Barbara's Garden Chronicles

Wildflower Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:07:00 +0000

My May wildflower photos have a big hole in the centre of the month when my attention turned away from gardening and picture taking. Such a shame because in this area of Oakville with all the trees, that's when most of the wildflower-action takes place.

One of my all-time favourites is Dicentra culcullaria. Native to woodlands in northeastern North America, I rescued this plant from a garden of a house about to be razed. Like Trilliums the seeds are spread by ants. According to Wikipedia "...a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also get the added bonus of growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris."

This little patch hasn't spread at all, perhaps I need to get my ants online?

And this is what this little patch looks like this morning. You can see why you need a memory of steel or perhaps better, a little marker so you know where your ephemerals are hiding.

One of the few true blue shade wildflowers: Mertensia virginica. There's nothing more breathtaking than finding an area of the forest floor covered in this sweet blue flower.

Podophyllum peltatum or Mayapple, goes through miraculous transformations to get to this point. If you didn't know any better, you'd miss the pretty white flower beneath the leaves.

Just one per plant - that will develop into an "apple" later in the summer. Perhaps the name Julyapple was taken?

Another new name to learn! This is now Maianthemum racemosum - False Solomon's Seal. It came with the garden - probably came before the house did. It is a native woodlander that spreads slowly and has lovely red berries in the fall.

There are patches of Stylophorum diphyllum blooming everywhere. Even now they are having to fight for space with the ever present invasive garlic mustard - you can see the battle below.

Here's a little patch down by the lake this morning. And those little white flowers, more garlic mustard.

Do you suppose somebody's gardener just dumped the old poppy plants mess when they had finished blooming. Not recommended, but it does make a gorgeous splash of colour against the grey lake and cloudy day.

I'm taking a stab and saying this is Erigeron annuus - annual daisy fleabane. Not very much of it just yet.

A big sumptuous patch of Polygonatum - Solomon's Seal.

So that's my wildflower Wednesday contribution for this month. To tour the world of wildflowers on this wonderful Wednesday, please visit Gail at Clay and Limestone.

Visiting an Old Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:39:00 +0000

Last year when the Laking Garden was closed due to a problem with the access road, it was almost as if a favourite friend had left the country. How was I going to get by without my peonies, iris and hosta garden? I did, but just barely.

You can only imagine my joy at learning that the Laking Garden was going to reopen. (It will close again in early August when the road work finally gets underway.)

I figured if I got there this w/e I might still be in time for the Japanese Tree Peonies. I was a little concerned when I saw that those by the front ticket gate were done. However, I was thrilled to see that those lovely saucy girls out in the shaded part of the garden were at their peak.

Just to show you how things are looking after a year of no guests. This is the entry before the main garden.

How quickly they forget about you. Where is everyone? Maybe looking at the lilacs at the Arboretum?

As soon as we saw the peonies, I made a dash for them. Kevin took Bart so I could hold them camera still.

It would be hard to decide which is prettier.

If I had unlimited funds and room, I'd build a garden around Japanese peonies.

Other than good soil and putting them in the right spot, you really don't have to do much else - other than, throw a Japanese Tree Peony party. Does this not say pink champagne?

Or perhaps something in a martini glass with a bit of cranberry?

Meanwhile, Kevin and Bart headed over to the mid-sized iris while I was framing shots, they also found a sign explaining where the turtles come up to lay their eggs.

I believe the sign on this one said, "Kermit the Frog"

The hosta garden isn't a huge one, but one of my favourites. Love the patterns the trees' shadows cast on the grass.

Next time I'm going back with a sandwich - that bench would be a great spot for a picnic.

It was back up to the top of the garden to the old heritage site demonstrating what would have been grown in old Ontario gardens in the 1800s. They've added some fun old lawn and garden equipment as decorative features as well.

And then home to my own garden and my very own J.T.P. blooming away. Though not as big nor as splashy as those at the gardens, they're definitely one more reason to celebrate this time of year.

What's Almost As Good As Your Own

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:09:00 +0000

Japanese peonies? A neighbour who plants theirs on the street corner so everyone can enjoy the sight and perfume of these ephemeral beauties. I spied these on the way to the library and realized I was in danger of causing an accident if I stopped the car, jumped out and took a photo. So yesterday, Kevin and I changed our route so I could get a better look. Aren't they magnificent?

Coming back along a side street, there were these paler cousins. Just shows they do equally well in a shaded location too.

And while I was wandering about, guess what was happening back at the ranch. The clematis buffet continues - since the tray of Frances R. appears to be down to the old curled petals - someone has moved on to Josephine:

Isn't the rule, if you're not going to finish it, don't put it on your plate?

And a new plant that I got last year to trial that looks very promising - Hosta 'Whee' from Proven Winners. I've never seen a hosta put on so much growth in the spring as this tiny newbee. Will be interested to see how it does throughout the summer. It's in competition with Pineappleupsidedowncake across the pathway. I'm thinking with the curls, colour and vigour, I may have a new favourite Hosta to add to my list.

Bits and Pieces around the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:08:00 +0000

I put in a couple of hours getting the vegetable garden ready yesterday afternoon. It makes me feel so much better when all the edges are sorted out. As you can see the garden is really quite shaded in the early morning. I probably get just a little more than 6 hours total - amazing what you can produce on a little plot this small.

This morning was the fun part, planting it all. I put in 4 different types of tomatoes: Red Candy, Ultra Sweet, Golden Honey Bunch and Big Beef all from Loblaws. These were the varieties I'd tried last year at the Stokes Trial Garden. I also planted 2 types of Kale: Redbor and Lancinato; 3 types of Chilies: Super Chili, Thai Dragon and Habanero - all from Fantasy (who have moved their garden centre to rear of the parking lot). The seeds I started before we left for Amsterdam: Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and McFayden's Red Sails lettuce are coming along, albeit slowly. Obviously the cold and dry weather when we were overseas was a real factor. We really need rain. While things look very green, my sandy soil is almost like dust. Unbelievable that we've got these conditions and it's only May.

On the weekend I was playing catch-up in the garden for the time I missed when I was away and was absolutely delighted to find this new plant doing it's best to capture my attention. It is a trial plant from Terra Nova - Heucherella 'Solar Power'. I swear it looks as if it was trying to reach up to tap my hand. With the lack of snow cover the lower leaves looked excellent throughout the winter. Now that I've taken the photo, will pull the old leaves off to tidy it up.

In the same section of the garden the Epimedium sulphureum is finishing up.

I'm just so drawn to the yellows and chartreuse this time of year. Trying to take this shot, almost looked as if the leaves were shivering.

This is Hosta 'Golden Sceptre'.

An oldie, but a goodie - Deutsia 'Chardonnay Pearls'

Kevin calls this Socks on the Line - Dicentra 'Gold Heart' - and look at all those socks.

What's left of Frances Rivis - I hope they choked on it.

And just a couple of flower treasures found during my morning walk. These lilacs so very lovely.

And this wonderful old rose - as long as we've been here (22+years), so has it. Grows in the shade and puts on an early show year in, year out. Just fabulous.

A Little More from Amsterdam & Haarlem

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:05:00 +0000

I have never been in a city where space is so cherished. Every inch was cleaned. Surfaces were freshly painted, windows polished. And if there was room, and there always seemed to be a little, there would be carefully tended plants.

Such a simple display - painted pots and a nice skinny display bench.

The only thing to outnumber the bikes were the plants.

I adore this informal and charming display of bulbs and spring bloomers.

But it wasn't all little pots, how's this for impressive....do you know what it is? Do you see how much space it is growing in? Look up, look way up....

Do you suppose they ask the window washers to trim the Wisteria while they're at it?

Even the boat houses had gardens:

Now quince is something I think of as growing as a bush - this was one of several I saw just hugging the doorway.

Obviously if you've got a postage stamp of earth, and something to climb, this IS the plant of choice.

The cut flowers were equally abundant. Can you imagine 50 stems for 10 Euros?

We ate at Season's 3 times. That's our chef across the street taking a break.

Look at how the tulips have changed in a matter of days. Have you ever seen tulips with such long stems?

I wish more people would consider even a little display of flowers like the one above. Worth mentioning - we were told that painters apprentice and learn for 4 years. The perfect paint job doesn't hurt as a backdrop to this pretty little display.

At the botanical garden - these tulips were about the size of the palm of my hand.

Again at the botanical gardens - what a lovely spot to have our daily apple pie and coffee.

I wonder if I cleaned my windows more frequently, my orchids would look more like this?

On the last day in the Netherlands, we took the 15 minute train ride to Haarlem. It's much quieter, though equally lovely. And again, if there was a spot, there was a plant.

Kerria & kitty.

I saw so many plant friends growing there that I've got in my own garden, I'd almost forgotten just how much milder it is there. You'd have to travel to Vancouver to find one of these in Canada.

Oh look, more apple pie and coffee in Haarlem too! Although by the afternoon, I'd switched to mint tea. Look how many stems were drowned in order to give me the perfect cup. A splendid way to end our vacation in the Netherlands.

New Plants from Loblaw

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:17:00 +0000

On Tuesday, I got to go to the Toronto Botanical Gardens to see the new plants offered by Loblaw. This large grocery chain has taken the grocery-parking lot-garden centre to a whole new level. From the years that I worked there as a Horticultural Specialist at the old Oakville Trafalgar store until now, I get excited when I see the big tent go up. I know that there are surprises, good deals and beautiful plants lurking close at hand.

It would appear that this year continues with that wonderful tradition. Here are some of the highlights I discovered:

(Photo courtesy of Loblaw)

A tropical planter for $24.99 - nice pot, good selection of hard to murder plants. If you have a small balcony this no-brainer will provide you with green and a bit of colour all summer long. And, should you decide to not sacrifice it to the cold winter, you can bring it inside and enjoy it.

Wasabi coleus $3.99 - (pictured above) This marvellous little beacon of a plant was selected as one of the top plants at the University of Guelph and Landscape Ontario Trial gardens at open house day. I must admit it looks rather unimportant at the moment in a 4" pot, but once planted in the garden, it positively glows. Good for either full sun or shade.

Honey Bee Petunias $2.99 - I've never been a huge fan of the all black petunia - it makes the garden look like it's missing teeth. However, this bloomer combines just the right amount of dark and light to make me want to find a little spot for it. This is Diane Surette Cournoyer, GM of Dummen Canada who I met in the gift shop purchasing the little stuffed bee on top of the Dummen sign. She's holding a sample of Honey Bee.

Dahlia Dahlinova Hypnotica Cotton Candy $6.99 is a new Dahlia from the Hypnotica series. I did really well with the varieties I grew last year (pictured below). The key to success with these Dahlias is to remove the flower heads once they're done. You'll be rewarded with flowers all summer long.

(Photo courtesy of Loblaw)

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Suncatcher Pink Lemonade Petunia is a gorgeous new petunia. The ones we saw were presented in hanging baskets, and looked beautiful. I was told that they will also be available in 4" pots and think that either alone or with Honey Bee, they'll make a great addition to the garden.

There is a good selection of vegetables this year too. The one you may want to fight to get your hands on is the orange Turkish eggplant. If you've got sunshine and an empty spot, this is the one fun plant to grow. It is the size of a medium tomato - orange with green stripes - and as tasty as it is pretty. We ate it raw in the trial gardens at Stokes last year and I took these fellows home for dinner. It was unanimous - we all wanted a plant for our garden. They're being offered in caged pots for $15.00.

Continuing on with the new, is the Haskap Berry developed by the University of Saskatchewan. It looks like a deformed blueberry and is hardy to Zone 1 or 0. It arrives early and tastes like a cross between a raspberry and blueberry. Even though it doesn't say so in the Insider Report, know that you'll need 2 different varieties to get berries. The plants will be in two different coloured pots to make things easy. The price for 2 is $35.00.

(Photo courtesy of Loblaw)

Raymond Evison, the king of all things Clematis, was there to show off new 2012 selections: Hyde Hall has masses of white flowers and Chevalier is a good purple. Raymond said that both can be maintained with the pony tail cut. Grab the plant at about the 10" point in the very early spring before they start to sprout and cut straight across. Say goodbye to worrying about types one/two/three and just give these plants a good whack and you're good to go. I think of how much enjoyment I've had from Josephine, an earlier introduction, and think that $15.99 is an excellent price for so many years of beauty.

(Photo courtesy of Loblaw)

As you can see, I was able to take home a mountain of product to trial, and will be writing about my progress throughout the gardening season. There were a few plants I wasn't able to get my hands on, but will be first in line at the store to purchase. Of special interest is the Haskap - I'm really curious to see how this cold-lover does in my Zone 6A garden.

In the interim, I'm just chomping at the bit, waiting for that last day of frost to get everything planted. I just can't wait!

Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Kevin and I just returned from Amsterdam and Venlo on one of Donna Dawson's marvellous ICanGarden tours. We had a great time, although I swear my brain and body are still floating somewhere over the Atlantic. If it truly is a day for every hour of time difference, by tomorrow I should be back together and functioning like a person.

While we've travelled extensively in North America, we had never been to the continent. I cannot describe the magic of getting into a plane - travelling for 6 hours and finding myself in a place that is so unlike where I live - the air, the colours, the cobblestone streets, the canals and masses of humans on black coaster bikes going off to work with tiny little soft-headed babies - one behind the handles, the other behind mummy.

No helmets, no fuss, no bother and no slowing down ever. (Look closely below - these are rows upon rows of bikes parked outside the train station)

Very quickly we learned that in the world of Amsterdam transport - bikes and scooters are #1, trams & buses #2, and pedestrians #46. Tram doorways open onto bike lanes. And, sidewalks, bike lanes and often roads are all on the same elevation, a little ting,ting,ting bike bell meant we were within seconds of serious harm. Who has more fun than the Dutch just walking around town? Every time we heard a MAYMAW, MAYMAW, MAYMAW ambulance siren, we looked at each other and said, "One less tourist...."

Just to give you the scope of the number of bikes - there are about 750,000 people in Amsterdam - and at least 3 per person. There were 840,000 bikes stolen last year - and that was a good year according to our guide. Good for whom....?

I fear I'm in the running for most-disjointed post today, but work comes first. So, I promise lots more photos in the days to come. In the meantime, here is just a tease of what we saw at Keukenhof with 99,998 of our nearest and dearest flower lovers from around the world:

They're Here, They're There, They're Everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:59:00 +0000

It was a lovely Easter weekend. Bright sunshine, clear blue skies - perfect walking weather.

What stood out were the little daubs of shocking yellow everywhere. While it's not my favourite plant, I admire the way it trades 50 weeks of invisibility for the most vibrant display of 2 weeks of yellow on the planet. Very few people cozy up to this plant. They may want this harbinger of spring, but they don't want it too close. Relegated to the edge of the property, as a round pole blocker, it does its best to divert your attention.

Good from afar, but far from good. I can almost see them with a shovel, the potted plant, and a pointed finger, "Look, at the end of the cedars, well beyond the big tree, we'll hardly be able to see it at all!"

"Where shall we put the other one? I know at the end of the other hedge, beside the big tree, perfect for blocking the hydro pole."

Pole, what pole?

Then there are the old girls (still at the end of the property), who haven't been tended, but look lovely all the same.

Always nice to have someone next to you who makes your hips look a little smaller.

Even the earth moving equipment wasn't enough to distort this old pole-blocker.

When you don't put them to work pole-blocking they almost look like they can dance.

Obviously part of someones old home many years ago along the old Post Park pathway. Amazing that they're still putting out blossoms.

And finally, someone who commits - they're old bushes, they're shaped like lightbulbs, and by gosh they don't have a thing to do but glow.

Wildflower Wednesday - The Prequel

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:46:00 +0000

Yesterday, we'd returned to more seasonable temperatures. The -2C (29F) was just enough to produce icicles at the edge of Lake Ontario.

It has been a spring of early surprises for us. Plants I've bought that in years past that had cursed me for planting them in my snowy winter garden, are now bursting with bloom. I've never had my own Rhodo in bloom before I saw those Rhodos and Azaleas at the Masters in Georgia. (And, frankly that's the only reason I watch.)

For the most part, the natives seemed to be following their own predetermined clock. However, going back to my reference books, I've discovered that they too have been thrown off. This is Symplocarpus foetidus or Eastern Skunk Cabbage. It blooms the last week of March in this part of Ontario followed by the leaves. As you can see. The bloom, the odd looking spotted blob, is on the way out and the leaves are at least a week or two ahead of schedule.

Cornus mas is one of the earliest dogwoods to bloom. It's a come-from-away European native that does well here - often escaping into the woods. This one is probably over 50 years old.

The difference between bud and flower can be simply a matter of a few kilometres. This little patch of Sanginaria canadensis from Richard Birkett's garden is getting ready to put on a show.

This weekend at the Royal Botanical Gardens about 15k away, I found these lovely little blooms in the woodland garden.

Here's the Hepatica shivering away yesterday.

Related to the native Polygonatum odoratum is Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' - so I'm cheating a bit here, but any chance I have to showcase this wonderful shade plant - I'm all over it.

Grown from seed (I just love throwing that in.) is my Mahonia aquifolium Oregon Grape. My mother had given me a note card with a package of seeds inside. This was a very easy year for it, and it looks as if I'm going to have lots of pretty yellow blossoms very soon.

Shade plants have some of the most beautiful leaves. The blossoms are dark red on this trillium though I don't always get a blossom.

One of my garden treasures is the Mertensia virginica Virginia Bluebells. They grow so well in this shady, sandy spot.

How's this for an early appearance....Podophyllum peltatum. Its common name of May Apple gives you an idea of how this little plant may have jumped the gun.

You know, it isn't just kilometres, sometimes it's a few meters that can cause a real difference in timing. This is the Blood Root in the backyard - definitely a week behind the front yard.

And here comes freight train Bart right on schedule.

Perhaps there are other factors in the delay of these little blossoms?

Buds on the Trillium grandiflorum - Ontario's provincial flower. So glad I rescued him from that property that was razed.

And not native, and not a wildflower, but gorgeous all the same, and certainly worth a look since we're here in the back garden: Hellebore Ivory Prince. Looking into these blossoms, makes me realize that we're just weeks away from my natives and the rest of the garden putting on their fabulous spring show. It's the perfect prequel poster plant for the season that's just around the corner.

For more lovely wildflowers around the world, visit Gail at http://www.clayandlimestone.com/.

We'll Pay for This

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:40:00 +0000

We're experiencing record warm temperatures and absolutely brilliant weather. I fear I'm one of the few, after 4 weeks of benevolent weather, who isn't bemoaning climate change. At about this time in years past I'm doing the "I'm not going anywhere whinge" while shovelling the last March snowfall. But this year, I'm down on my knees in the garden, pulling off the leaves at a rate of 2 bags a day. The sun is shining and the warmth reaches under my sweater and warms me from head to toe. I can't help but smile and think how wonderful it all is. Everyone who walks by says, "This weather is great. But we're going to pay!" You just have to shake your head. We've been given this gift that hasn't happened before in living memory (we've broken records from 1934) and we just can't appreciate it while it's here. We've taken off the parkas and mitts and scarves and hats, but kept the mindset that our weather is simply a Trojan Horse - we're just waiting for the storms and ice hiding inside.

Here's what I've seen around the neighbourhood - the good, the bad and the ugly of this early spring. Behold: a lawn that no longer has any grubs c/o Simon Skunk or Rocky Raccoon.

Kevin had me jump out of the bath to take a look at a Really Weird Bird that was walking down the street. I donned my track suit that is not normally permitted to go outside and stalked the Ring Neck Pheasant for 2 blocks with my camera. We don't have any fields nearby. There really isn't any open space, I have no idea what he was doing here. Can't imagine what he was thinking about the ill-dressed woman who was chasing him down the street.

Judging from the write-up in the National Audubon field guide he must have been a young male. A mature male will be 36" - he was about 24, I'd guess.

With the strange warmth, we've had lots of fog. Here's the hamamelis framed by an old beech.

He's back!!!!

I have no idea where the chippies go over the winter, but it's so much fun to have them back. Can you guess who misses them the most?

Once he's found one, it's impossible to get him inside.

The view by the lake was just magical

with a sweet little song sparrow singing away:

We have been warned that this warm weather will bring all sorts of disease and insects. When I was doing my morning poke and look I thought, "Oh boy, this looks like fungus...."

Actually, it was just pollen. I had no idea Taxus was such a prolific pollen producer. Here I tried to get a picture of the pollen when I tapped the branch.

The Hepatica is the flower to me that signals spring is well and truly on its way.

This is the Abeliophyllum distichum that was run over. It's doing very well considering. Unfortunately the Cornus alternifolia didn't do so well. Kevin and I had taken a chance moving him from one bed to another mid-summer, and looks like it didn't work. Oh well. Just means there's room for something else now.

I've spent a lot of time in the front, haven't got around to the back yet. At this time of year, you really can see old Bart's running track.

I think I hear him now....

Lots of wee blossoms if you know where to look.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' - such a wonderful plant. So easy to grow.

This a.m. it was about -2C (29F) - do hope that these Magnolia blossoms are fine.

And sadly, another old girl bites the dust - Norway spruce - fell in exactly the same direction as the wind this a.m. Fortunately it didn't seem to hurt anything other than the fence.

It's been grand to think about flowers and walks and weather, but it's back to taxes for now. I'll be so glad when it's all done and I can turn my full attention to the garden and the spring-gift season at hand. More later this week.

More from Blooms 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:07:00 +0000

Had a brilliant lunch with my GWA buddies at Canada Blooms. We were spoiled with new products to try and over the next few weeks, now that the gardening season appears to have started 4 weeks early, I'll be letting you know how they work out.

On my previous post I'd shown the little carpet kalanchoe Canadian Flag that marked the entrance of this garden. The plant material (with the exception of the rhodos - grown in NY State) were all produced in Ontario for the show. Every year they get better and better at forcing plants. I just adore seeing so many roses blooming away and looking terrific.

Even though the design is very simple, I think it's effective.

More medinilla! And, I now have my very own - a gift from the Growers of Ontario. Our horticultural society had given out-going president Cathy Kavassalis one. She was delighted to discover a tiny little lizard that must have been living in one of the stems. She even built a terrarium to house the wee creature. I haven't seen any on mine, but fear that Hercules would dispatch it long before I could get his glass-walled enclosure ready.

They are getting better and better at planters and supports - lettuce with peppers.

When Beckie Fox of Garden Making told me about her booth - just had to go by to have a look. Not only are they selling subscriptions to her excellent magazine, they've made a great presentation of new remarkable plants.

The plants are right at chest level. They are well signed, and for those of you who want more information, you can tap into your hand-held device to learn more. Wasabi grows well in both sun and shade and was a real standout at the trial gardens in Milton.

I see on this sign that full sun is recommended. Melampodium grows very well in the shade too.

A very pretty Dahlia - and something we should all be considering. If the bloom period has shifted 4 weeks forward, we're going to need something bright for the late summer and fall garden.

A little closer:

For those of you who like dark petunias:

Hands down this was the best looking salad mix I'd ever seen. Very cool that each seed-pellet contains 5-7 seeds.

More vegetables in a very fancy fenced off area.

Not sure how you get to the tomatoes, but imagine if you have enough money to own this feature, that wouldn't be your problem. Nothing like form over function I say.

Very pretty and Eastery. Ivory Prince Hellebore with what looks like a Costco hydrangea.

Again, a very nice simple display for the winter.

These are the contents....the pot is below:

Is that not the most wonderful yellow ivy. I have ivy envy.

You know it's going to be a good party, when you don't have to go inside for the citrus garnish for the drinks.

And, that's it for now. It's my hand-in-the-blender-time-of-year. Income Tax Time. If I make enough progress, my reward is going for another visit. A tasty carrot indeed.

Canada Blooms 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:10:00 +0000

One of my favourite times of year - Canada Blooms. It has been co-located with the Home Show, so for those of you who like all things for the home, both inside and out, bring your runners, the show is now the largest in North America. Your $17.00 admission should bring you complete exhaustion and hopefully a little spring enchantment along the way.

It's now at Exhibition Place. Fewer trains to chose from if you're doing the early morning tour, most trains are zipping by Exhibition to deliver folks to Union Station to work. I grabbed the 7:25 out of Oakville, with a minute to spare.

One of the best parts of the old show was going down the escalators getting ever closer to the scent of bulbs. In the new building the scent doesn't build the way it used to, it's just right there as you walk into the exhibition - flowers to the left and the hot tubs to the right and beyond.

Just like in fashion, there were lots of orange and yellows:

More veggies on display. Really no excuse for not being able to have at least a few of your own veggies close at hand. This would be really easy to build; easy for harvest; and doesn't take up much room.

Under the category of cool - doesn't this look like copper - well no, it's not. It's maple that's been painted to look like copper.

Here's the close-up:

One of the Juno inspired gardens:

More orange....

This was my favourite display of flowers. Yes, I know, not really organized, but at this time of year, such an abundance is just what I want.

There's lots of room between exhibits. This is one of the two rose gardens.

This was my favourite. A 20x20ft garden. Smelled of freshly sanded cedar.

Considering its small size, some very good site lines, good texture, materials ran together well.

The Medinilla is an easy plant to grow.....it looks like it was taking over everywhere.

Here they are taking a drink at the Taipei exhibit. I'm almost rooting for the crocodiles to come take some of them out. So, for those of you who want one, be sure it is well off the ground so it's not squishing its nose into the ground.

Really cute display. Doesn't photograph well. It shows the resurgence of the district of Roncesvales.

Here's one of everything.

This was quite sweet and certainly showed recycling in an artistic fashion.

Ok. Take a look at this.

Here is the explanation:

These are the 4 gardens:

No, I don't get it either.

Wonder what to do with all your pallets? The pallets were used as planters, fences, walls, etc.

I'm scooting back to Blooms and am scurrying through photos here. I don't know how many folks will find this garden - hidden practically in the corner. If you see this, go in it's well worth it. Will put some more photos up tomorrow.

Orange petunias - very baby aspirin almost:

Sweatpea's display:

This is a closeup of the lower bouquet:

I'll leave you with this, I'm running late for my luncheon with my garden buddies. Hopefully there's still a spot for me at one of the tables!

The Furnace Almost Made it Through the Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:54:00 +0000

We're all huddled up in my office waiting for Rick, the furnace repair man. You know you have an old furnace when you're on a first name basis with the furnace guy. Fortunately it's still warm out - about 12C or so - so the house is hovering at about 17C. He's promising to be here in about 2-1/2 hours, so hopeful that we can breathe enough life into the old beast to get us through the next 2 months. Fingers crossed.

Out in the yard yesterday, the warm weather was helping the Hellebore's buds swell - this is my front yard Ivory Prince.

Camera on the leaves for this shot. Looks vaguely rude doesn't it?

First year ever - yes, I realize it's only March, and I'm counting chickens before the eggs hatch - but this will be the first year ever, I've wintered over a rosemary.....which would be brilliant.

And just because it's been a while, here are a few crimes against evergreens, showing that burlap in the wrong hands is dangerous...I believe these are spruce:

What did these yews ever do to be treated this way?

And one last shot of the day - a Where's Waldo? How many swans can you count in this photo? Never seen so many flying in a flock. Lovely to see them and here their soft woo-woo-woo sounds.

I Can't Believe It's Been a Month

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Mum had a medical emergency - fortunately all is well. But waiting for help in various emergency rooms across the city is enough to completely exhaust the healthy, never mind a mum just barely on this side of 80. The care component is long gone from health care here in Ontario. You truly have to be exceptionally strong to be sick. At the end of the day (3 days actually), she ended up having her gall bladder removed and was released from hospital after 12 hours. Not even a wheel chair?! Fortunately we were able to find her one and made the 1/2 mile trek to the car. She was glad to be home in her own bed.

Here on the computer front, I was able to do my first landscape drawing of the season. Maddening the steps required to get there, but now I'm up and running. Dynascape software, the landscape software I use, doesn't run on Mac. So spent many hours with an Apple Genius who helped me divide my hard drive and install Windows and Dynascape. Reading that back it sounds all so simple. I should have photographed my brains oozing from my head after I thought I'd broken my new computer by installing Bootcamp and nothing would work.

Interesting to see all the broken Apple bits brought in by their owners while I was sitting there. Signal problems for phones most common. Oh, and broken screens. One looked like she'd used it for her Colt 45 target practice. "I'm sure if you'd just replace the screen it will be just fine!" Others came in holding a device in one hand, and with the other gestured how they'd like something from here (hold hand heaven-ward) and place gently on top of new device. I know exactly how they feel.

Not only did they get my computer to work, they also pushed brains back in. It takes me 3 times to get into Windows from Mac environment - not sure why, but the moment it takes 4 times, the Mac will go back into its box and I'll go see my clever Apple peeps.

The weather has been odd. Coldish, then warm, then cold and back to warm. They're forecasting 14C this week (57F) completely ridiculous. It should be around 2C (35F). This is one of the few days in February that Bart needed his coat. He curled up by the air vent in the kitchen to warm up his whiskers.

We did have a small dump of snow. Really quite sad when the snowman is barely bigger than a Jack.

From Heather's garden down the street. She has a beautiful all white garden that was featured in a fancy garden mag. Can't remember seeing so many Galanthus so darn early.

The Hamamelis and I have coffee every morning; me in my living room, him just outside the window. It started to colour 7 weeks early and adds a real bright spot to my day. (Smells wonderful).

The dafs are pushing up. With any luck yesterday's -21C (-5F) windchill didn't hurt them too much.

The fierce storm that killed so many across the US blew through on Saturday. Most of the punch was out of the storm, but the winds were sustained at over 100K (62MPH). Only casualty in the neighbourhood was an Eastern White Pine. Very unusual - it didn't come up at its roots, it broke mid-trunk and landed up against the home. We had no idea that anything had happened until Davey started up their saws at 7:55 on Sunday a.m. Sad to lose another old-big tree.

This month, I'm looking forward to Canada Blooms - it will be combined with the Homeshow....should be interesting. I've got some seed orders yet to place. And if this weather keeps up, it will be the earliest garden clean-up ever. I can hardly wait!

More Warmth and a Few Pretty Photos from Terra Nova

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:51:00 +0000

On Saturday afternoon while I was in the middle of cooking up a storm, Kevin called and said, "There are a bunch of robins across the street." Grabbed my camera and shot this through the foyer window. There were just as many in our garden as well. I've never seen robins in larger groups - usually just ones and twos. And now am concerned about what on earth they're finding to eat. Today it is expected to be about 8C (48F) - well and truly above normal. Wonder if the insects are finding their way to the surface for food?

February is always an impatient time, but usually there's snow on the ground to give me a reality check. There are a few interesting seed heads here and there, but mainly it's pretty dull and uninteresting. So, like every other winter at this time, it's time to cuddle up with Bart and my catalogues. Today, I wanted to share some of the treasures I've found from Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.

I had the good fortune to visit TN when I was out in Portland and was amazed at what they've been able to accomplish through their breeding program. I think their Heuchera are beyond belief. Starting at the beginning and working my way through - here are some of the wonderful plants I discovered in their pages:

Photos courtesy of Terra Nova® Nurseries, Inc.
www.terranovanurseries.com

At this point in the gardening season, when I'm all dreamy and hopeful, I decide that once again, I'm going to imprison a few perennials in pots - just because I can. Acanthus molls 'Tasmanian Angel(tm)' (Zone8-10) is gorgeous enough to make me think that Kevin should start parking his car in the drive so we can keep this sweet plant alive over the winter.

I grow Aralia cordata very well. It is a large (2M) plant with huge leaves and cool sputnik blossoms followed by seed heads that the birds adore. However, in my garden the lower leaves die off in August which means you need another beast of a plant to hide the hideous dead and dying lower leaves and it self-seeds like a weed. I'm almost at the point where I'm thinking of donating it to the plant sale (note to self- remove that last sentence from post before doing so) and replacing it with Aralia cordata 'Sun King' which is chartreuse (a reason to grow any plant in my opinion) and is only a meter high and wide. Dan writes that it survived the heat of Oklahoma, so perhaps it doesn't have a problem with lower leaf death later in the season. I'm tempted......notice how cool it looks with some of those hard-to-pair with Heuchera.

Agastache are terrific plants in my garden. None of them lasts more than 5 years, even the hardy ones, but I'm willing to forgive anything in exchange for their cheerful long-lasting flowers and marvellous scented flowers and leaves. Find it's a good alternative to lavender (something I adore, but am sooo allergic to). Here are three I'm going to find and shoe-horn into the garden:

Agastache 'Raspberry Summer' Agastache 'Summer Love'
Agastache 'Summer Sunset'

Any plant that presents me with flowers the colour of baby aspirin just has to find a spot front and centre in the garden. They are listed as zone 6-9, so I'm pushing it a bit. I've done just fine with many other fine-leaved forms of Agastache known to be a little less hardy than the bigger blue varieties, so I don't think I'm being all that reckless.

The photos of the ferns are enough to send anyone into an Anthyrium frenzy. Unfortunately many of them have been a bit of a hit and miss for me (RIP tatting fern, sad looking 'Dre's Dagger', arms missing 'Burgundy Lace', 'Ursula's Red, a.k.a. 'Ursala's Dead'.) However, should I ever move to the west coast.....I'd be so tempted.

I don't understand the attraction of Bergenia. In my garden during the winter it sports half-dead brown leaves. In the spring, it has green leaves with big brown edges and a few bright pink flowers. During the summer it has leaves that look like old cabbage leaves and in the fall, who really cares any more. So, even though there's a chartreuse bergenia on offer called Bergenia 'Lunar Glow', I'm still not tempted.

Carex phyllocephala 'Spark Plug' sadly is a Zone 7-10 sedge. The leaves look quite similar to C. muskingumensis but with great variegated foliage. Quite yummy. Again, thinking that Kevin parking his car in the drive, would be a good thing.

So many new Coreopsis. I fear this may become the new perennial disappointment the way the colourful new Echinacea were. They are so absolutely beautiful, but I fear not as hardy as advertised. In my catalogue the lanceolata and verticilata are shown to be hardy in Ontario for the first and second and Quebec for the second. Unfortunately the whole provinces have been highlighted up to and including Hudson's Bay (Zone 1-2). I've had trouble in my Zone 5B garden with all of them except Route 66, a C. verticilata. In all fairness to the catalogue the text says that the hardy ones are Zone 6, so if you find them on the nursery bench be sure to hold onto your plant tag and bill - I suspect you'll be asking for a refund next year. Just have to include a few photos so you can see how brilliant their breeding program is. Here's 'Cherry Lemonade' and ' Pumpkin Pie':

'

No clever wind-up of my blog today. I'm going to put things on pause to resume later about more amazing Terra Nova plants. The sunshine and warm weather are calling - Bart and I are going for a walk to capture some rays.

(This post is a wee bit dogsbreakfasty - Terra Nova's photos went missing this a.m. & I've replaced them - must work on my HTML to figure out what's going wrong with the positioning. The longer you live, the more opportunities to learn something new. bpc)

The Mild Weather Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:42:00 +0000

Yesterday, I heard Dave Phillips from Environment Canada say that we are experiencing a Kentucky winter. Oakville is at the 43rd latitude (the same as Nice, France) - Louisville is at the 38th latitude - 777K (483M) south of here. While I prefer rye to bourbon, I must say a Kentucky winter is something that I adore. It appears that there's a jet stream keeping the arctic air and our normal winter well north of here.

So, while we may wake up to this:

In a few hours we've got this:

In the garden it's bizarre: The kale is still producing tops and oddly enough looks as if it needs a NoNo on its stems for the new leaf sprouts;

I've been able to harvest rosemary - normally it would be dead and covered by snow;

My Hamamelis is starting to colour - a good 7 weeks early (note to self - be sure to get out new Christmas present - a lovely monopod to make photos like this sharper);

and Bart has been able to harvest his buried bones well ahead of schedule since the ground really hasn't frozen the way it normally does. Even I would be able to find them - nothing like above-fridge temperatures to continue the process of putrefaction.

Can you imagine how thrilled I be if I liked Brussels sprouts? I almost want to adopt this little fellow as a pet.

I generally leave most things in the garden rather than cut them down. This is a plant I've got to remember to take out next fall. In a large border, at the very back, I'd never notice, but in an island bed when everything else is small and naked, it just looks horrid.

Doesn't the Carex look splendid? Look how it matches Bart's ball.

And on February 2nd I saw my first robin. That dark shadowy bird to the left is a robin - the other sweet little perching bird had a rusty coloured throat and taupe body. I just couldn't convince them to come below the level of my lens so I could light them better.

I know I should be worried about all this warm weather, but I just can't be. With the early return of my feathered friends and tiny pops of buds here and there, my spirits are well above where they normally would be during one of our coldest, darkest and bleakest months.

And, if all this wasn't enough, guess who has the Terra Nova catalogue sitting beside her on my desk just waiting to crack it open. All around, it's a very good day.

Landscape Ontario Congress 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:28:00 +0000

This is what our winter has looked like so far. The only clue that we're in a colder month here is the unbelievably longggggg shadows. It has been an absolute breeze getting around. In fact Kevin didn't even have the shovel at the front door until last Friday when we

awoke to this.... Although as you can see - the road wasn't completely covered, just a bit greasy.

Today the warm temperatures have returned, the grass is all back and the ground has the texture of stodgy lentil soup - an excellent day to be at home and at my computer.

Last week I had the good fortune to go to Landscape Ontario's Congress 2012 - an eight acre playground of trucks, plants and all things for the landscape.

Here's some of what I saw when I was there:

Things that are made out of tires. Yes, making things out of tires is a good idea. Unfortunately, things made out of tires, smell like tires. And if they smell, they're emitting gases, which means not only would this mulch be stinky, it would be leaching petrochemicals into my garden. Good idea for someone, just not for me and definitely nothing I'd recommend for any of my garden friends.

Cool things made by men with power tools. If I didn't mind the noise, I'd almost be tempted.

I remember all the massive melters in Montreal; there was a melter just below the train station, where I dodged the giant trucks filled with snow and ice. All winter long there'd be clouds of cold steam and rivers of slushy slime that oozed over the sidewalk. This little darling is for parking lots - so fewer parking spaces are lost to piles of snow.

Very cool furniture. These are cast concrete - the colour (and there are more to choose from) goes all the way through the product - so no problems with dings and bashes. These products are manufactured in Winnipeg - so you can leave them out over winter. There are magnets in the pillows and padding and some metallic magic in the chairs to make them stick. Delivery is 3-4 weeks.

This is Rachelle, one of the Toronto Argonaut cheerleaders. She was my assistant for the bean bag game. Sadly with my poor bean-bag performance I won't be attending an Argos games any time soon.

If you like chain-saws and men in cages - is this the trade show for you!

The weather on both days I attended was fabulous. I've attended shows that seem to empty out by magic when the weather turns and everyone with a plow on the front of his truck has to go to work.

New shade wildflower seed from OSC. Very pleased to see that they're thinking of us shade gardeners. Jim of OSC was kind enough to hold the container so I could get a photo. I told him he'd be in my blog and asked if he was single. He said, "Sure put that out there!"

I can only think of two instances when I would have needed a machine like this, but heck if I win the Lotto and get a new garage, I think I'm going to buy one, it's just so dark cute.

The folks from Kubota brought their own touring truck.

Just think of the fun you could have with this little machine at the grocery store. Beep beep.

At the trade show there were just a few newer plants on display. This Acanthus is just lovely.

See how it shows up in the midst of all the other polished and primped plants.

One of my favourite stops is always at Q&Z Nursery Inc., or Hosta Central as I think of them. I spoke with Tom Toman from Q&Z Nursery. I have the Hosta reference book written by Mark Zillis - the Z in Q&Z. Their tiny booth was full of little liners and displays of miniatures. (That I don't seem to have a photo of....) They are introducing a jaw-dropping 62 new cultivars of Hosta. So I asked Tom who is in charge of sales, what he'd order of the new 62 if he only had three choices. His three were 'American Choo Choo', 'Liberty' and 'Spartacus'.

'American Choo Choo' is 22"x56" wide, has green centred leaves with heavily rippled 3" wide gold margins. The flowers are lavender and bloom from June into mid-July (sport of Choo Choo Train)

'Liberty' is the American Hosta Grower's Association 2012 Hosta of the year. It grows 26" x 63" wide. The leaves have dark green centres with a 2-2-1/2" wide margin that changes from yellow to creamy white during the growing season. The flowers are pale lavender and bloom from mid-July into early August. (sport of Sagae)

'Spartacus' is 26" x 51" wide with medium green centres with rippled 1" wide gold margin. The flowers are near white and appear from late June into mode July. (sport of 'Sea Gulf Stream').

So that's all from the show for today - more later in the week.

A Walk Through This Past Month

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:50:00 +0000

Lots of things business-wise to get done, plus Christmas, etc. have put me well behind in my blogging. So rather than let another day go by without any words, thought I might show some of what I saw on my morning walks around the 'hood for the last 30 days:

As soon as American Thanksgiving is over, the large homes in the neighbourhoods are professionally festooned for Christmas. These urns are just massive.

In front of a century home on Park, there's this wonderful old Hamamelis, blooming at the end of November.

More folks are growing Hydrangea quercifolia (I suppose if you live in Oakville, you must have an Oakleaf Hydrangea.). Their colour this year is outstanding. Considering the onslaught of Japanese Beetles this summer, the leaves look pretty good.

At one point in mid-December our temperature was warmer than Los Angeles - we had 12C - they were at 8C. The ground is still softish. In theory, if you can get a shovel into the ground, there's still time to plant tulips.

This Kale is definitely a do-over. One of the few mornings it was hit with frost.

Another house down by the lake, with lovely cedar rope and ribbons.

It wouldn't be Christmas without my birch bark buddies.

Boards are up, ready to roll. All we need is some cold, snow and a hose.

This was the morning of my Christian Women's Fat and Sugar Exchange Preparation Day (Cookie Baking) with my friend Norma. The better shot would have been outside, I just didn't feel like scurrying out into cold in my jammies.

I can't believe we're still getting viable Kale into December. The photo below this one, shows the Black Seeded Simpson germinating 4 months early. I suppose we've had just enough cold weather for it to think that it's time to start growing.

The long shadows and golden light make these grasses look marvellous.

This is the public pathway in front of this lovely garden.

This home never disappoints when it comes to Christmas. Will go back to get the night effect - truly over-the-top terrific.

Here's a question.....can you guess what's going on here? Stay tuned.

Excellent fuzzy-wuzzies down by the lake.

At this time of year, most of the colour comes from the sunlight - on a dull grey day - the rusts are practically non-existent.

Just last week, it was unbelievably still and quiet on Lake Ontario.

Swan fluffing.

Hard to resist taking this one.

A person could get some serious urn-envy.

Kevin and I managed to get out to the Royal Botanical Gardens at least once. Looks like Mr. Beaver's been busy.

On Sunday, there was just a wee bit of frozen ice on the surface of the water.

Lots of little birds helping themselves to the treats left by visitors.

This is what it looks like on the shortest day of the year at around 8:00 in the a.m. I like the fact that so many people have light sensors on their Christmas lights - at least when it's this dark, you have something bright and shiny to look at.

Look at how tall and thin we are. Do you think that this is why folks eat so much at this time of year? No problem with that extra cookie - look at how svelte we are!

and here's the question answered - someone is getting a nice heated driveway for Christmas. (Dec 3)

(Dec 5)

Here's one family who'll be singing, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

If I don't have a chance to say it closer to the day, please have a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Wildflower Wednesday - Where Have all the Natives Gone?

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:33:00 +0000

Alas, the wildflowers are mere memories. Displays of flowers are now replaced with seeds and berries. However, given the opportunity to play in the Wildflower Wednesday sandbox or not, no Sahara of blossoms is going to keep me away from this play date.

I took this photo on the weekend at Joshua Creek. My usual process, if I don't know what something is, is to do a quick Google image search and then work back. As a once-a-month newbe naturalist this posed a bit of a challenge this time. While I found some terrific naturalists and ID websites, more often than not I landed on some dreckian sites that seemed to spawn more sites that served the same information - almost with the same punctuation.

So, here was my first puzzle:

I began looking for woody plants in Ontario with black berries. Nada. It was at this point I thought, "I've really got to get myself a good shrubs of Ontario book." When I Googled that, I found a book aptly titled "Shrubs of Ontario" by James H. Soper and Margaret L. Heimburger. Nothing like a picture of a front cover of a book to jog my memory that not only did I have a shrubs of Ontario book - I had Shrubs of Ontario. You can see already how valuable this exercise was.

Although it was lovely to revisit all the wonderful line-drawings and relearn my leaf shapes. (The leaf I brought home was elliptical!) Sadly it is not a Shrub of Ontario. It is a foreign interloper. It is called Rhamnus cathartic and it is invasive. Reading many of the sites about the fierce thorns and deadly berries, you almost expect to see little children impaled on the branches, hanging lifeless with a half eaten handful of berries in their mouth.

The common name is Buckthorn and because I couldn't find any thorns in my photos, I still wasn't certain about the I.D. Fortunately I found a delightful site by a naturalist who has written a thoughtful post about this plant of terror. Her name is Seabrooke Leckie, and is now a new on-line source for me. Here is her measured post about this invasive plant. It turns out that birds do feed on the berries, so I'm hoping that I too will find some Waxwings on this little patch next year.

So continuing on my walk - you can see how the colours have oozed from most of the plants.

The Town had been by to cut the plants close to the pathway.

It was just on the other side of this cross over that I found my next invasive - the skeletal remains of Heracleum or Giant Hogweed. Again, in our Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid world - I've read that this plant causes dermatitis and blindness. I have only one thing to say. If you don't want to go blind, don't jab this plant in your eye. I used to grow this plant. It was during my Dinosaur plant period. I transplanted this plant, I pulled out seedlings, I cut it back - often without gloves. Obviously now that it is classified as an invasive I'd encourage everyone to be able to recognize it and use gloves to pull it out. However, don't feel that you need to don a Hazmat suit before you do.

Around the next bend was this lovely Phragmites australis - another invasive. Certainly is pretty though.

I could almost learn to like beige looking at this shot. Looks like we've got about 60% native here. The Solidago go the most lovely fuzzy cream don't they?

So hard to find any colour, I was drawn to these rose hips. They'll be munched down to nothing by the little creatures in the months ahead - something I'd learned when I put some in some decorative pots by my front door.

And, just to give you a little hope, in between shots I was spitting out bits of fluff and seeds. They were from these lovely puffs of Asters. The seeds were everywhere. With any luck they'll be landing successfully and growing in enough spots to challenge the foreign invaders.

Our Short Lived Santa Claus Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:56:00 +0000

This weekend was the Oakville Santa Claus parade. The original route used to run just past the corner of MacDonald and Reynolds - an easy 3 block walk. My old Saints used to love it. Lots of people, noise and horses which absolutely delighted old Agatha.

These days, the parade route starts in downtown Oakville. I thought briefly about the possibility of publicly humiliating Bart with his adorable Santa costume, and then thought, no, let's just go and have fun. Well, guess who doesn't like Santa Claus parades? Bart. At every opportunity he poked his little nose into my leg and looked sad and pitiful. I finally gave up the dog walk/sidewalk drag in front of the butcher shop. I even had to pick him up for a block or two. Quite pathetic.

Here's my 15 minutes of the Oakville Santa Claus Parade:

The mustering and practice areas.

The town tree - taken the next day. Bart wouldn't even think of letting me get this shot on Saturday.

And my last shot of my pouting dog Bart. Perhaps he'll be in a more festive mood next year.

Pretty Scenes Through Squinty Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:47:00 +0000

The weather has been beyond wonderful. We normally are cruising highs of 7C and lows of 0C. It has been 17C/10C. Unfortunately the weather system also seems to have brought in a migraine that just doesn't want to let go. So fewer photos - can't seem to open my eyes wide enough to frame a shot.

The hard part of these silly migraines is that I've missed so many really good days of cleanup gardening. I suspect that I may be sending my garden into the winter a lot scruffier than I'd like. However, I've learned from experience that I can deal with those slimy hostas it in the spring if I don't get around to them now. At that stage, I don't need to clip them, all I do is take a good swipe and tug with my gloved hand and they're history.

And if I remember correctly from years past, at a certain point there will be snow and it all will be covered in a blanket of white. So as soon as the pretty colours of the little woody plants are done, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Last friday......could the lake be any prettier?

Most of the trees are now bare - except for the oaks and Norway maples.

Brussels sprout plant looking all handsome.

Next year, I vow I'm going to get some late blooming anemone - mine were all done by August. Another good combination with the grass. Amazing what you can learn just by walking around the neighbourhood.

Gymnocladus dioicus - the ultimate Dr. Seuss tree.

Could you imagine the bark would look any differently?

and three more shots, red, purple and yellow: Berberis thunbergii

Kale for supper tonight.

Lysimachia clethroides by the front door.

And Now a Little Chronicling

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Looking back at my posts I realize that there has been lots of walking, lots of looking at the lake, lots of the Royal Botanical Gardens, but very little garden chronicling. So to rectify that deficiency, today is almost all about the garden and what's been happening.

There seems to be at least a 3-week weather shift since I began gardening in Ontario 25 years ago. The seeding I could manage in March is now done in April - and my last day in the garden has moved from the last week in October to mid-November. While it's pleasant to have the weather patterns change to suit my general nature of procrastination, it all seems very odd.

The big trees on the property now are pretty much bare - although the neighbours Norway Maples and Oaks have yet to let go. The leaf suck has begun. Here's a photo of Kevin hard at work. Notice how fast he's moving - not even my fancy camera can capture his muscles in motion:

So after working on the front, it was off to the back. I still had a couple banana plants I was abusing by leaving them out in the cold. I needed to lift and dump them into paper refuse bags to winter over.

Later.....you can see, the pots are emptied and I have a couple of tropical-esque plants to sneak into Kevin's garage. Some women sneak in shoes, I sneak in plants. I figure as long as the garage door shuts it's all good.

This is the leaf sucking brigade. The more humorous photos would be of the crazed home-owners trying to get last night's & this morning's leaf drop on the curb in time for the giant vacuum.

Here's how thing are looking at my front-side garden. Some herbs left. Some kale and of course there's always a few Brussels sprouts plants waving over in the corner.

I got this kale from Fantasy grocery store. They've got all sorts of weird and wonderful varieties. The pots were 5 plants for either .99 or 1.99, which suited my purposes just fine.

A volunteer nicotiana. I'm delighted that it had enough time to mature and bloom - thought all was lost when we had the frost a while ago, but it still managed to force out some blossoms.

Other remainders in no particular order: a lovely little thread leaf Coreopsis 'Route 66'.

An Oso Somethingorother Rose.

Now that I've got my new IMac, I'm working on making photo catalogues of my plants using smart files. The name of this acer is in my "look-up" list. I planted it when it was very small to cover the dining room window. It starts out pink, turns green and then finally goes out in a blaze of orange. Quite marvellous.

And looking out to the corner from underneath its branches.

Even the way its leaves are scattered is very elegant.

If all that wasn't enough, look at the way the blue sky frames each orange leaf. This is one happy place in my garden.

And in the category of just too pretty not to share - this is from my walk this a.m. The maple combined with the climbing hydrangea - a great pairing.

And one last shot of the lake looking back toward Burlington and Hamilton. Looks like the next weather system is definitely on the way.

More List than Life

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:59:00 +0000

I'm taking Gail's http://www.clayandlimestone.com/ advice and starting the day with a big breath and some easy pleasant thoughts. Bart too decided he wasn't going to be part of any day that didn't include a lot of stopping and sniffing. So my day of great commotion and getting things done, seems to have melted into a quieter sort of day.

The weather today is cloudy and unseasonably warm - I swear our seasons have shifted by 3 weeks - spring cold until May - fall warm until November. When I'm walking in the morning I try to give myself a photo project - today's challenge was photographing beautiful trees I want to adopt. I'll post them a little later on. There were a couple of trees, I'd never noticed and am going to have to do a bit of work on their id. But not today.

Today's photos are from a sunny walk Bart and I took last week. It was one of those days where I just couldn't imagine a day ever looking or being better. In the spirit of talking things a little slower and enjoying moments as they come, here's what I saw down by the lake.

I wasn't able to quite capture the leaf colour until I was on the lake trail...

Isn't this over-the-top fabulous?

There's still more green yet to bleed away to reveal the leaves true colours.

Hmmm. Pretty clear, but still that bit of pollution hanging over the lake.

So pretty to have a moon gate.

Bart marches along beside me on the top of these rocks - I think he enjoys being "up high".

This is a photo I'll come back to in the months ahead to remember the sun, the colour, the shadows and the sound of the lake and all those brilliant unscheduled things that are part of my day.

That One Extra Hour

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:28:00 +0000

And what a glorious hour it was. Kevin, Bart and I headed over to the mother-ship, the Royal Botanical Gardens and had a great trail walk. I was thinking that this is probably the last day of the year that we'll be able to walk in the gardens without heavy coats. There's something about just wearing a sweater deep into fall that makes me think I'm fooling with mother nature. Although with the heat of the sun on our backs and shoulders (16C 60F in November!), it certainly felt that she was in on it.

The predominant colours of the forest have changed once again - to the gold, brown and mahogany of the oaks.

In many areas I really noticed that many of the smaller shrubs and new trees are completely bare - this will be where the wind roars up the trail in the months ahead. But today - nothing but a gentle breeze.

We decided to take the Bridal Trail path which has more ups and downs. Much better that a treadmill or Stairmaster.

I like these beech leaves so much better than those on my own tree. Perhaps it's because I don't have to rake them.

Just a couple of weeks ago, there wouldn't have been a shot to the marsh - just too many leaves in the way.

Kevin and I saw several salmon - each about a meter in length - doing the slow swim upstream to spawn.

The next trail that connects to this one - the Creek Walk continues through a savannah-like area. When I stopped to take this shot one of the thousands of tame Chickadees came down next to me hoping for a free meal.

This is the spot where there are usually piles of Canada Geese. Wonder where they were?

We'd headed off in the opposite direction of the crowds mainly to avoid the gaggle of children who appeared to have O.D. on Cocoa Puffs, Captn Crunch and Fruit Loops this a.m. I guess while their parents were spending their hour in bed the children were quietly mainlining sugar.

Parents and children alike with their hands full of bird seed getting the birds to light.

Imagine this photo without the branches on the right. Much better.

And one last shot of the yellow and brown of the day.

New New New

noreply@blogger.com (Barbarapc) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:15:00 +0000

I'm jumping in with both feet this morning changing my blog to the new format. I think it suits the style of my photo-intensive blog a bit better. What do you think? If you have an opinion of new vs. old please let me know. (Although - I just realized all my links to my lovely blogging friends seem to have vaporized.....will figure out how and get them back tomorrow.)

Today is a gift - it's going to be 15C (60F). So, I'm going to spend most of the day frolicking in the garden - doing leaf p/u and cutting back those perennials that turn to goo over the winter. I also have a few baby plants that I'm considering planting rather than wintering them over beside the house. Figure they'll have a better chance of getting through the winter if they've got more soil around their roots. I've also got a few tulips that I'll finally get into the ground. Infinitely better than the office work I had planned, though sadly will have to postpone the start of the "fix my life by cleaning a drawer-a-day".

This morning I really could tell that I'm so ready for the clocks to change - the alarm seems to be going off earlier each morning. It's almost embarrassing to see our paths cross with fellow walkers closer to the house rather than down by the lake. Good to see that some folks can keep to a schedule!

So here are some photos from around the garden this morning and of course, a few from our (later) walk.

Really nice yellow on a bush like species Clematis:

My dining room Japanese Maple is just starting to turn - it will be orange in less than a week.

Hydrangea quercifolia - such an unusual colour of red. Considering this was one of the favourites of the Japanese beetles - just shows my hard work with the J.B.B.O.D. (Japanese Beetle Bucket of Death) was well worth it.

The little thready bits of the Ipomopsis rubra.

Eupatorium coelestinum - looks like ageratum - but is perennial.

This Hamamelis is the jewel of my garden at the moment.

Some of those leaves that will be moved to the street.

Pretty and delicious - this purple kale has turned out to be a wonderful plant.

Sum and Substance in the sunshine.

Big, small, you just can't go wrong with a Japanese Maple.

See, we had the lake all to ourselves this a.m.

Beautiful skies signal the beautiful day ahead. Time to get outside again to play in the garden.