Flowers

Shepherds Hill Farm and Gardens

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

The Flower Garden

Watch it grow!!

One more viewpoint

Lilies, Viburnum, peonies

This page is going to be for sharing what is happening in the Flower Garden here at Shepherd's Hill. Flowers bring such a sweetness to everyday life and they truly reward hard work with beauty.

The Flower Garden

When we first came to view this property with the real estate agent, the first thing to catch my eye was a little area between the back porch and the workshop. It is a space about 40 feet by 30 feet. It runs the full length of the back porch and is bordered on the north side by the deck and on the south side by the drive way. The west side is where the shop and carport is. Eventually Paul will enclose that entire area for his workshop and there will be a wall on that end of the flower garden. I am looking forward to that because I am going to make an espalier there. J Of course, Paul is looking forward to it for different reasons.

When we knew that we were putting our old place on the market, I immediately began to dig special plants and take cuttings of others. We moved probably about 100 pots and now all but maybe 15 are in the ground. We divided hostas, peonies, iris, daffodils, etc. And they are all now safely snuggled in and beginning their new lives.

There are many plain folks that don’t spend much time on flowering plants because they don’t produce any food but I think they do. There is deep nourishment from seeing God’s beautiful creation and that is what I desire to develop in my flower garden. When we are all sitting outside in the late afternoon and the scent of the peonies is floating on the breeze, it brings such a sweet comfort. I remember in the Word when Father God came down in the cool of the evening and walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden. I can imagine how they must have stopped and breathed in the scents of the glorious flowers and plants that Father God had planted there. I can imagine the colors of the roses, foxgloves, verbena and poppies and the trumpet vines that drew the tiny hummingbirds to linger there. If I can create even a tiny little place where my husband can rest and spend time relaxing after a long day or my daughters can spend time doing their reading. Yes, there is deep nourishment indeed!!

It takes several years for a garden to mature and so it will be with this one. I have four gardenia cuttings from our old place that are still fairly small and when they are big enough I will plant them along the railing of the back porch. They will grow there and provide lovely flowers and delicious scent as we spend time dining there. We have 7 small leaf azaleas planted along the driveway side of the garden and it will take a couple of years before they are large enough to form the neat border hedge for that side. The Roses are already beginning to bud and the hostas have already encircled the bird bath, but the sedum and dianthus will enlarge themselves every year and create a nice full bed of color from spring till fall. The Lilies will just increase and increase until they are a wash of color and also give me plenty of cuttings for the house!

One of the larger plants that I brought with us was a pink Native Azalea. It is now nestled at the corner where the porch meets the deck. It bloomed beautifully just after we moved and it seems to be thriving in its spot. I would love to get a couple more to place around the yard and our neighbor told me that they are all over our woods, so we will have to make a digging expedition soon. I have amaryllis, foxgloves, larkspur and iris all growing along the little pebble dry bed that runs through the flower garden. It is actually a drainage area for when we have heavy rain, but we have filled it with small white rocks and it truly looks like a little dry creek bed now. The amaryllis are a stunning red and are blooming now. The foxgloves and larkspur are just beginning to bud and show some color and they will be followed by the iris. It should make a lovely display.

There are dahlias, gladiolas, daylilies and several other items to be planted soon. I am in no hurry though. The planting is part of the process and I want to enjoy each and every step. Check back often to see how things are coming along.

APRIL IN THE ALABAMA FLOWER GARDEN

PEONIES– One of the prettiest flowers in my gardens is the Peony. This year I have planted another “Sarah Bernhardt” and I am so excited to see that it is already sending up shoots. I have 5 peonies already established in our different flowerbeds and they are all covered in buds. Some may bloom before the end of the month – but that is not certain. This is one plant that I watch each day. The blooms are magnificent and well worth the effort. They need full sun and good soil. I amend with a little compost each spring. There is never much need to water because here in Alabama we have abundant spring rains usually. One thing I did learn was not to plant my peonies where they would get spattered with rain. This causes a virus and the buds don’t form properly and eventually just drop off.

ROSES – I suppose you already know about my addiction to roses! Yes, I love them. Recently I have been investigating the David Austin roses. The Old English roses are so delicate and lovely!!! I pruned our roses back in the month of January and really took a good look at their structure. One thing Roses cannot tolerate here in the south is lack of airflow. This is a guarantee for Blackspot! Which is almost a given anyway. You need to examine your roses and make sure that the branches are not rubbing and poorly placed in their growing direction. I am particularly referring to the Hybrid Teas. But I also like to trim up the climbers as well.

You need to fertilize your roses with a complete Rose fertilizer in the spring when you see new growth, which you probably already have. Once buds begin forming keep an eye out for ants and aphids. Ants actually “farm” aphids and will intentionally carry them to your plants. They milk them for their honeydew. Now the natural enemy of the aphid is ladybugs! So if you find a ladybug – take it to your roses.

A good rule of thumb when buying a new rose to place in your garden is to examine it carefully. Examine the stems and branches and even the flowers if there are any. You don’t want to bring in a plant that already has the signs of virus or disease much less one that already has insect damage. If there are discolored leaves or such don’t buy it!!! Also, once you get it home and get it planted, cut it back. And definitely cut off any buds or blooms. You want all the energy to go into roots to get it established. If you will do that then the plant will reward you with many more blooms.

LILIES – There are incredible varieties of Lilies available right now. We have several different types of lilies: Oriental, Asiatic and Trumpet in various places in our gardens. They are just stunning. I loved having the “Easter Lilies” (Trumpet Lily) blooming out there at Resurrection Day. It was such a sweet joy. Lilies like a rich soil and require good drainage.

Lilies grow from bulbs and so they are to be treated like any other bulb. I highly recommend buying the lilies while they are in bloom. This way you know the color and the height and can plan your garden a little better. I am a visual person myself and I like to SEE what I am getting.

TULIPS – On my last birthday, my sister-in-law, Shanna, gave me some tulip bulbs and a box of bone meal. She is such a thoughtful person!!!! Anyway – I planted them and they are blooming so beautifully now! Each time I see one I think of her and her precious family. Tulips will thrive in almost any type of soil where there is reasonable drainage. During the growing season they like plenty of moisture but the roots must not stand in water.

POPPIES – This is the second year that I have sown Oriental Poppy seeds. Last year they came up fairly well but were small and not what I had wanted. SOOOO this year I have planted some in the garden – some in seedling trays inside and I have some more that I will sow on Saturday. I am hoping that they will come up well this year!

This month many of the flowering plants that are in our gardens will come up. I have said this many times before and I will say it again. I really do not like buying annual flowering plants unless they reseed heavily. It just seems like a waste of money. I do however buy them from time to time to add a little color to the garden, especially in the window boxes or the ancient wheelbarrow that we plant in each year.