I enjoyed the tour. I haven't mastered Picasa nearly as well as you have. I need to work on that.

I am wondering what grows in the field beyond your gardens. You can't take the country out of a gal!

You must have been getting some good rains; everything looks very green.

Thanks for my morning tour.

glenda

I'm starting to think 1/2 acre isn't enough space for me after looking at your beds.

A few weeks ago, I started a container that reminds me of you. Funny how we think about other gardeners when working in our own. What would Nell do? (and others, for sure) Inspiration comes from all over.

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Thanks for the tour, would love to take a stroll in person

I love the long views you have beyond your flower beds, Nell. That's what I miss most living on a small town lot. I do like the looks of that vetiver grass.

Nice combo, token!

I see Ms Buffy in one pic.How about a current pic of her?

I sure wish things were doing as well here.
Some are surviving and some are doing ok.
I have a white datura that will be blooming tomorrow.

k

Nell, I really like the lines of your beds and the fact that there's always something to draw one to the next bed. I am somewhat envious of your large space, until I remember that I never seem to get caught up on my small city lot garden. Well orchestrated.
Jim

You are all too kind. You are right, a smaller garden would be ideal, but I continue to work with what I have. There are soybeans growing on the far side of the field. Peanuts are farther away where you can't see.

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I'll have to get more pictures of Buffy and Ike. Greenhouse is now known as 'Ike and Buffy's Clubhouse.' Buffy is digging holes in the dirt floor formerly covered in cypress mulch. Ike hangs out on the high shelves where Buff can't reach. It's a great place for staying in out of the rain. Buffy sat in poison ivy and had a rash -- you know.

I have more Persian Shield that needs potting up in bigger pots. Yours is great, Tom.

Nell

Nice to come here tonight and have lots of beds and a pot to enjoy. Looks like alot of work and so now I'm off to get more weeding done in my garden. Thanks for the inspiration. LOL

How much land do you have landscaped? I have 2 acres I'm working on and it is getting hard to keep up with since I've been working longer hours at the businesses. Only time. Punk

Nell, I was also wondering how much land you have and how much of it is gardens that you maintain. It is so beautiful. I very much enjoyed looking through your album.

I almost picked up a Tibouchina this year and I'm so sorry I didn't after seeing yours. What is the plant in photos 21 and 22 in your album?

Buffy and I made a little tour of the wilder parts of the farm after DH mowed paths today, but it was so hot that we had to keep moving or Buffy would have croaked. We did stop in shade and get a picture from across the Soybean field for Glenda to see.
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There's no actual survey to line the yard out in acres, Punk, but roughly 350' x 350' with flexible boundaries.

Nell

The plant in photos 21 and 22 is Pride of Barbados.
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The plant with the yellow blooms is Esperaza. Both of these are tropicals, mostly known to our Texas friends on this forum, many of whom who grow them. I'm tickled that they will usually return after a cold winter here (15 degrees low) and bloom by July. I didn't plant my Tibouchina in the ground, nor my Heliconias and Bird of Paradise.

Ike will be kind of crowded up with all the plants around him this winter. I had some Pride of Barbados seedlings late in the winter, and he stepped on them. I have to figure out a cat-proof setup for seedlings.

If my yellow Pride of Barbados ever sets seed, I will send you some, if you want.

k

WOW! Nell, that Pride of Barbados really is a winner. It's amazing it makes it back after 15 degree temps. I haven't really tried my hand at tropicals. I guess I've been afraid of the over-wintering thing up here. I am pretty good with outdoor gardening, but tend to kill anything inside the house. Someday I do want to try tropicals and this is one plant I would definitely put on the list. Thanks for showing it!

Thanks, Kathy.

Thyme2, You may want to try annual tropicals that will grow off in one season, for instance gottagarden grows castor beans, rather than trying to hold tropicals captive inside through a long, cold winter. A tropical look using annuals is easier to achieve than growing true topicals in a cold climate. The Iversen book on tropicals in a cool climate is one I recommend.

Fifteen degree lows here means that on a single morning or two, freezing nighttime temps may suddenly dip to 15 just before daylight. As soon as the sun comes up, the temperature goes right back above freezing. The ground doesn't freeze and the roots of tropicals are snug under mulch.