Yesterday, an apparent severe storm ran through my neighborhood. Nothing like what you’ve had. 3 very mature trees were knocked over, and one was on my street. Right in the middle of the neighbor’s driveway, but not in the street itself.
The storm happened just as we were wrapping up our garden tours. The last stop was to turn in some coupons for a free daylily with a purchase. So $10 for 4 day lilies. They had neat names: Anatomically correct, Mimosa umbrella, Key West, and Only in Dreams. My job is to get them planted today, so I have scoped out some spots.
The garden tour was fun. When the homeowners were present, it was more fun. One house was a complete dud, and I have no idea how they made the cut. It was more like a professional landscape job than an actual garden.
The first house we went to was probably my favorite. The owners were there, and boy did that lady have a GREEN thumb! She did organic gardening, and everything was lush and beautiful. I saw many new to me flowers. One looked a little bit like Queen Anne’s Lace, I think it was called Orlaya, or something like that. The lady told me that when it goes to seed she would set aside some for me to try next Spring. I hope she does that.
None of the houses had what I would call an English cottage garden, but that first one was very cottage like. I think I misread the descriptions, because one house had a courtyard, and in the back, the husband turned the shed into a small British pub. Mr. FF was happy to have a beer from his tap while we walked around. They were fun people.
That lady had tarragon that she planted from seed in the spring, and it was nice and bushy. Hers were more individual seeming than mine which are big bundles. She didn’t know there were 3 types of tarragon, so I wonder if hers was the Mexican variety.
At one of the homes towards the end, we saw a bubble rock, which was a water feature built into stones that were laid on top of each other. That was neat and is something we would like to do here. Our creek in the back is very small and too far away to hear the water rushing unless you’re standing next to the edge. Some sort of water feature near to our house would be pleasant, so I’m sure we will look into it.
What a great way to spend the day! I worked some of those home garden tours for Jung’s back in the day. They were always fun. One house I was at (I handed out catalogs and answered questions) has always stuck with me, too. They had a lovely small pond and a bridge and every type of Hosta under the sun. They also had a huge pet Parrot that was very entertaining. The older couple that lived there were moving to TN to retire. I’m sure that house was an easy sell with all the beautiful landscaping.
I’m heading out to the garden for the afternoon. I have a rain-FREE 70 degree day to play in! Going to fertilize my long-suffering tomatoes and get them staked up properly as well as mulch three beds that are going to lay fallow until fall planting. They’re all three full to the brim with Spring bulbs, so I use them in the Fall for a second crop of shallow-rooted lettuces, spinach, etc.