Fun with Sedums

This is Sedum Cauticolum on each side of what I think is a Sweet Potato Vine 'Blackie' and some Ice Plant in front that hadn't filled in at the time of the photo. Cauticolum looks so much like October Plant I can hardly tell them apart when doing starts because of the beautiful blue green foliage trimmed in pink that they both have. In the background you can see my 'bloomin' stairs' that I planted in Thyme. I have one on each side of the bank for easier access farther up in the back of the yard.


My only 2 tall Sedums so far. Autumn Joy on top and Linda Windsor, my newest. I thought the dark wine colored foliage would be a great contrast with all of the greens around here. The bloom is almost the same color as the foliage.



The 3 planters above have similar plantings in them of Hens and Chicks, Cape Blanco, Tri Color, Vera Jamison, I think some Purple Form, Cauticolum, October Plant Sedums, an Armeria, Viola and Johnny Jump Ups. Another nice green one you can see on the top right I'm not sure about the name. I haven't decided if I will stick them here and there in the flower beds or sell them if I decide to do some markets this summer.


3 old canisters my husband riveted together to put Sedums in. The large one has Purple Form, on the left is Babys Tears and I don't know what the third one is. The picture below shows them in bloom. The yellow bloom sure matched the flower on the canister

Perfect Pergolas at home and abroad

One of the two pergolas at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
I've seen two incredible pergolas here in the
US recently, which gave me the inspiration to write this entry. The first is at
the Daniel
Stowe Botanical Garden near Charlotte in North Carolina (above), which
has not one, but two of these wonderful features; and the second is at Fairchild
Tropical Botanical Garden in Florida (below). Glorious additions in any
garden, since they provide strong architectural interest and are an important
structure for climbing plants.

The 560-foot long vine pergola at Fairchild

Pergolas are open structures with no walls,
with columns supporting crossbars and therefore ideal for all kinds of plants.
They were extremely popular in Renaissance Italy where they were used as grape
arbors, and became a real hallmark of Gertrude Jekyll gardens last century.
Indeed, Vann(below), where Jekyll also designed the water garden, has a fantastic
pergola, which makes an impressive sight in the summer months as the foliage
begins to spread. Spring must be coming because Vann opens to the public in
April and May - it's one of my favourite gardens in the world, and I'll
certainly be making my annual visit. No year would be complete for me without
it!

West Dean in West Sussex (right) has a pretty impressive pergola too - a
sight to behold even when it's bare on a cold winter's day - when you get the
reflection in the water below. And of course, it's truly joyous in the summer
months when it's covered with greenery. Gertrude Jekyll designed the water
garden here too, but this is definitely a garden for all seasons and there's
always something going on here, because the garden organises wonderful themed
events throughout the season, so it's worth checking their calender. There are
also specialist courses at West Dean College.

Hever Castle, another of my favourites in England, has one of the most
impressive pergolas of all (below), which stretches as far as the eye can see
and is a delight in full bloom. This is just part of the wonderful Italianate
garden there, and is worth planning a special visit to see when the weather gets
better. Definitely 5* gardens and a must-see if you're in the area.

And the pergola that sticks in my mind from my
visit to the South of France last summer is the wonderful edifice at Villa
Hanbury in Ventimiglia (below). And here it really came into its own for
me because it was such a hot day when we visited, that I was only too happy to
hide from the sun in the shade below. Visit any of these gardens on a sunny day,
and you'll be doing the same!

Winter wonderland in North Carolina!

I thought I was in heaven when I went to Filoli, but yesterday I went to a garden in North Carolina that set my heart soaring
even higher – the Daniel Stowe Botanical
Garden in Belmont. It’s quite one of the most beautiful gardens
I’ve seen on my travels this year, and what I couldn’t believe was the way it
looked in the middle of winter - the temperature was just above freezing and
this has been the weather pattern for weeks here – yet the garden looked serene
under a Carolina blue sky and with many plants in bloom.

This site was the brain child of Daniel and Alene Stowe, who
bought some 450 acres in 1989 and set them aside with the idea of making a
garden in the years to come. This was no mean feat and Stowe, who had made his
fortune in textiles, wanted these gardens to be perfect, so although
construction and planning went on throughout the 1990's, it was not until
October 1999 that 110 acres of gardens finally opened to the public. Just over
10 years later, these gardens continue to bloom, and they certainly go right
into the top league that I've visited on my travels.
The Canal Garden (top and above) is quite astounding, with its glorious fish sculptures and fountains … and this was the
middle of winter, so I can only imagine how wonderful it must be in full bloom
in the summer! And this gives access to the other eight garden "rooms", which
must also be quite a sight to behold in bloom.

Today, much of the garden is beginning to mature, so each year will see more plants in bloom. But it also has the added
advantage of its magnificent Orchid Conservatory (above), which is not only
beautifully designed, but you will see bromeliad, orchid and epiphyte displays
that make your heart leap, like the wall below. Much thought has gone into these
displays and they are certainly unique.

The Conservatory only opened in 2008, and the amount of planning, both architecturally and botanically that went into this building, is abundantly obvious when you look at features like the epiphyte arches (below), which allow you to see just how these plants grow.

I have no qualms in saying that this is one of the best gardens I've visited in the US and one that I shall go back to time and time again, to see it throughout the seasons. This must surely be one of the most innovative and exciting botanical gardens to open in the last twenty years
and I will certainly return whenever I visit North Carolina!