2022 Garden planning...

Taking this time during winter solace to enjoy the rest, but it is also the time I begin to ponder what is to come in the landscape of 2022. I love returning to old photos of the garden and seeing how it all has evolved over the years.... revisit plants I've lost over time and wondering why? plants I no longer have because of my own doing and deciding what I need to reintroduce because I loved them so much at one time. Over time, I've realized that sometimes it's the placement, the changes in the landscape. Such as two years ago - I decided to remove some very large arborvitaes from the entrance of my secret garden which entirely changes the entire area from shade to full sunshine. In retrospect, I should have removed some of the shade plants instead of watching them struggle over the past year, however I've also learned some actually do thrive well in place...they just may die back when the summer heat arrives and go dormant until the next season. The problem is the space looks awful because I have yet to plant more in that area to cover what is lost for the rest of the garden season. 

So, here I am on New Year's Eve, 2020 ordering plants and seeds for next season. Some are carefully thought out and others, I've just whimsically "added to cart" because why not just try something new.  You are probably wondering the same thing i am... where on earth will I plant anything new.  What a great question and something I honestly am not going to worry about today. There is always room for more. Sometimes I lose plants over the winter but also, I am afraid of what would happen if I left a bare spot in the landscape. There always has to be room for error - something that has struggled for years and just needs to be tossed and start over. Another issue that the lighting is constantly changing, something that once was shaded is now in full sunshine and vice versa...a fabulous and outstanding concept to learn and let go of controlling everything. The garden is constantly evolving and I'm constantly moving, dividing and arranging new ideas every year. Ordering new plants gives me so much to look forward to. 

If you've been to one of my garden tours, you'll recognize that I always have something blooming and when that bloom begins to fade, I have something else happily arriving right behind it. I try to recognize all seasons, although late spring early summer bloom season is my absolute favorite to enjoy. You also have probably noticed that I always plant the same plant in masses, particularly 3/5 (odd numbers) throughout the garden. Mostly because if it works well and I love it, why not plant more. However - new plants are introduced every year, so trying new and different plants is fun for me to try and share with others my thoughts. 

Wondering what landed not just in my cart but actually purchased? I'll share below. The wonderful thing about blogging for me is that not only do I get to share with you what is coming to my garden in 2022, but this is a great way for me to journal, remember and get excited about what is to come. 

I'll break my additions down to sections so that you can follow along. 

Roses that I've ordered are to replace others that didn't survive last year after ordering and or new to the market and I must find a spot to try them in because the research I've done, they look well worth making the room for them...the roses that are due to ship in spring of 2022 are: Pure Perfume, Princess Charlene, Sweet Mademoiselle, Fun in the Sun, Top Cream, Bolero, State of Grace, Imogen, and Dark Cherry.

Iris in my opinion is one of the lost beauties in one's landscape. Many new gardeners forget the tried-and-true heirloom flowers such as the bearded iris. they rank one of my top favorites in my gardens even if the blooms only last a few days. They do require 'some' attention to divide every few years and make sure the rhizome isn't buried below the surface every fall. But these beauties are ones that are collected and traded among avid gardeners. The bearded iris that I ordered to add to my landscape are: Constant Wattez, Blessed Again, Cherished 

Plants in the garden are very difficult to find a spot for, and every spring I struggle with remembering so many of my plants are in fact perennials which don't appear right away, so when I am planting new plants, I carefully dig before actually planting. However, it's easy to refer to photos and try to establish where those 'dirt spots' are. Another thing that I have been known to do is hold onto plants in plastic planters and add to the landscape during their bloom season. Doing so makes it easier to make sure the new plant won't be lost in other perennials and or devoured by bunnies before I know it's really there. The new plants that will arrive this spring are: Harlem Oriental Poppy, Cherry Fluff Echinacea, Veronica Perfectly Picasso, Coreopsis UpTick Cream, Veronica White Wands, Coneflower Magnus, Coneflower Lemon Drop, Pink Shelford Eremurus, Creme de la Creme Phlox, Meadow Rue, Pearl Tuberose, Chocamocha Cosmos, Gallery Yellow Lupine, Gallery Pink Lupine, Gallery Red Lupine, Marmalade Heuchera, Bleeding Hearts, Ascot Rainbow Euphorbia, Otto Quast Spanish  Lavender, Isabella Lily, Tiger Edition Lily, Magic Star Lily, Vermeer Lily, The Pearl Tuberosa, Polar Star Lily, Exotic Sun Lily, Hollyhock double mix 

Annuals Marshmallow Pink Fuchsia, Estrella Peach Verbena, Cupid Rose Sweet Pea, White Bacopa, White Calibrachoa, 

Hellebore need to be sectioned off away from my list of "plants". These beauties are the first to appear in my landscape and the first year I always hold off planting them until later in the season. Mostly because these will also be planted in the garden after other perennials have arrived. It's important to me that when I plant them they will go in a spot that most likely will be covered up by others later in the summertime.  I have so many Helleborus in my landscape and want to make sure these new ones are highlighted for me myself and I. The hellebores that will be carefully added to my landscape this year are: Honeymoon Series; California Dreaming 

Bulbs always make me think of spring. However, many of my most favorites appear in mid-summer when there is so much beauty already in the garden. I particularly love bulbs because they don't take a lot of space in the garden and have a huge impact where its placed. Luckily with bulbs you can start them in containers and move them later to most glorious spot that you can enjoy for years to come.  I did plant several spring bulbs last fall such as allium, tulips, daffodils and many others, but the ones I ordered are all mid-summer bloomers that will be showcased as they appear: Gladiolus Parrot Mix, Roselily Carolina Lily, Bright Diamond Lily, Big Brother Lily, White Prosperity Gladiolus, Eyeliner Lily, Baferrari lily, Brasillia Lily 

Ranunculus are also a new attempt that i tried last year and was unsuccessful. So, with the help of some other gardeners encouraging me to try again - I am! Instead of starting them indoors and transplanting outside, I planted directly last fall and right now (late January of 2022) I believe I am seeing their foliage begin to appear. So that is a great sign that maybe I did it right? Time will tell. This year I planted several of the each of the following. Amandine Pastel Mix, Amandine Pastel Lemon, Tecolate Cafe and Amandine Purple Jean. (I'll add a photo when or if i see a bloom here in this post).

Dahlias and i are still getting to know one another. This will be my third summer with them. My first year was completely experimental, just to learn and watch. I enjoyed them so much in bouquets and surprised with how little maintenance they required that I decided I need more. The second year I did add more but think I planted them too late along with moving several when I shouldn't have, I had a very late (if any) bloom season with them. I did leave them in the ground both years and some didn't return so I decided to add more in place where i lost some and also add more to sporadically bloom in all the garden beds. Dahlias that will be planted when they arrive are as follows: GoGo White, Tyrell, Break Out, Cafe au Lait, Cotton Candy, Tyrell Gifts Perfection, Fairway Spur, Penhill Watermelon, Rip City, Sparticus, Happy Single Kiss, Franz Kafka, Rocco, Blue Bell, Snow Country, Milenor Fleur,Crazy Love, Kelvin Floodlight,  and Babylon Bronze

Peonies are definitely something that I don't need more of, however there are so many new varieties that have come on the market and would look delicious in spring bouquets that I just had to order a couple. Unfortunately, it may take a few years to benefit from these blooms, I'm awfully excited to look forward to seeing them perform in my garden Peonies that I'm adding to my already excited to receive are: Caroline Constabel Itoah, Black Beauty, Singing in the Rain Intersecional, Benjamin Franklin and several more Sarah Bernhardt

Seeds are such a waste of money in my opinion, however sometimes I've gotten lucky, and the gamble feels worth it to try again. So many seeds don't survive the weather and the local wildlife and disappear before I've been able to see the beauty, I imagined in my mind...but some, some do survive and the generosity of the plants that make it is outstanding and so worth the risk. Which is why I always come back to the idea of ordering more.  The ones that do make it, I selfishly collect the seeds from the pods after the spent blooms dry out and save them in labeled seed packets to try again with them the next year.  Some years I have so many that I've collected and even had the pleasure to share with others. Whenever I save seeds, I always add those little silica packets from shoe boxes to keep the seeds from molding.  I also have learned to just direct sow seeds...if I had a greenhouse, I may think differently. Seeds to be sporadically added here and there are: White Cloud poppy, Double Purple poppy, Lilac Pompon, Black Swan poppy, Purity Cosmos, Rose Bon Bon Cosmos, Rubenz Cosmos, Xanthos Cosmos, Pink Champagne California Poppy, Appleblossom Chiffon Poppy, Frosted Salmon Peony Poppy, Mother of Pearl Shirley Poppy, Swansdown Poppy, Lilac Poppom poppy, Rose Bonbon Cosmos, Rosetta Cosmos, Cranberries Cosmos, Rubinato Cosmos, Old Spice Sweet Pea, Jilly Sweet Pea, April in Paris Sweet Pea, Mollie Rilstone Sweet Pea, Black Knight Sweet Pea, Blue Streamer Sweat Pea, Royal Bride Snapdragon, Potomac Appleblossom Snapdragon, Lucky Lips Snapdragon, Black Prince Snapdragon, Black Gem Cornflower, Red Boy Cornflower, Snowman Cornflower, Classic Magic Cornflower, Ocean Pearls Agrostemma, Sisinghurst White Poppy, Purple Peony Poppy, Swans Down Poppy, Black Peony poppy, Cream Peony poppy, Black Swan Poppy, Lilac Pompom Poppy, Lilac Pompom Poppy, Pandora Poppy, Blue Streamer Sweet Pea, Xanthos Cosmos, Rosetta Cosmos, Apricot Lemonade Cosmos Fizzy Rose Picotee Cosmos, Black Magic Chocolate Cosmos, Double Dutch Rose Cosmos, Rubinato Cosmos

Would love to hear what big plans you too are dreaming up in your mind for 2022 in your gardens. 

xoxo, tracie