The Gates are Closed

                            

The Cobb MG Tour was today, and seemed to be a huge success.  I didn't get to any of the other gardens today, but the unofficial "gate total" at my house was just under 800 people.  There were an additional 25 or so neighbors who "stopped in," so let's just say it was a little busy around here for the past few hours!  We just finished "mojito time" with some of the volunteers, and I'm able to kick back with Sadie the Dog on the sofa. 

In this first photo, Phyllis (my friend and "house captain) enjoying the breakfast of champions before the crowds hit.

The patio table was set, though who had time to sit?

Carolyn's succulent pillow enhanced the purple chair perfectly!

Even Frank got into the act, working as the parking captain with a Barbie wave!

Another shot of the patio

Then the crowds came......more photos to follow.....

Getting Down to the Wire with This Tour

We spent another good chunk of a day yesterday working on last minute grooming things for the Stepchild Garden.  We're not really at the "last minute" yet, since there are just under three weeks to go.  This is the point at which the final fence panels went up, mechanical pieces for some of the "fru fru" stuff got attached, etc., etc.  ("No, really, there are always five perfectly cleaned vintage galvanized watering cans of various sizes hanging from coordinated hooks on the wall of the Not Shed!")

I don't want to tempt fate, but so far the weather seems to be cooperating well, though many things are blooming earlier than usual because we had such hot weather during the first half of April.  The good part of the warm weather is that it looks like most of the macrophylla hydrangeas will be blooming a few weeks early.  In the big picture that's not my preference, but hopefully they'll look good for the tour.  Here's one of "Generale Viscomtesse von hah hah hah" last summer......(the name is simply too long for me to remember).







Anyway, I just added a link to the article from yesterday's newspaper that gives the basics of ticket buying. Remember this is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Cobb County Master Gardeners....send your money!
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/7191704/article-Master-Gardeners-present-2010-tour?instance=secondary_story_left_column

A Week of New Beginnings

I've been a little behind in posts these past couple of weeks because I'm doing something radical...gardening!  Between changing out some major containers in the penthouse garden, tearing out and replanting some huge beds at the Big House, and getting a bunch of big projects done in the Stepchild Garden for the Tour, it seems there is little time for anything else!

Between Friday and yesterday Chuck and I managed to tear out about 50 substantial shrubs in front of the Big House (which had been in place for ten years....with roots to match), and got about that same number  of different things planted.  Making great progress, but this old body hurts this morning!

Mom won't be happy that I'm not in church, but today's the morning to put up the new fence in the Stepchild Garden, finally finish the painting on the "not shed," and keep plugging away at the weeding, mulching, and general stuff.  Even Frank is breaking his personal rule about not going outside...he's the tallest, so he gets to paint the peaks of the not shed.  Let's just hope he doesn't see a bug, or the painting will never get done!

Three of the renovated containers outside the penthouse breakfast room

99 Bottles of Wine in the Ground...99 Bottles of Wine.....

I finally got started on the wine bottle borders in the Stepchild Garden this afternoon, after spending the first half of the day at the Big House. It's not looking like much at the moment, but I'm loving the way it's turning out. (I probably should have hosed off some of the mud before I photographed, huh?) The added treat was how awesome the bottles looked as sun was starting to set on that part of the garden! 85 in the ground, only about 900 or so more to go!

The Tour

“Of course you can look at my garden if you’d like to consider it for next year’s tour……”

“Why not?” I thought, “this will motivate me to finish some of the things on that list.”

Reality check! There are at least one hundred items on that list to finish by May! Some of them are as “simple” as painting the house!

In all seriousness, I really am flattered that my garden is on the short list for next year’s Cobb Master Gardeners tour, and it really will give me the motivation to tie up lots of loose ends…..not sure the house will get painted, but certainly the doors will get a new coat of color. (At least that nasty sweetgum got cut down a couple of weeks ago, so I'm making progress.....)

Perhaps the most notable feature about my garden is the 120 foot “mixed” perennial bed, that wraps the corner of the property. I know that tradition dictates that a perennial border is supposed to be in the back of the garden, but I have sun along the street in the front of my house, so that’s where the perennial border went!

Over the past few years, it has filled in beautifully, and looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. There is a sheared evergreen hedge that runs down the middle of the bed, so it provides a great background for the colors. The problem, of course, is that many perennials really don’t come into their own in Atlanta until June, and the tour is in May.

At one end of the border there is a pretty substantial arbor, which is quickly becoming engulfed in a combination of New Dawn Rose, Golden Celebration Rose, and Roguchi Clematis, all of which should be blooming for the tour. (This photo was the day of installing said arbor, since the New Dawn kept pulling down the old Smith & Hawken arbor). Where the bed turns the corner, there is a Doublefile Viburnum Standard that is about 12 feet tall and should also be in full bloom in May. There really will be a lot of perennials showing off their stuff for the tour, but I still want a little more "oomph."

The challenge is finding some really cool perennials to add into the mix that will be peaking in mid May. Any ideas? I have tons of iris and hydrangeas that will be blooming, so I’m going to try to stick with highlighting blues and bronze colors. This other photo is “Eye of the Tiger” Dutch Iris, which will be blooming in five different spots of the border. So far I’ve only thought about adding in drifts of annual coleus in some of the bronze colors, but I’d love the input of some other clever garden folks!