The New Non-Pool Garden One Year Later

You may remember that last summer we decided to get rid of our above ground swimming pool. The new large area left many possibilities for me to garden in and wow, has it ever come a long way. I thought I'd update you all today with some pictures from the new space and tell you of some successes and failures in this garden. The above picture shows a ground level view of the two gardens and path down the center to the storage shed. It also shows my beloved BJ who passed away the day after this picture was taken. I love this picture of him and it is how I remember him-happy days.



This is how the same area looked two years ago when we still had the pool (I for some reason can't find a picture of it from last year). Now look at the shed and you can compare the two photos as to how I had to shape the new areas. The garden on the right was seriously extended and evened out to form a long sloping line down to the shed. The garden on the left-well, there was no garden on the left when we had the pool. There was a garden actually but it only contained a red cedar and two oak trees.

From In the Garden

The left side of the pathway now contains an extended garden with lots of hostas, Solomon's seal, smilacina, wildflowers like dog tooth violets and bloodroot, a few Annabelle hydrangeas, three 'Limelight' hydrangeas, 3 Mount St. Helens azaleas, a variegated deutzia, daylilies, spireas, a Japanese kerria and the crown jewel-a sourwood tree. Other than the 'Limelight' hydrangeas most of the plants are small and are kind of hard to see but they are coming along fine. Soon the daylilies and hydrangeas will be blooming and they will stand out nicely.

The right side of the garden area needs no blooms to look great-but we do have a few. The Tango 4 U lilies are just going by but now the 'Annabelle' and oak leaf hydrangeas are taking center stage-right behind some orange daylilies and deep purple hollyhocks.



Here is a close up of the hollyhocks. These are some old fashioned hollyhocks and I've waited not less than three years for the blooms. The deep purple looks fantastic with the orange of the daylilies and purple leaves of the 'Burgundy Flame' Japanese maple.





Back to the garden. Here is a close up of some of the plants. I garden mainly with shrubs and trees and use perennials for tapestries and blooms-fleeting though they may be we must have blooms right? The 'Golden Jubiliee' (yellow leaved perennial in the center front of this garden) is a perennial that you really don't need to have blooms to enjoy. This perennial was newly planted last fall and wow. It shines in the garden. This is even before it has bloomed! I can't wait to see what they look like.



Here we are looking down the right side of the garden area. I call this garden my 'Greenhouse Garden' since the greenhouse forms the eastern boundary of this long garden. These gardens are viewed from the deck so I like to keep color going all year long. Here I show you my border of annuals. Here in Tennessee we can plant pansies in late September and expect them to still be blooming in June and sometimes in July. The hot weather does tend to fade them away though so in April I interplant impatiens in and among the pansies. By the time the pansies fade away the impatiens will have taken over.

One last picture of the textures. I chose to go big with this garden and planted in mass. Some of the plants I planted last fall did not return this year but most of them did, or at least one or two of the masses I planted returned. This is good. They include: little blue stem (one of three returned and I'll be moving it soon) and most of the 'Red Riding Hood' penstemons (one of five returned). Most likely this garden does not have enough sun or I planted the plants too late. Some people have the challenge of having too much sun whereas I have too little. Fortunately enough for me there are many perennials and shrubs that tolerate part sun and I think I have discovered them all.





One last long shot from the south looking north at the new Non Pool Garden....
 
in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Oh Those Spireas! Proven Winners and More to Boot

I love spireas! I feel awful guilty about saying that too. Terribly guilty. Spirea japonicas are listed as a significant threat by the Tennessee Exotic Plant Pest Plant Council. Significant threat means that  the plant possesses invasive characteristics; not presently considered to spread as easily into native plant communities as severe threat. This fact makes me watch my spireas closely for self seeding tendencies. My spireas have never self seeded in my garden but do tend to spread by rooting along the plant. That is a good thing for divisions but if a gardener is lazy the plants can take over a select area. Nonetheless, I love my spireas and will not garden without them. I've removed ALL other invasives on the TNEPPC list but am keeping the spireas. Can you see why?

The spireas shine and are so easy to grow. They are not fazed by drought, floods, clay, sand, or anything else in the garden. They bloom on and off all season and even when the shrubs are bare of leaves in the winter the shrub provides structure in the form of dense twiggy growth. The growth of spireas is a perfect mounded shape that spreads to about four feet wide by three to four feet high. No trimming is needed but a good haircut in the early spring may help the spirea to push out more blooms. This was the first time I have given my spireas a haircut and they sure are rewarding me with lots of blooms.

Spireas can be added in mixed borders or can be used as foundation plants. They are best used in my garden as weavers. That is they are the glue that ties together plantings. Their pillow form is a form that can fit in anywhere. Spireas are not fussy about conditions so using them in inhospitable spots is a bonus I take advantage of. I have spireas planted under trees, alongside a driveway, and in a shady border. All locations are diverse but work for the spireas.



The blooms this year have been fabulous. I have several cultivars including: Double Play Big Bang, Goldmound, Little Princess, and Dart's Red. I also just received a shipment of Proven Winners plants to trial and advertise recently that included two new spireas. They are: 'Big Bang Gold' and 'Big Bang'. I am ever so excited to add them to my garden and they are tucked into good spots on either side of a Japanese kerria in my Secret Patio Garden. I'll be sure to let you know how they do but for now those spireas are simply spectacular.



Also from Proven Winners are some daylilies called 'Going Bananas'. I already grew several of these daylilies in my garden but when my box arrived from Proven Winners it included another 'Going Bananas' daylily. I like this sunny diminutive daylily. It is a repeat bloomer and does well in my garden. The Proven Winners says this daylily "intermingles well with other plants" and I have to agree. I have it planted in my Front Sidewalk Garden right behind a 'Homestead' verbena. The yellow and purple combination rocks. Speaking of going bananas. At one time I grew some really REALLY tall hardy banana trees. This marker stone is a relic of those days and I thought it appropriate to include it in this post for you all to tie in with my Proven Winners daylilies.







Another few lovely plants in my box from Proven Winners this spring were some calibrachoas (Superbells). The two varieties pictured here are Sweet Tart and Cherry Star.

The 'Sweet Tart' superbells are the pink ones while the 'Cherry Star' ones are the bright red ones with the yellow star. I am not usually a container type person but decided to fill a few planter boxes with these Superbells. The superbells are doing great. I have another one in a hanging basket that only has the moss on the outside (allowing water to drain through quickly) and that one is doing just as well as these ones and I haven't even watered it! I received a few other plants from Proven Winners but will post on them at a later date.



And one last picture is of my beautiful golden retriever/lab mix dog who came from our local shelter ten years ago. BJ is an old man now and feeling every single one of his years. Like me he creaks a bit when he walks and sometimes just doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning. Here he is looking at me longingly because he feels he should not be locked up. He is perfectly able to wander around with me in the front yard but the evil dog (Lady) feels that if BJ is able to wander around then so is she. She will jump over our four foot tall chain link fence and leap high hurdles to follow BJ. So my poor BJ is relegated to the backyard when Lady is outside. BJ has been on my mind lately because he has a bad urinary tract infection and prostatitis. Poor guy. We are getting him better though. Note the ball right next to him on the ground? BJ is of course my avatar picture on my profile. He and I share many of the same traits and I find him to be a great friend so I borrow his picture for this part of my world in blogging....


in the garden....

One last announcement for my local readers. The Tennessee Yards Done Right workshop is scheduled for this Saturday. Call Karla Kean at 9316485725 to register.

Note: I had this post all ready to go and then last night the worst thing happened, the Ramsey's best friend and faithful companion for the past ten years, BJ, passed away suddenly. We are heartbroken and will miss him dearly. This last picture was taken the day before he died and shows him as he truly was-a beautiful and happy dog. 

I will be hit or miss on the computer as we grieve. We went through this last year with our dear dog Link so we know we will get through it but the pain is so real. The good part is that he did not suffer and all three of us were with him at the end. We are thankful for these small miracles to aid us in our daily lives because if we can see the good parts then perhaps the bad parts are not so devastating....

in the garden with my dear friend BJ.  

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Let's Walk Around the Front Center Island Bed

I am going to try to spotlight some of my gardens by doing a walk around. I did this once before with the Northside Shrub Border. Today's garden will be the Front Center Garden. This garden is about 50' long by 15' wide. It is in the center of the front yard and visible from the house. Looking from the front door to the left of the garden this is the view we see in the above picture. The Front Center Garden is the garden on the right. The part of the other garden you see with the 'Forest Pansy' redbud is, simply enough, the Forest Pansy Redbud garden with part of the Walled Garden attached. There is also a small concrete patio built into this garden area but today we focus on the Front Center Garden. The red tree in the FCG is a 'Newport' flowering plum. 

Just to give you bearings, the garden straight ahead between the path in the above picture is the Roadside Shrub Border. This border runs the whole length of my property except where the driveway empties to the road and then the Driveway Garden. The Roadside Shrub Border is 10-11 feet wide and about 115' long. I tell you about the Roadside Shrub Border because it is directly behind the Front Center Garden; which is what I'm showcasing today. The Roadside Shrub Border and the Front Center Garden are separated by a wide grassy path you cannot see but we will walk around the FCG together and you'll see parts of it. The two front gardens (FCG and Roadside Shrub Border) hide the busy state highway in front of my home.

The Front Center Garden is one of thirteen large gardens in the front yard that include the following gardens: Northside Shrub Border, Crabapple Garden, Foundation Gardens (3 distinct sections), Redbud Garden, Walled Garden, Roadside Shrub Border, Driveway Garden, Front Perennial Border, Mahonia Garden, and Front Sidewalk Garden. In the above picture the 'Forest Pansy' redbud garden is to the left of the Front Center Bed. There is a grass walk through between the two gardens. The red tree in the Front Center Bed is a 'Newport' flowering plum. This shrub is a fabulous shrub-in the spring. it blooms and has a nice red color and even grows plums, but when June comes around it is usually decimated by Japanese beetles. I'm not sure I'll keep it in the long run but for now it is fine. Let's next see our center view looking at this garden from the house.





Here is the view from the front door. This garden edge faces west so it gets only afternoon sun-once the sun passes the large oak and pine trees that reside in this garden. Though it is difficult to see in the picture you are looking at two large pink azaleas on the left, three large oak leaf hydrangeas in the middle, two more large pink azaleas are on the right of the oakleafs as well. Centered between the two large beds and nestled within the shrubs are two Japanese maples. The maples are only about 6 feet tall but are filling in nicely. One can be seen behind the bird bath and the other is on the right by the green stake.These shrubs and the two trees form the center of this island garden. In front of it closer to me are three 'Endless Summer' hydrangeas, catmint, lilies, candytuft, daylilies, heucheras, a pieris, and some irises hostas, and other miscellaneous perennials. There are also a ton of daffodil bulbs in this bed.





Here is a closer view standing next to the garden looking north from the center. You can keep it all in perspective by using the bird bath as a point of reference. This garden is edged with broken concrete. I love broken concrete in my garden! it will never rust, rot, or discolor. It ages perfectly and makes a great edger for all gardens as well as fabulous stepping stones. I have recently nearly completed a patio made of broken concrete; which I will share at a later date. This view shows more of the perennials. Perennials are repeated frequently. I find that catmint and candytuft do well here in the raised bed with afternoon sun. The conditions in this bed are extremely austere due to the oak tree and large pine tree.







And here we are looking away from the middle of the bed to the right of the bed towards the driveway. Here you can see one of the Japanese maples, several aucubas, the pieris, irises, and in the background toward the driveway you can see some spireas and the bird feeding station. I frequently sit in this area after a long day in the garden. I enjoy watching the birds up close and I have a lot of peace in this garden in this chair.





We are looking at the right side of the Front Center Garden still. Here we see a long view toward the road and the driveway. The spireas are in the Front Center Garden. Across the grass pathway is the Mahonia Garden, and the garden closest to the picture taker (me) is the Front Sidewalk Garden. This is my view from my porch and I never tire of it. I barely have any grass but I do have enough so as to not feel closed in by the gardens. One can have too many plants and trees I've been told. In fact, one of my best gardening friends said she didn't think I needed any more trees. I tend to agree until that next 'must have that no one else has' tree comes along. I'll find a spot by golly!





Okay, we just walked between the Mahonia Garden and rounded the Front Center Garden. We are now on the eastern side of the Front Center Bed. This garden has the Roadside Shrub Border on the right and you can see the grassy path I talked about when I opened this post. The shrubs in the Roadside Shrub Border garden shade this side of the FCG bed something awful. I must deal with the shade and sacrifice some blooms in order to have privacy from the road. This side of the border primarily has the oakleafs, aucubas, azaleas, and a few other shrubs you'll soon see along with the ever present perennials. The shrubs do okay but the azaleas do not like the spot. I am having issues with them so may remove them at some point. I personally think perennials are supporting players in gardens and definitely support the shrubs and trees; which are the stars here at Tiger Gardens. I do love designing with perennials but they are not my first choice to plant. My first choice has always been and will always be to plant trees and shrubs then design around them. All of my gardens have trees and shrubs with the exception of the Back Sunny Perennial Border and the Vegetable Garden.





A closer view of the east side. You can see the daylilies, irises and shrubs. The brown shrub is an azalea. Like I said, the azaleas do not like this spot at all. This particular azalea is one of four that I dug from a friend's house. These azaleas bloomed nicely only one year in the past three. They are not happy and have some issues; mainly azalea leaf gall. The brown one is the worst one. The other three are okay and I like the structure they provide so I keep them around.





Moving past the first set of azaleas we come upon the oakleaf hydrangeas and the second set of azaleas. On the other side of the azaleas is a Lo-Gro Sumac and Japanese kerria. Both of these shrubs do fine in the dry shade. The shade is very dry here due to an oak tree and also an oak tree that was cut down several years ago. The soil is most dry.





Here I've turned around and looked back to where we just came from. You can see a giant hosta, the Lo-Gro, and some daylilies. There are also some grasses growing here and we'll soon see the 'Newport' plum.



Ah, here is the bend looking down the bed once again. BJ is the flower sniffing dog at Tiger Gardens. He is the best dog in the whole world. My neighbor shaved both him and CeCe. Doesn't he look great? Normally he is a shaggy dog.





We've now rounded the bend and have come full circle back to the front side of the Front Island bed looking south. There are lots of perennials in this bed. I plant all of my plants very closely-probably too closely but the benefit is no weeds and interest all year. There are layers upon layers here in my gardens. I'll show some more layers soon.



Another close up of the front center of this bed still looking south. The flower pots are not normally on the edge of this bed. We are getting a new roof soon and had to move the flower pots away from the house.







Now we've come full circle back to the right side of the Front Center Garden. I hope you enjoyed our walk around. I tried-really tried to make a logical order of the photos. It is so hard to do this when you have a lot and have not uploaded them in sequence....


in the garden....


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Gardening WITH Dogs

From In the Garden

The way I see it gardens and dogs do not go together no matter how you slice it. People and dogs do go together however. So what happens if the people happen to be gardeners or if not gardeners, maybe just someone who happens to love dogs and appreciate good landscaping? There is the crux of the matter and we need to figure out some solutions. I have four dogs, three are very large and have caused some serious damage in my gardens. While gardens will heal and can be repaired the frustration of dealing with the damage is more the problem for me. I've had to figure out ways to reduce the stress of having these wonderful dogs in my backyard or continually be frustrated so here are some of my solutions. I hope they can help you if you garden with dogs..

The way I see it there are a few main issues when it comes to dogs in the garden and I will address each of them based on my experiences with my wonderful mutts-uh dogs. Those issues in simple terms are:

1. Running through gardens
2. Chewing
3. Relieving themselves
4. Digging
5. Drinking and bathing in water features
Running through gardens is probably the biggest complaint dog owners have when addressing dogs in the garden-next to digging. Dogs are just made to run. They don't care what they run into, over, or under, they just want to run. Let's hope there are no neighbor dogs your dogs are running after but most likely there may be another dog or two in the neighborhood; which will make the problem three times as bad. Trust me, I know. Here is the way to solve that problem. If you are able to, put in a privacy fence so your dogs can't see the other dogs and the problem will be somewhat alleviated. If this is not a workable solution for you then plant groundcovers and shrubs along the runway along your property line. In the picture above my dogs run along that fence fairly frequently. There are a few dogs that live on the other side of the fence and even with the privacy fence the dogs still occasionally run along the fence but not as bad as they would if the fence were not there. Next to the fence I planted a really strong groundcover that is low maintenance and is not fazed at all by a pack of dogs. The groundcover is Liriope spicata, aka creeping lilyturf. This liriope is also called monkey grass in some circles but this type of monkey grass should not be confused with Liriope muscari, aka lilyturf or monkey grass. Liriope muscari will also work as a great groundcover but it is a clumping grass versus the creeping grass like the spicata. Clumpers (muscari) work well but do not hold onto the soil as well as runners (spicata). Spicata cannot be bothered by anything. Tree roots, shade, weeds, and dogs are all laughed at by the spicata which grows and grows and grows and looks good pretty much all year long. As a bonus it is low maintenance. All I do to mine is weedwhack it or mow it at a high length in February of each year and that is it. You don't have to mow it but I choose to for aesthetics. Other groundcovers would probably work but there are none I would recommend planting in your garden due to the invasiveness of them so stick with spicata for a groundcover to protect your ground from dog paws.

The above picture shows my privacy fence with the spicata growing along side it. Bella still loves this area and has made a path through the spicata but the ground itself is safe and not prone to erosion due to the dense roots of the spicata. Spicata is great to stop erosion, weeds, and to cover a difficult area such as this area under a silver maple tree. Note: Spicata WILL run too but is much easier to get rid of if you decide it is not for you. If you do plant spicata choose your location wisely and be prepared for it to spread in shade or sun, dry or wet soil-it's quite adaptable.

I have also planted shrubs and trees along this and other fence lines in my garden. They help out but when a dog gets going even thorny shrubs are not likely to stop a dog's run to getting where they wish to go so you still need to protect the ground. Mulch is also a good ground protector but requires more maintenance.

Okay, when a dog is doing its business and not intent on playing with another dog or chasing a squirrel they are more sedate and more manageable in the garden. I have found that borders such as the stone edging along trenched garden beds as in the above picture work great to guide a dog's path. Rarely will my dogs venture into this garden even though they like running along the fence at the back of the garden. Once the dogs are done playing they will naturally gravitate toward the paths in this garden out to the turfgrass where they will follow the edge of the garden around to the next new spot they wish to explore. The rock borders and trenched gardens work like a charm and are attractive as well for directing a dog's run.

I do sometimes have to take tougher measures to control the dogs though. When it comes to chewing and breaking habits sometimes the only thing that will work are fences. I know most folks don't like fences in the garden but I am more of a functional gardener than an aesthetic gardener so I use fences when necessary. The first picture on this post shows one of my fences as well as a pathway. The dogs tend to stick to the paths through the turfgrass and don't usually venture into the fenced gardens. This garden really needed protection because it apparently had some nice and juicy trees and shrubs planted in it. One very expensive and desirable tree that was eaten by one of my goldens was a weeping Japanese maple. I was not a happy camper. Now whenever I plant a new tree or shrub I usually circle it with 24-36" wire until it is big enough to fend for itself. Sometimes this takes years but is worth it to protect the plant and the dogs. Shrubs like camellias and rhododendrons are supposed to be poisonous to dogs and for some reason my dogs have a taste for these shrubs. Fences are necessary in these circumstances.

Now we get to the last few issues. Relieving themselves is a big yuck for gardens but oh so necessary for the dogs. The best solution to deal with wastes from a dog is to select an out of the way spot in the garden and train your dog early to go only in that area. Training puppies is the best method but even older dogs can be trained to relieve themselves in a certain spot-far away from living areas. You will have to walk your dog to the designated spot (most likely on a leash) and build a habit for that dog to relieve itself in only that spot so it will take time and training but will be worth it in the long run. Once the habit is in place it should stick with the dog for its entire lifetime. I find that generally dogs tend to find an out of the way spot anyhow but in case they regress or like to use pathways you can gently retrain them not to do their business in such a spot by catching them in the act and redirecting them. They don't forget such indignities I can assure you. Cleaning up after your dog is an important part of maintenance chores in the garden as well.

One note on urinating. Many people complain the dogs leave a yellowed spot in areas of their lawn when they urinate. In the eight years I've lived here I have had only one yellow spot and that was during a drought in 2007. If you have a problem with urine concentrating and building up in your garden rinse the area with a hose daily. This should help. Otherwise I don't stress about urine unless it is on me!
Another issue we have to deal with when gardening with dogs is digging. This is a frustrating trait. My little dachshund was the worst when it came to digging when he was a puppy. He would dig and dig and dig and no matter how quickly I tried to fill the hole I never could find enough dirt to fill the hole up and still he would dig. I still wonder what happens to all the dirt! My solution to digging is multi faceted like my other solutions. No one trick will solve all issues with dogs and gardens. Being proactive I would try to catch a dog in the act of digging and severely scold them for it. This helps. I also try to limit the dogs freedom outside when I am not around. I know bored dogs tend to dig. This helps a bit too but it will not completely eliminate the problem. Here is the good news, as dogs age they seem to dig less frequently. My dachshund never digs and neither do my goldens, though they all had their moments when they were younger. Enter Bella, my daughter's rottweiler mix mutt, she digs. She is young. She is persistent and most irritating. I can always tell when she has been digging because her dirty nose gives her away. Bella's favorite spots to dig are near the house and wherever newly planted plants have been put in. Grrrrrrr! We've had a real issue with her this past year. I try to catch her in the act but even that is not enough to give her the message digging is not acceptable. In her situation I usually wind up placing a barrier over the hole. I usually use mesh wire like chicken wire, heavy rocks, or even the above pictured trellis to block off her current holes. This just sends Bella somewhere else to find easier pickings but at least the hole doesn't get any larger and I can fill it in. Sometimes I leave the barrier in place because the problem is ongoing, sometimes I remove the barrier. I do like to cover the wire with mulch when I leave it in place so no one can even tell there is a wire on top of the ground-but Bella! Barriers help but digging is one of those things I think dogs may always do, especially young dogs.

Another area of concern might be with water features. My goldfish in my little bathtub pond may have received a few shocks when a 100 pound plus dog jumps in and takes a bath. Perhaps BJ reasons it is a bathtub after all? At any rate this is not desirable and could wreak havoc with not only the fish, but the plants and the pump. When BJ is not dunking himself in the pond Bella is drinking from the pond. Sigh. My solution is to provide the dogs a pool of their own. I purchased a small hard plastic pool for them. The pool is less than four feet round and easily dumped and refilled as necessary. The dogs will always use this pool over the pond provided it has clean and fresh water in it. They also drink from it fairly frequently on hot days.

These are pretty much the major problems I find when trying to work with dogs and gardens. What are your issues with dogs and do you all have any tricks that help you when dealing with dogs?

in the garden....



Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

The Tour

What does a picture of a big weed have to do with the garden tour you ask? The above Verbascum thapsus, aka as Common Mullein was a big hit with visitors on this past Saturday. All wanted to know what it was and how could they get it.

The bloom is rather striking. My Nashville blogging friend Gail posted about this very weed a few weeks back and yesterday. You can check her post here. This weed makes a good tea which helps with congestion. Additionally, a little known bit of folklore with this plant is that it is sometimes known as the 'King's Candelabra'. If you soak the dried flower stalk in tallow or something similar, it will make a good torch. Some of the flowers in the garden last year looked just like a candelabra. This is a very neat weed. It attracted attention because it was different and quite large, over six feet tall. I think it is happy in my garden.

The leaves of this plants are huge. They are fuzzy and soft and persist quite a while. This plant is a biennial. It formed a rosette last summer and persisted throughout the winter. Once the flowers mature and the seeds form, this plant will die. The goldfinches truly love eating these seeds and it is worth growing it for that reason alone. You will never plant it. Just watch for it while in the garden and don't pull it out. Now, on to the tour and the visitors and helpers.

The very first visitor of the day showed up pretty close to 9:00 AM. She came from west of here and took the opportunity to stop by and view the garden and pick up a ticket to see all the gardens. Judie enjoyed talking to her and BJ is a one dog welcoming party all by himself. We (Me, Judie, Phil, Geri, Nancy, and Julie) all enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone who came by. We did not keep a good count of the visitors but estimate that around 100 people visited. There was a fairly steady stream and many took the time to sign my guestbook. I appreciated that very much.

One visitor that came is a nearby neighbor. Her name is Naomi. As soon as she pulled in the driveway she jumped out of her car with this pretty cutting of St. Johns Wort in her hand. It was a special gift for me. She bought a ticket but said she only wanted to visit here since she lives close by. Her son is just down the road from me as well. We exchanged phone numbers with promises of getting together soon.

You all will recognize my regular reader Nina. She brought her daughter (Dana) and granddaughter (Sarah) for a visit. Sarah was a very tired little girl by the time they reached my garden. I appreciated seeing them and being able to take a picture. I did not take many pictures on this day but made a special effort to get my camera for this shot. Considering how long I have been blogging, you would think I would know to have my camera always at the ready.

Many visitors wondered what this plant was that matched so nicely with the red bee balm. It is drumstick alliums, Allium sphaerocephalon. An easily grown allium which is very reliable in my garden. I like the deep coloring and the fact it is easy to grow and a reliable perennial here.

Some got quite a few laughs from a gift my mother gave me for Christmas. It is a set of ceramic plaques which have sayings on them. Some of the sayings are things like: "This is your last chance, Bloom!" and "I don't remember planting this." These signs were strategically placed around the garden. A good gift for any gardener.

Another feature of the garden visitors found interesting was the bowling balls. I was asked several times if I used to own a bowling ball alley. No, but I think it would be fun. Next I was asked where I got all the balls. Several people were interested in them for their own gardens. You don't think they were really just kidding me do you? Skeeter, the Saint cannot answer.

The vegetable garden was a big hit. My little red cabbages were putting on their best 'heads'. No pun intended. The bricks made the garden neat and clean and the vegetables were actually beautiful as well as functional.

A common theme of the day was "You have so much!". Yes, I am a collector. Probably more of a collector than a designer, but collecting and planting makes me happy and isn't that what gardening is all about? I am hopeless when it comes to plants. Most all call to me and I like the challenge of growing neat and unusual plants. Honestly though, most plants I grow are easy to grow and adapted for this area. Picky ones, such as roses are not too common in my garden. (Sorry Lilacs and Roses)

I was overjoyed to see many friends. Several came from my garden club. They included Sandy and her friend Ellen, and Ann and her husband. Ann and her husband are golden lovers, so they could not wait to see the big guy, BJ. All three of my dogs were locked away during the tour, but BJ made a few guest appearances.

One star guest was Lucy. I was going to feature her as my choice for gardener of the month once upon a time when I blogged through an FTP. I changed that plan once I switched to blogger. But by sheer coincidence I made contact with a reporter for the local newspaper. I gave the reporter several gardeners' names, and Lucy's name was one of them. There was a very nice article in the paper about this 'Gardener Extraordinaire'. You may have seen it? I am looking forward to seeing the last gardener in the paper too. She and Lucy would hit it off and this lady lives in my little town!

I was truly honored Lucy visited my garden all the way from Sango. She told me "Of course I would come out here to see your garden!" How could I doubt her? I had no idea she was coming. I have many plants growing in my garden which she gave me last spring. My friend Nancy arranged for Gerianne and I to visit Lucy's garden, and like a true gardener, Lucy gave us a bit of her garden to take home. I love all the plants and think of her whenever I see them. I actually have a 'Lucy' garden area. She is one of those gardeners you just want to be around in order to learn all she knows. Her garden is truly a beauty and should be on a garden tour as well. Her knowledge of all plants is amazing and she has taught me much.

Thanks to everyone who made the trek out here to my little town on the west side of Clarksville. Many visitors commented it was worth the trip. A trip most don't make due to it seeming to be so far away. The tour was wonderful. I tried to speak to everyone who came through. Many told me they used to read my articles in the paper, and many told me they follow the blog. Some asked for advice and opinions. But all visitors were very nice and commented that all of the gardens on the tour were special. That is a nice thing to hear.

I am not done with posting on the tour. I had the pleasure of touring seven additional gardens during the two days after the actual tour. Yup seven, I had the bonus of touring one garden not on the tour.

Stay tuned for more on the tour (I think I have one, maybe two posts left). And at some point I will prepare a tip post on how to prepare for a tour for all you gardeners out there who would gladly open your garden to the public.

in the garden....thinking about touring gardens.