Lilian Ho's Garden in Vancouver, BC is swoonworthy! Such a wonderful way to kick of the weekend!
"My front garden is about 1,500 square feet including the beds on the Boulevard and is situated at a south-west corner. The garden is about 12 years old but I have spent 5 years making it because I used to work full time and have two children. My background is mechanical and civil engineering and can draw sophistic 2D or 3D to scale electronics garden design drawings but I have done none of it. I cultivate most roses and dahlias and put colors on the opposite of the color wheel next to each other. Established roses and dahlias are very drought resistant and has done very well despite our water restriction over the summer months.
Attached photos are the garden in later October and early November of this year. Neighbors and passersbys often tell me how they enjoy my garden and take photos of it. Some cars will stop and horn and lower their windows and give me a thumb up. Some people ask me if I am in any of the flower competitions? I have not, and don't intend to do so mainly because it requires lot of watering."
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Comments
Lilian: The flowers are so vibrant. It's so great to have such wonderful color in mid-November. I have been amazed that I still have Knockout roses blooming in my zone 6b garden. Love the rose in the last photo. Do you know the cultivar?
Rosa 'Summer Sun'.
lots of beautiful color so late in the year. we have enjoyed a long lasting and mild fall as well but it will end tomorrow. nice to see the bounty of your november garden!
DAHLIAS!! One of my favorites, despite their odd inability to stay upright on their own. Thank goodness for Dahlias this time of year. Great bursts of color. I also really like the photo of that rose bloom in 3rd to the last photo - looks like 'Tequila.' Thanks for sharing.
The name of the rose is rosa 'South Africa'. It is a great rose and highly disease resistant.
Nice...very striking. Thanks for the info.
The Dahlias are really colorful. So much color so late it must be really rewarding.
Your dahlias are stunners, Lillian...so colorful and I could get lost in the intricacy of their dense petal pattern. I have never successfully grown them so I have to ask...are they butterfly and bee magnets? Seems like there must be a reason Mother Nature made them so beautiful!
Dahlias in general don't have a lot of pollen so they are not butterfly and bee magnets. However, I plant three types of sweet alyssums on the perimeters of my rose and dahlia beds and they are bee lady bug and other beneficial insects magnets which get rid of aphids.
Love the part about neighbors and passerby's enjoying your beautiful roses and dahlias. May it lead to more gardening friends.
What beautiful pictures of beautiful flowers and landscaping. The close ups of those Dahlias are magnificent! I love Dahlias and have some still blooming in my garden also. Vikki in VA
I'm too lazy to grow Dahlia's because I would have to lift and store in the winter, so it's great to see those amazing blooms in other's gardens. Beautiful. That orangey rose, "Tequila' or not, is such an amazing color. Thanks for letting us be passerbys, too. I'm honking and giving my thumbs up.
C'mon, Tim. The dahlia bulbs come up outta the ground pretty easy...all that digging you do, this would be nothing. Treat yourself to some dahlias, man.
I've gotta draw the line somewhere! Maybe if I'd quit buying agaves that need to be trotted in and out of the house I'd have time to lift and store dahlias........
You can grow a few dahlias as annual and they are great later color in the season. They are not expensive only $4.50 including tax a bag of tubes. I got all from Art Knapp Garden Center.
Lillian, that is a great idea! I'll keep my eyes open in the spring for a late season annual.
Depends on the verities, some start to bloom as early as early July. The bigger the flowers, the later they bloom but will bloom in early August in my region.
The orange one is Dahlia 'Show N Tell'
Great photos, thanks for sharing. I, too, love the rose in the last photo--name please?
Rosa 'Summer Sun'. It is great rose and highly disease resistant in our weather.
Lovely garden Lillian. I live near Victoria and usually leave my Dahlias in the ground. Some survive and some don't. Just depend on the winter. I have a cream one that is still blooming. No roses though. Love all the colour in your garden and I can see why you are popular in your neighbourhood.
I dug all the dahlias up from the boulevard bed because it is a low level. I normally leave other ones in the raise bed in the ground by doing this. I put a piece of cardboard inside a large garbage bag. I put it flat on top of the cut down dahlia and I put leaves on top and a few rocks on top to secure it. Next March, I remove it. I have 100% survive rate so far. If your property is on a local plateau, you can over winter dahlias this way.
Thanks Lilian
Lilian, our daughter lives in Vancouver so we've spent quite a bit of time walking the neighborhoods there and are always pleased to see people making the most of their tiny yards. You've done a great job of creating beauty for your neighbors. ??
Love those bright punches of color! We certainly need it given the dark, rainy and dreary days have started. When do you put your garden to bed? Do you dig out your dahlia tubers and replant them in the spring? Or do you take a chance and leave 'em be?
I dug all the dahlias up from the boulevard bed because it is a low level. I store them in the garage and replant them in march. I normally dig them up around middle to the end of November. (need to watch long term weather forecast closely around the time.) I normally leave other ones in the raise bed in the ground by doing this. I put a piece of cardboard inside a large garbage bag. I put it flat on top of the cut down dahlia and I put leaves on top and a few rocks on top to secure it. Next March, I remove it. I have 100% survive rate so far. If your property is on a local plateau, you can over winter dahlias this way.
I have had the pleasure of seeing Lilian's garden in person and can attest that it is even more wonderful in person. She is an accomplished gardener.
Oh Good LAWD !!!! That's a gorgeous garden !!!! ????. I havent a single dahlia because I'm an IDIOT.... That changes immediately!!!!! So grateful I got to see your garden pics - really really lovely lushness ... A++++++
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