Home of the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox and other native plants for pollinators

Monday, April 19, 2010

Garden of Benign Neglect

(all photos can be enlarged with a click)

This morning the Garden of Benign Neglect was absolutely magical with filtered sun highlighting special flowers here and there~~


The morning was fresh and cool, the birds were singing and the garden was perfect. The loveliness made me sigh with contentment. How could I not~with my favorite flowers blooming with abandon! Sometimes, letting a garden do what it does best is the wisest course. Benign neglect works for this garden and for this gardener.


I wanted to capture it all for you~ The feelings, the sensation, the delight, the way the sun lit up the phlox and how perfect the morning felt~ The photos don't do it justice! That's why you have to visit....It's the only way you'll get to see Practically Perfect Pink Phlox in her glory~~



The phlox perfumes the garden as the day warms up~Oh, aren't I a lucky gardener to have this bounty! She's a generous flower and doesn't mind sharing the space with most anything that will grow back there....After all, it's a garden with a history of flowers having their way.
Now close your eyes and imagine, if you will~You're sitting on the marble bench at the top of the garden, the air is cool, but the sun is shining through the trees and warms your arms~ Native plants and a few friendly non natives are everywhere you look! ~~ Camassia is planted along the dry creek with the Iris cristata. Aquilegia canadensis and Lunaria annua have seeded themselves here and there creating the most astonishing color mixture.... A Golden azalea blooms right across the creek and at its feet are woodland phlox, golden ragwort, colorful tulips, Phlox pilosa, golden ragwort and the cutest forget me nots. Trillium and seersucker sedges with little flower tufts are nearby.....and everywhere you look is Phlox pilosa.

...and that's just what's blooming now!

It's likely that you might only notice Phlox pilosa, it's practically perfect after all.

Gail

I've been out with a bout of vertigo, it's not gone completely and I suspect it won't until it rains or the wind dispersed pollen disappears! But, a gardenblogger can only be idle for so long...

53 comments:

  1. Your garden looks so pretty with the glow of the sunshine on it. My PPPP is blooming as well, so pretty with a delightful scent indeed.

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  2. Your photos are so inspiring, thank you! It is beautiful.

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  3. That first shot looks like a painting. I hope you keep your balance and have a great week.

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  4. Gail girl ! I'm so sorry about the vertigo .. I understand how you feel and I hope it passes quickly .. as you said the change in weather can help a lot .. I was going through a touch of it yesterday but finding my perfect tree helped me get by : )
    PPPP .. I wish I could see it all in person .. it must be so wonderful in the garden right now .. the best light .. early morning .. and just before twilight .. that magical lighting and perfume in the air .. pure heaven !
    Joy

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  5. Dear Gail, please get better soon. We are glad that you can still get out and enjoy the garden, the photos are fabulous, if not exactly what the eye sees. The azalea is what catches my eye, although PPPP is superb. What a fine assortment in the neglected garden. :-)
    xo
    Frances

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  6. Nice to see that you're enjoying your garden now. I hope you're recovering faster, Gail. PPPPs - I love 'em! Only I have never had the luck to see them for real and smell them for real!

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  7. Your garden is beautiful! Don't you just love woodland phlox! My woods is kneedeep with it!Such a pleasure to walk through the flowers. Hope you are recovering well.

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  8. Gail,

    Hope your feeling better! A neglected garden can sometimes pull out some surprises and it looks like your did so marvelously!

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  9. ah, benign neglect is so beautiful! I love the fury of color. Doesn't everything look better on a background of shocking green? I was with DH in the car just the other day, since I don't drive, and I was so shocked by how green everything had gotten, it seems like overnight, but I don't get out very much.

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  10. Oh, how I wish I could see the GOBN in person this spring! But since I can't, this tour was the next best thing, Gail--thanks so much! What a gorgeous display of color you have. I'm happy to see the perennial favorite PPPP already blooming, and I'm even more excited to say that the plants you sent home with me last fall are coming up as well.

    Sorry you haven't been feeling well, Gail; hope you're on the mend soon.

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  11. WOW! You have a beautiful garden and you do a wonderful job capturing its beauty. I'm so glad to have found your blog and I'll be back soon! Have a nice day. Hope you're better soon.

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  12. Gail,

    I'm so sorry about the vertigo. It's such an awful feeling and I hope you didn't have an upset tummy from the dizziness.

    Your garden is magical from the photos, but from your "voice" there is definitely much more to experience in person.

    Hope you have a lovely day!

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  13. Aaahhhh yes, the early sunlight sure makes life seem perfect. Your garden is fully awake now. Practically Perfect.

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  14. Hi Gail, I'm back again. I noticed you were in TN and so am I. I looked for a way to follow along on your blog, but didn't see a way?

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  15. Hope you are in tip top shape soon and able to enjoy your lovely garden to the fullest.

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  16. The time of phlox has arrived! Ours hasn't bloomed yet but the ragwort you gave us is putting on a show!

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  17. Gail, I'd have to say you have the Practically Perfect Garden:) So lovely and serene. I wish I could be there sitting on that bench and chatting with you about anything and nothing. Hope it rains and your head clears up. Very, very dry here too.
    Marnie

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  18. I love your garden...I'm letting mine lay fallow this year...no plantings, except veggies. It's good to rest.

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  19. Good morning Gail. Sorry to hear about the vertigo ~ hope it goes away soon. It would be a shame to miss the garden this lovely time of year.
    Your garden blooms are amazing. You all jumped from nothing to a profusion in a very short time. We haven't had that same heat to speed things along so we're progressing slowly thru spring.

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  20. It looks like spring has arrived in full, everything looks beautiful. I hope you feel better

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  21. Benign? Come one--call it what it really is. Come on! :)

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  22. Gail,
    your garden is fantastic! The fact that it takes care of itself just adds one more plus to it!

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  23. It was the light I noticed this morning also here at L & G. The garden is nowhere near as far along as yours and there is no PPP here but I do enjoy yours and the walk with you was divine.

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  24. Oh, you are blessed gardener indeed to be able to enjoy such a beautiful place :-)

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  25. It is beautiful - I love all the vibrant colors.

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  26. Gail....Your garden is an absolute credit to you. I love the planting, and colours. It is always a joy to stroll around your garden.

    Vertigo....not good.....I do hope that you feel better soon.

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  27. How lush and lovely. I spotted the wild columbine in there (my fave) and, of course, your pretty phlox is a show stopper. I hope you are feeling better soon. Perhaps a rest in your garden can improve things. I certainly hope you have a hammock. That yard is perfect for one! :)

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  28. It is truly lovely! Feel better!

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  29. Vertigo, I know well...debilitating.
    Looks like the garden is in full bloom...color,color and more color.
    Wouldn't mind having that woodland phlox in my garden.

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  30. Wow I wish my garden looked like this. It looks so natural! Vertigo does not sound like fun...hope it goes away soon.

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  31. A lovely garden indeed. Just perfect the way it is...benign neglect and all! I hope your vertigo subsides very soon.

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  32. The GOBN looks lovely! I can't wait until my columbines start blooming!

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  33. Wow. I'm swooning just a little bit....sigh.....just gorgeous, Gail.

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  34. Gail, I'm not sure if my comment went through. But your garden is beautiful and I love your description.

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  35. Gail, I do hope you are well very soon. I've heard the pollen down south is terrible!

    What a delightful visit to you GBN. Glorious in all her lovely soft colors of blooms. PPPP is in her glory. I have always loved Golden Azaleas, but never ever see them this far north. What a treat to be able to have them in your garden.

    Thank you for a wonderfully special visit.

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  36. I had a full blown case of vertigo when the kids were little....it was miserable. Hope yours doesn't come back.
    Your gardens look dreamy. I have some kind of phlox that is just starting to open now. It was in a seed mix packet from Ireland that the kids brought back for me. Glad yours is fragrant.

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  37. This is just beautiful Gail. I am such a fan of phlox! I do hope you are better soon. I had only one bought of vertigo after a bad headcold a few years back and it was just horrible. So sorry for you over there.

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  38. aloha gail,

    i love the natural and wild flower garden effect of your place, it feels so natural and grounds your home and environment...thanks for taking us around your garden.

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  39. The color scheme is wonderful and I can just imagine the sun hitting it from your pictures. You get well soonest!

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  40. The only problem with closing my eyes to imagine the bliss of your garden is that I will be required to eventually open them again and face the snow in my backyard.

    Christine in Alaska

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  41. Looks like my kind of garden to wake up to...ahhhh....

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  42. Gail, I bet you could practically hear me purring when I saw your photos. When I design a garden for someone who declares "I'll not have any of those messy bits of garden - just give me boxwood and yews." - I thank goodness for gardeners like you who delight in the random beauty of flowers dancing together in the wind and sunlight.

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  43. To garden with a garden... is the greatest joy! Yours is award winning!! Lovely Gail!!

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  44. Hi Gail, Sorry about the vertigo. Blame it on Jimmy. Sorry. Blame it on Hitchcock. :) Seriously. I hope improvement is swift.

    My PPPP is just about to open. Your GOBN is absolutely dazzling.

    Take care.

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  45. Beautiful, peaceful pictures. I believe in Benign Neglect, we've gotten some wonderful surprises from him. This season I'm seeing wildflowers in places I haven't seeded. But lately he's bringing Texas sized patches of weeds. Oof!

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  46. It may be time to give this garden a new name as it certainly does not look neglected. It looks marvelous darling :-)

    Hope you over come the Vertigo soon....

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  47. Gail you should rename it The Garden of Absolute Beauty!

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  48. Oh how I wish my garden looked so beautiful when it gets neglected. What a beautiful garden!
    Debbie

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  49. Gail, I feel lifted up and serene after a late-night tour of your lovely Garden of Benign Neglect. It is magical there, and you are so fortunate -- fortunate to recognize it, and fortunate to have stumbled upon a gardening style that works for you and works so beautifully for the landscape, too!

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  50. i love when the garden and everything in it feels magical.
    i have had a lot of that lately.
    something new is blooming daily.
    how wonderful.
    i love the way these photos tell the story of your love for your garden.
    beautiful.
    happy april.

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  51. Gail, we're so lucky to get to visit the Garden of Benign Neglect with you. What is the orange flowers on the right hand side in the next to last photo?~~Dee

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  52. Totally lovely! Kudos to the Garden of Benign Neglect.
    Lisa

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