Willa & Tara's Garden

Despite the drought...

2009-06-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

... the sunny side of the yard is surviving with regular soakings.
Dianthus & peony

Diabolo Nine Bark... $14.99 at Canadian Tire earlier this year so I had to get it.

Achillia

And some sort of Aquilegia

I like the look of the sun shining through the Johnson's Blue geranium.
Spurge

I think the blue bush clematis looks great next to the Black Lace Sambucus!

The new shade garden started this spring

2009-06-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

The new shade bed is settling in and I like it. The red columbine (Aquilegia) has powdery mildew, I think, but it is looking strong and flowering for a second time so I guess its OK.

And the clematis seem to be doing well... other than the one that died! Nelly Moser has a flower and 2 buds and the other two are growing like crazy and appear to be setting buds too. :-)

So far...

2009-06-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

... I've managed to keep the potted plants alive despite the unusually dry weather. Lets hope they survive my mini-holiday next week!

June

2009-06-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

June has been dry but the perennials are doing their best. Lots of things are blooming now, including the Bushy Blue Bell clematis. This is a perennial I planted last year and it is about 18 inches tall now and very well behaved. I thought that, being a clematis, it might be a little unruly but it is very self-contained. The flowers form in between two leaves that form a pocket. As you can see in this fuzzy picture the leaves separate and the flower buds are revealed.
As the flowers age the petals twist and the flower turns up more so that the stamens are revealed. I'll try to get a picture of the seed tufts later in the season.

And the sedum and dianthus are gorgeous too.

Weeding

2009-06-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I created a large garden bed on the west and south side of the back yard. It starts off narrow and gradually tapers until its about 11 feet across in the corner and then it tapers back to about 6 feet where it hits the walkway. After I planted it I kept it up for a few years but then a changing vision for the backyard and a lack of energy due to illness conspired to lead me to neglect the bed and grass and that nasty spreading campanula that is everywhere took over. Well now my energy levels are back and I need to clean up the bed. I figured the cool weather this weekend would provide the perfect opportunity to get stuck in and I was right! I spent probably 9 hrs pulling out 2 foot high grass and campanula with a garden fork and I'm somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 done. The tangle of roots was incredible but somethings survived in the mess... German iris, a peony with lots of buds, a varigated artemisia, a large family of hens and chicks, some purple aubretia, a dianthus that was supposed to be an annual but returns as a larger clump every year, several sedums and an aquilegia have surfaced so far. I can hardly wait to see what else turns up!

Going To Pot

2009-06-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Every year I seem to plant more pots with annuals and with perennials which I plant in the garden in the fall.

Spring, Act II

2009-06-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Everything seems to be blooming at once now... crabapple, cherry, carragana and lilac... its a photographer's paradise and an allergy suffers nightmare! Since I fall into both categories I can't decide whether I should rejoice or complain. :-) My garden is continuing to grow as you can see from the pictures.

Reel mower

2009-05-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

Its been so busy in the garden lately that I haven't had a chance to post or take pictures. I had company for a while and then had to put in all the plants that waited out the late frosts in the garage. I may have lost a fern but all of the remaining plants seem to be doing well. Of course the real test will be to see if they show up next year!

In between planting and weeding I'm trying to stay on top of the rapid lawn growth. I can't wait until its all gone but that will be a few years. This year I hope to remove the center concrete path and dig up all the grass in the back yard, except for the pathways. The sods will be used to build a low berm with two "peaks" and a flagstone path through a shallow valley. That will give the flat yard some interest and allow me to plant more of those alpine plants I love.

Since the lawn square footage is decreasing all the time I'm finding the electric lawn mower harder and harder to use so I have been planning to replace it with a reel mower. Maybe I should call it a push mower because every time I say "reel mower" I get a look that says, "yes, mine is real too". :-) Canadian Tire has a sale on so I got a 14" Yardworks model. The size is perfect but I think the handle might be a bit flimsy. I really haven't put it to a fair test though because the grass was far longer than this type of mover is designed to handle. I will try it again next weekend and I'll bet it will handle a week's worth of growth better than the 6-8" I made it chew through last night.

Lousy weather

2009-05-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much to say lately because I've been so dismayed by the weather. It has been cool with sub-zero temperatures several times in the last week so I moved the plants that are still in pots to the garage and the unheated front porch. The plants that are in the ground are now under floating row covers and old bed sheets. It looks just horrible and I'm worried the protection won't be enough since the forecast now calls for snow. So much for the May Long-weekend being the start of summer.

Most of time I like living in Edmonton... the weather is not as bad as you might think and the pests are limited to mosquitoes, ants and wasps. No cockroaches the size of aircraft carriers, no alligators, poisonous snakes or rats, we really have an easy time of it here. Today, however, I'm shaking my fist at the sky and wondering why I don't move to a zone 5 or 6 area!

Here's a picture of Narcissus Jetfire that's blooming in the garden in defiance of the return of winter! Come on Jetfire, warm the arctic blast!

May showers bring June flowers!

2009-05-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy we got some real rain today. If I had a rain gauge I'd know how much. I really should get one! But we got enough to make things nice and wet and that is exactly what we needed.

It was too wet to take pictures but I do have some garden pictures on flickr that haven't appeared here.

... and the bulbs are continuing to prosper...

2009-05-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Scillla

and Chionodoxa

are doing nicely!

New shade garden update

2009-05-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday I planted most of the plants I bought or grew for this area... it felt great to get them in before the rain but I was too exhausted to take pictures so I took some today. These show the light of the setting sun lighting up the plants and I think it looks lovely. I still need to add a couple of shrubs. I'm thinking of putting a Pinky Winky Hydrangea and a Sem False Spirea (Sorbata sp.) Then I'll put in a soaker hose and top it off with mulch and some branches and rocks to give it more natural look.

Shade Garden "Before"

2009-05-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

Not much to see, is there? It should be looking much better in a week or two.

2009-05-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

The cold snap is finally over and we are getting seasonal temperatures. I'm still under lifting restrictions but I'm healing well so I'm digging a new flower bed today. I started yesterday, very, very carefully and slowly and it was OK so I'll continue today. The area is near the elm trees on the street. The elm leaves have been falling and decaying here for years and when I moved in 7 years ago I started piling excess leaves here as well so the ground is nice and soft and loamy. I'm sure a shovel full of leafy soil weighs less than 10 lbs. The area gets morning sun and just a slip of sun an hour before sunset so I'm planning a shade garden here.

I planted a pagoda dogwood last year in the corner. Its supposed to be barely hardy here but I don't know if it made it. I don't see much that could be interpreted as leaf buds. The leaves fell off early last year, in September, I think, so I wonder if its dead. Its not crispy so I'll leave it for a bit to see what happens.

I also want to plant a Pinky Winky hydrangea in the corner and one or two Sem False Spirea (Sorbaria). I'll have to leave room for them as I've also bought a bunch of shade and semi-shade lovers... a couple of hostas, spirea, aquelegia (columbine), heuchera, ferns, solmon's seal, Cornus canadensis, ajuga, saxifrage, epimedium, etc. and I'm going to put them out today. Jim Hole said yesterday that we could plant perennials now, that a late frost won't harm them, and perennials are outside at the garden centres so I'm taking him at his word. Before and "in progress" photos later.

Once I have planted these new acquistions I'll start renovating the bed along the path to the front door. I have big plans for this area but I have to wait until the hostas show their noses so I don't stick my showel in the wrong place. More on that later.

Watering

2009-04-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

Since we don't get much spring rain I decided to water a bit today. Of course the cap at the end of the soaker house I left under the mulch all winter was loose and when I tried to tighten it, it came off altogether and gave me a nice soaking! I enjoyed that!

While I was out there I used my newly constructed garbage spear to clear 2 grocery bags worth of junk from the flowerbeds. Even though I took it very easy my incisions were sore after that so I took a few pictures and headed back to the couch. I have to remember that its only been 5 days since surgery!

I took some more pictures of the bulbs poking up.
I'm becoming convinced that these are tulips:

And these are Prince Claus crocus:

Last year's echinacea seed heads look great!

Signs of spring!

2009-04-15T12:51:00.001-07:00

My garden is bursting with life now... if you know where to look. Bud are swelling on the trees, bulbs are poking up and the evergreen perennials are perking up.

Its all very exciting! I just wish I'd kept a record of which bulbs I planted where, last fall! I'll have to keep the camera handy and create a record as they come up. The armeria in the first picture always looks rough at this time of year but it will fill in again by June.

The aubretia is looking good.

I love the shape of this bulb as it is bursting forth... I wonder what it is?

These are obviously crocus...

I will have to plant a low growing perennial over them this year.

Speaking of my kitchen window...

2009-04-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

The large kitchen window faces south and is quite sunny so its my nursery at this time of year. Kathy lent me a plant stand she wasn't using and you can see my potting bench, AKA the kitchen table, too. Don't ask me where I'm going to put the plants that are on the table! I always get so carried away at the time of year! Maybe in the unheated front porch? It faces north but that is were these plants are going so they might as well get used to the low light. I'll keep the door open so that the temp won't drop too much or I could put the little oil radiator in there if it gets chilly again.

The amaryllis is in bloom too. It used to flower around New Year's but, every year, it flowers a little later. This is a house plant but I'll take the pot outside in June to give it a little vacation.

Easter Bunny!

2009-04-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

OK, well, I'll admit this is a hare not a rabbit and its not really Easter today but, nevertheless, I was pleased to see this cutie in the garden cleaning up some spilled birdseed and nibbling on the grass. The pictures were taken through my kitchen window so they aren't great.

Good Rain Day

2009-04-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Its Good Friday and what a glorious spring day! There's just a tiny bit of snow left in the yard and all the trees and shrubs I planted last year are looking good... nice fat buds just waiting for the ground to fully thaw. A spring rain would be nice too. When I looked at the weather forecast yesterday there was no call for rain at all. I almost got the hose out early today but my mind wandered off to different tasks and I'm glad I forgot because its raining! Just a quick thunder storm but rain is rain and I'll take it! The first spring rain is always so delicious.

Other than painting hard boiled eggs, cleaning and wandering around the yard I also potted up the roots I bought at Home Depot earlier this week. I bought Liatris spicata (20 bulbs for $4.98), Hosta 'Francee', Astilbe 'Amethyst' and some assorted daylilies. All of these were 3 for $6.98. The good thing about buying plants this way is that they are cheap. On the downside you have to pot them up (or wait a long time for results if you plant them directly into the garden) and you're never 100% sure you're getting what's on the picture. That can be fun too, though.

Still no pictures. There's not that much to see except the "before" version of the yard. I'll try to take some tomorrow but I have lots on my plate... going furniture shopping with Kathy tomorrow, to dinner on Sunday and trying to clean up well enough to hold the place while I recover from surgery. So what am I doing? Watching "the Hour" and typing this. I am a master procrastinator.

I can hardly wait...

2009-04-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

The temperature got up to about 8°C today and I'm starting to believe that spring is just around the corner. The little bed between the garage and the sideway, constrained by wall and concrete, is free of snow and the evergreen perennials are looking good. I have sedum acre, some other sedum I can't remember the name off, hens & chicks, strawberries and all are greening up. Since everything is still under the snow this is very encouraging.

Since real spring is still a month or so off I always head for the greenhouses at this time of year and this year is no exception. I've already been to Greenland greenhouse, which is on the Yellowhead between Edmonton and Sherwood Park, twice this year. And yes, I bought plants each time. On the first visit, in March, I bought a Cornus canadensis and three heuchera, 'Lime Rickey', 'Marmalade' and 'Mahogany'. They are all doing well and growing in size so, encouraged, I bought a varigated Polygonatum odoratum. I wanted to get one last year but it was gone by time I tried to buy it in May.

Another spring summoning ritual is to start seeds indoors. I must admit it has been a few years since I last did that but this year I borrowed a stand from a friend and filled with with peat pots. Most of them have now been transfered to 4" pots and the stand is full up. I may have started too soon. As always!

OK, that's it for now... I'll take some pictures and post them soon.