Mid Spring Blooms From Tiger Gardens

I've been so busy working on our new land that I have forgotten about my first love-Tiger Gardens. It's a good thing Tiger Gardens hasn't forgotten me. Like all springs in the garden the flowers just keep on coming and are most forgiving of the gardener when she is not around. 

Without further ado let me introduce to you a WONDERFUL type of bearded iris called Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) iris. I have five colors and can't get enough of them. They are most floriferous and don't need to be divided as often as the bearded irises. These irises look good most of the year.

Dogtooth violets, Erythromium 'Pagoda' are wonderful woodland plant!


Another SDB (a gift from my garden friend Helga).


Snowflakes, aka Leucojum aestivum.

Old Fashioned bleeding hearts.

Lamium galeobdolon.

Trilliums in my woodland garden are a reminder of the forest I love so much. This is Trillium cuneatum surrounded by white petals from 'Nuccio's Gem' camelia that rises above the trilliums.

Virginia bluebells.


More SDBs. The only color missing from the line up in today's post is a light blue. That one blooms a bit later than these other colors (white with purple, purple with dark purple, peach, and dark purple)-I do know the names but they escape me for the moment-sorry!


Candytuft, aka Iberis sempervirens is a wonderful evergreen perennial that does well in a raised bed in part shade to sun.

Pieris japonical along with its pals the aucubas are happy in the front center garden.

Late blooming daffodils keep me busy enjoying their fragrance and their beauty.

This garden is a garden I feast my eyes upon all day long as it is in the frontyard. The peach irises are more STBs. They make a good match with 'Caramel' heuchera.

Finally, Viburnum 'Mohawk' is a delight....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Winter Bloomers in Tiger Gardens

Winter has hardly made an appearance here in my section of Tennessee and the blooms in the garden sure are putting on a great show with the unseasonably mild weather. I'm not complaining at all but hope the trees and shrubs don't break dormancy prematurely. If so there could be dire consequences for them. We are still experiencing the loss of large and mature trees due to the late freeze and subsequent drought of 2007. All gardeners who experienced that freeze will never forget it and I think it will be one for the history books that will be talked about for the next fifty years. At any rate the perennials, some early shrubs and bulbs are usually not too bothered by early blooming. The crocuses are a bit early in Tiger Gardens but the bees don't mind at all. Jimmy tried to catch a bee here and that didn't even faze the bees. And, he was not stung so that is good. Teenagers!

Quince is a never fail early bloomer. Quince is the only early red blooming shrub that I know of. I simply love the brilliant early red blooms. The shrub itself is not something to be desired though. It has a great deal of thorns and is nondescript the rest of the year. The one pictured above is 'Rubra'. I have two other types of quince blooming as well; which you'll soon see.

Have you ever seen the bloom of Petasites japonica? Me neither but I will as soon as this large bud opens its flowers. I purchased this plant from the University of Tennessee Trial Gardens in Jackson Tennessee during Summer Celebration one year. Petasites is a large plant that has leaves reminiscent of gunnera. Petasites likes a moist soil and can be quite invasive in the right (or wrong depending on your perspective) conditions so use care if you plant this plant. I planted mine behind Mr. Fix-it's garage in a wild area of the garden. It is not a terribly moist area but does get some runoff since it is a low area. So far during the past two and one half years that this petasites has been growing here I have had no issues whatsoever with it spreading. That may change at some point but so far it has behaved itself. It has a cool bloom though huh?

Christmas roses, aka Helleborus niger, are well behaved perennials. In fact, they are so well behaved that it is very hard to get them established in the garden. I've had this one since 2003 and with its two blooms it looks the best it has ever looked. Lenten roses, aka Helleborus species, are the complete opposite of Christmas roses. They take off pretty well. The major differences between the two as far as I can see from my garden is the bloom of the Christmas rose is about two inches across and is flatter. The leaves of the Christmas rose are also quite different.

Daffodils continue their march toward the big show to come in a another few weeks or so.

This quince is 'Texas Scarlet'. It is the quince that gifts me with real quince fruit nearly every year.

This gal is not a bloom perse, but a new addition to Tiger Gardens. My friend Sandra and her grandchildren gifted us with Speckles. She joins Cuddles in our garden. She has her own very elaborate rabbit hutch and lives out front where we can enjoy her company every day....


in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Some Summer Blooms

I thought I'd share with you all a few blooms going on in the garden at Tiger Gardens. Above we have a coneflower (probably 'Magnus') and a cotton candy bloom of Queen of the Prairie (Filapendula rubra).

Daylilies rule the summer and this year they look good (as they did last year).

I transplanted most of my mophead hydrangeas this spring, but this one escaped the big move and has rewarded me with lots of blooms. I love hydrangeas! The little coneflower next to it is also a favorite plant. It is 'Harvest Moon' coneflower and looks great near the blue hydrangea. 'Highland Lord' daylily, veronica, impatiens, and a variegated miscanthus round out this picture of part of the Sunny Perennial Border in front of the vegetable garden.

More veronica and a dwarf white phlox 'Flame White'. Some of the phlox is suffering from powdery mildew this year. Not complaining though-bring on the rains.

'Moonbeam' coreopsis is one of my longest blooming perennials. It and veronica hold the borders all season long and make a great match.

A long shot toward the greenhouse looking across the Sunny Perennial border, the Rear Center Garden and past our new patio area. More on that later as today I'm showing just a sneak peek since the patio is not quite done. Mr. Fix-it is working on it though.

Crinums are scattered all over the gardens. I really must consolidate them because planting them the way I have does not do them justice at all. My issue is the bulbs are SO big and there is such little room in the soil for big bulbs without disturbing established perennials that I get lazy and tuck the crinums wherever there seems to be an empty spot.

Looking toward the back of the yard along the Rear Center Garden-sunny side. Groups of daylilies along with alliums and other perennials comingle in this garden happily. I worked hard last summer to design the clumps of flowers for long term interest. This garden is tough because it is under the trees and suffers several blank spots in July and August during our droughty periods.

Looking back toward the house at the same side of the Rear Center Garden. Here you can see the daylily groups. Sedum, asters, gloriosa daisies, peonies, irises, mums, and shrubs round out this side of the garden.

I love my orange and pink combinations. This grouping is in the Greenhouse Garden. The astilbes are one of my favorite perennials. Once the flowers pass by they will remain looking good for a very long period of time. All they need is a moist area in shade or part sun.

Here we are sitting on our new patio-which is not finished yet. This patio is built in a natural amphitheater like area in the middle of our backyard. We are looking out from under the mature oaks toward the Sunny Perennial and Vegetable Garden. The vegetable garden is doing fine. I should do a post on it but I have no camera with which to take pictures:(. I've harvested cucumbers, potatoes, and peas. The red cabbages are ready to eat and so are the blueberries. Unfortunately the only ones eating the blueberries are the robins. They are bold little boogers who love eating the blueberries and when I try to chase them off they simply fly about two feet away and sit there scolding me. I don't mind sharing but I would like to eat at least ONE blueberry from my garden this year. 


It is not too late to sow another succession of cucumbers, squash, and corn if you are of the mind I've already sown mine. I am so excited I got it all done too because I am usually very bad about successive sowings. I expect I'll still be enjoying fresh cucumbers and squash all the way to frost. I do not grow corn in my garden. I also sowed some pumpkins, carrots, and kuri squash. We'll see how they do.



Okay, here is a sneak peek at the new patio area. Right now it is simply a gravel patio until we decide on a patio stone and have the time to finish it all. The firepit is the center of the patio and Mr. Fix-it out did himself when he built this firepit. I'll post more on it later. It is not finished because we still have to cover the cinder blocks with faux stone. This patio is about 20 feet in diameter, maybe larger. We spread eight TONS of gravel on it in order to level it. Mr. Fix-it had to build a wall around it on the low side first. While this patio is not finished it is still a wonderful spot to sit in the shade and enjoy looking out....


into the garden.....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

More Blooms in Tennessee

Red geranium from the greenhouse.

A long shot of the geraniums.

Old fashioned bridal wreath spirea (Spirea prunifolia).

Spirea 'Ogon'.

Purple oxalis.

Scilla.

'Diane Clare' pulmonaria.

Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum)

Corydalis solida.

Helleborus sp.

Flowering almond.

Pansies.

Standard dwarf bearded iris.

Daffodil, type unknown.

White daffodil (type unknown) 'Rubra' quince, and 'Goldmound' spirea foliage.

Tulips, that fooled me and came back to bloom. Probably of the Apeldoorn series, red.

More white daffodils.

'Ivory Prince' hellebores.

More daffodils. 

Guinea flowers (Fritillaria meleagris)

Everyone have a great day....

in the garden....

Also blooming not pictured: Jacob's ladder, 'Newport' flowering plum,  'Forest Pansy' redbud, 'Pride of Augusta' gelsemium, white and red camellias, and 'Jet Trail' quince (white). 

Check out the Decorah eagles on my sidebar (brought to you courtesy of my mother, Jean.) I tell you they are mesmerizing and one can get wrapped up in watching them pretty easily. Their eggs are due to hatch sometime this week between Wednesday and Friday. 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden