Begonia Love

The other day I mentioned the odd spotted begonia with sweet little blooms, and as I walked around the garden I admired the other begonias, too. There's the pink begonia grandis in the oak tree garden. Here it is with the late afternoon sun behind it. I love what the light does to its leaves...

 

and the white one by the shed...

 

and the pink ones in pots...

 

 

and the glossy-leaved houseplant I got from Mom years ago. It's on the small side right now, but in years past the leaves have been twice this size. When it's happy, they are big, glossy and dark green. I think this is 'Gobe.'

 

I've even had pretty good luck with this tuberous begonia that I bought at the farmer's market. It doesn't look quite this good right now, but it's still blooming. Here it is in its glory days in June.

 

Then of course there are the dragon wing begonias that I put in hanging pots in hopes of attracting hummingbirds. This year they must be visiting while I'm at work...

I could see going mad for begonias. Here's a site with a nice collection of the tropical begonias that make good houseplants.

Gardens in Scotland

This was not a garden trip, nor a walking trip, but we tucked in some of both, anyway.

Crocosmia were everywhere, even along the roadsides. When I spoke to our kilted guide at the Edradour Distillery in Pitlochry about them, he called them montbretia and said he had them in his garden, too. Wikipedia tells us "They are commonly known in the United States as coppertips or falling stars, and in Britain as montbretia."

Here they are at the distillery garden
 








and here they are mixed with daisies.
 

In Glencoe, they were growing along the roadside, with the lowering hills in the background.
 

I also enjoyed the dahlias, these in a village garden at Glencoe
 

and these in a bouquet at Glamis Castle.
 

We kept running into strange pairings throughout the trip, undoubtedly due to their cooler weather, like sweet peas in early September, when the autumn sedums are in bloom. Will globe thistle bloom with tiger lilies for us? They made a charming pair at Armadale Castle on the Isle of Skye.
 







 
Tuberous begonias adore the cool, wet shady climate, and I should not be surprised that they cook and die in Virginia. These pots were at our B&B in Pitlochry. 

Late summer colors

The reason I took these pictures was to figure out, yet again, how the heck my camera works. I think I've finally figured out how to take close-ups with the background blurred out - in other words, the subject is in focus and the background is out of focus. Here are the results: dragonwing begonia, volunteer morning glory, and oakleaf hydrangea blossoms.

 

 

 

Les jardins Québécois

The gardens we saw in Québec were not remarkable - unlike the amazing Maine gardens last June. Admittedly, it was the end of the season, but we saw a lot of the same things - hydrangeas (including oak leaf hydrangeas in full sun, in bloom much later than at home), rudbeckias, sunflowers. Not terribly inspiring - the leaves were more beautiful.

But I know there's a famous Québec garden that is worth a trip, so maybe high summer would be a better time for garden viewing.
 
This is the inn in Baie-St.Paul where we spent our first night.  
The main building, dating from the 1850's, featured this garden entwined around the dining room window.

This inn in Petit-Saguenay was actually most remarkable for its site, up against a steep palisade (see the background), rather than for its pleasant but not unusual gardens.

 
These sunflowers bloomed cheerfully behind the inn.

 

Coming into L'Anse St. Jean from the hiking trail, we noticed this well-groomed garden with a waterfall on one side. In fact, the gardens were all so well maintained that it made me think of the Pennsylvania Dutch - satisfyingly tidy or stultifyingly tidy?? Okay, maybe I'm just jealous...

In Québec city, we saw a couple of window gardens.  
This one made the most of a tiny space, surely no more than eight inches wide!



 

This is, as Mom would say, a riot of color - but isn't that salmon-colored tuberous begonia beautiful?

 
This one blooms even during the long Québec winter.



 
Here's a bright red Canadian maple leaf from the trail.

Dayenu

If this were the only bloom all summer from this tuberous begonia, it would be enough.

Getting Things Done

Laid out new bed on north side of house, and Billy tilled in a bag of pelletized lime and two yards of compost (= 27 forty-pound bags); it looks awfully bare now, but it's a big improvement over unhappy Japanese holly bushes and lots of moss

Moved the Japanese painted fern to the other side of the front bed and put three Brunnera Jack Frost in their place, after moving one of the Hakonechloa to a new spot

Planted the single cimicifuga I got from Wayside, after being scared by its price and size out of buying three - may live to regret this

Weeded dandelions and that pesky weed (what is this thing? it's all over the front garden, and now it's spread to the back)out of the front flower beds





Put peony support in, should have done this earlier (note to self: insert in early April)

Planted two of the three tuberous begonias I bought on Route 20 in a new pot I just bought at Roxbury Mills; this is the triumph of hope over experience, but it's been so long since I've tried tuberous begonias that perhaps a miracle will occur

Laid a bag of river stones along the drainage channel of the new bed, like the effect and will need to buy more; also get some for drainage channel in side front garden




Ordered a rain barrel from the Friends of the Rappahannock, should arrive in three weeks

Picked up two 40-pound bags of mushroom compost at Roxbury just because

Placed the three lilies of the valley and the six dragon-wing begonias on the new bed

Pulled up four stepping stones from the path to the gate and placed them in the new bed leading up to the faucet

A week off is a wonderful thing...