Little garden trying to look like a big garden....
Gardening Australia on Saturday night featured an entry into the gardener of the year competition. See here: Gardening Australia finalist It is just to the south of us, so I could conceivably have a garden like years (well on a much smaller scale !) The one thing that struck me is how many cordelines she used, and I once again thought I needed to add some more.
They are so easy to grow - you just cut the top off and plunk it into the ground. They do seem to be brighter and more colorful in sunny areas, and as the lychee tree grows again after its pruning there will be more and more shade in these areas. Maybe it is something in my soil as well - because these were in full sun, and they are a very much darker pink than some others I have seen around. . I put one on either side of the tree fern, but reckon I could probably do with a few more - they seem to blend right in.... the caladiums and resurrection lily are taking over this little section. If anyone has a trick to make the cordelines a lighter brighter pink, please let me know.....
In fact to make more space for the caladiums I moved the sago palm over to the front of the tree. Along with some of the low heleconia - I hope it will do better here. It doesn't grow very high and in the house where I brought the plant from, it never stopped flowering.... gosh I wish plants could talk and tell me what they need.
My pink rex begonia that never stops flowering (I love this plant!)....
Even the pink ginger which has at last settled in and sending out lots of lovely pink flowers.
The backdrop of this pink section is of course my sexy pink ladies which are so happy filling the corner with their loveliness.
I had a few baby tree ferns that I took to a neighbor and he in turn gave me some more cordeline cuttings, these grow very high so I have planted two right at the very back. That is turning into my pink section now with this delicate pink variegated cordleine
The backdrop of this pink section is of course my sexy pink ladies which are so happy filling the corner with their loveliness.
Your garden looks so beautiful - I am sure it would be a winner.
ReplyDeleteThank you - there are spots that I like but just more areas that need quite a bit of work - but that is the way with gardening isn't it?
DeleteI saw the show with that garden and it was nice but so is your garden.
ReplyDeleteMy hint with the heliconias that don't flower is more sunshine. Ours die back in winter and are just shooting again now but they flower constantly in the warmer months in full sun.
Oh, and I'm jealous all over again at your Sexy Pink. I am every time I see it. It won't grow down here. I wish it would.
Roz,
DeleteOurs never die back and the color doesn't seem to to change much in shade or sun. The resorts all have that lovely pale pink and I suspect it might come from lots of watering.
To niesamowite wrażenie oglądać w ogrodzie rośliny, które u nas można zobaczyć tylko w donicach w domu. Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing feeling to watch the garden plants that can be seen with us only in pots in the house. Yours.
Giga,
DeleteYes I am very blessed to live in this climate
Your garden is looking beautiful. I love the Pink Ladies. I too wish plants would talk and tell us what they need to feel better and grow healthy.
ReplyDeleteSami,
DeleteThank you, when I seem to get it right every once in a while I feel so good, but I often cant exactly say what did it!
I totally mean this: If I could have any garden in the world, it would be yours. You've done such a great job of displaying a huge variety of plants without making it feel crowded or cluttered, and all in a relatively small space. I love watching it evolve!
ReplyDeleteSteve,
DeleteOh thank you for the compliment!
I'm certain your garden would win a contest, too, it's so beautiful! Every time I visit I'm amazed by how spacious your garden seems, it looks huge to me. That is good planning on your part, maximizing the space you have and creating a paradise on a smaller scale which takes far more talent in my opinion. I love all the pink you have showcased today, it is my favorite color.
ReplyDeleteKaren,
DeleteI wouldn't know what to do with all the space you have! I am so lucky that I can sue the neighbours garden as a backdrop which makes mine seem to go on further than it does.
looking good!!
ReplyDeletethanks Dave!
DeleteLove the photo of your garden around the tree. Your pink cordyline will look beautiful there. I like to create gardens based on color, too. It's fun! Who knows maybe you'll be featured on Gardening Australia! :-)
ReplyDeleteSusan,
DeleteOh no that is not going to happen! I love the fact that the foliage here has so much color.
As usual your garden looks very big and beautiful to me.
ReplyDeleteNo need for your garden to pretend to be big....I love its size and I love the plantings you have selected.
Very good job!!
Virginia,
DeleteI think it is just the prefect size for me - really quite manageable.
You Pink Ladies are beautiful again this year. How's the eclipse going for you? I watched it on webcam but we only got a little dull here.
ReplyDeleteChez,
DeleteWe watched from the backyard - what an amazing sight - it seemed as though we were not going to see much because of cloud cover and then the clouds parted right on time! Awesome.
I saw that same gardening show and I growled when she said she just cut her cordelines and stuck them in the ground to get more plants. I've done just that and I am now the proud owner of several dead stems. I did note she said she did it during the wet season, something we're lacking in Sydney. My take away is that next time I'll water them like it is the wet season.
ReplyDeleteLaura,
DeleteYou might do better to put a cut stalk horizontally just under the surface, and then keep it well watered - it should grow a new plant from every node. These can be cut apart once good roots have formed. I have heard that honey is good as a growth hormone for starting cuttings so you might also try a bit of that rubbed onto the nodes.
Hi africanaussie, i realized we have not been visiting each other's site in a little while, haha! So you have a lot going on now in that patch around that severly pruned tree. Cordylines are lovely if there are different varieties, and your Heliconia 'sexy pink' is lovely too, i only have the H rostrata though. I wonder what is the resurrection lily?
ReplyDeleteAndrea,
DeleteI haven't noticed your posts coming up on my feeder - will have to check that. I am always on the look out for different cordelines. The Resurrection lily is also called the Easter lily or Eucharist Amazonica.
Oh dear, now I have garden envy! I can only dream of having a garden as lovely as yours...Thank you for the sharing your little garden with big surprises :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me about the gardening show, I missed the last episode, so I will go watch it now :)
x
Tania,
ReplyDeletewell I think our gardens are quite different! I am envious of all your veggies. :) Our lives are planned around Gardening Australia...