GARDENING & PLANTS | Stately Kitsch

Red Garden Sculptures

March 24, 2011

Kiss Garden Sculpture, CB2 $49

Stackable Tomato Ladders, Gardener's Supply $49 for set of 6

I just got the lastest round of home and garden catalogs. Lots of beautiful sunny pictures of relaxing backyards! I like that CB2 (Crate and Barrel’s modern sister store) has some more modern looking outdoor furniture and accessories. If I had a 50s style house I would be all over these red Kiss Garden Sculptures. However the price is well a little pricey. Then I noticed that Gardener’s Supply Company (a favorite of mine) has stackable Tomato Ladders in red. These would give a similar feel and you could actually use them to grow things! Plus you can stack them to up to almost 8′. I usually grow my tomatoes in pots on the deck but I might need to try these anyway.

In GARDENING & PLANTS, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS

Philadelphia Flower Show

March 23, 2011

For the first time in several years I had the opportunity to go to the The Philadelphia Flower Show. The show is pretty overwhelming. It includes elaborate displays from florists and landscapers as well as plants from local garden clubs. There is also a large area devoted to booths selling everything from fresh flowers to garden accessories to random knicknackery. The main reason I like to go is to look at interesting plant combinations, new varieties and trends. The theme this year was Springtime in Paris and it was nice to be inside the convention center on a drizzly winter day with a good friend!

Flower Carousel at the Center of the Flower Show

Trends

I noticed lots of circles and highlights of yellow and pink. I especially like the color combination of the yellow, aqua and green.

Floral Display w/ Aqua, Yellow & Green

Another Floral Display w/ round elements

Nice Yellow Urns

Plants

My favorite unexpected plant combination was the variegated Irises with the Heuchera (coral bells) and a soft moss ground cover. I also loved the short ground cover type tulips at one display. I think I will definitely have to get some in the fall to put into my garden. Brent & Becky’s my favorite bulb catalog sells several varieties. I also fell in love with the Pear Espalier. Too bad I don’t have a place to put something like this.

Varigated Iris (front) w/Heuchera & Moss

Lovely Pink Tulips mixed w/ perfectly placed oak leaves

189674_312558994978_501044978_1258024_6294432_n

Creamy Yellow Tulips

Pear Tree Espalier

In -Design, GARDENING & PLANTS

Garden Arbors

March 21, 2011

On this most dreary spring day, I thought I would show some of the Garden Arbors I am considering for the backyard. For Mother’s Day last year my lovely husband tried to buy me a garden arbor (to help hide the compost pile & provide an additional element to the back garden). Well last year came and went and I still hadn’t decided on an arbor. There are many to choose from in all different materials and finishes but I think I finally may have found a winner. Let me know what you think! Stay tuned for the installation…

Requirements:

-42″-48″ wide opening to allow for a wheelbarrel
-Have a gate to help hide the compost pile
-Work stylistically with the adjacent garage
-Require minimal maintenance
-Have enough supports to allow for a vine to grow
-Ideally made in the USA

Material Choices:

Cedar:

Pros: Nice appearance, will blend in with the adjacent wood garage & is stainable
Cons: Requires maintenance (restaining/sealing wood every few years)

Metal:

Pros: Minimal setup required. Shouldn’t require much maintenance.
Cons: Typically more open appearance (may not hide the compost pile as well as I would like)

PVC/Plastic:

Pros: No maintenance required
Cons: Only comes in white (may not blend with garage), the nicer ones tend to be pricey

My Final Selection:

I found someone on Ebay who makes Cedar Arbors in Texas. Plus then I can get the exact size I want and he can add a gate for a really good price.

In GARDENING & PLANTS

Plant of the Week: Hellabore aka Lenten Rose

March 16, 2011

Hellabores Today

Hellabores w/ Left Half Trimmed and Right Half with Last Years Leaves

Hellabores just after trimming (a little droopy)

Hellabores Today (3 Days after Trimming the old leaves)

Now that the plants in my garden have decided it is spring, I thought it would be nice to highlight one plant a week from my garden (zone 7a). To start this series off I would like to begin with the Hellabore.

Hellabore (Hellaborus, Lenten Rose, Christmas Rose)

Type: Perennial (Zones 4-9)
Light Requirements: Part Sun to Shade
Moisture: Moist to wet soil (prefer a well-drained soil)
Blooms: Early spring through end of spring. Comes in a variety of colors from white, to pink, to dark purple
Leaves: Stays green all year for me
Pros: Deer and rabbit resistant. Long flowering season (mine bloomed for about 4 months last spring)
Cons: They are fairly slow growing. I haven’t had any luck growing from seed or planting small seedlings. Larger plants tend to be a bit pricy (but at least you are getting a nice long bloom season)
Division: You can divide these as the clumps get larger (either after blooming or in the fall).

I planted mine about 4 years ago. They are doing quite well and have expanded to make a nice little patch. The one thing I learned about them recently is that you should remove last years leaves just as it is starting to bloom. I did that last weekend and it made a big improvement. The new stalks are standing tall today!

In -Plant of the Week, GARDENING & PLANTS

Signs of Spring!

March 1, 2011

Sprouting Sedum

Snow Drops & Forget-Me-Nots Sprouting

Daffodils

Phlox Carolina

For the first time this year I took a little walk around the garden with my camera. The snow is all gone and sure enough some of the plants have decided that the weather is warming (big smile). The snowdrops are just starting to bloom here. I transplanted all of them last year, so it was nice to see them looking so happy. Also my daffodils are a couple of inches tall now and my hellebores are just about to bloom. It is time for me to start looking around the neighborhood to see what else is starting to pop up.Â I also have the first patches of weeds making an appearance (little frown).

What is blooming where you are?