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| Gruss An Aachen (located on the left side of my main rose garden) |
Because most gardens are (and continue to be) a work in progress. Like a dress made from scratch, it can be hard to imagine the outcome from a pattern on a piece of material.
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| Right side |
So our excuses are not really excuses. We love our gardens, and know that there is beauty in it. But we want you to know what the garden will look like when it's finished - what it looks like in our minds (the dress on the front of the pattern package).
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| Left side |
For Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, instead of the usual close up shots (like the first picture of Gruss An Aachen above), I thought I'd show some long views of my main rose garden.
At first, I thought about explaining why it's not the picture-perfect garden of my dreams, at least not yet.
But then I realized - all it needs is time, and a little work. Just like most gardens.
So, if you tour someone else's garden, and they begin to make excuses, listen. They are telling you their dreams. They are explaining the garden to you in future terms. What it will look like when all the pieces have come together, and it's ready for its formal debut.
Of course, that time may never actually come. Because I don't think gardens are ever finished, or that gardeners ever quit dreaming.
How true Holley, totally agree with all you've said! Us gardeners are never truly satisfied and continue to make changes and the garden evolves in time. Indeed, no garden is ever truly finished, but that's just part of the fun of it all :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right - it's part of the fun of gardening that things change yearly, seasonally, and even daily!
DeleteThe long views of your garden look absolutely wonderful! Thanks for showing them - I love the long views. You are right, gardens never stop changing - along with gardeners. That's part of what makes gardening such an engaging activity!
ReplyDeleteI realized I post long views of my walking garden, but not usually of the main rose garden. Of course, it has had a lot more tweaks and changes to it! :)
DeleteI find myself making excuses all of the time for our gardens--but you're right. Our gardens are works-in-progress. And just as our dreams evolve, so, too, do our garden plans. However, I'm completely envious of your gorgeous, sunny rose gardens--we're in mostly shade. The long views are absolutely lovely! Happy Bloom Day to you!
ReplyDeleteI would miss the roses if I didn't have a sunny spot. But shade is a very nice thing to have - especially in the summer when it's so very hot!
DeleteThat's why I find my wide views of the garden disappointing, the camera just doesn't see what I think is there. Well, it will be, when that's bigger, and that's in flower, and I've cut back ...
ReplyDeleteIt's so true, Diana. The pictures of this garden just doesn't really show what I see. There's really a lot of blooms in there that just don't show up, and of course, the roses need another year or two. I always think 'next year, next year'. Maybe one year it really will be what I imagine - wouldn't that be wonderful!?
Deleteyou're right,Holly, gardeners are always at process and want to know how their garden would look like when they have finished a work.
ReplyDeleteWe know what it should look like in our minds, it's just getting the garden to grow into that image that takes so much time!
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI think most, if not all gardeners can admit to doing this at one point or another. And then, just as we decide an area is finished, you can guarantee that just a few months down the line we'll decide that actually something needs changing and the cycle begins again! :)
Yes, something will die, or something else will grow too big, or... something! I guess no matter what type of garden, or no matter how mature, it will always change and need the gardener!
DeleteSo very very true---from one gardener to another!!!!! Great pictures of your roses/yard.... We drove to Asheville yesterday to visit Biltmore ---just to see their summer flowers including their roses... Gorgeous!!!! You would have loved it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Betsy
I would have loved to see that, Betsy! I can only imagine how beautiful it is in person.
DeleteYour garden looks lovely. I think you are right that if you are a true gardener, your garden will never bedone.
ReplyDeleteYes, because no matter how young or mature a garden is, it will always need maintenance and tweaking!
DeleteThe long view at the end is so inviting. What a wonderful display of color and texture.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna. This bed gives me a lot of pleasure, but it just doesn't photograph as well as I would like - just yet!
DeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's hard to get all those roses to bloom together! Maybe next year they will! haha - That's just one of my excuses! ;)
DeleteHolley, no reason to make any excuses whatsoever! Your main rose garden looks very beautiful and harmonious! I love the tropical cannas that you have planted in between the roses. They go very nicely with them and add an interesting twist. Well done!
ReplyDeleteChristina
I love the orange cannas, too. They really pop. And I have a lot of orange roses in this bed, so I think they go well with them, too. I also have pink roses. I know a lot of people wouldn't put pink and orange together, but I like it!
Deletealoha,
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful tour of your garden, i loved all the beautiful rose blooms in your garden, thanks for sharing them :)
Thanks so much! Glad you stopped by!
DeleteYes I totally agree! We have a vision in our heads of what it will all look like one day, but we also need to stop and appreciate the beauty that's there already. Your Rose garden is the perfect example. It looks gorgeous to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bernie. It's not perfect, and it's far from the scene imagined in my mind, but I still love seeing every bloom in it, and it makes me happy. :)
DeleteCertainly looks like your dreams are coming true. Your garden looks wonderful. I'm so glad you decided to show us so many long views for GBBD.
ReplyDeleteI thought it might be something a little different for Bloom Day. Besides, I have so many blooms right now, it would be hard to pick out just a few.
DeleteThat is a gorgous fence that you have..... and I KNOW the roses are great. I have spent a month trying to get one certain rose bush to photograph just the way I see it as I sit at the computer....
ReplyDeleteI do that too, Mimi. I see something at a certain angle, and it's perfect. But finding that perfect angle when I'm outside and in the garden can be tricky at best, and impossible at times!
DeleteI liked the tour of your garden...so beautiful! You have so many beautiful roses, and that fence is a nice complement.
ReplyDeleteAnd although it's too young to see, I have a hedge behind the fence. I think the dark green background will - one day - show off the blooms nicely. At least, that's what's in my mind! :)
DeleteWe seldom see the long view of bloggers' gardens. I think because most of don't want to show the bits that aren't ready for public consumption. Thanks for sharing and reminding me that gardens are a work in progress.
ReplyDeleteI have lots of areas that aren't ready for public display. I just felt that this garden was as good as it was going to get - this year at least - and I did want a record of it on my blog. I love seeing other gardeners' long views of their gardens, too. To me, they are inspirational, even if they aren't perfect. In fact, sometimes they're more inspirational if they aren't perfect!
DeleteAh, beautiful! Love the long views of your garden.
ReplyDeleteWe are our own (and our gardens') worst critics, and we'd all do well to go easier on both. :)
Happy Bloom Day!
Smart words. I need to remember to go easier when I'm feeling extra critical!
DeleteNice--it's great to see the layout of your garden. It's so pretty! I like the way your Roses line the cast-iron fence. Thanks for showing us that view. You're so right about excuses and how they reveal dreams!
ReplyDeleteI think the fence adds a lot - I think something 'hard' against the soft plantings is needed. I love hearing what other bloggers dream about their garden. I can always imagine it and dream along with them.
DeletePatience is a gardener's most important virtue….but perhaps a difficult one, as we all dream about how we want our gardens – eventually! Your garden looks splendid and I loved to see the overviews. Your fence is such a great backdrop for your lovely roses :-)
ReplyDeletePatience is definitely required of any gardener, and sometimes that's the hardest part of being a gardener! But I guess it wouldn't be as satisfying if everything sprang up too fast. Then we wouldn't have years of satisfying puttering in our gardens!
DeleteWhat a perfect way to explain about us gardeners and our excuses. Love it! Your rose garden is lovely. I can surely see the dress on the front of the pattern. But you know the journey is just as lovely because like you said it will never be done. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping in a few years there will be more ups and downs as the climbers grow up, and smaller bushes fill out. I've just about planted every square inch, and will also have to deal with cutting back or moving/removing some plants. But that's just part of the fun!
DeleteYour garden looks like such a peaceful and comfortable place. When I buy plants, I always imagine in my mind's eye how they will look at their maturity. And often times my garden dreams don't come true, but I keep planting, and sewing (seeds, that is!), and digging, and moving. Someday I and Mother Nature may get it right!
ReplyDeleteBeing able to imagine how plants will look at maturity is one of the keys, I think, to being able to design well. I know I've put too many roses in this bed (shhh...don't tell my husband!), but I wanted it full now instead of later! Like you say, I'll do some moving and digging later on! Loved your play on words about "sewing" seeds!
DeleteNo need for excuses here, your rose garden looks beautiful and the surrounding trees are just charming!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me how fast those background trees have grown. Soon I'll be surrounded by a forest! I'll love that!
DeleteYour garden looks wonderful! I suppose we all focus on what we think is not quite right yet in our own gardens but yours does not make me think oh, that will be nice when it's finished.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think sometimes we are our own worst critic. I guess because what we imagine is perfect, and nature is never perfect!
DeleteSo true Holley...we want everyone to see our dream...but along the way we see others' dreams and then we begin to change ours...therefore we are never done. Your rose gardens are really quite lovely. No excuses needed...so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have changed my plans in this garden over and over in my mind, but only a few times during planting! :)
DeleteSuch lovely gardens. I'm doing the same thing, more long shots, or shots of a small area. I love to see the overall long views. Great pictures.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
I love to see long views, too. It really does give a different perspective, and I like seeing how others mix different plantings.
DeleteVery true about how you want people to see the beauty that you have envisioned! Though I would probably be perfectly happy if people could just see the garden without it's jungle of weeds :) Ah, well.. after the kids are older! (The kids are one of my favorite excuses!)
ReplyDeletehaha - yes, if weeds would disappear, I would be ecstatic!
DeleteIts the journey not the end that's the most rewarding...I think?
ReplyDeleteNot sure I'll ever know. I often wonder how that will feel....
DeleteIf I had to choose - which I do to keep my day job in tact - the overall view rather than closeups are the best. I like seeing the context of what you've used where, then I get it! People really are too critical and expecting all to be done...what is in life? Great thoughts here, as well as blooms...and seeing tall trees without much help is some needed relief on my end!!
ReplyDeleteAh, the trees! Yes, our gardens are quite different. Although each area has its own special beauty. And yes, seeing the entire garden's long view does make one "get it" more than just a few close up shots!
DeleteThat's such an insightful post! That's exactly how I feel about my garden, but you have put it into words so well! It's funny... your garden looks just perfect to me, and though you say it is unfinished I wouldn't have thought that. But when I show people through my garden I feel sure they are only noticing its flaws. I wouldn't want my garden to be ever completely finished - what would I do in my weekends? - but holding onto that image of the finished garden is about all that motivates me sometimes!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way, Ruth - when I show people my garden, I'm certain they noticed all the flaws that I see! I think we need to realize they don't!
DeleteMy excuses (or apologies) are more to the plants than to other people :
ReplyDeleteSorry I let the bindweed strangle you.
Sorry I didn't plant you in the right place.
Sorry I couldn't be bothered to water you.
haha - Yes, I owe an apology to several plants myself! :)
DeleteYou have inspired me to start designing and photographing my garden from a wide angle so I can really see the design elements in the garden. It's amazing how different my garden looks from a picture than from what I see with my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI think we see with love, but a photo doesn't show it that way. I think we can learn a lot from wide angle shots, though. I should take more, too.
DeleteLOL, I find myself constantly apologizing for my garden. Glad to know I'm not the only one suffering from this condition.
ReplyDeleteI think most gardeners have this affliction!
DeleteHi HolleyGarden,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post! I was pleased that when I clicked on a photo, it filled up my computer screen, and I was able to scroll through the other photos at the same size. Your place looks great to me, but I can totally identify with your sentiments. My flower beds are always works in progress, and I tell that to folks who come see it. Sometimes I think I want to take everything out of an area, and replant it so there are no big gaps of dirt, but I don't think I could pull that off.
Last fall, when I found out that a number of gardens less than a mile from here were going to be on a spring backyard habitat tour, I offered mine, too. A woman came by and looked, and said another person would be out, but no one came. After a few days, I called and told them I got to thinking that it may be too small a yard to have on the tour, that there might not be enough room for people to walk around. Plus, some of the plants were still small, and may not be mature by the time of the tour. In reality, I got cold feet because I thought my yard might be too hodge podge, and not good enough for the tour.
The tour was yesterday, and you know what? Some were awesome, and some were too neat and tidy for my taste. Some of the places were landscaped with lots of the same ground covers and other plants that I don't have any desire to grow. I wish I had time to read the other comments on this thread. I'll subscribe to follow-up comments, and maybe get time to come back and see what others said about the topic.
haha - I didn't know that when you clicked on a photo it enlarged it! Thanks for the information! I am sorry that you didn't have your garden on tour. I know a lot of people would have enjoyed it. They were probably a little unorganized or busy - most volunteers seem to be juggling so much these days, and it's unfortunately that that gave you just enough time to get cold feet. I hope next year you will reconsider and have your garden on the tour. :)
DeleteI don't know what "perfect" means, if it is tidy and manicured and clipped, then I have no wish for a perfect garden. My idea of an ideal garden is lots of blooms and foliage, not too color coordinated or symmetrical. In fact, I think yours is pretty perfect :)
ReplyDeleteMasha - how sweet! My idea of a perfect garden is weed-free! hahaha :)
DeleteThat is too true about the meaning of excuses. Your roses are just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wendy. I think gardens must be like any unfinished project. It can sometimes look a mess before it all comes together!
DeleteAmen, and well said!
ReplyDelete:) I think most gardeners can relate!
Delete