Monday, July 7, 2014

Morning Walkabout and a Nice Surprise

There are few things I find to be more fun than talking about plants and gardens with other passionate gardeners. I was so pleased and surprised a couple days ago when I heard from Alison of Bonny Lassie. She was going to be in my neck of the woods and wanted to come and visit. Woohoo! I just love meeting gardening friends I've met on line.  That's how I found some of my best and dearest friends and gardeners are just the best people.  So today I met Alison in person and she's just as sweet and lovely as you'd guess from her blog. We had a great walkabout the gardens and enjoyed lunch on the patio with the view of the Terrace Garden.  I so enjoy having company so I get to sit and enjoy the view. Do I ever sit down and just rest and look at the gardens? No, of course not. Alison says she doesn't either. So many thanks Alison for visiting so I could have lunch on the patio. I really need to do that more often! LOL Thanks for the visit my friend. It was a delight to meet you in person.

Anyway, I did a bit of running around yesterday to get some areas picked up for company and this morning the light was perfect for garden pictures so I ran about with camera in hand before breakfast while the morning sun was still behind a thin layer of clouds. Perfect light for garden pics.




This planting is coming along nicely. I'll  be happy when the Mandevilla 'Alice Dupont' climbs to the top of the trellis and is covered with blooms. (That's the plan anyway)

Can you find the cat??? No the real cat, LOL... Rahjii always has to follow me around the gardens when I'm taking pictures and has to insert himself in as many photos as he can. Must be a cat thing.

The Euphorbia cotinifolia on the left is five years old now and most beautiful. I'm going to have to let it go the end of this year, just toooo big

The Duranta was trained to a standard in the last year. It makes quite a statement.



Aibes koreana 'Silberlocke'

Some color on the front walk

Alocasia 'Portodora' is going to be huge this year














 


Well it seems there are too many pictures for one post so I'll have to do a part two later.... 

16 comments:

  1. What a surprise that you got to meet Alison! Where could she find a better lunch spot? The gardens are looking great for July this year. Probab.y because we've had some rain and it hasn't been too beastly hot. Looking forward to part two!

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    1. Thanks Sue! It was such a treat to meet Alison. A good time was had by all.....

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  2. It's always nice to share one's garden, especially with another avid gardener. I'm always astounded by the number of pots you have and how big everything gets in relatively short order after winter ends. How do you keep everything watered? I know you get a lot more rain than I do (i.e. zip in summer) but I can't imagine you don't spend a lot of time with watering can in hand even so.

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    1. Thanks Kris! it really was so much fun sharing the gardens with Alison. There is nothing like talking about plants with another plant person.

      I normally have three hundred or so pots and it takes me a couple hours a day with the hose to keep them watered. Yikes! I'm a bit out of my mind. the tropical plants really start growing at light speed when the nights heat up here. We've had a week or so of 90 degree weather and you can practically see the colocasias and alocasias growing. Love it.

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  3. I'm so glad you and Alison got to meet up ! I remember well what it was like to see your garden for the first time ...and how fun to have watched it evolve over the last few years. I look forward to many more visits !

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    1. Thanks Kathy, I remember your first visit too and was so happy to see you looking at the Driveway Garden in person for the first time. Sometime I'm going to get to the west coast so I can see your gardens in person. I'd love to see your roses.

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  4. Your garden looks great as always! Your collections of bromeliads, succulents and other tender kiddos is always an inspiration to me. Hope you and Alison had lots of fun!

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    1. Thanks Peter, We did had a lovely visit. I heard about your nursery crawling and garden touring and I'm so jealous! I so wish I had a transporter beam so I could join you two on your jaunts.

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  5. Well I'm jealous as heck that Alison got to meet you and see your garden, but good for her! She had to give up her spot in this weeks GB Fling so it's only right she's having fun while away. Thanks for sharing a little of what she got to see.

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    1. Thanks Loree, it was such a pleasure to meet her. It makes me feel a little more connected to you bloggers from the west coast to meet one of you in person.

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  6. A photo bombing cat, Duranta standard and lots of Bromeliads and tropical feel, I am impressed.

    Don't you just love Alison? She's one of my favorite imaginary friends.

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    1. Thanks Jean, nice to 'meet' you and yes, I agree, Alison is a lovely person. we had a great visit and luncheon.

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  7. I love all the color and the textures. So many pots- I love it! It took me a second but yes I did see the kitty. haha. Cute.

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    1. Many thanks, some say I have a problem with too many pots! Wonder why! LOL

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  8. It was such a thrill to see your garden, Deanne, and to meet you and your husband. I hope you can make it to next year's Fling in Toronto, I bet you would enjoy it so much. I'm back home now, and hoping to find the time to sort through my pictures of your garden and write up a blog post. Thanks again for being such a great hostess!

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    1. Alison, it was a great visit and I'm so happy we had the opportunity to meet in person. I'd love to get to a fling sometime, maybe next year! Looking forward to your post

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