Garden Gallery June

This is what my garden looks like now...

In any xeriscape, a little rain must fall - occasionally.  The trick is to choose the right plants that can survive long enough between rainstorms.

Rustic Terracotta Strawberry Pot

It's been an interesting and steep learning curve; figuring out what you can grow (and what you can't) with very little water; in this situation, there are some plants that excel at surviving and thriving in challenging conditions.

Hardy succulents like Sempervivum (hens and chicks), Sedum (stonecrop) and some of the other less common ones like Jovibarba, Rosularia and Orostachys are iron tough; even if they start to get a little sad looking, once we get a few summer showers they perk up overnight.

It may be messy and have a few weeds, but it's obviously well used and loved.  I enjoy seeing how the plants are doing; keep in mind that these get absolutely no care, they are left to their own devices...

...and they don't seem to mind at all!  With all the rain we've had recently, the plants are all looking just fine - irises blooming, lilacs just finishing and the wild roses, Rosa woodsii are perfuming the air.

Click on any picture to start the slide show; enjoy my garden, in mid June;

The rock wall with many Sedum and Sempervivum lines the driveway
Hypertufa pieces are all around
Special groupings with Sedum, interesting rocks and found items abound
My new favorite plants; hardy cacti
If it's rustic and rusty, it's in my garden
More cactus plants, in yet another funky hypertufa planter
Sedum kamtschaticum is just starting to bloom...
Don't sit on this one - those are sharp!
Sedum reflexum 'Angelina' sending up a flower stalk
Rustic Wheelbarrow filled with Jovibarba
Sedum and hardy alpine plants playing well together
Sedum pachyclados 'White Diamond' starting to bloom
Textures and colors are ever changing on the rock wall...
The Japanese Tea House green roof looks a little sad...
Glory Be, the earth sheltered root cellar
Rosa woodsii, the hardy native rose has a beautiful perfume...
The modular green roof is finished it's renovation; finally...
Painted pots filled with many textured Sempervivum and Sedum
More Camouflage Pots in different colors; now there's a whole rainbow...
Country Steps down to the Eggporeum; a rustic way to travel
More painted pots - this time blue.
...and then there are green pots - is there no end?
Nope - there's more!
The Eggporeum roof, closer in
Pollarding willows gives an interesting growth habit
The Xeric Garden path - unusually lush this year
Hardy succulents, grasses and drought tolerant perennials all mesh well
Rebar archways are a feature of the garden...
Tranquil ecosystem pond
The pond is equally beautiful in the other direction...
What's that?  An old saw blade?
Butter cream Iris germanica
The greenhouse is being encroached by native birches
Old window screens still have a use
It's the calm before the storm...
Old bed frames come in handy as display shelving
Rustic crafts fill in nicely with hardy succulents
Running out of space...
Sempervivum plugs fill the greenhouse
Sedum plugs are rooting quickly in the bright light close to the roof
Growing Sempervivum from seed is fun
More Sedum plugs, almost ready to go outside
Flowering perennials combine with hardy succulents for a great show
The Crevice Garden, with many kinds of Sempervivum
A skull and sweet cicely decorate the wind chimes

I hope you've enjoyed this virtual tour around my garden - this snapshot of what the plants are doing at this moment in time is fleeting; tomorrow, there will be different plants blooming, other seeds germinating, and many other changes. 

Although the garden seems to be a calm and peaceful place, it's burgeoning with life and each day brings something new to wonder about.  Come back next time for a garden tour - see you then!