spring explosion

Welcome spring! After many days of rainfalls finally the sun comes out and illuminates the show in the front garden. The allliums and irises are all in bloom with their blues, lilac, violets. Here and there the whites of wild allimums show their heads. All the pennisetums and the mischantus begin to take back their place shouldered by all the buxus. This is the first wave. They are now waiting for the roses’ and paeonies’ song. In a week all of them will be blooming eveywhere around the garden, For the moment a solitary red paeony greeted me. Last year none of the red paeonies showed a flower. So this was a real surprise. Even if I was waiting some results from last winter’s work: composting, organic fertilising and other bio cares.

The effect of the red among the bluesand the greens is electrifying. It’s the same effect of the tulips that have faded out. But I have to say that the richness of structure of the paeony’s flower  is unique. Wish they could last long enough to accompany the blue agapanthus song.

simply tulips

quick they come, quick they go. At easter they began to bloom, but as soon as I came back from my trips two weeks later the show was almost off. So I catched the remainings here and there. My neighbour told me that he pictured the show. Hope to post soon these pictures.

it’s springtime again

It’s strange to choose a black flower to celebrate the glorious spring bloom in my garden but they are the striking note among the whites of the wild alliums, the lilac of irises, the violet of decorative alliums and dutch irises and the pink of english roses. Left in place since 2004, among the first bulbs to be planted in my garden, the black tulips keep on flowering and moltiplicating among the white narcissi.

In two weeks, from easter to the end of April my garden exploded with the hues of springblooming flowers. The ceanothus this year was generous with its show but also all the irises were showing off. The show anyway it’s for the moment concentrated in the front garden where, after the red tulips disappeared, the german, dalmatian and dutch irises along with the globemaster alliums took the lead. The pennisetum are waiting their turn with aquilegia Nora Barlow and red paeonies.

a recall of last spring

This is how my garden looked in may 2009. Last spring. Dalmatian and florentine Irises, alliums and other spring performers were at their top. This spring I waiting for a far better show as I have added some more decorative alliums to the composition and dozens of red and white tulips. LAst November I have also moved and divided  the red paeonies. I am counting on their contribution to the show.

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march – snow in the garden

They say it’s the last snow before Springtime begins.

It was a real heavy blizzard. Winds at 120 kmh, it snowed all day in Venice and in the other northern italian cities. But my garden under this white blanked is marvellous. Peaceful and quiet. The structure perfectly showing. The two pictures refer to the front garden (where you see cars parked in the street) and the other to the back garden (where you can see the outline of the vegetable garden).

All the flowers of the last post are now sleeping under the snow, ready to bounce up after the sun will melt the snow. Spring time should arrive in 9 days. Hope it’s true.

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March – who’s going, who’s coming

Friday I took a couple of hours before a meeting to cut down the Hydrangea’ spent flowers that I didn’t have time to cut in February when I cut back grasses, perennials and roses.

Among the Pennisetum cuttings that I left on the ground the decorative alliums, irish onions and botanical tulips were showing their green spikes. For Easter I hope to see some of them blooming. In April I’ll have one week off work and I’ll apply to every plant a good handful of blood and bones to have a good start. I’ll prepare also the ground of the vegetable plot that in winter I have well manured. I have not decide yet what to plant apart tomatoes (two or three varieties) cucumbers, onions and salad. This incoming week will be crucial  for these decisions. Any suggestions?

march-the first to bloom

As I wrote in my last post I was wondering which flower would have been the first to bloom. As I discovered this morning in the garden, during the quick but late cut of the hydrangeas spent flowers, there was no winner. There were many. The Camelia Sasanqua showed the first two deep pink flowers in the front garden while in the side garden the helleborus niger kept on illuminating the shadow with their brilliant whites. In the back garden crocuses, an early flowering variety of narcissum and the daphne odorosa bushes were showing off for me.
Every where decorative garlic and tulip’s bulbs were pushing their spikes through the umid ground.

february – the pennisetum cut

The pennisetums in the front garden before and after the cut. February for me it’s the time of cutting down all the perennials and grasses, to shorten roses and Hydrangeas. Here it can be seen the effects of the cut of all the pennisetums and Myschantus. In November I have planted among them dozens of red tulips and many alliums. I can’t wait to see them bloom in the fortcoming spring. Here in Venice is quite warm and all the garden is timidly awakening. In 20 days I’ll hope to show the first flowers. Who’ll be the first to bloom?

side garden november 09

The side-garden path  leads you from the fron garden and entrance  to the back garden trough the jew arch on the left side there is a long border 3 meters deep and 20 meters long, partially in sun partially in shade.  In the first part of the side border live sun-loving plants: echinacea, veronica, roses, irises, phlomis, euphorbia, verbena bonariensis and other silver leaved perennials and bushes like teucrium. In the second part of the border shadowed by the house live the plants that love deep shadow: helelborus, hydrangeas,  solomon’s seals, euchera, tiarella, vinca, astilbe. Most of them, the perennials, are by now asleep for the winter.