Calgary Garden Coach

morning light

I by no means claim to be a photographer - I don't even have a very good digital camera.  But early morning light can make anything look good (in this case, Diabolo ninebark, cushion spurge and Purple Sensation allium).

convallaria majalis (lily-of-the-valley)

This is an old-fashioned flower - my grandmother's favourite flower, actually.  So how could I not grow some?

It makes a great groundcover in shade (gets about 20 cm high), but is very invasive, so be careful where you plant it.  It can take dry shade though, so is a good solution for an area like that where not much else will grow.  Mine is in a little corner between the house and a brick walkway, so it has no way to escape.  It's also under a spruce and I never do anything to it - no water, nothing.  It's on its own and it comes back every year.

Actually, that's not true.  This year I dumped some compost on top of it (before it started growing) - but only because I ordered so much this spring and now I'm looking for places to get rid of the last few wheelbarrow's worth!!

The flowers are very fragrant so I like to cut as many as possible and bring them into the house to make cute little mini-bouquets.

what to plant in full shade?

There is shade (less than 2 hours of sun) and then there's shade (absolutely no direct sunlight).  Even most garden areas on the north side of a building or fence will receive at least a little morning and evening light.  But if you also have large trees, especially evergreens, an area may actually get none at all.  Here are a few of the solutions I've given people recently:

Pots

Pots can be placed anywhere - why not plunk them in the garden if you have a troublesome area - they add instant height and also you don't have to worry about what kind of soil you have (especially good around spruce trees).  Don't be shy, use big ones!!  This pot is in a dark, corner of my garden by the back gate.  It is also under a giant spruce tree.  No sun.  But I wanted something to mark the gate and I can also see this spot from the kitchen window so wanted to lighten it up a bit.  I have done well in the past with impatiens (annual flower, filler) and variegated english ivy (foliage, spiller).  Not very original but these are challenging conditions! 

This year I am doing the pot as an afterthought (I've been busy), so I used what I had lying around the house: a variegated spider plant (house plant), oxalis (annual, green and burgandy clover-shaped foliage, probably won't flower in full shade, leftover from a Safeway purchase at St. Patrick's day) and a couple impatiens (on the right, not blooming yet, OK I bought those).  I also used a couple of extra doo-dads I had lying around from a craft store - a couple of round things on sticks (no idea what they are but they're not plastic - definately dried plant material of some kind), and some of those curly sticks as well (click on picture to see a little better).  Gotta think outside the box in full shade!!  Other plants to try include begonias (filler, annual flowers, or rex begonias for fantastic foliage), coleus (filler, annual for colourful foliage) and lamium (spiller, a perennial for foliage that can be planted in the garden at the end of the season).  Some sedges (annual ornamental grass, thriller) are shade tolerant but I've never tried them in full shade.

Perennials

I have one area north of my garage that is full shade.  The plants a little further out get at least dappled shade, but close to the garage gets nothing because of nearby trees, fence etc.  Keep in mind that even shade-tolerant plants are not going to thrive here - they may grow but not get as big nor flower as much as they would if they got at least a little dappled light.  Ligularia, astilbe, bleeding heart and aruncus dioicus (goatsbeard) are all surviving but I wouldn't say thriving in my full shade garden.  Hostas might be ok too, although mine are further away from the garage and get some light.  These are all plants that like moisture though, so keep on top of the watering, especially if the reason you have so much shade is because of nearby trees. 

Perennials for dry shade would probably survive but not thrive as well, but I haven't grown any of mine in full shade so can't speak from experience.  Keep in mind that plants for dry shade tend to be shorter, ground-cover-ish plants with smaller flowers, so not as showy or dramatic as the moisture-loving ones.  Maybe plant a ground cover and arrange some pots in the middle...? 

I have also heard of clematis tangutica (a tough, perennial, yellow-flowering vine) growing in full-shade, but haven't tried it myself (although I might...).

planting containers - thriller, spiller and filler

The supposed rule for planting containers is to have at least one of each:

1. a thriller is something tall that will add height to the composition (usually just one is sufficient - and people will secretly make fun of you if you plant dracaena because it is overused - and there are so many more options now!  just say no to dracaena)
2. a filler is something that will bush out and occupy the middle of the composition (could be foliage and/or flowers and depending on the size of container, one or more)
3. a spiller is something that will hang over the edge of the pot, softening the edges and occupying the lower portion of the composition (again depending on size of container, one or more)

I would like to add my own rule - plant add least one plant for foliage (how can I make that rhyme?) just to add texture and make the composition look not quite so busy.  Here I added yellow creeping jenny, which is a spiller (and also a perennial, so can be put in the garden at the end of the year).

Of course, rules are made to be broken (and that includes planting dracaena if you really like it).  I didn't plant a thriller here because this basket is hanging right underneath an outdoor light.  A simple combination, but I like it!

partners for short bearded iris

This is why I can't get rid of the poppies, even though I am not partial to yellow flowers.  Don't these look great together?

Other things in my garden that are blooming at the same time, like similar conditions (full sun and drought tolerant)  and that would look nice beside these bearded iris are:

bergenia (a bonus because the foliage will also contrast all season long)

cushion spurge (its rounded shape will also contrast all season long)

iris germanica (bearded iris)

These are a staple in my garden.  In fact, bearded iris were some of the few plants still surviving in the long-neglected garden I inherited with my house.  If that's not a ringing endorsement for toughness and hardiness, I don't know what is!!

While the blooms only last for a week or two, the foliage looks great all summer and the flat, sword-shaped leaves contrast well with many other plants, adding texture to many plant combinations.  It doesn't matter, I am a sucker for the big, colourful blooms (they come in many colours and multi-coloured varieites too) and some are also fragrant.  They should be deadheaded after they are finished blooming so that they look tidier.

If you have a patch that isn't blooming, there are 3 possible reasons why, all related to sun.

1. They are planted in a spot that is too shady. They like full sun.
2. They are overcrowded and therefore not getting enough sun. Divide them and spread them around (and call yourself a designer for adding unity and repetition to your garden!) or give some to friends.
3. They are planted too deeply and therefore not getting enough sun. The rhizome (fleshy part that the leaves grow up out of and the roots grow down from) should be planted so that its top is level with the soil i.e. you can see the top of the rhizome after planting.

Drought tolerant.  The shorter varieites (shown here) bloom before the taller ones.

 

June to-do list

Here is my to-do list, modified from the Calgary Horticultural Society.

• Weed regularly - I can't emphasize this enough! A litle every few days is better than letting them get out of control (which they will, especially in June) and then trying to catch up.
• Plant potatoes and tender vegetables and annuals after June 1.
• Mulch flowerbeds to keep soil cool and moist, and keep down weeds.
• Water regularly as a supplement to rain; 1 inch/week (including rain) is generally recommended. Use an upside down frisbee to figure out how long to leave your sprinkler on for.
• Remove tip-kill on roses and other shrubs just above an outward-facing bud or shoot.
• Prune out the oldest wood on spring-flowering shrubs once flowers are finished, to stimulate new vigorous growth.
• Snap new growths (candles) on mugho pines in half (or more) when fully extended, just before needles open, to control size and shape.
• Assemble stakes, cages and grids to support tall or floppy plants such as peonies, delphiniums and monkshood.
• Deadhead (cut off finished flowers to either promote new flowers, reduce self-seeding, or keep a plant tidy-looking).
• Keep birdbaths freshly filled and clean.

back hill renovation... check!

Except for a few annuals I started from seed, my back hill renovation is complete!  This area was all grass when I moved into my house 4 years ago, and I've gradually got rid of a little more every year.  This year I decided to get it over with and finish the whole thing.  I don't know what I was thinking... it was February when I started planning and I always get a little crazy by that time of year! 

I was very motivated to get it done this past week-end because there's a playdate at our house tomorrow, and there may be up to 7 kids running around in the back yard!  The pathways on left (bark mulch) and right (future dry stream bed) are meant for the kids to be able to run around the garden.

I've been so busy planting that I've fallen behind on the weeds - that's the next thing to do before I go on holidays in 2 weeks!!

what causes yellowed foliage?

While the yellow foliage of my John Cabot climbing rose contrasts nicely with the blue wall behind, it's not supposed to be yellow!

I actually have quite a few plants in one area with leaves that are turning yellow.  I suspect the problem is the roots left over from a giant willow tree we had taken out a couple of years ago.  The rotting wood in the ground is using a lot of nitrogen, meaning less available for the plants.

Another common cause of yellow leaves with green veins is iron chlorosis, caused by a lack of available iron in highly alkaline soil.  If you see this, you can get chelated iron, which is mixed with water and applied either directly to foliage or watered into the soil.  Acidifying fertilizers also help, such as blood meal and fertilizers with sulphur.  Cut off a few leaves and take them to a good garden centre and ask for advice, or consider getting your soil tested.

it's all about foliage, baby!

While plants with interesting foliage are very trendy these days, it is also an important design principle in perennial beds to have varied foliage.  For perennials that only bloom for weeks rather than all summer, you need to have contrast in shape/texture/colour of leaves if you want the garden to look interesting all summer long.

Here's an area in my new back garden that I'm particularly happy with.  Remember that a lot of these plants are babies and are going to be twice as big by the end of the summer or next year, so there won't always be so much empty space.

The plants are:

sea thrift and moss phlox for green low-growing, needle-like foliage
sedum for variegated ground cover
iris germanica for flat, sword-shaped leaves
helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass for fine, blue grassy foliage)
castor bean 'impala' for broad, flat reddish leaves (this is the only annual and I started them from seed)

[Update: here's the same area 3 weeks later with the sea thrift and moss phlox starting to bloom]

tricking the eye - adding depth

Here is my dry stream bed in progress.  I think I've done about as much as I feel like for now, but in the future I will replace the stumps on the right with rocks, put down landscape fabric and cover the "stream" with gravel.  In the meantime it makes a nice pathway for the kids to wander into the garden.  Maybe someday it'll actually be a waterfall...

You'll notice that as you go further up the hill the stream bed gets narrower and the rocks get smaller - to add depth.  Similarly, if you want to make a space look deeper you can plant finer textured plants further away and broad-leafed plants closer in.  Pastel colours also tend to recede and bright, warm colours tend to look closer.

bean teepee (tipi?)

This year is my first attempt at a bean teepee.  The beautiful bamboo trellis on the right is for peas, and the very rustic, lopsided one on the left is my obviously home-made version for the scarlet runner beans.

I saved 5 straight-ish branches from pruning the lilacs last year.  There is cedar mulch around the inside so the "floor" doesn't get muddy, and I am wrapping string around the outside to give the beans plenty of things to hold on to as they grow (click on the picture for a bigger version and you just might be able to make out the string), leaving a space at the front for a "door".  I planted 5-6 beans around the bottom of each pole.

Scarlet runner beans are very vigorous and fast-growing.  The red flowers are also quite pretty and supposedly attract hummingbirds.  That fits in with my veggie patch / hummingbird & butterfly garden theme (hey, I don't have a lotta space so I had to combine themes!!).  I'm not sure how sturdy my construction is so we'll see how things go this year...

You can also see my trampled raised beds in front.  Seedlings seem to be doing fine!

great gardening weather!

... if you're a morning person.  The past few days I've been gardening for an hour in the morning before the kids get up.  Then rain in the afternoon helps water all my freshly-moved plants so they don't get too stressed.

Yesterday (Sunday) was also a beautiful gardening day - slightly overcast so not too hot.  The kids played in a pile of compost I made for them on the back lawn (eventually I'll just rake it over the grass for fertilizer so I don't care how much of a mess they make - they loved it) and dug for worms, and I got some things done. 

I moved the birdbath closer to the house amidst the bergenia so we can enjoy the view better and also it will be easier to clean and fill.  I finished potting the tomatoes into their final location, and finished moving perennials.  Just a few more annuals to plunk in here and there to fill up space, and I'm done.  Phew!! 

Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart)

This bleeding heart is beside my front steps.  It was new last year (bare root from Costco in March - you can find amazing deals if you know where to look!)

These plants usually get 2-3 ft tall and 3 ft wide, and like partial shade.  I have some in full shade as well and they're much smaller and haven't bloomed yet.

Supposedly they don't like being moved but I've never had a problem.  Just be careful as the roots are very brittle.  If they get too much sun you'll find they go dormant in the heat of summer - but they're not dead and will come back again next year.  In shade they look nice all summer.

You can also get white-flowered varieites and one with yellow leaves instead of green.

These are not drought tolerant, they prefer moist soil.