2016 Garden

Click any photo to enlarge:

2015 Garden

I (finally) decided to add some photos of my garden this year. :) The first is a photo of the creek bed. (Click any photo to enlarge) This is a large flower bed at about 64 feet long and averaging 12 feet wide, filled with a mix of shrubs, annuals, and perennials and a patio near one end (photo taken at a distance to get a wider shot):

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Creek Bed

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Stump Bed

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I always grow a lot of mixed coleus in this flower bed, along with hostas, coneflowers and more. We moved the purple obelisk to the top of the giant stump in this bed this year also, and I’m growing Gloriosa Lilies on it:

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Stump Bed

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Gloriosa Lilies

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Coleus, salvia, mixed

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Trail Bed

Trail Bed – with hostas, Japanese Forest Grass, fountain grass, iris, melampodium, salvia, dusty miller

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Pathway and flower beds

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Gazebo / Yard

Wider view of gazebo and beds

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Lamp Post and Front Bed

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The Red Abyssinian Banana, Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, survived being stored all winter and we brought it out in April, potted the crown in fresh soil and it quickly started growing. (We cut the tree down after the first frost last year, stuck it in a bucket and it was stored in a basement all winter with no attention whatsoever!) It’s more than 7′ tall now and thriving in the front flower bed. This long narrow bed also has a mix of perennials and annuals, and is in the front yard along with the lamp post bed. The lamp post bed has Cheyenne Spirit Coneflowers, Celosia ‘Fresh Look’, and an awesome annual I grew from seed, ‘Park’s Whopper’ Salvia. I grew two flats of this plant and will probably have even more next year, I like it that much. It’s fiery red, much taller than other annual salvias, and is sturdy enough to not have to be staked. I have it all over my beds this year.

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Red Banana Tree

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Creek Bed

Back side of creek bed, with cleome, salvia, sunpatiens, heuchera, oxalis, melampodium.

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Containers

Veronica in a container, fountain grass, petunias

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Zahara Zinnias, Melampodium ‘Showstar’, Creeping Jenny, mixed containers

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Heliotrope and Dusty Miller

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Misc.

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Cleome, perennial ageratum, japanese iris foliage, Pennisetum ‘First Knight’, celosia, salvia

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Patio with mixed plantings (a work in progress), begonias, dusty miller, ornamental grasses, ‘Bobo’ hydrangea

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Whew, that was a lot of photos. :) Happy Gardening!

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Plant Combinations

All my flower beds are mixed plantings, cottage garden style, and I enjoy mixing annuals and perennials together. Some years the results are better than others. :) One of my favorites this year was when the dark purple Japanese Irises, pink roses, and yellow daylilies all bloomed together along the fence. My yellow irises and bluebells bloomed together and were exceptionally pretty as well. I also really liked the dark purple fountain grass with the hot pink sunpatiens. Here are more plant combinations, colors and textures, that were pleasing to me this year. Click on any photo to enlarge.

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Red Banana Tree

This is the first year I have ever grown a banana tree in my garden! I purchased this Red Abyssinian Banana online in early spring as a small potted plant. When I received it, I repotted it into a much larger pot and placed it near the small fountain/pond at the patio. It quickly outgrew the spot (and blocked the view) and we moved it into the front bed near the obelisk. It continued to grow amazingly fast and became the focal point of the entire front yard.

It’s over 8′ tall 9′ tall now and really needed to be in a much larger container. I got worried that it was getting so top-heavy that it might fall over, so we staked it with rebar and a string around the pot.

All summer, it has repeatedly unfurled enormous glossy burgundy and green leaves— the largest are four feet long and a foot wide. Not only has it been able to withstand full sun and our extremely high humidity, it has thrived, with lots of watering and feeding. I’m going to try and overwinter it (in a dormant state), and next year, I’ll plant it in the ground.

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Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’

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Red Banana in front bed

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Huge burgundy leaves in front of purple obelisk

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Botanical Name: Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’
Hardiness Zones: 9a-11b, 5-9 if grown as an annual
Size: Will reach 18-20 feet tall in warm climates
Light: Full sun
Soil: Rich, fertile, well-draining
Care: Keep well watered and fertilized, cut off faded or tattered lower leaves
Fruit: Does not have edible fruit

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