Roses & Roses that don't Look like Roses

Ironically, as we head towards the hottest part of summer, there was a definite chill in the air at dawn this morning. I hate to the 'f' word, but with the nip in the air, it felt like fall. I am sure when a cloud of humidity descends over the city in the middle of July and settles in for a few weeks stay, this cool early morning will seem like a distant oasis from the relentless heat. 

The light was wonderfully golden this morning. As we took our morning stroll, the dogs and I disturbed the big brown mosquitoes from their resting places. I swear these retched vampires are the size of small birds! At least you can see them coming and feel them landing.

In the garden, there is a general changing of the guard. The last of the peonies have finished and the soft pink spirea have faded to a deep tan color. Roses have stepped into fill the void. The hostas have hoisted their mid-summer flags and the deep pink spirea are filling in nicely for their pale pink cousins.

'Graham Thomas' here and in the opening shot.

The deep pink spirea

In the front garden, there is red Monarda with their crazy mop heads.

The evening primrose is still going strong.

 At the side of the house there are big white daisies...

and little white daisies (Feverfew).

There is also a tiny Moonbeam coreopsis in flower.

Along the front of the picket fence, the 'Fairy' is beginning her magic.

Keeping the 'Fairy' company, are a few roses that look more like apple blossoms than standard roses. This is the Musk rose 'Robin Hood'.

There is also the Polyantha shrub rose called "Marjorie Fair'.

A "clearance" clematis hangs down over the picket fence.

Just inside the picket fence is this little soldier 'Vigorosa Raspberry'.

My favourite is still got to be the 'Mary Rose'. 

And you can't beat this workhorse. Canadian Explorer series rose 'John Cabot'. 

The back garden is quieter. There is too much shade for it ever to be a riot of blooms.

Still, there are more subtle forms of beauty worth taking a moment to appreciate.

 The work of the new veggie beds is almost complete. This is a project that 

seems to have dragged on forever!

Hopefully soon, there will be more zucchini than I know what to do with. More about that later...

'Carefree Beauty'

For today, I end on a rosie note.

Today I am going to link to the Creative Exchange and later in the week to Cottage Floral Thursday at Fishtail Cottage. To see other great posts, simply click the links.

Sneak Preview

We have had a busy couple of weeks visiting lots of local gardens. I think I have taken approximately 1000 pictures. While I work my way up this mountain of photography and confirm some of the planting details with the homeowners, I thought I would show you a quick preview of some of my favourite shots.

I love the back gate in this Brampton Garden.

One goose would have been lost. Three is perfect. The Gower Garden, Brampton

We saw so many beautiful roses.

Here is a flower you don't see all that often. Canterbury Bells, Spargette Garden in Brampton

What a pleasing arrangement of objects. The Singer Garden, Brampton.

It was hard to believe these homeowners had moved in only 18 months before. Spargette Garden in Brampton

Honey Suckle is a nice change from clematis.

Amazing color. The Spargette Garden

An original water feature. Ruttle Garden, Brampton.

A great mix of colors and textures. The Spargette Garden

What a pretty fern! Brillance Autumn Fern

If you are going to paint your Adirondack chairs, you might as well make them 

an interesting color. The Singer Garden, Brampton.

Interesting couple. Fallopia Variegato and  Hosta 'Sun Power'

When designing your garden, it pays to think in terms of creating little vignettes.

Fleeting Beauty: The garden in the 3rd week of June

My peonies have been open for about a week now. I expected a bumper crop of blooms, but the back row of peonies which you can see along the front of the porch was a not only a bit scrawny and short, it failed to produce any flower buds. I suspect there is an issue with drainage off the porch roof that I will have to address before next winter.

I find peonies easy going and undemanding. Their only character flaw is their short-lived, unrepeated blooms. (Case in point: I have some new deep, red peonies in the back garden that I hoped to photograph and show you, but the flowers withered before I got out to the back garden with the camera.)

These big pompom pink ones are my favourites.

I usually pick most of the blooms and bring them inside to savour. This summer I have been so busy however, that the majority of the flowers have been left for the neighbours and passersby to enjoy.

Opposite the peonies, there is a sea of tiny purple geraniums and yellow Evening Primrose. 

The Evening Primrose was here when we moved into the house. The plant spreads freely, but is easy to rip out when it wanders too far. I have it in both sun and shade. In fall, the leaves turn a beautiful burgundy color.

Snatches of white Fever Few mellow the odd combination of pink, yellow and purple flowers.

I love the dark purple stems of Meadow Sage Salvia nemerosa 'Caradonna'.

A common pink spirea makes the perfect companion for the deep blue flowers of the Meadow Sage.

Another common, but indispensable small shrub is my white Potentilla. I love its tiny leaves and small white flowers.

This is Geranium pratense 'Midnight Reiter' a pretty little geranium with burgundy leaves and purple flowers.

Next week there will be roses to show you. 

I am going to link to Fabulous Friday, Macro Friday and Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time. To see other beautiful flowers in bloom, please click the links.

I hope you have a great weekend!

What makes a garden Great?

It's garden tour season again!

A few weeks ago we went on a tour that took us in to the backyards of some million dollar homes. Here were gardeners who had extensive funds, professional designers, and a team of landscape prefessionals for regular maintenance all available to them. I was prepared to be amazed. Instead, I headed home profoundly disappointed.

Frankly, the design of these gardens seemed slick and a bit self-concscious. If I can make an analogy, it rather like a homeowner who sent their interior designer to a single store and directed them to buy all the best furniture that store had on offer. Sure the decorated rooms would contain only the best, but there would be be nothing collected over the years, nothing personal, or for that matter unique.

This past weekend, I dragged my poor husband along on yet another tour. A few of the gardens on this second tour were terrific.

So, here is the question I have been mulling over in my mind ever since: What makes a garden great?

I think number one on my list of assets would have to be creativity. I don't know about you, but I really appreciate when a garden is original and imaginative.

Next on my list of attributes would be a great design/layout. This is where I think so many gardens fall a bit short.

What is my number one design pet peeve? It is what I will coin "fringe thinking". In a typical garden of this kind, the garden is a thin ribbon around the perimeter of the yard and the lawn is the black hole in the middle.  If I can make another analogy, it is the equivalent of taking a room and pushing all the furniture up against the wall.

The boundry between garden and lawn is usually a precise line of edging. My own garden is like this at the moment. In the future, I would like to blur the edge of the "garden" and create a more unified, seamless space.

The third characteristic on my list of what makes a great garden would be creative use of plant materials. It is wonderful when a gardener mixes leaf textures and colors to create a rich and varied tapestry.

Does a great garden need lots of flowers?

Not necessarily. 

Flowers can actually hog the stage and overshadow the supporting players. Still, nothing can take your breath away like a beautiful bloom!

I just love when a garden speaks to the personality of the gardener who created it. 

What inspires you?

What do you think makes a garden great?