Garden 'siteseeing' around the world

There are always elements of familiarity as well as diversity when we travel far from home. This week's Web visits to gardeners in Croatia, New Zealand, Germany, and Canada certainly confirms that, as we see plants we know well and those that are new acquaintances.

Lady Greenthumb's Garden is in Zagreb, Croatia. Currently looking good there are roses, asters, cosmos, ornamental grasses, and brilliant fall foliage.

In a discussion about tree spurge (Euphorbia dendroides), though, she says she's drawn to less-spectacular plants: "I always loved to go astray and find delight in all those neglected, out-of-the-ordinary specimens which were doing their best to draw someone's attention, but were obviously poorly informed on the current trends in the world."

I enjoyed tagging along on her guided tour of Zagreb and could almost see the gaslights glowing at dusk and hear the cannon that's shot off to announce that it's noon.

I also applauded this very season-appropriate quote from Nathaniel Hawthorn that she had posted: "I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."

There's so much going on at Moosey's Country Garden in New Zealand that the site isn't always easy to navigate. Annuals, perennials, Hampton Court Flower Show, garden seats, New Zealand journeys -- click on any of the icons, and you're in for a treat.

But you might want to start at the current posts that Mary -- called Moosey by her children -- writes.

There's also a monthly newsletter. In October she's talking about the tulips in her spring garden, blue corydalis, camellias, and 2009 calendars.

Like the cute little plants usually called hens and chicks? Then you'll be thrilled by sempervivums as far as you can see when Wurzerl’s Garden (Garten-Impressionen)attends a workshop and meets the head of the online sempervivum forum.

Another time, Wurzerl -- who lives and gardens in a small town near Munich -- allows us join her as she visits a lovely hillside garden in Bavaria. That's a trio of visits with one click of the mouse.

Nancy Bond carries on a gardening Soliloquy  in beautiful, peaceful Nova Scotia, where she's a writer and photographer.

This month, she sets out on Canada's Thanksgiving Day to view the fall colors, which are just as you might expect -- perfectly gorgeous.

Because my husband, a city guy, is a big admirer of paintings and photos of farm outbuildings, I took special note of the old barn and rustic garden shed she'd photographed.

What is it that's so appealing about these rustic structures? (And did you know that there was a movement in the US to preserve old barns?)

It was a good way to end a visit to a few of the Web's interesting gardeners -- thinking about the past with barns, admiring the present (leaves), and looking to the future -- next week's garden visits and new ideas for 2009's garden.