Tag: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day

Bloom Day in May: Mugongo

Cindy at enclos*ure9 Comments

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My parents were visiting us last week, and we took an overnight trip to the north of Rwanda. We made a stop at Mugongo, the former home and plantation of long-time American resident Roz Carr, who founded Imbabazi Orphanage in 1994, reworking her old farm buildings.

You can read about Roz’s life in Rwanda, from 1949 to 2006, here.

The long English-style flower borders looked particularly colorful as we near the end of the rainy season. Among the many plants blooming were calla lilies, hybrid tea roses, crocosmias, cannas, calendulas, fuchsias, violets, ageratum, hydrangeas, borage, sedum, Santa Barbara and Shasta daisies, azaleas, irises, dahlias, begonias, and day lilies.

It is a credit to Roz’s good strong design and to the continuing dedication of the gardeners she trained that the garden is still so beautiful, almost eight years after her death.

Click here for more information about the Imbabazi Foundation and how to visit the Mugongo garden.

You can scroll through more (and larger) photos by clicking on ‘Continue reading’ below and then on any of the thumbnail images.

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day (the 15th day of every month). Continue reading “Bloom Day in May: Mugongo” →

More Bloom Day in March

Cindy at enclos*ure7 Comments

The borders along the upper lawn in our Kigali garden are blooming particularly well this month. I took these pictures yesterday.

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(You can control the slideshow by hovering the cursor over it. Or you can scroll through larger versions of the photos by clicking on ‘Continue reading’ below and then on any thumbnail in the gallery.)

Our front garden is a rather formal arrangement of two long lawns that run parallel to each other and to the length of the house and its terrace. The narrow upper one is separated from the much wider lower one by two sets of 3′ retaining walls, which are joined in the center by a flight of steps. Irregularly curving planting beds border both sides of the lower lawn and one side of the upper.

I’ve tried to balance the formal layout with an informal, sort of “country garden” planting plan. The beds contain a closely planted mix of tropical and temperate plants and shrubs. Most are cultivated, but the “wild” plants and vines that work their self-seeding way up through the jumble can stay if they they add nice textures or colors.

The beds between the retaining walls and the one along the far side of the lower lawn are anchored by several large, often flowering, shrubs and lianas, and even some small trees.

Because of the vigorous plants and the constant warm weather, I’m always pruning or chopping something back.

Almost every plant repeats in the garden, often in several places.  But each 7′ to 15′ section of border has its own primary and secondary colors and then a bit of a third color trailing through the middle or around the edges.

The border along the upper lawn starts out orange and white (with a little pink) at its south end, then becomes yellow and blue/purple with some orange to the center steps. On the north side of the steps, it is yellow and blue/purple again with a stronger trail of orange (red hot poker, lantana, tropical hibiscus). At the north end, it is red and pink with blue around the edges.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is the 15th of every month. To see what’s blooming today in other bloggers’ gardens, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

My earlier March Bloom Day post today is here.
Continue reading “More Bloom Day in March” →

Bloom Day in March

Cindy at enclos*ure11 Comments

March Bloom Day in our Kigali garden - abutilon and red hot pokersAn abutilon and a red hot poker in our Kigali garden this week.

March Bloom Day in our Kigali garden - abutilon and red hot pokers

March Bloom Day in our Kigali garden - abutilon and red hot pokers

A little later today, I’ll have some wider Bloom Day views of flowers in our garden (they’re here).

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is the 15th of every month. To see what’s blooming today in other bloggers’ gardens, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

January Bloom Day: white hollyhock

Cindy at enclos*ure10 Comments

Bloom Day/enclos*ure: hollyhock

One hollyhock plant came up among the pole beans and kale in our vegetable garden.

Bloom Day/enclos*ure: hollyhock

It started blooming last week.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is the 15th of every month.  To see what’s blooming today in other bloggers’ gardens, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.
—Buddha

Bloom Day in December: 50 shades

Cindy at enclos*ure11 Comments

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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.