Tuesday, May 24, 2011

An Update: What has been happening in my Garden


I tend to be an eager gardener who favours the final few weeks of April to get a jump start on work in the garden. The weather is usually a bit cold, but the chill in the air usually means there are no black flies or mosquitoes to torture me. I also find that most perennials, which are still dormant at the end of April, are to sleepy to notice when I up and move them to a new bed.

This spring was so wet and miserably cold however, I was simply unable to get any kind of a head start on gardening. When the weather finally did warm up, I must confess I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the work that suddenly needed doing. For the first day or so, I wandered around the yard like a lost soul, trying to figure out where to begin.

The daffodils opened up and then it started to rain...


It rained for days. I fell behind even further.



The garden soaked up the rain and plumped out into a lush green jungle.


In the shadow of mature trees, most of the back garden lies in dappled shade. The main border along the right side of the yard is some 5 to 10 feet deep (shrubs at the back, perennials in the foreground).

In the past, I used to start work at the front of the bed. Attempting to add a bit of order and a nice crisp edge always seemed so gratifying. The problem was that, as you can see from the photograph above, by the time I could get to the back of the border, the plants had filled in so much that heading into the flower bed was a bit like setting out on safari.

I am proud to say that this year I mended my errant ways and started at the back of the flower bed.


The rain brought out the tulips and quickly did in my Double Flowering Almond (below).




The ferns were more than happy with the wet weather.





The Circle Garden at the very back of the yard is, at this moment, a sea of Forget-me-nots.


On the long weekend, we worked like fiends on the new raised vegetable beds; digging out sod and laying down weed mat for the paths. The weather on Saturday was good, but on Sunday and Monday, it alternated between hot, humid and raining.  We were both exhausted at the end of each day. (This post is already too long and so I will tackle the subject of the vegetable garden in the coming days.)


For today, I end as I started, with a handful of blooms from our crabapple tree.

27 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous collection of blooms and dogs! Everything looks so lush and healthy, great garden tour! :)

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  2. You have the most beautiful garden! Such lush plants and gorgeous blooms! It is absolutely my kind of garden, one I would love to be able to achieve here. Your dogs are so lovely and it's wonderful to see them enjoying your garden with you. Your photography is breathtakingly beautiful! I am really looking forward to seeing lots more of your garden and dogs this summer :)

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  3. beautiful garden and beautiful dogs!

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  4. I'm drooling over your garden. It's so beautiful and lush. Your dogs are precious. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Mmmmm, the sights and feelings of a newly awakened garden! Absolutely beautiful!

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  6. So many beautiful images ... love the way you take those photos ! I could look them for hours ...

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  7. Absolutely beautiful each shot of the garden, dogs and flowers...... what a wonderful spot.

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  8. Hope you took lots of photos of the new veg garden and will show them on blog...until then..today's photos are exquisite...the fern especially.

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  9. I know exactly what you mean. Last year it seemed I had two months to prepare myself for the summer season and this year it feels like I've had a week to accomplish all the work. Late spring does not agree with me. I love the photo of all your dogs running up the path. Such sweet happy faces. Are those mushrooms 'growing' in your birdbath?

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  10. Everything looks so gorgeous!! I spend every spare moment in the garden once it warms up and starts growing. Even my dogs don't want to come in. If I only had a miners helmet, I could stay out longer...

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  11. Your garden is so beautiful and I LOVE your dogs. Where is Huttonville?

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  12. I completely understand ~ I have been wandering around wondering where to start...Rain, Rain, Rain...though sunny this afternoon. :-)
    Love the gardens and your dogs are so adorable. We lost our companion this last winter and I miss him keeping me company while working. Thank you for stopping by ~ our driver got her 5 hour course done tonight!

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  13. You have such a beauiful garden and a beautiful dog I love flowers but I have black thumbs and hubby is just to lazy to stick with anything. So I love coming here to see such a beautiful garden.

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  14. I like your lush jungle, it is all looking good even though it seems like a lot of work right now. Such sweet forget me nots! And the crabapple blossoms in the vase are the prettiest pop of spring.

    Those dogs just know they are incredibly photogenic, don't they!

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  15. Gorgeous photos of your garden! It looks wonderful. Your dogs are beautiful too!

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  16. Man! My roses do not hold up to the abundance that is your garden! Great photos! I adore the first apple blossom shot, the photo reminds me of Dutch still life paintings, which I love! Thanks for stopping by!

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  17. Jennifer,

    Everything is so lush and filled in already. That's what lots of rain does to the garden. The dogs seem to like winding their way through the foliage.

    Eileen

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  18. Jennifer girl (mia culpa on not getting here more often .. it has happened in general to all the blogs I love to visit .. some problems have cropped up) but wow ! your pictures are beautiful (could you let me know what type of camera you use .. I think for my birthday, not till October so I have lots of time to HINT .. I would finally like a DSLR) .. in any case .. YES ! I have that feeling a lot between rain days here .. so much to do it is overwhelming and I am restricted physically which makes it even more complicated .. this weather is down right CRAZY !
    Love the picture of your sweet little furry souls : )
    It may be a garden day today so I better get started !!
    Joy : )
    PS .. our gardens are miracles, springing to life after looking almost completely dead after winter ?

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  19. I'm looking forward to hearing about your vegetable garden. Your walk through the garden was lovely. That rain sure does amazing things. I think it nice to have closely grouped plants. Sure keeps the weeds down:)

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  20. What a beautiful garden. I know exactly how you feel. I am so overwhelmed right now and the weeds are taking over the beds but I need to get in the vegetables and move plants for new porch construction and my mulch pile is just rotting away in the driveway and ... well, it will all come together somehow. I am in awe of the beauty of your garden. All the nooks and crannies that offer tiny surprises like those mushrooms in the bird bath and the moss on the stones. How do you keep your dogs so clean with all this rain? They look so perfectly groomed. Mine just returned from the groomer with a short summer hair cut ... easier to wash off the mud.

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  21. Jennifer your garden is looking so beautiful and lush. I love the Double Flowering Almond blooms. So pretty. Your doggies are the cutest things. I am a dog lover. I am behind here too because of the rain and I am wondering if I will ever get caught up now. LOL!

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  22. Absolutely stunning! I am amazed at your garden.

    Your dogs are wonderful!

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  23. Your garden is magnificent Jennifer. It looks so lush and green ~ I would forgive you not doing anything! We've had much the same weather ~ at least we don't have to worry about getting too hot, right?!
    I love the photo of your three dogs coming thru/down the arbor path and that double flowering almond is making me drool. I wonder where I can get one of those? I think I "need" it!!!
    Is the container with the mushrooms a fairy garden?? That's what it makes me think. So beautiful.
    It all looks so fresh and fantastic Jennifer. You've inspired me to get back to work on mine ~ maybe someday it will look like yours!!

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  24. Absolutely gorgeous -- I love those little Forget-me-nots...such sweet little blooms.

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  25. Thanks everyone for your comments. I so enjoy reading them!

    Marguerite, the mushrooms are only ceramic. I have a thing for mushrooms and toadstools, maybe because of their association with fairies, who appeal to my imagination, even as an adult.

    Joy, My camera is a Nikon D5000. I will pop by your blog and leave you a note about it. I wish I had a macro lens! Maybe someday...

    Geri Centonze, Huttonville is on the outskirts of the city of Brampton, which is a suburb of Toronto.

    Kathleen, I don't have a fairy garden, but I plan to create one someday for future grandchildren.

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  26. Your garden is just wonderful Jennifer!
    Fantastic photographs.

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