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For Anyone, But Especially Serena

Serena, here are some of my garden pictures as promised, and my apologies to anyone who's seen them all before.

I didn't realize you're Eluane's mom. I love looking at pictures of her. Not only her eyes but her whole body radiate intelligence and awareness. And, she's so cute.

Ingrid


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Comments (27)

  • 17 years ago

    Oh, my goodness that is a wonderful, wonderful garden. A truly beautiful oasis-in-the-midst of desert mountains. It reminds me of a Garden Jewel nestled in the arid, austere surroundings. I love that draping purple flower, I don't know what kind of flower it is, but it is the perfect complement to the Amethyst/Ruby look of your garden. The yellow roses are very pretty too. I have never seen such a perfect spray of purple blooms either--(1st photo-right side)-looks like a mini tree topped with that crown of fuschia blooms.

    Second Photo is equally amazing, what kind of rose is this? WOWWWW! there are also 2 fantastic silver mystery shrubs in the background that is also seen in the 4th photo as well.

    There is another very intriguing companion plant I am wondering about in the last photo. It's like a carpet of dusky pink. What flower is that? Absolutely lovely!

    To be honest I can't imagine having such an abundant lovely garden in such a dry arid climate. The native soil seems so rocky and hostile to roses. And to see these marvelous bloom after bloom after bloom of roses is like a Miracle Garden in of itself.

    And awww, thanks so much about Eluane. She is a very sweet, funny puppy-girlie! so gentle with kids, babies, and other dogs, with a loving sweet temperament.

  • 17 years ago

    Thank you Serena, for your very kind and complementary remarks about my garden. These pictures were taken earlier in the year, and the first picture is actually from more than a year before that, during the spring bloom. In the first picture the rose on the right is Ebb Tide, now sadly gone since it could not take the heat up here. The yellow rose on the left is Julia Child, with Burgundy Iceberg behind it.

    The second picture has Wild Blue Yonder as the rose in front, with Angel Face in the middle behind it. Fortunately both of them do fairly well in the heat. The silver trees in the back are white butterfly bushes.

    By the dusky pink flower in the last picture I think you must be referring to my blooming silk tree. Just past the flowers, behind the deck railing that you can see on the right, there is a fairly steep dropoff of about 30 feet and you're actually looking at the top of the tree which is about 40 feet away!

    I know it looks very dry but you should see this area in the late autumn, winter and spring (after the rains), when all the hills are completely green. It's like a completely different place, and quite beautiful. But I do have to do quite a bit of watering in the summer.

    Thanks again for your reply and a hug to sweet Eluanne.

    Ingrid

  • 17 years ago

    Wonderful garden.

    I love the color combos in your spring photo. A shame Ebb Tide didn't florish. I think I need to put some purple statice with Tournament of Roses (med pink), St. Patrick (yellow) and Angel Face (mauve lavender).

  • 17 years ago

    Absolutely fabulous Ingrid !!! So much depth and texture. I especially love the fanciful shot into the sun.

    I'm not sure exactly where you are located but it somewhat reminds me of the type of topography we saw this year on our way from Palm Springs to San Diego. I'm a transplant to the PNW from the drier side of the Sierras and there are many things I miss about a warmer and drier locale.

  • 17 years ago

    Thank you Iris. Boxofrox, thank you, and that's a good guess; I live in north San Diego County. I know the dry side of the Sierras very well, drove up that way many times to camp and hike in different areas of the high Sierras over the years. Would you mind telling me whereabouts you used to live there?

    Ingrid

  • 17 years ago

    I grew up in Fallon, the 'Oasis of Nevada' ( I didn't say how far east :-) We spent a lot of time around Tahoe in the summers. I have a childhood friend who has a catering business in SD and we actually lived there for a brief period in the late 70's. We used to transport a guy who played in a band up to Julian on the weekends and also went to Pinnacle Peak quite often for that mesquite fired cowboy steak :-)

  • 17 years ago

    Ingrid, your garden is breathtaking in the vast, wild landscape surrounding it! I really love it!

    The first photo reminds me of a jewel box. What a pleasing riot of color. By the way I really like the combination of the yellow Julia Child and the dark lilac Ebb Tide. Too bad that Ebb Tide didn't make it in your garden. I also admire the gray leaved plants that you have interspersed in between the roses on that photo. They tie all the colors of the roses so well together. What is the name of these?

    Please, could you tel me what is the name of the rose in the third photo, too? I like the color and especially the shape of the flowers a lot!

    Thanks for posting!

    Christina

  • 17 years ago

    Ingrid, you truly do have a gorgeous garden! I would be spending every spare moment out there just enjoying it, if I were you!!

  • 17 years ago

    Everyone will be very happy to see your upcoming fall and winter "jewel" roses; it will keep our gallery lively during the winter sleeper months that the rest of us will be having.

    I also need to say that your Ebb Tide and Wild Blue Yonder are the Best! I've seen some photos of those roses elsewhere and yours are so Perfect! Well, at least you've got these wonderful memory photos for Ebb Tide. Alas, roses are so fragile in certain climates! But while it was in your garden it definitely gave its all! So pretty!

    I should have recognized Julia Child! lol! I am so used to seeing it as a tree rose, I can only think of it as tree rose, all thanks to JeffAurora;s amazing JC tree rose, hee-hee. It's so nice to enjoy it as a beautiful ground rose too.

    Wow, silk tree! just like its name, it shimmers!

  • 17 years ago

    Thank you everyone, you're all so nice. organicgardendreams, the rose in the third picture is an old Austin, Cottage Rose, which I've always been very fond of. To me it looks more like an old rose than an Austin but very few people seem to grow it any more.

    I'm afraid I've forgotten the name of the silver plants which are all gone now, with only the lavender remaining. They were very nice the first year and then grew gawky and ungainly, and even cutting back didn't help. My garden is constantly changing because so many of the plants I've tried haven't worked out. They look great in the nursery but so many of them for me haven't worked out after the first year. To tell the truth, I do not have a green thumb, and I marvel at gardens where everything seems to flourish.

    Ingrid

  • 17 years ago

    Ingrid, thanks for letting me know that the rose on the third photo is the Cottage Rose. You are right it looks like an old rose and it certainly fits very well with your first love the ORGs! I will go on HMF to see more photos of this rose and do some research on it.

    I actually do think that you have a green thumb, because the conditions you are gardening in are very tough and for me it is almost like a miracle that all the roses grow so well for you. I think that in gardens where everything seems to flourish all the time usually people are just replacing the plants that don't make it very
    fast ;-)!

    Christina

  • 17 years ago

    Is this one of the most BEAUTIFUL and ROMANTIC gardens on GW?........... YES IT IS! There is no other garden I have seen on this site like it. An arid garden turned into an oasis.

    Juliet

  • 17 years ago

    WOW! Awesome pics Ingrid!

    JIM

  • 17 years ago

    Ingrid, it must be lovely sitting at your table in your beautiful garden looking out over your view.

  • 17 years ago

    Juliet, Jim and rosemeadow_gardener, thank you so much for your complementary remarks. I suspect, Juliet, that you're another lover of Mediterranean gardens. As much as I admire the lush gardens of more temperature climates, this seems to be my natural preference. I never stop being thankful for the privilege of having the views and privacy and peace of this semiwild place.

    Ingrid

  • 17 years ago

    Yes Ingrid, you are absolutely right! Even though I can see the great beauty in say an English-type garden, Mediterranean gardens are my first love. It's like Cupid shoots his arrow every time I see one with special qualities. :)

    Juliet

  • 17 years ago

    Hee-hee, I am just revisiting, kicking back, relaxing and Basking in this Mediterranean Sunshine, LOL, LOL! Juliet that is a perfect descriptor-- Mediterranean Paradise!

  • 17 years ago

    Very beautiful, Ingrid. Thanks for posting these.
    The 'Ebb Tide' & 'Julia Child' combo in that first photo made my eye's bug out like a cartoon character ... very striking!

    Randy

  • 17 years ago

    Aren't the silver plants Dusty Miller?

  • 17 years ago

    Thanks guys, I'm so glad you like the pictures. Lagomorphmom, yes, you're right, they are Dusty Miller. Thanks for the identification. Sadly they're all gone now because they became woody and awkward-looking bushes. I'm continually looking for more satisfying companion plants, but so far daylilies and irises have been the most satisfactory for me.

    Ingrid

  • 17 years ago

    ....I'm continually looking for more satisfying companion plants, but so far daylilies and irises have been the most satisfactory for me...

    Ingrid, I have also found that daylilies and iris are still my most satisfactory companions, although I keep trying and trying with others. My cluster of dwarf purple coneflowers have been really impressive in their first year, but time will tell.

    Randy

  • 17 years ago

    Very nice pictures. Keep 'em coming.

  • 17 years ago

    Hi, Ingrid...
    I thought the silvers were Dusty Miller...glad I'm right. My mom used to have those when I was little. That was a LONG time ago! I'm not a lover of heat and sun, so the desert would be the last place I'd want to live..but I have to say that I could more than tolerate it if I had a garden and view such as yours! Very special!!! You had quite a challenge, and certainly have accomplished a little Heaven on earth for yourself!
    Cheers!
    Barb

  • 17 years ago

    I really admire you for growing roses in such difficult conditions Ingrid. I am sure that soil takes tons of amendments/compost? I would love to live a place that had more sun than up here in cold and grey, but lush green and mild Denmark. ---the grass is always greener as they say. You are truly blessed to live such a beautiful place even though I would fear wildfires and back breaking work of spreading tons of organic matter to improve the soil. And I would starve in order to pay the water bill if I lived there ...and had to pay the same as we do here for water, at least we do not have to water much here.

    I always wondered why you got rid of Ebb Tide since I always thought yours looked great! I am guessing that the other purple to left in the top picture is Burgundy Ice that If I remember right you wrote did not do well for you either? And what is the name of the rose in the first picture - middle at the top - it really seems to do well for you. You should btw try some purple fountain grass and some other (smaller) ornamental grasses. I think they could look great where you live? Funny - I always think of sea fog when I think of San Diego ... but you live up in the mountains, where the sun keeps the fog away ... even though I remember sunny days in San Diego I also remember the fog. I have always considered San Diego and San Francisco some of the nicest cities on the West coast. I sure hope I will get a chance to see the west coast again and drive down from Vancouver and Seattle -SF-LA-San Diego. Highway 1 and visit some of the nice people I have met on this forum. Money and time shortage always seems to prevent me from going ... Funny how I never worried about that when I was younger ... and more careless with both. But back then I of course did not have the obligations and a mortgage to pay like today ...

  • 17 years ago

    wow, cupshaped roses, I never knew you lived in Denmark. I love Europe in how they really respect history buildings and land/nature. In Kansas everything is always being torn for strip malls and other hideous surburban sprawl and houses which lack artistic uniqueness with the mentality of build it big and make it look like everyone else's, with no individuality. That's why I love Ingrid's garden too. It's a jewel in the desert mountains and has its own character and beauty.

    Ingrid I also lurked at the Antiques Forum because I was looking for bee-loving rugosas (wanting peach, yellow, or soft pink colorations). I happened upon your thread about choosing your 3 favorite roses.

    I am really looking forward to seeing your lovely Mutablis and Lady Hillingdon.

  • 17 years ago

    Ingrid, Your garden is incredible. The combos in the first picture are absolutely breath taking.

    Thanks for sharing,
    Carrie B.

  • 8 years ago

    OMG! Ingrid, what a delight!