More Pretty Pockets

I would complain about the lack of rain in the last post I did on my garden. Now it seems to do nothing, but rain. That's it! No more grumbling about the weather!

Even though the downpours have kept me indoors, the garden is better for the rain. That is something to be grateful for.

Last summer I grew these Lupins from seed and now I think I'm hooked on growing lupins.

I started them in one of my nursery beds with the idea of planting them out into the garden once they matured, but things did not go entirely to plan. The first lupins I attempted to move wilted horribly. Slowly they are coming back from the brink of disaster.  I decided to leave the rest in the nursery bed for now.

In future, I think will have to grow them in their final position in the garden or start them in small pots so the roots are less disturbed when they are transplanted.

I still have a lot to learn about growing lupins. 

They like slightly acid, free-draining soil that is on the poor side. My soil isn't very acidic, but they seem to have done well enough.

I have been trying to show different areas of the garden in each post.

This is one of the views just inside the back gate.

Giant White Fleece Flower, Persicaria Polymorpha is one of those plants I love because it is so tall. Mine is in part shade, but usually you see it growing in full sun. One drawback: the flowers have a mild, but unpleasant smell. Height: 90-120 cm (35-47 inches), Spread: 80-90 cm (31-35 inches). Average to moist conditions. Zones: USDA 3-9

 

The Sweet Rocket has started to fade and is setting seed.

Anemone canadensis is an aggressive spreader, but lucky for me I planted it in an area where it can only go so far. It has single white flowers in June.  This anemone likes normal to moist conditions and soil that is rich inorganic matter. Part shade. Height: 30-60 cm (11-22 inches). USDA Zones: 4-8.

They are almost finished, but you can still see a few white and purple Japanese Irises.

I don't know if you remember this picture. 

This is the little garden retreat we started in late summer 2013. The plan was to build a gazebo and this gravel courtyard was phase 1.

Here we are in 2015. Call this phase 2.

We installed a temporary gazebo until we have the time and money to build the permanent structure. The red adirondack chairs moved out onto the lawn into a circle around our fire pit. My old wicker furniture moved in. To freshen things up, I added a few new pillows.

The temporary gazebo keeps off the rain and gives us a little extra shade when the sun shines. The canvas top also stops black walnuts from dropping on our heads!

These Columbine have been so pretty I hope you will forgive me a another picture of them.

The tag on this plant reads"Patio Clematis." I am sorry to have nothing more specific about the cultivar. I really like the short height (around 5ft). They are prefect for a small plant support or obelisk.

This white Clematis 'Hyde Hall' continues to put on a great show.

Meadow Rue slumped down in the rain.

The first of my peonies have been weighed down to the ground with all the rain we've had.

My poor white peonies! 

I grabbed some scissors and picked bunches for the house.

My favourite pink peonies are yet to come....

Winning Essay # 4: Burnt Casseroles

Back in November of last year, I sponsored an essay contest. The best entries submitted had a chance to win one of my handcrafted bracelets. Today, I am delighted to share the fourth of those winning entries with you.

Sheryl is a writer and gardening enthusiast from Calgary, Alberta. She spends an inordinate amount of time at the public library...mostly because she works there. She blogs about plants and gardening on her blog Flowery Prose.

It is my pleasure to share Sheryl's winning essay with you here and illustrate her words with my pictures.

Burnt Casseroles

by Sheryl Normandeau

In many ways gardening is a lot like cooking: you learn as you go, and it's a lifelong process. I think my Mum is still laughing about the day I phoned her and asked how to "halve" an egg. (I was shrinking a muffin recipe and panicking at the thought of having to achieve such a complex method of egg separation.)

As someone who is still navigating the "burnt casseroles" of gardening, I'd like to pass along some nuggets of wisdom (if you want to call it that) to neophytes and acolytes alike. I certainly wish I had known this stuff when I first started to garden!

1. Never, ever take ownership of your perceived lack of a green thumb.

Blame the weather anytime something goes wrong- or, if for some hitherto unknown reason you can't, loudly proclaim the inaccuracy of plant labels.

2. Never go to the garden centre on pay day, or when the trucks arrive from the growers.

A trip to Vegas is far cheaper, plus there are slot machines!

3. Learn some botany. A little grasp of science helps you to understand how your plants grow, and by extension, how you can better care for them.

Plus, it may keep you from snickering like a 12 year old boy every time you hear the world "peduncle".

4. The grass is always greener on the other side. No, really it is. But, you can always fall back on Nugget #1.

5. Pleading ignorance is your best defence when your significant other questions why you've brought home yet another plant from the garden centre.

"It leaped into my shopping cart" doesn't work though- you'll have to come up with something a little more convincing.

6. Don't believe those list you find all over the Internet, the ones that tell you about all the deer/rabbit/squirrel-resistant plants to grow. 

I once transplanted half a flat of "rabbit-resistant" sedums, only to turn around and see a rabbit watching me intently. He was licking his chops and rubbing his front paws together with glee. 

When someone asked me about the decimation of my new plants, I blamed it on the weather.

7. Gardening advice is just that.. advice. You can choose to follow it or not, with varying results. (But if I wrote it in my blog or in a magazine, it simply cannot be disputed...right?)

Remember, as in cooking, a little common sense goes a long way. That being said, spontaneous moments of complete irrationality can sometimes bring about the most interesting possibilities.

Just...keep it legal.

8. Always have fun! If, for some strange reason, gardening gets to be a slog, immediately initiate Emergency Treatment: Drop your shovel or rake, back away slowly, and head to the fridge for a nice cold beverage and a snack.

Then find a warm, sunny spot and curl up with a good book until the perceived misery passes.

9. Don't get bit by any of the following: spiders, snakes, scorpions, mosquitoes, black flies, or plant lust.

The first five can be physically painful, and the last one is another reason to book that trip to Las Vegas pronto.

10. Finally, be creative and don't be afraid to experiment. Reuse, repurpose, recycle, reinvent, rethink, redo.

You can't possibly fail- remember Nugget #1.

More Information and Links:

You can read more of Sheryl's fine writing by visiting her blog Flowery Prose.

The Garden in the first days of June

Is it just me, or is June passing by at lightening speed? 

With a second chest cold keeping me from my garden, I found that the early summer flowers came and went before I had much of a chance to take any pictures. Already the peonies are almost finished and I have very few records of them.

Let's take a look at what I did manage to document in the first days of the month.

Baptisia nicely anchors the corner of the front garden.

As you can see, it is quite a sizeable perennial.

In the center of the front flowerbed, there is a pretty clematis that only reaches 4' in height. 

I like its small size so much that I have decided to collect more of these shorter varieties.

I have two clumps of Oriental poppies. I find their vivid, orangey-red color clashes with the blues, pinks and purples that dominate the garden in June.

So next year, I am going to move them to a new spot in the backyard and replace them with these soft, pink poppies that I saw on a recent garden tour.

One of my favourite plants of the moment is this Penstemon.

And just behind it I have a delpinium.

The Korean Lilac by the white picket fence was spectacular this year, but all the other varieties of lilacs were a bust! I had very few blooms in the back garden, so I had better do some pruning to renew them. 

This year I had more peonies than ever. 

As always, they look amazing for a few days. Then rain sends them sinking to the ground.

Gas Plant, Dictamnus fraxinella

The gas plant in the front garden.

The shrubs along the driveway have put on a nice show this month.

This one has a lovely honey scent. 

(This shrub and the previous one were here when we moved in. 

Sorry, I do not know their names. If you do, please be sure to let me know.)

A John Cabot Explorer Rose overhangs the driveway as well.

In the back garden, there is Dame's Rocket that has self-seeded itself everywhere. 

(That's Beauty Bush in the background.)

It get a bit messy looking and is prone to mildew when it finishes flowering, so I yank most of it out. I always manage to miss enough plants for the Rocket to reseed itself for next summer.

Beauty Bush

There are several shades of Spiderwort including mauve and white.

Tall, feathery Thalictrum Aquilegifolium in half-shade.

Tiny Epimedium in full shade of the back garden.

The geraniums are almost finished flowering.

Last year, I was so excited to have one foxglove. This year I have almost ten! 

So what's blooming in your garden? I will be around to visit and see.

I am going to link this post to May Dreams Gardens Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. 

I will also link to Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time. 

To see what is blooming in other gardens around the world, please click the links.