finally finished my bulb planting for 2014 just this week)….

My alluring Japanese Maples and Conifers…

May/June

My Fringe Tree…

Captivating Clematis….

Yes, More Roses….

July/August

Some of my Summertime containers…

A Little Wildlife to amuse….

Sept/Oct

Pumpkin time….

Nov/Dec

Goodbye 2013…..

Happy New Year to All!

Health and Happiness for 2014!

I Love to decorate my garden for the seasons. Fall is no exception, especially when it comes to PUMPKINS!

Nothing enhances my garden more this time of year than their vibrant array of colors, shapes and warmth. Pumpkins combined with gourds, mums, grasses, Chinese lantern plants and other ‘fall’ accents bring a cozy and inviting feel to my garden. With little effort, (except for the effort of collecting all the pumpkins) you too can decorate your garden with colorful pumpkins.

I must warn you though, it is fun and addictive!  Of course, I tend to go a little over the top with pumpkins in my garden, but that’s what makes it ‘festive’.

Note:  All photo’s, fall garden decor, containers and wreaths were designed and made by …ME…”The Graceful Gardener”.

Hope my ‘Festival of Pumpkins’ inspires you to add some to your garden…..

 Spilling down my Staircase….

My Potting Table and Bench……

My Moongate…..

Pumpkins in containers and spilling into my Garden….

My Fall Wreaths and Entrance….HaPpY FaLL!

Thanks for visiting…

Even though I’m quite late in posting this, I still wanted to share some of my containers with you this summer.  I took many of these photo’s around the 4th of July, but to my surprise, many of my containers are still looking lush and full due to the unusual abundance of rain and lower temps we’ve experienced this summer (usually temps are in the mid-90’s this time of year), and of course, with the faithful application of Annie Haven’s Manure Tea.

Having designed and planted all my own containers for years, it’s truly still one of my favorite ways to be creative in the garden. This year I played around with lots of different colors and I even dabbled a bit in miniature container gardening this year. 

Hope you enjoy the photo gallery of just a few of my containers…

 Romantic white…

 Burst of Orange…

 Nearly Black…

 Succulent Fever…

 Cool Blues…

 Succulent Basket…

 Purple Vibes…

 Peachy Planting…

 Moody Blues…

 Variegated Foliage…

I gave miniature gardening a try this year and love it!  So fun …

 Purple Foliage…

 Colossal Orange…

 Do you enjoy planting your own container gardens?

Check out my post from last year here...

Ahhh.. the potting bench, practically every gardener’s dream (at least mine) for their garden.  A place used for starting out young plants, storing our small garden tools, clay pots, soil and watering cans. Oh, and I forgot to mention an opportunity to unleash the ‘design diva’ in those of us who love to decorate!

I wanted my potting bench to be simple and functional, as well as, adding a bit of character to my garden. Mine is situated in ‘a sweet little spot’ between my garage and chimney wall under an overhang somewhat protected from the outside elements. The fact that’s its located in the coveted morning sun area of my garden allows me to garden in a wonderful shady spot during the hot afternoon. My garden spigot is located right next to my potting bench so watering and hosing down my dirty mess is super easy.

When my potting bench isn’t in ‘work mode’ I sometimes decorate it with the change of seasons adding a focal point to that area of my garden…..

So do you have a ‘special nook’ in your garden?

Other roses painting my landscape in my garden ….https://www.thegracefulgardener.com/?p=2150

Oh, the lovely captivating simplicity of a clematis bloom. How can anyone resist this elegant yet tough vine growing up a trellis, embracing a climbing rose, or meandering through small trees, shrubs or perennials in your garden. This versatile vine can even be grown in containers, given routine care and choosing the right variety.  And to top things off, if you cut their flowers for indoor arrangements they will last for days. Of course, with so many beautiful clematis to choose from, I’m sure any gardener would likely be able to find the right one(s) to grow in their garden.

Well, I certainly couldn’t resist this ‘Queen’ of vines. Hence, I have once again embarked on another plant obsession, adding already to my rose, conifer and Japanese Maple one. These last couple of years I’ve planted more than 50 clematis (the majority I got from Dan Long, at Brushwood Nursery) and somethings tells me I’ll  be adding more of these beautiful charming vines to my garden in the future.

Naturally, since I already have several vertical elements in my garden, clematis seemed an obvious plant choice for me to explore—here’s a peak of a few of them….

One of the most stunning and largest of the viticellas is Clematis viticella ‘Venosa Violacea‘.  Very dramatic in my garden with its contrasting purple-violet and white flowers. Lovely!

 Clematis integrifolia ‘Rooguchi‘ has captured my heart…. lovely ink blue flowers shaped like a hanging bell.

 Wow!  Clematis ‘Crystal Fountain‘ is blooming beautifully in my garden right now.

The flowers are spectacular- 4 to 5 inches wide with a frilly center (resembling a fountain-like spray) against its rich lavender blue star shaped flowers.

Blooms May-September in my Zone 7b garden.

Large flowered Clematis ‘Ruutel’ has simply shaped red flowers that blend well with my autumn ferns.

Clematis texensis ‘Princess Diana‘ has stunning deep redish pink flowers.

The exquisite tulip-shaped flowers are a fine tribute to the late princess.

 The striking combination of Clematis ‘Victoria’ and C. vitcella ‘Etoile Violette‘ climbing up one of my many large pine trees…makes for a nice camouflage don’t you think?

Beautiful massive 8 inch bicolor blooms on a relatively new variety-Vancouver Starry Nights Clematis.  I have Starry Nights growing in a large container that’s placed next to a trellis.

Growing up my stone arbor is C. viticella ‘Etoile Violette’ elegantly accompanied by the nodding blooms of Hybrid Tea rose ‘Grande Dame’.

In all honesty, I’ve just begun my journey with growing clematis so I will confess that I’m no expert. I just plant them in good amended soil, give them reasonable moisture, a good organic fertilizer and shade their roots and they are pretty happy. At least that’s what works for me in my Zone 7b garden.

For more information on selecting and growing clematis check out these links:

http://www.clematisinternational.com/index.html

http://www.gardenvines.com/

http://www.clematisqueen.com/

For many years in my garden, I have been dealing with the challenge of growing roses with the forces of nature in its ‘animal‘ form. The deer, rabbits, voles, moles and those rascal squirrels, have caused a lot of frustration to this gardener. It was very disheartening to have lovely blooms or fresh new growth on my rose bush one day only to have it completely devoured by the next day.  Sometimes, I could hardly believe my eyes– one day my rose garden was full of colorful blooms and the next it becomes just a bunch of lifeless sticks!

Thankfully, due to those first hand formative years, I’ve learned how to control some of these ‘hungry rascals’.  One way is by faithfully applying deer repellant (Plantskydd is a good organic one) to all my roses. This can become costly and very time consuming but it does seem to work.

Another way, which I did often in my previous gardens, was to venture into the world of vertical gardening. Roses are especially at their most dramatic when they are growing up and spilling over a vertical support. It evokes a feeling of romance and antiquity to my garden and keeps them out of harms way from my ‘rose eating predators’.

So, I’ve slowing started investing in vertical structures to add to my garden. Mostly arbors, trellises, and obelisks. Many of my trellises and obelisks were purchased online and a few of the wrought iron arbors I had custom made as to add to the architectural flair of my home and garden.  Presently, I’ve got four arbor structures, four obelisks and several trellises, as well as, eye hooks and fishing line for my three ‘Don Juan’ climbing roses. I’m sure I’ll add more over the years, but for now my climbing roses are safe…that is until the Japanese beetles arrive!

Here’s a few photos of my roses climbing these vertical structures in all their splendor and glory this beautiful month of May….

 Beautiful climbing rose Eden graces my wrought iron arch once you enter into my backyard. Eden climbs on one side while a newly planted Lady Ashe is being trained up the other.

Climbing here on another wrought iron arch is Kordes climbing rose ‘Laguna’.  These photos do her no justice. She is a beauty!

 I’ve planted purple clematis ‘Gyspy Queen’ to accompany her…

 This arch was attached to the stone pillars of my upper deck area. ‘Laguna’ is being grown on both sides in large containers.

 ‘Don Juan’ climbing up my front entrance archway. Eye hooks and fishing line were used to attach the canes.

Making a spectacular display each spring is my lovely climbing rose ‘New Dawn’.  Her romantic presence will always be welcome in my garden….

Free standing trellises were installed by my husband and I for her to climb upon. Later, eye hooks and fishing line are put in place to keep her in bounds….

You would never guess that I purchased this double arch only two years ago. The climbing roses were only 3 feet tall when I planted them but with the faithful application of HavenBrand Manure and Alfalfa tea these climbing roses grew by leaps and bounds!

Red climber growing up a trellis and spilling over my stone wall.

Thanks to vertical gardening I can enjoy my roses for years to come.

Sorry my furry friends, but I’ve outsmarted you this time….

Many thanks to Carol at May Dream Gardens for

hosting Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day

Carol at May Dreams Gardens

Nobody likes a show-off but in this case I’ll make an exception. All week my Fringe trees have been grabbing everybody’s attention with their showy creamy white blossoms flirting in the breeze- even glowing in the evening under the moonlight…

 ~Fringe tree~

Size: 8-20 feet tall, 8-10 feet wide

It is found in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9.

Bloom time: Flowers from April to May with masses of beautiful drooping white flowers

Exposure:  Full sun to partial shade; seems to perform well with some afternoon shade in my Zone 7b garden.

Excellent in a woodland garden

A new addition to my garden this spring is Chionanthus retusus  ‘Tokyo Tower’  Chinese Fringe tree. Perfect for smaller gardens or tight spaces. I have mine planted at the edge of my ‘moonlight’ garden surrounded by my Annabelle and Snowflake hydrangeas, white camellia, Casa Blanca lilies and other white flowering shrubs and flowers.

Planting season has arrived in my zone 7b garden.  I’ve been working hard these last few weeks designing and planting the many flower beds and containers in my garden.

Of course, there is still so much to do (there always is) but this spring I’ve been drawn to the amazing colors that my Japanese maples and conifers are showcasing.  In order to capture their alluring brilliance, I decided to take a breather from gardening today so I could share a few photos with you.

I do believe their colors are simply amazing this spring….what do you think?

  Above and below photos: Acer palm. ‘Baldsmith‘, Acer palm.”Ornatum‘, Acer palm. ‘Twombley Red‘, Acer palm. ‘Mikawa yatsubusa‘, Acer palm. ‘Beni otake’, Acer palm. ‘Oku Kuji Nishiki’, Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Saligna Aurea‘, Cupressus leylandi ‘Golconda‘, Picea abies ‘Frohburg‘, Picea omorika ‘Pendula Bruns’, Juniperus chinensis ‘Daubs Frosted‘, Weeping Blue Atlas cedar, Pinus strobus ‘Niagara Falls‘, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis.

     Trees in the foreground are: Acer palm. ‘Shishigashira‘, FringeTree, Acer palm. ‘Watnong‘.

    Acer palm. ‘Bloodgood‘, Cedrus deodara ‘Feelin Blue‘, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’.

     Large dissectum ‘Crimson Queen‘.

     Acer palm. ‘Waterfall’, Acer palm. ‘Baldsmith‘ Acer palm. ‘Beni Otake’, Formosa azaleas.

    Cedrus deodara ‘Sanders Blue‘, Chinese Snowball viburnum.

    Acer palm. ‘Koto no ito‘, Acer palm. ‘Bloodgood’, Cedrus deodara ‘Feelin Blue’.

Acer palm. ‘Koto no ito’ leafing out in my garden. ‘Koto no ito’ means ‘Harp Strings‘ given that name due to the very fine linearlobum leaves. This Japanese maple is a new addition to my garden. An upright graceful tree that I’m sure will become a favorite.

Acer palm. ‘Twombley Red‘ keeps its red color even during the summer.

 Acer palm. ‘Oku Kuji Nishiki‘, Formosa azalea.

    Acer  palm. ‘Oku Kuji Nishiki’ is a lovely variegated JapMaple.

 Above and below photos: Acer palm. ‘Red Feathers’.  The photo above is back-lit by the late afternoon sun giving ‘Red Feathers’ a glow. A collector’s specimen in my garden. Lovely.

Acer palm. ‘Shishigashira‘ translates into lions head. It’s branches are covered in curly leaves. Another new addition to my garden. A fine specimen.

 Acer palm. ‘Orange Dream’

  Acer palm. ‘Beni otake‘, Acer palm.”Ornatum‘, Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Saligna Aurea‘, Weeping Blue Atlas cedar, Pinus strobus ‘Niagara Falls‘, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis , cedrus deodara ‘Snow Sprite, Tsuga Canadensis, Picea abies ‘Pusch‘.

Well, I’ve given you a peak of just a few of the Japanese Maples and conifers that I grow in my garden. I have over 50 Japanese maples and well over a hundred conifers in my landscape. Yes, I am a Conehead’ and ‘Maplehead’. Perhaps sometime during the hot and humid dog days of summer, when I limit my time working in the garden, I’ll find the time to go through my photo catalog so I can designate a blog post just for identifying many of the other specimen conifers and maples I have in my landscape.

Till next time- Happy gardening!

In bloom right now in my garden is the lovely ‘Don Juan’ climber. I have several growing against the brick exterior of my home. Two are gracing the archways of my front entrance and the third is climbing up an exterior wall on the side of my home. All are just starting to show the beginnings of their spring flush. It’s taken three years of cane growth to get them to the point were I can espalier them against the house. Definitely worth the wait. I think this year ‘Don Juan’ will give me a dazzling show!

Climbing rose    ~Don Juan~

{1958}

Large flowered Climber

Growing Zones: USDA growing Zones 6b thru 9b

Mature Plant Height:  12 ft. to 14 ft.

Petal Count: 30-35 petals

Fragrance:  intense perfume

Bloom Time: Repeats, blooms in flushes throughout the season

Highlights: Sensational velvety crimson blossoms and dark green foliage. The flowers have a hybrid-tea form appearing both singly and in clusters. One of my absolute favorite red climbers for my Zone 7b garden.

My dazzling tulips are having their annual ‘Spring Fling’ in my garden.  I must admit, I wasn’t sure how many of the tulips I planted (see post here https://www.thegracefulgardener.com/?p=3336) would be participating in my ‘Spring Fling.’  Not to my surprise, the deer decided to have a party of their own this year by eating many of my tulip buds as their gourmet main course! (Note to self: Next year put out deer repellant in February not March.)

However, lucky for me I planted around 1200 tulips, 650 were gobbled up by the deer, but that still left me with several hundred to share with you. Even though my tulip blossoms are fleeting- many blooms just lasting a few weeks- it’s still something I look forward to every year in my garden.

Here’s a peek…..

Many thanks to Carol at May Dream Gardens for

hosting Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day

http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/search/label/garden%20bloggers%20bloom%20day

An Artful Gardener – Brenda Addington

  ~  by rona simmons

A Discriminating Eye and a Garden Trowel

(An Essay by Rona Simmons)

I visit gardens when I travel, whether they are public gardens, private gardens, arboretums, nurseries (not the box stores but the old-fashioned kind, the ones owned by people with rough hands and dirt under their nails), garden exhibitions, or even local enthusiasts’ plant sales. These venues are marvelous places, full of beauty and inspiration and often a kindred, sometimes eccentric, spirit, or two, meandering about. Rarely do I leave without an idea to implement in my own garden.
As you might expect, I’m smarter now than when I first began my garden journeys.
At the outset, like other novices, I’d return from a foray with a new plant in hand and sink it into what I deemed to be its rightful place in the garden. With a minimum of effort (including those tiresome but no less important things like weeding, watering, pruning and fertilizing), a modicum of time, and a large dollop of good fortune, nature rewarded me when she chose with wondrous blooms.
My garden awakening came with the purchase of my third or fourth treasure. Suddenly I realized I had to take a step back and consider the larger picture—the canvas, you might say.
Did the color of the new rose, or camellia, or azalea compliment the established ones? Would they bloom at the same time, exploding in one single burst of riotous color but leaving me with nothing but dried leaves and bare boughs in the long winter months ahead? Would they surprise me with something new each time I ventured into the garden, heralding the circle of seasons? Was the arrangement defying the principles of design or did it adhere to the tyranny of triangles?
Sinking further into my self-imposed form of madness, I began to obsess over textures, scents, and associations. Was there variety in my garden—magnolias with their wide, glossy leaves and boughs studded with lemon-scented summer flowers that spoke of the old south as well as pines, three and five-needled cultivars with cones to collect and toss on a winter night’s fire? Were there pathways through my garden that drew the visitor’s eye, teasing them to take a first step then another, tantalizing and engaging them?
I came to realize that I wasn’t merely gardening. I was creating a work of art–a painting on a canvas of earth, a short story in colors and textures and living things. For inspiration, I sought role models from a different sort of gardener, those with a discriminating eye and experience with a trowel. Artists who garden.

Fortunately, I have had the privilege to come to know one particularly artful gardener, Brenda Addington. Brenda approaches her garden as an artist first. She brings to it both an inherited sense of grace and craft from her father, a highly skilled artisan in another media, and her own eye for color and line.

She is not one to sit inside and admire her garden through the window. I know. On one of the coldest days of the year, I found her planting a few of the thousands of bulbs she had special ordered, just the right colors for just the right spaces. In the spring, if she’s not tending to the dozens of containers that accent her garden, she’s photographing them for her website or blog. And, in the fall, she’s likely to be constructing a cascade of pumpkins on the stairs leading from her front door to her garden.

Brenda’s garden embodies all of the aspects of an artful garden. It is a delight for the senses. Her colors flow, huge white blooming Annabelle hydrangeas yield to beds of pink Angelique then mutate again to a stand of mauve tulips. Her textures weave together seamlessly—a burnished iron frog sits above delicate tendrils of a Mandevilla vine in one corner, peach-colored roses soften the blue needles of a deodar cedar in another, and, in a far recess, a stone bridge carves a path to the graceful threads of a lime-green conifer.

Try as I might, my garden just never quite measures up. Thankfully, Brenda does not live too far away allowing me the opportunity from time to time to view what she has created and see where I’ve gone wrong.

– – – –

Note: All photos courtesy of Brenda Addington.

via An Artful Gardener – Brenda Addington | Women @ Word.

For the second year in a row, one of my containers has been a finalist in Fine Gardening’s – ‘Fantastic Foliage’  2012 Container Design Challenge.

Please check out my container and many other beautiful containers created by other finalists, as well as, the winner in Fine Gardening’s May/June 2013 issue .

http://www.finegardening.com/item/26815/2012-container-design-challenge-results-fantastic-foliage/page/all

Here’s more of my containers :  https://www.thegracefulgardener.com/?p=2854