Our second garden on the first day of the Fling was Christopher Mello's garden. The dominant foliage color is burgundy. I love burgundy foliage plants, my eye is always drawn to them. Welcoming us at the gate was a lovely Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius. This native shrub was a dark foliage variety. It could be 'Diablo', or 'Seward' or 'Summer Wine' or something completely different. I have 'Coppertina' in my garden.
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| Physocarpus opulifolius |
This magnificent sculpture was just inside the gate...winged baby heads....brilliant! The rust elements compliment the burgundy foliage....the blue heads...well, they go well with the color of some of the blooms and of course the blue bottles.
This is a Purple Leaf Birch, it is just beautiful.
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| Betula |
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| Purple leaf Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, Corylus avellana Contorta |
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| Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' |
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| Cotinus coggygria Smoke Tree |
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| Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate' |
So many burgundy foliage plants!!! But wait, there's more----
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| Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon' |
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| Penstemon digitalis 'Husker's Red' |
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| Campanula punctata 'Cherry Bells' |
These beautiful plant choices shine in this garden. There is one blooming plant that really has the spotlight, Mother of Pearl Poppy. Christopher is doing some selective harvesting, letting those that are blue reseed.
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| The bees seem to like it! |
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| Doesn't this look like crepe paper? What a great poppy! |
And I did mention rust and blue bottles....the 'bones' of the garden.
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| Old shovel heads on re-bar. |
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Center focal point in the garden....the dumptruck circle or
Shovelhendge |
and finally....blue bottle trees, all over the garden.
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| Blue tree, love it! |
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| Use any tree...add color! |
Stay tuned for more Spring Fling events .....these last two posts were just the first morning!!!
©Copyright 2012
Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for
The Queen of Seaford.
words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.
good job on all those plant IDs! i was so impressed with the purple and burgundy plants...i have a few but will add more now that i've been inspired by his. that garden was a pleasure to be in.
ReplyDeleteDaricia, thanks, I do love this burgundy foliage collection.
DeleteI like those colors-very nice~!
ReplyDeleteTina, me too!!
DeleteSince Purple is my favorite color, I just loved his plants! Whimsy was the word of the day for me in this garden. But I loved it....
ReplyDeleteSkeeter, mine too. Whimsy is a good word for this garden.
DeleteJanet, we met on the way to Bulbarella's -- looked at the mysterious tree with giant leaves. I totally missed the shovel garden at C. Mello's. Where were they... better yet, where was I?!
ReplyDeleteDJ, I remember. I am sorry you missed the shovel garden, yes, where were you??
DeleteWell done, Janet. Christopher Mello's garden is unique and full of fun and playfulness.
ReplyDeleteFrances, Yes it is! Lots of fun.
DeleteQuite eclectic and I like that he allowed his creativity to emerge without regard to conforming to what's expected. I love purple/burgundy foliage plants.
ReplyDeleteFreda, yes, very creative.
DeleteSuch a nice job of capturing the best of this garden - I was enjoying it too much to frame shots!
ReplyDeleteVicki, thanks! I was enjoying it too, missed much of what was said as I was in my own little world.
DeleteFantastic. Love it.
ReplyDeleteLola, It was fantastic, really great.
DeleteI love burgundy too....have Physocarpus, Husker's Red, Forest Pansy and Smoke Tree. WANT Albizia.
ReplyDeleteGardening Under the Influence, I want all those and a Sambucus too!
DeleteIt is interesting how the monochromatic color of the garden really makes the sculpture work pop and yet the plants are stunning in their own right!
ReplyDeleteKarin, it worked so well together. Just beautiful.
DeleteVery nice overview of that garden. I couln't resist some raindrop shots myself. I wish I could do more burgundies but they just don't seem as beautiful way down south as in cooler places.
ReplyDeleteJean, I love raindrop shots, like tiny little globes. We don't see too many Cotinus here in SC now that you mention it.
DeleteWhat an interesting place! Plants with burgundy foliage are always wonderful, especially when combined with blue baby heads. :o)
ReplyDeleteTammy, It was a very interesting place. Yes, the burgundy with the blue baby heads were perfect!
DeleteI have something of an addiction to purple foliage, so that garden looks right up my street, and I love the baby head sculpture! Wonder what our soon-to-be neighbours would make of something like that gracing our front garden...
ReplyDeleteJanet, I think you can tell from my pictures I too have an addiction to the purple foliage. Think everyone needs a blue baby doll sculpture.
DeleteRiver rock, like the kind I used in my rain garden, is actually pretty cheap if you buy it by the ton and have it delivered. The bigger boulders are the true expense. :( But if it solves an erosion problem, it might be worth the investment. When I lived in Sumter, SC erosion was a big problem in our yard/garden because the "soil" was so sandy.
ReplyDeleteTammy, thanks! I guess I would like clay better than sand...though loamy soil would be nice.
DeleteI missed the heads! Now how did I miss those heads? They are just something that sticks out for the unique creativity.
ReplyDeleteI like all your photos of the burgundy leaves. They are really nice closeups. He did have some pretty poppies, you have beautiful images of them also.
Donna, How indeed!! There was really so much in that garden, I know I missed stuff.
DeleteBeautiful capture of all the burgundy foliage, Janet. That black mimosa tree was really beautiful. Like Donna, though, I didn't notice the winged heads; I guess there was just so much to see here that I missed some of the details. But I didn't miss those poppies--weren't they something?!
ReplyDeleteRose, thanks! Yes -- those poppies were incredible. Would like to try some of the Mother of Pearl series...though I know he has worked on getting mostly blue tones.
DeleteHi Janet, It is interesting idea to collect a foliage color. My favourite thing about this garden is the Shovelhendge. I love the whimsical humour!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I would love to collect some old shovel heads and give it a try in my garden!
DeleteJanet, your photos are stunning! The foliage was spectacular--I loved that he kept a consistent color scheme throughout the garden. I am anxiously awaiting the release of his blue poppies (although I never have success with poppies here, but I would baby those lovely flowers!) I'm so behind on reading and writing--but look forward to enjoying more of your posts soon!
ReplyDeleteJulie, I get behind too! I know you are busy getting ready for the tour. I want some of those blue poppies too!!
DeleteI love all of those red leaves. I have quite a few in my gardnen too. I would love to add that red mimosa. I have never seen such a tree.
ReplyDeleteLisa, I just added a small Forest Pansy cross with Covey, it is a weeping dwarf red leafed redbud.
DeleteI love the poppies. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteSweetbay, oh, if you could have seen them in person, you would swoon!
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