Front of our house on North Douglas Highway. This was taken around the Fourth of July.
This is the front of our property. We are remodeling this unit. When we bought this property, this unit was a real ugly duckling. The soil sloped from the road right up to the house. We literally dug it out by hand, created a gravel walkway, and created a flowerbed along the road.
This is the flowerbed along the road that I mentioned in the previous photo. Ginormous Sum and Substance hosta.
This is the same flowerbed along the road, from an opposite direction. I heart this variegated hosta (underplanted with Creeping Jenny, one of my favorite groundcovers). Creeping Jenny can be a little invasive though.
We live in that house in the background. The rhody under the windows was one of only a couple of plants here when we bought the property in 2004. That rhody was hacked back during the remodel, but it is a fabulous one. A hearty, reliable bloomer. Wish I knew the variety.
That flowerbed in front of our house was the second flowerbed we made. It has a Japanese maple, which we discovered last year really are not hearty here. A local nursery owner told us that. To that I silently wonder, "Then why do you sell it?????" They're not cheap! Anyway, the nursery owner told us ours has survived probably because it is planted close to a structure. Those big pink and white flowers are peonies.
We live on Gastineau Channel in Juneau. This is 2009 and we are having the best summer I've ever experienced here (since 1990).
We call this the Apple Bed because of the three apple trees. I also plant a lot of my dahlias in here.
One of two roadside beds.
I plant mostly dahlias in the containers against the house.
White dahlia (formal decorative?) -- some (but not all) flowers are tinged with purple.
This one is named Sunshine, and it's one of my favorites because of the contrast between the flowers and the dark leaves. Hummingbirds and bumble bees also like it. I love bumblebees!
I like this photo of Sunshine because it looks like it's sticking its tongue out.
This is a pink waterlily. Wish I knew the name.
Pink waterlily.
Giggles.
View across our yard with Sunshine in the foreground.
Fringed bleeding heart in foreground. If I had to choose only one plant to grow, this would be it. It's one of the first perennials to bloom and the last to stop blooming. Plus, hummingbirds heart it.
Sum and Substance hosta.
Burgandy Glow ajuga is a stunner, too (that pink groundcover at left). When people come here, this is the plant they want to snag from our garden.
Foxgloves self sow themselves everywhere. Sometimes they get all melodrama on me and keel over, flinging their petals all over the lawn.
Another Sum and Substance.
That tree is a weeping larch. It loses its foliage in fall and the branches turn yellow. We planted it next to a red-twig dogwood, and they look great next to eachother in winter.
I also love spirea -- the ones with yellow or lime-colored leaves. Golden flame is my favorite. Also like lime mound, which really does grow in a mound!
Brad hearts primroses and if you have unusual ones in your garden, he is not to be trusted around them.
Peony!
Our peonies were HUGE this year.
Unfortunately we have to move these because I planted them too close to the maple.
For a long time, I avoided orange flowers. But this primrose changed everything! The flowers bloom on big fat reddish stems that remind me of flamingo legs. But the best thing is the scent.
That fabulous hosta in the foreground is called June.
Sunshine with unknown white dahlia.
My 20-year-old bird, Huey, after a bath. His bite is worse than his screech (but only slightly). Huey was an impulse buy in 1988 in Los Angeles.
What's the name of this fabulous dahlia??
It looks like it's trailing flames!
Another mystery dahlia. I think PJ called this a red waterlily. Brad's parents held a reception for us in 1991 after we were married, and my most vibrant memory from that day is of the bouquet Brad's mom (Lucille) made. It was one of the most beautiful bouquets I'd ever seen. They live in Olympia, and that was in September, when dahlias are in full bloom.
Tasagore. I heart this dahlia because of its dark foliage and because once it starts to bloom, it does not stop until it freezes. Plus, black foliage and red flowers? To quote the fabulous Barefoot Contessa: how great is that?!!
Close up of Tasagore.
Appleblossom has subtle coloring -- it looks better in person. This is a great dahlia.
Road bed in front of the house with foxglove running amuk.
In summer I grow basil in my greenhouse.
Brad and wonderdog Dahli, who turned 17 this year. She will not eat dog food. We've been preparing all of her meals from people food for many, many years. We've found she kinda likes her food on the spicy side.
Dahlia Platinum Blond. This was introduced by Swan Island Dahlias.
August 5. First photo in a series of four to show a panoramic. At left are dahlias.
The orange primrose is still blooming.
June hosta is about to bloom.
Brad roaming. We've had an unbelievably hot summer. We've never had to water this much. We love it! See the brick lining the path? We salvaged that from an old fireplace demolished in the remodel.
Gorgeous dahlia named Wildwood Marie.
This dahlia was included in an order as a gift. Wish I could remember who the vendor was so I could credit them. Love it when they do that. This dahlia is named Brindisi.
Wildwood Marie and Brindisi with an unknown white dahlia.
That shrub is a hydrangea that has lime green flowers. It formed flower buds last year that never bloomed because it was so cold and wet (the summer that wasn't).
I think the hydrangea is going to bloom this year.
That fuzzy groundcover in the foreground is some kind of sedum. It has weird looking yellow flowers that come up like snake heads. Wish I knew the name.
When the sun hits this bed (around 8 am) the colors pop big time. I love the red astilbe "Fanal" against the pink phlox.
View of the apple bed. We are getting three apples this year!
A beautiful dahlia named Crazy Legs. Dahlias are like little works of art.
Dahlia Queen Bee first bloomed last year (the year that summer wasn't), and it just looked like a sad daisy with a yellow center. This year it's showing it's fabulous center the way it is supposed to look! This was introduced by Swan Island Dahlias.
An earlier shot of Brindisi right after it opened.
A closer look at the mystery white dahlias.
Not sure about the name of this dahlia. Pretty purplish center.
Dahlia Wildwood Marie doubled in size overnight. Maybe because we got some rain. I never wish for rain, even when we need it. Because, around here, it's like a bad guest; it doesn't know when to go away. We live in a temperate rain forest. Ok, that said, I drink from the faucet here and I love it. The drinking water comes from rain, guess I'm conflicted.
Brindisi fully opened.
Apple Bed with dahlias and astilbe.
Dahlia Crazy Legs with a hydrangea that is about to open.
I like the contrast between this astilbe's flowers and its dark foliage. It's named "Pink Lightning".
Another shot of the weeping larch.
Astilbe "Chinensis Visions" with Ninebark (which unfortunately is irresistible to porcupines -- last year one of those creatures disfigured it).
Brad planted these amazing astilbe, named "Chinensis Visions."
I planted horseradish in 2008 (the summer that wasn't) and.....nothin'. This year they came up gangbusters. They have huge leaves. I've been reading about how to harvest this, and have learned a full haz-mat suit and respirator are in order. Apparently the fumes are tough to take, and it can burn off skin, but Hey! it's great eatin'!
Variegated sedum with Snow in Summer in the background. I'll be surprised if this sedum blooms before it freezes.
First lily to bloom.
The growth this year is phenomenal. Sea of Creeping Jenny with variegated hosta.
Beds in front of the house. Side note: if you're wondering about that outhouse in the background, we actually do have indoor plumbing here! My uncle lives there and he has a construction project going on.
First ever apple! My parents have an apple tree down the street. The first and only year it had apples, a black bear climbed the tree and took most of them. He also (with his big butt) broke the trunk in half. My dad put it back together with Elmer's wood glue and some clamps. We laughed at this attempt at the time, but it worked! That tree is big today. My dad is a smart guy who writes articles about science for abcnews.com
A monster hosta you would not want to meet in a dark alley.
Looking over the monster hosta's head.
I can't wait until these trees fill in. That's a crab apple in the background.
uh, i got nothin'.
Walking Stick tree but with dark leaves. Planted it this year (2009)
Fading red dahlia lovin' up Sum and Substance hosta. Ok I'm going to leave them alone now.
Dahlia "Wowie".
"Wowie" joins the party.
Our Limelight hydrangeas finally bloomed and they were so worth the wait. They are the star of this garden. The other day, two people pulled into our driveway and stopped in front of this hydrangea....and proceeded to stare at it. Brad went out to see what they wanted. They just wanted to stare at the hydrangea. They had never seen one like it. Hilarious.
I planted lilies several years ago and they finally bloomed this year. This photo was taken in early September.
Another lily in early September.
Sept. 14. Dahlias and hydrangeas stil going strong.
Sept. 14, same bed, different angle.
This is the dahlia Rip City, which takes forever to bloom. I planted it in mid march and in finally bloomed at the end of September. Makes a great companion for Limelight.
Dainty dahlia Bumble Rumble.
October color.
We got a little bit of snow but it didn't stick around long. We have to cut off all the hydrangeas' flower heads before the first big snow storm or the weight of the snow on the flowers will break all of the branches. We learned this the hard way a couple of winters ago.
Still have some color.
Nov. 14. Still have a bit of color in November.
November. Burgandy Glow ajuga in foreground stays pretty pink all winter.
November. Snow in Summer, bergenia and red barberry. Snow in Summer pretty much keeps its silver color all winter.
November.
Dahlias are gone.
Nov. 15. What a difference a day makes.
May 2009.
Primrose "Wanda" blooms in mid May.
