The right side of this garden is more mature than the left so in previous pictures the left side has been cropped out to various degrees. I'm so happy not to have to crop anymore. I love a mature garden!
... and another angle a little later in the day:
and a few more:
To see this garden as it has matured and at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.
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The Adventure Garden is called such because it has pathways throughout to encourage the kids to get right in and explore! Best thing I ever did!!
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I've been tweaking this garden since I first designed and planted it 6 years ago, and this year I think I am finally pretty happy with it and done moving things around! RIght now you will see catmint, lady's mantle, siberian iris, perennial geraniums and roses blooming. This has got to me my favourite time of year for this garden!
Above: siberian iris in fron of El Dorado feather reed grass.
Above: ornamental alliums (plant as bulbs in fall) in front of El Dorado feather reed grass.
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Sheesh. I thought I'd better get a photo posted of the Adventure Garden before the tulips are totally finished! Sorry for the lack of posting lately!! What's blooming right now: tulips, grape hyacinths, bergenia, dwarf bearded iris, iceland poppies, leopard's bane, cherries.
To see this garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.
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What's blooming right now: liatris, roses, sedum, eupatorium (joe pye), perovskia (russian sage), achillea (yarrow) and self-seeded, annual borage.
To see this garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.
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I've been meaning to move my painted daisies for a while because they used to be behind some siberian iris, which were so tall that the daisies couldn't really be seen. So, today, on the spur of the moment, I moved them in front of this golden coloured grass - a nice combination, don't you think?
Generally I don't move plants in July but the daisies hiding behind the irises were really bugging me.
What's working or not working in your garden right now?
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This little garden area is actually on the edge of the sunny Adventure Garden, but gets shade until early evening, so I'm never sure whether I should classify it under the Adventure Garden or the Back Shade Garden (which is right next door on the other side of the path). Maybe I should call it something completely different, like the Bird Bath garden?
But anyhoo, it doesn't really matter, does it? The point is, I love it at this time of year with the pink bergenia and yellow leopard's bane in bloom, and the feather reed grass adding lots of contrasting texture. So while this looks like a sunny garden, these are all plants that will do well for you in a fairly shady spot.
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Here's a similar picture to the one in my last post - but this time with sunshine! What a difference!! As a gardener in a semi-arid climate I'm usually grateful for rain, but that weather was getting me a little down. How about you? If I wanted constant rain and cloud I would move to Vancouver, thank you very much.
Anyway, finally, I was able to enjoy the evening light backlighting this garden - this effect makes evening my favourite time of day for viewing this area of the garden which is especially fortunate since that is the time of day I am at home during the week!
Have you thought about planning your garden around the times of day you will typically be able to enjoy it?
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This is the only real sunny garden area in my yard so blooms are coming along much more quickly here than anywhere else. I am purposely not showing you any close-ups because I haven't done any weeding here yet and in fact, I STILL haven't finished cutting down some perennials from last year! Life is busy. The poor garden is going to be a little shabby for a while, but as I always say, this is a REALITY garden blog. Fortunately, the plants I grow are all pretty low maintenance and a little neglect won't cause any permanent damage.
If you look closely, you will notice:
To see this garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.
How is your garden coming along?
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I have been such a terrible blogger this winter, I know! But now that January has come my thoughts are turning to garden plannning again - every year at this time I start compulsively flipping through my gardening books, old magazines, and seed catalogues, and surfing the web, looking for inspiring ideas to use in my garden the coming season. I have big plans, as usual! I will tell you about them soon.
But right now, I am just enjoying the beautiful snow in the garden. To be honest, I'm disappointed it's all melting so soon as it looks so pretty and also helps insulate the soil! Here are a few shots of my Adventure Garden which I took last week-end before the kids toboganned over it...
Above: The view from the house. Perennials such as sedum, echinacea, liatris and perovskia keep things looking interesting despite the snow. You will notice the footprints throughout the garden - my kids enjoy exploring it even in winter!
Above: A side view from the garage. Feather reed grass stands tall all winter - the perfect "winter interest" plant!
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I'm starting to run out of gardening steam for the year, but I did want to get those irises in the Adventure Garden thinned out a little - I've been planning to for months. (The irises all found new homes with friends, BTW!) Now there is more space for the beautiful blue oat grass to be its rounded, arching graceful self. It is one of my favourite plants! Great texture, unique colour, and very low maintenance.
Here's what it looked like before.
Also blooming in the photo above is sedum 'Matrona', purple liatris, and echinacea 'White Swan'. These plants all bloom for a long time in late summer/fall, and are some of my other favourites for this time of year. They even look good left standing in the winter!
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Echinacea and liatris are two of my late-summer favourites for a sunny, prairie-style garden. These plants are growing in my Adventure Garden and that's bearded iris in the bottom left corner, but they'd also look great teamed up with ornamental grasses.
Liatris also comes in white and echinacea comes in all kinds of red, orange, pink, purple varieties to suit your garden - as long as you have a sunny spot!
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I was out of town and offline for a few weeks on vacation and it was truly restful to have the space away from garden and work. In the garden, I think I burned myself out with 2 major projects in spring: installing hoops in the veggie garden raised beds, and prepping and planting the new front entry garden (including removing countless wheelbarrow loads of red shale mulch! It just about killed me...), and I hadn't been feeling very motivated to do much else.... until now.
After the first week of holidays I was ready to think about gardening again! There is much I want to accomplish but I don't have a lot of time this fall, so it was time to make lists and prioritize. What would make the most sense to get done first, and what can be accomplished in my limited spare time? Some areas need thinning, and others need re-working (for example because I have a new colour scheme in the front garden), and other areas are still in early development.
Above: this area of the Adventure Garden has barely been touched since planted in 2008, and needs some thinning. That poor, crowded blue oat grass cannot be seen in its full, symmetrical, blue glory!
Primarily, I will be moving some plants around to get ready for some more major projects next year. Fall is a great time to move plants because the weather is getting cooler so it's less stressful on the plants, and there's still plenty of time for them to get their roots established before winter. Not only that, but it's much easier to place plants in fall when they are big, rather than trying to remember in spring how much space that tiny, newly growing plant is going to need! So get out there and make some changes this fall!
Here's my list, and I've already started:
England (the main edible garden area)
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The fruit season in my yard started with Haskap honeyberries, followed with strawberries which are just finishing, and now the first cherry bush 'Carmine Jewel' is starting to ripen. It is 4 years old now and really starting to produce. (Cherry 'Crimson Passion', also planted in 2008, didn't produce this year but it died to the ground last year and I subsequently moved it to a less exposed spot and I expect better next year.) The raspberries are ripening now too, and soon it will be Saskatoon time... I love summer!
I haven't tried making anything with these cherries since my kids eat them off the bush and don't leave any behind. But that's the point, for now. Maybe someday I'll have enough extra fruit for a pie!
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I have Therese planted at the top of my Adventure Garden, on a hill, where she is planted near the height of the back fence and fully exposed to the west wind. She is super hardy and does just fine over winter. In fact, I appreciate her in winter just as much as summer, as her lovely red stems add colour to the garden in the long winter months. So if you're looking for a tough, flowering shrub which will provide winter interest as well, consider Therese!
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Here's a straight-on shot of the Adventure Garden taken yesterday, with painted daisy, peonies, blue salvia, catmint, perennial geranium, pinks, and roses in bloom.
However, the thing I love about this garden (and the thing that makes it most challenging) is that it is seen from so many different views. Here it is from 'England' (the vegetable garden) looking toward the back Shade Garden in the bright afternoon light:
and here it is, backlit in the evening, looking the opposite direction:
Gotta love that evening light!
Here's one more close-up of the catmint, blue salvia, pinks, irises (not in bloom), and peonies, as they are some of my favourite plants. I'd highly recommend any of these plants for any sunny Calgary garden!
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We are just starting my favourite time of year for this garden area. Hooray! Peonies and blue salvia will be added to the list of blooms soon. There are a few holes as I've moved a couple of things, the new shrubs at the back will take a while to fill in, and I haven't got around to poking in any annuals yet this year (I usually have cosmos in the top right corner to provide some colour up there.)
The white stuff on the left is a white version of hesperis matronalis, the purple version of which is a weed. The white is only slightly better behaved, so I make sure to deadhead it as soon as it's finished. It smells heavenly though, so I can't bring myself to get rid of it.
Also blooming is saponaria (soapwort), meadow rue, and Therese Bugnet roses at the top, so there is lots to choose from if you are looking for a perennial to add some more colour to an area of your garden at this time of year. Click here and scroll down to see this garden at other times.
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Above, l to r: bluish-purple dwarf bearded iris (iris germanica) in front of blue oat grass; reddish-purple dwarf bearded iris in front of cherry blossoms; both in the Adventure Garden
My dwarf bearded irises have been blooming for a couple of weeks and I wanted to show you them before it was too late (nothing like a rainy Sunday morning to catch up on the garden blog!)
These are one of my favourite "repeat plants" for spreading around a sunny garden. Even though their blooms only last a few weeks, the flowers are spectacular. But not only that, their flat, fan-like leaves add interesting texture to the garden all season long because they contrast well with just about anything. The only potential drawback of these plants is that they are so vigorous that I find they need to be divided every few years. However, since they are shallow-rooted that is easy to do, and plus it is another reason why they make a great repeat plant! Spread them around or give some to friends!!
The taller bearded iris bloom a little bit later than the dwarf ones, so plant some of both for a longer bloom period if you like iris. Many have a wonderful, sweet scent, too.
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Here is the right-hand side of my "Adventure Garden", so called because I purposely put in multiple pathways so my kids could run around and get into the garden. This side of the garden has had several years to mature and is looking pretty good - irises, tulips, iceland poppies and cherries are blooming right now. However...
... this is the view I rarely show! At the top left of this picture is where there used to be 2 spruce trees (taken down this past winter.) I've really struggled to get anything to grow on the left side of this garden. As you can see, the *bleeping* iceland poppies (we have a love-hate relationship) have taken advantage of this and seeded themselves everywhere, and the poor perennials I have put in have just never been able to thrive thanks to the shade and dryness from the spruce trees.
That is all about to change! I have put a new lilac and 3 new roses across the back of this hill, to provide a backdrop of green, and now I have a wonderful view of the back-neighbour's flowering crabapple! I am hoping over the next few seasons that the left side of this garden will start to look as good as the right. Stay tuned!
To see this garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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!
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You'll never believe what I did today.
The background: I've decided it's time to get rid of the last two spruce trees in the Adventure Garden that are interfering with my dream of achieving a balanced and beautiful garden. Don't worry, I will still have 3 other gigantic spruce trees in my backyard, not to mention many other trees and shrubs, not to mention the gigantic spruce trees in the front... But I haven't exactly informed my husband of this decision yet. I've removed a lot of trees from our large, mature yard in the last few years (for entirely justifiable reasons IMHO - they were half dead, too close together, too close to the house, etc.) and he's never really been on board but has let me do it. I'm not sure if he'd approve of any more.
So what did I do this morning? I got up early to start cutting down branches from those last two trees. (Yes, it was dark out when I started.) I thought I could do this weekly - a few at a time - every Friday morning so that I can get them tied up and taken away by the Friday garbage pick-up before he sees them. I'm sure he'll notice eventually, but I thought I could at least get started on tree removal without having to bother with trying to convince him this was a good idea. Unfortunately, Daughter #2 (5 years old) woke up early this morning and caught me in the act before I could get all the branches tied up, so I had to leave a few lying around for next week's pick-up.
Busted.
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Yes, I know it's September already but I took these pictures a few days ago and haven't had time to post them yet. Are you looking for ideas for perennials that are showy at this time of year in Calgary? My Adventure Garden at this time of year is taken over by lots of late-bloomers such as sedum 'Matrona', rudbeckia 'Golden Glow',
ornamental grasses such as helitotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass),
and prairie perennials such as purple liatris spicata and echinacea 'White Swan',
and one of my all-time favourite plants, perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage.) All of these plants do well in a sunny spot and are drought-tolerant. They're also all low maintenance except the rudbeckia, which is a tall plant that needs staking.
To see what this garden looks like at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.
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Actually, this garden looks a lot like it did in mid-July except that the geraniums and iris have finished blooming and the ornamental grasses are bigger. There are lots of long-blooming perennials here, and the garden looks different depending on which direction you view it from - which makes it interesting but also a challenge. And sorry about that kiddie pool in the way - it's just a part of the reality of my backyard! (I managed to crop the tent out.)
Above: the last of the peonies is blooming, an unknown variety of light pink. Sigh. It's a bittersweet day when the peonies are done because I look forward tot hem all year. Also painted daisy and nepeta blooming in this photo.
Above: dianthus, snapdragons, lamb's ears, blue salvia, white peachleaf bellflower, roses and achillea are also blooming now.
To see this garden at other times of the year and how it has evolved, click here and scroll down.
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This is my favourite garden area at about my favourite time of year! It is a bit of a challenge though, since it can be seen from many directions and it goes from shady on the left to hot and sunny on the right. It's still a bit patchy in the top left corner near the chair, but I have some changes in mind for this fall that will hopefully help fill that area in and give it more impact. Above: the Adventure Garden viewed straight on (from the house, lawn or north patio).
Above: viewed from the Butterfly Potager garden or the back steps of the house.
Above: viewed from "England" (the veggie garden) towards the back Shade Garden.
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Above: nepeta, variegated iris, blue oat grass, white peony, yellow sedum, and pink sea thrift, saponaria and geranium 'Ballerina'.
Above: white peony, pink rose 'Therese Bugnet' and saponaria, blue salvia 'May Night'.
Above: white hesperalis matronalis, painted daisy 'Robinson's Red', white peony, siberian iris 'Caesar's brother', blue nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'.
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The Adventure Garden is my favourite garden and this is the time of year where it is really starting to fill in. It is also 3 years old now so getting quite mature in spots. It is viewed from many angles depending on which area of the back yard you're in (above: from the house or north patio, which is the worst view so I don't know why I put it first...),
Above: from 'England' looking towards the garage.
Above: closer up and looking at an angle up the dry stream bed.
I just finished deadheading most of the dwarf bearded iris and some of my other favourite plants and combinations for sun are blooming in this garden right now:
Above (clockwise from top left): perennial geranium 'Ballerina'; blue oat grass looks good with just about anything; ornamental alliums, siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother', and white hesperalis matronalis (the purple variety is considered a weed but white is a little less vigorous and smells soooooo nice!); pink saponaria (a bit of a spreader but I have it at the back of the garden where it helps keep down the weeds); blue and pink perennial geraniums, variegated iris (great foliage and blooms smell like grape juice! yum!), white hesperalis matronalis and purple siberian iris; the variegated iris backlit with geranium 'Ballerina' and pink sea thrift 'Dusseldorf Pride' in the background.
To see how this garden area has progressed over time, click here and scroll down.
More pictures coming tomorrow! Now I'm off to celebrate Canada Day at Heritage Park. What are you and your garden doing today?
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Above: If you don't count the bergenia on the shady side of this garden, then the iris are mainly what are happening in the Adventure Garden right now. They were one of the few plants here when I moved in almost 7 years ago and I've gradually spread them around. Here are some close-ups:
Above: moss phlox and geranium 'Ballerina' are also just starting to bloom.
Above: iris in front of a cherry bush.
Above: alliums are also just starting to bloom. The kids love these to use as magic wands!
Above: and the iceland poppies are popping up everywhere. Not a low maintenance plant by any means, but so colourful at this time of year! I'll be ripping out seedlings for the rest of the summer after this first flush finishes.
To see what this garden looks like at other times of the year, click here.
To see pictures of other areas of my garden at this time of year, please see:
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Are you looking for something to jazz up an area of your garden at this time of year? Here are some of my favourite plants blooming in the Adventure Garden right now. Bergenia and iris are especially great because they have very strong textures and their foliage stays healthy all season, which adds interest to the garden even after the plants are done blooming.
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Above: Here is my back Adventure Garden in late May/early June. Doesn't look that impressive yet, does it? The roses at the back haven't even leafed out yet. But this is a reality gardening blog, so here you go. To see impressive pictures please check out some from last year!
The right side is sunny and the left is shady, so it is a challenge to get a sense of continuity across this garden. The right side is also more mature. The iceland poppies are spreading all over the place - not exactly a low maintenance plant, but I let them stay because they add so much colour at this time of year. In a couple more days I should have more of them blooming on the left (shady) side as well. Both early and late tulips are also blooming right now thanks to the short, condensed spring we have had.
This garden needs work to add to the spring show, I think. I tend to plant spring bulbs last once I am happy with the overall layout of perennials and shrubs, which I think I am for this garden. So that means I'm making notes right now of where to plant more bulbs this fall. Like maybe a whole bunch of tulipa tarda in front of my catmint and also in the top left in front of the feather reed grass.
Since the above picture isn't very impressive, here are a few close-ups:
Above: Another challenge of this garden is that it can be viewed from many directions. At least from this side, it looks a little more full.
Above: tulipa tarda and helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass.)
Above and below: the Darwin tulips are just starting to bloom.
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The Adventure Garden has got to be one of my favourite garden areas in my yard. The sunroom at the back of my house looks out directly onto this garden and the slope allows for a great show with plenty of layering of textures. This garden is also one of the most challenging areas because it ranges from a dry shade area on the left to a hot, exposed sunny area on the right, so repetition of plants across the entire width of the garden is impossible. I am still experimenting with incorporating repeating colours and textures with different (shade and sun-loving) plants to improve the continuity of this area and it's definitely a work in progress.
There are many young shrubs near the back of this garden that need a few more years to mature and really strut their stuff. Eventually you shouldn't be able to see the fence at the back. This garden is very low-maintenance with mostly shrubs and perennials, and just a few of my favourite annuals for added colour - I like to plant snapdragons and cosmos every year, and borage self-seeds itself around this garden with abandon. Fortunately, it's easy to recognize in spring so I just pull up the unwanted ones or gradually cut them down over the season if they get too big. The only plant that's not low maintenance here is the iceland poppy, but it provides such early season colour that I can't quite bring myself to get rid of it. But I wouldn't recommend it if you want low maintenance 'cause it seeds itself all over like crazy and is perennial, not annual.
Here's what this garden looked like in 2010:
Above: In late May, tulips, dwarf bearded iris and iceland poppies (also shown in close-ups, below) are providing some colour. But the area on the right side of the dry stream bed is much more mature and full. The area on the left needs a few more years to fill in, and a lot more bulbs which I will plant once I'm happy with the placement of the shrubs and perennials (this fall I hope!)
Above: by mid-June things are taking off and you can see perennial geraniums, ornamental alliums and iceland poppies in bloom here. Things change fast and below is the garden at the end of June:
Above: iceland poppies, nepeta (catmint), painted daisy, geraniums, sea thrift, blue salvia and siberian iris in bloom.
Above: close-ups in June.
Above: In July, just before I went on holidays, here's how the Adventure Garden looked. I'll be honest here and admit that I keep cropping out the left-hand side of this garden area because it doesn't look like much yet. That's where the transition is to the dry, shady side and I'm still experimenting with plants that will do well here and fit with the rest of the garden. This year I plan to try some calamagrostis 'Avalanche' to the left of those pink, painted daisies to add some tall foliage texture which is sadly lacking at the back left right now. This particular grass has variegated foliage and should do well in the part shade there.
Above: peonies, columbine meadow rue, painted daisies, blue salvia, peachleaf bellflower, roses, cosmos(started from seed), yarrow, nepeta, iceland poppies, siberian iris, dianthus, and blue flax bloom in this garden in July.
Above: By early August, the lilies have started blooming - one of my favourite flowers!
Above: close-ups in August. Let me know if you have questions about any of the plants in these photos!
Above: I love the colours in this late September photo!
Above: still a few annuals blooming and plenty of late-season perennials.
Above: We had a nice, long Indian Summer in October this year and the sedums, ornamental grasses, rudbeckia, liatris and russian sage looked great!
To see what this garden looked like last year, click here.
To see other areas of my garden in 2010, check out:
If you would like an urban paradise that rejoices the eye and refreshes the spirit, view My Services for consultation details.
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If you would like an urban paradise that rejoices the eye and refreshes the spirit year round, view My Services for consultation details.
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Above: sedum matrona has filled out and is still attracting bees (below.) Perennials in bloom: liatris, echinacea, russian sage, lamb's ears (second bloom), yarrow, rudbeckia, astrantia, roses. Annuals in bloom: borage, sweet peas, snapdragons, lavatera (cosmos succumbed to frost already.) Irises, grasses and daylilies provide interesting texture.
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Here's the adventure garden in its full frontal view. It has been a bit of a challenge to design because it is so deep and can be seen from so many directions in the yard. I still have a few more tweaks to make next year, but I'm pretty happy with it. Here's another view:
Above: from "England" looking towards the back shade garden beside the garage.
Below: close-ups
Here's what this garden looks like at other times of the year:
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This is my favourite garden at my favourite time of year. Scroll down for plant identifications and close-ups.
Above: the view from the dining patio. I apologize for the shadows... I'm not on holidays anymore so I don't have the option of waiting around for the best light. This is how the garden looks first thing in the morning before I leave for work!
Above: and the view from the sunroom at the back of the house.
In the above photos: borage, asiatic lily 'Landini', elder 'Black Lace', achillea (yarrow) 'Cerise Queen', liatris picata, helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass), sedum 'Purple Emperor', perovskia (russian sage).
In the above photos: perovskia (russian sage), annual cosmos from seed, blue salvia 'May Night', yellow asiatic lily; aconitum (monkshood) and cosmos; rose 'Morden Sunrise', yellow daylily and borage.
In the above photos: snapdragons 'Ribbon Series' and borage from seed; rudbeckia 'Golden Glow' and cosmos; rudbeckia in front of 'Diabolo' ninebark; rudbeckia 'Golden Glow'.
Here's what this garden looks like at other times of the year:
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Lots blooming in the Adventure Garden right now. The perovskia (russian sage) has reached its full height (bigger every year); blue salvia, cosmos and roses are still blooming; and the lilies, aconitum (monkshood), snapdragons and borage are providing lots more colour.
Fall bloomers such as echinacea and liatris have lots of buds on them. There are a few empty-looking spots in the middle picture where I've planted some new ornamental grasses - they take a little while before they take off but I'm hoping next year they will add some much-needed colour and texture.
Stay tuned!
Here's what this garden looks like at other times of the year:
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Maybe I should call this garden the "Bee Garden" instead, as it is always just buzzing with them! The kids like to catch them in their little jars and give them some flowers, watch them for a while and then let them go.
In this area I've got blue salvia, dianthus and nepeta (catmint) which have been blooming for a while, plus roses and yarrow starting and lots of lilies with big fat buds on them. On the annual side there is borage which self seeds itself around and is always in a slightly different spot each year (I gradually cut them all down and leave only about 3-5 plants because they get so big - but they're pretty and the bees love them), cosmos and snapdragons.
I have started snapdragons from seed the last few years but I have decided that is just a dumb idea. I never start them early enough and they're so slow growing that they haven't started blooming until just the last couple of days. One of the reason I love snapdragons so much is that they're frost tolerant so you can put them out early and they stay late in fall - but there is no advantage to that if they don't bloom until August! Snapdragons from the garden centre from now on.
Here's what this garden looked like last year.
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I entered the Calgary Horticultural Society's garden competition this year. I keep saying I didn't do it with the expectation to win anything - and that's not just false modesty! Some areas of my garden still need work, some are actually under construction (can you say mud pit?), some of the "finished" areas still need to mature, and I just don't have time to make everything perfect down to the finest detail.
But, I entered for the experience and to get the feedback from the judges. I'm interested in seeing my garden through the eyes of other gardeners... and I would like to enter more seriously in a few years and this way I'll know what to expect.
But I already won something! I won the 'early bird prize' for entering - an adirondack chair from the Calgary Chair Company. It's solid cedar and super comfy! So now I can say I entered the garden competition and won! Ha ha!
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