It was a slow and painful extraction, but the hairball decided to release the pictures of my grandmother's lost garden that I took last spring. Azalea season was winding down.
I was fascinated by all the weed flowers blooming in the lawn. As it should be.
Once upon a time in a land with 20 million less people ......
The magnolia trees were this tall 64 years ago. That could make them 200 or more years old. I feel certain they came with the land and the live oaks my grandparents bought.
A collection of Florida weed flowers.
My grandmother planted a lot of azaleas.
You have to imagine a time before anthracnose when Flowering Dogwood trees floated flowers above and a flock of pure white doves came to feed.
My grandmother planted a lot of camellias.
The house is 100 years old. The realtor mentioned the word antique.
It was a dry spring. The Resurrection Fern was dormant. Looks like a sprig of poisoned ivy in there.
Engulfed in all kind vines and Boston Fern. Back to the wild.
Sometimes you just have to start over to have a garden.
This Red Cedar,
Juniperus virginiana is an old timer. It used to be in my grandparent's front yard
Many of the plants are antique. I do believe there are some crinum lily in that mess. They are a plant that have persisted from my grandmother's time.
The Loropetalum was planted by my parents.
Luckily a wisteria vine remains meek by comparison in the shade of Live Oaks.
I do believe the Cardamom Ginger came from me. I've always dabbled in herbs. They were never expected to survive long term that far north in Florida at one time.
The separate garage apartment is falling down. There is actually a small compound of houses on the adjoining properties, former family land, that my grandfather built.
What Live Oaks do in the spring, the big dump.
Citrus comes and goes with the decades.
The state tree of Florida, the Sabal Palm, Sabal palmetto come up all over the place. Sister #2 does not like palm trees for some odd reason and keeps trying to kill them. It's time to let go.
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3 comments:
So many familiar plants. But it's sad when they start running amuk.
What got chopped in slide #17?
My garden is filled with a variety of camellias. The previous owner's husband's name was Camillo, and I feel sure it was to honor him. Honestly I'm tired of them because they require so much pruning, and anytime the house is painted the ones planted against it have to be cut down to nubs. They're now misshapen. I'm going to remove them completely and replace with a neater evergreen, don't know what. Maybe smallish thujas.
I love loropetalums and have planted at least a half dozen in the past 20 years. The one I planted in the front, close to the house, is at least 15 ft tall and like the camellias also requires constant pruning. Something on the leaves irritates my skin. I've decided I'm mad at it and am getting rid of it, too.
A lower-maintenance front garden with nicer curb appeal is my goal this year.
Glad you were able to retrieve the photos. Thanks for posting them.
CC, what got chopped was a huge drift of azaleas encased in vines and filled with ferns. A few trees had fallen in there over the years. The thought is to keep the vines and such mowed while the azalea have a chance to grow back. I think it is a lost cause.
I wouldn't use camellia as a foundation shrub. Most of them need more room. The loropetalum gets marketed like a compact shrub and they are programmed to be small trees. They would be better used to replace the lost flowering dogwood. I sure wouldn't want to have to be pruning either of those all the time. Give them some room and let them grow.
Agree 100% re: the camellias and loropetalum. Three of the loropetalum I planted in a row at a chain link fence in our back yard, a few feet away from an 8' tall privacy fence next door. The loropetalum now loom much taller than the privacy fence, and that's fine, because the 3 of them together are absolutely stunning in bloom. Variety Zhuzhou, IIRC. I can't find a downside when they're planted in an appropriate spot.
Btw, thanks again for your recommendation on how to get rid of lamium. I'll be pulling sprouts for a few years, but most of it is gone.
Hope the azaleas surprise you.
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