We went to a grower in San Diego County.
We had a great time looking through all the shade houses and row upon row of plants.
It's a homey place, more like a garden than anything else. People quietly potting up cuttings and watering. The nursery dog looked tough, but once introduced, she was a darling.
The grower's prices are awesome. Obviously. Two of the 'Pink Sugar' Arctotis are mine.
Back to my neighbor's house. Her garden is really beautiful and very stylish.
I didn't get all that many photos. Sorry. You can see a bit of the former lawn here, that empty area beside the curb. The boulders are such a beautiful color, aren't they?
A planting bed edging of rusty engine parts--cool!
I went home and planted the two Arctotis. They eventually spread out several feet, and will hide the not-super-ornamental base of the 'Wildfire' rose behind them.
As the sun set, Mrs. Hummer was nowhere to be seen. I was a little worried.
This morning I was curious and had a look at the nest. There are the babies. Do you see them? They seemed okay.
Ah, there: Mrs. Hummer on the lookout.
Then she flew over to feed them. All is well. So far, so good.
I don;t need an excuse to go shopping for plants either, :) Some lovely plant purchases there, I love your pink Arctotis, very pretty.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see that Mrs Hummer is taking care of her babies and feeding them with nectar from your plants.
xoxoxo ♡
All is well! :)
DeleteThese little Hummers look so adorable, hope Mrs Hummer takes good care of them so that they grow up happy and healthy. Fun to go with your neighbour out for plant shopping. The Arctotis you bought has a lovely colour, when I see these plants in your garden I realize that we have Arctotis too but we can only grow them in pots in summer as annuals.
ReplyDeleteI think the Arctotis is hardy to about -4 to -6C, but we rarely go below 4 C. The foliage looks pretty good here most of the year, only gets ratty in autumn.
DeleteNot only do the arctotis spread, they are easy to divide. After flowering tapers off (seems like it never quite stops, except at the height of summer), dig up the clump and cut or pull it apart. Bury the woody or leggy part below the surface to encourage new growth. Anything that has roots will go forth and multiply. I’ve got Peachy Mango, Pink Sugar’s cousin, and from what was once just a couple of clumps, it’s now populating every trouble spot in the garden, including the dreaded parkway.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! I'll see how little water it takes to keep them looking good. The foliage is nice also, not just the flowers.
DeletePlant shopping, how exciting! And I'm loving that edging, cool and edgy!
ReplyDeleteThat garden has some other good metal stuff here and there. One of the homeowners works near a scrap yard and stops in to browse for interesting objects.
DeleteYour neighbor does a great job using swaths of the same plants - I wish I had such discipline. Thanks for the hummer update - the little family appears to be doing very well indeed! Great photos, as always.
ReplyDeleteYes, she really avoids "the onsies". It does make for a much better garden, but not so fun shopping.
Delete"onesies"
DeleteEnjoyed spending the day with you. Everything looks wonderful through your viewfinder! Need about 30 more crassulas!! Back to the nursery.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Thanks! Don't spend too much. ;^)
DeleteI love helping other people buy plants. Almost as good as getting your own plants but you don't have to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteI also love the post-industrial accents in your neighbor's garden. Rusty metal objects are like catnip to me!
I didn't even get pictures of the best rusty stuff. The camera was tired.
DeleteSounds like a good excuse to get out and help a friend - and do something to keep people from defaulting to gravel yards. I have to say, her garden is already great where it's no longer lawn!
ReplyDeleteIt's a fabulous garden. I think it will look even better without the lawn.
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