“Washington, D.C., gateway to an old house on Georgia Avenue, N.W.,” March 1942, by John Ferrell, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
That was some gate, although it was in pretty bad shape at the time of the photo (click the image to get a larger view). I think the style is gothic.
And some house too. Does anyone know if it’s still standing?
Mt. Kigali, Monday evening.
I’m a bit late, but I did want to show off my 25 rosemary plants (on the left, below), which grew from cuttings that I took from a single big old plant that was in the garden when we arrived here.
(Especially since the gardener expressed grave doubts at the time that they would root and grow.)
The photo above shows the passage between the vegetable garden on the left and the cutting garden on the right, walking toward the south end of the upper lawn.
By the way, that huge, dark green tree in the upper left corner is what your potted weeping fig would look like over time — in the ground, in a constantly warm climate.
I started the cuttings about 18 months ago.* Now the plants are 2′ to 3′ tall,
except at the very end, on the left above. Those plants — which will finish out the row — are about 6 months old.
Above, on the left, is the mother plant. Just to the right of it is a little patch of alpine strawberries, which I grew from a packet of seeds.
I divided them recently, so they look a bit skimpy. The tiny fruit does have a more pronounced and almost perfume-y taste, compared with larger strawberries.
As I am giving you a couple of my success stories, I should also show you the flip side — above.
This is the one Rudbeckia hirta or black-eyed Susan to germinate out of an entire packet of seeds — a plant that has a reputation for generous self-seeding. I have big hopes for it, though. It’s a pretty showy native American plant.
Thanks to Pam at Digging, who hosts Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Follow Up on the 16th of every month. Click here and see what’s happening in other gardens.
*I cut pieces that were a little or not quite woody, stripped the ends of leaves, and stuck them in a slightly sunken, slightly shaded place. Then, I kept the ground there damp for a few months. After I transplanted them, I was also careful to water the new plants almost daily for a few weeks.
I know that posting a lot of flower closeups is the soft porn of garden blogging,* but I find that I’m not above it.
I live in Rwanda, which explains all the color in December. If you are reading from the recently snowy northern hemisphere, I’m very sorry, and you may avert your eyes.
Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day on the 15th of every month. Click here and see what’s blooming in other climes.
This is my second post today. “The Sunday porch” is here.
*Or of any garden publishing, outside of botany books.
Looking through a “slat screen” from the back porch of a house on Randolph Street (probably N.W.), Washington, D.C., May 1942, by John Ferrell, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
OK, it’s possible that I’m easily amused.
Also, I have holiday shopping to do. . . and it’s Bloom Day. (So more later.)
John Ferrell was a photographer for the Farm Security Administration when he took these photos.
Randolph Street, N.W., runs east-west through the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life.
I want a peek at the back. . .— Gwendolyn Brooks, from “a song in the front yard“
enclos*ure 