Clary Sage

Kim’s Gardens 2014

The past year has been so fulfilling

I started the year by creating a blog and writing about all the things I love. I love flowers and vines, and shrubs and trees. And I like all kinds of containers…but most especially, I love hypertufa.

Large landscape hypertufa, the bigger the better.

And it can be done, I know.

And I have tiny ones too! There are spots for tiny ones too. Such as the deck rails, and in small wrought-iron supports for hanging on the wall or on my fence or posts.

And lots of hypertufa. Big Garden Planter Bowls with moss growing on the sides and rims. Perfect.

CookoutinSnow-TheHypertufaGardener

But let’s look back at how the year was here in Ohio where springs comes tip-toeing in sometimes in March and teases us with some warm days, then laughs at us as we scurry covering plants when she blasts us with icy sleet…..and sometimes inches of snow.

Do we cancel the cookouts?

No, we just go ahead and have them anyway. That is what a gas grill is supposed to do for you. It is ready with the fire whenever you are ready, eh?

After all, as they say about the weather in Ohio, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a day and it will be entirely different” or something close to that. And it is so true, believe me.

But eventually the spring will come with all the beauty you remember and it is more and more wonderful each year! And these are some of the sights in spring, summer, and fall.

SpringTulipsinLobelia-thehypertufagardener
Tulips surrounded by lobelia

One of my most loved plants, and it certainly doesn’t fit into any hypertufa planter! It is the Blue False Indigo. It has the most beautiful blue flowers in spring. If you get a chance to have this plant, take it. It is so worth it for the spring display.

BlueFalseIndigo-TheHypertufaGardener

In spring, my sundrops always come up….lots of them. But they are so pretty, I keep them for a while. Once they bloom and are finished, you can cut them down to the ground and they will just return next year….in abundance! So just pull them out. You will still have enough. And they bloom for a really long time in spring. I  see there is a lurker thinking he is disguised in this group! I got him with gloves! Problem is that he will be back also!

Oenothera macrocarpa-thehypertufagardener

And this is the bright blossom when it is in bloom. Such a sunny bright yellow! That is where the sundrop got its name because they look like “drops of sun.”

Oenothera-SundropsinBloom-thehypertufagardener

Often the spring rains in Ohio get excessive. Small creeks overflow and water rushing through will wash away the soil around the roots of trees. These old large trees are on the open forest behind my home and I just love how sculptural and pretty those roots look. Don’t you?

 Here are a few of my various flowers in the garden. I like those that bloom for a long period of time, but if there is pretty foliage for most of the year, I will keep them too!

I have to stop loading now because I could go on all day. I will need to do a gallery of my hypertufa containers too! That should be fun! I hope you enjoyed this splash of color in Kim’s Gardens!

Visit my Facebook page too! I would love to see photos of your garden and hypertufa projects.

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