Photographing the Garden | Plants in Our Home ②

Continuing from last time, here is an introduction to the plants I have planted in our home's sloped garden.
I would like to write about the characteristics of the sloped garden as well, but since there are so many varieties this time, I will save that for another occasion.

The previous article can be found here.

Lavender Grosso

Lavender Grosso is said to be exceptionally resistant to drought and extreme heat among all lavender varieties.
In fact, all four plants are growing well in our garden, which is in full sun all day.

Unlike English lavender, which has flower stalks that stand up straight and beautifully, Grosso's flower stalks flop over in all directions in a rather pathetic way.
I can't say it looks very stylish during the flowering season, but in other seasons, the silver leaves grow into round, bushy shapes that are quite cute.
I think it would be lovely to arrange beige rocks to support the drooping flowers, which would also serve as soil retention for the slope, but my husband keeps refusing because the work of moving rocks is too difficult.

Since the flowers that tend to droop come up in large numbers around June, I plan to try making essential oil next year.

Gaillardia Grape Sensation

Gaillardia, a member of the daisy family.
Small flowers in a sophisticated grape color bloom one after another. Once they finish blooming, the pistils in the center become round pom-poms, and eventually turn into fluff.
Perhaps because the germination rate of the seeds that fly away with the fluff is low, they don't increase explosively, but they are gradually spreading.

Lisbon Lemon

Lisbon lemons and Meyer lemons are widely grown in Japan. Neither is particularly cold-hardy, but if anything, the Lisbon lemon is especially sensitive to cold.
Despite that, I planted it in an area of our garden where cold gusts of wind blow down. Thanks to that, despite being an evergreen tree, it lost a lot of leaves at the end of last year and looked quite sad. I'm sorry, Lisbon.
My mother's friend, whom we both look up to as a garden master, advised us that it would become more cold-resistant once it matures, so we are keeping an eye on it for now.
It was about 80cm tall when planted and is now over 2m, but I plan to prune it down to about two-thirds of its height during this winter's pruning.

Rose Vive les Vacances!

I have two varieties of roses planted: Cherry Bonica, which has neon red flowers, and Vive les Vacances!, which has vibrant orange flowers.
I planted Vive les Vacances, drawn to the name which means 'Long live the vacation!', but it struggled with powdery mildew and lost quite a few leaves.
The new buds above that were eaten by weevils, so I couldn't see the flowers for a while, but the sight of a single flower blooming for the first time in a while was striking.

I had planted both varieties in the middle of the slope, but I'm planning to transplant them this winter, thinking it might be easier to manage roses, which require a lot of care, if they are planted in a more accessible location.

Blueberry

I am growing four varieties of blueberries.
I planted them in the ground after they had been in pots for a long time, so the main trunks needed to be renewed, and I tried some heavy pruning last winter.
I am relieved that some shoots have emerged that look like they will become the next main trunks.

Since planting them in the ground, none of the blueberries have been growing very well, and I'm thinking it might be better to replace the soil. I'll keep an eye on them for a while.

Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea'

The leaf color and stems of the 'Purpurea' are beautiful, but I can't seem to get the tree shape right at all... I wonder how other people who grow them manage to shape them.