GardenBook

 New England is humid, warm and lush in summertime. I compare it to Hawaii , without the tradewinds or palms.  Last summer I payed a visit to my friends Les and Monique's garden in Connecticut..and such a garden ! Their lot size can only be dreamed of here in suburban California. Trees, shrubs , grasses and perennials are combined artfully with a tasteful selections of objects that enhance the color combinations of each vignette.The food is exceptional there too by the way. They can cook !  

   I only visited Annies twice in 2011, really poor planning on my part. There is an unfortunate financial issue involved when I enter those gates, and I have learned to set a budget. I was under both times..but under what ? 100 dollar budget with ten percent fudge factor. Next year I'll just be honest with myself and set the budget at 110. Cheaper than a ball game, and I come home with plants, and photos. All appendages crossed that my Angelica will re-seed.  I'm partial to fuzzy grey plants. Too bad I haven't a clue what this one is. Gotta be a Salvia ?  If I drive to Annies on a weekend morning , I can be there in 30 minutes, 40 if I miss the lights in Napa. And yet the climate is completely different. Everything grows, all day long. No heat waves, no frost.

I spent very little time and energy this past year taking photos of my own garden. Dissatisfaction had set in , along with boredom..I'm a fickle , fickle gardener, requiring constant re-dos to keep my interest. Not so bad though when I look at these photos-I can see the look I'm going for which must mean I 've succeeded on some level. I like mounds. I like contrasts, I like flowers. Yeah, I like flowers. And Bunny Tails !

Looking back...so many garden visits in 2011. Looking forward, I have plans for many more in 2012. The decisions are hard to make... San Diego ? Arizona? Florida? All are on the table. So, here is the first of a few retrospectives . I was sure surprised by Buffalo.  My friend Cindy and I ventured into the rural areas south of the city to see gardens that were open prior to GardenWalk .  So many Daylilies--everywhere we went, in full bloom, and colors that just don't happen out here. In this garden the owners confessed to spending many hours per week deadheading..they are of course retired. My Echinaceas never look like this. Whatever. If you grow Dayliles you have to be prepared for unexpected color combinations. This garden was growing Daylilies commercially, but there was alot of other stuff going on. So east coast..