Calgary Garden Coach

the back Shade Garden, 2009 reflections

I've been reflecting on my garden's performance this year - what changes worked this year and what still needs to be changed.  So here's another area of my garden.  It needs a little help in spots!  Thanks to the tree smack dab in the middle of it, plus the shade of the garage and a nearby spruce tree, this area is very dry and extremely dark.  There's not a lot of plants that will thrive here and I did want a spot to put some hostas, so I do confess to adding a little extra water to this area once in a while. 

The garden immediately beside (to the north of) the garage is in its third year, and the area on the other side of the path is both original (the patch of bergenia was there when I moved in) and brand new (we re-built the wall this summer and everything behind it was planted in September).

The back Shade Garden (year 1-3+)

Early June.  Besides the big patch of bergenia, there's some yellow leopard's bane and a lonely red tulip in bloom on the far side of this garden.  Eww- check out that ugly retaining wall!  I'm so glad we finally replaced that this year.

Late June.  Some anemone sylvestris, dwarf bearded iris, orange geums and pink bleeding hearts are now also blooming.  The geums have never been very spectacular and I'm considering getting rid of them...  As difficult as it is to get rid of a plant, I must try to be ruthless!  The bleeding heart is new and I hope it will be bigger next year, but I'm not sure it gets enough light or moisture there.  I'll give it another year and then see.

Early July.  Heucheras and columbine now in bloom.

Late July.  Columbine and heuchera still blooming; goat's beard now in bloom too.  Gotta fill in those bare spots at the front of the third picture... trusty old lamium might be the way to go.

Early August.  The ligularia also does not get very big due to the lack of moisture here, but I do like the yellow flowers against the blue background. 

Late August.  The wall is done!  Well, almost.

Early September.  Astilbe and hostas now in bloom.  I sure like that new trellis on the garage wall and I'm hoping to grow a clematis tangutica up there.  I know it will grow in shade, but this is very shady shade so it will be a bit of an experiment.  I do like how the trellis is framed by the ornamental grass in the top 2 views.  But I think I'm going to have to paint that electrical meter blue; it is just too ugly!  And in the bottom photo, there are new plants in behind the retaining wall.

Late September.

Early October.

Other parts of the garden:

• the front Welcome Garden, north side
• the front Welcome Garden, south side
  
• the front Entry Garden
  
• the front Shade Garden
• the Side Garden
  
• the Butterfly Potager
  
• the Adventure Garden
  
• the Veggie Garden aka 'England'

the Butterfly Potager, 2009 reflections

Finally, some nice pictures to show you again!  I have been posting a series of reflections (starting here) on each area of my garden this year.  The last few posts have been brutally honest, and rather unflattering.  They are certainly not photos to show you how perfect my garden is - but rather, wide, uncropped, unedited photos to help me analyze what I want to change and improve next year and to show my garden as a work-in-progress.  But I'm proud to say that the butterfly potager did well this year and other than a few minor changes, the plants can settle in and make themselves at home.

This area used to hold a tool shed and a weird, extra fence which we ripped out in 2007.  I had initially thought of putting in a "white garden" a la Sissinghurst, but I just can't restrain myself to such a limited palette.  And I love colour too much.  I wanted to put some veggies in the sunnier spots, plus I liked the idea of planting lots of flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.  Since the butterfly/hummingbird/potager garden was a little too long a name, I settled on...

The Butterfly Potager (year 2)

Mid-May.  This area can be seen from the master bedroom window and looked boringly barren in winter, so the first thing I did this spring was start to add structure by planting two columnar crabapple trees.  They're on the north side of the fence but I'm hoping once they get tall enough to get lots of sun over the top of the fence, they will thrive here.

Mid-June.  Due to the shade of the fence things are a little slow to take off here.  Plus I added these stepping stones to the garden this spring to provide easier access to the veggies and bench.  This bench was just temporary while I was finalizing the design.

Late June.  The new bench in place.  Allium 'Purple Sensation', some iceland poppies and siberian iris in bloom.  Direct-sown seedlings of peas, carrots, beets and beans grow left to right on the trellises and in the raised beds.

Early July.  Top photo: Rosa 'John Cabot' and hesperalis matronalis in bloom here.  I'm going to add some of the chartreuse-leaved agastache foeniculum here next year for even more colour.  And um, a toy on the patio...  Middle photo: View from the back porch.  Bottom photo: A nice mix of foliage with a young martagon lily in bloom.

Mid-July.  That big sun on the garage wall is new this year.  I like it!  I think we should all hang more stuff on our outside walls.

Late July.  Picnic table painted.  Looks better!  Roses, delphiniums, and poppies in bloom.

Mid-August.  Roses, clematis, lilies, 'Annabelle' hydrangea (new this year), scarlet runner beans and daylily in bloom.  I've added a trellis to the garage wall that I plan to grow golden hops on next year - it should look great on the blue background!

Late August.  The dog stepped on the lilies so I rescued them.  Mental note to put cages around the lilies next year...  Also note the new, cute little decoration over the bench!

Early September.  Peas and beans are finished so the teepees have come down.  Purple clematis, red poppies, self-seeded verbena bonariensis, red bee balm, yellow hollyhocks, purple agastache foeniculum and hosta in bloom.  I moved the hosta right after this picture was taken - it looked great here but it was getting a bit crowded and I had a spot in the new back shade garden that needed it more.

Early October.  The beginning of the end...

Other parts of the garden:

• the front Welcome Garden, north side
• the front Welcome Garden, south side
  
• the front Entry Garden
  
• the front Shade Garden
• the Side Garden
  
• the back Shade Garden
• the Adventure Garden
  
• the Veggie Garden aka 'England'

the Side Garden, 2009 reflections

In this series of reflections on my garden's performance in 2009 (which starts here), I've already shown you the worst.  The front Entry and front Shade gardens are the two most embarrassing sections of my whole yard... and they're both in the front which makes it even worse!  Hey, my garden is a work in progress, what can I say?

While the side garden is not very interesting, I can promise that photos in this series will at least start getting better starting now.  But please be kind - remember that this is a large yard that I started renovating only 5 years ago, on a limited budget of both time and money, and the yard was very overgrown and neglected when I moved in. 

Let me also preface the photos by saying that nobody used to see this garden except the neighbours.  We didn't have a gate here until a couple of years ago, and it used to be that you couldn't see this area from the street.  It's also very dry here.  Hence, I only planted very low maintenance, tough stuff here and perhaps a few flowers that I liked for cutting.  But now, with the gate on our side, and my neighbours having taken down their large front spruce tree and lost their large lilac shrub to a car accident (it's true!) this summer, this area is regularly used and is plainly visible from the street.  I'd say it needs a little more impact and attention next year...

The Side Garden (year 4-ish)

Mid-June.  Snow-in-summer, iris germanica 'Bounty', and hesperalis matronalis in bloom.  

Early July.  Shasta daisies add to the mix.

Mid-July.  Snow-in-summer, hesperalis matronalis and daisies still blooming; delphiniums, dianthus, and sedums also blooming now.  Globe thistle is sporting its spiky flower buds.

Late July.  Clematis blooming.  This is the first year they've done much and it has definitely helped that I ran some soaker hoses from the rain barrels along the foundation of the house where it is very, very dry.  Mullein also in bloom and there's also a pretty red annual poppy that escaped from the butterfly garden.  By the way I like the new colour of the window box on the garage, don't you?  Can't wait to have flowers in it next year!

Early August.  Delphiniums and clematis still blooming; orange asiatic lilies by the rain barrel.  I cut back the mullein to prevent it from seeding everywhere, and the globe thistle is in bloom.  I particularly like how that trellis on the garage is framed by the arch over the gate.  This was the beginning of the attempt to make this area more street-view-worthy.

Early September.  Most things winding down except the globe thistle and now some white liatris close to the bottom of the picture. 

Early October.  Purple asters by the front rain barrel.  They do well here - they bloom so late in some parts of my garden that sometimes I don't get flowers at all before frost.  However, I think the reflected light and heat from the rain barrel helps them bloom earlier in this spot.  Hurray for microclimates!

Other parts of the garden:

• the front Welcome Garden, north side
• the front Welcome Garden, south side
  
• the front Entry Garden
  
• the front Shade Garden
• the Butterfly Potager
• the back Shade Garden
• the Adventure Garden
  
• the Veggie Garden aka 'England'

the front Shade garden, 2009 reflections

2009 garden reflections Part 4.  (To go back to part 1, click here).

The front Shade Garden (year 4)

Ugh.  I almost don't even want to post these pictures at all.  The only reason I am is for comparison purposes - I am sure that next year, once I take down that tree that is smack dab in front and too close to the house, these poor little struggling shade plants will do a little better.  You just wait and see.

Mid-June.  There are some nice shade plants that bloom well here in spring.  They include yellow leopard's bane, pink bleeding heart, lamium and epimedium rubrum (the latter 2 not seen in this photo.)

Early July.  There it is.  The doomed tree.  Oh, I can't wait to have it down!!  Some environmentalist I am.  But it's ugly, don't you agree?  Not to mention the red shale below it that I have been trying to remove from my property since I moved in 5 years ago.  Curse the person who put red shale everywhere...

Mid-July.  I purposely put this mockorage shrub (I believe it is variety 'Waterton') beside the door because (a) it will bloom in shade, and (b) the flowers smell amazing!  I love coming to the front door when this is in bloom, and it's only going to get bigger and better each year.

Early September.  Here's a look at the rest of the front shade garden.  Those stepping stones are temporary until I get around to putting in some kind of a nicer pathway here.  As for the plants, there are hostas that don't flower, dwarf cranberry shrubs (virburnum 'Bailey's Compact') in front of the bay window that increase about 1 cm in size each year, and a struggling dogwood shrub on the far end that must be replaced with something else next year.  I expect everything except the dogwood to do better next year.  Even with that one spruce tree gone, this shrub still won't get enough light, water or nutrients.  Hmm, any suggestions for what to put there?  It must be shade and drought-tolerant.

Early October.  There's a skinny little purple bugbane with a white flower in bloom next to the stairs - if you look hard you will see it!  It should do better next year too, once that tree is gone.  I topped this garden up with fresh compost this fall, in hopes that the compost plus the tree removal will kick things off to a great start next spring... 

Seriously, this is the most embarrassing section of my garden.  Please don't judge me on this garden!  Please look at the other garden areas below if you don't believe me:

Other parts of the garden:

• the Front Welcome Garden, north side
• the front Welcome Garden, south side
  
• the front Entry Garden
  
• the Side Garden
• the Butterfly Potager
• the back Shade Garden
• the Adventure Garden
  
• the Veggie Garden aka 'England'

the front Entry Garden, 2009 reflections

Here's part 3 of my 2009 garden reflections.  To view them in order, please click here.

The front Entry Garden (year 6)

Yes that's right, I said year 6.  I almost hesitate to post these pictures because this is definitely not the most thriving area of my garden...  See, I'm not perfect!  Although I have tried to restrict the plants in this garden to those that are very drought-tolerant, these plants still have not thrived.  This garden just doesn't look like it's made up of 6-year-old, healthy plants, does it?  They don't get enough sun, for one thing.  But the main problem is that there are 5 giant spruce trees around the perimeter of my front yard and this poor little garden is smack dab in the middle of them.  The spruce roots not only hog the water but they also hog a lot of the nutrients.

I am hoping to remedy this by taking down one of the trees this winter (for my initial plea, click here.)  If this garden doesn't start to take off next year, there will be some serious renovation happening... 

Oh, and by the way, I haven't taken care of the grass in this yard since I moved in.  I was hoping it would just die on its own (due to the trees, again) but little tufts of it still survive and look pathetic.  Next year it's getting covered with a nice bark mulch.

OK, enough excuses for the ugliness.  Here goes:

This garden when I first dug it up just after I moved in summer 2004.

Mid-June.  Anemone sylvestris in bloom; chives about to bloom.

Late June.  Iris germanica, anemone sylvestris, chives, and pink perennial geranium in bloom.  I do like those chartreuse-coloured spirea 'Goldmound' that book-end this garden.  If only they were bigger...  And gawd!  Take those Christmas lights down already!

Mid-July.  It looks much better when you get down to ground level so you don't notice all the bare soil between plants, doesn't it?  As I said, I'm hoping plants start to take off next year with one less spruce tree's worth of roots in the ground.  Peachleaf bellflower, spirea 'Goldmound', purple chives, blue flax, and clary sage in bloom here.

Late July.  Peachleaf bellflower, asiatic lilies, dwarf shasta daisy and clary sage in bloom.  I think I'd like to get some more daisies.

Late July.  Lilies, clary sage and daisies still in bloom.  That's hydrangea 'Annabelle' in bloom at the back of the photo in front of the brick.  I divided it this spring and spread some smaller pieces around so that there will eventually be a hedge of hydrangea in front of the house.  It should look lovely in about 5 more years...

Late August.  Annabelle hydrangea still in bloom; pink monarda adds to the picture now.  There's some purple monkshood beside the steps too, but you can't really see it in this photo.

Mid-September.  I took the bug-ridden virginia creeper vine down off the chimney.  It just didn't get enough sun to look good.  I've replaced it with some spring-blooming clematis that should show up well next year, but unfortunately won't get as tall.  Hmm, still need another vine here...

Early October.  There's one lonely purple liatris spike sticking up here - I'll have to add more next year!

Ewww.  After reviewing these pictures I am more embarrassed than ever to post them.  

Other parts of the garden:

• the Front Welcome Garden, north side
• the front Welcome Garden, south side
  
• the front Shade Garden
• the Side Garden
• the Butterfly Potager
• the back Shade Garden
• the Adventure Garden
  
• the Veggie Garden aka 'England'

the front welcome garden, south side, 2009 reflections

Here's the second in my series of reflections about how the garden did this year.  Again, I feel the need to emphasize that these are not supposed to be beautiful, perfect cropped pictures of everything that did well this year in my garden - these are reality pictures of a garden that is still young and in development!

Now that I got that off my chest, I can go on.  This year I got rid of the front lawn entirely and started this new garden area from scratch this spring.  I acknowledge it looks a little patchy but I have big plans for improvement!  I also included some pictures showing the more established side (which you can see more of here), just so you don't think my whole garden looks this bad...

The Front Welcome Garden (year 1)

Here it is freshly planted in mid-June.  I had smothered the grass with carpet, which I have now moved to the area closer to the tree, at the top of the photo.  For a list of perennials, click here.

End of June.  There are some iris germanica planted on the new side to repeat the ones on the far side of the front path, so they should bloom nicely next year.  I also think I want to divide that yellow stonecrop and those shasta daisies on the "established side" and put some more on the new side - they are just too cheery not to spread around!  On the new side you can also see nepeta (catmint) 'Walker's Low' in bloom.

Late July.  Nothing much exciting happening on the new side except the catmint.  I definitely need to add some of those shasta daisies and probably some of the yellow achillea 'Moonshine' as well. 

 Late August.  Gotta love that nepeta for blooming for so long!  There is also some echinacea purpurea that I started from bare roots this spring, plus some perovskia (russian sage) that is taking off, plus some surprise pink clary sage and borage that must have come from the compost bin.

Mid-September.  I've added some deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hair grass) on the left, and definitely want to get more next year to plant in drifts around the whole front garden.  Also added some dianthus for more summer blooms.  That tall white stuff at the back is an annual euphorbia (snow on the mountain) that I probably won't bother with next year - too spindly.  Another failure - my rosa glauca (red-leaf rose) died.  Hmm..  I love it for the unique colour of leaves as well as starry flowers, so I think I'm going to replace it.  I suspect maybe it died because it wasn't close enough to the soaker hose and didn't get enough water to get established this year.  Most shrubs do need a little babying in their first few years and I definitely could have done a little more in the babying department.

Late September. 

Early October.

December.

Other parts of the garden:

• the Front Welcome Garden, north side
• the Entry Garden
• the front Shade Garden
• the Side Garden
• the Butterfly Potager
• the back Shade Garden
• the Adventure Garden
  
• the Veggie Garden aka 'England'
  

the front welcome garden, north side, 2009 reflections

The winter is when I take the time to reflect on what worked or didn't work this past year in the garden, and what I want to change/improve/add next year.  Normally I make mental notes about this but I thought in the spirit of sharing, I should show you where my garden is at now and where I still want to take it.  I feel the need to emphasize that these are not supposed to be beautiful, perfect cropped pictures of everything that did well this year in my garden - these are reality pictures of a garden that is still young and in development!  I still want to make changes to even the most established areas of my garden!  This post is the first in a series that I will do over the next few weeks.

The Front Welcome Garden (year 3)

This garden area was first planted in 2007 and while it is close to "done", there are still some changes I want to make.  Some plants haven't thrived as I had hoped, while others I want to add more of.  But all in all, I'm pretty happy with how this looks after only 3 years.

 

Here's the  garden in mid-June.  Since I don't have any pictures taken earlier than that, the first thing this tells you is that I really need to spend some time putting in some early spring-blooming bulbs next year!  But right now there are two varieties of euphorbia blooming (the yellow stuff), and allium 'Purple Sensation' towards the back.  There may not be many blooms yet, but at least there's lots of texture.

 

End of June.  Love those shasta daisies!  I fear these are the invasive type so I deadhead them diligently when they are done flowering.  Also blooming here are low-growing sedum kamtschaticum and iris germanica 'Bounty'.  There are some diabolo 'Ninebark' shrubs behind the larger ladybug sign, but they are young and they don't really stand out yet.  I hope they'll look nicer in front of the green backdrop of the spruce in a couple of years.

Mid-July.  Shasta daisies still going strong!  So you see why I love them...  The front corner at the bottom of the photo hasn't filled in as well as I'd hoped (some hens and chicks there) so I may add some festuca glauca next year, which would contrast well with the texture of the sedums.  Also veronica spicata 'Sunny Border Blue' is blooming towards the middle and yellow achillea 'Moonshine' on the right.  I was about to give up on that yarrow because the hares ate the flower buds off every year, but this year I guess it reached a critical mass and there were enough flowers to keep both wildlife and gardener happy.  Now I want to add more as a "repeat plant".

Late July.  The Shasta daisies are finishing but the veronica and yellow achillea are still blooming.  Asiatic lilies (red) are just starting and calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' has reached his full height.  Yes, I think definitely some festuca glauca to fill that hole in the front...

Early August.  Here's the view from the house towards the street.  It was looking quite bare at this time of year so I put in those shorter, orange asiatic lilies and while I don't normally tend towards orange, I do think they add some zing.  I also have some lychnis coronaria (rose campion) that I am letting self-seed in this area.  I love it both for its fuzzy silver leaves as well as its magenta flowers but it's not spreading fast enough so I'm going to buy some seeds next year and start a bunch more and plant a larger drift weaving in and around the other plants.  Then this area should look quite full.  There is a small yellow barberry in the front which gets eaten to the ground each winter and just doesn't seem to be appreciating it.  I think I will replace it with another ornamental grass next year - perhaps deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hair grass) which I also have on the other side of the path.  Also, there's a spirea shrub which was supposed to be 'Goldflame' but isn't (too green), so I'm going to replace it too, for just a little more colour.

Late August.  Asiatic and LA lilies blooming behind the Karl Foerster grass, and the yellow yarrow is still blooming too.  The orange daylilies in front are starting to bloom but they didn't flower much this year - probably because I divided them this spring.  I expect more from them next year.   Oooh, and I sure do like that new front door colour too...

Mid-September.  Potentilla 'Pink Beauty' is blooming on the right, and sedum 'Autumn Joy' is just starting to turn colour in the front.  Rudbecka 'Goldsturm' and liatris spicata are blooming behind it.  The rudbeckia is another plant I almost gave up on because the hares have eaten it in past years, but this year they gave it a pass.  Lucky me!

Late September.  Sedum 'Autumn Joy' has almost reached its full colour.  It definitely would look better with some festuca glauca in front.  Yes.  I've decided.

Early October.  Foliage starting to turn.  I especially like the daylilies, euphorbia and irises for their foliage colour and texture in fall.  And, of course, the ornamental grasses.

 

Early December.  Brrrrr.

Other parts of the garden:

• the Front Welcome Garden, south side
• the front Entry Garden
• the front Shade Garden
• the Side Garden
• the Butterfly Potager
• the back Shade Garden
• the Adventure Garden
  
• the Veggie Garden aka 'England'

piet oudolf-inspired plants for Calgary sustainable gardens

... and here at last, are some of my thoughts on Piet Oudolf-iinspired gardens for Calgary, which I promised way back over a month ago...

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I first became interested in Piet Oudolf’s garden designs when I saw pictures of some of his commissioned works in North America – the Battery Park Conservancy Gardens of Remembrance in New York, the Lurie Gardens at Millennium Park in Chicago, and the High line Gardens in New York City.  If you look up these gardens or his home page online, you will see the pictures are stunning!  Since then I’ve been studying two of his books written with Noel Kingsbury:   Designing with Plants, and Planting Design: Gardens in Time and Space.  I highly recommend them.

Piet Oudolf’s garden design philosophy strikes me as perfect for Calgary gardens – it is inspired by nature and respects ecology.  He uses wild plant communities as inspiration and sticks to plants with a “wild character”, meaning plants that have a natural proportion and – bonus! therefore do not require staking.  (In other words, no peonies allowed!)  He uses native species, although not exclusively, and considers biodiversity and ecological fit when designing his plantings.  He also uses ornamental grasses extensively and designs for long seasons of interest – his gardens come into their own in fall and also look good in winter.  With “sustainability” and “winter interest” being some of the buzz words in Calgary gardening these days, I’m sure we could all learn a thing or two from Piet Oudolf.

If you must have your tropical cannas and Japanese maples that you overwinter in your basement or heated garage, then Piet Oudolf-inspired design may not be for you.  To be honest, I cannot claim to agree with everything he says as he echews roses (nothing can convince me to give up my shrub roses) and in fact tends not to use shrubs at all, since most tend to be amorphous shapes with little structure, and they do not change form dramatically in one season which is another aspect of his designs.  But you can’t become a world-famous designer and establish your own unique style of design without being opinionated, right?  He does use hedges as more formal borders and accents in a garden, but otherwise he sticks to naturalistic, low-maintenance perennials in combinations that will blow you away.

After we garden for a few years, we all start to realize that texture is important in garden design, rather than just flowers, flowers, flowers.  Usually we think of leaf texture but Piet Oudolf takes this texture criterion to a higher level by making the form and structure of seed heads the most important aspect in choosing plants.  He classifies plants by the shape of these seed heads, such as spires (digitalis, salvia, veronica, cimicifuga, liatris, verbascum), buttons and globes (echinops, monarda, astrantia, centaurea montana, allium), plumes (filipendula, solidago, thalictrum, persicaria, calamagrostis), umbels (angelica, phlox paniculata, lychnis, sedums, eupatorium, achillea), and daisies (echinacea, rudbeckia, asters).   All of these plants are hardy in Calgary, by the way.  As mentioned above, he also uses long-lasting plants with strong shapes that have good structure even after flowering, often well into winter.  Leaf shape and texture is only the second consideration, and colour (flower or leaf) is the third. 

What makes Piet Oudolf’s gardens so special is not only the plants that he chooses, but how he puts them together.  A restricted number of plants are used in a space, and plants are intermingled with not only the macro effect in mind, but also the micro.  In other words, the planting en masse is beautiful, but the details of contrast between two neighbouring plant groupings are also important.  He avoids formality, preferring planting patterns that are not controlled or geometric, and ends up with a unique style, sometimes termed “New Wave”. I can only try to describe the quality his complex plantings have as a modern, stylized, sweeping force of nature. 

If you do nothing but add a few drifts of the above-mentioned plants to your already existing garden, you will benefit from the beauty and low maintenance of the plants he uses.  If you are looking to fill or renovate a larger area, then perhaps some of these combinations will be of inspiration to you:

• Astrantia major, astilbe and deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hair grass)
• Astrantia major, actaea simplex (these first two combinations are the only ones that will do well in partial shade)
• Eupatorium purpureum (joe pye weed), actea simplex (bugbane), deschampsia cespitosa, echinacea purpurea, astilbe
• Echinops ritro (globe thistle) and verbascum (mullein)
• Perovskia (Russian sage), Echinacea purpurea, helictrotrichon (blue oat grass), eryngium (sea holly)
• Purple sedum, deschampsia cespitosa, perovskia, nepeta (catmint), verbena bonariensis
• Digitalis (fox glove), monarda (bee balm), agastache foeniculum
• Eryngium (sea holly), salvia superba, pink achillea (yarrow)
• Astrantia major ‘Roma’, allium ‘Purple Sensation’
• Perovskia, liatris spicata, coreopsis, deschampsia cespitosa
• Astilbe, aster, sedum, persicaria (fleeceflower), deschampsia cespitosa
• Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’, eupatorium purpureum, monarda, persicaria polymorpha
• Veronicastratum virginicum ‘Roseum’, echinops ritro, thalictrum polygamum (meadow rue), eupatorium purpureum
• Calamagrostis brachytricha, salvia superba, allium ‘Purple Sensation’
• Monarda, helenium, echinops ritro, persicaria amplexicaulis, achillea, hemerocallis, dianthus, stachys byzantine, nepeta racemosa
• Thalictrum polygamum, phlox paniculata, campanula lactiflora, persicaria, filipendula rubra

While most of the plants listed above bloom in summer or fall, there are also some early spring plants that Piet Oudolf uses to fill a garden in spring.  In addition to spring-flowering bulbs, phlox divaricata, euphorbia, epimedium (bishop’s hat) and geraniums are all used for their toughness and beautiful spring flowers.

So, as you are planning the changes you want to make to your garden next year, why not consider a few of Piet Oudolf’s favoured plants?  You can’t go wrong with these for low-maintenance, sustainable plants and for adding long seasons of interest to your garden.

Hello December!

Brrr, it is cold.  This is a bit of a shock, after such a mild November, isn't it?  As a gardener, I am at least thankful that we have some snow cover for this cold, windy spell we are having.  I am also thankful for ornamental grasses and tall sedums, because they look great in the snow!

 

a garden consultation for Christmas

Garden consulting is something I do part-time over the summers, mostly just because I enjoy talking about gardening with anyone who will listen.  So I haven't really thought much about the business lately, but I recently got an inquiry from someone asking if I did gift certificates for Christmas.

Sure, why not?  And it occurred to me that this would be the perfect Christmas gift!  I certainly would have appreciated such a gift when I first started gardening.  Plus it wasn't made in China, doesn't involve any plastic, and won't eventually end up in the landfill.  Not to mention that if the recipient ends up adding a few drought tolerant and/or edible plants to their garden, we could end up increasing the sustainability and biodiversity of their local little environment.  How great is that?

For all you gardeners out there, why not make up your own little gift certificates to give to family and friends?  Just a thought.

jade plant and christmas cactus in bloom

lamb's ears Christmas ornament

Sigh.  This is a busy time of year for me.  I can barely remember what it was like to have spare time to think about the garden...  I still don't have time to write much, but I hope to get back to it in a few weeks when work isn't so hectic.

In the meantime, here's a Christmas ornament I made over the week-end.  I got the idea from my Mom's Harrowsmith magazine, and I think these are lovely!  They're simply lamb's ears (the plant!  ha ha) glued onto a styrofoam ball.  I wish I had more plants to harvest more leaves from - I only had enough to make 2 balls, and since my kids insisted on "helping", I only ended up with one nice one (or maybe I should say adult-quality).  Wouldn't a bunch of these look nice in a bowl, maybe with some berries or red twigs?

... and update: here it is in a place of honour on my mantle.

so you think I'm crazy?

My husband thinks I'm just a wee bit crazy for stealing leaves, so I had to tell him about this story - at least I don't pee in the compost, honey!!  But if the National Trust is doing it, then it must be OK...

christmas cactus

I know I said I was too busy to post but I couldn't resist posting this picture of my christmas cactus blooming its heart out - it obviously likes my sunroom because the last few years it has burst into so many flowers I've been afraid it would bloom itself to death!  But it even reblooms (though not nearly as heavily) in late winter.  This plant is at least 7-8 years old.

Thank goodness for flowering houseplants!

 

see you in a few weeks...

Sigh.  So many ideas to write about (Piet-Oudolf inspired design for Calgary gardens; yearly review of what worked/didn't work in my gardens this year; changes I am pondering for next year...) but no time right now.  This is a busy time of year at my "real job" at Mount Royal University.  I'm sure you don't need to know but let's just list what I have to do in the next few weeks: get through a huge pile of marking; do an evaluation of a peer's class; review a paper for a journal; finish my contribution to a paper I've been collaborating on, which includes doing more literature review before I can finish writing; write an ethics application for a project I want to do next semester; advise students who are either panicking about what to drop out of now, or what to register for next semester, or both.  And that doesn't include teaching classes and the regular projects and committees I'm working on!  You can tell I'm stressed because I usually try not to talk about work on my gardening blog...

So, long story short, I'll start posting again in a couple of weeks once I get over this hump.  I gotta say, I love that my work is seasonal and the busy times occur in the winter. If I was this busy during gardening season I would lose my mind!!!

PS I stole one more bag of leaves this week ... anyone interested in starting a Leafaholics Anonymous group?

piet oudolf garden design - perfect for Calgary gardens!

Lately I've been studying a few of Piet Oudolf's garden books.  His garden design philosophy has been described as "naturalistic", as he uses mostly perennials that look close to their wild ancestors and that have long seasons of interest.  His gardens are gorgeous - let me repeat, GORGEOUS! - and best of all, many of the plants he regularly uses in his designs do well in Calgary - a bonus!

I'm planning to write a little more about his design principles here in the next few months, and maybe even an article for the Calgary Horticultural Society's newsletter (I'm getting ambitious, aren't I?)  But in the meantime, have a look at some of these photos posted on other websites.  I could spend all day staring at some of these, couldn't you?

Piet Oudolf home page

Piet Oudolf's photostream on Flickr

Adam Woodruff's photostream on Flickr

Piet Oudolf interview on Gardening Gone Wild (with lots more links in this article)

What did you do with your extra hour?... and how to make leaf mold in a bag

Thanks to the time change, this morning I woke up early and what did I do with that extra time?  Snuck over to my neighbour’s and stole their 3 large garbage bags of leaves, of course! 

Let me back up a bit here.  First, the context.  I have ten large spruce trees on my lot and only one medium-ish mountain ash tree, so not very many leaves to speak of.  I always envy those people who bag up lots of extras to put in their compost, rake onto the garden, or to store and make leaf mould with.  I’ve also read about people who patrol their neighbourhoods and steal their neighbour’s bags of leaves, but I’ve never before had the guts.  I don’t really know what I’m scared of – probably just being seen and being thought of as that crazy lady who steals leaves…

Now fast forward to last night, as we were coming home from a potluck at a friend’s house.  Driving past the neighbour’s place, I noticed 3 huge garbage bags of leaves sitting in their back alley.  What?  With a leaf drop-off just a half a block away from our house?  Shameful!  I decided then and there to steal them.  So I did!  And now rather than smouldering with negative energy and thinking that my neighbours are terrible people for putting their leaves in the garbage, I have rescued organic material from the landfill that will eventually become a mulch for the garden.  Everybody wins!

I’ve never actually made leaf mold before (because I’ve never had leaves), but here’s the minimal work method I plan to use to turn these bags of leaves into a beautiful soil amendment:

·         Fill a bag with leaves (done, the neighbours did this part! man, this is easy!)

·         Moisten the leaves, seal the bag and cut some slits in the sides for air flow. 

·         Let the bag sit.  Give it a shake every few weeks if you want to speed things up a bit.

·         Check the bag every month or two for moisture, and add water if things are dry.

·         In 6-12 months, use the leaf mould as a mulch or dig it into the garden to amend the soil.

Now somebody stop me before I start stealing people’s pumpkins too…

a little bit of fall for you!

If you're like me, you're more than a little bit upset about the lack of fall we had this year!  I grew up in southern Ontario and although my husband rolls his eyes every time I mention it, one of the things I miss most is the fall colour on the trees.  Here, the trees went from gang-busters green to frozen brown in a matter of a week this year - not good for the trees either, I might add!

I spent last week-end at a conference in Indiana and oh!  the glorious fall colours!  Aren't they beautiful?  Remind me again why I live here...

why do you garden?

In the latest "Calgary Gardening" magazine from the Calgary Horticultural Society, they published some results from a survey that their Sustainability Committee conducted.  When asked to rank their most important goals in their gardens, society members listed the following, in order of preference:

1. Beautification of an outdoor area.
2. Increase bird, wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.
3. Create healthy and safe living area for family and friends.
4. Conserve water.
5. Improve soil.
6. Produce food.
7. Control weeds.
8. Control invasive plants.
9. Control pest insects.

I would agree with all of the above reasons.  I certainly started out gardening with the goal to add beauty to my yard, but gradually realized the impact that my little garden could have on the environment, including birds and bugs, water, soil, and pests.  I also became a little obsessed with turning my yard into an oasis of nature and beauty for myself and family and friends to enjoy.  I would say my top two reasons for gardening are closely related and intertwined:

1. I don't just want a garden, I want a magical retreat that will make you forget the time and space of your regular life as you spend time in my garden.  I am a long way away from that still, granted, but that is the goal...! 
2. I garden for the pleasure of the process - the idea of changing an "average yard" into a piece of art that takes all 5 senses to appreciate is very appealing!  I also like the challenge of designing something that changes over time, both from spring to fall to winter, and from year to year as plants mature.  I love being out in the garden whether I'm working on a major project (and there will be lots more of those before the garden is "done") or just puttering about deadheading or pulling weeds.  I can forget about everything else when I'm out there and it is the best form of relaxation for me.

So, why do you garden?

more frosty pics from this morning's walk

In addition to the amazing blue oat grass, here are some other plants that caught my attention:

A frozen white phlox backlit in the morning sun.

A frosty cotoneaster with the leaves still green from the late summer weather and then sudden freeze we had.

Plants can be beautiful even in our crazy, frozen October, can't they?