'Circles All Around Us' at the NWFGS-2014

 I can't say that I remember well all the display gardens at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

This one I do remember. 

I love minimalism in the garden. In this case, I mean a limited color scheme. 

Bright, cheerful gardens are on my list of favorite things too, but I have an appreciation for 

a calm, serene, noble white and green palette.

Plus rustic brown. I think it looks so natural in gardens because brown is the color of dirt, bark, mushroom hats, pine cones and other 'forest' things.

This is the official description of the garden :

'White flowers, variegated foliage in white, and white containers provide a simple yet striking backdrop for a collector’s garden art—creatively enhanced with a circle theme.  Iron circles form wall pieces behind the circular patio, fronted by a 6-foot vertical iron ring sculpture. Ornamental blown glass objects surround this centerpiece and appear throughout the garden.  Plants reflect the theme: round in shape, or with round leaves or flowers.    

Inspirations to take home: adherence to theme for a striking impression'.

 This panel with steel circles attracted a lot of attention.

It served as a beautiful backdrop for an inviting round patio.

I'd put something rectangular or square on the table just for variety, despite the theme, but

it's my personal opinion. 

Green, brown and white colors create a contrast, and a contrast, 

as we know, is a secret to a garden's beauty.

Gracious Narcissus Thalia is one of my favorites.
Some great information about it is Here.

The gate below (Iron Idiom ) serves as a great garden sculpture piece:

I loved these big flat stones around the Katsura tree.
They are very decorative, would help to keep the soil moist around  plants and,
I guess, are safe as long as they don't touch the trunk. What do you think?

 Jesse Kelly's blown glass sculptures looked stunning in this garden.

It would be a tough choice, but if I could select pieces for my own garden,
I'd pick his white and green 'lilies'. And brown glass bamboo sticks. And milky white spheres too.
Saying that, I should admit that there are no glass ornaments in my garden so far.
 I think, subconsciously, I worry about having breakable features in a space where kids and dogs are  roaming.

Shown above is Cyclamen 'Laser Midi White' 

Laser (Synchro) is the series with intermediate flower size on a compact plant.

The earliest and most uniform series in the market for autumn and

winter. Comes in 18 colors.

More open plant habit avoids problems with Botrytis.

Compact plants for better use of bench space (Source).

Plant list for this garden:

Katsura tree,
Yellow Twig Dogwood 'Flaviramea',
White Cyclamen 'Laser Midi White',
Silver Queen Euonymus,
Blue Leaf Hebe,
Jacob Hellebore,
White Narcissus 'Thalia',
Variegated Pieris,
Blue Shag Pine,
Dwarf Indian Hawthorne,
Cunningham White Rhododendron,
Tulips 'White Marvel'.

You couldn't help but notice that many gardens at the show shared the same ideas.
There were other displays with circular form garden art, limited color schemes, use of glass sculptures, etc.,
but I tried to look at each garden separately, as if it was the only garden at the show.
On the other hand, repetition, repetition, repetition and voila! - those ideas,
reoccur in several gardens, actually got into my amateur gardener's brains.

***Copyright 2014 TatyanaS

Calla in My Garden

This plant appeared in my garden by itself. It grows on poor soil without any help from me. It is almost as tall as me, and its stems are very thick so it looks like a shrub. Trumpet-shaped flowers are noticable from afar and last long.
They say Calla lily (Bog Arum, Marsh Calla) in the U.S.A. grows best outdoors in zones from 7 to 10, and our zone is 7b. They like sandy, lightly acidic moist soil. Our soil is sand & rocks and it's acidic. It's not moist although, and there are no sprinklers in its part of the garden. Maybe, because of that, its rhizoms don't spread as typically happens near ponds and other moist areas. My plant just gets bigger every year and serves like a good focal point in my terrace bed.

Other plants in this picture are: grape, black currant, peony, euphorbia, daylily, weigela, forget-me-not, garlic, lilac, berberis, rose, eupatorium, etc.

***Copyright 2012 TatyanaS

White Garden at The Sarah P. Duke Gardens, NC

Heavenly beautiful, but dangerous! Warning: Seeing this garden can be hazardous to your own garden! It might make you want to tear apart your existing plantings, destroy everything that you created and start building a new all-white paradise.

Visiting the Sarah P. Duke Gardens was a highlight of my trip to North Carolina in June.

What I saw there exceeded my expectations. After spending several hours in the gardens, I was running to the exit trying not to be late for a Duke University campus tour. I didn't know much about the Gardens and believed that I'd seen their best part. It was a total surprise when I bumped into the White Garden. I took my first look and gasped from the thought that I could miss it.

The beauty of white color  - classic, elegant, innocent, serene...

 

 I liked everything about this garden - its layout, geometry, choice of plants, combinations, containers... everything.

 

I learned some facts about the White Garden later. At the time of my visit, there were just emotions. How can I describe them? I was charmed, inspired, moved, touched and excited....

Liatris, lily of the Nile, coneflowers, cleome, perennial phlox, canna, monarda.... tell me what other perennials you see here. Grasses, annuals, agaves and shrubs, many with variegated foliage, add so much to the garden's charm!

This is a new, young garden!

Crystal Cotton in her article tells the story behind the garden's creation.
The full name of the garden is Page-Rollins White Garden in the Doris Duke Center Gardens. The idea and inspiration for it came from the famous Sissinghurst Castle Garden, England with its garden rooms. Jason Holmes, curator of the Doris Duke Center Gardens, created a Southeastern U.S. version of it. It is said in the article that the garden will be a knockout when it's fully developed. Well, it WAS already a knockout for me!

I hope you enjoy the pictures and get some ideas for your own garden!

Pure joy...

Isn't white a wonderful color? I got curious about what shades of white could exist: polar white, pearl, seashell, eggshell, ghost white, isabelline, ivory, magnolia, old lace, cream, latte, vanilla (are you craving for coffee, reading this?) beige, anti-flash white and white (Wikipedia).

Don't you want to introduce more white plants into your own garden now?

This new garden will grow and get more beautiful over time. How glad I am to have a glimpse of it in its beginning stage and capture some pictures of it in its infancy! How interesting it'll be to make comparisons later on!

Mr. Holmes believes that 'the peak for this garden should be in the next three years, just because the perennials and shrubs have a maturation period'.

 If you find yourself in Durham, North Carolina, don't miss a chance to see this outstanding newborn garden!

Visit The Sarah P. Duke Gardens site

***Copyright 2011 TatyanaS