‘Accidental’ Flowerbed

Accidents happen, even in gardening. Once, I miscalculated the amount of soil amendment for our garden and got too much of it . After its biggest portion was spread on the lawn, under the hedges and on the flowerbeds, the remaining part was moved from the driveway to the ugly part of the lawn behind the house.

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I planned to move the mix somewhere fast so that we wouldn’t kill the grass we dumped it on. Well, that was the plan. In reality, the pile stayed there for several months. It became clear that the grass under it was gone. After lengthy consideration, I took a shovel, outlined the edges of the pile, and got myself a new flowerbed.

I’ve been told that the nutritious value of the mix probably got low by then. So, I didn’t have big hopes and considered it as a temporary home for newly bought plants and divisions of existing plants.

To make a long and boring story short, this is what I had at the beginning of this summer:

A f t e r

I move everything here that I don’t know where else to plant. It’s kind of a nursery. Some plants are here temporarily, until I find a permanent place for them. (Although, who doesn’t know that there is nothing more permanent than temporary?)

Grasses, hostas and heucheras love it here. They have part shade and consistently moist soil.

Smaller pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them

Ligularia was the real winner. Two of them were sitting in pots for three or four years (I know, I know, it was cruel to hold them there!). Several weeks after I moved one of them to the pile, new bed, it became clear that the ligularias should be free!

Yellow blooms are lovely, although not my favorite color. What I love the most about ligularia are its leaves that are glossy when young.

Next to the ligularia picture is the picture of Bowles’ Golden grass in bloom. Variegated Japanese sedge grass is also doing great here.

Alliums, poppies, rose, tradescantia and heuchera blooms add colorful happy spots to this place.

Rain Gardener Gardening By Trial And Error and Grace (Gardening With Grace) commented on these heucheras in my August post Containers In My Garden. Thank you, ladies, for noticing! In this bed, I have H.Caramel, H.Beaujolais, H. Velvet Night and one more type, green-leaved, which I can’t recall the name of.

On the pictures above, did you see a huge foxglove growing right in the middle of the Hakonechloa grass? It’s a volunteer foxglove. I probably needed to remove it when it just appeared, but the plant looked so healthy and big, I am curious what flowers will it produce next year. I hope the hakonechloa will survive. There are several of them on this bed, and they thrive in the part shade.

Plants which didn’t grow well in other parts of the garden seem to be recovering here. For example, knock-out rose and East Indian Holly fern that, before I moved them here, were suffering in dry soil. The only plant which didn’t survive here was Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium). It was probably my fault – it wasn’t the right spot for sun-loving grass. Too much moisture during last winter didn’t help either.

There is only one bad thing about this bed. Do you see a row of fir trees behind it? The trees didn’t miss a trick and sent their roots into the pile for nutrients and water. I cut these new roots from time to time when I dig holes for plants, but it’s clear who will be the winner. I just hope that the firs won’t suffocate my plants.

Even now, in October, the Accidental bed looks good. In the future, I plan to add a focal point to it, maybe, a little tree.

Plants are not shown in the pictures: Brunnera, Euonymus Canadale Gold, Euphorbia, Cape Fuchsia and some groundcovers.

I bet some accidents happened in your garden too!

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Copyright 2010 TatyanaS

My Pictures of the Day. Reflections

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What’s your favorite?

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Copyright 2010 TatyanaS

Villa Cimbrone. Beautiful Inside and Out

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To continue my Italian travel report, these are some pictures I like to look at again and again.
This is what you see upon entering Villa Cimbrone.
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I don't know why, but rows of pots have a hypnotizing effect on me. I took so many pictures of them, here and in other places during our trip.

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Below is the view from our window. I could see a vegetable garden, fruit trees and a grape vineyard.

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Grapes were everywhere.

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I like to eat grapes, look at them and take pictures of them.

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I caught myself several times thinking how I wished I could reach a cluster of grapes:
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Going to the gardens and swimming pool:

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Ivy geraniums... There will be more of them in my garden next year:

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While inside the Villa, it was tough to go straight from point A to point B without peeking out the windows. Each one gave a breathtaking view.

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The first records of the Villa's property date back to the eleventh century. Since then, it belonged to several noble families which extended and reconstructed buildings, structures and gardens. In 1904, the Villa was bought by the British nobleman and traveler Ernest William Beckett (Lord Grimthorpe). He brought it back to life after a period of neglect in the 1800's.

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The Villa became a blend of styles, historical relics, decorative elements and ancient stone discoveries.
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The Villa's halls are absolutely stunning! The present owners, the Vuilleumier family, continue to respect and conserve the Villa's original architectural and design elements.

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Filled with art and antiques, the halls are magnificent! Frescoed surfaces, stone fireplaces and majolica floors date back to the late 1800's.
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Inside or out, the atmosphere is elegant and inspiring.

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Down or up the stairs, there is always something beautiful awaiting you.

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Before saying Good Bye to the Villa, I went to see the Terrace of Infinity one more time. Down to the alley,
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under the teasing clusters of scrumptious grapes,

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... to the unforgettable place which makes me want to fly:

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Fodor's says about this place: "This grand stone parapet, adorned with amusing stone busts, overlooks the entire Bay of Salerno and is one of the most magical spots in all Europe".

From this little balcony, above, I took the next picture, just to remember the moment.

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and this moment too:

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Villa Cimbrone website http://www.villacimbrone.com/ has an outstanding video presentation. If you have 3 minutes 43 seconds and want to get inspired,

I highly recommend it. The site also has an extensive photo gallery.

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HOTEL VILLA CIMBRONE from Roberto Vuilleumier on Vimeo. Information from Villa's brochure for guests was used while preparing this post. My previous posts about this trip are here: http://tanyasgarden.blogspot.com/2010/10/morning-walk-to-infinity-and-beyond.html and here: http://tanyasgarden.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-is-my-cappuccino.html

Copyright 2010 TatyanaS

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Villa Cimbrone: Morning Walk To Infinity and Beyond

To continue my previous post - Yes, I did watch several sunrises through the old windows of the famous Villa Cimbrone.
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"Villa Cimbrone, which consists of the main building and around six hectares of historic parkland, is considered one of the most important examples of the landscape, botany and culture of England created in the Mediterranean area between end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. The gardens were laid out following the aesthetic concepts of English architects and landscape gardeners such as Harold Peto, Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. The choices of arborial essences and the design of the flowerbeds and cultivations felt the expert hand of Vita Sackville West". - From the materials provided to the Villa gardens' visitors.
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When the time came to leave this place, and we went for a final walk along the long, seemingly endless alley, I was sad.

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I knew I will miss this feeling of happiness and expectation of magic that the walk brings. The Avenue of Immensity is its name. Long and shady, covered by wisteria with flower clusters which can reach six feet in full bloom. To enjoy it totally, you need to find several minutes when nobody else is there. I know you have trust in me. If I managed to get into a swimming pool on the bottom of the cliff in Amalfi all by myself when everybody else was sleeping, then I certainly could find time to be alone in one of the most beautiful places in the world. You can tell looking at some pictures that they were taken early in the morning.

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At the end of the Avenue of Immensity is the Terrazzo Dell'Infinito, the Terrace of Infinity.

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The statue of Ceres, goddess of the Harvests, marks the end of the Avenue of Immensity and the entrance to the famous Terrace. The Terrace is also called "The Doorway of the Sun".

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XVIII century marble busts attracted my attention first.

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Then I saw the view, and it took my breath away. The American author Gore Vidal described it as "The most beautiful panorama in the world". That view mesmerized me and made me want to be a bird. Honestly. Later, I read that Ferdinand Gregovorius (German historian, 1821–1891) described this place as "Where the desire to fly is born". He was right!

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Sparkling sea, lemon and olive groves, houses with red roofs clinging to the hills and most of all, the space itself, open and enormous, bring an incredible feeling of excitement. There is a little balcony there that made me think of the Great Canyon Skywalk with a glass deck, although I never stood on it.
Going to the gardens, I didn't take a map and almost got lost following numerous paths in the gardens. What a beautiful place to get lost! There is a surprise at each corner!
XVIII century bronze copy of 'Hermes at rest' (the original is in the national museum in Naples):

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The alley between cupressus sempervirens (the Mediterranean Cypress also known as Italian, Tuscan, or Graveyard Cypress, or Pencil Pine) and lavender bushes led me to the Temple of Bacchus.

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Leda with Swan, one of the four ornamental statues, stands on the outer edges of the rose terrace with geometric flowerbeds.

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Ancient varieties of scented French and English roses are planted here:

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I loved the Hortensia (Hydrangea) Avenue. At one point it gets beneath a pergola supported by substantial round terracotta columns.

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Old cast iron well stands at the end of the Hortensia Avenue:

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Did you notice something in the pictures? There are no bright flowers! It was the end of September, and the gardens finished their cheerful summer displays. Believe it or not, I didn't miss them.

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Countless decorative elements such as statuary, fountains, stone nymphs, pavillions, arbors, pergolas and small temples held my attention together with trees, hedges, and what was left from the annuals.

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If you want to see flowerbeds in their prime, know that September is too late. As for me, I absolutely enjoyed what I saw.

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Moreover, the last single blooms looked so poignant! That made me appreciate them more than thousands of prime time blooms could do.

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Look at this row of wilting dahlias. Aren't they beautiful?

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Graceful aging - this expression came to my mind when I saw them. In some gardens, they probably would remove the plants already. Not in Italy with its respect for everything that is old.

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Long ago, I read a legend about a gardener who grew hundreds of beautiful flowers, I think lilies. The word about their beauty spread and reached the emperor. The gardener was told that the emperor was going to visit his garden. When he arrived, he was shocked with what he saw. Instead of the masses of gorgeous blooms, he saw fresh-dug soil with a single lily standing . The emperor was furious and angry. What happened? The old gardener explained that he wanted to show the emperor the true beauty of the plant, and that is not possible with hundreds of them. Only a single bloom can give the appreciation of its gorgeousness. I thought about that legend looking at the last blooms of hydrangeas, roses, cosmos, daisies and lilies.

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Although the end of September left the biggest part of the gardens without blooms, there was part of the gardens which were bursting with vibrant colors. I'll show you the pictures in my next post. This is one example:

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Oops, it is the wrong one. It is the inside of the Villa. Pretty, isn't it? This is the outside:

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See you in a couple of days with more colorful pictures of this unique place!

My previous Italian post is here:

http://tanyasgarden.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-is-my-cappuccino.html

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Thank you for your kind, warm comments! I am home already!

Copyright 2010 TatyanaS

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