Garden Details: Willow Edging & English Roses

18 comments:
Our rear garden in Ojai is somewhat English inspired, so I thought willow edging would be a nice idea around the rose hedges.   The English call this type of garden element a hurdle.

The center of the rose garden path will have a stone plinth topped with some sort of a vintage planter, which I've yet to get to...maybe next month. ?! 
The willow edging is about 12" inches high and comes in lengths of 48" inches. It is fairly easy to install and is also somewhat flexible so it worked out well around the curves of the center path.  
I purchased this from a company called Master Gardening Products. 
 They sell some really great things from sustainable Eco friendly materials, including oak barrels and birdhouses as well as bamboo trellis's and fencing.
If you're looking for an exact straight edge, this isn't the product.  But I think when the roses fill in this will be very interesting and it sets off the design of the decomposed granite pathway.
The biggest obstacle with this edging is cutting it to fit to your design.  It falls completely apart!  I ended up doing some overlapping and then secured each section with stakes and plastic electrical wire ties, on the inside of the edging
 so they are not visible.  
I would definitely recommend getting a few extra lengths just for piecing the edging together.  This took me an entire day to finish! 



  Each bed has 10 roses of the same variety.  Above is Evelyn.  I also chose Graham Thomas, The Generous Gardener and Queen of Sweden for the rest of the beds.  
Because these roses were developed for the English garden, they don't require as much sun as an American Hybrid.  I think these will thrive in this location under the filtered sunlight of the large Oaks.


 There are a variety of edging styles, some a bit more fancy than this one.  I think simple works better here.
 The little hoops at the top can be pulled out if you don't like them. 
Here are a few more shots of some things that just popped up this last week....wonderful old fashioned Bearded Iris


This beautiful plant is Kniphofia "Red Hot Poker"  It gets about 5 feet tall and is honey bee  and hummingbird heaven.  These are drought tolerant and will bloom through out the summer.

Lime green is another color element that works well and adds bright spots to the perennial beds.  This is Smoketree "golden spirit". 

 The color palette for the garden is mainly orange and purple.  I spotted this new petunia at the local nursery.  It's called "Pretty Much Picasso" and has a bright purple center with lime green edges!  It is so bright and fun.  I really love it. Great name too.

I think I wore out a pair of garden gloves last weekend and used up an entire can of mosquito repellent but seeing at the results. It was worth it!

Happy Gardening













18 comments:
  1. Hi Kelley,

    Are you aware of what you are doing to me?

    Are you aware of how lucky you are?

    Are you aware that this garden is jaw-droppingly gorgeous?

    As you may or may not know I too have a rose garden although mine looks nothing like yours. It is probably 100 yrs old and is not laid out in such stunning fashion. When I run away, I'm coming to your house!

    ~janet

    ReplyDelete
  2. So pretty, I love looking at your beautiful garden pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is all stunning Kelley and I love the willow edging. I'm going to check out that site and see about some of that myself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I held the opinion for many years that petunias were trailer park flowers along with marigolds. Whether they've made a comeback or I've changed my opinion (about petunias), I'm not sure. But I'm tickled pink over the Pretty Much Picassos. And if you have any marigolds, I apologize.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh...willow borders...ton's O'Roses...Plinths...decomposed gravel paths...I think we ALL need to run away to your house! You won't even notice us...we'll be as quiet as little churchmice!

    Tell me...what do you have under your oak in the background? Rocks? Shells?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am in love with the willow edging! you have inspired my gardening thoughts...that's as far as it goes for now just "thoughts" :) maybe next year I can put my thoughts to work! Thanks for the inspiration and your lovely post! I love your sense of decorating etc.!!
    xoxo's nancy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Janet, Please just pack and bring some gardening gloves!

    Steve( Urban Cottage): yes I do agree about petunias and marigolds being a bit dowdy but the super-tunia hybrids are amazing, marigolds...no so much. I haven't planted a marigold for years.

    Hi Linda, what great eyes you have. I did a few posts about the rocks around the Oaks, yes they are rocks. Oaks are very touchy trees, especially these old guys which are around 100 and most are not in great shape. Root protection is key as is keeping water away from the base of the tree. It's also an "Ojai thing" you will see all over the valley!

    La Borda Bleu, what a great name and what a nice comment, thanks so much Nancy!

    And I think the willow edging is a nice garden element for any sized garden, it's very natural looking an a fun little project.

    xxookelley

    ReplyDelete
  8. PS I can't spell so please forgive my typos : )

    ReplyDelete
  9. You did a wonderful job with the willow edging! It's beautiful and I can't wait to see how it looks with the roses! Worth every bit of frustration and time! xo Jessica

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kelley,

    Your garden is absolutely stunning! You need to teach a gardening seminar! I would love to learn how - I planted a veggie garden last spring, and the only thing that lasted was my parsley (I mean really - who CAN'T keep mint alive?????) I think I over water then under water. You're garden reminds me of Merrill Streep's garden in "It's Complicated!" To die for!!

    As always, can't wait to see more!
    Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm sure I probably say this in every comment...but you are simply amazing! Your garden is stunning...I love the natural rustic willow edging...I think the combo of rustic willow and elegant roses makes for a beautiful look. Job well done!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kelley,
    I can't tell you HOW much I ADORE this garden, this house, the other house, etc, etc...I'm one of your greatest fans! (i've probably said that before)
    I'm SO glad you shared the willow website b/c I spotted this willow fencing at a garden store in Austin a couple of yrs ago and didn't buy it b/c if i remember right it was 2x the price of this website....when we start doing more gardens (another goal in the coming months) I'm definitely going to order some! We too are rose fanatics & excited to see our rose bushes this yr are thriving b/c they matured finally....last yr they were wimpy.
    You are an inspiration as always....
    (i haven't made it to the camera store to fix my camera prob. but as soon as i can download photos again, i'll share the latest house addition w/you!)
    have a great day......
    p.s. I love that Evelyn rose and it's my Mom's name & my middle name...so, I may just have to order those! (great Mom's Day gift!)
    xoxox

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your garden is wonderful and I love the willow edging. How wonderful to have roses in your garden. I have one rose bush in a planter on my deck. The deer striped my roses down to the stems so I eventually removed them. I am on my way to check out the edging.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for showing me those Petunias! fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Garden edging - and Ipswich for over 20 years, Brisbane Kerbing Services offers a wealth of knowledge. We travel far and wide and offer all modern designs with old fashion service.

    ReplyDelete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

~*~love to hear from you~*~

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.