So for now I am showing the South Border, looking down from the patio. This border is planted in a blue, lavender, pink scheme, and I'm very happy with the way the colors are developing. Grasses, lavenders, two species of eremophila, and miniature roses dominate the border. Eventually Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink", now so small it is invisible in the above photo, will be central.
As it is, there's not much to see of it yet. In fact, it's considerably shorter than the Muhlenbergia beside it!
The central mess visible in the top photo is from Oenothera pallida "Innocence", which I am discontinuing in this bed. It is a bit too rambunctious for the area and not really in keeping with the other elements. I have left the drying stems partly to make sure I have seedlings available for the White and Silver Garden, and partly to provide any little bit of additional shade to nearby plants!
Currently the lavenders are not in bloom, but they form a nice structural element, particularly Lavendula stoechas "Madrid", considerably larger and denser than L. s. "Blueberry Ruffles".
I've been pleased with the grasses in this border. In addition to Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist", there is Pennisetum setaceum "rubrum", currently growing out over this summer's Catharanthus roseus.
There are several plants that will take some time to reach their ultimate size (both the Lagerstroemia and Alyogyne huegelii are still small).
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| Alyogyne huegelii |
There are miniature roses, however! The lavender one...
...and the cream with pink are both at the front of the border and account for a good deal of the bloom right now.
One of the truly special plants here is blue-flowered Eremophila hygrophana, a wispy shrub with leaves of felted silver. It needed a good watering when I took this picture of it growing behind more Catharanthus. Both got a long soaking several hours later!
Its flowers are a delectable blue with lavender tones. It seems to have some flowers nearly year-round.
So there is a first look at the South Border on this last Tuesday (now Wednesday) in June. With some very seasonal flowers alongside many long-blooming plants, it will be interesting to see how much this border changes over the weeks!
Weather Diary: Partly cloudy and hot; High: 110 F (43 C)/Low: 86 F (30 C); Humidity: 14%-44%
my favourite colour scheme and that little creamy pink rose is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Ann! To think that earlier it was going to be blue and yellow... also nice, but this is working so much better!
DeleteBeautiful Amy. I do love it when you show longer views and that one is well worth showing off. It would be a credit to an English gardener, never mind a desert one!
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful feeling to have enough bulk in those borders to show it all together. And thanks so much for the wonderful compliment :)
DeleteAnother advertisement for those miniature roses!
ReplyDeleteIt looks that way, doesn't it...? ;-) Though the backbone of that border is the eremophilas and grasses!
DeleteI love the colours in your border, Amy, they are so delicate and calming. Your miniature roses look so healthy , I have tried them lots of times but they curl up their toes and die EVERY time ! What are the secrets of your success !
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jane :) As to the miniature roses, I've been reading up on them, and I honestly think it's the climate that's allowing me to grow them, ironically! The so-called "florist minis" are apparently selected, among other attributes, to withstand the very low humidity often to be found indoors. I read an article which strongly distinguished between these types and those produced by Ralph Moore, which were bred for normal garden use. However, a plant that thrives under reduced humidity is all to the good in my garden! As a matter of fact, I never could grow miniature roses (I never tried any of Moore's varieties as I did not know about them) in the Midwest. I came to the conclusion that the regular miniature rose was not robust enough to compete in a mixed border and had little chance of surviving extended periods of sub-freezing temperatures. I do think the current Kordes varieties are much more substantial than the minis I tried back in the 90s, so some improvement in overall vigor may have been made as well. So there are my theories as they stand at the moment... I am worried that I may be encouraging people to try them to certain failure in normal, temperate climate conditions! But I can't help but be elated at being able to grow them, and I do think they might be a very good choice for the dry-climate, mild winter garden.
DeleteHi Amy, as newcomer to your blog I have to say I already find it fascinating, so many plants I have to look up as I have never even heard of them before, it just goes to show you never stop learning!
ReplyDeleteHi Rick, I'm glad you're enjoying it; I always worry a bit about boring gardeners with all these strange plants with their strange growing requirements ;-) Curiously, I think many of the desert-adapted plants have only recently found their way into commercial production here. It seems to still be a gardening frontier!
DeleteSo many unknown elements for me, which makes this meme even more interesting for seeing how gardens across the world develop! Most pennisetums are not hardy here, but I love their fluffiness. And your roses are so pretty. So glad you are joining me Amy! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Cathy :) These plants are still quite exotic for me too, which affects my planning considerably. I rarely know what a plant is expected to look like when full grown: dense and bushy or rangy or floppy or... Luckily, roses are predictable -- to a degree! ;-)
DeleteLovely to see a view of this border Amy and it is looking so good. Considering it's the middle of an Arizona summer I think you have done amazingly well to have it looking so full and colorful. I love that Pennisetum...I really should do more grasses but I am running out of room...time to dig up the fron lawn and make the homeowners association angry!! Lol!!
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