Author: Lilac

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Wildflowers of Turkey

Hillside by the Stream, Ugurtasi Istavri Village Turkey by steelskyblue

TheGardenLady received this question from Janan.

I am planning a spring trip to Turkey to see wildflowers – especially bulbs. Do you know of any good books or other resources that are in English?

How I envy your traveling to Turkey to see the flowers. Turkey is one of the most interesting countries to visit.  Though I never spent time visiting gardens in Turkey, I found the most amazing variety of wild flowers- especially on the Eastern part of the country and around the area called Cappadocia.  “Turkey is home to 9000 species  of flowers, out of which 3,000 are native to its varied geographical landscape.” (see here)

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More Beautiful Gardens: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Narangestan Gardens and Monet’s Garden

Slides Misc 032

Shiraz Naranjestan Garden (Bagh-e Naranjestan) by R. J. Witonsky

There are so many gardens that this GardenLady loves that I could continue writing about gardens to visit that I have visited or I would love to visit for many posts. Recently, TheGardenLady has written about gardens including Butchart Gardens, the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Stourhead, Saihojo and Keukenhof. Let me know if readers of TheGardenLady blog want me to continue mentioning extraordinary gardens. And by all means, TheGardenLady and the readers of this blog would love to hear about gardens you know and love.

One garden that TheGardenLady and her children visited is the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Hrobor, Maine. Because it is still used as a private home, the gardens are only open a few days a year. So if you know that you wilI be visiting Seal Harbor in the summer when the gardens are open, by all means try to get reservations.  (see here)   There are a few other wonderful Rockefeller gardens that you can visit when you are in this area. (see here)

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Three Beautiful Gardens: Stourhead, Saihojo and Keukenhof

stourhead by pshab

This post is about two other wonderful gardens from two countries that love their gardens that TheGardenLady has visited and one garden I dream of visiting.

One can spend a lifetime visiting all the fabulous gardens of England. England has got to be a or the gardeners’ paradise. I will mention other English gardens in other posts.

The first garden is really a landscape garden in England. This is a park that has all the dreamy vistas that anyone could wish for and you can also get delicious scones with clotted cream in the park. This garden is Stourhead, a landscape garden that is said to have transformed forever the way gardens were made.

 

Since this is a landscape garden try to visit when the rhododendrons are in bloom to see flowers. It is such a romantic location, one of the movie versions of Pride and Prejudice was filmed here.

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Butchart Gardens and the Garden of Cosmic Speculation

Jumping Bridge by Paulus Maximus!

In this GardenLady’s mind there is nothing more wonderful than a garden.  Whether the plants used in a garden are common varieties or exotic varieties, whether the garden is large or small like a terrarium, it does not matter. Each garden is created by an artist and every garden is artistic. Gardens can be spring, summer, fall or even winter gardens- gardens change seasonally and yearly- they never remain the same or static.  The gardener is a magician in what he or she accomplishes.

The dream I have is to visit every major garden in the world as well as many minor ones. To that end, TheGardenLady has visited many gardens around the world, but she has not visited all the gardens- I wish, I wish….

Which garden is the most magical? The one I am seeing at that moment.

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The Life of Flowers

flowers

Friends send TheGardenLady pretty photos of plants around the world. I would like to share some with my readers as they come to me.

Click on the image above.

Gorgeous!! Makes one appreciate what a truly wonderful world we live in.

EACH FLOWER IS FILMED FOR TWO DAYS AND PHOTOS ARE COLLATED WITHIN 7 MINUTES TO GET THIS EFFECT

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Pesticide Problems

Warning Pesticides: Fire Will Cause Toxic Fumes by C. G. P. Grey

More and more people are becoming concerned with the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers on lawns and gardens. Careful, judicious use of small amounts of pesticides and fertilizers may be helpful, but using a lot on lawns and gardens may not be healthy or safe for humans and animals.

New Jersey may follow New York and Connecticut’s lead to become the third state to ban schoolground spraying.

Florida, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin and Maryland are limiting the amount of fertilizer with nitrogen and phosphorus that can be used on lawns and on your property; other states are considering a fertilizer ban. (see here) These bans also give dates when no one is allowed to apply fertilizers. Check out your state’s law on lawn fertilization to see what you can or cannot do on your lawns. Here are the NJ rules which, even if you are living in a state or country that does not have the ban, you should read. These bans are for the safety of our environment. If your state does not have the ban, become educated about the problems and encourage your state to write legislation to have the ban.

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Are ants infesting your house in the winter?

Ant Party by tarotastic

A friend told me that her house has an infestation of ants. They are in her house now, in the winter.

One generally thinks spring is when ants come indoors. But that isn’t necessarily the case. You might have brought the ants indoors with firewood and the heat has made them become active.

It has been a mild winter for those who live in the Middle Atlantic states. Mild weather can make ants become active earlier than usual. If they have a nest somewhere in the structure of your house they might be coming out. And some ants like damp spots to build their nests. With all the dampness we have had this winter, there could be some rotting wood near or in your house.

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Making something special for the garden

Arbor and Gravel Path — explored 🙂 by Chickens in the Trees…

TheGardenLady is always looking for creative and inexpensive ideas for planters or  to make something special for the garden.

With the storms that knocked down so many trees in our yards, I have been searching for uses of these trees other than having the arborist or the person cutting the fallen trees just cutting the trees and removing the trunks and branches.  If you are creative you should be able to reclaim some of the tree material for yourself or for others to use. The people who haul away your trunks will probably make mulch of your trees and resell it or sell it as firewood. Of course, you can do that, too.  But you might want to be a bit more creative. So look at your trees when they are down to try to see how you can recycle and reuse the material. Of course, if the tree was consumed by nasty insects like tree borers and you know that is what caused the tree’s demise, do not use those trees, just discard unhealthy trees. (see here) Use only trees you know to be healthy that were downed by a storm or that had to be removed for esthetic reasons.

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How about an orchid for Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Orchid by LollyKnit

Valentine’s Day is coming and I know all the intelligent male and maybe many of the intelligent female readers of TheGardenLady blog are planning something really special for their beloved Valentine on that day.

Say it with flowers is a romantic advertisement logo- though the florists usually mean cut flowers. I love receiving cut flowers; but if I had my choice, I would prefer receiving flowering plants. Cut flowers last a few days or if I am lucky, perhaps a week or two. However, a flowering plant, if it lives, can give me years of bloom. And if the plant has flowers when it is delivered to me, but it dies, I usually feel that it is still a winning situation because the plant probably cost less or not more than cut flowers which have to be thrown out in a week or less.

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10 things to do for your garden during February

Garden Muse Montage by Chickens in the Trees…

If you’re looking for things to do in your garden in February, TheGardenLady has 10 ideas for you to try.

1. Check to see that your garden equipment is ready and tools are sharpened if need be.

2.  Check seed packages to see that they are not outdated and organize those you want to use by dates as well as decide what seeds you will need or want to order for planting. Go through tubers and bulbs to see if any have rotted or dried out and discard.

3. If it is not too cold outdoors or the snow isn’t too deep, cut dead or diseased branches off trees, shrubs and vines and put them out for yard collection if your city or town offers it. (Diseased branches should not be composted.)

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