My Beautiful May Garden

What makes a beautiful garden?Color, certainly. Healthy plants. Proportion and balance. Variety. Movement and flow, repetition. Fragrance. All those things, but much more. A beautiful garden can be humble or grand. It is highly personal. For me: a peaceful atmosphere, comfort, birdsong, memories, a little whimsy.

May is a beautiful month! I want to be outside every day, tending my garden. I love Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), which is in full bloom on the arch by the patio. The intoxicating fragrance is a delight whenever I walk under it. I can also catch a whiff of rosemary. Nearby, pink 'Anthony Waterer' Spirea is blooming.

Coral drift roses line one edge of the patio, along with bacopa and a silvery artemesia:

On the patio table is a ceramic green rabbit, a souvenir I brought home from Hills and Dales Estate in LaGrange, Georgia, a very grand and gorgeous garden!

Here are more images of some of the flowers in my May garden:1st row: 'Penelope' rose; 'Anthony Waterer' spirea; Lichnis coronaria, commonly called rose campion. 2nd row: Yarrow; Calibrachoa; 'Snowflake' Hydrangea. 3rd row: Rosa palustris, also called swamp rose; Coral honeysuckle; Gardenia Jasminoides 'Kleims Hardy', a dwarf gardenia bush.

As much as I love flowers, I am also drawn toward colorful foliage. I purchased a variegated geranium without even knowing what color the blooms were; the leaves are spectacular! It has started blooming now, and the orange blooms complement its foliage perfectly. Near the steps leading from the patio to the arbor garden are two 'Francis Williams' Hostas, Japanese painted fern, and an interesting plant with variegated arrow-shaped leaves, 'Red Dragon' Persicaria. I have placed an unlikely companion next to one of the the hostas: a red poinsettia, left over from Christmas and still looking good! 

Clockwise from top left: 'Francis Williams' Hosta with poinsettia in background and a neighboring branch belonging to Edgeworthia chrysantha; A variegated geranium; 'Red Dragon' Persicaria and 'Francis Williams' hosta; 'Red Dragon' Persicaria and Japanese painted fern.

I have featured 'Tropicana' Canna lily a number of times over the years. Its bold colors hold up well to the hot sun that bathes the front of our house in summer:

The stone steps leading down to the much shadier woodland garden are located across from the front parking area. One of my favorite views of the woodland garden (shown many times on this blog!) is seen from the bottom of the steps. Moss paths tie different parts of the woodland garden together and give it a peaceful, quiet atmosphere:

The white birdhouse in this photo was home to a family of bluebirds, recently fledged:

I put this little woodland sitting area in last year. It is near an area featuring ferns and native azaleas. Moss and ground covers will soon carpet the ground around the chairs. That is an old iron magazine rack holding small potted begonias. The blue flowers are Tourenia fournier, also called wishbone flower. It is my newly discovered favorite annual for shade. Tourenia comes in various colors. The cobalt blue blooms of this one are fabulous. I also planted lime green Scotch Moss (Sagina subulata), Creeping Jenny, and wild violets in this area. :

More plants in the woodland garden:1st row: Japanese felt fern; 'Whitewater' weeping redbud; Hardy begonia. 2nd row: Athyrium filix-femina 'Lady in Red'; bench next to fern glade; Polystichum acrostichoides, a native fern also known as Christmas fern. 3rd row: Hellebore whose red blooms have faded to green; wild violets; Woodland rabbit with Colocasia.

This beautiful Bird's Nest fern (Asplenium nidus) stays in the woodland garden until cold weather arrives. It spends the winter inside, but it flourishes outside when the weather warms:

What about you? What makes you pause in a garden? How do you define beauty? The wonder is that I have seen many beautiful gardens, and they are all different!

You may also enjoy my previous post, Seven Elements of a Beautiful Garden.

Successfully Growing Ferns in My Garden

There was a time I struggled to grow ferns, but no more!By adding lots of organic matter to the planting hole of each fern, by mulching, and by being diligent to keep the soil moist, I have boosted my success rate. Now I rarely lose a fern. I also fertilize in spring with fish emulsion, and in July I treat them to my "summer tonic," a mixture of 2 Tbs. of epsom salts and 2 Tbs. fish emulsion per gallon of water, used to soak the ground beneath each fern.

Fortunately we get plentiful rainfall in my area, but sometimes we have dry weather during summer or fall. I do have a homemade sprinkler system of sorts that I use in the woodland garden during excessively dry periods. The woodland garden is a large area, so hauling hoses or buckets of water around can be an enormous chore. I created this system by burying two long industrial hoses under mulch. The first hose begins directly across the drive from the house and runs through the woodland garden to a staked impulse sprinkler, which is connected in tandem via the second hose to another staked impulse sprinkler. The two sprinklers together can water a large portion of the woodland garden, including all my ferns and native azaleas. A third hose stays attached to the faucet on the side of the house. We use this hose for washing cars, etc, but when the woodland garden needs watering, I simply pull it across the drive, connect it to the woodland hose and turn on the water.I acquired my ferns from different sources. Some were gifts. Many I purchased, and others I transplanted from other parts of my property, including the wild valley behind our house, an area rich in native ferns, but an area that is difficult to access, so I doubt I will ever develop it. Many of the ferns down there are growing in thin, hard soil. Most of them look scraggly. When I transplant them and give them my usual care, they usually respond by becoming healthy and lush.

The following  is a sampling of the ferns in my garden. I have others, and there are more I would love to own! As you see, there are many types of ferns, which offer a variety of textures and colors:1. Bird's Nest Fern, Asplenium nidus. This fern is not hardy. It is in a pot and comes inside for the winter. 

2. Peacock Fern, Selaginella uncinata. Its foliage has a turquoise iridescent sheen.

3. Lady fern, Athyrium filix-femina. I love its feathery fronds.

4.Southern River Wood Fern, Thelypteris kunthii. Wood ferns can grow up to 3 feet high.

5. Arborvitae Fern, Selaginella braunii. This is one that likes plenty of water.

6. Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium niponicum. It's silvery fronds brighten dark spots in the woodland garden.

7. Japanese Holly fern, Cyrtomium falcatum. Evergreen in frost free areas, it loses its fronds in colder climates.

8. Autumn fern, Dryopteris erythrosora. Emerging fronds are copper colored, then gradually turn rich green by mid-summer.

9. Resurrection Fern, Pleopeltis polypodioides. This native fern appears to die during dry weather but quickly revives when rain returns.

10. East Indian Holly Fern, Arachniodes s.'Variegata.' This evergreen fern has prominent yellow variegation and will grow in zones 7-10a.

11. Southern Maidenhair Fern, Adiantum capillus-veneris. A beautiful fern with many clustered fronds (large, divided leaves) on wiry black stems.

12. Virginia Blue Fern, also called Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern, Phlebodium pseudoaureum. My newest fern, I could not resist its chalky blue color or the oddly shaped fronds. It is hardy in zones 8-9. 

13. Lady in Red Fern, Athyrium angustum forma rubellum 'Lady in Red.' Lacy light green foliage radiates out from the red stems.

14. Christmas Fern, Polystichum acrostichoides. This evergreen native fern grows in abundance in the valley behind my house.

Finally, I can not leave out my Boston Fern, Nephrolepis exaltata. It is not hardy at all, but every year I put one in the large urn in the middle of my arbor garden.

You may also enjoy reading  Summer Proof the Garden, as well as Planting a Fern Glade.

Have a great week!   Deb