SUMMER GARDEN.......a buzz!

 

High summer has arrived bringing with it  record heat and humidity that the plants in the garden thrive on and I hide from. The mosquitos are also thriving in this weather but thankfully the dragonflies are on patrol zipping through the dense air above the garden making a meal of those biting marauders .

A Monarch Butterfly flutters around the Echineacea and Tall Verbena in the late afternoon stopping to feast on these flowers of the dog days of summer. There is dappled sunlight on the grass and I and doing my best to stay out of it and remain as cool as possible in the early morning shade. The sun will be blazing here in a few hours......not for me , thanks!

The hosts is getting some of that dappled light this morning. Lately we have been short on sunshine with mostly cloud filled skies and back in July rain was a daily occurrence. The shade garden didn't mind all the rain looking very lush.

I adore this begonia. I bring it indoors in the winter and by spring it looks rather shabby yet once outdoors it makes a glorious comeback ! 

A look into the perennial border........ I will wait until later....much later this afternoon when the sun is no longer beating down and I will freshen the birdbath and deadhead the remaining day lilies, cosmos and anything else that needs some attention. Then James and I will sit inside the screens of the atrium and wait for the hummingbirds, bees, and dragonflies & butterflies to put on their spectacular show.....despite the heat and humidity of August.

HANDS IN THE DIRT....

Our hands have been in the dirt for the past few weeks.

With the gift of good weather  James and I have set out to
work in our gardens. This year it is somewhat of a different task.
While we were away in Umbria eating all the foods that were in season there, likewise, here in
New Hampshire a woodchuck was dining in our garden. It ate well.  I
discovered this caper on my first real look at the perennial border. Something was wrong,
I observed large gaps where by this time in Spring young plants should have emerged.
The first big clue..... all the missing Tall Garden Phlox, there was without doubt a
critter in the picture and it was most certainly a woodchuck. Phlox is a known  delicacy to
those garden raiders.

Strange, I though, other plants were also  on the Missing List; a large stand of Astilbe,
Baptisia, and Coral Bells. Were these plants lost due to winter kill, collateral damage caused
by this digging varmint or  simply eaten by it?

A garden restoration project was at hand. The damage was done but to keep from allowing any more James put up a critter fence, above ground and below.

We visited our favorite nurseries to replace plants, then got ready to get our hands dirty.

First on the list was to clean up the mess, filed holes and then prepared to replace plants.
Once the restoration was complete, then the usual weeding, edging
and mulching was left to do.

With the work complete it is time to share the view.

This is a private garden. It is tucked behind a wall and the house with a gate at the entrance.
It is an extension of our house and can be viewed from all of the windows on the southeastern side.
This garden is an intimate space where stepping out the back door lands you right into it's
midst and like any room it can be walked through. A  small bench in the shaded end of the border  provides a quiet place to sit. This is a very private place that requires an invitation.

OUTSIDE THE GATE

On the other side of the gate is another area under a stand of hemlock, this
is the Shade Garden. James and I ( mostly James) have been gardening
in these beds to stay cool and out of the sun.

Again I would say that this area is an extension of the house yet it goes beyond that,
inviting itself to be visited. The cool shade welcomes you to  refresh
yourself and to sit and rest awhile.

After marathon weeks in the dirt, we have taken back our garden.

Time to take a break in the shade.





Favorite Nurseries


Walker Farm
Dummerston, VT.


Spring Ledge Farm
New London, NH


Wentworth Greenhouse
Rollinsford, NH

Daylily Season......and more

Many of our day lilies started life here as models for one of James' paintings.

Some were here when we purchased the house.

We have divided them and moved them around the garden, finding places that needed a burst of color in late July.

James and I like the combination of the Globe Thistle's texture and blue color 

in contrast to the warm yellow of this Daylily right outside our back door.

Yet, it is not all Daylilies grabbing our attention. This Astible is tall and

glorious and its placement outside our window makes for easy viewing, even when on 

hot and humid days, like we have been experiencing, we prefer to stay inside!

Echinacea blooms along with Russian Sage, Poppies, Globe Thistle, and the long lasting Yarrow.

For leaf contrast we have planted a dark purple foliage Cimicifuga, Tall Phlox, with

 variegated leaves, a yellow grass,

 Sea Holly with it's silver leaves and thorny blooms, as well as the evergreens, 'DeGroots', arborvitae  and boxwood.

,

Daylily, 'Elizabeth  Salter' is one of our all time favorites and I cannot tell

you how many times she has ended up in a painting. We first found her in Maine where she held 

a spot at the head of our stone walk. When we moved back to New Hampshire 

this  special Daylily moved with us.

Sadly, our last move was in the winter when here in the New England  States the

ground was frozen.

A couple of years ago we went looking for a daylily for James to include

in a painting that he was working on. As we wandered around the Daylily farm we

noticed 'Elizabeth Salter' was on their  plant list.

So, once again, she adorns our garden border!

Daylilies dancing above Coreopis ,'Moonbeam' and  Cranesbill Geranium, 'Rozanne'.

An array of greens in the shady end of the border.

A cool spot for an early morning cup of coffee.

A lovely pair gazing into the porch window, along with my shovel 

that I left outside today.

I best go retrieve it!

PRIMAVERA IN OUR UMBRIA GARDEN

PRIMAVERA 

Today is the Vernal Equinox.  I know that in New England 

there is  deep snow and damage from high winds, resulting from a recent storm. Here in Panicale it is truly Spring, and as as we much

love our home in the States, we are very content to be here in our other home.

The lilac in the garden is leafing out and the flowers are getting ready to burst.
I planted a few pots of sunny orange and yellow pansies, a combination that I am particularly
fond of.
James and I make more than a few visits to the local nursery!

This enormous rosemary grows just outside the door. There is also sage that is in competition for the biggest herb here. The thyme, oregano, Roman mint and chives we planted last year returned, so we only needed to plant parsley, marjoram, and a different variety of sage. We are waiting on the basil until the nights warm up.

To balance all of the yellow and orange we needed some blue and purple.
Complimentary colors, it's just a natural for artists!

I filled several of the pots with geraniums since they will last into the heat of the Italian Sun.
The pots create a pretty edge along the yard.
There is an olive tree along with four fruit trees. There is an apricot, plum and an apple, the other is a mystery.



But, what I didn't show in the above photo.....

Our freshly washed laundry hanging out to dry ! Life is not all
cappuccino, wine and art here! This is a multi-use garden!

The sun rises on this side of Panicale making a good place for a cup of morning coffee, that is after a cappuccino at Bar Gallo. And, in the evening we occupy those chairs for glass of wine or apertivo before dinner.


A View Up Our Street

There is wisteria along the wall that will flower with a beautiful perfume later in the Spring, and in a short time the trees lining the Viale Margherita will be green with leaves.
Umbria is agricultural. The fields that surround Panicale are green, bright Emerald Green. The trees will soon catch up. The almond trees are flowering, soon the apples and other fruit trees will blossom. The wild red poppies won't be denied their time to be headliners in the coming weeks!



Spring in Umbria is a glorious show and we are happy  and fortunate
to be here once again to witness and enjoy it.

Welcome Spring!

PINK PHLOX

I late July Julia's garden was filled with a backdrop of pink phlox.  Like her, they were tall and elegant. Pink phlox always return me of Julia's garden in Maine where, many years back, she taught me to be a gardener.

There are times when I step into the perennial garden here that I see Julia, of course not her but the influence and memories of her garden. I continue to use elements of repetition, scale and color combinations that I learned from  working  together with her in her garden.

In our late July garden  in New Hampshire the daylilies are in full swing and the violet of passing nepeta and salvia continue  to add notes of color to the border. There is white Phlox 'David', which has not yet flowered and the pink phlox that I have just added. To our dismay the woodchuck has once agin tunneled into the garden, so I am alarmed at the prospect of the damage he  (or she) may once again cause with his hearty appetite.

Julia introduced me to Rose Campion which always has a place in our garden. The pale cool green of it's leaves and the bright pink flowers add a delicate punctuation to the garden and I do hope this hydrangea hurries up and blooms because it will be a stunning combo these two beauties dancing together,

Nicotiana adds her bright stars to the front of the border.

James and I agree that this daylily, 'Elizabeth Salter' is our favorite. It is compact and carries many blooms with tightly held foliage. This is one of the flowers that we use to repeat to carry your eye up and down the border, again one of the elements that I carry into our garden from Julia's.

'Elizabeth Salter'

A look down the late July border where I hope the newly planted pink phlox will  grow to be tall and graceful in next year's garden.

FIRST DAY OF SUMMER IN THE GARDEN (2016)

At this moment, as Spring turns to Summer, the peony is the queen of our garden. 

A former neighbor of ours in Maine used to say, you can never have too many peonies. We were often the lucky recipients of armfuls of his peonies.

Each year since we moved here we have put in at least  one or two new peonies, and this year I am able to cut enough to bring in for a vase yet leaving plenty for the garden.

After watching Spring come to life in Umbria, from tulips, lilacs , wisteria , poppies and peonies, it was good to find late lilacs here and these gorgeous peonies.

Year by year we have been adding and editing the garden that was here when we purchased the house.  I have always liked the punctuation of yellow flowers and silver green foliage provided by Yarrow 'Moonshine'.

A long view of the walled perennial border that has full sun with it's two ends in shade, giving opportunity for a wide variety of plants.

While we away in Italy we had a visitor to our garden. It first came to our attention when James spotted a good size hole fairly well hidden......hmmmm.

The next thing we noticed  were some rather bare spots along the back of the border. Realizing that the tall garden phlox and at the New England Asters had been chomped on, one suspect came to mind.....woodchuck.

James immediately put 'chicken wire' on the gate  and fencing at entrance to the garden blocking this critter from anymore feasting in this garden.

The boxwood add structure as well as some formality against the loose quality of many of the perennials. Quite romantic!

This Heuchera with it's green edged almost white foliage and it's pink whirl of rose pink flowers above is a real eye catcher in shade at the front of the border .

Always a favorite, the beautiful flowers of the  foxglove, and you are never quite certain where she may show up year to year.

Cool shade for a hot day like today. The heuchera in the dappled sun planted in front of  soon to flower
'Peach Blossom' Astilbe, so stunning and fragrant. The shady corner filled with ferns and hostas along with some beautiful moss.

Long morning shadows on this first day of summer.

Bringing some summertime inside.