Fall Colours in the Yard

The yard is showing signs of fall everywhere. I came around the corner to find the sun hitting these willows seemingly to remind me that winter is coming. The boardwalk Dogwood is also turning and everywhere you look in the Valley there are reds, golds and oranges. 

A Permanent Home

The 'Loraine Sunshine' baby that came from Judy's garden this year has finally found a permanent home. I dug her up when she was quite small and I have been nurturing her along in a pothead all summer. Now she has her roots in the ground and a permanent spot. It is up by St. Francis in the bird sanctuary. In this spot, I can see her up close out the dining room window and she has lots of room she can grow into. I do hope she makes it through this winter!

Hosta for Kelly

Shipping tomorrow (regular mail); ‘Carol’, ‘June’, bonus dark, ‘Dream Weaver’, ‘Christmas Candy’, ‘Wolverine’, aberdeen solid and aberdeen variegated. Total 8 hosta.

Shipping next season because they are too small to divide; ‘Thunderbolt’ and ‘Guacamole’.

Never shipping because they are lost; ‘Fire & Ice’, 'Kabitan' and ‘Stained Glass’.

Note: I discovered aberdeen solid and danielle’s tall were the same hosta so danielle’s tall does not exist anymore. My flickr is updated for all of the above.

Frost Arrived

Good thing the Fall foliage is still so pretty because frost destroyed the garden last night. Spent the day cleaning that up. Dahlia will have to be dug next week. Calla will come in tomorrow.

Virginia Creeper

We have Virginia Creeper growing all around the front deck and some underneath. It was here before we got here and I haven't made any changes to its' location other than ripping it out when it comes up between the deck boards or when it gets too close to other plants in the garden. This particular one is growing to the lawn side of the Pine off the front deck. I cut it back completely every year and every year it grows again, out of control. I like it here because nothing else will grow to the house side of that tree except for the Dropmore Honeysuckle that is now established. I have some tulips here in Spring but they never do really well. I leave them because it is nice to have colour off that deck which is in my view when I am sitting at the dining table. Every year at this time, I wish I had taken the time the year before to dig this out and put one of the other Virginia Creeper I have in this spot. Although this is lovely, it is green all year. The other variety turns red in the Fall and is just starting that now out by the 'William Baffin' rose. This is another of those things that will probably remain a passing thought in Spring turning into a fleeting regret in Fall and be forgotten in between. Lost between the space I am gardening and the time I am willing to spend. That is OK, though. It is hard to complain about something this reliable and one Spring, I may have that thought with a shovel in my hand. You never know.

The Gravel Strip

The Boardwalk Garden was given its' name because it runs along the wood walkway from the drive to the house. It is a two level garden to the house side of the walk that leads up into Benedict's Garden if you follow the weeding path. To the drive side of the walk there is a gravel strip that runs along the top of a retaining wall leading down to the deck drive. Although the wall was not designed to be a stairway, all of the animals use it like it was so there is no fighting their constant movement through the strip. An added problem for plants is that nutrient stealing mature trees run all the way down the strip providing only very dappled shade. In my desire to add colour, texture or both to this space, I have tried many strategies. The strategy that has worked the best to date is planting climbing plants on the deck drive below that will grow up the wall and over the gravel. At the front of the Boardwalk Garden, I have 'William Baffin' rose and Red Virginia Creeper that are doing this nicely. Further back, it becomes harder for this to be successful because the same trees begin to shade the deck drive edge heavily. Only Goutweed will grow there. When cleaning out the garden tool shed, we found three of these hollow centre concrete blocks and they have become my latest strategy for the gravel strip. I have planted 'Fire and Ice' at the base of one tree and am going to plant 'Kabitan' under another in the second block. The soil in the blocks keeps the Hosta roots out of the same ground as the tree roots and makes it as easy as a container to look after while still protecting the Hosta root from the winter cold. The concrete block is more than thick enough to do that and keep the dogs from stepping on the Hosta. Dogs always take the easiest route. Next, I am going to root various low but spreading groundcovers along the bottom edge to soften all the grey. Probably sedums of different varieties since they grow well in gravel and shade. Things that will spread slowly and stay low enough for the dogs to step on without doing too much damage. Not pink Lamium. 

In Linda's Garden

Papyrus 'King Tut' in Linda's garden today. Another view there. We got all the plants in that I brought with me. Enjoying a garden I don't have to weed. 

Flower Power

A garden journal post with photo links so I don't forget to tell Linda anything :) I am always amazed at what continues to thrive despite my gardening philosophy of what can't survive on neglect should be in someone else's garden. I have no time for fussy plants that need any special attention, nevermind those that need to be literally coddled ! I am so glad there are so many plants that are not fussy. Although it looks like a pink Lupin patch, I planted yellow as well. Six buds opening today and they are all pink. The rainstorm turned the 'Therese Bugnet' into a pink carpet. I got a shot of Benedict's Abu Hassan open although it is just about done. I think if I blew on that flower the petals would fall but it is still stunning. The second bloom of the dark yellow Iris opened while the sun was out along with the red Columbine. The double blue Iris look very purple in the sun and the blue and whites opened on the other side of the entryway today. The mixed pinks - red, pink and white are opening but so far only a single white. The pink spirea, sanctuary peony, and white Bleeding Heart are all in bud. The peony are full of little red ants that bite and I keep forgetting that until I am getting bitten on the wrist, just above the glove. My first food crop besides edible flowers is Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' and they are up. Miles' fern patch got cleared out a few days ago and it has grown to sixteen. Iris was the word of the day though and they are blooming everywhere. Oh, and you asked me to mention when my delphinium started. It was a busy day in the garden here. I couldn't use the shovel so I decided to use the camera.

The Chameleon

Today was all about tulips and weeding. We had some sun and the tulips started to come alive finally. This is Tulip 'Antoinette', which opens pale yellow and constantly changes to end up bright yellow with raspberry markings. From the picture of it in the catalogue, I expect the parts that look white in this photo will be the raspberry. It also has great variegated foliage. The 'Happy Generation' were budding up today and should look like Red 'Zurel' tulips with variegated foliage when they are fully open. The 'Lipgloss' are getting more pink by the day and are starting to look more like their catalogue picture too. The Plum Pudding Mix that was looking mostly white got another purple bloom today and I was able to get a pathway shot with the 'Lipgloss' and 'Salmon Impression' together. I tried to plant in the ground but only got a couple of dahlia in when it became really clear it was too wet to dig. Our soil can turn to concrete if you dig it when it is too wet so I settled for planting in the firepit pots. I got a lot done and it was a good thing because tomorrow I am planting my Aunt's garden and I am told that Monday we are getting rain.

Every Plant Has a Story

In this photo you can see both my light pink and my dark pink Lamium. Many years ago, I planted 3 of the dark pink and now have carpets of it. Lamium loves my garden. The light pink showed up at the bottom of the stepping stone steps in Benedict's Garden a few years ago. I have tried to move it and it either does not survive or it comes up dark. Hard to tell which. So it remains an oddity that belongs only to Benedict. It grows in an inconvenient spot in that garden but I am loathe to move or uproot it for fear of losing it altogether. There are few things that don't have 4 legs and bark that I will move a pathway for. This Lamium may become one of them this year. 'Mickey Mouse' tulips and Anemone started blooming today and the 'Monte Carlo' are still going strong. I discovered that the 2 patches of pink tulips uncovered in the Nursery are definitely 'Angelique' and although they are blooming small, there are lots of them. We didn't have a lot of sunshine today but at least there was no rain.

Sunrays Arrive

They had forecast snow for today but they were wrong. It was mostly grey and still way too wet to dig but there were long periods where the sunrays fought to shine through. It was a great day for weeding and cleaning up winter debris in the yard. There is a lot more to do but it was a good start. It was nice to be out all day even if it did mean a jacket. Bring on the sunshine :)

Spring Shoots

Spring shoots are up everywhere in my garden ! This allium, along with lily-of-the-valley, tulips, siberian iris, narcissus, and tarda, are some of the bulbs that are up. The tarda are in bloom with the lily not far behind. I am still not seeing all of my new tulips but I am seeing enough of them to keep me hopeful that the rest are on their way. I can see delphinium, coral bells, and columbine coming but the only other blooms today are on the wild violet. Such an exciting time of year...