Calgary Garden Coach

what's new in the garden this year?

...a straight arch!!

Thanks to hubby for helping me re-install this arch after our neighbour took down (with permission) one of our spruce trees last fall.  The arch was not-so-well-supported before so this time we took the opportunity to make sure it is straight and will remain straight forevermore!!!

The removal of the spruce means much more sun for the veggie garden (hooray!) and also a big empty spot for........???????  (stay tuned!)

cool season veggies planted… before the snow!

At this time of year I usually chuckle at the people complaining about the weather.  As an experienced Calgary gardener, I always say - don't get excited about spring until at least early May and then you won't be disappointed!  Okay, well it's early May and my garden still looks like this:

Argh.

But before we got this big dump, I did manage to get my cool-season veggie seeds planted:

My spinach, kale, lettuce, peas, chard and arugula were planted on Apr 27 and, unlike me, they will be completely unbothered by this weather!!

For resources on vegetable gardening in Calgary, see my posts: 

• My edible gardens
• spring garden clean-up tips

• Vegetable gardening in Calgary 101, which includes notes about raised beds and square foot gardening, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary, which is one of my most popular posts.
• preparing and amending vegetable garden soil
• excellent resource on northern vegetable gardening

the front Entry Garden... from inside!

Above: view of the front Entry Garden from the living room window -designed for sitting pleasure in summer and viewing pleasure in winter!

On days like today, I'm very happy with the fact that I designed my garden to look interesting in winter as well as summer, in particular from inside the house!  Here's the front entry garden with morning light making the feather reed grass glow.  I enjoy this view from my living room with my morning coffee.  :-)

Do you have a favourite winter view of your garden?

fall colours in the front Welcome Garden...

...oh, and a bit of 'Nenshi purple'!!

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

sedum 'Autumn Joy' starting to bloom in the front Welcome Garden

I have been thrilled with my front Welcome Garden this year.  Everything is filling in and the little cuttings of dogwood shrubs I planted a couple years ago are finally looking like, well, shrubs instead of sticks!  And when I walk down this path I really have a sense of being enclosed IN a garden.  

That's sedum 'Autum Joy' in the bottom right corner, just starting to turn colour.  Such a tough plant for being out at the drier, exposed edge of the yard.  

purple bugbane in the front shade garden - Sept 2013

The Actaea racemosa (Cimicifuga ) Atropurpurea (purple bugbane) in my front shade garden is blooming now - and well worth the wait.  What an amazingly sweet scent!  Not to mention its dramatic structure and bonus - the hares never seem to touch it!  I love this plant.

daylily 'Strawberry Candy' blooming in the front Entry Garden

Do you plant flowers to co-ordinate with your house??

You should!!

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

the sunny Adventure Garden in early September

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.

the front Shade Garden in mid-August

This garden area hosts mostly spring-blooming plants so right now it is a study in foliage.  (There's only a little white meadow rue and a hosta blooming at the moment.)  Still pretty though, don't you think? 

Another view:

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

the front Entry Garden in August 2013

In its second year, I'd say the front Entry Garden is filling in nicely (I just wish the patio fairy would come put in that patio for me...!) There are veronicas, phlox, daylilies, helenium, poppies, yarrow and lots of self-seeded borage blooming right now.

Above: view from the front steps.  The hydrangeas close to the house are mostly in shade but the rest of the garden is sunny.

Tip: the bamboo tipis are to cover choice plants that I don't want the hares to nibble.  I only keep them on when the plants are young.  Once they are established they have to be able to fend for themselves.  If a plant really can't survive on its own in the hare-heaven of my front yard, then it gets moved to the back or donated to a friend.  Next year there will be no tipis in my front garden.

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

move the arch and re-route the eavestrough - check!

It hasn't been much of a summer for getting things done in the garden.  You understand how this goes, right?  In fact, we've been meaning to move our arch, re-route the downspout and re-align the stepping stones at this corner of the front Shade Garden for two years... since the eavestroughs were redone. Sheesh!

Arches are a great way to allow a create path around the house and keep the downspout out of the way.  Just make sure they are rigidly installed.  Ours is fixed to the house for extra support.

I'm so happy it's done and look at that view through the arch!  Does that not entice you into the garden?  Next year there'll even be flowers in that pot.  ;-)

the front Welcome garden in mid-August 2013

Above: lilies, yarrow, phlox, daylilies and veronica are blooming in the front welcome garden in August.

(It's been a while, I apologize.  It has been a busy summer with not much time for blogging.  I'll keep posting picture updates of what's blooming in the garden, but if you're looking for gardening help you'll have to browse through my archives a little.)

I'm particularly happy with my ninebark Coppertina, whose foliage colour is standout, below.  It requires nothing from me except a little trim in late winter.  My new mantra: plant more shrubs!

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

Michael, it's Gillenia trifoliata, or Bowman's root!!

Michael, a good friend, colleague and neighbour of mine, gave me a little seedling of this plant last year, except he couldn't remember what it was.  It has pretty, airy little white flowers and seems to be quite happy in my front Entry Garden.  I recently figured out what it was thanks to this excellent post on another blog I follow: it's Bowman's root!

red, white and blue in the front Entry Garden

This is only the second year for my Front Entry Garden and I am quite happy with how it is filling in!  And I really like how the red flowers pop against all that green background.  What's blooming now: red campion (maltese cross) and poppies, white mockorange, perennial geranium and shasta daisies, blue centaurea montana (perennial bachelor's button) and delphiniums.  There's also a new, salmon-coloured "red valerian" I got this spring that has been blooming for MONTHS but I'm not sure yet if it's hardy here.

Note: someday there will be a patio under those chairs!!

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

shasta daisies, 'Moonshine' yarrow, and blue veronica blooming in the front Welcome Garden in mid-July

 

 

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

solar garden lights from SunCatcher

Check out these beautiful solar garden lights from www.Suncatcher.ca!  The ones shown above are the Aurora Glass string lights - they're handblown glass and come in several colours (I chose blue, of course!)  I've had them for a couple of months now and and specifically hung them on my back west-facing porch because they catch the sunlight during the day when viewed from inside the house, and in the evening they glow.  To be honest, I can't say how long they glow for because I haven't managed to stay up late enough yet!!  But perhaps in fall when dusk comes earlier I'll be able to post an update for you.

They are solar powered so you place the solar collector in a sunny spot, and then run the cord to the lights up to 15' away. The lightbulbs are long life LEDs, and the batteries are replaceable with hardware store rechargebles so they seem to be designed to last.  I also got a white table top lantern but due to having young kids, I hung it up in a safe place for now:

These are beautiful lights for the garden and I would definitely recommend them - in fact, I might get more myself (they also have beautiful blown glass garden stakes).  I suppose the only drawbacks are that you can't control when they come on - they start glowing on their own when it gets dark enough outside - and that they are not super bright - I wouldn't rely on them to light up the yard or anything!  But considering they are solar powered, I find that to be a good tradeoff.  Also the lantern's top and bottom are plastic, although painted to look like metal.

Full disclosure - I was given these for free and asked to do a review of them on my blog.  However, Teara the owner, made it clear that I was free to be candid in my review.  I have been asked to endorse products on my blog before and I've always said no, either because I was not free to be candid or because the product has always been something I wouldn't use myself.  But these solar lights are so pretty that I jumped at the opportunity!

Teara, I wish you the best of success for you and your beautiful lights! 

foliage colour and texture in the front Shade Garden in mid-July

Many (but not all!) of my shade-loving perennials in this garden are spring-blooming, so I paid close attention to foliage when planting here.  The dark foliage of actea (bugbane) is up front in this picture, with ninebark 'Coppertina' in the bakground.  Also lamiastrum 'Hermann's Pride', brunnera 'Jack Frost', epimedium rubra, hostas, and bergenia provide interesting foliage in this garden and seem to handle the dry shade.

Here's another view (re-routing the downspout over the arch is on the to-do list for this summer):

To see the development of this garden and what's blooming at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.

catmint 'Walker's Low' and spirea 'Goldflame' in the back Shade Garden

time to pull the arugula?

Each year I try to grow at least one new thing in the veggie garden, and this year it was arugla.

(Note: Last year it was kohlrabi, which I had read was a fun veggie to grow for kids since it looks like Sputnik.  Well, they were underwhelmed, and so was I, frankly.  A guess it would be good with dip but by itself it was nothing to write home about.  I won't bother growing it again.)

Anyhoo. I have discovered that I LOVE arugula!  Why have I never tried it before?!?  It is delicious!  I love the nutty flavour with a bit of zing.  However, from what I have read, it will get bitter in the heat of summer so should be pulled and started again from seed towards the end of the summer for a fall crop.  Too bad, as I will miss its pretty flowers too!  Maybe I'll leave it for just a few more days or until it becomes unpalatable...

painted daisy 'Robinson's Red' in front of 'El Dorado' feather reed grass

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?

viburnum 'Bailey's Compact' and lamiastrum 'Hermann's Pride' doing well in the dark, dry Front Shade Garden

To see this garden area at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.  Or, for a description of lamiastrum, a particularly tough plant for dry shade and also loved by bees, see this post.

easy garden focal point: pots IN the garden

I don't tend to plant annuals in the garden because I constantly run out of space experimenting with perennials that do well in Calgary.  It took me years of gardening before I finally figured this out:  

Got a spot in the garden that is seen from many viewpoints and needs to be spectacular all season long?  Add a pot.  Smack dab IN the garden.  And experiment with fun and unusual annuals as much as you like while adding impact to the garden at the same time.  Or, like me, stick with easy, cheap, tried and true for your pots so that you can have your fun with your perennials.

(Above: New Zealand flax, petunias and allysum in the pot.  I know, no big whoop, right?  But don't they look great against the perennial artemesia in the background?)

morning light in the front entry garden - bearded iris and iceland poppies

I am truly enjoying my new front entry garden, which was planted only last year.  It catches the morning light and can be seen from my living room - the irises and poppies are blooming right now.  Have you considered views from the house when you designed your garden?  You should.

Although it's only a year old, it is filling in nicely so I'll show you a wider view of this garden area shortly (when I can take a picture without so many shadows - not that I'm complaining or anything...)

spring blooms in the back Shade Garden

This is my favourite time of year for the back Shade Garden!  Lots of spring blooms happening at the moment.  There's pink bergenia, yellow leopard's bane, white anemones, and orange geums.  BTW that's a new gate in the back corner - the previous one was old and incredibly ugly so I always cropped it out of pictures.  Now you can enjoy a wider view!

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

back shade garden early June close-up

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.

the Adventure Garden take 2 - this time with sun!

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?

what's blooming in the Adventure Garden in May

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:

• yellow leopard's bane and pink bergenia blooming in the shadier (closer) side of the garden around the birdbath - hooray for their early blooms!!
• several clumps of dwarf purple irises on the sunnier (far) side - they really do need to be divided this year - anyone want some?
• Romance series cherries sporting white blooms on the far edge of the garden, in front of the hoop houses with a few tulips nearby,
• yellow Iceland poppies sprinkled around here and there, just starting to bloom (I yank them out by the handfuls after they bloom or else they will seed everywhere, but a few new surprises each year are always nice to have),
• two gorgeous flowering crabapples (a pink one and a white one) belonging to neighbours on the other side of the back alley which I get to appreciate very much,
• a new fence along the back (left) of the garden which is one reason I'm behind on weeding and plant maintenance...

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

How is your garden coming along?

a new weeping crabapple for the Adventure Garden

Okay, I know I just finished saying that I was going to focus on weeding and mulching this spring rather than planting new plants, but a girl's gotta have a little fun.  Above, please see my new 'Rosy Glow' weeping crabapple, a tree which I have coveted for several years!  It has already finished its bloom for the year because I bought it in bloom several weeks ago, but next year it will only add to the spring show of yellow tulipa tarda and pink bergenia, which can be seen from the kitchen window.  This tree will also provide ornamental crabapples in summer, fall foliage colour, and winter structural interest.  I am thrilled to finally have it in my garden.

the front Welcome Garden in May - ready for mulching

On the long week-end I spent several hours doing a thorough weeding of the front garden.  I don't know about you, but I'm vowing things will be different this year.  In past years, I've had so much renovating to do each spring that I never actually took the time to get on top of the weeds.  But now is the easiest time to do it - the plants are still small so it is easy to reach between them to pull the weeds out.  And better to do it now before any of them set seed and create a million more problems to deal with later.

So, before I start painting the new fence, before I start working on the new patio in the backyard, before I level and plant that pot in the photo above, I'm going to attack every last weed in the garden (well, okay, maybe I'll level the pot 'cause it looks terrible!)  And then I'm going to order a big load of mulch and spread it everywhere, which is going to minimize future weeding and also do great things for my soil and plants.  It's the sort of investment I should really have done earlier but I was having too much fun moving plants around and creating new garden spaces. 

While weeding and mulching doesn't sound very glamorous, and isn't nearly as much fun as planting new plants, it will soon pay off in terms of the size and health of the plants in my garden (mulching helps conserve moisture and insulate the soil),  not to mention the fact that it keeps the garden looking neat and well maintained.  So stay tuned - the garden is going to look amazing this year!

This week in the vegetable garden...

It has been crazy busy in my world but at this time of year, somehow I always find time for my garden!  Last week-end I got the raised beds set up by topping up with fresh compost and worm castings, and putting the strings in place for square foot gardening.  This week I got many of my seeds in and then last night after supper (isn't it nice to be able to spend time outside after supper!?!?!) I put the plastic over my boxes to make mini-hoop houses. Bring on spring!

If you're interested, here is how I built the hoops and then I attached the plastic with clips from Canadian Tire.  Here's a close-up:

It ain't pretty but I think it will work!

Are you gardening this week-end?  Other things I expect to be doing over the next few days are finishing cutting down last year's perennials and getting ready for a new back fence to be built next week. Oh, and perhaps a little plant shopping.  ;-)

What are you up to?  You may find these resources useful:

• My April 2012 garden to-do list (we are WAAAAAAAAAY behind last year so this list is still appropriate for this week-end!!)
• spring garden clean-up tips

• Vegetable gardening in Calgary 101, which includes notes about raised beds and square foot gardening, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary, which is one of my most popular posts.
• preparing and amending vegetable garden soil
• excellent resource on northern vegetable gardening

spring garden clean-up tips

If you are itching to get out and do yardwork this week-end, go for it but don't go crazy!  It is still early days and we want to keep our plants well-insulated for quite a while longer.  This means don't be removing any winter mulch just yet, and definitely don't be walking around on muddy garden soil, which will destroy soil structure.  (Actually, some people recommend not even walking around on the lawn when it's soggy but if you know me, you know I don't care much about lawns!) 

If you haven't pruned your shrubs yet, that is certainly something you could get done this week-end.  Don't prune spring-blooming shrubs like lilacs (you'll cut the flower buds off!) and wait to prune shrub roses until late May or even early June as their tips usually die back and it's easier to see what wood is alive/dead once things are leafing out.  Here is a recent post of mine on pruning, with lots of links to extra resources.

If you're starting to cut back your perennials left standing for the winter, just remember not to tramp around on your garden soil.  This year, I am trying composting in place.  Which means I will be chopping up my leftover perennials into little bits and leaving them in place on the ground.  This makes free mulch!  It will look a little messy in early spring but the plants will soon grow to cover the old stuff.  As my garden gets bigger and bigger I have realized I need to use as many low-maintenance gardening techniques as possible.  Why tote all the dead material over to the compost bin, turn it over all summer (which I never get around to doing anyway) and then when it has sufficiently decomposed, dig it out and spread it back over the garden?  Life is too short.  (Besides, to be honest, I never got around to emptying my compost bins last fall so there is nowhere to put all the dead plant material this spring.)

Above: as I cut these clematis vines back, I am chopping them into small pieces so that they will provide a mulch and eventually compost in place.

seeds! plant seeds!

I have been just a wee bit distracted lately.  I started a few slow-growing perennial seeds back in February and the poor things are so neglected that I'm not sure they're even worth keeping (but of course, I will anyway!)  So my daughter K made me this sign and hung it on my chair so that I will see it each day and remember not only to check on my poor little seedlings but also to plant more.  Thanks K!!

The reason I'm so distracted is that I work at Mount Royal University and my program is going to get cut.  I could be out of a job in a year.  This may not seem like a big deal to most people but if you work in academia, the jobs are typically few and far between, and finding a new one almost always means moving.  I won't rant about it here except to say that the provincial government is seriously hurting post-secondary education - both quality and access.  Do you have teenagers finishing high school in the next few years?  You should be worried.  Have you written your letters to your MLAs?

Anyhoo, let's talk gardening 'cause it's a lot more fun!  Here's a list of popular articles I've written about seed starting:

• My seed-starting setup - This post describes what I do to start seeds, and the how and why of it all.  There are also lots more links on the bottom of the post.
• Vegetable gardening in Calgary 101, which includes notes about raised beds and square foot gardening, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary, which is one of my most popular posts.
• How to winter sow - an alternative, zero-energy, low-maintenance way to start seeds.

You can also browse through old posts under the category "seeds".

one day I'm pruning shrubs in a T-shirt, the next day looks like this!

Welcome to March in Calgary!

It's too early to garden so here's some online reading and inspiration for you!

It's another nice day today!  And this is about the time of year that everybody starts saying "it feels like spring".  Of course, seasoned Calgary gardeners know better than to get their hopes up too high!  I might get a little more pruning done this afternoon, and I have started some seeds and placed some online plant orders (more on that soon!)  But now is about the time of year I try to start finishing up inside projects and spring cleaning because I know once late April comes I will want to spend all my time gardening! 

So, what can you do for the garden if you can't stop thinking about it this early in the year?  Here's a little online reading for you.  If you've been following me on facebook you will have seen these links already.  Here's what I've been fb-ing about over the last month or so:

Gardening tips for this time of year

Real Arborists are True Professionals - So true and so sad. I've seen many crimes against trees! Get a real arborist, people!

The Perfect Pruning Project

Bring Home your New Baby (tree, that is) - buy local, and if necessary, have it delivered!

Planting Time - Get your garden started with seeds

Garden Design

5 Essential Considerations for a Landscape Design Project - Can't decide which I like more - the awesome brick fireplace (pic#2) or the simple, rustic firepit (pic#5).

Great Design Plants - a Bevy of Beauties from the Meadow - I have this plant in my garden and recommend it for a sunny, not-too-dry place. I like the idea in this post about using the stems for bee houses!!

Garden Color - How to Landscape with Purple - The catmint, alliums and salvia described in this post are some of my favourite plants for sunny Calgary gardens. Lupins... not so much. They can be aphid magnets!

Monochromatic Garden Magic done 7 ways - What do you think about colour schemes in the garden? I'm torn. I recognize that a colour scheme can really pull things together. But I also like my garden to look not quite so... intentional.

Give curb appeal a self-serving twist - Here's an excellent garden design post. Personally, I am much more concerned with how my garden looks from the house than from the street!!

The Best Time to Design - Does your garden look pretty today? "Design your garden for deep winter. It will be pretty all year."

Where do we Go from Here? - excellent planting plan tips from a local garden designer, including the primary importance of considering function!

Where do we Go from Here Part 2 - more good stuff, particularly about choosing trees and underplantings, with lovely local photos

The Form of Things to Come - columnar forms in the garden, again using many local garden examples

The Form of Things to Come Part 2 - local trees which add pyramid and vase shapes to your landscape

Sustainable gardening

Get on a Composting Kick - Everybody should compost, not just gardeners!!

Extend your Growing Season with a Cold Frame in the Garden - Lots of online talk already re starting seeds and extending the growing season. Oooh, I can't wait!

Gardening for the birds (and bees and everything else) - Not an urban farmer? There are lots of other good reasons to garden.

Growing Edibles

Sprouting Seeds - My kids like sprouted seeds with cream cheese rolled up in tortillas - easy snack!

Campanula portenschlagiana

I picked up a couple of these little cuties, also known as Dalmatian bellflower, in the grocery store the other day.  Did you know they are hardy perennials in Calgary?  And also very long blooming.  They'd make a great hostess gift or Easter decoration, and then later can go out in a sunny garden spot where they'd make a perfect groundcover or edging plant.  In fact I think I want more than 2!! 

it's a great week-end to start pruning!

I did a bunch of shrub-tidying yesterday and might do a bit more today - although my right hand and forearm are very sore so I should probably take a rest!  But pruning is a great excuse to get outside on such a beautiful week-end, to get something accomplished in the garden... and avoid facing housework (indoor housework that is, garden work never feels like work to me!)

February is the beginning of pruning season in Calgary.  Here is some further reading and inspiration for you:

From my archives:

• February (and March) are good times to prune.
• I don't get the prune-shrubs-into-a-ball-shape thing.
• On thinning and rejuvenating shrubs.

Recently on the web (follow me on facebook to get these regularly):

• The perfect pruning project (shrub pruning tips from Garden Buzz)
• Real arborists are true professionals (tip: you may want to leave the tree pruning to someone who knows what they are doing!)
• Rocky Mountain Gardener's February checklist (pruning and seed planning tips from Houzz)

excellent resource on northern vegetable gardening

There was a great series on northern vegetable gardening posted this January posted at the Minnesota State Horticultural Society webpage.  If you are thinking of starting a vegetable garden this year, or maybe growing more or different vegetables than you have done in the past, this is a great resource. 

Here is a quick reference guide to what I think will be the most useful posts for anyone planning a new vegetable garden:

Day 1: So you want a vegetable garden?  This intro post talks about some of the good reasons for starting a vegetable garden.

Day 2: Where to put your vegetable garden. If you are starting from scratch, this post talks about the most important considerations of soil, sun (at least 6 hours per day!), water, and convenience.

Day 3: Pots vs. Raised Beds vs. Traditional Beds  I agree with this post - if you have the space, raised beds are the way to go!! Also see my post about What you need to know for building raised bed vegetable gardens for more information.

Day 4: What to grow in your vegetable garden My best recommendation: grow what you like to eat!

Day 5: Seeds vs. starter plants  Some advantages and disadvantages of each are described.  I say, try seeds, you've got nothing but a couple of bucks to lose!

Day 7: Designing your vegetable garden  Practical as well as aesthetic considerations.

Day 8: Vegetables in the ornamental garden  Don't forget this possibility!  I grow herbs, rhubarb, edible flowers, fruiting shrubs, and more in my ornamental gardens.

There are lots of great tips for starting your own seeds, when to plant, winter sowing, succession planting, extending the season etc. as well, so anyone who already has a vegetable garden will find some useful posts for these more "advanced" strategies later in the month.

Welcome to my front entry garden! Have a seat!

Do you leave your garden furniture out in the winter?  I must confess, I do even though I know it's not good for it.  I like how these chairs look covered in their white pillows of snow - whenever I walk by or see them out the living room window, they remind my of summer days when I enjoy sitting out here with my morning coffee.

Those days seem so far away at the moment, don't they?  What do you do to stay sane in January?

a peek into the front shade garden in winter

There are some low-growing junipers under there somewhere...!

the Adventure Garden in January

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!

gingerbread houses need landscaping too!

My girls and I made gingerbread houses this year.  They each decorated their own, complete with shrubs and trees and gardens.  The left house by K even has a downspout and two rainbarrels tucked in the back!  That's my girl!

Of course, I made the "community garden" in the middle.  I'm quite proud of the raised beds in a formal parterre style!  Wish I had room for a real garden like that!!

I've had an extremely busy fall but I'm expecting the next few months will be slightly less crazy and I'll be starting to plan and blog about the garden again.  Have a wonderful holiday and see you in the new year!!

more blue in my life - spare bedroom furniture painted with chalk paint in 'Provence'

OK, I know this is a gardening blog but when winter comes along, I must have a few crafty projects on the go to bring more colour (preferably blue) into my life.  This spare bedroom is full of second-hand and hand-me-down furniture.  There were 4 different colours of wood in here, and I couldn't stand it any longer.  So I painted the dresser and night stand with 'chalk paint' - the coolest stuff in the world which you can buy in Calgary at Lauren Lane Decor (they are not paying me to say this!)  It's super easy to use and also easy to distress if you like that look.

Actually, I painted these pieces back in the summer but I finally got around to hanging the curtains a few weeks ago so wasn't ready to show you until now.  I managed to find some fabric to tie the navy, the provence blue, and the browns of the unpainted oak headboard and cork floor to tie everything together (top photo, above).  Do you love it?  I do!

Above: a before picture, FYI.  This was my youngest brother's dresser when we were growing up!

ornamental onion in the winter garden

feather reed grass 'Avalanche' in the front Welcome Garden

This grass is a relation of the popular 'Karl Foerster', but has variegated leaves which look great, and the plant is slightly shorter than brother Karl.  Makes a great vertical accent in the garden!  See Bluestem's description for more info and inspiration.

To see this plant in my front Welcome Garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.

feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster' in the back shade garden

If you don't have this plant, plan to get it!  It's one of my all-time favourites and super tough in Calgary gardens.  Also on Sue's recently posted top 20 list, or check out Blue Stem's excellent description of this plant, with more photos.

Click here and scroll down to see this garden at other times of the year.

for the record: Calgary Garden Coach snowed under in October/November!

Above: frozen leaves still on the Mountain Ash tree in the back shade garden.

I've been meaning to post to tell you that I'm so busy that I don't have much time to post these days... so here I am!  When I said "snowed under" I was really thinking about how busy my job is at this time of year, but of course, it applies to the garden as well. 

I don't mind the snow, really (the literal stuff!)  Although getting it so early was not optimal for the garden as trees and shrubs didn't have time to fully go into dormancy.  We got hit with sudden snow and extended cold temperatures in mid-October, so that the leaves still have not fallen from the trees and woody plants.  Fortunately, this is a great excuse for not having done any fall clean-up in the yard!! 

Above: frozen honeysuckle vine leaves on the new blue arch to England (the veggie garden).

 

Above: deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hair grass) and physocarpus (ninebark) 'Coppertina' in the front Welcome Garden.

PS.  Even when I am busy and the blog is quiet, I still manage to stay fairly active on my Calgary Garden Coach facebook page - check me out there!

Happy Hallowe'en from me and my... um... Christmas cactus!

I post a photo of this Christmas cactus every year, but it's so flippin' gorgeous I can't help myself!  And this year it is even dressed up - when I saw this Mexican painted pot in a store last spring I knew I had to have it for my cactus.  And then I had to paint the table to match.  And then I painted the arch outside, too.

What would you do for your favourite house plant?

fall leaves in the garden - more than just pretty colours!

I sure am enjoying the colourful view of my neighbour's crabapple, mountain ash tree and dogwood shrubs at the moment!  I planted my own little Saskatoon shrubs this year which will add to the fall colour in a few years when they get to a more substantial size.

But while I am enjoying the beautiful colours, I am already scheming about what to do with those leaves after they've fallen.  Each year at this time I wish I owned a shredder so I could chop them all up into little bits which would make even better mulch for the garden.  But each year at this time I have already more than blown my gardening budget for the year.  So I do not yet own a mulcher.

The leaves I do have, I rake onto the garden for the winter.  I also check the local leaf drop off regularly and sometimes manage to snag some pre-chopped leaves to put on the garden!  If not, I choose bags of small, curly leaves such as birch, which make better winter mulch than big flat leaves like poplar. 

In any case, I certainly do not get rid of my own leaves! They are extremely useful for winter mulch and for adding nutrients to the garden.  You may think you are being a good environmental citizen by taking your leaves to the drop off, but leaving them in the garden has a zero footprint and provides nutrients for your soil.  So don't bag 'em unless you want to make leaf mold!

You can read about leaf mold and how I first got hooked on stealing leaves here:

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

And read more about the benefit of leaves on the garden here:

After the Party's Over on Garden Buzz

colourful flowering containers in my 2012 garden - soon to be gone but not forgotten

Sigh.  Snow tonight and/or tomorrow.  This likely spells the end for most of the annuals in my garden (not to mention the tomatoes!) Well, we had an amazing summer for 3 solid months and that is something to be thankful for in Calgary!

Actually, I don't plant many annuals IN the garden, but rather in pots in key places where I want to add a focal point or some season-long colour.  You'll notice many of my pots and containers are colourful themselves.  I painted a few this spring and I'm so happy with the results that I may paint more next year! 

Are you a colour-phile like me?  Would you consider painting anything in your garden?

actea simplex (bugbane) in the front shade garden

This plant has a wonderful, sweet fragrance so I planted right beside my front steps and I am really enjoying its architecture and grape-juice scent right now.  While it prefers moisture, it seems to be doing fine in my rather dry front shade garden.  I do dump a little extra kitchen water on it now and then from washing lettuce etc (another good reason to plant it right beside the door!)

This plant was recently featured on Houzz so go check it out for more info and inspiration!