dukeofargy

Fabulous. The garden is amazing. I love the play of colour throughout. I've always been a sucker for grasses, and yours are lovely. Nice shot of the kids in the garden.

Fabulous! I love the vertical gardening. Well done!

very attractive. I use containers a fair bit here as well, but yours are truly an inspiration.

Garius, thanks for your interest in this wonderful world of brugmansia. Unfortunately, spider mites can be a problem with these beauties. However, I can honestly say I have not had a problem in the last few years when I follow some basic procedures which I have learned from the experts in the field.

1) when watering in the summer, I only water in the early morning and then I also spray under the leaves. They don't seem to mind it. This keeps the mites away.

2) when bring them in for the winter, I dig out the root in the pot, chopping off the exterior roots. If it is in the ground, I dig up the root mass, trim it to size and put it into a pot. I then trim off the large leaves (because they will be falling off anyway because the plant has to adapt to a new light intensity). Then I spray the entire plant with water from the hose and let it dry. Then I spray with insecticide, let it dry, and spray with water again. I also let the insecticide run into the pot to kill any bugs hiding there. When it is dry, it comes into the house for the winter.

3) Some brugs don't mind going dormant for the winter, but others really object. You have to get to know them. Like some people I know, they have their own unique personality. LOL

4) In the spring, they need to be acclimatized to the new light intensity with care. They can get sunburned quite easily before they get used to the brighter light. One has be be aware of changing temperatures in the spring. I found that they don't like to be lower than 5 - 10 degrees C. They are quite frost sensitive, and you don't want the stem to be frozen, or they have to come back from the root, and then sometimes don't bloom for several years. I start acclimatizing mine in the shade, and then part shade until after a few weeks they can take more light. They LOVE a nice warm rain though

5) If trimming, always try to leave a "Y" on the stem, as they bloom above the "Y".

Best of luck with your beauty. Does it have a name? What colour is yours?

Thanks for the kind compliments. They are much appreciated.

Plantlady57, you asked about the bird houses. Yes I did built them with some scrap lumber. I have several unique ones,- castle, old school house, ukranian church, cathedral, pagoda to mention a few.

Trashywoman62, The blue flowers are actually foreget-me-nots. I let them go to seed, and then scatter them where I want them to go. They make a good groundcover choking out most weeds. I do live in zone 5, Southern Ontario. Thus the brugmansia plants ( and I have several ) have to come inside for the winter. I tend to bury the pot when I put them in in late spring for the summer, and then they are easier to get out in the autumn. Cuttings are always taken, just in case the parent plant doesn't make the transition (but they usually do). The cuttings can then be sold once rooted. I actually have one that is over 7 feet inside right now that has grown into the basement lights. It will be a challenge to get her outside tomorrow.

Tractor1, the river is located just below the cedar bush. When we sit on the back patio, we can see the light twinkling as it reflects from the water at sunset. Currently, I am reworking a sitting area in the bush that will give me a much clearer view of the river.

John

Thanks for the photos. It has been a long time since I've been to Longwood Gardens. You've reminded me that I really should take a trip there in the near future. I've never been there when the magnolias were in bloom. Truly magnificent !

Very nice, John. I really like the use of the ornamental grasses most of the year. Lots of work cleaning up though in the early spring.

Like you, my father was famous for his roses, but I cannot grow them here. My neighbour can, but I can't. I can grow poppies here, but she can't. The soil makes such a huge difference.

Looks good. Keep up the great work.

I love it, Karen. The middle photo is wonderful. I'd love to see more of your gardens.

Very impressive, and the timing couldn't be better as I am planning the installation of another fountain here. The movement of water in a garden is so soothing. I love it. I am curious to know how you keep the mosquitoes down though.

Beautiful gardens, Phillip. I have several bird houses in my gardens as well, and have landscaped around them, but they don't look as nice as yours. Fabulous fall colours in the last shot. Thanks for sharing with us.

John

Terie's gardens are an inspiration to us all. I had not thought of the goatsbeard in the heavy shaded areas. I might have to try that in my garden which somewhat similarly borders on the wild of the bush.

I REALLY love what has been done here. Thanks for letting us have a garden tour. You've given me some good ideas.

John

Very attractive. I really like the use of the "found objects" as containers. Well done.

Beautiful gardens. You have met the challenge of gardening on a slope with woodlands VERY well. I have a similar challenge where I live as well. I love your little stream - I was thinking of putting one in here as well, and you have verified this for me in my mind.

I look forward to seeing your containers tomorrow. I keep my tropicals in containers for easy moving inside in the fall. I'm eager to see what you put in yours.

John

Beautiful. I love the way you've incorporated your wall to give you a more formal look with the espalier. It reminds me of the fabulous gardens in Europe. This will make your gathering of your fruit so much easier.

I love it.

Like you, we also have a lot, most of which is in protected bush. We, like you, also have the animals from the bush coming to forage. Our land is quite steep going down to the river.

It is fascinating to see/hear how other gardeners with similar situations deal with the problems. I truly enjoyed looking at your gardens. We can always learn from each other. Some day, I'll have to post some photos from my gardens.

JR

Your readers are all curious to know which submission was selected by the judges. Are you planning to post this information somewhere, or have we missed it somehow? Please let us know so that all your readers can see for themselves which structure the judges liked. Thanks.