My Safe Harbour

Scilla in Mom's garden.

It's the first week in May. It has been a tough week and a really long day, but phase one is complete and my parents have been moved from their house of over fifty years into their one bedroom apartment at the Berkley.

Now in their nineties, my parents have putting off making any kind of change for years, but a stroke in early spring left my father unable to manage the stairs. Despite his limited mobility, it was my Dad who continued to be determined to stay in the house, even at great cost to my mother, who had health issues of her own. However impractical, the house was safe and comfortably familiar for both of them. It has taken months of dogged negotiation to make them see that it is finally time to make a move.

Pulmonaria in Mom's garden.

I sit on a corner of the bed and look around me at the half-empty room. It's taken the last of my energy to make up my bed for the night, which is a mattress and box spring sitting on the floor of what was the family room. For years the huge undertaking of closing the house served as an excuse, so to make the task less overwhelming for my parents, my brother and I convinced my parents to grab what household things they felt they needed or wanted, and to leave the rest behind to be disposed of properly at a later date.

I feel no particular nostalgia for the house where I grew up. I haven't lived in Nova Scotia for almost thirty years. With my parents gone, it feels even less like home. It's just a half-empty shell that already feels cold and impersonal. The dated decor looks shabby and I worry how saleable the house will be.

As I look around the family room, the remaining furnishings are an odd hodgepodge of things. There's no house phone, no radio, no tv and no internet. My room for the night feels like it has all the charm of a prison cell. Exhausted, I climb into bed and wonder if my parents, who are probably just as uncomfortable in their new bedroom at the Berkley, will get even a wink of sleep.

Mom's rock garden in better days of old.

When I arrive at their apartment the next morning I find my Mom, who usually gets up at nine, has been up since seven moving things around the apartment, and rearranging her houseplants on the stand that we setup in front of their new living room window. I feel encouraged that this is a sign that she has started to accept their new circumstances.

When I find my Dad in the bedroom however, he seems a bit lost and bewildered. Together we all head down to the dining room for their first lunch. Dad, who has lost ten pounds since the stroke, eats every bit of the three course lunch with relish. The coming months will be an adjustment, but I feel more convinced than ever that we did the right thing.

On the plane ride home to Toronto, it occurs to me that when the house is sold in the fall, I'll have nowhere to go home to. While the house of my childhood has not felt like "home" for years, it was a safe harbour to which I always returned.

Euphorbia 'First Blush' 

I arrive to find the garden hasn't waited for the gardener. April was unusually cold, but in the second week of May, the heat is not only on, it's turned up to high and the temperatures are so scorchingly hot gardening is uncomfortable.

After doing a post on properly pruning clematis, I look with dismay at the clematis it is now too late to prune. With the sudden heat and dry conditions, I worry that I have already missed the perfect opportunity to move perennials around.

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Cowslip Primrose, Primula veris 'Sunset Shades

Euphorbia 'First Blush'  in behind with Euphorbia 'Bonfire' to the left. 

Geum 'Mai Tai' in the foreground.

Geum 'Mai Tai' forms a low mound of course green leaves. In early spring, soft apricot flowers are carried on tall branching stems. Removing faded flowers will encourage new buds. A hard pruning after it finishes flowering will also refresh the foliage. Divide in fall. Average garden soil and moisture conditions will work for this plant. Height: 40-45 cm (16-18 inches), Spread: 30-35 cm ( 12-14 inches). USDA zones: 5-9.

Self-seeded Columbine

Sweet Rocket in front of a Dogwood tree.

Weedy Sweet Rocket

Pinks over top of Thyme

False Indigo, Baptisia

I get to work, but its hard to know what to tackle first. It seems everything needs my attention. Which fire to put out first?

I like to begin at back of my deeper flower borders and work to the front. By summer the beds are always so densely packed, it's a safari into a dense, mosquito-infested jungle to do any weeding. Better to get the weeding done early when plants are just emerging from the ground. Edging the beds to keep grass out and mulching are also high on my list of priorities. I couldn't manage a garden of my size without mulch to keep the weeds somewhat at bay.

Siberian Irises

Lupins I grew from seed.

Before I know it, the lupins are flowering. They are past their peak by the time I find the time to take pictures, and a little over a week later, the fuzzy pea-like seed pods have formed.

The white peonies in the back garden open and the flowers smell divine! I had hoped to move them early this spring, but now it will have to wait for fall.

Usually the display of peonies in the front garden is one of June's highlights, but for some reason the buds on peonies in the centre of the flower border have shrivelled- a mystery that I will have to puzzle through and solve.

Geum triflorum: Height: 30 cm, Spread: 40-60 cm. It tolerates most soil types, but like most perennials, it will be happiest in well-drained soil that has been enriched with some organic matter. Full sun is best. Once established Geum triflorum is pretty low maintenance and is very drought tolerant.

Foxgloves I grew from seed.

Jacob's Ladder, Polemonium caeruleum: forms a low mound of ferny foliage with star-shaped blue flowers on tall, upright stems. It can self-seed prolifically given the right growing conditions, so deadhead it after flowering if you wan to limit seedlings. Average garden soil is fine, but Jacob's Ladder likes the soil to be moist. Height: 45-80 cm (18-31 inches), Spread 30-45 cm ( 12-18 inches). USDA Zones: 2-9.

Most magnificent of all are the pink roses along the fence marking the entrance to the backyard. The display of blooms has never been as lush. 

Explorer Rose 'John Cabot' : This rose has arching stems that can reach 3 meters in height  and can be used as a climber. It has glossy foliage and pink rose that are lightly fragrant. Its thorns are quite lethal!

The time that remains with my parents is precious now. I call them almost every day to check on them. Two weeks ago Dad was back in the hospital again. There were a few tense days, but he made a good recovery.

With the house to be sold in the fall, things will never be quite the same. The safe harbour to which I will now return is a place of childhood memories.

I will be travelling for a few days. Have a wonderful weekend!

Jacquie's Spring Garden, Part 2

Traditional thinking links creativity with some lightning strike of genius or some crystal clear "aha" moment. 

But people like Jacquie don't wait for a flash of inspiration; they simply get down to it. Making a garden is about hard work and perseverance. When you talk with a gardener who has as much experience as Jacquie, you realize that creativity involves planting a perennial in the wrong spot, digging it up and moving it to a more appropriate one. You make mistakes, but hopefully, you learn from them. 

When I asked Jacquie about her methods for creating such pleasing plant combinations, she told me:

 "I used to be that I'd plunk a plant in where I had room. Now I'm much more careful. Often a shrub or tree will remain in a pot for a month until I decide for sure where its permanent home will be. Smaller plants don't take as long, but even so, it takes me a while to decide."

"I look at the foliage and plant colour, texture and size, walk around the around the garden with it or sometimes I just sit the plant where I think it should go, and leave it for a few days just to be sure. "

"I might do that two or three times before it's a done deal. If a plant doesn't do what I think it should do the first season, I'll try it somewhere else next year. I'm much braver now and more ruthless. Eventually, it all works."

I was curious to know the story behind this tall, totem-like wood carving.

Jacquie says, "I had friends for dinner including Steve, an ex-priest and Maureen, his wife and an ex-nun. Steve passed away last year, just before Christmas, but he was a character and as big as life, so his memory lives on. "

"During dinner, he told us he had taken a course at Lee Valley on how to carve outdoor trees but didn't have a tree to work on. 

"During Hurricane Juan, two 100' poplars fell down into our neighbour's property. When the people we hired had trimmed one of the poplars to about 25', it popped back up and landed in the 8' hole it had left. When I saw it standing, I realized I could probably do something with it and so stopped them from cutting it down further. Then I forgot about it." 

"When Steve complained about not having a tree, I said, "I have just the tree for you." He was excited and started that summer. It took about a week in total to complete it."

"Steve had a very dry humour. I was watching him up on his ladder one day and asked why he was using a mirror. He replied, "I want to get the wrinkles just right." And they were! We were very pleased with the carving, and now, we treasure it even more."

The lower section of the hillside garden

Unknown variety of Euphorbia 

Jacquie kindly spent over an hour trying to find the name for this Euphorbia for me but to no avail. 

"It must have been given to me because I keep a record of everything. It seeds around a lot, but in spring I gather the seedlings up and clump them together. It also has to be cut back in mid-summer, so it leaves a bit of a hole. Despite all that, I really like it for its colour."

I did some poking around myself on the internet and I wonder if it is no Euphorbia 'Mini Martini'. Any suggestions?

Flowers or foliage? I asked Jacquie which she valued most. 

Her answer: "I think I value flowers and foliage equally, but am much more interested in foliage than I used to be. For instance, hostas didn't use to interest me much, except as a filler, and now I'm crazy about them."

Golden Comfrey, Symphytum x uplandicum 'Axminister Gold'

Jacquie: "I love Golden Comfrey for its beautiful foliage and have moved it several times because it burns in the sun. I think it's finally found its home."

Golden Comfrey, Symphytum x uplandicum 'Axminister Gold' has long oval leaves edged with a creamy butter colour. Note: the foliage can cause skin irritation, so use gloves. It has pale blue bell-shaped flowers in early summer.  This plant likes moist soil in full sun or light shade (afternoon shade is best in hot regions). It has a spreading growth habit. If you cut back the foliage after the plant flowers it will produce a new flush of fresh growth. Powdery mildew can be a problem. Propagate from root cuttings or grow plants from seed. Height: 75-90 cm (29-35 inches) Spread: 75-90 cm (29-35 inches) USDA Zones: 4-9

Gentian Speedwell, Veronica gentianoides

Jacquie has two different cultivars of Veronica gentianoides: "I have one that is pale, pale blue - almost white and another that is a deeper blue. Love them both."

Gentian Speedwell,Veronica gentianoides: forms a low rosette of wide leaves with upright powder blue flower spikes in late spring/early summer. Veronica gentianoides tolerates a variety of soil types but likes the soil to be moist. Full sun or light shade. Height: 30-40 cm (12-16 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) USDA Zones: 2-9.

Jacquie's "flower fairy" who presides over the lower part of the garden from the top of a 

stump of an old crabapple tree.

Lysimacahia cliata 'Firecracker': is an upright plant with burgundy-purple foliage and insignificant yellow flowers. It prefers clay soil and moist conditions. For best colour, plant it in full sun or light shade. Be warned this is a pretty aggressive plant that spreads. Height: 75-90 cm ( 29-35 inches), Spread: 75 cm and more ( 29 inches...) USDA Zones: 2-9

Jacquie's review of this foliage plant: "It's a horrible spreader, but worth keeping contained in a pot for its beautiful colour. I have one area where it has gotten fairly wild and I'll never get rid of it."

Unnamed variety of Verbascum. Jacquie says,"I've had trouble with these in the past because my garden is so wet, but this one is doing well.

Jacquie told me, "I found the Buddhist hand in one of those small boutiques you stumble upon in a mall and just have to enter because everything looks so interesting. It was very inexpensive and I thought it might dispel evil or bring good luck or something good. I've looked it up and it appears to have many possible meanings. It's lost a finger, but now it has more character."

I asked Jacquie if she had a favourite perennial. 

Not surprisingly she replied, "Favourite perennial? That's impossible to answer. They're nearly all favourites!"

Geum borisii: Forms a low growing clump with sprays of bright orange flowers from early spring into summer. It may occasionally re-bloom in fall. Part shade and moist soil are best. Height: 30-45cm (12- 18 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) USDA Zones: 5-7. Note: Geum borisii struggles with heat and humidity south of zone 7. 

An interesting mix of colours and textures with a large, glass bottle as a centrepiece.

Geum rivale: has nodding reddish-brown and butter-yellow bells in May/June. This plant will grow in average garden soil, but it likes moist conditions and some light shade. Bees love its flowers. Height: 25-50 cm (10-20 inches), Spread: 45-60 cm ( 18-23 inches) USDA Zones: 5-9.

Creeping Speedwell, Veronica whitleyi

Jacob's Ladder, Polemonium caeruleum

Jacob's Ladder, Polemonium caeruleum: forms a low mound of ferny foliage with star-shaped blue flowers on tall, upright stems. It can self-seed prolifically given the right growing conditions, so deadhead it after flowering if you want to limit seedlings. Average garden soil is fine, but Jacob's Ladder likes the soil to be moist. Height: 45-80 cm (18-31 inches), Spread 30-45 cm ( 12-18 inches). USDA Zones: 2-9.

Even though the sun shines well into the evening in June, the light in Jacquie's garden was starting to fade. Happy, but weary after taking pictures for well over an hour, I sat with Jacquie for a few minutes while she continued to pot up her plants. You can learn a lot from someone like her. We compared notes on plants and chatted about gardening. 

As Jacquie's beautiful garden shows, creativity is mostly conscious hard work. With a little passion and determination, we all have it in us to be creative.

I have one more post showing how Jacquie's garden transitions into late summer 

This third post will appear in the coming weeks. 

Have a wonderful weekend!