"Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest."
~ Henry Van Dyke

Friday, May 25, 2012

Celebrating rhododendrons!

Last year, we took a plain patch of mostly grass and unloved planting and try to turn it into a little version of our own country cottage garden. This year, it was going to be exciting to see how our plants would do since we had an extreme frost period in the late winter. Our planting was so new that I was worried about loosing a good deal of things. We however have only lost a few things and now I am going through and picking out spots that needed different planting or replanting in different areas. I have a front and back garden in this house but here is the start of the growing season from one angle in the back.


We have created various areas to sit. There is a terrace at the house and one on the other side of the path through the pergola. I like this area as it is shady in the mornings. I also created two benches among the garden plants using the concrete blocks we removed from other areas. There are stepping stones enabling you to walk all the way around the garden amongst the plants. This bench is in a corner over by the rhododendron. It will eventually become covered on the front with ivy. I have cushions in my quilt studio to take out and place on the bench when we want to go sit there. I have to move the bird bath but have not gotten to creating a pot stack to sit it on. Another project yet to do...


The rhododendrons is in the height of its bloom here in our city garden while the one I showed you at Cranberry Cottage on a previous post is already faded and dropped its blossoms. What a shame the season for rhododendrons is so short!


I love the language of flowers from the Victorian era. I however am puzzled at the meaning of rhododendrons.....agitation, danger and beware. Somehow I cannot see this meaning in these pretty blossoms unless I must beware of the danger of becoming agitated with the drunken beauty of these flowering shrubs. *grins*

7 comments:

Used-to-Bees said...

Your garden is looking lovely Heidi! Glad the new planting survived the cold conditions of the late winter. Here, late winter seemed to be with us till last weekend, and now it is in the high 20s, or even 30! What a blissful change! I wonder if the rhododendron meaning is anything to do with the fact that they are very poisonous to horses, and also that where they grow, nothing else can grow beneath or very close by?
x

Nancy said...

I just typed a long comment and it got lost in space. That makes me mad.
Now, I know for a fact that you drink wine with dinner everynight, but you do not get drunk. Now I, on the other hand, got quite tipsy eating fruit while I was at your house. You failed to tell me that fruit in Sangria can make you drunk.
I kept getting so hot and went outside while you all laughed your heads off. Needless to say, I cannot have more than one glass of wine, or ONE little bit of drunk fruit.
Your garden is really beautiful, but is lacking one thing. It needs a gnome. Since I am a gnome lover, I will have to visit a garden store next time I am there and be sure you have one for the city and the cottage. LOL. Not formal enough, oh wellllllllllll.
Love you, Mom

onlymehere said...

Your gardens are lovely and the rhododendrons are divine. That is a weird definition of them but I happen to like the way you defined them! Wish I had your green thumb.

Anonymous said...

So beautiful - I can't imagine being able to create and maintain a garden like that.
Lillian
lillianscupboard.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

OH my Heidi your garden is so pretty and glad you have lots of seating around it. The rhododendron are beautiful but sadly mine have all gone over now with the azalaes.

I agree with your Mum your garden needs a gnome.

Hugs
Hazel c (uk)

Sonja said...

Your garden is so pritty! In our garden are very few flowers...because of our little rabbit. But we have a very special new item: there is now a 1,5 meter deep tunnel in our garden. Since we were gone for a week, Brummel got annoyed and made this long tunnel. It's respectable job she did!

Rowan said...

Rhododendrons look wonderful when they are in full bloom don't they? I don't gow them but my neighbour has a wonderful vibrant pink one that I enjoy from my bedroom window.n