A Storybook Shade Garden

Regular readers might wonder how I select the gardens that appear on this blog. A tempting assumption would be that I like everything I show, but strictly speaking, that's not the case. It's a little less personal than that.

For every eight gardens I visit, I feel lucky to walk away with one that I feel readers might really enjoy. It's not that the other seven gardens weren't nice, they usually are, but somehow they lack that extra bit of magic that makes them special.

This brings me to today's garden. Storybook characters aren't my cup of tea, but my own personal tastes aren't relevant in this case. This garden is quite unique. It speaks to the personality and imagination of the woman that created it. You know a little something about her by the time you wonder the pathways and stop at all the little vignettes. And I think that's great.

Storybook figures may not be your thing either or just maybe you think that Snow White and her seven diminutive friends are absolutely adorable, either way, take a moment to look past them to the garden as a whole.  The plantings are quite nicely done. I don't know about you, but I have never seen a wisteria vine used in such an interesting and novel way.

Just look at this little guy with his round belly, laughing smile and eyes wide open in wonder. It is impossible to think that a gardener who'd chosen such a jolly figure as a garden ornament could be mean-spirited or unkind.

In fact, when I spoke with Eva Martini on the phone to learn a little more about her garden, she was lovely and warm. She was happy to answer all of my questions and seemed genuinely touched that her garden might be featured.

Being solid concrete the figures are heavy. It took no less than two men to load the largest statue, that of the of a storybook princess, into Eva's car.

Eva's fantasy garden began with Dopey. A local nursery was planning a move and the owner was looking to clear his inventory of concrete figures. He had Snow White and all seven of the dwarfs.

For Eva, the classic story had been a childhood favourite. She might have liked to have all eight characters, but being frugal, she bought just one.

Eva brought Dopey home, hand painted the concrete and settled him into her garden. But poor Dopey seemed a little lonely without his buddies. So Eva went back to the nursery. Eventually, over the course of several months, she bought all seven of the dwarfs and the fair Snow White.

The sign reads, "No wabbits allowed!"

The garden itself is a little over twenty years old. Eva laid out the paths and did most of the work herself as a surprise for her husband who was away in Italy for a time nursing his ailing mother.

Wisteria can be a very aggressive vine, but Eva keeps it in check by pruning it hard three times a year. To train the wisteria up and then across, she's used sturdy metal poles that she purchased at the Home Depot (wisteria has been known to snap pieces of wood in two).

One of the nicest things about wisteria are the long, dangling flowers each spring. Getting a wisteria to bloom can however be a challenge.  The vine must be pruned at the right time of year and you really need to know exactly what you're doing. 

Eva has succeeded in getting her wisteria to flower most springs, but the weather has been so unpredictable in the last couple of years she's had trouble coaxing her vines to produce the fragrant flowers.

The garden's color palette is largely a quiet mix of greens, but Eva's used variegation and different shades of the same color to great effect.

At the very back of the yard, there is a vegetable patch and cutting garden. Eva grows asparagus, kale, tomatoes and many other vegetables. One of her favourite crops is chicory which Eva picks, mixes with a bit of water, and blends into a juice. Eva tells me that she loves chicory's bitter taste.

Another prized crop is a rare banana-shaped tomato that Eva grows every year from seed she saves herself. This heirloom tomato comes originally from Poland and seeds are next to impossible to find. Eva says the yellow tomatoes are deliciously sweet and meaty.

As well as vegetables, there are bearded iris, some roses and tall, purply-blue Larkspur in this part of the backyard. The larkspur reseeds itself every year.

One the final leg of our tour, we'll pay Snow White a visit. As you can see in the picture below, Eva has created a fantasy setting worthy of her beloved storybook heroine.

Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic, her new book about creativity, "Do whatever brings you to life...Follow your own fascinations, obsessions and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart."

I think that's exactly what Eva Martini has managed to do so superbly in creating her storybook shade garden.

Eva sent me this picture of her tomatoes. Look at the size of them!

Houseplant to Collect: Cocoon Plant, Senecio haworthii

The new year is well underway, but spring is still months away. The bleak winter weather has me craving something, absolutely anything, green! 

This seems to happen to me every winter. About this time last year, I bought a whole bunch of cute little succulents and did up a mini terrarium. 

Making up the terrarium was fun and it made me see the attraction of these popular plants. They're so easy going! Miss the occasional watering and its no big deal.

Perhaps that explains why, on my most recent nursery visit, I made a beeline for the table of succulent plants. What I came home with, however, wasn't green at all!

Isn't this the strangest looking plant? If you didn't know better, you'd think it was fake.

Senecio haworthii or Wooly Senecio is a dwarf shrub native to South Africa, so it has travelled a long way to come here to North America.

In its native habitat, it can be found on rocky mountain slopes where it grows to about foot tall (30 cm). Potted up as an indoor plant in my home, it is a mere six inches tall.

The long, tubular, succulent leaves resemble a moth's cocoon (hence the common name) and are covered in fine, silvery-white hairs.

Here are some basic tips on caring for a Cocoon Plant:

Light: Senecio haworthii needs full sun (4-6 hours of sun) or its growth will become leggy.

Water sparingly! These are drought tolerant plants that are used to extremely dry conditions. To avoid overwatering, allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings. When you do water, try to avoid getting water on the leaves. In the winter, the plant's growth slows considerably, so water very sparingly.

Soil: Cocoon Plants like sandy, free-draining soil. They'll rot in damp, soggy soil. To re-pot my plant, I used Miracle-Gro Cactus, but there are a number of other brands with soil mixes for cactus and succulents.

Care: Plants are best divided and re-potted early in the spring when they move into a phase of active growth. Senecio haworthii are quite happy to spend their summers outdoors but should be brought back into the house well before the first fall frost.

Fertilizer: Because the sandy soil Senecio haworthii prefers is low in nutrients, apply a fertilizer (labelled for cactus and succulent use) just once a year in the spring. Too much fertilizer can cause leggy growth.

This little fellow looks ready to propagate!

Propagation: The best time to start new plants from cuttings is in the spring when the plant is growing actively. Allow your cuttings to callous and dry for two or three days and then root them in sandy, free-draining soil.

Pests: Scale and mealy bugs will occasionally affect a Senecio haworthii, but generally they are pest free.

It brightened my mood considerably to pot up my new Senecio haworthii with a few other succulents. Now if only spring could come a little sooner...

Have a great weekend!

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A Visit to Grange Hollow Nursery

The original brick and log farmhouse at Grange Hollow dates from 1875.

While the rolling hills of the surrounding countryside are picturesque, it is not in the most hospitable of places for farming. Winters in Grey County, Ontario can be as long and as they are cold. 

And as well as an unforgiving climate, the farm's extensive series of low stone fences bear witness to the less than ideal nature of the land itself. Under a scant covering of soil, there is gravel and limestone with pockets of clay. 

Looking toward the house from the shade garden in the shadow of one of the barns.

A whimsical arbour in the vegetable garden.

Cleome in the Butterfly Garden

Looking toward the farm's barns.

Colorful pots filled with annuals on the front porch of the house.

"This would not have been a prosperous farm," says owner Katherine Taylor. By the time the Taylors bought the farm in 1972, there was little of the two-acre property under cultivation. There were no gardens and not even a lawn. The only sign that this was once a farm was an ageing orchard, a little bit of rhubarb, some currants and a single lilac bush.

But in this most unlikely of places, the Taylors saw potential. "We began by planting 10,000 white pine to the north and erecting rail fencing to keep our livestock from peering in the windows," says Katherine with a smile.

Mountain Fleeceflower, Persicaria (red flower), Brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba (yellow flowers in the centre) and Giant Fleece Flower, Persicaria polymorpha (top right).

Mountain Fleeceflower, Persicaria and Brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba 

"Using a pick-axe, shovel, mulch and a lot of sweat, we started building gardens. The first project, the vegetable garden, was the most important," Katherine says. Providing fresh and healthy home-grown vegetables for the family was a priority. 

After a number of years of hard work, the farm began to take shape. As Katherine's experience with growing plants in a difficult climate and soil increased, the number of perennial gardens on the farm expanded. Starting a few plants from seed quickly grew into starting a few thousand plants for sale at local farmer's markets. 

Asparagus on the right and kale on the left with Verbena bonariensis in the foreground.

Kale growing in the vegetable garden.

The nursery that eventually evolved is a family business. 

Daughter Sarah, who grew up playing in the dirt, is now herself an enthusiastic gardener. Brian, her partner, is the newest member of the team and helps Sarah with the farmer's markets every weekend.

Visitors to the Grange Hollow Nursery are welcome to stroll around the property and find ideas in the many display gardens. My husband and I visited on a warm, overcast day in late August. 

One of my favourite parts of the garden was the small terrace known as the "Checkerboard Garden". In it, I saw a great idea I'd like to replicate in my own garden.

Birds, insects, butterflies and other creatures often come and go in a garden unobserved. This is a bit of a shame. One of the most rewarding things about gardening is reconnecting with nature. What better way to observe the creatures that share our outdoor spaces than to place a couple of chairs in front of a planting designed specifically to attract them? 

Imagine sitting here with a cold drink on a hot day and watching the bees, the birds and the butterflies. It would be your own personal wildlife theatre!

"My partner Brian is a photographer, and often sets up on the patio and waits for the butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and hummingbird moths to come to him," says Sarah, "There are also bird feeders which attract a huge number of songbirds. It is fun to watch from indoors, especially in winter, when we have more time."

"The songbirds, in turn, attract Cooper's and Sharp-shinned hawks, and the odd Northern Shrike. Also popular is the cement birdbath (with a heater in winter). Birds are hilarious when bathing. Other garden regulars include rabbits, red and black squirrels, chipmunks, racoons and the occasional skunk or deer. The wild turkeys have not been brave enough to come to the feeders (though they do at my house and consume birdseed at an alarming rate)."

"During the warmer months, we have feeders out for the ruby-throated hummingbirds and Orioles, and the birdhouses are occupied by chickadees, wrens, bluebirds and tree swallow. Really, we should count the number of bird species which have turned up in the yard! It is a busy place!"

1. Thyme 2. Sedum 'Dazzleberry' 3. Yellow Moonflower, Oenothera acaulis var aurea 4. Barberry 5. Sunflower 6. Heliopsis helianthoides  7. Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond'

"The patio does get very hot in summer as it is on the south side of the house, and so we have tried a few different ground covers over the years," continues Sarah, "Some of the original plants that have done very well include the thymes ('Minus', 'Orange', and 'Magic Carpet'), and the sedums (Sedum floriferum 'Weihenstephaner Gold' and Sedum album), as well as Campanula poscharskyana and Potentilla neumanniana 'Nana'. 

"The hydrangea is a paniculata cultivar called 'Pink Diamond'. Verbena bonariensis has seeded itself everywhere (it has been planted in the gardens numerous times but really loves the patio best). This plant is a pollinator magnet."

Verbena bonariensis

Here are a few ideas to help you create a wildlife theatre in your own garden:

• Plant for continuous bloom, so there is always a source of nectar in your garden.

• Provide a source of fresh water for insects and birds. At Grange Hollow, there is a birdbath with a heater in the winter months.

• Butterflies don't like to take fight the wind, so it is also a good idea to choose a sheltered site or create some shelter, as the Taylor's have done at Grange Hollow, by planting some small trees and shrubs.

• Butterflies prefer to feed in the sun, so locate your garden accordingly.

• Don't be too tidy. Allow plants, like sunflowers, to go to seed. The seeds will provide an important food source for birds in the fall and winter.

• You need not feel you have to provide an all-you-can-eat buffet, but be willing to share your garden knowing that some plants will be nibbled by creatures that visit. 

• Swear-off using all insecticides. They are lethal to butterflies, bees and other insects.

Plants that attract Hummingbirds:

• Columbine

• Bee Balm, Monarda

• Cardinal Flower, Lobelia

• Penstemon

• Hybiscus

• Coral Bells, Heuchera

• Foxglove

Plants that attract Hummingbird Moths:

• Lilac

• Bee Balm, Monarda

• Thistle, Stachys

• Phlox

• Nicotiana

• Butterfly bush, Buddleia

• Red Valerian

Plants that Attract Butterflies:

• Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium      • PeeGee Hydrangea

• Russian Sage, Perovskia          • Goldenrod

• Bee Balm, Monarda                 • Zinnia

• Aster                                         • Sunflower

• Coneflower, Echinacea             • Verbena bonariensis

• Ironweed, Vernonia

• Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa

• Sweet Rocket

• Sweet William

• Alyssum

• Yarrow

• Sweet Woodruff

Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond'

There is more to see of the Grange Hollow Nursery in part 2.

More Information and Links:

Grange Hollow Nursery is located in picturesque Grey Bruce County just south of Owen Sound. The nursery offers an extensive collection of hardy perennials, annual flowers, herbs, heirloom tomatoes and a wide range of vegetable transplants. For hours and directions to the nursery, please click the link.

Looking Back and Moving Forward

Christmas always seems like the final stop at the end of a long trip through the fall. On the other hand, New Year's Day feels more like a precipice. The end of the year is a long way off and the journey is full of unknowns. Anything could happen in 2018...

Time marches on so efficiently on the internet! Bloggers, who focus on decorating and had their trees up in early November, already had their decorations down and packed away by the end of Boxing Day. Food and recipe sites seemed to have switched overnight from appetizers, party drinks and decadent desserts to detox salads and healthy, low-carb meals. For lifestyle websites and blogs, the new year is all about getting organized, setting goals and making resolutions.

To me, this all feels a bit too fast. It's a little a bit like sitting down to an amazing meal and then rushing to the bathroom to brush your teeth. I find that I want to savour the holidays just a wee bit longer. I prefer to linger at the dinner table and have a second cup of coffee after my meal.

Our Christmas tree is still up and won't come down until next weekend.

But I am slowly shifting my mindset to the new year. This week I will start to rough in an editorial calendar for the blog. 

Part of determining a direction to move this blog forward is taking a critical look back at the journey already taken. What worked? What didn't and fell flat with readers? 

Here's a quick look at some of the posts readers seemed to enjoy the most.

The Little Blue House on the Corner

Candace's vibrant blue house and charming cottage garden was a huge reader favourite. The first of two posts featured the shady area toward the front of the property with a small waterfall and pond. 

A Natural Shade Garden in Summer

Coming in second is this amazing garden in Mississauga. 

Years ago when Jamie first set out as a novice gardener to create the front garden of her dreams an old-growth forest, which were once part of a large estate, made the task seem daunting. Foot by foot she transformed the space. Now over a decade later, Jamie's front yard is a fabulous example of the many possibilities for gardening in shade.

The Little Stonehouse Garden

Two gardens tie for third place. The Little Stonehouse Garden had plenty of container magic and flowerbeds that mixed perennials with an abundance of annuals. 

Equally popular was the garden of a regular reader. Teresa is a passionate gardener who has managed to fit a wide array of plants, trees and shrubs in a very modest sized urban garden. She invited me over to see her garden last July.  Filled with pretty vignettes, it was a pleasure to spend the morning with Teresa and photograph her garden.

How I Eliminated Goutweed from my Front Garden

In the "how-to" category, this post on eliminating goutweed attracted a big audience. So many gardeners, myself included, have unwittingly invited a plant home that spreads aggressively. 

Getting rid of a problem plant can be a Herculean task. In the third in the series of posts I wrote on invasive plants, I shared the method I used to eliminate goutweed from my front flower bed. Here are the three posts in order: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3: How I Eliminated Goutweed from my Front Garden.

Creating an Ornamental Herb Garden

I am proud to report that the little fairy garden I did for a post on Creating an Ornamental Herb Garden held up really well all summer. Count on more herb-themed posts in the new year.

Echinacea: Plant them for the Bees and Butterflies

Posts on specific plants also did very well, so I plan to do more plant profiles in 2018. This post on Echinacea was a bit too long (even by my standards), but it certainly covered the subject well. 

A post on hardy hibiscus performed equally well.

Hardy Hibiscus

A Dive into the Deep End

To be honest, the popularity of this next blog post took me a bit by surprise. 

Swimming pools are a nice luxury, but it can be a challenge to incorporate them tastefully into a garden.  So I took a look at some of the many ways a pool can be integrated nicely into a backyard space. 

The positive response was much appreciated. It took me literally years to find enough good examples for a post.

The Lucy Maud Montgomery Garden: A Children's Garden of the Senses

In terms of public gardens, the blog post on the redesign of the Lucy Maud Montgomery garden in Norval, Ontario had lots of readers interested. 

It usually comes as a surprise to many fans of the classic Anne of Green Gables books that the author herself had a rather difficult, lonely life. Somehow out of hardship the beloved character of Anne Shirley was born.

A Visit to Willow Farm Grasses

I don't often get a chance to visit specialist nurseries, but this August my husband and I took a weekend and drove up to Willow Farm Grasses. I came away inspired by all the different ornamental grasses and I think readers did as well.

In the fall of 2017, my husband and I tackled a number of new projects. We laid out the foundation for a new stream and pond, added a big, new flowerbed and even did some preliminary work on a small thyme lawn. 

From here on in the garden won't get any bigger, but there are still lots of refinements I wish to make. I hope readers will continue to stick with me and follow along with my garden's evolution.

Sometimes I am a little slow in replying to comments, but I read and value everyone. Positive feedback keeps me going. 

I'd love to hear if there is a subject or plant you'd like to know more about. Perhaps there is a style of garden you want to see more of? Is there a challenge or a problem you're struggling with? I appreciate any help you can give me with making this blog better in 2018.

Thanks again for following along. I wish you all the best for the new year!

P. S. I am extending the deadline for a chance to win a copy of Pretty Tough Plants so people who were busy over the holidays have a chance to win. Draw closes this Sunday, Jan7th.