Plant/Flower Obsessions? | Pad Patter 5.12.16

[scrapsandsass]

So do you ever get obsessed with something you want for your garden/yard/patio pot?

I've been really into peonies lately and got an amazing peony tree from my daughter last year. I want more now, but Tim isn't excited about the cost of the ones I've seen (between $60-100 at the local nursery. They are big and beautiful, but expensive.

The other day, I found the type of plant/bush that I've been wanting for a couple of years now. My daughter helped me sleuth it out. I ended up with a decoy plant purchased, but it is pretty anyway. LOL. We'd broken off a little branch from an un-owned bush on the side of the road and took it to the local nursery. Three people there told us that it was Deutzia, but it wasn't. Once we had bought it, and were taking it home, we looked closer and figured out it wasn't the right one, but then found which it was (of course *after* we bought it). I love it anyway. I couldn't find a local source for the plants I want, so I ordered seeds online.

Here is the Nikko Blush Deutzia (I ended up with)

And this is the one I actually wanted. Beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis).

Close... right? I'm just hopeful that the seeds will take and I can have a whole little forest of them.

So what about you? Do you have anything you really want to grow (or attempt to grow), or just wish would magically appear (without effort)?

 

[Lindzee]

Very pretty. I like more compact plants, else it seems I am forever trimming them. I was obsessed with primrose for awhile, then gerbera daisies, but now not so much. I like pre nails and bulbs more now.

 

[~Mary]

Since most of my gardening knowledge is for living in the south, living in the desert has always been hit or miss for me. Forget to water just one time.... So last year I became obsessed with succulents. Started buying a few every time they came out in the stores in late winter. I was so obsessed and ended up with too many. Then summer hit and some of them got HUGE. Succulents on Pinterest are all tiny and cute. Succulents in real life, not so much. My interest died down by the end of summer and none of them had behaved the way I wanted. A few of them survived the winter and are blooming now but I'm like, Bah. We move too much to keep an interest in anything that doesn't go in a pot so I will just do other things until we settle down.

 

[lmccandless]

LOVE, love, love Peonies! Those are gorgeous, @scrapsandsass

Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies. Right now, I am seriously obsessed with my fairy garden. I am in the process of building an entire village. Phase 1 is complete and I am hoping to run to a garden center that specializes in miniatures over my lunch break to get some stuff for Phase 2. I super love these little bonsais that look like tiny apple trees.

 

[amien1]

I miss some of the flowers that grew over there, but not so well here in Spokane, Kimberlee!!! Peonies are one of my fave & while I have a few- they just don't get as big here. Maybe I have them in too hot of a spot too. Another one of my faves when we lived in Olympia was Dahlia's. Here in spokane it gets too cold in the winter- so I'd have to dig them up. I'm not really a gardener but I like pretty plants & flowers- so I've done a decent job with our yard I guess! I'm a big fan of bulb- tulips, daffodils, irises, lilies since they require minimal care! However, we have a ton of deer that like to eat all my pretty plants.

 

[Iowan]

When we lived in the Midwest, the peony was about as glorious as it got. My mom always said they were "showy" flowers. If she had seen the rhododendrons that are on display now in Washington, she would have been overwhelmed. They are beyond spectacular, just bursts of color everywhere you look.

Our (old) new house has absolutely no pretty landscaping. I took before photos and hope to plant, plant, plant and take after photos next year. The only thing planted yet is an herb garden. Wish me luck.

 

[amien1]

If she had seen the rhododendrons that are on display now in Washington

I forgot about Rhodies- that's another one that grows well on the west side- but not on the east side of WA where I live!

 

[scrapsandsass]

LOVE, love, love Peonies! Those are gorgeous, @scrapsandsass

Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies. Right now, I am seriously obsessed with my fairy garden. I am in the process of building an entire village. Phase 1 is complete and I am hoping to run to a garden center that specializes in miniatures over my lunch break to get some stuff for Phase 2. I super love these little bonsais that look like tiny apple trees.

Eep! How adorable. I can't wait to see what you're doing and how it will all look!!!

I miss some of the flowers that grew over there, but not so well here in Spokane, Kimberlee!!! Peonies are one of my fave & while I have a few- they just don't get as big here. Maybe I have them in too hot of a spot too. Another one of my faves when we lived in Olympia was Dahlia's. Here in spokane it gets too cold in the winter- so I'd have to dig them up. I'm not really a gardener but I like pretty plants & flowers- so I've done a decent job with our yard I guess! I'm a big fan of bulb- tulips, daffodils, irises, lilies since they require minimal care! However, we have a ton of deer that like to eat all my pretty plants.

We have Dahlias as well. we just bought a ton of bulbs at a WSU Master Gardener sale at the end of April. Lilies would kill me off. I have a hard time breathing every time I go to the store.

In our front yard, I've got a couple of hydrangeas and clematis plants. We have a honeysuckle that grows like crazy and then some scraggly lavender, but everything is just disorganized and there no rhyme or reason to it. I want to slowly turn our front yard into a drought-resistant rocky/wildflower/plant garden... slowly because I don't think Tim is all that excited about the idea and also because I'm not exactly sure how to go about it . I really can't afford to pay a landscaper to design it, so I'm going to have to find something online to guide me. But we live in the valley and get a ton of moss because it is so wet in the winter, and then in the summer it is crazy dry.

 

[janedee]

I love peonies and rhododendrons which I can grow here, although the rhodies only grow in one spot that is shady in the front. Deutzias are gorgeous but don't survive our sometimes cold winters.
We live in a semi arid climate too. It gets very hot in the summer, but also pretty cold in the winter. Our back yard has two terraces that are all planted with drought tolerant plants (day lilies, lavender, shasta daisies, jupiter's beard, iris, cat mint, red hot pokers), while the front just has a small patch of grass and plants which require a little more water. I'm off to pick up my annuals today and flowers for the pots on the deck.

 

[Jan]

We live in a condo complex so I don't have an actual garden area. But I have a lot of potted plants and flowers that I call my garden. I love asparagus ferns. They know how to survive me. And I can't get enough mums. We also had some aloe vera given to us that I now have two big pots full of them. They multiply like crazy. I gave a bunch away and still have more than what I know to do with. A couple of them have gotten really big and have sent up the blossom stems that grow 4 feet to 6 feet high. I'm loving that. I didn't know they did that. Anyway...I'd love to have a bunch of daisies out there. And I so would love to have sweetpeas. They wouldn't last all year though. But I'd love having a spot where they can grow and reseed themselves each year. I also have a bunch of painted metal flowers in my pots that survive me well. When we bought them I told my husband that these are the kind I can't kill off.

 

[mommyish]

I've recently fallen in love with begonias. We only just are starting to feel "spring like" here in the Hudson Valley of NY so things are only just now right for planting some of these pretties. For mother's day my mother in law and I went to this really beautiful nursery in Bethel, Connecticut called Hollandia and it was just SO much fun. We ended up getting some leafy veggie greens to grow on the deck to pick at over the summer and several different types of flowers to plant this weekend

I will admit I don't have much of a green thumb... and when I encounter worms I treat them basically like spiders - meaning I run the other direction. Hopefully I'll get there this year!

 

[cookingmylife]

I am really tired of gardening but I still would like to have a clematis. I've never had luck with them even in England though my neighbor did and our houses were built at the same time, spots faced the same direction and had great soil - an old pig farm! So I stuck to roses.

Recently, I wanted a white peony and after waiting about 3 or so years for a plant (color unknown) I bought to finally bloom - ugly dark fuchsia imho - I got a white one at Costco. I was afraid I'd lost it this winter but it was hardy! It needs to be rehoused next to the ugly one - soon. I also have a growing batch of lilies of the valley in a damp spot near my trash can shed. We get runoff from a gas station parking lot and amazingly they seem to thrive on that toxic water. I love lilies of the valley!

 

[jesskab]

@lmccandless How do you have time for a fairy garden obsession? That is so cute! Brody & I made a fairy house out of a bird house before. It was so cute!

I live in an apartment across from the San Francisco Airport. No yard, frequently overcast. There is a small garden box outside of the laundry room which we've kinda taken over. The boys & I planted a nice little garden a couple of years ago (pretty sure that was my 1st TLP layout), but the landscapers came in, tore it out, & planted drought tolerant plants. Mom got me a big planter box. Hubby grew some nice tomatoes in it. I did buy some smaller pots to plant flowers & stuff in, but I haven't had time.

Someday, I will have a house with a magnolia tree to read under.

***Update***
It was my 1st TLP layout, May 2012. We planted a taco garden.

 

[KarenW]

I do not have a green thumb, the house we knocked down was surrounded by a jungle like garden, which looked very pretty from the street and was relatively low maintenance (I couldn't tell the difference between the weeds and the normal plants!)

My only wish to recreate this jungle was to have some camellias along our fence line, a fern garden out the front and most especially a couple of Daphnes planted near the front door. The scent whenever we come home is just wonderful.

I love sweet peas and poppies as well.

 

[Sara]

@scrapsandsass Kimberlee, I think the decoy you ended up with is beautiful!

I so love gardening. I've been in love with butterfly gardening in particular for years and years. It is my most favorite way to grow and attract pretty things. I love it so much my original design name was inspired by it (and that is also why all of my page designs and some of my earliest kits have botanical names).

What I love most about it is the vast array of color and the prevalence of perennial plantings for butterfly gardens. The nectar plants are just tremendously beautiful. Host plants are as well..but in a completely different way. That and all the wonderful caterpillar critters! It always made for such shared wonder with Bugga..a built in science experience! We have a butterfly house to house the caterpillars when the time comes and it was always so wonderful to watch them grow and change!

I had greatest success with butterfly gardening in Florida..I've not yet delved in here in TX though I imagine I would have some fun with it!

 

[lmccandless]

@jesskab - Taco Garden is such a great idea! I think it's so relatable for kids...not to mention delish!

Gardening is something that ensures I don't sit at my desk *all* of the time! Personally I find digging in the dirt very relaxing. LOL Plus, DH and I love to garden together so it's nice couple time too. He works from home as well and we often take a run to a local nursery on our lunch break. He's been quite lovely about the fairy garden too. He had to cut all of the stone with a chisel and hammer when I insisted that my fairies needed a stone "road' in their village. Hahahaha. Once the plants grow in a bit, I'll post some pics.

 

[scrapsandsass]

Someday, I will have a house with a magnolia tree to read under.

*sigh* I've wanted one of those forever. My hubby has firmly put his foot down on that one. The neighbors across the street have one, and I take pictures of it and daydream out the window looking at it every year. It is kind of nice to have the pretty to look at, but no mess to clean up.

I'm excited because I printed out a couple of plans for butterfly and drought-friendly/native gardens today, and Tim said he'd be okay with it! Now the research begins.

 

[scrappyjedi]

That bush is gorgeous!

I have a serious obsession with cherry blossoms in the spring and have a weeping cherry tree in my front yard. I'm seriously going to cry when we have to move and leave it! In the spring and summer I love my peonies and hydrangeas. I'll cry when I have to leave them, too.

Okay, maybe I'll keep this house for the gardens and just come visit them once in a while. That's not crazy, right??!?

 

[NancyP]

When I moved down to South Carolina for a few years to take care of grandchildren, I was blown away by the beautiful Magnolia trees. I never saw such sweet smelling flowers grow in huge trees like that before! I lived in Summerville which is called Flower Town in the Pines because the whole town is wall to wall azaleas!! During the last week of April, when the azaleas are in full bloom, they hold the Flower Town Festival in Azalea Park. It is the largest arts and crafts show in South Carolina. I LOVE azaleas! Unfortunately, where I live now, we have such a short growing season that it is hard to grow a lot of flowers. I usually just grab lots of annuals and stick them in the ground around the end of May or beginning of June, and even then we can't be certain there won't be another frost!!! It will be below freezing tomorrow night and Sunday night and I know a lot of folks have planted their flowers already!!! NOT good!!!!

 

[cookingmylife]

*sigh* I've wanted one of those forever. My hubby has firmly put his foot down on that one. The neighbors across the street have one, and I take pictures of it and daydream out the window looking at it every year. It is kind of nice to have the pretty to look at, but no mess to clean up.

Me too @jesskab & @scrapsandsass but I suspect it won't be in this lifetime! My husband is the same way. Too much mess! I have a friend who has is a 'tree man' and he has those massive hole diggers. MASSIVE! he said if he could get it into our back yard (which he can't) he could dig a hole for a good sized tree but he too said...Too much mess. It must be a man thing.

I did have magnolias outside the buildings when I worked for the State. I used to go to work early some days and pinch a blossom or two. I love that scent, I love magnolia leaf wreaths, and I love the big old pods. But no magnolia tree for me this go round...