This week as I have been thinking much about our new gardens what I’d like to plant and how to do all this, I have been drawn to gardens old and new…
Netflix has given me a wealth of programs to study and recently this one was recommended for me: Monty Don’s Italian Gardens. Monty begins his tour of Italian gardens in Rome with a study of classical Renaissance gardens. The series moves through the ages since the 15th century with gardens originally created by different Catholic cardinals all competing hopefully to be chosen as the future pope ~ their gardens created to impress and show their wealth and ability to rule the Catholic church.
As the series goes on, Monty shares how styles of gardens have changed and I am up to the Romantic garden style ending in episode 3.
He tours around a few properties on a Marconi bicycle which I found charming and the gardens are absolutely stunning! Do look up this series and afterwards check out Monty Don’s French Gardens (which is where I will head next!).
A Little Chaos ~ Also seen this week twice as I absolutely fell in-love with this story about a widow who is bestowed with the gift of gardening. This film from 2014 stars Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman plus features the every funny Stanley Tucci as the brother of France’s Sun King Louis Dieudonné, Louis XIV.
As Sabine De Barra, Winslet is wonderfully understated and humble working in a time when very few women held jobs let alone one as out in the public as a landscape artist. Very good film and I highly recommend it!
 |
| Sceptre d’Isle blooming in all its glory. |
Then of course I have been over to the David Austin Roses website as I wanted to study which roses would work as climbers on our south wall which is all brick but would look fantastic with an enormous rose climbing its walls!
Sigh…
🙂
Sceptre d’Isle is a rose I had back at our last home in California and I am so glad I bought another here for our Texas garden! It is loving its new home and looks stunning in its pot.
These pictures don’t do it justice and I need to find a better spot for it where it can really shine but this year is its second or third year planted and it is blooming madly and I shared a couple of pics on my Instagram.
It is absolutely loving its normal 5 hours of sunlight but being shaded from the really hot afternoon sun. This area where I was thinking of planting it and the other roses is just under our bedroom window and two very large oak trees provide lovely afternoon shade.
The iris having been blooming too and all seem to be a yellow with some brown bits ~ pretty and soft with their pale yellow blooms.
We need some defined pathways and this past weekend Mr. Ethereal and I went to a friend’s open house party ~ check out his lovely backyard walkway and the sweet Texas paver!
 |
| Love love love brick pathways! |
And I am thinking about a semi-circular stacked stone small planter wall for the roses and a matching one around the first oak tree, which will then be underplanted with some of these iris and some vining plants. Love these that Yoda and I found out locally on our weekend walkabout.
*Here’s a link to a cement pathway I laid out at our last house (this was the redo after fixing the pool equipment).
But right now it’s all about removing baby oak trees… They are everywhere in back and outfront!
Planted either by the local squirrels (whom I love anyway!) or buried by the massive water gushing off the roof eaves during storms (hence the mud splatters here and there) we are working on drainage and gutter fixing next.
So I leave this post as it is ~ a bit mud spattered but real life.
😉
Coming up next is Share Your Style so stop back over to link up and to find some inspiration!
Sharing with
A bientôt,
I must check out those Netflix garden shows. I'm anxious to see your garden progress. I should buy more rose bushes. The snow is nearly all gone here.
So glad you are gardening at your new home, Barb! I'm addicted to gardening videos on YouTube. I watch Central Texas Gardener and the Oklahoma Gardening channel. Of course, we have to make adjustments for our zone but the plants are pretty much the same.
Wonderful roses!
Oh, good, Thelma! I'm glad the snow if gone up your way. I know May 31 seems to be a time I hear people refer to in really cold weather areas as to when they can really get to planting. Roses can take the extreme cold with just a little hay piled up and covering their vines and roots. Climbers need their leaves stripped and the canes pulled down and sort of \”buried\” in the ground and dirt/hay piled on top until the severe cold dissipates in spring but otherwise I hear roses do really well up north! 🙂 These two shows are really wonderful and I just started watching Monty's shows about French Gardens. Liking the first, so far. :)Happy spring (finally!) for you,Barb 🙂
OOOH! Hi Stacey! I'll have to check those out… Have you checked out Linda Vater who in on the telly up in Oklahoma? She writes about boxwoods and I've been watching her videos. <3 Happy spring to you and I hope you are doing well!Hugs,Barb 🙂
I am not a garden person at all Barbara but I love coming to your blog to admire all of your beautiful flowers.
I am not a garden person at all Barbara but I love coming to your blog to admire all of your beautiful flowers.
There really aren't enough gardening shows on TV anymore, I'll definitely be on the lookout for these!
Good morning, Maristella! Glad you like this post.Felicitaciones,Barb 🙂
Thank you, Mary! It is a passion with me for sure. Happy to share the garden with you, always.Hugs,Barb 🙂
Your roses are gorgeous!!! Thanks for the tips on the shows!
Barb your garden roses are gorgeous. Something I've never been very successful with. And, thanks for all the great gardening shows. I'm always looking for something new and these all look fabulous!
Just lovely, Barb. Roses are definitely a fave of mine, and i wish I had more room to plant them. I'm even having a hard time keeping my mini rose bush healthy. Not sure what the problem is. Thanks for sharing!
What a great resource! Thanks for the roundup…now I can never say I can't find anything good on tV!
Oh I just love watching Monty Don's garden shows. They are full of so many beautiful gardens and historical facts. And A Little Chaos is one of my favorite movies. Such a lovely story and era.Thank you for sharing.JanetRosemary & Thyme
They really are neat garden shows. Another friend suggested Oklahoma Gardening Show and Central Texas Gardener, if you are able to pull either of those up.Happy spring!Barb 🙂
You're welcome, Shirley! Thank you for stopping by and I'm glad you like our roses. My favorite flowering plants for sure.Happy Mother's Day,Barb 🙂
Hello Patti, thank you for your kind thoughts! Glad I can help.Happy Mother's Day,Barb 🙂
Hi Julie, thank you! This year my roses are doing really well. Last year I lost three in the heat (I replanted two and one came back on its own with extra care and water in the fall). I have had mini roses in my kitchen in the past and I think they are prone to little spider mites. You might try a systemic bug killer mixed in as you water (Bayer makes one, I think it is) or just get a good spray. I did spray my big roses this year back in early March/late February to prevent bug infestations. They are doing well.Hope that helps or maybe your little rose needs new soil, a little more fertilizer.Happy Mother's Day,Barb 🙂
Ha ha! That's sweet, Lynn!! You're welcome. 🙂 I have been really enjoying Netflix ~ finally getting our money's worth.Happy Mother's Day to you,Barb 🙂
I'm so glad you liked both shows, Janet! I love Monty Don's style ~ I feel he is a kindred garden spirit. A Little Chaos was just fabulous… I LOVE period films and this is definitely a new favorite.Happy Mother's Day,Barb 🙂
Good website! I truly love how it is easy on my eyes it is. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your RSS which may do the trick? Have a great day! 1337x