Calgary Garden Coach

garden planning - 10 ingredients of a beautiful winter garden

I spend a lot of time in winter, staring out my windows, analyzing the structure of the garden and conceiving of changes to be made in the next year.  Houzz just posted on this topic, and started with the statement:

"Winter is the best time of year to take stock of your gardens and plan for the future. It's the time of year when gardens are laid flat, exposing their bones and allowing you to see the base of their structure. Take advantage of this time to restructure your design, order new plants or start plans for new hardscaping."

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/1006984/list/10-Ingredients-of-a-Beautiful-Winter-Garden

Some of the gardens featured on Houzz are a wee bit over-the-top for the average person, but nevertheless, check out their photos, drool a little, and think about how you can apply the principles inyour garden!

For me personally, I am really enjoying the view of my new trellis out the dining room window (above).  The snow makes it especially nice since you can't see that those chairs are actually fronted by an unfinished pit of mud, rather than by the nice patio that I didn't get to completing last year!

So now you know what (some of) my plans are for this year!  What are yours?

it's not too cold for the waxwings!

Despite the frigid temperatures, a flock of waxwings descended on our mountain ash tree this morning and denuded it of its berries. (I love my mountain ash tree for the incredible fall colour, winter berries, and the birds it attracts!)

What beautiful birds!  Here's a little movie clip, too, so you can take in a little extra nature today - enjoy the sounds of their fluttering and singing!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_8JeqswRS_I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

... and for the record, it is COLD.

"You need more green!" - a colour scheme for the front garden

Do you have a colour scheme for your garden?  In general, I have not bothered with this in the past.  For example, I've stuck to warm colours in the Butterfly Potager, to give it a close, more intimate feel, and cool colours in the Adventure Garden, to make it look bigger, but that's about the extent of my colour adventures.  I just find it way too hard to control myself when it comes to sticking to specific colours in my own garden, and instead I tend to focus on textures, using plants that suit the spot in terms of light and moisture requirements only.

But, I admit, a colour scheme can really tie things together and take your garden up a notch.  So, after taking a 'Colour Theory for Gardeners' class last spring with Sue Gaviller, who I also had over to consult on my garden, I was convinced to give it a shot in the front garden.  She used my garden as an example in her class, and put together the figure above to show the colour scheme she devised. What do you think?  But wait, let me back up and give you the background:

Her first reaction, after coming over and seeing my blue house, and the towering blue-green Colorado spruce trees in the front yard, was "You need more green!"  Green is considered a neutral in gardening colour schemes because your eye expects to see it.  And it is a wonderful, restful colour.  But what with the house and trees, and no lawn, I had shockingly little green in my front garden.  Sue suggested sweeps of 'Calgary Carpet' junipers and lots of dogwoods to provide the restful green colour.

As for colour combinations, finding one for my front garden was rather difficult owing to the existing blue and red of the house, and the existing blue-green of the spruce trees.  These colours do not fit into a traditional colour scheme (eg. complementary colours, triad, tetrad, split-complementary, etc.)  So, Sue got creative and used the Munsell colour circle (with 10 hues, rather than the more commonly used artist's colour wheel which has 12 hues) to come up with a double complementary colour scheme of blue, blue-green, red, and orange (shown above.)

To demonstrate, she included the following plants in the figure above (left to right, top to bottom): my own Colorado spruce, dogwood 'Arctic Fire', ninebark 'Coppertina', heavy metal switchgrass, globe blue spruce, heuchera 'Peach Melba' or 'Southern Comfort', blue chip juniper, hosta 'Halcyon', blue oat grass, heuchera 'Mahogany', echinacea 'Tomato Soup', daylily 'Strawberry Candy', corydalis 'Blue Panda', heucherella 'Sweet Tea', and Kinnikinnick in the background of the bottom corner.  Of course, there are many other perennials that would work as well.

I think it looks great.  I'd add some white as well, to make sure things don't look too heavy, but otherwise I love it!  But the question remains, can I discipline myself enough to stick to it?  Well, first of all, I'm not going to just take out all of my existing plants and start from scratch - too expensive, and, well, I'm just too attached to some of them.  So I'm going to start slowly by moving some of the big clashers to other areas of the garden and by making sure any new plants I add fit into the new colour scheme.  Another reason I'm going to take it slowly is that I'm not totally convinced that I want every single plant to fit the colour scheme perfectly - I prefer a more natural look that says "this plant wanted to be here" rather than a highly designed look that says "the designer wanted this plant to be here".  Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough in my tastes yet.  So it will be interesting to see how my tastes change (if they change) as I start to modify the existing garden.

 
For example, in this picture above from last summer, you can see I'd already added a small ninebark 'Coppertina' out front, which relates really well with the reddish-brown on the house.  But the purplish-blue of the catmint... not so much.  When you compare this garden photo with the colour scheme figure, top, it is obvious the catmint clashes.  Dang!  That's one of my favourite plants!!

This is going to be hard.

red shale mulch - the other bane of my existence

I complain about my excessive number of spruce trees a lot, but I haven't complained about the accompanying red shale mulch recently.  Since moving into my fixer-upper of a house and yard almost 8 years ago, I have dug and removed countless wheelbarrows of the stuff.  Someone, about 40 years ago or so, thought it was a great idea to plant a gazillion spruce trees and cover half the yard with a thick mulch of red shale. They did a very good job of it, too.  No scrimping on the red shale mulch happened on this property.  No sirree.

So, after shoveling and moving around another 20 wheelbarrow loads of shale mixed with spruce needles yesterday, I am feeling the urge to vent again.

Above: here's the spot, viewed from my front steps, where I dug out the shale yesterday.  My husband took the kids out for a few hours, and I probably should have been cleaning bathrooms or putting the Christmas decorations away, but it was nice outside!  So I got out the shovel and wheelbarrow, of course.

I needed to move at least a little of this mulch out of the way because Adair Tree Care Ltd. is coming in a few weeks to take down the two trees shown (Hurrray!!!!) and I needed to move enough that they could use their stump grinder - the shale went right up to the base of the trees.  It is hard to see in the photo above because there is little colour contrast between the soil, pink mulch, and surrounding bark mulch, but if you look closely you can just make out the dusty, pink edges of the landscaping fabric.

Above: As you can see, the area beneath these trees is a barren wasteland even during the growing season.  This spring I'll be busy replacing those trees with shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennials... after I finish removing the rest of the red shale, of course (I've only done about half so far.) 

"How is it possible," you might ask, "that you could get out and dig in the middle of January in Calgary?  I know it's chinooking right now, but isn't the ground still frozen?"

"It is possible," I would answer, "because no moisture ever falls beneath those d*^&m trees.  The ground isn't frozen there because there is nothing in the ground to actually freeze!  Nothing but freakin' dust, spruce needles, and red shale mulch.  Gawd am I glad to be finally getting rid of those trees."

"And what did you do," you might wonder, "with the mulch you dug up?"

"For lack of any other place," I would answer, "I spread it around underneath all my other spruce trees!"

Related posts:

•  The front entry garden - big plans for next year!
• Confessions of a sustainable gardener (please honey, can we lose one more tree?)
• FAQ: What kind of mulch should I use?

January - gardening fever starts again!

So holidays are over, it's nice outside (right now), and I can't think of anything better to think about than gardening planning for 2012.  What, it's not just me, right?  Are you there yet?  Dreaming of big, exciting garden renovations for 2012?  I am so there.  I have some pretty major plans for this year, starting with taking down 2 spruce trees at the back of my Adventure Garden.

Above: here's my Dad yesterday after we had removed the lower branches from the 2 doomed trees (I'm holding the rope!)  Not to worry, I am a tree hugger at heart, and I have plenty more trees in my garden.  These two particular trees were planted too close together, too close to a retaining wall, thus they were ratty and scraggly looking, (not to mention, of course, they were stealing too much sun and moisture from the garden.)  I don't think you should ever feel bad about taking down a tree that someone else planted in the wrong spot.  These two trees will be replaced with a large lilac and some shrub roses in spring, which are hardy and drought-tolerant, will provide privacy, and will help screen the view of that utility pole back there.

... and now I have a big mess on my back lawn to get rid of.  I see a chipper rental in my future!

Meet Clive, the flowering clivia.

This is the first time my 1-1/2 year old houseplant, Clive, has bloomed! My husband named him Clive - he likes to name any of my things that he thinks have no useful purpose, and which take up a lot of space (admittedly, Clive does have annoyingly long, strappy leaves.  For the record, hubby also named my body pillow, which I can't sleep without, Fred.)

Clive doesn't look very Christmasy with that brassy orange colour, but at this time of year, when the christmas cactus has finished blooming, I'll take just about anything!  I LOVE flowering house plants (I NEED flowering houseplants!) and this is a plant that I expect to get better with age.  I ordered him from Garden Imports in spring 2010, after someone on GardenRant had been raving about clivias.  

He was worth the wait.

Season's Greetings!

Whatever is beautiful.

Whatever is meaningful.

Whatever brings you happiness.

May it be yours this holiday season and throughout the coming year!

I look forward to virtually gardening with you in 2012!

Janice

winter interest, shminter interest!

Since Calgary has such a short growing season, I always encourage people to include lots of plants that will stay standing and add texture and interest to their garden all year round.  My Adventure Garden has lots of ornamental grasses, liatris, tall sedums, siberian iris, and more, that do just that. 

Except, of course, if they get toboganned over.

perennials still standing in the front Welcome Garden

It has been a magically beautiful week, with all that snow hanging around on the trees and shrubs, hasn't it?  I was sad to see it all starting to melt yesterday.  Here's a photo of the front Welcome Garden I took last Sunday as the big dump was coming down.  There are lots of  perennials still standing for the winter - although some of them are completely buried in snow at this point!

To see this garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.

it's about time - green bins to be piloted in Calgary!

Here's the story:

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111213/CGY_green_bin_111213/20111213/?hub=CalgaryHome

While trucking around picking up everybody's compostable waste isn't quite as green as composting it yourself on site, I would argue this is the next best thing.  Some people don't have the space to do it themselves, or don't have the space to compost all of their compostable waste.  Between the garden and kitchen waste thanks to a large garden and a family of 5, I barely have enough space myself even though I have two very large compost bins.

So I fully support the green bin initiative, even though I don't need one.  Do you?

Thanks to the Calgary Hort Society's facebook page for alerting me to this story!

I LOVE this snow!

Yesterday was beautiful, wasn't it?  (As long as you didn't have to drive somewhere!)  I got outside and hung this wreath on my new trellis while the kids toboganned across the Adventure Garden.  I get glimpses of the wreath from the kitchen and dining room and it really puts me in the festive spirit! 

The best part of the snow is you can't see the unfinished patio (a.k.a. mud pit) area in front of the trellis... an unfinished project from last year!  Here's hoping the snow stays!

Do you decorate in the garden?

Happy December!

My Christmas cactus has been blooming the whole month of November and I haven't had time to tell you about it! This plant is at least 10 years old and super low maintenance.  Give it a sunny window and water it once in a while, and enjoy.  Suddenly I'm questioning why I don't have another one in a different colour!  I may have to indulge. (My inferior photography abilities do not do this plant justice!)

Yes, gardening and plants (and taking down spruce trees - exciting news coming on that front! but no, sadly, I didn't lose any in the windstorm) are always at least in the back of my mind even if I don't always have time to post about it.  This is a busy time of year at work (@ Mount Royal University - the marking!  the meetings!)  so I'm going easy on myself - expect just a few posts this month as I focus my time and energies on family and holiday festivities, and then the blog will start up with regular posts again in the New Year.

Have a wonderful, festive December, everyone!

sparklers!

I took this photo last week-end before the Chinook blew through - it is ornamental allium 'Purple Sensation' seedheads in my Adventure Garden.  One of my all-time favourite plants and the kids love them too.  If you don't have any, put them on your bulb list for next fall.  Here are some pictures of them in their full purple glory in spring.

If, at this time of year, you're thinking that maybe you should have a few more plants in your garden that stay standing and looking good throughout the winter, go to my 'Winter Interest' category and scroll down for ideas... and start planning for next year!

snow in the butterfly potager: hops, monarda (bee balm) and solidago (goldenrod)

winter garden to-do list: snow farming

Winter finally hit Calgary this week - I walk to work and I finally had to dig out my gloves and hat a couple of days ago!  It has been a long, mild fall so I'm not complaining one bit.  I'm extremely busy in other parts of my life right now (job, family, gearing up for Christmas) so it's actually nice to take an enforced break from gardening.  I will start blogging more again in the new year.

In the meantime, there's not a lot to do in the garden these days except shovel snow.  Remember to shovel it onto your garden, not the street where it will be wasted...

...even my three-year-old knows that!  (I don't usually post photos of my kids but you can barely see her in this one anyway so I figured it was OK!)  She's a great little helper!

design plans for a new backyard garden

Here is a client's backyard.  She is lucky enough to have the opportunity to do a major re-do of the garden design, thanks to having had weeping tile installed next to the house this past summer.  She's also extremely lucky to have some mature trees and shrubs already in the back corners of her yard.  The trees provide structure, create privacy, and help disguise the sharp angles of the back fence corners.  Now she just needs a good layout to tie everything together.

Above (l -> r, top -> bottom), you can see the burgandy-leaved Schubert chokecherry in the back left corner, a few shrubs across the back, and a crabapple tree in the back right.  There's also a small patio behind the house, and a large lilac shrub on one side, but the yard is completely bare closer to the house due to the construction.

So the first step is to decide on a garden layout, keeping the mature trees and a large lilac (shown below.)  Here are some simple sketches of a few design possibilities:

 

Above: This design features two circles of lawn, with garden filling the surrounding areas. To keep lawn maintenance to a minimum, the smaller circle could be mulched with shredded bark.  I really like the idea of having a small, secluded getaway in that back right corner of the yard, under the shelter of the existing crabapple tree.  I could totally picture two adirondack chairs tucked in there.  An arch at the intersection of the two circles would provide a nice focal point and really separate the two areas (and could easily be added at a later date as time and budget allow.)  A couple of shrubs on either side would make that smaller circle feel like a different "room."  Personally, this is my favourite design as the circles provide such a strong shape to the garden.

Above: The second design is similar to the circle design, but with a looser, more amorphous shape that doesn't look so "designed."  I would still put mulch, an arch, and some chairs in the smaller "room".

Above: Many people tend to put straight garden beds around the perimeter of their yard, with a rectangular lawn in the middle.  This is not my preference but if the beds are at least three feet deep then you at least have the opportunity to provide some depth to the garden.  Having the stepping stones and a focal point will make things more interesting.  The pathway could be incorporated into the lawn or garden (currently shown in the lawn) depending on one's garden/lawn maintenance ratio preferences.  The semi-circular area at the back of this garden design could be mulched, and would provide a nice space for a focal point such as a bird bath, large urn or bench.

Above: The oval lawn is my second-favourite choice.  Similar to the circles, it provides a strong, shape that defines the garden well.  I always tell people that the border between your lawn and garden is the "line" that your eye sees, so it is the key thing that defines the garden.  Here the long axis of the oval is on a diagonal to make the yard seem bigger, and again a bench or some chairs could be placed under the tree to make an inviting spot that beckons you into the yard.

This client is a gardener who likes to "play" in her garden by moving things around and trying things out.  She doesn't want a detailed planting plan, so she just needs to pick a design first, then we will add a few key shrubs and ornamental grasses to the design to provide some year-long structure. 

Which design would you pick?

 

time to water the trees!

http://adairtreecare.com/posts/watering-trees-in-the-fall-in-calgary

the front Welcome Garden in mid-October

 

Believe it or not, this is my favourite time of year in the garden!  There is not much to be done except enjoy the fall colours and textures!

on fall leaves and watering trees

The Mountain Ash tree in my back shade garden is finally starting to change colour.  It is such a gorgeous tree!  I feel very lucky to have it.

And in case you're not following the Calgary garden talk on facebook, here is a recent post I linked to about how to water your trees in fall.  Basically, stop watering in mid-September .  Once deciduous trees have lost their leaves, water once more with a soaker hose under the drip line.  Water evergreens in late fall just before the ground freezes as they use water throughout the winter.

And speaking of leaves, here are a few links regarding using fall leaves in the garden.  Don't let those valuable leaves go to waste!  Rake them onto the garden, add them to the compost bin, or bag them up and make leaf mold!

• How to make leaf mold in a bag from Calgary Garden Coach, Nov 2009
• Leaves valuable as mulch, compost from The Columbus Dispatch
• Making leafmoud - gardener's gold from growveg.com

fall leaves in the garden - up to my old tricks!

Ever since I noticed my neighbours putting their leaves in the garbage a few years ago, I have been "rescuing" other people's bags of leaves.  Why?   Because I only have one decent-sized deciduous tree on my property (but many, many spruce) and I don't have nearly enough leaves as I (or the kids) would like.

So I rescue other people's bags and first dump them on the back lawn for the kids to jump in for a while.  When they've tired themselves out, I mow the pile a few times with my push mower to chop up the leaves, then I start dumping them in the gardens for mulch.  Technically you should wait until the ground has frozen to put winter mulch down, but when you're a busy gardener who works full-time and has kids, you do things whenever you have the chance even if the timing isn't optimal!

I've written about the benefit of leaves before - they are high in nitrogen and they insulate the soil from our wild temperature swings and drying winds in wintertime.  This past spring I didn't even bother to clean them up!  You are supposed to remove winter mulch in order to help the soil warm up faster in the spring.  Again, here I don't follow the rules and maybe my garden is a week or two behind in the spring, but minimizing work is a higher priority for me!  Dried leaves don't look as pretty as fresh, clean soil does but you can put some compost on top of them in the late spring for a cleaner look.

I even save and reuse the garbage bags from the bags of leaves that I rescue!  I'm sure the neighbours think I'm crazy, prowling the back alleys and lurking around the leap drop-off area, but I really think I'm doing the world a favour!