It's a Sensation of a Lilac

Years ago, I purchased a lilac for my garden. The plant tag showed these beautiful lilac flowers and I couldn't resist it. I took my new shrub home and found what I thought would be the ideal location in the garden and planted my new find.  The years past and not one flower. I studied my gardening books and tried to figure out what was wrong. I decided to dig the plant up and move it to a new location that would give it full sun.  Over the years of waiting, the garden's lighting conditions had changed. The spot that I had planted the lilac was not as sunny as it should have been. 

Changing the location was what was needed.  The following year, I had two flowers and each year since, it had produced more blooms.  This year it is a sensation! Which if I didn't mention is the name of the lilac.  Syringa vulgaris 'Sensation', is a beautiful lilac for the landscape.  It produces fragrant purple flowers that are edged in white that bloom from April to May. It grows in Zones 3-7 and it needs full sun but can take some light shade. It is an easy low maintenance shrub that needs a light pruning after it is done blooming. This lilac prefers to grow in a rich, neutral soil that is well drained. It will grow from 8 to 15 feet in height with a spread between 6 to 12 feet. This year I was thrilled with the amount of flowers my shrub produced. I can't wait to see what happens next year!

The patio and deck projects that I have been writing about are now complete.  I just finished digging and installing my new fish pond. The painting and most of the decorating is now done.  I still need to plant some new shrubs along the fence and dig out the old shrubs.  I will be posting pictures of the completed project in the next couple of weeks. I am giving the garden some time to grow and fill in. The project has taken longer than we expected due to weather, back orders of materials and waiting on contractors to finish, but it looks great and was worth the wait. Check back for the before and after photos in the next couple of weeks.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful spring and that your garden is growing as well as mine this year.

Happy Gardening!

Debbie

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - April 2013

The blood root is in full bloom.

 

This Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, finally has the garden alive and blooming.  We had a sudden warm up and the garden responded with lots of growth, buds and flowers.  My weeping cherry tree is in full flower and the bees are swarming all over it.  I have never seen so many different types of bees at one time on this tree. If you want to see what is happening in my garden, take a look at the photos of spring in my garden.

A honey bee enjoying the flowers of the weeping cherry tree.

A bumble bee flying from flower to flower.

 Hellebores are now in full bloom.

The fragrance of a blooming hyacinth is wonderful.

The forget me nots are up and blooming.

The forsythia bushes are all in full bloom.

The vinca is blooming all over the garden.

The red bud tree is starting to show signs of flower buds.

Marsh marigold is blooming.

The flowering quince should be in full bloom in several days.

My lilac bushes are all in bud.

 If you have been reading my past blog post, you know that we have been working on a patio and deck remodel.  The patio is now complete and the deck construction will be complete in about another week. During the construction, I had moved several trees, shrubs and lots of perennials. February was not the best time to dig up plants, but I was trying to save as many plants as possible before construction began. I am happy to report that they all survived their moves and are now leafing out in their new locations.  I still have a few plants to move, but I need to wait till they are fully up.  It is not easy to design and plant a garden when the plants are not up.  Now is a good time to redesign and plant the new garden with cool temperatures and lots of rain.  I will be doing a full blog post in the next few weeks of the completed project.  You will want to check back for the post with the before and after photos.  Should be exciting and a very big change!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and the beginning of a new garden season.

Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!

Debbie


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Signs of Spring

 

Last week, I walked the gardens and was thinking that spring would never come.  Then suddenly we had a warm up. It was amazing what several days of warm weather can do for a dormant garden.  Buds that looked like it would be a week or more before they would fully open are now open or starting to show color.  Just look what is happening!

The weeping cherry tree should be in bloom by Friday.

The magnolia is showing color.

The hellebore are blooming away.

Some of my tulips are blooming.

The daffodils are starting to bloom all over the garden.

The primroses are blooming in the woodland garden.

The bloodroot is just about to bloom.

More primroses are blooming.

This is my first forsythia bush to bloom. Always a sign of spring.

The vinca is covered in purple flowers.



The lilac bushes are showing flower color.



Yes, it does appear that spring has finally arrived! I know that I am ready to enjoy some sunshine and warm weather.  I hope your garden is up and blooming or starting to show some signs of spring.  Enjoy!


Have a great spring and as always "Happy Gardening".

Debbie

Designing a New Patio or Deck - Part 2

 

About three weeks ago, I wrote a post on "Designing a New Patio or Deck".  Well, the project is still going on and slowly nearing completion.  I thought I would update you with the progress of the project.  In my last post, I showed pictures of the before.  Here are pictures of the last three weeks and what has been going on with the project.

 

I removed all the furniture, old stepping stones and plants that would be in the way of construction.  The decision was also made to remove the hot tub.  We did not use it and felt this was the ideal time to eliminate it from the design.

 

I decided to do a change in the location of the deck stairs and how they came down off the deck. Rather than a straight run, it became a "L" shaped run of stairs.  Before the patio installers could start, the old stairs were removed and new post were installed and set into cement.

 

The patio installers then came in and marked utilities and the location of the patio and flower bed areas.

We did have a few surprises like this slab of buried cement that had to be removed.  We also had to disconnect the old electrical line that went to the hot tub.

 

Then it was time for the BIG dig.  All of the dirt where the patio was going to be located was hand dug out and removed. The next step was bringing in gravel and refilling the dug out area.  All the gravel was compacted and a layer of sand was applied over the gravel.

 

Next the pavers were installed.  Many of them had to be cut to fit in the area they were being used. The pavers will be sanded in the future when the temperatures are higher.

 

I have several areas for plantings.  Two are around post where I will have climbing roses.  One is under the deck steps where I will plant hostas.  There are several beds next to the house where I plan to plant ground cover for year around color. Adding the planting beds helped to break up the hard look of the pavers and cement. Planting will soften the look and define room areas.

 

We did have some delays. In the picture above, they had just started installing the decking when it snowed.

 

And we had more snow!

 

 

After the snow melted the project was back on schedule.  The new decking went down and the new rails went up.

 

The stairs are installed and as I write this blog, the railings are being installed.  The next part of the project is installing the under decking.  This will allow us to use the space under the deck as a nice dry area.  That should be installed next week. 

 

The last part of the project will be plantings, installing a fish pond, painting, staining and decorating, which I will be doing.  I can't wait to see the garden leafed out and in full bloom with the project complete. It is really exciting to see the design that was on paper coming to life.  Check back for future post on the project.

 

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Happy Gardening!

 

Debbie

 

 

More Great Water Features for the Garden

 

Don't you just enjoy the sound of water in a garden?  Whether it is a fountain, waterfall or the soft trickling sound of a stream, water features add beauty and a relaxing feel to a garden.  I like water features in my garden.  Having a large garden, I can get away with having several in my landscape.  When I go to garden shows or go on garden tours, I like to take photos of the many different types that are available and post them to my blog for others to enjoy and to get ideas from for their own gardens.  Here are some new photos that I recently took of some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Natural looking waterfall and stream.

Three urns on a pondless bed of rock.

An old fashion well pump and a bucket.

Three stepping stones stacked on a bed of rock.

A large lighted water feature.

A large rock in a  pondless water feature.

A waterfall and pond for a very small garden or a corner of a garden.

A large metal water feature made of rebar, saw blades and gears.

The new trend of fire and water.

A copper weeping tree fountain.

Stacked cinder blocks with water and planting spaces for plants in the holes.

The water streams down real pine cones like a rain chain into a pond.

A waterfall and stack stone that looks like a car with tires and headlights.

Copper lily pads as a water feature.

Copper water pipes used as a water feature.

 

I hope you liked the photos of water features.  If you have been considering a water feature and would like to see more photos, please check my past blog posts on Water Features for the Garden. Get inspired and do something creative in the garden this spring!

 

If you are not a "Follower" of Garden Thyme with the Creative Gardener, please become one!  I enjoy hearing from and sharing with other gardeners about their gardens, projects and ideas.

 

Happy Gardening!

Debbie