Winter Garden in the Snow by Jerry Peterson

Jerry Peterson's garden is very beautiful after a snow fall. Enjoy!

My Winter Garden by Jerry Peterson

Jerry Peterson shared these photos of his garden in winter. He says "Who says a garden isn't attractive in the winter! It might look nicer if we had some snow!"

Enjoy!

God and Grass

Jerry Peterson shared this funny observation about suburbanites and their lawns.  It is from a now defunct web newspaper called The San Francisco Call.  Have a good laugh!


 "We must really perplex God: he made us a perfect world and we have to change it. Imagine the conversation The Creator might have had with St. Francis on the subject of lawns."

 Read the complete article here:  god grass 8.16.02

Spring Garden Tour by Jerry Peterson

Here's a short garden tour of Jerry's spring garden.  Enjoy!

Rose History by Jerry Peterson

Jerry Peterson shared this history of the rose which he got from the White Flower Farm Catalog: 

"Based on fossil records, the Rose family (which includes fruits such as cherries and strawberries as well as many garden perennials) has been in existence for millions of years, perhaps 90 million years. The Rose itself has been one of the most revered flowers throughout history.

Winter Garden Tour

Gardener Jerry has made a resolution to take more pictures of his garden. Please enjoy this tour of his winter garden.

WHAT COLOR SHOULD MY GARDEN BE? by Jerry Peterson

That’s a good question! How many color choices do we have? Well, there’s white, red, blue, yellow, pink, purple, and orange, but let’s not forget the variations of these basic colors. There must be dozens if not hundreds of colors!
How do we put colors together to create a pleasing palette? As is often the case, the answer is – it depends.
We can make a nice red, white, and blue garden; and yellows go well with blues, if that suits our fancy. There is an infinite number of combinations, limited only by our imagination and our taste.
We often try to introduce many colors into a garden spot, and this can result in a very nice display. Sometimes just using two colors will result in a dynamite scene.
But another interesting use of color is to concentrate on using the available variations on just a single color. Let’s take the color purple for example. Just look at a partial list of perennials that are a shade of purple: Russian Sage, Purple Coneflower, Lavender, Ajuga, Purple Ice Plant, Lilac, Gayfeather, Veronicas, Poppy Mallow, Salvias, Allium, Columbine, and Pasqueflower, not to mention the cultivars of Roses, Iris, Tulips, and Mums that can be a purple color. We can use gradations of purple so that between purplish red to purple to purplish blue, we have lots of opportunities to be creative.
Of course, we need to consider the cultural needs of the plants we choose. Some are xeric while others need more water. Some need full sun and others can do well with some shade. Other considerations in creating a plant list are the size and texture of the plants.

One example of what can be done is the xeric combination of Russian Sage, Purple Ice Plant, and Poppy Mallow (aka Winecups). With this combination, we have three different variations of purple, and we have two ground covers that look nice with the larger Russian Sage. Adding some non-flowering gray foliaged plants such as an Artemisia or Lamb’s Ear to the purple scheme would further enhance this garden.

For what it’s worth, here is a collection of factoids about the color purple:
-Purple has been traditionally associated with royalty in many cultures. Purple robes were worn by royalty and people of authority or high rank.
-A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color.
-Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious.
-Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties. A purple room can boost a child's imagination or an artist's creativity. Too much purple, like blue, could result in moodiness.
-The color of mourning for widows in Thailand, purple was the favorite color of Egypt's Cleopatra.
-Deep or bright purples suggest riches while lighter purples are more romantic and delicate. Use redder purples for a warmer color scheme or the bluer purples to cool down.

Marriages in the Garden, Achieving Plant Partnerships by Jerry Peterson

All you gardeners out there are invited to a wedding! Actually, every time you plan, arrange, or plant your gardens, you’re participating in a wedding. Just as human marriages succeed when the people involved complement each other and build on differences and similarities, so we as gardeners have opportunities to create successful “plant marriages” when we plant our gardens.

We could call it “Horticultural Harmonies” or “Plant Partnerships” or perhaps some other cute alliterative name, but what we’re really talking about is using landscape plants in a way that creates a harmonious and attractive picture. We can take advantage of the plants’ differences and similarities to accomplish this.

The general idea is to use the color, size and texture of the plants to generate a pleasing combination of plant materials. Many articles have been written about the use of the color wheel with its primary colors, secondary colors, and complementary colors. For all I know, maybe someone could get a PhD in colors! The color wheel indeed is a handy tool that can be useful in designing a garden. However, there are other sources of ideas for putting plants together in pleasing combinations. Some of the best resources are just looking at what others have done, visiting gardens in the area, seeing pictures in books and magazines, and even using those occasions when serendipity allows us to discover a delightful plant combination by accident.

Would you not agree that, if you plant a garden that pleases you and accomplishes your goal for that garden, then the garden is a success. You don’t have to please the experts or your neighbors. You are not accountable to anyone else (well, maybe your spouse). No one else has to like what you like.

Having said that, perhaps from time to time this blog can pass on some tips and ideas about possible plant combinations or other garden design topics. Let me tell you about a “plant marriage” that came about quite accidentally for me, but I’ve grown to like the effect. I’m not a big fan of most junipers. However I do like the low growing mat juniper used as a ground cover.



I once had an area in which I had planted one of these mats. I also acquired a Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides or Waldsteinia ternata) and planted this low growing groundcover next to the juniper. The barren strawberry soon wound its way into and among the juniper and created a very nice display of color and texture. The two plants are different shades of green, the strawberry has small yellow flowers, and the textures meld into what, in my opinion, is a very nice display.

Since then, I’ve used the Barren Strawberry with other plants, allowing it to weave its way between, among, under, and through. It looks very nice with Partridge Feather (Tanacetum densum) and Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum). The Barren Strawberry spreads via runners like our normal garden strawberry, but it’s very easy to just pull out what isn’t wanted, and start it somewhere else in your garden or give it to a friend.

Let’s drink a toast to our marriages!