A Secret Garden: Part 2, The Shade Garden and Pond

 
Astilbe

In this, the second in the series of posts on Carole's garden near Uxbridge Ontario, we will take a closer look at the pond and shade gardens.

When Carole and her husband Frank first bought their home, there was nothing more than a natural stream and a low lying, boggy area in the space where the pond is currently located.

Here is a similar view of the pond area as it looks in now. Quite the change!

Carole's husband is not a gardener, but Carole tells me that one of the many ways in which Frank  helps out is to pull her around in a dingy, so she can do some pond gardening.

Along the perimeter of the pond there are moisture loving plants like this pink Astilbe and 

this purple Japanese Iris (below).

A Japanese Iris with blue Veronica in behind and a repeat flowering daylily in the foreground.

Japanese Irises: Japanese Irises need at least 6 hours of sunlight to bloom properly. They also require ample moisture especially up until bloom time. They will also be much healthier plants if the soil is moist throughout the summer. (A heavy mulch of 2-3 inches can help to conserve moisture.) They like a slightly acidic soil that is a rich in organic matter.

This is a "Before" photograph of what was to become the shade garden. Carole tells me:

"I put a shade garden here because there was a grouping of fairly large birch trees, however when we added the top soil to prepare the bed and raise the grade we killed all but one tree. We knew that this would probably happen, but we needed to get the low lying area to drain properly. Luckily our neighbour had a number of young birch saplings which they gave to us. We replanted the birch grove and it has grown up nicely."

Here is a similar view of the shade garden in present day. Again an amazing transformation!

On the perimeter of the birch trees is this part-shade bed where there are Heuchera, Hosta, Astrantia, Astilbe, Solomon's Seal, Lady's Mantle and Sedge grass.

In the shade garden proper, you will see that Carole has done a really nice job of mixing 

leaf shape, size, color and texure.

The shade garden is not without flowers. Carole relates that:

" I like to use etherial plants and bulbs under my hostas so I get an early bloom before the leaves come on the trees and the hostas cover them up. I use dwarf Daffodils, Scilla, Virginia Blue Bells, Sanguinaria canadiensis or Bloodroot (both the native and double varieties). I also mix in Primulas, Pulmonarias, Brunnera and Disporum or Fairy bells. I like to let these naturalize through the garden."

Single and Double Bloodroot or Sanguinaria canadiensis and Sanguinaria canadiensis 'multiplex' respectively: The single form of Bloodroot has 8-16 petals with a golden centre. The double form resembles a waterlily flower. Both have large, round leaves with deep lobes. Bloodroot gets its name from its rhizomes which contain a red juice. They like shade to part-shade and moist soil that is rich in organic matter. In April or early May flower buds appear wrapped protectively inside the leaf, which open as the flower emerges.

In addition, Carole says that:

" I grow all kinds of Hosta, Ligularias, Mudenkia, Percicaria, Astilbe, Snakeroot and daylilies on the fringes of the shade garden."

Throughout the shade garden Carole has added large bottles and oversized glass vases.

As I am sure you can imagine maintaining a garden as large as Carole's must take a lot of work. I asked her if she has any strategies to make the workload easier. Carole replied that in fall:

"I cut all my plants back in fall to 3-4" and clear out any weeds that may have escaped me through the season. This is also when I put down any manure mulch the garden needs.

I also do any rearranging or dividing in fall. It is nice and cool and there are no bugs!

I like to blow the leaves off my shade garden in fall, shred them and put them back around the around the plants. I know that this is extra work, but the leaves break down faster. The shredding also prevents smaller bulbs from being "drowned out", there is less chance of mould developing and it looks nicer."

In spring, Carole advises that:

"I start in the garden as soon as I can. I use a hand trowel, scissors and a long handled claw. I hand dig any perennial weeds (dandelions, grass etc.) that may have come up. Any annual weeds I just claw over. If you do this once a week or at least every two weeks for 4-6 weeks, you will find you have eliminated most of your weeds. You have to be relentless or the weeds can take over.

After that you spend your time deadheading. I do not let my plants go to seed as it makes for a very messy garden and it is harder to keep your plants separated."

I asked Carole for one final bit of advice for those gardeners who still struggle with the reality of gardening in shade. She replied:

"My best advice is to experiment with different plants as not all "shade" is the same and the garden is ever changing."

I have saved the best for last. In the final post in the series, we will visit what I think is Carole's masterpiece: the backyard garden.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I is for Iris

There was a fresh dusting of snow this morning that just barely covered the dirt-spattered layer of snow beneath it. I don't know about you, but I am sick of winter whites, browns and greys. 

It's time for some color! 

Last summer, I started a garden alphabet that got as far as the letter 'h'. Today, I am going to pick up where I left off. In this post, the letter 'i' represents one of the most beautiful flowers a garden can possibly offer: the iris.

The iris came by its name through Greek mythology. According to legend Iride or Iris, the messenger of the Gods, scattered fields full of irises, with all the colors of the rainbow, as she passed between heaven and earth.

Iris in my back garden.

In early spring of last year, I dug up all the bearded irises in the front garden and moved them to a new and less crowded spot in the back garden. Though I knew I would pay for this upheaval by enjoying few if any flowers, it was a chore that just had to be done. 

Root rot had taken its toll on the crowded and neglected rhizomes in the front garden. It is hard to imagine anything more putrid smelling than mushy rhizomes infected with this fungal disease. I cut away all the infected parts of the plants and kept only the best rhizomes. (I have read that you can also disinfect the wounds with a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.)

In previous years, I have also had problems with Iris Borer. Borers begin their lives as eggs laid on garden debris in fall. They hatch into one inch sized larvae that that chew into the leaves and then eat their way down to the rhizomes. Borer damage is often seen as notched wounds or slimy, wet-looking areas on the leaves. To deal with this pest, I have learned to try to keep the rhizomes clear of any debris. I also try to catch the larvae in the spear-shaped foliage by removing any slimy leaves.

As well the bearded irises, I also have a few varieties of Siberian Irises. 

In the backyard, Siberian irises form good sized clumps of grassy foliage and put on a fine display of butterfly-like flowers in June. They get morning and early afternoon sun.

A few of my Siberean irses have become overgrown and this spring I will have to look forward to 

the Herculean task of lifting the heavy clumps and dividing them.

I am sure some of you must be asking if irises are worth all the trouble. Absolutely!

If I had to choose between growing a Siberian Iris and a Japanese Iris, I would choose a Japanese Iris. I think the flowers are bigger and more impressive.

Japanese Irises like a fair bit of moisture until they finish flowering. My garden is fairly dry, so I have compensated for this by giving my white irises a spot in the garden with dappled afternoon sunlight.

Here are some ideas for planting irises that I picked up from my visits to the Royal Botanical Gardens last spring:

Plant irises in drifts for maximum effect. 

A single plant just doesn't cut it!

(Generally bearded irises flower for 3 or 4 weeks. You can extend the flowering season however, 
by selecting early and late flowering varieties.)

Try mixing a two colors together...

or two different shades of the same color....

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

or max-out on one color.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

Consider mixing cool blues and mauves with yellow irises.

Think about mixing a few different varieties of irises of the same color together.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

You also might want to think about using irises in combination with other flowers. 

Here we have a pale yellow iris + blue Baptisia. 

Pink and red peonies + purple and mauve irises. Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

Siberian Iris, Geranium sangaineum 'John Elsley' in left foreground and in behind them are magenta- colored Centaurea hypoleuca 'John Coutts'. Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

Have a great weekend everyone!

My garden alphabet so far: 'A' is for Astilbe, 'B' is for Butterfly, Three 'C's, 'D' is for Delphinium, The Letters 'E' and 'F' , 'G' is for Geranium , 'H' is for Hollyhocks and now 'I' is for Iris