At present’s pictures are from Pamela Stout.
I used to be very impressed by GPOD posts about craving for spring and coloration. I can relate! I’ve my first hellebore bud coming in, so it’s formally the beginning of the gardening season for me. Sure, I’m a four-season gardener! I’ve a small city backyard in Northern Virginia that I’ve been engaged on for over twenty-five years. It’s primarily a shade backyard, with bushes, perennial shrubs, and flowers supplemented by annuals and containers. I’m going massive for flowers. You will notice that I undoubtedly have a choice for pinks, purples, and blues. I’m not the perfect photographer, however I do like to backyard!
First hellebore (Helleborus hybrid, Zones 4–9) bud of 2022
Hellebore in full bloom
A winter-blooming camellia (Camellia hybrid, Zones 7–11)
These mophead hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5–9) had been transplanted a number of years in the past and are nonetheless going sturdy.
Each backyard wants water. Our fountain is surrounded by annual white impatiens (Impatiens walleriana, Zones 10–11 or as an annual) and perennial pink astilbe (Astilbe hybrid, Zones 3–8), with camellia shrubs and boxwoods (Buxus sp., Zones 5–9) within the background. The fountain attracts a lot of backyard wildlife, together with foxes, bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels, and birds.
I wish to play with textures within the backyard. Listed below are pretty annual pink pentas (Pentas lanceolata) sandwiched between fall-blooming liriope (Liriope muscari, Zones 5–10) and my favourite evergreen, ‘Blue Star’ juniper (Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’, Zones 4–8).
I’m initially from California, and this summer time Agapanthus (Zones 8–10) jogs my memory of the backyard of my childhood.
Summer time-blooming butterfly weed (Asclepias incarnata, Zones 3–9) with a customer
I like the best way this pink orchid lamium (Lamium maculatum, Zones 3–9) lights up the shade. It contrasts properly with the leaves of my favourite tricolored hosta (Hosta ‘Striptease’, Zones 4–8), with its white margins sandwiched between blue-green edges and celery inexperienced inside. Within the background are fall-blooming toad lilies (Tricyrtis formosana ‘Gilt Edge’, Zones 5–8).
As soon as once more, my favourite hosta, ‘Striptease’. I embed my hostas with the remainder of my crops as a substitute of grouping them collectively in a sea of hostas. I solely have a few dozen varieties, however I do favor hostas on the bluish facet (glaucous hostas).
