Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up June: A Long Island Garden Brings Joy!

Welcome!

Welcome! I must say that a garden brings joy. My favorite way to start or end the day is to sit outside on the patio with a cup of tea and appreciate all that nature has to offer. My garden has been a labor of love all my life, but especially over the past 28 years since the time my design career blossomed. My love of gardening on my own property and passion to help others continues to grow. Join me for a tour of my Long Island garden!

The Welcoming Committee!

As the official start of summer approaches, daytime temperatures have now reached into the upper 70's to low 80's with a slight breeze off the water to keep the days comfortable. The garden is thriving as there have been frequent rains over the past two months to keep the blooms coming and the plants happy. 

Baptisia and Roses!

To start our stroll, along the back patio is Baptisia 'Lemon Meringue' (False Indigo) Since I planted it just two years ago, this vigorous North American native has grown into a three foot high by wide plant loaded with bright yellow blooms above blue-green foliage. It thrives in this garden bed alongside Knock Out Rose 'Radrazz'. 

Kousa Dogwood 'Greensleeves'

One of my favorite spring bloomers is Kousa Dogwood 'Greensleeves'. This less often seen cultivar produces an abundance of white blooms with a greenish tint every spring. I was fortunate to come across it in the nursery years ago and am so happy it went home with me!

Patio Border

Along the patio border, the newly planted Acer palmatum 'Twombly's Red Sentinel' columnar Japanese Maple is doing well in its second season. Newly added Spirea 'Candy Corn', a dwarf form of Spirea known for its magnificent color joins it. Lamb's Ear (Stachys) also joins the mix!

Double Knock Out Rose (Red)

Along the southern facing fence border, Double Red Knock Out Rose is in full bloom...

Double Knock Out Rose (Pink)

while Double Pink Knock Out Rose blooms join it across the way.

Daylily 'Stella D Oro'

An often seen species of Daylily is Daylily 'Stella D Oro' and the reason is for its longer lasting blooms. I keep my blooming through fall with deadheading and rejuvenation.

Pool Border

Along the pool border, groundcover sedum seems to be blooming ahead of schedule this year. This is Sedum 'Angelina' (Stonecrop) along with Hinoki Cypress, Blue Globe Spruce, Dwarf Maiden Grass and Weeping White Pine. A statue of a young girl and kitty look over the garden.

Rhode Island Bed Japanese Maple

Here, back around in the patio border is Rhode Island Red Japanese Maple and Osmanthus (False Holly) 'Goshiki'. 'Greensleeves' Kousa Dogwood and Gold Lace Juniper can be seen in the backdrop.

Pool Surround

In the pool surround (southern side) the Golden Oriental Spruce that I planted at just five feet tall now highlights the back area. Weeping Norway Spruce, Sky Pencil Holly, Rhododendron and Skip Laurel join in to form this evergreen section of the garden.

Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar & Coral Bells

A favorite combination of mine is Heuchera (Coral Bells) 'Palace Purple' and 'Caramel' along with Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar in the backyard garden bed. The little bit of shade supplied from the weeping tree is just enough to create the ideal environment for the Coral Bells to thrive.

A Little Garden Whimsy

Here is a statue I bought myself a few years back and it is one of my favorites. It can be seen as we make our way around the island bed in the backyard. You may recall a giant Crape Myrtle resides in this bed along with a collection of evergreens, flowering shrubs and perennials. We will revisit this area in late summer as the Hydrangea and Crape Myrtle bloom.

Southern Pool Border

Follow along with me around the bend to the southern section of the property where Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' and Nepeta 'Walkers Low' are in bloom. Rhododendron, Steeds Holly, Variegated Boxwood and Golden Yew join the mix.

Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake'

Here are the blooms of the Viburnum up close!

Driveway Border (East)

As we exit the backyard and head towards the front, the driveway border has an assortment of evergreens including 'Skyland's' Golden Oriental Spruce, Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, Hinoki Cypress, Dwarf Norway Spruce and Boxwood.  Weigela and Nepeta accompany the evergreens.

Driveway Border (West)

On the opposite side of the driveway border is Weeping Norway Spruce, joined by Spirea 'Magic Carpet', Japanese Garden Juniper, Salvia 'Caradonna' and Japanese Iris.

Front Island Bed

In another view is Coral Bark Maple, Boxwood, Hosta and Variegated Liriope (Lilyturf).

Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang'

In the front main island bed, Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang' is all in bloom...

Front Lawn

and here is another view with Osmanthus 'Goshiki', Weeping Norway Spruce, and Heuchera (Coral Bells) with Weeping Japanese Maple and Blue Atlas Cedar in the backdrop along the front lawn.

Japanese Iris

A few Japanese Iris remain for Bloom Day...

Itoh Peony 'Bartzella'

and here is Peony 'Bartzella' from just a couple of weeks ago. Its blooms are magnificent but only last a short time from the end of May through the beginning of June. I wouldn't give it up for the world though, as I love this plant! Even the foliage is nice to look at well into the fall months.

Thank you for Visiting!

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my June garden. I so appreciate you being here, look forward to your comments and look forward to seeing what you have growing in your area. Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who had hosted Foliage Follow-Up, a meme I will continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday, Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden. 

Visit my Author Page!

Are you an avid gardener or wanting to learn?  My books can help you! 

A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9

Landscape Design Combinations  

Dream, Garden, Grow!-Musings of a Lifetime Gardener

Gardening by Month: A Monthly Guide to Planning the Northeastern & Mid-Atlantic Garden

Shade Gardening for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

Author: Lee @A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2010-2024. All rights reserved. 

This Month in the Garden: Garden Rose Care: Planting, Pruning & General Maintenance

This Month in the Garden: Garden Rose Care:  Planting, Pruning & Maintaining

Welcome to This Month in the Garden for the month of July! A common question I receive as a landscape designer is, "When and how do I prune my roses?" I also get inquiries on the best time to feed roses and how to properly water them. Here are some helpful tips.

Knock Out Rose Radrazz

PLANTING: The best time to plant roses is after the last frost date in early spring when they are dormant or just pushing out new growth. Plant in an area of full sun and dig a hole that is slightly wider than the root ball. Place the rose at ground level or slightly above to allow for proper drainage. Mix a handful of bone meal or super phosphate into the soil while back-filling around the plant and add a layer of mulch to protect the roots. Bare root roses should be planted when the daytime temperatures are between 40 and 60 degrees, while potted roses can be planted anytime between spring and fall.

Pink Carpet Rose

PRUNING: The best time to prune roses is after the last frost date in early spring when they are dormant or just pushing out new growth. Prune out any dead or broken branches to return strength back into the plant. If you are unsure about a branch being alive, gently scrape the bark until you view green underneath. If the layer underlying the bark is not green, the branch is no longer viable, and should be pruned. In the case of Knock Out Roses, Carpet Rose and Drift Rose, I prune my roses back regularly during the growing season to keep the plants full and compact. 

Rose Garden with Drift Rose

FEEDING: Feeding roses is important to retain their vitality and health. It is recommended to apply a slow release fertilizer that is high in phosphorus to promote blooms. There are products on the market that include a combination of a slow release fertilizer along with a systemic fungicide to prevent fungal disease, which roses are prone to.

Peach Drift Rose

WATERING: Roses do not fare well when their foliage is persistently wet. It is best to irrigate rose bushes with drip lines during early morning hours, allowing the water to go directly to the roots and not onto the foliage. Using this method will help to eliminate risk of fungal disease. Water newly planted roses every two to three days and established roses once or twice a week to keep the soil around them moist. Over-watering will cause the leaves of the plant to yellow, while under-watering would result in dry, crumbling foliage. 

This Month in the Garden

I hope you enjoyed This Month in the Garden for July. Be sure to stop by on the 1st. of each month for This Month in the Garden, as I share gardening tips, information and horticultural adventures! Linking with:  Floral Fridays, Macro Monday 2, Friday Photo Journal, Image-in-ing Weekly Photo Link-Up and Dishing It & Digging It.

For more gardening information and tips...
Visit My Author Page/Purchase My Books

~As Always...Happy Gardening! ~

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2019. All rights reserved.

This Month in the Garden-Cottage Gardening: A Timeless Tradition of Past and Present

Cottage Style Gardening

Welcome to This Month in the Garden! The very familiar and popular concept known as “cottage style" gardening actually dates back to the 14^th century prior to Elizabethan times. The earliest cottage gardens had more emphasis on vegetables, herbs and fruit trees, and were thought to be created by workers for the purpose of growing food for household consumption. Unlike today, flowers were occasionally used to fill spaces simply for decoration. In later years, the Cottage style garden was more admired for its informal design, dense traditional plantings, and mixture of ornamental and edible plants. During the 1870’s, cottage gardens went through a major transformation with the development of formal estate gardens, which led to the planting of masses of greenhouse annuals and roses enclosed in “garden rooms” consisting of boxwood hedge. The Arts and Crafts movement during the late 19th century focused on a return to the informal romantic planting style of the traditional English garden and well-known 19 century authors such as William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll helped to popularize cottage garden design as we know it today.

Thatched Cottage at Old Westbury Gardens, Long Island, NY

By the early 20th century the term "cottage garden" was described to be a large and sophisticated garden in which color harmony were carefully planned and controlled. The famous 1910 Hidcote Manor in the United Kingdom is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked "garden rooms" of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous borders. Vita-Sackville-West, English poet, novelist, and garden designer had implemented similar models for her 1930’s cottage garden at Sissinghurst Castle, where her idea of a cottage garden was a place where, as she put it, "the plants grow in a jumble, flowering shrubs mingled with Roses, herbaceous plants with bulbous subjects, climbers scrambling over hedges, seedlings coming up wherever they have chosen to sow themselves". The cottage garden in France was a development of the early 20th century Monet's garden, a sprawling garden full of varied plantings, rich colors, and water gardens. In modern times, the term "cottage garden" is used to describe any number of informal garden styles, using design and plants very different from their traditional English cottage garden origins.

Allium in Walled Garden Old Westbury Garden

Modern cottage gardens are associated with an assortment of roses: shrub roses, climbing roses, and old garden roses with lush foliage. The newer hybrid English roses introduced by David Austin are very popular in modern day cottage gardens because of their old-fashioned look with multi-petaled, fragrant, rosette-shaped flowers combined with hardiness and disease-resistance. Many modern cottage gardens also include the use of native plantings and those adapted to the local climate. Other plants incorporated into cottage style gardens include hedging plants such as boxwood, holly, Hawthorn, Elderberry, laurel and Privet. Flowering herbs and perennials in include lavender, catmint, thyme, sage, wormwood, feverfew, lungwort, hyssop, and sweet woodruff. Fruiting trees include the planting of crabapple, dogwood and cherry. 

Cottage/Traditional Style Perennial Border

A well-planned cottage garden can be a beautiful addition to your space and be a great haven for pollinators, such as butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. As a landscape designer, I try to incorporate a mix of "cottage style" plantings with traditional plantings to create a colorful garden which has all season interest and requires less maintenance. A favorite hybrid garden I created is this mix of perennials with evergreen and flowering shrubs. A weeping Pussy Willow is surrounded by fragrant deep pink Peony 'Karl Rosenfeld' with an understory of colorful purple 'Salvia May Night'. A natural stone path leads from the patio to lawn area and is followed by a collection of Peony 'Bartzella', Astilbe, Daylily, Allium, Salvia and Lamb's Ear, accompanied by the decorative foliage of Hosta. 

 Clockwise (Left to Right: Allium 'Globemaster', Lamb's Ear, Astilbe 'Visions in Red', Stella D' Oro Daylily, Peony 'Karl Rosenfeld', Salvia 'May Night' and Peony 'Bartzella')

Although often overlooked, plant form is another useful attribute. An extension of the garden incorporates various colorful weeping, globe and spreading evergreens, such as Weeping Norway Spruce, Juniper, Chamaecyparis, Blue Globe Spruce and Dwarf White Pine. Ornamental/Flowering shrubs include hydrangea, rhododendron, azalea, weeping Japanese Maple, Dogwood, Crape Myrtle, flowering Plum and Cherry. Masses of perennials in odd numbers of three, five and seven offer an informal cottage-garden feel throughout the garden, while the color and texture of evergreens and flowering shrubs add an update to the traditional style. Ornamental grasses can also be incorporated to create interest and flow while planters with herbs can be added and used for cooking. Cottage gardening has evolved over the centuries, but remains a timeless tradition, and the right combination of colorful perennials, evergreens and flowering shrubs can create an informal and inviting atmosphere.

Extension of Garden

I hope you enjoyed This Month in the Garden for June. Be sure to stop by on the 1st. of each month for This Month in the Garden, as I share gardening tips, information and horticultural adventures! Linking with:  Floral Fridays, Macro Monday 2, Friday Photo Journal, Image-in-ing Weekly Photo Link-Up and Dishing It & Digging It.

Visit My Author Page/Purchase My Books

~As Always...Happy Gardening! ~

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2019. All rights reserved.