The Dusty Miller Garden Revisited

 

You may remember my first post about this garden here.  It was early February and I'd been admiring the beautiful artemisia plantings in front and on the side of the house.  I drive by this garden every day and have been pondering the idea that so many of these gray plants might be sadly close to the cloudy color of the sky here and therefore be opperssive.  I've noticed in my passing by that the plants actually seem to glow with a beautiful silver sheen that brightens rather than dulls the space, something I wouldn't have considered without passing daily.   There are lots of spring bulbs popping up right now including a lot of hyacinths.  Even from my vantage point on the sidewalk the glorious fragrance wafted up to greet me!  I still wonder about this painted concrete business.  What was it?  Was it already there or assembled from something else?

I'm looking forward to seeing what this gravel/pot area looks like later in the season.

 

 

The grape hyacinths on the side of the house are blooming!  There is a line of these that runs the length of the house.  It's an inky blue explosion!

They look stunning against the artemisia!

 

 

And those little wisps of things we saw growing in the cinderblock?  More grape hyacinths.  Notice the grass clipping mulch being applied between the blocks and in the adjoining bed.  I wonder what will be planted here?

 

 

Or in these raised beds?  Unfortunately, the gardener hasn't emerged from the house either time I've visited so we'll have to go back together, you and I, in the summer and fall to see!

 

 

Notice the pansies that self sowed here.  There were tons of them in the upper gravel between the sidewalk and the fence.  Such a sweet garden!

Calendulas that didn't fully die during our mild winter are such a cheery orange.  These always make me smile!

 

More hyacinths.  Did I mention how wonderful this garden smells right now?

 

Just as the spring bulbs are starting to fade, blooms on  this very old lilac bush will perfume the air!

 

Orange!  Such a rare color this time of year.  Isn't it beautiful? 

 

 

A snapdragon seeded itself between pavers and will probably bloom there if it doesn't get walked on.

 

Having some extra time, I took a different route home and found this grogeous house just a few blocks from the garden we just saw.  I'm a sucker for Victorian painted ladies!  (note: painted lady is a name given to Victorian era or Victorian style  homes painted with a variety of contrasting colors to accentuate the home's ornamental facade.)

I spent all day on Monday removing the last of  the trees in the Great tree removal project of 2013.  Hooray!  Now I can finally get to some weeding, bed tidying, and mulching!