Saturday's Roundup at the Memphis Fling

We're just about a month past the Garden Fling in Memphis, and it's still replaying pleasantly in my memory. We toured the greatest number of gardens on Saturday, including several in the Lenox neighborhood, with its whimsical, welcoming personality.

Here are a few highlights, in no particular order:



At the Jeff McMillen home, Bigleaf Hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) (first photo), potted plants, and diverse perennials greeted us at the entrance. The soil in most of Memphis seemed to be neutral, as the Hydrangea blooms ranged from bright pink to medium blue.





The gardens of David Babij and Brian Spight offered a warm, tropical, comfortable sitting area, creative plant combinations, and artful statuaries.





Creative facial displays, beautiful water features, and natural elements combined in the gardens of Chip Morrison.





The lovely front gardens and beautiful tile borders at Kathy Ake and Leigh Powell's property were colorful and inspiring.





A comfortably arranged patio area at Ellen and John Hornyak's home was inviting, along with nooks and crannies featuring lovely plants, like this Rough-Leaved Hydrangea (H. aspera).



What a fun welcome greeted us at the home of Michael and Patti McClain, with Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) and directions to the back garden.



Several artfully decorated milk jugs, full of fun plants, graced the garden walls.





Shawna Engel and Seamus Loftus offered comfy seating and a beautifully planted walkway.

Also, this was one of the sweetest highlights of Saturday, and the entire Fling:

Recognition of our group's visit to the Lenox neighborhood along a historical wall.

Our next visits were located in the Central Gardens neighborhood:









Frank Armstrong and Terry Clark welcomed us with their grand, elegant front facade and their warm and welcoming lushly landscaped back garden. Water features and creative bird houses and decorations piqued my interest.





At the garden of Margot McNeely and Gary Backaus, warm lighting and potted plants lined the back stairs and plots filled with Canna Lilies (Canna x) and other colorful blooms greeted us throughout the property.



Their expansive rows of Coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) brought many smiles.



And the pool looked inviting, even on a rainy day.

The garden of Dr. Mark Mills and Scott Haynes included many lovely water features, sitting areas, and of course fun plants, like this Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii).

Later, we headed to the suburb of Bartlett:









Linda Pittman's garden featured many cornflower blue elements that matched the blue Hydrangeas, including blue shutters, a shed, pots for plants, and more.

Creativity and beauty greeted us once again at the home of Laurie and Tom Rieman. A rope beehive-style mailbox, Evergreen Wisteria (Wisteriopsis reticulata), and a neighborhood cutting garden welcomed us out front.



Water features and lovely plants adorned the back and side areas.





Beautiful landscaping, statuaries, and whimsical art ruled at the garden of Jean Ward-Jones.



The pollinators were enjoying her Cedarglade St. Johnswort (Hypericom frondosum).



A notable feature of Jean's garden was her colorful collection of leaf-imprinted and decorated garden art.

The final event of the day was our dinner and tour of the Annesdale Mansion property:



The mansion, itself, was fascinating and beautiful.





The gardens were lovely and evolving.

The Memphis team leads the program.

And the gathering with friends was great fun.

It was a full and fabulous day! 

Stay tuned for more coverage of the Memphis Garden Fling here, and on the Fling website.

Six on Saturday: Rose Blooms at Peak Display

I'm "borrowing" an idea AND I'm cheating for this Six on Saturday. The borrowed idea is to focus on one type of plant/bloom, in this case Roses. I'm cheating because I'm including one that isn't quite blooming yet (on the arbor in the first photo above), but I'm including a bloom from last year:

1. This is Climbing Prairie Rose (Rosa setigera), and for some reason it's simply taking a little longer to bloom this year than last year. But it's a beauty when it happens.

All the others here are blooming or have just finished blooming:



2. Here's an unknown cultivar that was here when we moved to this property more than 20 years ago, and it wasn't marked. It's a short little buddy, but it has a beautiful color and shape.



3. Next is Rosa X Oso Easy Double Pink. It's perhaps the hardiest and longest-blooming Rose in my garden. I started out with two shrubs of different sizes, and over the years the smaller one has caught up with the larger one.



4. Rosa X  'At Last' is such a lovely color, and the scent is amazing. It doesn't bloom as long as some of the others, but it's a beautiful flower, and sometimes a repeat bloomer.



5. Another unmarked Rose that greeted us when we moved in all those years ago, this one above is ruffly, hardy, and a deep Fuchsia color.

6. Finally, here's the Rose my paternal great-grandfather created, we think by crossing a tea Rose with a wild Rose. The story of its beginning goes back to a farm in Minnesota (northern U.S.) in the early 20th Century. Our family nicknames for it are 'Sweet Mary' and 'Grandpa Buffham Rose.'

I have a couple more Rose varieties in the garden, but they will have to wait for another post. Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations for hosting Six on Saturday!