Hidden Hills Garden

Phillip Oliver’s Garden

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Peggy Hill

Last Wednesday my garden club toured two SPECTACULAR gardens in Florence, Alabama. The first garden is Maria Wall’s moss garden (I’ll blog about that later); the second garden belongs to Phillip Oliver, and he helped me set everything up. Meeting Phillip reaffirms my belief that gardeners are among the most kindhearted, generous people on the planet; and the garden…WOW!!

It’s a small ¾ acre city lot, but it feels much larger due to the very effective use of garden rooms. I should have taken more pictures, but I was distracted by my excitement. The first room is the entry courtyard it is wonderfully shaded and has a ground cover of mondo grass bisected by gravel paths. Instead of going straight into the house, we took the path to the left. You pass between these two items, and they help to create a definite sense of entry into another distinct area. This new area feels like a long hallway. ********************************************************************************

A little way up on the left is this cozy nook.

To the right is this wall. It is one of my favorite parts of the garden. I love the color, texture and everything about it. It is a great background for absolutely everything he puts against it.

Again there is a definite sense of entry into a new room.

This is the main area. The use of concrete statues and heads in various sizes throughout the garden is one of the ways he ties together all the separate spaces.

********************************************************************************

To my right is a long arbor covered in several different types of mostly heirloom roses. I’m cheating with this next picture; I took it from Phillip’s blog. When we toured, none of these roses were in bloom, so I didn’t take any pictures. Phillip said this was his starting point for the garden so I really wanted to show it, besides, it is beautiful!

This is just to the right as you enter. The oak leaf hydrangeas are in full bloom.

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A pretty combination of one of the roses and rose campion

Another view in the main area

This is another distinct area

An artfully arranged tablescape on the main porch

I’m going to use this picture and the previous one in an article I’m writing on focal points to illustrate the difference between having a strong focal point, and not.

We may have missed the big rose display, but the hydrangeas were amazing. There was quite a collection in the room between the back door and the detached garage.

A view as you complete the circle around the house. There is a small vegetable garden to the left, and the entry garden is straight ahead.

********************************************************************************

If you want to see more of Phillip’s garden he has a website called A Southern Gardener. It shows some of the history of the garden, and he also has a blog called Dirt Therapy. Touring these gardens and meeting the gardeners was truly the highlight of my spring!!

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Iris

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Peggy Hill

My husband Dale is a school teacher. A few years ago, one of the parents gave him a bag of bearded iris as an end of the school year present. I was thrilled!! They have done well, and I’ll need to divide them this year. Each variety only bloomed for about 2 weeks, but because I have several different varieties, there was something blooming through most of April. Here’s what I have:

Gypsy Romance

Western Tradition

Warm Wishes

: An ugly picture of the beautiful iris ‘Maria Tormena’

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Pacific Cloud

Debrenee

My friend Liz shared this Siberian iris with me. Its foliage is narrower, and it is a little shorter than most of the bearded iris.

I saved the best for last. I asked the Catbird Seat Nursery if they had a reblooming white iris, and this is what they sold me. I suspect it is a variety called ‘Immortality’, but it wasn’t marked, so I’m not sure. It blooms for the typical 2 week period in April, but what is so spectacular is that it reblooms sporadically in the fall. It has bloomed at Thanksgiving before (very cool). It may take a year before you see the fall blooms, but it is certainly worth the wait.

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One Hundred New Arrivals

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Peggy Hill

I stopped at the nursery to pick up a basil plant and lime ONLY, but then I saw this fuschia. I had no business buying it since there were 100 new arrivals all waiting for me to find them a home, but who could resist this? Not me! (I’m not going to make up excuses for why 2 dew drop plants, a regal geranium and an ivy geranium also wound up in the car.)

I have been known to buy plants for strange reasons, sometimes the name alone is enough to gain entrance to the garden (Hosta ‘strip tease,’ Geum ‘Double Bloody Mary,’ hairy balls, etc.) However, this picture may be the strangest reason yet for buying plants. But who wouldn’t want to buy plants from Barry?

What I purchased is called the home garden sampler from Sunshine Farm and Gardens. There are five plants each of twenty different varieties. Now here’s the fun part, you don’t pick the varieties, Barry picks them for you. When they arrive in the mail, it’s like Christmas!! The only thing you specify is the percentage of sun lovers versus shade lovers. Here’s how they looked just after I unpacked them; looking pretty good.

If you are wondering what I got, here’s the list:

Heuchera ‘David’

Carex woodii

Heuchera ‘Raspberry Regal’

Aconitum lycoctonum

Lamiastrum galeobdolon ‘Herman’s Pride’

Maianthemum canadense

Meehania cordata

Iris verna

Galtonia candicans

Ruellia humilis

Diphylleia cymosa

Mertensia viginica

Stylophorum diphyllum

Hepatica acutiloba

Hemerocallis thunbergii

Dodecatheon meadia

Geum ‘Georgenberg’

Allium senescens

Dentaria diphylla

Bergenia ciliate

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I loved anticipating their arrival, being surprised at what came, and figuring out where they should live, but in case you want to do this yourself, there are a few drawbacks. First the package arrived on May 4^th, much later than I would have liked. I tried to hold space, but I’ve been planting perennials for weeks. The second drawback is that six of the twenty varieties want moist shady conditions, and I don’t have a spot that fits that bill. (My latest thought is “I have shade, and I have sprinklers, so I can make moist shady.”) Despite these few drawbacks, this was a cool thing to do, and I recommend it. You can also just pick out exactly what you want and order it, but this is more fun.

Although everything is very small, and nothing is flowering, I have a few favorites (I’m sure they will change.) Here’s my top 3 as of today:

Heuchera 'David' with hosta 'Twist of Lime'

Hepatica acutiloba

Bergenia ciliate

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I’m Tired of Ugly Pictures

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Peggy Hill

The tornados that devastated many places all around me last week did no damage to the garden or structures, (all my damage was done the week before) but I’m in the mood for pretty pictures.

I try and use things that entertain me for a long time, but I make exceptions for a few of my favorites, and this peony ‘Festiva Maxima’ makes the list. I can’t walk by without sticking my nose in and breathing deeply.

Baptisia was the 2010 perennial plant of the year. He takes awhile to settle in and start looking fabulous, so be patient. This variety called ‘Purple Smoke’ has been here since spring of 2009. His long tap root makes him drought tolerant and also reportedly hard to move. However, I’ve seen several gardeners report success, so I’m going to try this fall. The Clematis in the background is a reblooming variety called ‘Franziska Maria Evipo’. The chartreuse plant in the front is anise hyssop (Agastache ‘Golden Jubilee.’)

The backyard is waking up nicely. The Mountain Laurel is looking good, as is the climbing rose ‘Don Juan’. Juan looked much better last year. I should probably feed him some compost.

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This area of the front yard looks particularly nice now. Everything is so fresh and new. The tall white spires of foxglove in the back are just getting started. (I’m going to write an entire blog on foxglove, because it’s one of my very favorites.) From left to right are foam flower (Tiarella ‘Black Velvet’), a dark coleus, Astilbe ‘Fanal’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’), kale (I decided not to eat it. The flowers were pretty, but I cut them off before they started dropping seed.), and a few more plants I’ll talk about later.

You probably didn’t notice Helleborus ‘Mrs. Betty Ranicar’ in the previous picture; she’s tucked in behind the Heuchera. The other Helleborus are mostly done, but she’s still going strong after at least 6 weeks. I’m hoping she has some babies this year.

This is just before you step onto the front porch. The coral bells (Heuchera ‘Frosted Violet’) in the center really loves it here. He’s about to start flowering. Both of the silver foliaged plants to his left and right moved here this spring from Plant Delights. On the left is Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum falcatum ‘Silver Lining’), and on the right is Helleborus foetidus ‘Red Silver’ (Sorry Ann, I don’t think he’ll bloom until next year.) Along the front is sedge (Carex ‘Blue Zinger’), and the foliage of the foxglove is along the back.

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What a mess!!

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Peggy Hill

I was going to say “Mother nature opened a big can of whoop ass on my garden,” but Dale looked it up, and the urban dictionary says it is lame and outdated. (I don’t want to be either one.) So, I’ll describe this as “Mother nature has snapped her fingers in a Z formation.” (I heard that from Jesse, so I know it’s fresh.) I’m wondering if she was pissed at the mere notion that I would like to be the garden dictator. She sure showed me who’s boss.

This is the worst of the three areas of devastation. The arbor between these two oaks signaled the beginning of the woodland garden. Dale measured a 6 feet circumference on the largest oak. According to the Internet, it’s about the same age as my 91 year old father. (He’s doing AWESOME, thanks for asking.)

A broken mothers day present from Leandra

The 2 big oaks knocked down 4 pines, a dogwood and another big hardwood tree. As bad as it looks I remain one of the luckiest people on the planet. Just 2 weeks ago we finished removing a LOT of trees (working to get more light into the vegetable garden.) Two of the largest would certainly have crashed into the garage.

Not only did I have zero structural damage to the house and garage, but even the pea plants were mostly untouched. There is one pine on either side of the raised bed. The small parsley plants in the bed to the left are already recovering from being covered by pine branches for a couple days. (One day I’m going to write an entire blog about parsley. It is one of my favorite plants.)

Storm Damage
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We lost another large oak on the far side of the vegetable garden, and it took out several pines on its way down.

The third area that got trashed is halfway along the woodland garden path, just before it descends to the creek. They say it was straight line winds last Wednesday night, but I think it could have been a tornado.

Never fear, repairs have already begun. The tree guys are going to cut the trunk into 19″ long pieces, and we are going to use them as stools in the new outdoor picnic area. I asked my fabulous husband, Dale, to add scale to the photo.

I have no idea how I’m going to handle all this displaced soil.

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I Gave up Just Before the Miracle

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Peggy Hill

Back in the Margaret years, I used to go on sales trips with Charles. (I don’t miss working, but I do miss seeing Charles and the others.) We usually stopped to get directions (because we had been talking and laughing instead of paying attention to where we were going). Often we were told our turn was just a little further down the road, then Charles would always say “Margaret, we gave up just before the miracle.” Well that’s what I did. It looked like a fully developed but extremely small broccoli when I picked it(about the size of a quarter) , but if I would have just hung in there a little longer, it would have been a much more respectable size.

I took this picture on March 14. The broccoli on the left is almost ready for harvest. Not the size you buy at the grocery, but enough for a nice serving. The broccoli on the right is where I got the tiny head from. What you see here are the side shoots. They were delicious! I only ended up with 2 plants this year, so next year I’m going to make sure the dogs don’t lick most of the seeds out of the ground (they were after the organic fertilizer).

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I planted the peas on February 18^th, and I harvested my first snow pea ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II’ on April 16^th. Last year I brought a snow pea salad to Jennifer’s dinner party. The simple recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa on the food network website: peas, dark sesame oil, black sesame seeds and kosher salt. It was a huge hit and Marilyn has already confirmed I will be growing them again. She said it like this, “You WILL be growing those peas again. Won’t you?” (I am exaggerating a little bit. Marilyn is too sweet to say anything rude.) I also planted ‘Super Sugar Snap’ and ‘Knight’ peas.

I’ve grown peppers and tomatoes from seed for several years, and every spring they are still so small that I’m tempted to just replace them. Well not this year! Look at these beauties (I’m such a proud mama). There’s another row in back and another tray just like this one. My goal was to grow 2 plants each of 9 different varieties. I only had to buy 2 bananas, 1 poblano and 2 gypsy peppers. I think some of the seeds were too old; it was the third year. (You can store seed in the fridge in an airtight container with one of those little “do not eat’ packages that come in your shoes.)

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Woodland Iris

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Peggy Hill

Woodland Iris (Iris cristata)

These little crested iris (Iris cristata) grow wild in the woods around my house. Last year I transplanted some into the garden. They have really appreciated the good soil and a little more light. They never looked this good in their old home.

***** I can’t believe I never noticed the differences between them. There are 3 different types in this bunch of 5 plants.

Most of them look like this.

This was different from all the others, It has a very long yellow stripe.

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This clump is down at the star light lounge

A close-up of the ones at the starlight lounge

**** If you purchased one of these at the garden club’s garage sale, and you are wondering which one you bought; or if you helped plant iris at Liz’s cabin during girls’ weekend, and you are wondering which it was, I have no idea. Let me know when you find out.

Posted in It Just Grew There, What's Blooming? | Leave a comment

DAMN VOLES!!!!

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Peggy Hill

My friend desires only peaceful coexistence with all the wonderful wildlife in her yard. She’s much nicer than me. I desire total garden domination. Oh I know that’s impossible, Mother Nature is ALWAYS in complete control (and she can be hard to work with when she gets in one of her moods.)

This cute little fairy wings (Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Bandit’) arrived last spring, by fall he had lost most of his roots to a viscous vole attach. He has only now been released from his rehabilitation pot in the nursery. He’s one of the lucky ones. They don’t all make it.

The voles have started a full out war. This last weekend, I rescued a 3 year old cast iron plant (Aspidistra ‘Asahi’) that was just starting to fill out, and a Corydalis ‘Blackberry Wine’. They are both in ICU now. It was bad.

This 5 year old hosta ‘Blue Angel’ has always been spectacular. It’s hard to see him like this.

Alright, enough of that, here’s how I’m going to win this war. My defensive strategies include: wire baskets, and rings of wire that go 7 inches into the soil. Rings are easier to make than baskets, but baskets are safer. I also bought a deterrent that you sprinkle on the ground.
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My offensive strategy is to poison them. Remember they started it. I was talking to a nice man at Plant Delights Nursery, asking how deep to plant my new Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaeme triphyllum ‘Black Jack’). I also wanted to know if it was susceptible to vole damage, and he said I should plant it in a wire basket. Of course I started complaining about the damn voles. He agreed they can be devastating when their numbers are high, and he told me what they do to control them. Locate the underground runs by poking around with a piece of rebar. If you can find a zig-zag run, that is usually a feeding run. (I can easily find the feeding runs by following the sick and dying plants.) Open up the run a little so you can drop in the poison, then cover it with a rock or something to keep the light out. Check the poison stations every week or two, and if they are feeding, make sure to keep the food coming. Mole poison probably won’t work because they eat different things. He had never used D-con mouse poison, so he had no idea if that would work. They use Rozol, but it’s a restricted substance. He also talked about feeding stations you can order on the internet, and that’s what I’ve decided to do. I ordered the Deluxe Vole Control Bait Station System – with Kaput Bait from Vole Control.

What is the matter with this sedum? His 3 brothers look great.

DAMN VOLES!!

While I’m waiting for my new system I tossed some mouse poison in the gapping hole where this sedum’s roots used to be. DAMN VOLES!!!

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A Change of Plans

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Peggy Hill

These three pictures have nothing to do with my change of plans, but they follow my new rule that all blogs should start with a pretty picture. Besides, Lady Banks wanted to show off. She’s in her full glory right now. I’ll have to cut her back in a few weeks, she’s trying to smother the butterfly bushes.

I changed my mind. My 2011 garden goals were way too ambitious. Also, my little “continue working in the woods” goal has expanded into “create a system of paths in the woods connecting a new outdoor picnic area to the house, garage and creek”. Now I’ve spent the first quarter of the year working on almost nothing else. While considering cutting back the goals, the final straw came Monday when I went to check on the seedlings and found something has eaten almost all of them. This would not be so odd except they are still in the house! Double yuck, right? We’ve been having a problem with mice, but I never thought this would happen. Now I don’t have enough plants to fill the large border expansion anyway. I usually LOVE working in the garden, but when my to-do list gets a mile long it can get stressful, and that’s just unacceptable. I’m not going to let something I adore become a chore. Besides, the weather is turning fabulous, and I need time to enjoy the garden too.

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The view from the deck

Even without the large border expansion, there’s plenty to do this spring. I’ve go 30 of the 45 new perennials from Plant Delights Nursery in the ground. I need to pick up the pace a little because I’m expecting a shipment of 100 new perennial plants (more on that later).

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No Time

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Peggy Hill

I am extremely busy, and I have no time for a lengthy blog (I had no idea how much time blogging would take), but I’m committed to posting at least once a week. Why am I so busy that I don’t have time to talk about gardening? MY 40 NEW FRIENDS FROM PLANT DELIGHTS NURSERY HAVE ARRIVED!!! I’m still trying to make everyone feel welcome and get them settled in. They are stressed from the journey, and more than a little pissed at me. (I didn’t realize which day they would arrive, and they waited over 24 hours on my front porch.) I agree it’s inexcusable, and their refusal to be photographed is completely understandable. I’ll introduce them later, for now here are a few pretty combinations.

Camellia japonica 'Kramers Supreme' and Hosta 'Twist of Lime'

Two of the blossoms are still on the bush, but the big boy staring straight at the camera is posing. Who could blame him for wanting to show off a little? He looks marvelous, simply marvelous!

Autumn Fern and Coral Bells (Heuchera 'Southern Comfort')

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I love how the colors are the same while the form is very different.

Loropetalum 'Purple Pixie' and Chamaecyparis pisifara

Loropetalum 'Purple Pixie' and Gold Mop Cypress

This combination is an example of how opposites attract.

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Hidden Hills Garden

Phillip Oliver’s Garden

Iris

One Hundred New Arrivals

I’m Tired of Ugly Pictures

What a mess!!

I Gave up Just Before the Miracle

Woodland Iris

DAMN VOLES!!!!

A Change of Plans

No Time

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