Pathways, Hedging and Rain?

It is raining. That slow drizzly rain that soaks everything with bouts of little light rain. Had to start a fire to get the damp out of my bones. It is why gortex and synthetic fleece were invented and why we have raincoats and not umbrellas in this part of the world.

I got a little hedging accomplished before I was put out of work (unless I want to work in the rain with hand hedge trimmers). Now we have a mess of trimmings and can't get them ground up for mulch until the rain lets up.


we started mulching the trimmings and then it started to rain ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )

It will be a lot of mulch once we can get to it. I have some places that I want to cover beds and this is perfect weed-free stuff.

I've gotten more of my trails finished through the garden beds, especially the ones in the front and woodland beds.


new paths in old front yard bed ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )


new paths through a newer bed ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )


bench for comfort and blocking the dogs from entering the bed ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )

I had to move a half dozen hellebores, so another bed will be lush next year.


a few hellebores, etc. moved from pathways..creating another bed? ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )

Here are a few photos of wet flowers:


Shasta Daisy in the mist ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )


bind weed is looking prettier than many of my flowers ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )


1st yr in 25 yrs that the astilbe has looked good, guess I've not given it enough H2O ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )


a new to me plant..like it ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )

and some dry ones from the day it was sunny


bellflowers florishing ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )

I am not doing to good at finding strawberries. Kota has eaten them all when they are big and green. Darn dog (but I love her anyway). I am getting some of the raspberries though.


raspberries are back in the yard thanks to the generosity of friends & neighbors ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )

Here are some of my most common weeds this year.


I've never had to pull so many ferns for weeds...one damp spring and summer ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )

Guess I need a green house if this is the weather we will be having. At least I get to come to the Stew and drool over some vegie gardens

 

Jewell... when I read that you had to start a fire to get rid of the chill... I had to double check the date of your post!
Everything looks so LUSH!
I particularly like the area around the bench and blooms look pretty wearing rain!

 

It really is a different climate there... here, it's about 90 and so humid... it's not comfortable to be outside much of the day. So I drool over other people's gardens too! Your pink astilbe is awesome, isn't it!?

 

Toni, good info on Zebrina. It may have to be on the street-bed if it self sows too much. It sure is pretty now though.

Cheryl is is so lush because we are living up to our temperate rainforest designation. Won't make it out of the 50's today. My veggies are just getting going. We will need a long fall to get any harvests. :-? My sweetie won't have to worry about me overloading him on surplus greens

MaryAnn I always wonder if tourists from other parts of the country freeze when they're here during the summer. We have had such warm summers the last few years guess we were over due for a rainy/cool summer. The astilbe must take a lot of water, and more shade than I had been giving it. I love how it looks this year and will have to move my plantings of it where I water regularly. The pink was such a surprise.

 

Well....Jewell! Your garden is looking just splendid. You have taken some very nice fotos this time showing all kinds of interesting things.
First of all--I like all those paths. The plants that I have seen are good to see too, although I did find myself clenching my teeth when I saw that bindweed. Gurrrr. I have removed kilometers of it this year so far.

That is quite a lovely malva--it really catches one's eye. I especially like malvas and so do the bees in my garden.

I have the exact same astilbes in my garden--and you are right, they like lots of moisture (and a degree of shade). I usually give mine canal water and they drink that up quickly.

The droplets on that shasta daisy just makes it look so lovely...like teardrops on the cheeks of a distressed damsel.

You have a very vibrant stand of Lychnis coronaria. I use that plant as well. I like the contrast of the almost neon quality of the flower petals against the furry leaves. I like them because they ask for attention from a distance.

All in all--a very special posting today. It was such a pleasure to see the fotos and read your commentary.

 

Hi Jewell,
rain stops play!,..i know the feeling.

Seats really do make a garden,..they are so inviting,..even though the garden is not yours you can imagine the owner sitting there,..i love all the Ferns and woodland plants you have,..and your Astilbe is a lovely healthy specimen,..interesting paths running to heaven knows where,..that's a mystery in the making.

I must get some white Daisies,..that Shasta is a winner,..i have blue they would go well together,..beautiful Bell flowers!,..a lovely wee tour,..thank you.

 

Sjoerd you are so observant and kind with your comments. The one about the Shasta Daisy was a keeper. That bind weed took scissors and patience to remove from the clematis that it had creeped up. I've tried for several years to get it removed, but it is deep within the day lilies and springs up when I'm not looking. Glad you enjoyed the stroll. My camera only takes good photos on rainy days. Must be the right lighting.

Philip, the woodland garden is a work in progress. It was so easy to expand the beds, but so hard to make them look right . Paths I think are going to make them managable and I can see a pattern developing. Now I have a place to sit and contemplate what to move/add/delete. Living in a rainforest makes having this kind of garden easy. Figuring out how to keep it from looking like a bare lot is challenging. Glad you enjoyed coming and sitting for a while.

 

Rain.... aaaah!
Cool pix.

 

Can I ask about bindweed, Jewell? Is it a vine? I take it from the comments, it's invasive and tenacious? Sounds like the honeysuckle and wild clematis that grows all over my yard, in all the wrong places.

 

Thanks Calinromania, Frank and Eileen. I hope you are all getting just the right amount of rain.

Daisybeans, bindweed is a perennial morning glory like plant that spreads primarily through it's roots. It's probably like your wild clematis and honey suckle in that it over-grows plants, shrubs and small trees and can cover a garden in no time if not kept in check. (pulling, pulling, yanking it out) When it is really nasty is when it is paired up with the himalyan blackberries, or roses. One pokes you and you can't figure out where it is still attached by the bindweed. OUCH!

 

I went to the lottie today and worked for a couplaahours--one of the things I did was to remove bindweed--my ball of rolles-up vines was the size of a soccer ball.
I have used bindweed to tie-up plants before. It works pretty good.
If you habe bindween in the lilies, well then you know what that means.

You know, if you are having trouble getting good fotos in the mid-day sun or any other time that the light works against you, you could try using a filter on your lens.

I really liked that first foto of yours--it looks like the floor of my greenhouse when I give my toms a haircut. hahaha. I gave them one today in fact--the 4th of the season.

 

We have the same technic for dealing with the bindweed: roll it up Mine always goes away into the green recycling bin that the city provides. I use the ivy for tying up plants. I am too impatient with the bindweed to use it.

It is still raining...darn. I only need a half day of dry weather to mower that good ivy clippings into mulch. Maybe tomorrow. Nature's way to tell me to clean the house???