And the latest winner is...

My dear husband helped me to pick the winner of the latest book giveaway. The winner of 66 Square Feet: A Delicious Life is....

Elaine whose blog is named Ramblings from Rosebank. Congratulations!

Elaine, I will be in touch with you shortly to get your mailing address. I am sure you are going to enjoy reading the book and trying the recipes.

Woodland Flowers in May

Woodland Poppy or Celandine Poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum

Common, humble flowers will always have a place in my garden, but I am always on the lookout for interesting, more unusual plants.

These aren't necessarily new varieties. On the contrary, they are sometimes old favourites that have, for whatever reason, fallen out of fashion. Many times I find they are just plants that I have simply overlooked. Then I will see it in some fresh garden setting and think: wow, isn't that nice! 

I am not sure which is more fun: the hunt or the new discovery. 

Woodland Poppy or Celandine Poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum Height: 30-45 cm, Spread: 45-60 cm. Prefers moist soil and part to full shade. Beware it is a good self-seeder in the right conditions (although young seedlings are easy to remove). Zone: 4-9

One weekend in early spring 2013 the warm, sunny weather seemed like the perfect excuse for a drive in the country and a visit to a local nursery I haven't yet seen. 

Plant Paradise Nursery has a number of display gardens, but in mid-May, it was the flowerbeds that skirt a tall stand of pines caught the attention of my camera most.

As you can see from the pictures, this is a shaded area with dappled sun.

Foam flower, Tiarella wherryi

Does it get more delicate or pretty than these sweet little Foam flowers? 

These plants make a great groundcover in a moist, shady border or woodland garden. The cloud of starry, white flowers appear in late spring and continue into early summer.

Foam flower, Tiarella wherryi. Height: 20-30 cm, Spread: 25-30 cm Moist, shady conditions.

Creeping Speedwell,  Veronica 'Waterperry Blue' Height: 3-5 cm. Spread: 25-30 cm. Zones 4-9.

I like the dark reddish stems and tiny mauve flowers on this groundcover. New foliage can also have a bronzy-red cast. As you can see from the picture, it was in a somewhat sunnier spot (Full sun/part shade). 

Bleeding Heart, Dicentra spectabilis, 'Alba'. Height: 70-90 cm, Spread: 70-90 cm. Part or full shade. Average to moist soil. You can refresh the foliage after it flowers in early spring, but even so, it will go dormant by late summer. Hardy: Zones 2-9.

Bleeding Heart, Dicentra spectabilis, 'Goldheart'. Height: 60-90 cm, Spread: 60-90 cm. Part or full shade. Average to moist soil. Will go dormant by late summer. Hardy: Zones 2-9.

Every spring I add a Bleeding Heart plant or two. I just love them! The white variety is my favourite, with 'Goldheart' a strong second. 

As the name suggest 'Goldheart' has the most amazing golden foliage (even more buttery-yellow than my picture shows), but I find the pink flowers clash a little with the leaves. My only wish is 'Goldheart' had white flowers!

Silene, Rolly's Favourite Height: 40-45 cm Spread: 25-30 cm. Full sun/part shade. 

Average to moist soil. 

I have often admired this plant and must put it on my wish list for spring. (Note: It is not a woodland plant and needs a bit more sun.)

Woodland Phlox, Phlox divaricata 'Blue Moon' Height: 30-45 cm, Spread: 30-40 cm. Part shade. Fragrant flowers. Zones: 4-8.

Isn't this lovely? Like groundcover Phlox, Woodland Phlox blooms in spring. It looks happy growing in dappled sunlight at the nursery. I made the mistake of planting mine in too much shade and it eventually perished. Fortunately for me, it managed to re-seed itself in a slightly sunnier location.

There is also a fragrant white variety, which I tried out last year. Sadly, it too died and I will have to give it another go this spring.

How I wish Brunnera were not so darned expensive! There are so many nice cultivars.

I have resolved to try to add one new one each year. Here are a few of the varieties on display at the Plant Paradise Nursery:

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' Height: Spread: Heart-shaped silver leaves. Blue flowers in 

spring. Part to full shade. Moist soil. Zones: 2-9.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Variegata'

Brunnera macrophylla 'Variegata' Height: 30-40 cm, Spread: 30-45 cm. Sprays of blue forget-me-not type flowers in spring. Part to full shade and moist conditions. Zones 2-9.

Sedum 'Jose Aubergine'  Height: 48 -70 cm, Spread: 50-70 cm. Full sun. Zones: 3a- 8b

I like the greyish foliage of this sedum I spotted at the nursery. The plant has deep rose flowers in late summer.

 
Our stunning provincial flower: Trillium grandiflorum Height: 20-50 cm, Spread: 30-50 cm. Part shade to full shade. Rich, moist, well-drained soil. Zone: 4-8.

Cowslip Primrose, Primula veris 'Sunset Shades' Height: 15-20 cm, Spread: 25-30 cm. Moist soil and part shade conditons. Zone: 3-9.

My success with Primula is modest at best. Harsh winters and dry summers are not ideal for these cottage garden favourites, but I keep trying. Here are just a few of the charming Primula growing in the shade of the Pine trees at the nursery.

Primula 'Gold Lace'

Cowslip Primrose, Primula veris 'Sunset Shades'

Cowslip Primrose, Primula vers 'Sunset shades'

Have a great weekend everyone! 

P. S. Please click the link if you want to see the nursery's display garden in summer. I promise to have the winner of the 66 Square Feet book draw up next.

More Information and Links:

Plant Paradise Nursery, Garden Centre & Display Gardens is located in Caledon, Ontario. The nursery website. Lorraine, the nursery co-owner's book: A Receipe for Continuous Bloom. Sign up for the monthly newsletter. The events and workshops for 2014. Visit Lorraine's blog. 

Spring Flowering Trees in all their Glory

One weekend last May were driving from here to there when, quite by accident, we came across a field filled dandelions and long rows of ornamental cherry, plum and crabapple trees. None of them were identified. I hope you will forgive me for leaving them as such and appreciate them just as they are.

I have also included a few photographs of magnolia trees in flower that were taken 'round about the same time.

With this post I am answering Les's (A Tidewater Gardener) challenge to select 10 favourite photos from 2013. And if your counting, there are actually 11 pictures in the post, but hopefully that's close enough. If you would like to participate too, please click the link.

The Year in Bloom, Part 2: July

The weather report on the CBC(radio) was all doom and gloom this morning. There are bad storms in eastern Canada and several U.S. states making it difficult or even impossible for residents and visitors to get around. In England there are unusually high tides and the threat of flooding along the coast. Here in Ontario it is bone-chilling cold: -35 Celsius if you factor in the wind chill.

Time for some summer pictures to warm things up a bit!

The garden looks fine enough in June, but it really starts to come into its own in July. The hard work of spring is done, and as the heat settles into the final two weeks of the month, it is finally time to sit back and enjoy the garden in all its summer glory.

Here is a look back at last July, with an eye to new plants that were added to the garden this year:

Along the white picket fence there are roses.

The Fairy Rose, Polyantha, 'The Fairy'. Height: 60-90 cm. Spread 60-120 cm.  Sadly it has no fragrance, but on the plus side Japanese Beetles seem to largely ignore it.

I have misplaced the I.D. on the top two roses, but I think the one on the right is a Flower Carpet Pink Groundcover rose. The deeper pinky-red rose on the bottom is Hybrid Musk rose 'Marjorie Fair' and the lighter pink is the Hybrid Musk rose 'Robin Hood'

The view from the far side of the front garden. The bright pink flower is a common Spirea.

Tall Speedwell, Veronica Longifolia 'Eveline Pink' Height: 50 cm, Spread: 30-40 cm. Full sun. 

Hardy: zones 4-9

This is a great little plant although slugs can turn its neat, mounded foliage into swiss cheese. Place it near the front of a flower border. Alpine Betony, Stachys monieri 'Hummelo'. Height 45-50 cm. Spread: 45 cm. Hardy zones 4-9. The tag says full sun, but mine does just fine in part shade.

This year I added the pink form of Betony:

Betony, Stachys officinalis 'Pink Cotton Candy'  Height 45-50 cm. Spread: 45 cm. Hardy zones 4-9.

 Blue Catmint, Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low' A long blooming perennial (if regularly deadheaded) that has a mounded, bushy habit. Height: 30 cm, Spread: 45 cm. Full sun. Hardy zones 3-9.

Some people dislike hosta in flower, but not me!

It's never all pretty in a garden. Did you notice the two spiders (upper left corner) 

lurking on the underside of the flowers?

Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam' Full sun. Height: 30-45cm. Spread: 30-45cm. Zones 4-9

Rose Campion, Lychnis coronaria is a short lived perennial that re-seeds itself. The plant has a low mound of soft silver-grey foliage and magenta or white flowers. Height 60-90 cm when in flower. The flowers have no fragrance, but butterflies like them. Spread: 40-50 cm.  Drought tolerant. This clump is in half-shade, but it would much prefer full sun. Zones 3-9. 

Echinacea

Phlox maculata 'Rosalinde' 

I love the dark stems on this pretty mauve Phlox. It is shorter than many of the other varieties 

I have and blooms earlier than most.

Phlox maculata 'Rosalinde' Height 75 cm, Spread: 60 cm. Light fragrance. Mildew resistant. 

Blooms in mid-July. Hardy to zone 4a.

This is a new woodland plant that I added to the back garden. It originates in western China at the edges of forested areas. My image is a bit misleading: the mature leaves on the plant turn a deep, olive-green with silver-green veining. The delicate flowers float on wiry stems and are a very pale lavender. Thalictrum ichangense, Evening Star strain. Height: 25 cm Spread: 35 cm Zones 6-9

Happy New Year to you!

Stay warm!