Plant calendar
December 06, 2009
November 30, 2009
October 26, 2009
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...
October 16, 2009
helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass) in snow
I snapped a few pictures on my way to work this morning. A gardener in my neighbourhood has lots of mature blue oat grass in her front yard and it looks amazing. All year, actually. But particularly in fall (once the seed heads have matured) and winter - these plants will look great like this all winter long. Each of the clumps below are planted in groups of 3 for a larger effect. I have two specimens of this plant in separate spots in my back adventure garden, but none in the front. I think I must add some next year...
October 06, 2009
what's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden, Oct 6 2009
I haven't spent a lot of time tending the garden lately, and I've gotta say I'm enjoying the fact that I don't have to water the tomatoes anymore! Since it turned cold last week (and it snowed last week-end!) things are starting to look, shall we say, a little less lush. Here's how things looked mid-September. Most of the annuals are done but the fall-blooming perennials are looking great now and I'm vowing that if I add any more next year, it will only be ornamental grasses. They look great all season but especially come into their own in the fall! So here's what the garden looks like now:
September 20, 2009
September 19, 2009
September 08, 2009
what's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden, Sept 5 2009
Front welcome garden perennials in bloom: daylilies, echinacea, veronica spicata 'Sunny Border Blue', yarrow 'Paprika' and 'Moonshine', catmint 'Walker's Low', liatris spicata, rudbeckia, feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster'; foliage of cushion spurge and tiger eyes sumac are starting to change colour. Annuals: california poppy, painted sage, euphorbia, borage.
Closer to the house perennials in bloom: yarrow, veronica spicata 'Red Fox', monarda (bee balm), monkshood, annabelle hydrangea, purple bugbane; foliage of bleeding heart is starting to change colour. Annuals: painted sage. These areas are struggling along and I'm hoping that they will do better next year after I take out a tree.
In the side garden, there are only perennials blooming: liatris, red yarrow, clematis, globe thistle. I'm thinking I should put some annual cosmos or cleome in here next year - some of my favourite flowers for cutting!
In the butterfly potager perennials: roses, clematis, hyssop, agastache, hollyhocks, daylily, red bee balm, annabelle hydrangea. Annuals: scarlet runner bean, red poppies, petunias, verbena bonariensis, nasturtiums.
In the back shade garden perennials: ligularia, astilbe, hostas, feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster'.
In the kids' adventure garden perennials: roses, rudbeckia 'Golden Glow', peachleaf bellflower, russian sage, echinacea, liatris, sedum matrona, monkshood, blue flax, yarrow, lamb's ears, plume poppy, russian sage, deschampsia (tufted hair grass) and helictotrichon (blue oat grass). Annuals: lavatera, nicotiana sylvestris, verbena bonariensis, cosmos, borage, snapdragons, clarkia.
Oh, and don't forget those yummy edibles! These days we're eating lettuce, scarlet runner beans, and tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes from the garden. The tomato season may be short in Calgary, but if you ask me at this time of year I will say it sure is worth it to have taken care of those plants all summer in order to have a glorious few weeks of the most delicious tomatoes you can possible imagine! (Can you tell, I'm on a tomato high right now!)
September 01, 2009
backlit cosmos
Wow. Did my camera actually take these pictures?
August 25, 2009
more annuals in my garden
Besides the giant annuals I seem compelled to grow every year, I did try to be more restrained this year and grow a few smaller things as well. Here are some more annuals I started from seed this year: This euphorbia is pretty, although the variegation did not appear until just a week or two ago so it didn't look very exciting until then. And it is rather spindly so if I grow it again next year I must remember to plant them much closer together.
Snapdragons - love them! This year I grew the 'Ribbon Series' which gets about 18 inches tall - not quite tall enough to need staking which means less maintenance for me (because really, I never would get around to staking them until it was too late). I love them especially because they are very frost tolerant so can go in the garden early and they bloom much later than many other plants for an extra long season of colour. My kids also like to pick the flowers and make the dragons "snap".
Sweet peas, another must-have! Actually I tried morning glories as well this year (another annual vine) but they barely even started to grow until recently and there is still no sign of flowers - hence no photo. After planting them, I found a reference that said they really like heat and therefore they probably aren't the best annual vine for Calgary. I'm going to give morning glories a pass next year and just plant more sweet peas. Right now I'm cutting bouquets of sweet peas every few days and the smell is heavenly! I also have a sweet spot for them because they were in my wedding bouquet!
Painted sage (also called clary sage) self-seeds a little bit around my garden but I always start some from seed to make sure I have more. I always get questions "what is that plant?" so I know it's a keeper! The bracts turn pink, purple or white and look very unusual. This pink one happened to pop up in the new side of the front garden, probably because a seed found its way into my compost bin. That's bearded iris in the front and catmint 'Walker's Low' and sedum 'Autumn Joy' in the back.
Cosmos - I also love these and start some every year. So easy to grow and the more you cut 'em, the more blooms you get! Great for bouquets.
what's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden, Aug 25 2009
In the front entry garden, the lilies and veronica are finishing, but the catmint, yarrow and daylilies are still blooming away. Echinacea and purple sedum just started blooming, and the 'Tiger Eyes' sumac is already changing colour for fall! Sigh.
Closer to the house, the garden is dominated by Annabelle hydrangea, bee balm and monkshood. Painted sage and spirea are also still looking nice.
Heading around the side of the house, the lilies have already finished here (more sun) but the globe thistle and clematis are still blooming, and the liatris is just coming into bloom.
In the butterfly potager, the lilies are still blooming (although I really need to protect them with something because the dog keeps stepping on them - hence the cut ones on the picnic table). Hyssop, daylilies, thyme, annual nasturtiums, poppies and scarlet runner beans are also still in bloom. The peas are just finishing up and I'm going to rip them out this week. Joe Pye Weed and hollyhocks have lots of buds on them.
In the back shade garden, the ligularia and hostas are still blooming and the astilbes are just starting.
In the kids' adventure garden, there is lots going on! The liatris and echinacea are starting to bloom, and the larger annuals such as borage, nicotiana sylvestris, lavatera, verbena bonariensis and cardoon are really taking over. The castor bean isn't as large this year because I planted in a spot that doesn't get as much sun, but I'm ok with that. Snapdragons (annuals from seed), daylilies, monkshood, peachleaf bellflower, roses and lilies are still blooming, and sedum matrona and russian sage are just starting to open up.
And in the area of my garden my kids like to call "England" (not because things grow there as if they're in England, unfortunately), the tomates are FINALLY ripening! This has been a very late year. I also have sweet peas and cucumber here. Other edibles are planted here and there around the yard: raspberries finishing, peas finishing, scarlet runner beans just starting, as well as lettuce being harvested regularly and carrots and beets being occasionally thinned. Yum!
note to self: don't bother harvesting cardoon next year
Here's the cardoon growing at the back of my garden. I started it from seed this spring on a whim, because I'd read lots of recent articles about it being such an "architectural" plant for the ornamental vegetable garden. I planted it cause I thought the kids would like it - the leaves are huge and the interesting flowers look like artichokes. But as I was cutting it back last week-end (because of course, I planted three much too close together), I decided I may as well try to eat some!
I should have known when I started googling "how to cook cardoon", that I shouldn't have bothered. As far as I can tell, you're either supposed to blanche the stems before harvesting, or peel and boil the heck out of it with lots of salt and lemon to remove the bitter taste, then serve with a heavy cheese sauce. Hmmm... So I boiled the heck out of it with lots of salt and lemon, but after a quick taste test decided not to waste the cheese sauce!
Anyway, it was an interesting experiment. I still like the look of this plant and I'll probably grow only one next year, instead of three, if I can find space for it.
August 11, 2009
what's happening in my Calgary zone 3 garden, Aug 10 2009
This is very unblogger-ish of me, but I'm going to have to post later. This time of year, it is hard to keep up with my own garden, plus consulting, plus blogging! But I do want to post some pics for my own records. We're also busy at home this week with the retaining wall project. If we're lucky it'll be done by next week...
Hope you're having a good week in your garden. Check back soon!
--
August 08, 2009
the dry stream bed in the kid's adventure garden: too full?
Way back in spring I planted some lavatera, nicotiana sylvestris cardoon and verbena bonariensis from seed, in order to "fill up" this garden which was only started last year. Yikes!! They're all huge and blooming away now. You can't even see the cardoon at the back and I have to keep cutting the self-seeded borage back. But still, annuals are a great way to fill up space while you're waiting for your perennials to mature. I think I'll skip the nicotiana sylvestris next year, though. It just takes too long to get big - in the spring you wish it would fill up a spot faster, and now it's so huge you can't walk on the pathway beside it!!
... the lavatera, however, can stay. It's just too beautiful!!
July 27, 2009
what's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden - July 26 2009
In the front welcome garden, the blues of veronica spicata and nepeta (catmint) are still blooming away, while the daisies are finishined and the lilies are starting. I love lilies! Spireas, yarrow, gentians and campanula are also in bloom.
Closer to the house in the entry garden, there are cooler colours of pink, purple and white. Lots more lilies, clary sage, spireas and a shorter daisy variety are in bloom.
Heading around the side of the house, the clematises are doing well this year, the delphiniums are blooming, and the globe thistle has turned into a monster!
Ah, the butterfly potager. I think this must be my favourite place to sit! The delphiniums, clematis, martagon lilies are all still blooming, and the self-seeded poppies are looking gorgeous. Daylilies and nasturtiums have just started blooming, and we're still picking peas, carrots and beets.
In the shade garden, the goat's beard and columbine are just finishing, but the hostas are starting to bloom and the grasses always look great.
And finally, the back hill. The snapdragons have finally started to bloom (I started them from seed very late this spring), and the roses, borage, blue salvia, cosmos, lamb's ears and ornamental grasses are still going strong. Lilies are just starting to bloom here, too.
July 18, 2009
what's blooming in my zone 3 Calgary garden - July 17 2009
In the front welcome garden near the sidewalk, the shasta daisies are still blooming away, plus the yarrow 'Moonshine', catmint, cranesbills, campanula glomerata and the veronica 'Sunny Border Blue' just starting. The new side (top right in this collage) needs a little something more, don't you think? Perhaps some daisies or yarrow...
Closer to the house, the chives are finishing, and the peachleaf bellflower and clary sage look great with the yellow of the spireas. On the left-hand side of the front steps, there is a mock orange in all its glory. I planted this for its fragrance, which knocks your socks off when you stand at my front door. This shrub will bloom in partial shade, which is exactly what I have.
As we go around the side of the house, the clematis and globe thistle are starting to bloom, and the mullein, delphiniums, daisies and pinks are still going strong. The sweet rocket and snow-in-summer are just finishing.
Inside the butterfly potager, the roses are still blooming, the delphiniums and honeysuckle are just starting, and the blue cornflower is just finishing. We've been thinning the carrots and beets and eating them, and the peas are just ready for picking. We also have lettuce and spinach in a different area of the yard.
Not a lot blooming in the shade garden right now - thank goodness for foliage texture! But the columbine and coral bells are still going strong.
And finally, the kids' adventure garden on the back hill. Pinks, catmint, lady's mantle, peachleaf bellflower, roses, borage, meadow rue, iceland poppies, painted daisy, sea thrift, masterwort, honeysuckle, lamb's ears, cosmos and more are blooming. The grasses are in "bloom" too.
July 17, 2009
a banner year for strawberries in my Calgary zone 3 garden
I'm not sure what I did to get such a good crop of strawberries this year, but I'm glad I did it! This spring, I thinned out the plants and lined the raised strawberry bed plus dug in some compost and peat moss when I replanted them. Was it the thinning? The extra fertilizer? The additional moisture? Any or all?
Anyway, I've got the most strawberries this year, ever. If only I can keep my 18-month-old from picking the white ones, I should have strawberries at least another week! Yum!!
July 08, 2009
what's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden, July 5 2005
In the front welcome garden, stonecrop, iris germanica and shasta daisies are taking centre stage.
On the new side of the front garden, there is lots of empty space but the catmint and campanula glomerata are in bloom, as well as more iris germanica.
In the front entry garden, more iris germanica is blooming, along with chives. I sure love the colourful foliage of goldmound spirea!
And heading around the side of the house, you will see the sweet rocket is finishing up, but the snow-in-summer is still going strong, more iris germanica and shasta daisies are blooming, and the delphiniums and mullein are just starting.
Coming into the backyard through the butterlfy potager, you will see the peony and blue cornflower just finishing up, and roses (john cabot and john davis), honeysuckle and martagon lilies just starting.
In the back shade garden, the bleeding hearts are still blooming (it is very shady), the hostas finally look like something, and the heuchera and columbines are in bloom.
And finally, there is almost too much to mention going on in the kids' adventure garden on the back hill! The ornamental alliums are finishing up but the roses, painted daisies, blue salvia, catmint, peonies, meadow rue, geraniums and more are all in bloom. I think this is my favourite time of year!
June 22, 2009
What's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden, June 22 2009
Here's what's happening in my garden. Sorry, no time this week to list all the plants or to add links to previous posts about each plant (will I ever have time again this summer? I'm thinking not...) But if you have questions please add a comment below and I'll get back to you.
The front garden:
The "new" side of the front garden:
The entry garden closer to the house:
The shade garden on the other side of the front:
The side garden as you head around to the backyard:
The butterfly/hummingbird potager garden:
The backyard shade garden:
And finally, the kids' adventure garden on the hill:
June 15, 2009
What's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden, June 15 2009
I should have waited until today (June 15) to take pictures, because there are several more things blooming today compared to yesterday (thanks to the heat, finally!), but anyway, here you go: Clockwise from top left: pulmonaria still blooming in the butterfly potager; bearded iris, iceland poppies, ornamental allium, moss phlox, and bergenia in the adventure hill garden; spurges, bearded iris and ornamental allium in the front welcome garden (and there's a pretty patch of white snowdrop anemones waaaay back in front of the brick chimney); leopard's bane and bleeding heart in the front woodland garden; bergenia, leopard's bane and snowdrop anemone in the shady side of the back hill.
And because someone asked, here is the side garden with the "automatic" rain barrel watering system. I went and got a "sprinkler hose" rather than a soaker hose, and the barrels drain much faster now. The clematis are definitely happier this year and even the "drought tolerant" perennials such as echinops (globe thistle) appreciate the extra water - the globe thistle seems to grow visibly each day now! (This is what this area looked like last year at this time.) Snow-in-summer and hesperalis matronalis (sweet rocket) are just starting to bloom here.
And finally, a few more close-ups just because you can't see everything in the collages above! Also blooming, clockwise from top left: allium, bearded iris and iceland poppies; cushion spurge and bearded iris;clematis macropetala 'Bluebird'; anemone sylvestris (snowdrop anemone); bergenia still going strong with yellow iceland poppies in the background; geranium (cranesbill) 'Johnson's blue'; lily of the valley; bearded iris, sea thrift and moss phlox; lilacs.
June 08, 2009
what's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden, June 7 2009
... all this despite snow, hail and frost on the week-end!
June 03, 2009
June flowers in Calgary zone 3
Here's some of what we have to look forward to over the next month. (Finally, there are enough pictures from last year that I actually have to break each collage down into separate areas of the garden!) So, here is a little tour of what was blooming in my Calgary garden in June 2008. To find more information about these plants you can go to the June 2008 archives. This is the front "welcome garden", which was completed in 2007. Clockwise from top left: view from the sidewalk; alliums and snowdrop anemone; sedum acre; shasta daisies; cranesbill geranium; iris germanica, alliums and shasta daisies; more daisies; euphorbia; snowdrop anemone.
Here's the shade garden closer to the front of the house. It is still a work in progress and I expect it to improve once I get that tree taken down... this fall I hope! Clockwise from top left: muscari and bleeding heart; virginia bluebells; bleeding heart; lily of the valley; leopard's bane.
The side garden is supposed to be low maintenance because nobody but the neighbours really see it. It is on the south side of the house and very dry. Left to right: iris germanica 'bounty'; snow-in-summer; the view from the front corner of the neighbour's house; sweet rocket.
Here's the butterfly/hummingbird/potager garden around the south back patio. Because I have a tendency towards pink flowers, I am trying to restrict myself to warmer colours here - both to attract hummingbirds and also just to be different from the rest of the garden (you can tell I find it difficult to restrict myself since I could only narrow down this area to butterfly/hummingbird/edibles!!) Clockwise from top left: red peony; raised beds with lettuce, carrots and spinach plus peas growing on the trellis; siberian iris; peony and cornflower; cornflower close-up.
And finally, the back "adventure hill garden" that was completed last year (more or less!) I call it an adventure garden because it has pathways throughout designed to let the kids roam the garden (or play chase!) Left to right, top to bottom: snowdrop anemone and iris germanica; sea thrift; clematis alpina; bergenia; johnny jump-up; catmint, sea thrift and moss phlox; ornamental allium and iceland poppies; peony and siberian iris; cranesbill geranium 'Johnson's blue'; moss (arctic) phlox; iris germanica and iceland poppies.
June 01, 2009
it's aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!
Here's my little 'Tiger Eyes' sumac bud. Yippee! A friend gave me a piece of a root last year and I wasn't sure it was going to make it through the winter. It was in a pot in the strawberry bed and hasn't shown any signs of life until just these last few days.
It is going in the new front garden, which I will be ready to show you soon! It's almost done...
Tiger Eyes sumac leafs out very late, so I hadn't quite given up hope yet. Other perennials that come back very late (every year I wonder if I've lost them...) are hostas and eupatorium (joe pye weed). These are all just starting to poke up now in my garden.
what's blooming in my zone 3 Calgary garden - May 31 2009
Above left to right, top to bottom: epimedium rubrum; daffodils and muscari; epimedium rubrum; bergenia; euphorbia; rhubarb (first rhubarb pies this week-end, yum!); leopard's bane; darwin tulips and bergenia; darwin tulip; iceland poppies; iceland poppy buds; fritillaria; dwarf iris germanica; pulmonaria and daffodil; bergenia; pansies.
And below: the finished side of my front yard garden. I'm thinking I need a few early-blooming spring bulbs here, but I'm sure I planted some last fall... perhaps the squirrels got them? Bah!
pulmonaria (lungwort)
Pulmonaria captured my heart when I first saw it in bloom - it has pink and blue flowers at the same time because the flowers open pink and change to blue. So pretty! And the speckled leaves are cool, too. There are different varieties with many different variations of green and silver variegated leaves.
This is a super tough plant that does well in shade, even dry shade. Not only that but its leaves are not appetizing to slugs, unlike the leaves of that other foliage plant for shade, the hosta (which isn't drought tolerant, either). And pulmonaria leaves don't get ripped up in hail, like a hosta. Pulmonaria trumps hosta in Calgary's garden climate!
What more can I say? A great, low maintenance plant for shade.
May 26, 2009
what's blooming in my Calgary zone 3 garden - May 24 2009
clockwise from top left:
siberian squill; iceland poppy; a low growing red tulip whose variety escapes me; viola "johnny jump-up"; daffodils; chionodoxa and bergenia; more red tulip
May 19, 2009
May 17 2009 - early spring bulbs in my garden
The siberian squill and tulipa tarda are still going great guns all over the place, and the iris reticulata and chionodoxa just started blooming.
Note: I've also got tonnes of iceland poppies ready to pop. Can't wait!
chionodoxa (glory of the snow)
These chionodoxa started blooming in my garden this week-end.
May 18, 2009
brunnera macrophylla (siberian bugloss) 'Jack Frost'
This is a plant I have wanted for a long time. When I was at the garden centre this week-end to get my new crabapple trees, I just could't resist these beautiful forget-me-not blue flowers any longer (my camera just does not do it justice) and I came home with 3 of these plants!! When it finishes blooming in spring, the variegated foliage looks nice the rest of the season.
This is a tough plant that does very well in shade, even dry shade (which I have a lot of!) It is hardy to zone 2, and will eventually get about 30 cm tall and wide.
malus 'Dreamweaver' (columnar crabapple)
This Dreamweaver columnar crabapple tree is blooming a little early since I just picked it up from the garden centre, but aren't the flowers pretty? And they smell nice too! The foliage will turn a deep burgandy for the summer, and it will even produce edible fruit.
This is a great tree for small spaces. The tree will eventually get up to 1 m wide and 3 m tall.
There weren't any crabapple trees when I moved into this house and my old house had 4 large ones. I am thrilled to have crabapple flowers in my garden again!!
iris reticulata
This iris reticulata just started blooming near the catmint in the kid's adventure garden. I planted the bulbs last fall. Mental note to plant more next year!
May 11, 2009
lonicera caerulea: haskap (blue) honeysuckle
Something funny going on with the underline function today, but anyway...
Here is one of my blue honeysuckles that I planted last year. They are very new (just released in 2007, I think, and I got 2 small rooted cuttings last year) and I am thrilled they are growing and already blooming. The shrub itself as well as the flowers are supposed to be very hardy (zone 2) so therefore perfect for the prairies. They are being promoted as a substitute for blueberries (which don't do well here because they don't like our alkaline soil), are supposed to taste similar but not as sweet, and are similar in colour but much more oblong in shape.
I won't hold my breath for fruit this year since the plants are so small, but since they flower so early, they usually produce fruit in June, much sooner than cherries and other berries here. Can't wait!
tulipa tarda
The tulipa tarda started blooming yesterday in my rock garden, and even attracted a bee!
May 04, 2009
what's happening in my Calgary zone 3 garden May 4, 2009
Here are a few pics I snapped this morning (clockwise from top left):
siberian squill; pansies which survived last week's cold; lamium; monkshood; more lamium; and iceland poppies already in bud. The crocuses are just finishing.
Lamium! I love lamium. It has such pretty leaves, and will grow in tough shade (which I have a lot of) and it starts growing so early when you're just dying for something green in the garden! I have a few stray pieces I'm going to dig up this week and spread around. It also looks great in containers so I may save some for spillers.
It was a lovely week-end, wasn't it? I didn't have a lot of time for gardening but I did manage to help someone dig up a russian sage (and I took a piece for my new front garden), finished sweeping the patios, moved a few perennials and got my carrot, beets and pea seeds in the ground. It sure feels good to be finally gardening!!
May the 4th be with you! ;-)
May 01, 2009
Good-bye Karl... but not for long!
I am just finishing cutting down all last year's perennials this week. Here is the before and after of the front "welcome garden."
I was a little sad cutting Karl down. Seriously, calamagrostis (feather reed grass) 'Karl Foerster' is one of my favourite plants. This one is several years old and almost as tall and wide as a real person, so I think of him as one. Every time I walk past, I say hello to Karl! (The kids love this plant too but they think it's wheat!)
He has such presence in the front garden - he makes a great vertical accent, and as you can see stands tall all winter long. It's easy to give people directions to my house because I can just say "it's the blue house with the ornamental grass - you'll know what I mean when you see it." He may not look like much after his haircut but by June he'll be several feet tall again and interesting to look at for another 11 months. I also have one in the back to screen a gas meter, and added another to my back hill garden as a "bookend" last year. I've recommended it as a fast-growing screen for a kids' play area and as a substitute for pink pampas grass, too.
April 27, 2009
what's growing in my Calgary garden April 26, 2009
Well the crocuses are still blooming away, but otherwise I have no pretty pictures to post yet. These ones are just for my own records - so next year at this time I can compare and see whether the garden is ahead or behind where it was in previous years.
In case you're curious, the plants are, from left to right, top to bottom:
morden sunrise rose; blue oat grass; lilac bud; peony (hey, how'd that get in there twice?); pulmonaria; leopard's bane; bearded iris; silver mound artemesia; lady's mantle; scarlet trumpet honeysuckle; morden sunrise rose (hey!...) All pictures are from the back yard since, well, I just didn't get to the front this week-end.
For another note, it is snowing and not supposed to get above zero for the next 2 days. Is anyone else getting just a little grumpy?
April 21, 2009
bergenia waking up
Bergenia tends to look a little sad throughout the winter, because although it's classified as "evergreen", in zone 3 the leaves look dead and messy when not covered with snow (which, fortunately, they were this year).
But, that is the only drawback of bergenia, as far as I'm concerned. It is drought-tolerant, grows in sun or shade, makes a beautiful green groundcover and has bold, pink flowers in spring. When not blooming, its large flat leaves contrast well with many other plants, including irises, blue fescue and feather reed grass.
My bergenia are just starting to come back now. Their leaves are perking up and turning from black to burgundy back to green. Hooray for spring!
more crocuses
So pretty, aren't they?
April 20, 2009
What's growing in my Calgary garden April 19 2009
Besides the crocus blooms, I have lots of things starting to green up in the garden. Here are some of them, clockwise starting from the top left:
Chives in the Herb garden
Lamium in the Butterfly garden
Lamb’s ears in the Kids’ Adventure Garden
Centaurea montana and Siberian squill about to bloom
Iceland poppies – these are great for early blooms!
Delphiniums beside the house
Tulipa tarda not showing any buds yet
Sedum Autumn Joy in a hot spot between the south patio and basement wall (middle picture)
What a beautiful week-end it was! Yesterday I cleaned up the perennials still standing in the backyard, removed the pine branches from the strawberry patch, and started chopping up the branches from last year’s Christmas tree and other pruning sprees I’ve been on recently (while my husband "watched the kids".) I’d like to finish pruning and getting the branches and perennials tidied up this week, and next week I will tackle the greenhouse and rain barrels (if the weather continues to cooperate... I probably just jinxed it!)
What's happening in your garden?
first garden blooms - crocuses!
My yard is fairly shady so I’m sure many other Calgary gardens have been enjoying crocus blooms for a week or so. But here, finally, are mine, growing through some sedum and snow-in-summer. Aren't they cute?
March 30, 2009
March 29 - more snow in my Calgary backyard
OK, I know I said that you shouldn't expect to start gardening in Calgary until late April, but I admit it. I might be getting just a wee bit impatient for spring...
February 09, 2009
beautiful amaryllis
I just can't get enough of my gorgeous amaryllis blooms! The vivid colour jumps out at me even when I glance in their direction from another room! What a great way to perk up the February gardening blahs.
Unfortunately, I planted them in early November, which was too late to get Christmas blooms (which is what I initially intended), but I guess I have Valentine's blooms instead. Next year I'll plant the bulbs earlier, but it's still a gamble getting blooms for Christmas. I'll probably plant them anyway, but splurge on a few from the florist in December as well.
I couldn't decide on just one picture so here are my faves. Enjoy!
February 03, 2009
May flowers in Calgary
Yup. I'm definately getting gardening fever. I'm starting to sort through my pictures from last year to remind myself of what things I want to add/change in the garden this year. So, I will be posting lots of summaries of what the garden looked like at different times of the year last year. Here's what I had blooming in May:
- spring bulbs such as iris reticulata, tulipa tarda, small and large tulips, daffodils, chionodoxa, muscari, fritillaria,
- early blooming perennials such as bergenia, epimedium, euphorbia, iceland poppies and bearded iris
- spring blooming shrubs such as nanking cherry, lilacs, crabapples and plums (some not mine but I enjoy them on the way to work every day)
February 02, 2009
April flowers in Calgary
It's kind of funny/sad (OK, depressing!!) reading other people's blogs about how "spring is coming". Not in zone 3!!
About this time every year I am finishing up my winter projects and my thoughts start turning to gardening again. But I have to remind myself that I have a looooong time to wait!! These are my garden pictures from April last year...
That's when spring comes to Calgary and only the very smallest and earliest of the spring bulbs, crocus and siberian squill were blooming. Of course, last year was a very late spring. We can always hope for an earlier one this year... But still, I won't have anything to report for at least 2 more months...
