Garrya elliptica: A broadleaf evergreen tree or shrub with blue foliage and yellow and silver flowers in winter. It contributes glaucous and fuzzy texture to the garden. Attractive to birds. To grow well, it prefers sun and regular - occasional water. Prefers to be dry in summer. Adaptable to various soil conditions. Grows happily in well-drained soil. In need of something heat tolerant? This may be a good option. CHARACTERISTICS Plant type: tree or shrub Plant family: garryaceae Foliage: evergreen blue Mature size: 12 FT wide, 12 FT tall Flowers: yellow and silver blooms in winter Uses: hedge, xeric, year round interest GROWING CONDITIONS USDA Zones: 8a - 9b Sun exposure: sun Watering frequency: regular - occasional Resistant to: deer, heat Soil needs: well-drained
Did you know you can grow your own silk from your own silkworms? Well you can! Here's how to raise your own silkworms.
Silk tassel plants are dense evergreen shrubs with long, leathery leaves. They typically bloom in January and February, followed by grape-like clusters of round berries that provide much welcome suste
Okay even for the Cotswolds this is ridiculously beautiful. Did you notice there are shutters missing and a windowpane or two, yet the garden is flourishing with attention? A barefoot gypsy lady...
I think I struck a cord with my last post highlighting a small suburban shade garden. Obviously gardeners are hungry for planting suggestions for shade. In this…
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I think I struck a cord with my last post highlighting a small suburban shade garden. Obviously gardeners are hungry for planting suggestions for shade. In this…
This Tuscan wedding at La Foce in Italy is like something out of a fairytale and features the prettiest pink bouquet ever.
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Silk Tassel Bush, Garrya elliptica: "Edwardian Drapes" When Vita Sackville-West pondered over winter plants for north-facing walls, she listed Morello cher
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Noro’s enduring line of Silk Garden yarns is celebrating its 20th anniversary with this collection of elegant designs. Made in Japan, Silk Garden is a truly unique yarn made up of 45% silk, 45% kid mohair, and 10% lamb’s wool. The result is an exquisite yarn that is as luxurious as it is durable. Noro’s devoted fan base loves Silk Garden for it’s unsurpassed, hand-dyed colors and it’s magnificent draping. Garments knitted with Noro yarns are considered to be works of art, and the gorgeous designs in this collection are no different. Featuring sweaters, hats, scarves, shawls, and more, Noro Silk Garden will be a welcome addition to every Noro-loving knitter’s library.
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Silk Tassel Bush, Garrya elliptica: "Edwardian Drapes" When Vita Sackville-West pondered over winter plants for north-facing walls, she listed Morello cher
In her own London garden, landscape designer Emily Erlam has constructed a series of elegant terraces, each with its own mood, which provide structure for Mediterranean plantings and natural canopies
Créations crochet tricot et art textile. Vous êtes sur mon nouveau blog, l'ancien est toujours actif à l'adresse www.sophiegelfi.fr Comme il n'est pas possible de transférer la liste des abonnées, inscrivez-vous sur la newsletter ci-dessous :
Throughout the garden, and especially along its outer perimeter, mature trees cast pockets of the Chen and Linda's magnificent garden called 'Garden Canadensis' into shade and part shade. What I think will surprise and delight you is just how vibrant shady areas in a garden can be. Here then are some of the many wonderful plant parings from Garden Canadensis for shade/part shade, with a brief explanation of why each combination works, as well as a bit of information on a key perennial in each grouping. Plant combination: Dicentra 'Stuart Boothman' and Hosta 'Dancing in the Rain' What's nice about this mix is the combination of fern-like foliage and the large, broad leaves of the hosta. Chen writes: "I like all Dicentras, the fern-like leaves and the dainty flowers, and would like to have all varieties if I can, eventually. Ideally, I try to plant them in the shade of some trees with enough sunlight for decent blooms, but not so much that their leaves deteriorate too quickly into summer." See more of Chen's collection of Dicentra including: Dicentra 'Stuart Boothman' which is pictured above and has pale pink flowers and greyish foliage. Dicentra 'Aurora' A good reliable creamy white dwarf Dicentra. Dicenta 'Bleeding Hearts' Chen writes, "This is probably the most showy Dicentra, although it is not vigorous in my garden. I have lost 2 trials mostly because of vole problems." Plant Combination: Brunnera 'Jack Frost' (left) with Heuchera 'Silver Scroll' (in the foreground) and Hosta 'Fire and Ice' (in the upper right). What's nice about this combination: Both the Brunnera and the Heuchera have silver foliage, but they couldn't be more different or more complimentary. The cream of the hosta's foliage adds that all important element of contrast. Plant Combination: On the right is Pulmonaria longifolia 'Diana Clare' and to the bottom left is a deciduous rhododendron: Rhododendron schlippenbach which the "rabbits like to chew on". Above them is a hosta with a lots of cream trough the centre of its dark green foliage. What's nice about this combination: I would particularly like to draw to your attention to the silvered-grey-green Pulmonaria. Chen notes that: "The quiet beauty of Pulmonarias is indispensable for the shady parts of my garden. The flowers may be early and brief, but their foliage is highly ornamental from early spring into late fall. In mid-summer they typically go through a decline, but this can easily be taken care of by removing their foliage. New foliage will emerge, and be ready, as the weather is cooling off. They appear to self-sow readily (but not wildly) in my garden. This presents a problem for keeping the named cultivars intact after a few years. I suspect that many Pulmonarias on the market are just derivative seedlings of some kind. For the same reason, many name cultivars are not that distinct from each other." Just a few of Chen's Pulmonarias that caught my eye are : Pulmonaria 'Diane Clare' shown above has pale blue flowers:"Its foliage is highly ornamental for the whole season. It is a very vigorous Pulmonaria." Pulmonaria 'Opal' which has white flowers. Chen describes this variety as a "must have". Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash' which is a vigourous plant with showy red flowers and is "one of the best Pulmonarias". Plant Combination: Chen tells me that the neat green mound at the front of this planting is Buxus microphylla 'Kingsville'. It is "probably the most dwarf form of boxwood, and is popular to use in bonsai." The large golden Heuchera in the centre of the picture is Heuchera 'Carmel'. In front of 'Carmel' is what Chen describes as a"very weak, but pretty" Heuchera 'Autumn Leaves' (with reddish foliage). In the lower left corner is Heuchera 'Christa'. Behind 'Caramel' and to the right with the purplish-green foliage is Heuchera 'Petite Pearl Fairy'. Peaking out from behind it is the green foliage of Heuchera 'Silver Scroll'. What is interesting about this planting is how multi-colored it is despite the shade conditions and minimal flowers. Planting Combination: On the top left is Hosta 'Sagae'. Below it is lime colored Hosta ' Blaze of Glory'. With tiny white flowers in the centre is Corydallis ochroleuca. Peaking out from the lower right is Heuchera 'Delta Dawn'. Bending over the whole group is a Japanese Maple Acer palmatum 'Peaches and Cream'. It may be primarily one color: green, but what makes this combination work is contrast. There are the cut leaves of the Japanese maple, the large leaves of the hosta and the small, dainty fern-like leaves of the Corydallis ochroleuca. Each green is distinct and mixed together they are actually quite colorful. An excerpt from Chen's notes on Corydallis: "This is a delicate and elegant class of perennials like their relative, Dicentra. The blue flowered varieties are particularly precious, but they are not the easiest to grow here. I like Corydallis enough that I tolerate some of them that tend to self-sow wildly, bordering on weedy. Fortunately, they are relatively easy to weed... Corydallis ochroleuca is an important filler plant for me; both for the foliage and the flowers...." Read more and see the Chen's collection of Corydallis here. Another beautiful Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum 'Shigitasu sawa' which Chen says is one of his favourite maples. When I was going through my pictures, I came across this planting and was surprised to see hostas and conifers grouped together. I had always thought that most conifers needed sun. So I asked Chen about it. "I would estimate that this part of the bed is at least in 50% shade, if not more. Those conifers are not afraid of shade at all, especially the Alberta Spruce (I have some in very dense shade). The blue conifer in the front and the bright green conifer behind it are the common Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Boulevard' and Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Gracilis' respectively. They can take full sun to a fair amount of shade.", Chen tells me. What's nice about this combination: I love the way Chen has echoed the bluish-green color of the Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Boulevard' with the frosty, blue-green Hosta 'Regal Splendor'. The lime colored hosta in foreground is Hosta 'Silk Kimono'. The maroon foliage of the Japanese Maple makes a perfect counterpoint to all the cool greens. I am embarrassed to admit that I used to think hostas were kind of boring! In truth, I just hadn't seen anyone use them quite so imaginatively. Plant combination: Hosta 'Sum and Substance' (upper right) and Hosta 'Smooth Sailing' (in the foreground) light up in contrast with the deep, dark plum leaves of Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford'. Not only is this color combination sublime, this mix of perennials offers an interesting variety of leaf shapes and sizes as well. Chen speaks highly of the contribution hostas make to any garden, particularly a northern one: "I would think hosta is an essential perennial for the northern garden...They add an element of large leaf texture that is not prevalent in northern vegetation (in comparison with tropical environments). Depending on the variety, hosta can take full sun to full shade, and are hardy and (practically) maintenance free (except for the HVX virus). Unfortunately, it is often relatively expensive for a fair sized specimen, and takes years to develop into a nice size clump...Although I am not a Hosta addict by any means, I do like to acquire a few each year since they are so useful, elegant and take care of themselves." Here is another combination that includes conifers in shade conditions. Chen tells me that this area, "... only sees sunlight very early in the morning, and for a very short time at noon, when the sun passes between the large conifer, and the cover of a forty plus year old crabapple tree. I would estimate that this part of the garden has 60% shade or more." Plant combination: The light green conifer in the back is Juniperus rigida. As well as several hosta, there is a Japanese maple on the left: Acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' and the lime colored maple on the right: Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost'. In the foreground with tall red flower spikes is Rheum palmatum 'Atrosanguineum'. Why this combination works: Each and every plant contributes something new and appealing to the grouping. Every green is distinct and the deep maroon of the maple adds a nice punch of warm color. The mixture of scale and texture makes an area that is largely green anything, but boring. A few more examples from Chen's hosta collection. On the left is Hosta 'Gypsy Rose' and on the lower right is Hosta 'Orange Marmalade'. The lime colored hosta behind it is Hosta 'Ogon Amagi'. In the foreground of the righthand picture you can see a very unique hosta cultivar that has upright foliage. In the picture on the right you can see Chen's photograph of it in flower. This is Hosta 'Praying Hands'. Read more and see additional hosta pictures here. This paring is quite stunning don't you think? Plant Combination: The vivid chartreuse of Hosta 'Sun Power' practically glows in contrast with the deep maroon of the Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum 'Tamuke yama'. Up next will be perennials and plant combinations from 'Garden Canadensis' for sun.
This sofa is really comfortable, but it has begun to show wear. White cut velvet is not a great color for a busy room that loves to have everyone and all the grands here. A while ago I bought a set of slipcovers from Amazon and gave the sofa a facelift. The color is dark enough to help hide a few stains and it is washable, so that is a definitely bonus. One more gray piece of furniture doesn't do much for the room, but I am trying to make do for now. The two gray leather recliners and gray sofa is a lot of gray.
In an extract from her new book, The Well Gardened Mind, psychiatrist Sue Stuart-Smith (wife of the celebrated garden designer Tom Stuart Smith) explains how gardening can be a tool to build greater self-belief.
In a bombed out muse in Clapham Junction the print designer Neisha Crosland and her husband have created a private arcadia drawing inspiration from ancient Rome, Paris, Venice and Madeleine Castaing
The floral/garden designer and photographer shares a step-by-step autumn floral tutorial from her book, THE FLOWER HUNTER
The Persian silk tree has special flowers which especially stand out because of their circular bundles of pinks stamens, protruding far beyond the petals. This variety of Mr. Wilson is, unlike the ordinary kind, quite cold-hardy. The maximum height is 6 meters, but the tree can also be pruned. Despite its stunning growth, flowering and hardiness, the species isn’t common. However, you can regularly spot them around the Mediterranean sea. In 1745, the Persian silk tree was already imported by England from its original habitat in China. Besides the beautiful flowers, the leaves of the Albizia are extremely worthwhile. The double pinnate sickle-shaped leaves that resemble the leaves of a fern, fold themselves over and close at night. Hence the nickname ‘sleeping tree’. Sowing description: First soak the seeds for 24 hours in water. Sow them in sowing mix at 20 degC and keep the soil moist constantly. Family: Fabaceae Scientific name: Albizia julibrissin 'E.H. Wilson' Common name: Persian silk tree Native to: China Sowing time: December - August Difficulty: Easy Minimum temperature: -15 degrees Celcius Photo: Ceské tropy
３年間パリの花屋で働き2012年帰国。フリーのフローリストとして活動中。作品の写真や、レッスン情報をアップしていきますので覗きにきて下さい。HP http://rafleuriste.com Rieko Ando
The Mimosa tree is such a beautiful tree, especially this time of year with blooms that are so stunning. The leaves of a Mimosa tree are fern-like and delicate looking. Overall, the tree is beautif…
Fern-like foliage and feathery blooms are an attractive combination offered by this tropical beauty. Fast growth makes Albizia an excellent choice for shade or for quickly filling gaps in the landscape. May be overwintered inside where not hardy.
Wonderfully extra long catkins in winter
Explore anjanbilal's 123 photos on Flickr!
The Pink Silk (Albizia julibrissin) tree is beautiful! Its blossoms look more like feathers than flowers. The first time I saw this flowering tree I could hardly believe my eyes. It looks like something out
Celebrate your wedding with these beautiful wedding tree decorations adding a natural and romantic charm to your decor and ambience with these 7 top styles!
