Thursday, June 20, 2013


Beautiful Container Plantings Along the Streets of Chicago

by Noelle on June 14, 2013

A few weeks ago, I found myself walking along Michigan Avenue which runs through the heart of downtown Chicago.  We were in town attending my daughter’s graduation from Navy basic training.

I had a few hours before our flight left for home and couldn’t think of any better way to spend it then walk down Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue with its beautiful architecture, shops and of course, green spaces.

I love being inspired when I see different plant combinations.  Now, I may not be able to grow all of the same kinds of plants in my desert climate, but I can find plants that look similar so that I can reproduce the same look.

Here are a few of my favorite plantings…

 Blue hydrangeas held aloft on raised platforms above a sea of boxwood.

I love this look – surrounding street trees with flowering annuals and perennials.

Purple and blue hydrangea are planted with yellow violas, sweetly scented white alyssum and pink snapdragons.  Pussy willow branches add a welcome vertical accent.

Container plantings don’t have to be limited to flowering plants.  Colorful foliage makes a striking statement in this container.  I love the burgundy foliage of New Zealand flax.

This bed of gorgeous colors is created by plants with contrasting, colorful foliage.

This container uses the bright yellow color of violas to contrast with the cool blues of hydrangea.

This bed is filled with tulips that have finished flowering.  Bright pink hydrangeas are held aloft on raised platforms.  Yellow pansies provide a great contrasting color.  Boston ferns and branches complete this striking container combination.

Palms make great container plants.  This pygmy date palm takes center stage with sweet potato vines surrounding it.

I really like how pink and blue hydrangeas look next to each other.  It’s too bad that you can’t get both colors to grow together in a garden setting.  In areas with acidic soil, hydrangeas will be a bluish shade.  Growing up in California, were alkaline soils are the norm, our hydrangeas were pink.

While I am not a huge fan of formal pruning, I like how the shrubs are pruned in the same shape as this container filled with different shades of pansies, don’t you?

A border of boxwood shrubs surround the burgundy-colored coleus.  Japanese maple trees provide a beautiful mid-height planting underneath tall trees.

I hope you have been inspired to recreate these beautiful plant combinations in your own garden.   Don’t worry if you can’t find the exact same plants – you can easily use plants that have a similar shape and color to create the same look.

If you would like inspiration on creating beautiful window box plantings, check out my post about the window boxes of Charleston, SC.

Where have you seen beautiful plantings?  Please share them with us!

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The Gardens of the Art Institute of Chicago

by Noelle on June 4, 2013

I love to travel and whenever I find myself in a new place, I like to visit nearby gardens. A week ago, I was in Chicago and had 3 hours before I had to head to the airport.  So, I headed to Michigan Avenue, which is in the heart of downtown Chicago.  I parked near Millenium Park and started walking, armed with my camera. The first place I passed was the Art Institute of Chicago, where I was able to see their beautiful South and North Gardens.

Now, while most people were headed inside to view the art located throughout the institute – I was frankly more interested in the gardens.

As I approached the building, I saw the two large bronze lions guarding the entrance.  Colorful containers filled with violas and snapdragons lined the front of the building.

The containers surrounded the entire front of the building and overlapped around the side.  (I like how containers look when they are placed at different heights, don’t you?)

Violas are one of my favorite flowers for containers and I like how they combined the many different varieties of violas together.

As I approached the North Garden, I was greeted with a beautiful, meadow-like garden filled with flowering perennials.  Their contrasting leaf shapes created great texture in the garden and was pleasing to the eye.

Perhaps the most striking part of the North Garden was the ornamental alliums that flanked the walkway with the Flying Dragon sculpture in the background.

The flowers were quite large and so beautiful.

The South Garden is built on top of an underground parking structure.  Cockspur hawthorn trees are planted in raised containers.  This area provides a peaceful oasis in the midst of a bustling city that invites one into to sit underneath the trees and read a book or enjoy lunch outdoors.  The sound of water is always a great accompaniment in the garden and the South Garden is no exception – the Fountain of the Great Lakes is located right next to the garden.

Museums are often surrounded by beautifully designed landscape areas and are usually free for you to walk around.  I like to enjoy the beauty of the gardens and also take away some ideas and inspiration for my garden, although on a much smaller scale.

How about you?  Have you visited any beautifully landscaped museums?  Please share them with us!

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“Oh The Places You’ll Go”

by Noelle on January 25, 2013

One of my favorite books from Dr. Seuss is titled “Oh The Places You’ll Go”.  I like to think that reading this book as a child inspired my desire to travel.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning out our game closet and came upon a puzzle of the United States.  I pulled it out and started to put it together adding all the states that I had visited…

 As I sat and looked at my partially completed puzzle, I enjoyed the memories of the different trips that led me across the country.  A cross-country train ride and tour of the Northeast when I was 12 years old with my mother.  Camping trips California and in Utah and a college-hunting trip to Washington state made up my childhood travels.

Years later, I have enjoyed exploring different parts of the country.  We arrive in one city, rent a car and then drive from place to place.  Recent road trips have taken me from Georgia up to New York, Michigan through Missouri and Ohio to Vermont.

One of the things I love about traveling is to observe the different types of birds and plants of each region, that I may not see near my Arizona home…

A Northern Cardinal from Joplin, Missouri

A Robin in Springfield, Illinois

Hyacinths in Holland, Michigan

and

Beautyberry from Williamsburg, Virginia.

I must admit that since playing with the United States puzzle, I am anxious to start filling in the blank spaces with visits to states that I have not visited before.

This coming year, I will be visiting Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada.  Since I have never visited Wisconsin or Minnesota before, I will soon be able to fill in those blank spaces on my puzzle.

I can hardly wait to see what different birds and plants I will get the opportunity to see.

“Oh The Places You’ll Go”

What states have you enjoyed visiting?

What kinds of different birds and plants have you seen in your travels?

**For a list of state birds, check out this article.

 

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Feeder bird: Harris’s Sparrow

by SeEtta (South Central) on November 19, 2012

Harris’s Sparrow is a species that demonstrates that those ‘little brown birds’ are worth a second look. Since they breeds in very far north Canada it is seldom seen in populated areas except during winter and migration. Of special interest to our Canadian readers, Cornell Labs of Ornithology states, “Harris’s Sparrow is the only bird species that breeds in Canada and nowhere else in the world.”

The bird in these photos is a first winter Harris’s Sparrow that was born this past summer in the arctic breeding grounds of this species. Their buffy colored faces appear almost golden in the sunlight. The black on their crown, throat and breast along with their large pink bill highlight their colorful faces. The adult birds have completely black crown, forehead, throat and breast with gray on their faces. This bird is almost exclusively a Midwestern bird whose winter range reaches far south into Texas and Louisiana but a few are seen every year as far west as the Pacific Coast.

These large sized sparrows are often seen at feeders where smaller seeds (such as white proso millet) and suet are offered. Like other sparrows they are used to scratching around the ground for weed seeds and so may often be seen feeding on the ground under feeders.

Have you had these pretty winter birds in your yard?

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Get Your Roses Ready For Winter

by Noelle on November 13, 2012

Have you ‘tucked’ in your roses in for winter yet?  Or maybe you live in a warmer climate and your roses are still blooming like mine.

Well, whether you live where snow falls or live in an area with warm winters – your roses need help getting ready for winter.

Let’s start with those of you live in zones 6 and below:

- Water your roses deeply (about 18 inches).  This should be done after the first frost.  Roses will be using this water throughout winter.

- Pile soil over your rise so that it covers the bud union by at 1 foot.  This should be done in the fall.  Pull off any remaining leaves off of your rose at this time.

- Once the ground has frozen, cover the mound of soil with mulch about a foot thick.  Compost, leaves and straw make excellent mulches and can be spread around your roses in spring.

If you live in zones 7 or 8, winter rose care is somewhat easier:

- Simply mound your rose with mulch so that the bud union is covered by 1 foot.

For those of you who live in zones 9 and above, like me:

- Roses are often still blooming in the fall.  Go ahead and lightly fertilize throughout November.  Stop fertilizing in December.

- Prune back your rose bushes in January.  Sometimes, your rose bush may still be blooming, but it is important to prune them back at this time.  Remove all remaining leaves from your rose bushes at this time.

Whichever type of winter you live in; your roses will appreciate your help getting through the winter.

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Winter hummingbirds

November 12, 2012

Hummingbirds are found during the winter in a number of areas of the United States and even in southern parts of Canada.  Arizona has hosted not only Anna’s Hummingbird during the winter but also Black-chinned and Costas Hummingbirds. Anna’s Hummingbird are year-round residents along the Pacific Coast from Baja California north as far as parts [...]

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Got Allergies? Avoid These Plants…

September 21, 2012

Do you suffer from allergies?  I do.  I always know when fall is on its way when my eyes and nose begin to itch. Of course, if you have allergies in the fall, then you almost certainly get them in spring too.  This fall, forecasters are calling for warmer then usual temperatures and a long [...]

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‘Teakettle-teakettle’, Carolina Wren calling

July 16, 2012

Carolina Wrens are often heard not seen as their distinctive ‘teakettle,teakettle,teakettle’ (or ‘germany, germany germany’ or ‘tweedle, tweedle, tweedle’) rings out through forested areas and wooded backyards in the eastern U.S. Their voices can carry quite a distance so many are serenaded by these wrens singing their many verses from various perches around the neighborhood. [...]

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Field birding: Dickcissel

June 7, 2012

This distinctive looking bird is called a Dickcissel and it sings it’s name like this: dick, dick, cis, cis, cis (and variations on this, all in a very raspy voice). You can listen to it sing by clicking here:-the recording was made by a young man I know, Andrew Spencer, who has made recordings of [...]

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The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming–Feb 17-20,2012

February 2, 2012

Join thousands of your friends and neighbors–and make your birds count–by taking part in this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count. Save these dates: February 17-20.   It is free and you can count the birds in your backyard, in your local park or a nearby wildlife refuge or anyplace you are able to legally access.   This [...]

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Garden-Themed Christmas

November 30, 2011

I’m getting ready to decorate for Christmas and I love to do a themed tree. I like minimal decorations that make an impact. Our Minnesota Governor, Mark Dayton, is a dog-lover and avid outdoorsman. He has a large wreath at the Governor’s mansion decorated with woodsy things like feathers, pine cones, cranberries, and a small [...]

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Late-November Yard

November 27, 2011

I’ve really enjoyed this fall in the northern climate of Zone 4.  It’s been different than most years.  I had many nice weather days that begged for me to come up with some chores to do just so I could be outside. Mild, sunny days allowed me to do my fall chores with ease; usually [...]

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Still Need Bulbs?

November 20, 2011

There is still time to plant – you can plant until the ground is frozen! And don’t forget to save a few bulbs for forcing indoors come late winter when we’re all ready for a little spring love. Holland Bulbs is overstocked and offering deep discounts. Order by today to get great deals and your [...]

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