A Private Garden

A Private Garden

Here are a few photos of a private garden that I designed and “constructed” in Illinois. It is one of many gardens I have helped to create both in the US and abroad.  It is a hobby and I love doing it for the many friends who like a nice reflective space at their homes.

Originally when I arrived to help redo the yard, it consisted of a very large above ground swimming pool that covered most of the yard space and lots of straggly bushed and very old large trees.  The pool was removed, also most of the decking.  Then things were cleared out.  With the large old trees – pre-civil war plantings, the “bones” of the garden were looking good. Five dump truck loads of soil were brought in to fill in the partial hole from the pool, re-contour the yard for berms and a walkway.

After many days of that work, finally plants and bushes were positioned to bring the new design to life.  Looks pretty good I will say!

Some of the plants used were from the hybridized collection that I created at the Gardens at Waters East.

Now there is a nice simple secluded reflective area, easily viewed from the home and from walking the trails discovering so many new and interesting plants.  It looks so different from what was originally there – love it!

Valentine - REDs

Can’t let Valentine’s Day go by without a few REDs from the garden.  Nothing like this going on out there today with so much snow and cold these last weeks.  However, one hopes for the return of these REDs and so much more – SOON!!!

Enjoy

 Lets start with a RED sunrise in January

 RED Daylily at Locust,

parent of the day lily shown below.

 One of the RED Peony bushes

 RED Poppy

 This is a special RED Peony - grown in Guatemala

from a seed of the Peony shown above.

It bloomed the second year after germinating

and had more than 100 flowers! Must be the volcanic soils.

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

 While we are looking at Guatemala,

here is a RED from a private garden I visited there.

 This is one of many Day-lilies

hybridized here in the Gardens at Waters East - #X3

 RED Geranium

 Here is a different RED Peony from the gardens here.

 RED Tulips

 This is another of the RED hybridized day-lilies #X1

 This RED is from a second private garden

I visited in Guatemala - brilliant

 RED Tulip

Gootendorf Rose - "shade"of RED.

Not the reddest RED - but I needed a Rose for Valentine's Day!

Want a "Quickie" ? Today

“Quickies” are photos taken the same day as posted.  These photos were taken this afternoon at the Gardens at Waters East. - - 2.8.19  Had an ice storm last night so now the branches, grasses, flower stems, all have a  sparkling coating of ice.  The movement in the sun makes it all look like glass covered stems and branches. NICE but cold 8F (-13.5C) as I  took the photos an hour ago!!! 

Enjoy

 And now a Quickie" video

One more video

NOTE:   Since this Blog is meant to be an accurate journal of the gardens;

no photos are “staged”, “arranged”, or ”photo-shopped” in anyway.

What is posted – is what it here.  It is what it is.

If you wish to email a message or share photos of your garden

please do that through this Blog site or with an email to:

www.gardensatwaterseast@yahoo.com

BLOG SHOTS #121

Each month Gardens at Waters East (GAWE)will post a few never before seenphotos of “garden life” called - - BLOG SHOTS.  Here are the photos for this posting.

moments in the garden - - enjoy

 Lake View - July

 Allium Mountain Mix - June

 July

 Coneflower & Bee - August

 Hybridized Daylily #12 - July

 Geranium - Johnston Blue - June

 Daisy with Fly - June

 False Sunflower - July

 Ghost Spider - July

 Lake View - June

Reference Note:  For a complete list of the ten (10) Principles of Designplus the special “Golden Principle of Design”used throughout Gardens at Waters East, check out the archive postings for November 14 – 24, 2010 and May 2, 2011.

NOTE:   All photos use in this posting were taken on the property of Gardens at Waters East

unless otherwise marked.

NOTE:   Since this Blog is meant to be an accurate journal of the gardens;

no photos are “staged”, “arranged”, or ”photo-shopped” in anyway.

What is posted – is what it here.  It is what it is.

Sunrise in January

Every day, whether with clouds or without, the sunrises here at the Gardens at Waters East move the Spirit.  Meditative, reflective, exciting, hope of a new day with promises to come and so much more all rolled into one in those first moments of a new morning.

Here then are a few of the many photos taken the morning of January 14, 2019

Enjoy the first few moments of a new day!