Front Garden

Being an avid gardener, I hate to admit that my front garden is a mess... and I really mean a mess! I have done nothing with it since we moved in except for going on a rampage last fall and chopping down all of the bush that was off the front deck along the path. We never spend time in the front yard so the back was always my first priority. Turns out, after 8 summers, it has been my only priority. Since I had dug up so many plants for our planned move, that now have to go back in, I decided that this year I will get some control over the front gardens. I have put in three new plantings in the last few days and I have the rest roughly planned out. I am hopeful that next year there will be beautiful garden photographs to post that are all taken in the front yard. Wish me luck because I have decided that next year is going to be the season that I don't move anything. So much has been moved over the last 2 years that nothing has had a chance to reach its' mature size. Next year, nothing moves unless it is way overgrown or dying. With luck, that will mean nothing moves once I am done this fall.

More Roses

It is definitely the season for roses and both Judy and I have many blooming in our gardens now. I have 5 rose shrubs that need to be replanted so I have decided to start a new rose garden in the unplanted circle at the end of the house at the front. Right now the circle contains two peony; one light pink and one dark, both double. Since all the roses I have to plant are pink or yellow, I am going to add them to that spot and have a new rose garden. It should solve the yearly weed problems there too. Today I finished the fence side of the path in the bird sanctuary and I also did about half the weeding in the Combine Garden before it was too sunny to keep working and I abandoned it until tomorrow morning. While I was weeding there, I came upon an empty hummingbird nest. It was just like the one from last year... full of Suzy and Sandy's molt hair forming a fuzzy, downy bed inside. Too cool. I found a mutant hollyhock in that garden too but did not get a picture before I lost the light. I will try to remember that for tomorrow when I am over that way.

More Fall Garden Record Notes

Another busy day in my garden. Fall chores seem endless but it was a beautiful day for gardening again and forecast is for a few more of those yet. Good thing too because despite getting a ton of work done today out there, I probably have twice as much to go before I can say the garden is put to bed for the winter.

Lifted Dahlia 'Parkland Glory', 'Ferncliff Cameo', 'Hy Cutter', 'Taratahi Ruby', 'Yvonne' and 'Wine & Roses'. My Spring map was good but not quite good enough. I have two Dahlia tubers of which, one is 'Taratahi Ruby' and one is 'Hy Cutter' but I don't know which is which. Good thing 'Hy Cutter' is white so it will go with anything and I will figure it out next year when they bloom.

Lifted Gladiolus 'Passos', Border Gladiolus, Calla 'Picasso' and all the Freesia. Potted up two more Geranium cuttings. Planted Speedwell from Judy which is different than the one I have here already. I put the Speedwell beside the two patches of German Purple Iris at the rock edge towards the Knautia. Planted Bouncing Bet in two spots: beside the Stargazer Lily in the Bird Sanctuary (to the house side) and right off the front deck beside the trellis where the Euphorbia was planted this year. Planted Monkshood beside (lawn side), the Knautia that went in the Bird Sanctuary. Moved the 'Angelique' Tulips marked in Summer to two places: in front of the furthest Delphinium in the Front House Garden and immediately right of the sidewalk where the bushline was taken down. Dark came too soon today. I was on a roll.

A Beautiful Day

We finally have beautiful weather and I spent the day cleaning up the Front House Garden. I lifted the 'Hot Lips' Dahlia and one of the Calla 'Flame'. I also planted Egyptian Onion in the Front House Garden and Lamb's Ears by the slide to the house side of the new Clematis from Calgary.I figure it should shade the root and it is far enough in front that it shouldn't interfere with the Clematis. Both the Lamb's Ears and the Egyptian Onion are divisions from Judy's Garden. Looking forward to another good weather day tomorrow when it is supposed to get even warmer!

Work Day

It was cool today but the sun was out for most of it. Another perfect garden weather day. I planted the last of the Calgary Purple Iris in two patches in the Front House Garden. The viola in that garden have done a great job at spreading. Here, it is at ground level behind the Bleeding Heart, on both sides of the Dahlia, in front of and in between the Iris. Miles hauled all the bush away that I cut down in front. The 'Ferncliff Midnight' is starting to open. Wishing tomorrow brings similar weather. I have to run into the City but the better the weather, the faster I will be back.

2011 Front House Garden Dahlia

Dahlia for 2011 in Front House Garden in oranges and yellows: 'Raeann's Torch', 'Ferncliff Fuego' and 'Baron Katie'.

New View

The front bushline is gone and has it ever opened up the view! I love it already and the stumps are not gone yet. I can see the new garden here though. The Front House Garden, in oranges above, will stay all oranges and yellows. I am going to move the pink peony from there into the new border on the other side of the sidewalk. From the sidewalk around to the fence, all through the Bird Sanctuary will be exclusively pink and white with a small amount of pale yellow because I can't resist putting 'Ferncliff Cameo' up at the house with its' soft, delicate colour blend.

Beautiful Gardening Days

The dogs took turns following me around the garden today, mostly finding shade to lay in that was close enough to keep an eye on me in case I did something exciting. I planted some of the Calgary Purple Iris in the Sun Gardens to the shop side of the variegated Dogwood. The rest of the Calgary Purple are going in the Front House Garden tomorrow. I should be done all of the Iris tomorrow unless I find more to dig than I have on my list right now. That is always a possibility once I start digging in the Nursery. I also started to clear out the front bushline along the sidewalk across from the deck. I think it was originally a couple of trees and some Juniper that was rediscovered today. We have decided to clear it out until we can figure out what it was originally or until we get down to something we like. There is the added problem of landscape fabric which seems to run all under that area. I have been cutting it out as I dig but it would be nice to just go right through the whole area and get rid of what is left of it. I hate landscape fabric and curse the unknown person who put it down every time I find more. My Dahlia 'Ferncliff Fuego' is budding up as is 'Wine & Roses' so it looks like I will see at least 2 more in bloom this year. Late frost would mean even more because there are a lot of them starting to form buds now.

Daylily Divided

I finished dividing Daylily today. There are no Stella D'Oro left in the Orange Lily Garden and no Combine Garden Daylily in the Nursery. I have Stella D'Oro in three spots in the Sun Gardens now and the orange is in three spots in that same garden as well as two spots in the Front House Garden. Tomorrow I will start dividing Iris. We are having company in the morning so I won't likely finish Iris until Sunday. I found the Dahlia above, 'Taratahi Ruby', blooming along the ground. She seems much happier since I lifted her up and another of her buds has opened in the last couple of days. The Sunflower 'Double Dandy' I seeded in the Combine Garden is blooming now. It is a dwarf Sunflower and could have been another layer closer to the front of the bed. Somehow, I was not able to imagine a two foot Sunflower when I was seeding. The darker hollyhock colours are starting to show up as well. I hadn't noticed last year that the lighter ones were early and the darker ones were late but that is definitely the way it was this year. I should try and remember to notice again next year. The perfect weather is still holding here and I am making the most of it in the garden.

Another Perfect Weather Day

I was digging all day. Dividing Daylily which is now all the way through the Sun Gardens. I have a little bit left to put in along the Front House Garden. I am really enjoying the orange out the front windows so I am going to add the Orange Daylily there tomorrow. I have a plan for finishing the Front House Garden this year but it doesn't quite include the pink Peony in the middle of it all. Somehow I will have to work that in with yellow but I have not exactly figured out how. I am sure it will come to me by the time I have planted out that far. I am so excited to be getting things done outside finally. The weather has really taken a turn for the better for me here. Tomorrow, I will be planting all the new Iris and dividing some as well. I also got the 'Kabitan' moved into the concrete block and the wilted division beside it is the Lamium from Calgary. It is already standing up and looking great now as is the white blooming I put next to the block with 'Fire & Ice' planted in it. The last garden chore on my list for tomorrow is to spread more of the groundcovers through the Sun Gardens and Front House Garden. I am spreading the less invasive ones into spots throughout now that all of the patches I have are big enough to divide. I decided to leave the Orange Daylily in the Combine Garden and am only moving the patches out of the Nursery. The Combine Garden Daylily are in full bloom and since I waited so long to see that, I don't want to dig it up. I was moving it from there into more sun so it would bloom, seems like I don't need to move it now. I will plan the other plants in that garden around the two patches of Daylily.

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.