Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The big picture

Gardens change constantly, mostly because the gardener cannot let it be. At least I can't. My garden went through many metamorphosis; some came about because new plants were introduced, some because old plants died, and some because I keep moving plants about. I am currently contemplating moving the golden-leafed bushes from the mid-section to one of the corners... In any case, this is how my 10 x 4 metres garden looks now (more or less - in this collage, most of the flowering plants are in bloom, which is not strictly true for this time of the year):

And here is the list of my plants, more or less as they appear in the image, clock-wise:
  • Fern
  • Ardisia crenata (In poor condition - I'll give it a couple of years.)
  • Chicken and hen
  • Cat’s tails (There are three of them! For a while, I was in love with this plan. Not so sure any more.)
    Philodendron
  • Mint 
  • Azalea (Two lovely azalea bushes, one dark pink and the other a lighter pink.)
  • Day lily (The only plant still surviving from the original garden - not that there were many when I moved in some six or seven years ago.)
  • Echeveria (Lovely little plants - I only wish birds would not peck at them, disfiguring their leaves.)
  • Japanese maple (My pride and joy.)
  • Geranium (One pink and two red - the latter are a beauty to behold when they flower - which happens rarely in my garden)
  • Yesterday today and tomorrow (Three years on, and it is still a midget... Buy I am still hoping.) 
  • Jasmine (An absolute beauty.)
  • Camellia (Not all that robust in my garden - and very loath to flower. But when it does!...)
  • Duranta sheena gold (Undemanding and refreshing to the eye.)
  • Plumbago (Going strong, and I am constantly picking its sticky flowers out of my hair.)
  • Strawberry (Love to munch them, if the birds do not get to them first.)
  • Erigeron daisy (The closest I could find to camomile flowers.)
  • Camomile (Not at all like wild growing camomile from my childhood - but the fragrance is still lovely.)
  • Oleander (A baby oleander, really.)
  • Salvia / sage (Beautiful flowers.)
  • Rosemary (The parent plant did not survive, but four or five of its progeny are growing strong.)
  • Lemon thyme (Looks nice, smells nice too.)
  • Australian bush cherry (My attempt at topiary.)
  • Ground covers: pratia, penny royal, Irish moss, peace in the house, and some others I cannot identify any loner (Constantly fighting each other for supremacy, with a little help from me. Currently, I am biased towards Irish moss and pratia, though trying to keep the latter out of the peace-in-the-house domain.)