I’m Sue Webel, and I garden in North Canton, Connecticut, Zone 6a. I previously submitted some pictures of my relatively new garden in September 2020 (Making a New Garden in Connecticut).
Since then I’ve continued to develop the garden. In October 2020 we hired an excavating contractor to clear stumps and brush from about an eighth of an acre in the back garden and move some of the rock “inventory” into formation to form the base of an informal stone wall. A good portion of my 2021 garden time was spent developing, planning, and planting that area. A DIY firepit project located smack in the middle took longer than anticipated and forced me to extend the garden portion of the project into 2022 and no doubt beyond. But we all know how that goes.
Here are some highlights of my 2021 garden.
May in the front garden features Cornus mas ‘Variegata’ (Zones 4–8), Euphorbia polychroma (Zones 4–8), Phlox glaberrima ‘Triple Play’ (Zones 3–8), and Filipendula aurea (Zones 3–8). With the exception of the Cornus mas, this garden was newly planted in spring 2020 after a walkway replacement.
Here is another section of the front garden in May. The Spirea ‘Ogon’ (Zones 4–8) is just past bloom and creates the perfect foliage foil with one of my favorite perennials, Ligularia ‘Britt Marie Crawford’ (Zones 4–8). By some stroke of luck, I managed to catch the fleeting flowers of Camassia (Zones 4–8) blooming in conjunction with an Amsonia (Zones 5–8).
Paeonia ‘Bartzella’ (Zones 4–9), Cercis ‘Ruby Falls’ (Zones 5–9), and a variegated Weigela (Zones 4–8) round out this vignette from June. When I started the garden, this area was heavily wooded. Everything was removed except the Weigela, which I now use as a reference point for where the edge of the woods used to be.
In July I happened across this happy jumble of Cephalanthus ‘Sugar Shack’ (Zones 4–10) and Sanguisorba ‘Dali Marble’ (Zones 2–9) with a peek of Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ (Zones 5–9) in the back. After two drought years in a row, 2021 brought plentiful rain, which made the Cephalanthus very happy.
The abundance of July in one of my older back gardens
I decided if I’m going to grow daylilies (Hemerocallis hybrids, Zones 4–9), I’m going to focus on later-blooming varieties and/or partner them to complement other plants that are not daylilies. ‘Peconic Autumn’ is a lovely cultivar that blooms from late July through August here. The hydrangea is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanilla Strawberry’ (Zones 3–8). The variegated shrub is Hibiscus syriacus ‘Purpureus Variegatus’ (Zones 5–8), which is a bit of an oddball. The dark red flower buds swell but never fully open.
In September, tropical abundance peaks on the patio. I grow lots of tender plants in containers and in the ground. Many come inside before frost and get stored dormant in the basement or are grown as houseplants until they can escape back to the garden in May. The Tetrapanax (Zones 7–10) seen in back of Brugmansia ‘Charles Grimaldi’ (Zones 8–10) has been hardy in the ground in this protected spot.
I captured this shot of one of my cats enjoying the garden on a foggy morning in mid-October. May fall always be this kind to my garden.
By November, hard frosts have usually reduced the garden, especially the tender annuals, to mush, yet here we get this peek at our new firepit area through a large Salvia elegans ‘Golden Delicious’ (Zones 8–10 or as an annual) on November 2.
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Comments
Paradise personified. Gorgeous. What a spot and you have done wonders. Congratulations. I loved going over those photos - and particle the yellow peony.
Thank you Sandy. The ITOH peonies are a cross between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies and are well worth growing.
Well worth knowing. Thanks for the tip. I had no idea.
Beautiful gardens!
Thank you Patty.
WOW - lush and lovely! Your delight in your beautiful garden is so apparent. Love the textures, colors, shapes and variety.
Thank you. I'm a plant collector but like to try and design plant combinations using my "drifts of one" in ways that show off their texture and color characteristics.
Lovely! A beautiful feast for the eyes!
Thank you! I'm so happy to be able to share.
Can't believe how mature and lovely your garden is already. Unusual and Lovely combinations.
Thank you. Some of the plants are maturing quite nicely. It's a real work in progress right now but that's what gardens are, right?
Beautiful. Well done!!
Thank you!
Appreciate the labor of love in hauling tropicals and tenders in and out. The bigger and heavier they get, the harder it is to let them go. Beautiful.
You know it! I've let go a few in my day. We have a small tractor now which makes moving some of the larger plants much easier.
What a magnificent garden. Truly spectacular
Thank you Kielian! Your garden is one of my inspirations!
So very beautiful ❤️. I love how you have incorporated the rocks into your gardens....and I admire your mature trees as backdrops. Wonderful combinations, truly a gorgeous property. Thank you for sharing!🌱
Thank you Maggie. Both the rocks and mature trees were here when I arrived. We've been removing trees to gain more garden space but plenty remain. Every time I put a shovel into the ground, I dig up another pile of rocks so it just made sense to start incorporating them into the garden.
This is a magnificent garden - what a great job you've done! I wanted to step into the photos and take a long walk through the property!
Thank you. Garden walkers are welcome any time!
Absolutely amazing!
Thank you!
I do love your garden style- it's really super nice.
That foggy morning photo...wow!
I was wondering...in the photo that is captioned "In September,...." is that a Caryopteris "White Surprise" (Bluebeard) in the lower right of the photo?
It really caught my eye what ever it is, and would love to know it's name.
I lucked out being home the morning of that fog and got a bunch of nice garden shots. Yes, that is Caryopteris White Surprise. It's a much better performer than any of the chartreuse cultivars which fade away here after a season. Another nice variegated Caryopteris, if you can find it, is Summer Sorbet. It's been consistently vigorous for me.
Beautiful garden, I love the textures, unique plants, tropicals....and links to learn more information about the plants. Your landscape is lovely, and home color looks great with garden. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your kind words, Dee.
Amazing gardens, and amazing photos! I especially loved the amsonia and wild hyacinths blooming together! Your use of color echos is quite masterful, and the combinations of textures exquisite! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you Cheryl.
Embarking on my second year in my new garden I can only hope it looks as lush and put-together as yours! It's really spectacular with all the different textures. Lovely job!
I left a 20 year garden in the making to move to virtually a blank slate here. The first few years were tough as I was comparing them to what I had. Now that some of my gardens are almost five years old, I can remind myself that patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to the garden.
My compliments on your beautiful gardens. I especially love the elephant ears. Alice
Thank you Alice.
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