The RED Garden

I wanted something in front of the house that would blend in with the red brick of the house. There's a spot in front of the porch where there are large shrubs and a flower bed in front. So...after some thinking I decide on two red Knock Out Roses, verbena, dianthus (yes, there is red dianthus). Richard adores boxwoods so he planted five small English ones for the very front of the bed so that we'd have something there in the winter. My Brooklyn hostas (huge leaves gold and chartreuse) were there too but, alas,had to be moved again. (They were in my garden in Brooklyn in the shade and we just can't find the right spot for them here..can always raid more from Brooklyn if needed). On the stoop I put red caladiums and begonias. Hopefully all of this will give some color without going overboard in front of the house. To top it off I'm adding touches of .....orange. We'll see. Photo to be added when everything starts to fill in. Orange is supposed to be the "in" flower color this year and seems to blend in well with the red. We'll see...can always move it out.

Our path is laid

It was exciting to make a stepping stone path through the new perennial border. Richard and I got the stones at Lowe's and he laid them. It's amazing how much it enhances the design and helps me with planting, weeding and watering.

Spring 2008 "The Path is Laid"

Now in the second year of gardening in Winston-Salem, I realized we are about six weeks ahead of New York, maybe even a bit longer because of the full sun. Daffodils were up in February. today is May 10 and we've got salvia, nepeta and roses in full bloom.
Richard put in a wonderful path with stones we got at Lowe's (See photo above). They look so real and add a practical and lovely addition to my bed which is about 15 x 10 ' and visible from the street. It's fun to talk to people when they walk by.

I've used purple and blue as my theme with some wine thrown in. Some of the plants are nepeta,snapdragons,salvias(three types),verbena,monarda,peroskia,pansies,mugo pine,boxwoods, abelia (Little Richard!), nandina, malva, balloon flower,sedum Autum Joy, echinacea,lavender (Provence), cosmos, ....

Richard also gave me a great idea to put names of the plants on small rocks so I've been trying to keep my list current. This is a great idea cause it's free or cheap, permanent, easy to see (they are on the ground), and helps to "mark the spot" for the winter.