Day 2 Continued

Here it is, one month since my last post. Crickets. I am still talking about the Garden Bloggers Fling. And, I am only on Day 2. Fortunately other bloggers are better at getting photos and thoughts posted in a timely manner.

Summer and life are getting in the way of blogging. So I pick up where I left off a month ago with a few additional photos of Day 2.

Brookside Garden, Wheaton


A very large crape myrtle for our region. Almost a shade tree.

The All-American display garden. A handful of gardens throughout the country display the annual All-American selections. Brookside is one of them.

"Please be gentle with me and do not move me. I have a broken knee. Thank you, Mr. Frog"

A row of Petasites japonicus along the path at the lake. These would make a good addition to the manscape.

Private Garden of Scott, Arlington
I like the ability to insert a formal feel in the back although there is not much space. It had the feeling of not being too formal -- too "stuffy".

I like this way a big blank wall of the house is treated.

Into every garden a little whimsy must be added.

Private Garden of Jeff, Arlington
The back terrace where the edge of the yard drops off into a steep hillside. Are all those tropicals brought indoors for winter?

Outdoor shower.

Danger! Danger!

Another water feature. Every garden has one.

2017 Garden Bloggers Fling - Day 2

The second day took us to some private gardens in Maryland and to a public garden where lunch was served. All but one garden in the entire weekend contained shade and a water feature or two, or three, or more that allowed us to tolerate the summer. Weather was typical hot and humid the first two days but not overly oppressive as it can be.

Private Garden 1, Bethesda
The house at the end of a cul du sac, and featured gardens sculptured with uses of materials in ways unexpected.
Very inviting front porch.

Foundation plantings along the front included very few evergreens, but a lot of perennials.

Unusual use of wood for stepping stones, and twig branches forming large balls as lawn ornament in the background.

Now that's one use for bamboo that you cut down.

Water feature on the terrace. Another notice of most gardens: outdoor entertaining spaces were often broken into several areas, not on the same level, not of the same materials. This lower terrace held seating and the water feature, while the upper deck the dining table.

Among the hydrangeas.

Some weird seed pods held small succulents for the table centerpiece.

Private Garden 2, Bethesda
This was the backyard (I hate to call it 'yard') of a landscape designer. It was without a doubt, the most impressive residential landscaping of a yard steeply sloping down to the house that I have seen. Photos could not capture the entire feeling of a landscaped hillside.
Steps at the back terrace beckons one to begin an ascent to enter the landscape instead of merely observing it on the terrace.

The bottom of the hillside and the stream is a fish pond. THe sound of water is a relaxer.

Shady path between the front and back around the side of the house.


The stream starts at the top of the hillside and tumbles down into the pond filled with fish and water lilies. The gazebo at the top of the hill invites one to climb, and provides a visual point to draw your eyes up.

Inviting shady path to the other side of the house.

And close where we started -- on the front porch.

Day 1 Continued

2017 Garden Bloggers Fling • Washington DC
More public gardens were on the itinerary for the second half of Day 1 in Washington DC. A very warm sticky day exposed us to the normal summer weather Washington is noted for. Stops included the Smithsonian gardens along the National Mall, the U.S. Botanic Garden, and the Franciscan Monastery.

Smithsonian Gardens
I have written about the Smithsonian gardens in spring [posted 10.04.2009], but have never seen them in summer. I don't venture near the Mall in the summer due to the hoards of tourists taking over. I did not document with many photos on this trip.

One of the themed garden of the Smithsonian - the butterfly garden walk.

Big one

U.S. Botanic Garden
I have not been to the U.S. Botanic Garden in about a decade. A large greenhouse with several rooms of differing climates and locations were complimented by an outdoor garden and walk. I don't remember it as big as it is.
The Botanic Garden has this garden among the office buildings and near the capitol. A native planted stream and garden that looks like it was plucked out of the countryside.

A rest under the arbor, out of the sun. Love details like the vine as part of the step railings (or are they snakes?)

Love little delights that are surprises like the logo of the Botanic Garden on the gate doors.

Interior of one of the greenhouses.

Tropicals were very large.

Indoor papayas.

A daylily I have wanted. This one is called 'Red Ribbons'. I am fond of 'Radiation Biohazard' from another botanical garden.

Franciscan Monastery
A quick end of the day visit to some gardens and grotto. The best parts were the courtyard cloisters - very peaceful and contemplative. The grotto was filled with azaleas, and probably shines best in spring.

2017 Garden Bloggers Fling - Day 1

2017 Garden Bloggers Fling • Washington DC
This was the first year I flung. It was held in my Capital Region, Washington DC, so why not? Most of the public gardens were places I had previously visited, although maybe not at this time of year, nor recently. The private gardens were places I would never have the opportunity to experience and am very appreciative.

I took some some photos -- not many -- of things I found interesting. My posts will include mostly photos and few words. I used the cell phone camera and left the SLR at home, not looking forward to lugging it around all day. None of the trips took us into Alexandria, so I hope some of the attendees had the opportunity to venture down into Old Town if they stayed a bit longer and dared to immerse themselves in something besides gardens.

First stop was Hillwood Museum and Gardens. I have never visited a men's room with so many fresh cut flowers (sorry - there are no photos.) I previously visited here (not the men's room) in 2010 and posted photos of the orchids [posted 2010.05.13].

There were a handful of formal gardens around the formal estate house.

Rose garden

Many decorative arts like the zodiac around the light globe.

I spied a tacky lamp post along the paths -- shame.

The Japanese hillside garden was my favorite with running water, lily pond, statuary, bridge and stepping stones. You can tell since I took more photos of it than anywhere else at Hillwood.







Platycodon never looked this good and neat in my garden.

Extensive cutting garden (for the men's room?)

Orchids in the greenhouse were grouped at the entrance to be seen from the outside as an enticement.

Replica of a Russian dacha with loose interpretations like onion domes on the roof chimney, and American eagle snow guards (or are those vultures?)

Chocolate Flower

This is the second year for my perennial Chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata), planted from seed last year. It survived the winter, but hey, that's not saying much. I had nicotiana survive this past mild winter.

I think I dumped half the seed pack into one container in early spring 2016, and had so-so luck with germination. I transplanted four seedlings into a harsh area, since I read they are native to the southwest (United States) and are not fond of the good soils here in the east. They survived full sun at the intersection of the concrete driveway and wood deck steps.

One plant did produce about 3 blooms last summer; the others were too small. This year, I planted a few more from seed and when large enough, transplanted to the same spot, hoping they would grow into those wonderful pictures in the seed catalogs. Note: transplanting seems to stop their growth. They were doing fine in the yogurt cups, but once hardened off and bedded into the ground, they put on the brakes.

Today, the older plants are blooming - one in particular took off leaving the rest behind. Almost daily, one or two flowers greet me in the morning on the way from porch to car. They last about 2-3 days. The other plants from last year have yet to really wake up.

The flowers are small and lemony yellow, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) diameter, and not abundant. Plants are spindly, untidy, and a short 12-inches (30 cm) high, making neighbors wonder what's up (or down) when I am on my hands and knees to get a hit of their fragrance. And, the fragrance comes though in the morning. In the evening, the flowers have no scent. I would never grow these as an accent or as a visual specimen plant.

And an answer for the final question: yes! They really do smell like chocolate. Not a little like chocolate, but 100% like chocolate. I can't believe enough of these would ever make Willie Wonka happy and "perfume the entire garden", but if you are good at occasionally bending over to get your nose close to the ground, you could enjoy the novelty.

For The Record:   • Dry, well-drained soil, some organic material added   • Full sun   • Small amount of slow-release fertilizer   • No serious pests/disease Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: nasturtium, coneflower, rudbeckia, daylily, hydrangea, marigold, phlox, geranium, yarrow, nicotiana   • Harvested: garlic

Blue Collar

This is the first year the penstemon is blooming with any kind of presence. Say hello to Rocky Mountain Blue -- and I am proud to say that I started this perennial from seed in 2015. Again, this was one of the seeds I obtained from the annual February seed exchange that I have been attending but will skip in the future.

I took loving care of the beadtongue (who thought up that name) and placed it in a prime spot that was regularly mulched, and was in full sun. During the first summer, the 5 plants stayed healthy and vigorous, although no flowers appeared. No pests appeared on them, either.

Last year, the five plants produced one flower spike -- a very electric blue. The slight shades of purple around the edges of the more mature petals gave it an iridescent appearance in the sun. But only one flower spike? The blooms also are clustered along one side of the stalk.

I researched my western U.S. native to find that it prefers western conditions. This means rather dry, sandy,well-drained soils without a lot of rich organic material. Sort of a tough, blue collar kinda of plant. I have it in mulch in rather rich soils. That is probably why the leaves were so healthy I thought.

I stopped fertilizing, and let it be. This year, about 20 spikes showed up on what now looks like one plant clump. It certainly does not look like the full dense photos in the garden catalogs. Time to divide already? Most blooms are gone now, but a few remain in time for me to finally get a new post up. One note: after the stalks are finished blooming, they tend to fall over.

The plant has an interesting history. It first appeared in the 1700s in publications, and was named pentstemon from "pent" and "stamen" for the unusual 5th stamen. Penstemon, native to North America and Asia, became very popular in Europe where many hybrids were bred. Sounds very similar to the history of the sunflower -- another North American native -- that was taken to Europe, hybridized, and made its way back to North American gardens. The name of this one, Rock Mountain, suggests it is a cultivar developed here.

I think this may be a candidate for the hell strip garden - dry, rather poor soils, and in need of blooms at this time before the coneflowers and rudbeckia. Do you think it would grow there?

For The Record:   • Clay soil with & plenty of mulch and organic amendments   • Full sun   • Small amount of fertilizer   • No serious pests/disease Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: nasturtium, phlox, poppies, rose, kniphophia, nicotiana,     coreopsis, peony, geranium, marigold   • Harvested: cilantro

Now That You Mention It

I recently read that the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a legume like beans and peas -- it manufactures it own nitrogen, adding it to the soil. Well, it actually uses its nitrogen-producing bacteria in the root zone that provide a beneficial relationship with the plants.

This is my second redbud. I wrote about my first one, a Chinese Redbud [posted 02.05.2014]. It grew from seed I received from the National Arboretum -- all volunteers received some. After fifteen years, never becoming large or blooming, it bit the dust.

The second was a single shoot seedling about a foot tall (30 cm) that I purchased from a local botanical garden plant sale from a local "native plant" group. I thought the Eastern US redbud would grow better than the non-native, and it did. After two years, it was 7 feet tall (2 m), but still produced no blooms in spring. After a 17 year wait, a redbud is finally blooming in my yard. Although flowers are found on old wood and are sparse, being such a young tree, any blooms are welcome after the long wait.

Beans, peas, lentils, clover, and peanuts are what come to mind when we talk of legumes. I just learned that the redbud goes on that list. But now that you mention it, redbuds do have some common characteristics of well-know legumes. Look are the leaves. The heart-shape looks very much like those of a bean plant. Look at the flowers closely. Don't the shapes look like blooms from peas, beans, or sweet peas? And the native redbud produces seed pods not unlike those of a string bean or pea.

For The Record:   • Damp heavy clay soil with several years of rganic amendments -     bottom of a slope   • Light shade understory with partial sun   • No fertilizer   • No serious pests/disease yet Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: woodland phlox, ajuga, anemone, azalea, spirea, dogwood,     virburnum, columbine, redbud