Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

Per request, more pretty pictures

After I posted about my landscaping adventure, several people wrote in and asked for better and larger photos.  I had some time today to take a few.  I hope you enjoy them.

A shot from the driveway.
A shot from the driveway.

In the foreground is the deciduous ‘Jane’ Magnolia.  It will soon have large purple flowers.   Behind it are the Ilex x ‘Patriot’ (hollies) which will eventually cover up the heat and air unit.  That was one of our primary goals.  You can also see in this photo the Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Brave’ (dogwood’s) bare branches and several Nandinas both ‘Gulfstream’ and ‘Firepower’ along with Prunus laurocerasus ‘Otto Luyken’ (English laurels).  The laurels will have white flower spikes in the spring.  I can’t wait to see all those blooms.

angel-garden
Same garden, different angle

This is another shot of the same garden from the front sidewalk.  Although she isn’t a natural feature like the boulders, I still decided to place my angel back in the garden.  I like her so much that I would miss having her to greet me as I come up the walk.  I do wish she wasn’t so white.  I wonder if I can age her.  Any ideas?

Ilex 'Dragon Lady'
Ilex ‘Dragon Lady’

Facing the house are the Ilex x aquipernyi ‘Dragon Lady’ (hollies) on the right side of my home.  To give some perspective, I shot from the fence line.  You can see more laurels and nandinas in this photo along with yellow violas and blue pansies.  I saved all of my pansies and violas and replanted them with the bulbs.  So far, they are doing great.  Tony also planted some pansies which have white blooms with purple centers.

Same garden from the opposite angle
Same garden from the opposite angle

I took this photo from the front door of my house looking toward my left.  It is the same garden from the opposite end.  The Colorado blue spruce is a dwarf variety, and I’m going to watch it.  If it is growing too large, I will move it to another part of the property.  Mr. McGregor’s Daughter also told me I could prune it a little each year to help keep it small.  Thanks MMD.  The darker spots in the mulch are where I watered the newly planted flowers and bulbs.  Also, you can see a Pinus mugo pumilio (mugo pine) in the back along with my whirly twirly Carex buchananii ‘Fox Red Curly’ “grass.”  In between the two rocks are three Ilex x ‘Mondo’ ‘Little Rascal’ hollies and the low growing blue foliage is Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’.  Normally, I wouldn’t grow any type of juniper because I don’t like most varieties, but after Tony planted this, I like how its blue foliage plays off of the spruce.

I hope these large photos loaded all right for everyone, and that this gave you a better view of the front yard.  It will be interesting to see what it looks like in spring.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. CurtissAnn

    Oh, so glad you shared the pics! Beautiful! I love that walk-edging. Must get up there and see it in person.
    xxxooo
    Rosebud

    CurtissAnn´s last blog post..Monday’s Fair Light– from Starbucks, still here, still searching with high hopes

  2. VP

    Hi Dee – thanks for letting me have a stroll through your garden. I envy you your Nandinas – my soil’s too alkaline for them.

    Re aging your angel – have you tried painting her with natural yoghurt? That should encourage lichens and thus the aging you’d like to achieve.

    VP´s last blog post..Tagging Along: A Quick and Easy Photo Meme

    VP, I opened my eyes in shock when I read that your soil is too alkaline for Nandinas. I thought, oh gracious, what would Oklahoma be without them. They are everywhere here. I’ll try painting her with yogurt. Maybe that will help her to age gracefully. Thanks.~~Dee

  3. Diana

    I really love how the flat stone border emerges from the bricks on the hilly side — thanks for the detailed photos — it realy gives us a 360 degree tour! I know they sell paint that creates an aged concrete or verdegris finish — I’d look for something like that for the angel. She’s sweet, I’d want to keep her there, too.

    Diana´s last blog post..I need a Garden 12-step sponsor — help me please!

    Thanks Diana. It’s funny, but the landscape guy absolutely hates that border. He doesn’t like the unnatural sight of it, and keeps plotting ways to rid the front yard of it. I actually like it, and HH is positively attached to it.~~Dee

  5. tina

    It will be very interesting indeed. I love it all and you have so much interest with all the evergreen and the magnolia.

    I think I am the oddball, but I like the white angel. Nothing worse than dirty statues and yours is quite clean but stands out wonderfully.

    tina´s last blog post..A Planted Heart Just for You

    Thanks, Tina. Well, about the whiteness of her. It’s hard to photograph her. All the light bounces off of her and blurs her in the camera lens. I want her to look a little like those in Louisiana cemeteries. 🙂 ~~Dee

  7. Brenda Kula

    I very much admire your gorgeous home and landscape. I don’t know how to age the angel, save letting it age on its own.
    Brenda

    Brenda Kula´s last blog post..Friday In Tyler

    Thanks, Brenda. Most of it has taken me years to work out. This was like “insta gardening.” 🙂 ~~Dee

  8. Mr. McGregor's Daughter

    Thanks for the shout out. In an amazing coincidence, the new edition of Fine Gardening magazine arrived in my mailbox yesterday with an article about pruning conifers. If you don’t have it, I can send you the pages. The reworked bed looks wonderful.

    Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog post..When the Snow Finally Melted

    You’re so welcome, MMD. I’ll go get a copy of Fine Gardening.~~Dee

  9. Zach

    Your landscaping looks great!

    As far as the yogurt/moss suggestions, what you want to do is blend up some moss (best if you collect some from nearby) with yogurt and then smear the mixture over the statue. The moss will include spores and the yogurt encourages their growth. It also makes them stick. 🙂 To get some helpful hints, google “hypertufa pot moss yogurt”

    Zach, I’ll sure give it a try and post the results. Thanks.~~Dee

  10. Frances

    Hi Dee, thanks so much for the show and tell. I love seeing your front garden from different perspectives too. Blue Star juniper is my all time favorite small everygreen shrub. Its size is perfect for small garden beds and the color makes everything around it pop. Your Jane is a nice size and will be so pretty in bloom. I have a smaller one but it still gives great delight in bloom.
    Frances

    Frances´s last blog post..Faire Diane

    Thanks Frances, for stopping by. I’m glad to hear you like ‘Blue Star’ because you have great taste. I’ve just never been a juniper fan.~~Dee

  11. Patty Lee

    My sister aged a birdbath beautifully once by putting buttermilk and a handful of moss in her blender – made a “smoothie” and used it to paint the birdbath – kept it moist by spritzing with water every other day. It’s gorgeous!

    Patty Lee, I will give that a try.~~Dee

  12. Kathryn/plantwhateverbringsyoujoy.com

    Hi,Dee, I’m really glad you did include the extra photos. I was thinking I’d like to see more, so I’m glad some folks expressed that. I love your angel. I don’t know how she has stayed so clean! Maybe it’s damper here? I have a (Latin) Madonna out front that I love and she really needs a bleach bath soon (when it gets hot). I’m imagining your angel will show some weathering with time. How old is she?

    Hi Kathryn, I believe she is three years old. It’s time for a yogurt bath. I want mine a little dirty. 🙂 ~~Dee

  18. Karen - An Artists Garden

    Lovely to see more views of your garden – I like the curve in the pathway.
    Natural yogurt encourages moss growth, as your angel is near trees it shouldn’t take too long.
    K

    Karen – An Artists Garden´s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – Sundown

  19. Karen - An Artists Garden

    Lovely to see more views of your garden – I like the curve in the pathway.
    Natural yogurt encourages moss growth, as your angel is near trees it souldn’t take too long.
    K

    Karen – An Artists Garden´s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – Sundown

  20. Lisa at Greenbow

    Dee, these pictures are terrific. It is wonderful seeing your plantings up close and personal. I can’t get over that you have pansies with blooms on them. They don’t do well here during winter. I thought your area had a more severe winter than ours. Hmmmmm
    As to your statue, you can give her a mud bath. That will take the glare off the white. Then maybe a little moss will take over and soften her.

  24. Racquel

    It looks great from all angles Dee. Thanks for sharing the photos today. Can’t wait to see what it looks like this spring! I would try what Carol suggested on your Angel. Maybe even rub alittle dirt on some of the edges afterwards to make it seem like it’s been sitting in your garden for decades.

    Racquel´s last blog post..Shade loving evergreen

  25. Robin

    That looks so nice, Dee.
    Regarding your angel, I’m sure if you did a Google you could come up with a great paint technique to tone down the angel. I think she would be lovely as is surrounded by roses.

    Robin´s last blog post..Rain Gardens