I was reading the Ceramic Arts Daily today and decided to look at Robin Hopper and Judi Dyelle's website Chosin Pottery, Inc. They have some wonderful pottery in their galleries, but be sure to check out their online garden tour and the plants section on their website. As I took their garden tour I found myself missing my previous gardens. The photo above was taken in my current garden in summer and shows my lavender gift shop which I have converted into my clay studio.
For now (our home and gardens are for sale, please contact me for more information if you are interested in moving to this paradise), I live in an arid climate. I have established some beautiful gardens with the help of low cost, gravity-fed irrigation here at Springville Lavender Gardens, where I grow lavender, other perennials, fruits and vegetables. But I used to live in the Sierra Nevada mountains for ten years, near Mt. Lassen for two years, and near Twain Harte for two years. My gardens in the last three locations were very different than my gardens here. In my three previous gardens the locations were heavily forested and I grew many of the plants you'll see shown on the website of Robin and Judi. This photo is from my upper lavender field with some Tropicana lily in the foreground.
Gardening in the forest or the mountains is much different than gardening in a valley or in an arid climate. A forest or mountain garden changes with the season dramatically and the plants that thrive there are much different. The foliage on plants in the forest is a brighter green while the foliage in an arid garden is a more gray green or olive color. The sun is more intense in an arid garden and I can feel the heat all around me here even in winter. In a mountain garden the sun is dappled and I recall feeling the coolness exuding from the plants especially in the morning and evening. The photo above is some rosemary and french lavender growing near the herb garden pergola near our house.
If you make a comparison to my gardens shown here to the ones of Robin and Judi's, perhaps you'll see why I was missing my previous gardens today. Unfortunately when I lived at my mountain gardens, I didn't have a digital camera, so I don't have any photos to post of those gardens. One of these days I'll have to scan photos of my mountain gardens so you can see what they looked like. The photo above is my Cecile Brunner rose arbor which needs pruning as we speak. I better take advantage of the good weather and get busy.
very beautiful and I love Lavender! unfortunately my gardens seem to be grown over by weeds every year - but that might be the hot and humid Midwestern climate's fault :)
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful- I do love Lavender as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a look at your world.
I left my Cecile Brunner at my Seattle house when we retired to Lacey.. oh the spring glory. Joan T
ReplyDeleteLove the photos of your lavender! I checked out the site you linked, that koi fish walkway was amazing....what a great idea.
ReplyDeleteSince I can't compare your current garden to your past ones, I'll just say that your pictures are beautiful. You have so much open space and so much sky! I am used to small spaces in my city garden. It must smell wonderful with all the lavender. Looks like you have done a lot with an arid landscape.
ReplyDeleteHi Mel, yes mine are getting overgrown with weeds hence we are wanting to sell our place so I can do more clay and less gardening.
ReplyDeleteHi Meredith, I do love lavender and now that I have grown it I will never be without it in my garden, the next place I will probably just have a small herb vegetable and fruit garden.
Hi Joan, I made the mistake of planting two Cecile's on that arbor, one on both sides, I grows like a weed, but the birds love nesting in it.
Hi CJ, aren't those beautiful, what a great idea and gardens to die for. I spoke with Judi today and she said they have had quite a bit of storm damage this year though, gardens are always evolving.
Hi Barbara, my past gardens were very woodland and shady. Yes I kind of created a monster here, I do love the fragrances, but now all I want to do is clay, life has a way of changing on us. I am hoping we will sell this Spring so I can find a place with a small garden and a large studio.
Beautiful Linda! Any tips for getting a Cecile Brunner to thrive?
ReplyDeleteYou have 10 "green thumbs" LInda! We were just looking at our backyard yesterday and kind of walking around in circles, not knowing where to begin with plant selections, etc. It's going to be trial and error (thrive and die) around here for awhile!
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, give it plenty of sun, water deeply once a week, and a little compost or slow release fertilizer, it grows like a weed. Keep the weeds out from under it and if you have cooler weather - use gravel or ground cover cloth (not plastic it doesn't breathe) to reflect the heat back up into the branches.
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, I am lucky to have my green thumbs, I can make anything grow. Check out the the nursery, herb shop and the enchanted gardens near you they should be able to help you with some selections for your climate. Then there's always your neighbors to ask what they recommend. I think with your water situation there I would stick with things which require little water.
When I was in Seattle, I visited the Pelindaba Lavender store, based on the San Juan Islands. I love the scent of lavender. Tried to grow one plant in a pot last summer and was unsuccessful. Had to buy a lavender sachet for my home.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, a woman who visited my gardens said she always carries a lavender sachet in her car. She has to drive thru LA traffic for her work. She said when she is feeling stressed she squeezes the sachet and breathes in the fragrance and feels much better. Lavender does best in the ground rather than in pots. For the six months in the ground water once a day and then taper off to once a week after that.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteWow, you do have tons of people who view your blog! I'm so sorry I have not been on her before, (as you have read) I have so little time to check out other people's blog I have to write on post about that, because it would be great to read more about what everone else is up to! Thanks for keeping up with me and putting me on your blog list! I'll get adding more folks soon..Thanks, Jen Mecca
Hi Jen, nice to see you here. I probably should take a lesson from you and spend more time working with my clay instead of on the computer, but I learn so much from you and others. That really helps me with some of the questions or problems I may have with clay. I am finding it hard to find a balance between the two. Thanks so much for your great blog and for reading mine.
ReplyDeleteyour land and gardens are beautiful and full of light! We have family in Sequim, WA where there is an annual Lavender Festival and like your gardens, the colors are truly inspiring.
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy, we almost moved to Sequim and visited there just before we moved here. The Pacific Northwest is so beautiful and that is the type of climate my previous gardens were. It is very bright and sunny here, almost too bright for the eyes to handle sometimes.
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