They grow them big here...

A neighbour took advantage of their big shrubs to put on a Halloween show.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Hope you have a good one :)

Dahlia 'Yellow Star' Makes an Appearance

These poor flowers are a little worse for wear but it is the end of October.  A beautiful lemon yellow semi-cactus dahlia, the blooms are 3.5 inches across.  I won't need to plant yellow daisies next year because I'll get lots of yellow from these.
This may be the end of our dahlia story for the 2010 gardening season.  I have one more bud that I'm hopeful about but I imagine hope will be overcome by frost in the next couple of days.  I certainly can't complain - this has undoubtedly been the longest gardening season since we started 6 years ago.

Dare I Hope?

That next year the sidebar of this blog will say "Danielle's Zone 5 Garden"? Yes, it's true. We are once again considering moving East. This time, I think it may actually happen. Fingers crossed, everyone. Stay tuned for updates :)

Self-seeding Perennials

Self-seeding perennials can be a little scary in a small urban garden.  I find small sprouts of new plants in the oddest places.  This is a spotted lungwort commonly called 'Bethlehem sage' or 'Mary and Joseph'.  It was one inheritance from my mother's garden when she moved into an apartment.  Twice I've thought it was gone for good, only to find a sprout coming up somewhere different.  Since I have lots of shady spots and this lungwort is more like a ground cover, I can handle a few extra plants every year.  Other plants that have survived my methodical spring weeding are brunnera, Jacob's ladder, donkeytail spurge and campanula.  The two that give me the most trouble are my tall blue lobelia and my alpine columbine.  While I leave lots, I still have to yank or move lots too.  They're both worth that extra effort though.

Season Ends

This is what Summer and I stepped out the front door to find this morning. Worse still, this was the best weather of the day. Winter arrived in my garden today in the form of a storm bordering on a blizzard and the gardening season officially ended. The only thing we could do here now is plant lilies and that is only if the holes are already dug. I wouldn't want to dig in this. Since I have no lily holes dug, all that is left to do for me is to settle inside and look back on my 2010 season. I will spend more of the year looking back or looking ahead than I will actually garden. Yes, the first snow day tends to make me a little melancholy. Good news is, I always recover quickly.

Fitting Plants In

I would always advocate planting in a space large enough for the plant you are putting in, when mature. However, in every garden I have ever had, there are mature plants in too small spaces that I did not plant. Meet my Boardwalk Garden Dogwood. It lives at the drive edge where that garden ends. This puts it right in the middle of my view to the Sun Garden from my dining room window and my view to the drive from my kitchen window. Add to that the tiny space it is growing in and you begin to see my problem. My solution has been to hack it down every Fall. In this photograph, I have just completed that task. When I started, it was twice this height. I also take out all of the old wood stalks because I find that as the stalks age, they turn brown rather than the dark red of the young wood. I much prefer the red and removing the old wood keeps it airy, allowing light through. Although I often think I should move this Dogwood to the Sun Garden and plant a smaller, more decorative shrub in this spot, I know that is unlikely to happen soon. As long as it is happy being hacked down every Fall, I will probably happily avoid the huge job digging it would be. Especially when I have so much empty space to fill yet. It helps that it is a pretty Dogwood since everyone who arrives here has to walk by it if they are coming up to the house. If it were a Goatsbeard or Cotoneaster, I think I would have moved it long ago.

Introducing Little Stonehenge

Kelly has a propensity for moving big rocks around.  Since mid-summer he has been excavating the woods behind our garage.  Somewhere along the way we started calling it 'Little Stonehenge'.  What started out as a big pile of rocks has become, well, a more organized pile of rocks.  This upright rock above stands at the foot of the flipflop path.  He has it propped up to look like a console from the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, or perhaps a DHD from StarGate.  I have to admit that I think many of his ideas are a little nuts but they always turn out, umm, interesting at the least.  This whole area is still under construction but a few plants are in and next year we should see a few blooms among the rocks.

Country Garden Plants

When I first started gardening in the City, I planted everything that anyone gave me, never asking why they were giving it away. I came to discover it was usually because they had too much... way too much! Some were great self-seeders, like the daisy above. Some spread rapidly through creeping roots like Summer Phlox. Still others, like Lamium, were good at both methods, spreading both their root and their seeds everywhere! Although I came to not appreciate those plants in the City, I have found them to be perfect plants for my country garden where there are lots of open, large spaces to fill. Included on this list of plants would be Bouncing Bet, Wild Violet, Yarrow, Forget-Me-Not, Johnny-Jump-Up Viola, Goutweed and Chinese Lantern, which I added this year. If you are limited with space, be wary of planting any of these in spots where they cannot be managed. All of them will get easily out of control, many of them are able to jump sidewalks, patios or lawns in less than a single season. A few will not even bother to jump your lawn but will instead come right up in the middle of it.

Tulip Deadline Zone 3

It is time to finish planting and moving tulips in zone 3. According to Environment Canada, we have three more days of good weather and then a few of bad. Once the bad hits in Saskatchewan, all bets are off and there are no guarantees. Last Fall, I added so many new tulips that this Fall, I am finding myself content with moving what I have here already and saving some of the old that are struggling in very tight spaces. The fact that Linda and I were discussing tulips the other day, which made me pull out my trusty notebook, to realize that so many of my new ones did not perform well this year, has made me a little tulip weary. I was planning on just moving my 'Angelique', 'Bastogne' and crowded 'White Dream'. I think now that I will move all of the tulips that did not perform well this year and see if I can get them to give me a better display next year. I am hopeful that even with the increase in number, I can finish in one day so that is now my agenda for tomorrow. I am starting my race against time... and snow!

Fall Visitors

Although we have visitors to the garden all year, their numbers seem to increase dramatically in the Fall. I think the deer start to come in closer because it is hunting season and they seem to sense they are safer here. The Woodpeckers, on the other hand, leave for Summer and return in Fall. I don't know where they go or why they want to be here in Winter. This little guy is baby Hammy and he has found a couple of new friends in recent days. I hope one of them is building a warmer house than baby Hammy is because baby may be looking for a roommate come snow!

Fall Buds

It always amazes me that some plants grow their buds in the fall.  It seems a little backward.  Those little buds have to survive the long cold winter!  Above is my Japanese pieris 'Purity'.  Azaleas, my miniature rhodo and a few heathers are also full of buds.  And then there's the oddities - like my 'America' Asiatic lilies that are all developing buds in October.

Linda's Perennial Pick of the Season

This was a hard choice!  However, I am a BIG fan of phlox and this phlox paniculata 'Nicky' is my new favourite.  It had a rocky start - I planted it bare root in the spring of 2008 and it has taken this long to grow and bloom.  It was well worth the wait.  I've noticed that many of the tall phlox change colour depending on the time of day (or maybe the temperature?).  Nicky looked quite pink when it was first opening and had me confused.

I also love Danielle's perennial pick and was tempted to post my 'Summer Sun' heliopsis - it was a close second.  (I managed to sneak it in here anyway ;)

Food!

I have always been a flower gardener and still consider myself as such. This year I added food to my garden and was surprised to find that it was as easy as growing flowers. This was the first of my potatoe crop to be made into a meal. It was yummy! I had success with everything I planted so I am going to expand that next year with the addition of a fenced kitchen garden. Although the dogs did not bother potatoes, onion and chard, I have a feeling they may feel differently about carrots, spinach and lettuce. Add to that our visitors from this morning and I think the kitchen garden will need a fence.

The Love Bus

This is our Love Bus, eventhough it is a van, and it is probably my favourite piece of garden art. It is certainly the single piece we invested the most in. It was one of those things that we just fell in love with when we first saw it and there was no way I wasn't taking it home. Actually, though, it was delivered because it is concrete, very heavy and did not fit in our car. The two boys that delivered it were not happy to find that I wanted them to put it in the farthest corner of the yard from the gate. That was when we lived in the city. The movers brought it here for us and it was much easier to place up by the back deck in Benedict's Upper Level Garden. I love the little peace sign rims and the yin yang bubble window. The other side says Flower Power in bright coloured paint on raised letters. Until this year, I have always grown impatiens in it but this year I grew my new Begonia 'Golden Wave' inside. If they survive the winter, I will repeat that next year because it was quite stunning. The Love Bus also has a roof that sits on top of it in the Winter. I usually fill it with leaves to replenish the soil and cover it until Spring. I used to make a table out of the roof for the Summer, using bricks as the legs, but because it has raised flowers and a bigger peace sign on it, it was not the easiest table to set a cup of coffee on. So in recent years, I just lean it somewhere in the garden. Usually on the opposite side of The Gecko at the same stump. In the front of the bus, there is a personalized license plate with the artist's name, C. Johnston, carved into the concrete. Although we ate peanut butter sandwiches for a month to buy it, I have never regretted the purchase. We have had it since 1996, it has always lived outdoors and shows no signs of fading. Well worth the brief sacrifice!

Dahlia 'Karma Bon Bini' - Hard to Miss

I'm getting close to the end of my dahlia season and so glad I got to see this one.  The yellow interior is close to lime and the red is wonderfully bright.  Karma Bon Bini is a straight cactus with 3" blooms and stands about 2.5' tall.  These cactus dahlias are really growing on me!

The Gecko

This is our Gecko. He lives in Benedict's Upper Level Garden and he likes to keep his eyes on Benedict at all times. I don't think he likes the horns. Eventhough he never quite makes it to the top of the stump, he seems very happy hanging off its' side. He is kept company by the Hummingbirds that visit the Honeysuckle and the occasional cat that sits atop the stump. That happens more in the Summer than in the Winter. For a thin metal figure, he has held up surprisingly well in the outdoors year round.

Bright & Fun - Dahlia 'Giggles'

What an appropriate name!  You can't look at it without at least smiling.  'Giggles' is another beautiful collarette, planted next to 'Alpen Cherub' and they are a great pair.  These collarettes are tall and graceful with long stalks and rather insignificant foliage.  This bloom is smaller and shorter than it would normally be - standing about 3' tall and 3" across.  It wasn't planted till mid-July and we are now close to frost.  There was a frost warning last night but our dahlia blooms survived.  Other people in the Halifax area had frosty windows and lost their begonias and dahlias - it seems we're in a good spot!

Zone 3: City vs. Country Gardens

I was in Judy's City garden today, which is only 30 minutes from my country garden, when I noticed that she has so much more blooming than I do right now. Her garden got the same frost mine did a week or so ago yet all of my Geranium frosted off and all of hers are alive and doing well. Her sideyard has always been very protected between her house and the neighbours so I was not surprised to see not one, but two, Clematis blooming there with more Geranium. Her Gladiolus are all starting to open and mine frosted off along with all of my Dahlia. She did lose her Dahlia to the frost. I think the biggest difference is the concrete. The City is so full of buildings and sidewalks and road that they hold all the heat so her garden is often a few degrees warmer than mine even if the City temperature at the airport, where they take the temperature reading, is the same as mine. All of the things blooming in her garden have not made me want to move back to the City but they have made me wonder if I couldn't create some protected areas here that would save some things from those early but light frosts that we can get in Saskatchewan. At the very least, I think I will spend some time thinking about that this winter.

Stunning Dahlia - 'Glenbank Twinkle'

I know I've said it lots this year but this is definitely one of my favourite dahlias!  It starts out dark fushia and lightens as it opens.  The shape is wonderful and it's so photogenic.  It's classification is M-C-DB, which means miniature, straight cactus, and dark blend.  This bloom is 4" across and stands 2.5' tall.  I can't wait to see it open completely.

Tiny Dahlia - 'Little Scottie'

This little fellow is small - barely 2" across - but so wonderful.  It has layers and layers of petals and forms a perfect ball.  The pale lemon yellow is one of my favourite colours.  Next year I will plant it with hot pink in my ring garden.  Little Scottie is a pompon dahlia and stands only 1.5' tall and is one of all the dahlia that Danielle brought me in July.

Delicate Dahlia - 'Preference'

This beautiful dahlia is definitely 'girlie'.  She opens a darker shade of salmon and then lightens into this two-tone pinky-peach with a pale yellow centre.  This heirloom dahlia is classified M-SC-PK.  The 'M' must be a mistake because this is not a miniature - it's 5" across.  SC stands for semi-cactus and PK is for pink.  When it first opens the petals are flatter but then curl back as it ages.  It's sprawled across the garden since Hurricane Earl struck but would be about 3' tall if upright.

My Favourite Perennial Pick of this Season

Although early in this season, I would have told you that Begonia 'Bonfire' is my favourite plant discovery for this year, this more recent blooming beauty has really captivated me. This is Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine' and she is currently blooming happily in Judy's sideyard. She is stunning. White leaves with dark green veins and bright, cheery, lemon yellow daisy-like blooms. I am a big fan of daisy-like flowers. She is a tagless plant that was easily identified on the internet with complete confidence. There is nothing quite like her or even close enough to mistake. The best part of this discovery is that she has a little baby offshoot of 3 stalks and one bloom that Judy has offered me. I have decided to leave the baby where it is for the winter and will divide and transplant in the Spring. I hope she spreads really quick because I can just see a huge patch of her in my Front House Garden where I will see her blooms several times a day every season.

Heliopsis helianthoides 'Loraine Sunshine', perennial zone 2, 30" height by 30" spread, full sun

Gladiolus - Lift in Fall

This is the first time I have lifted glads. This is what came out of the ground. According to what I am reading, I am supposed to break off the old corm at the bottom and store the new corm that sits on top of it. Somehow breaking off the root part seems so wrong. I suppose I buy glads without root so it does makes sense. Still feels wrong though. I think because I spend so much time trying to save and preserve plant root in hopes a plant will come back from it, I am reluctant to break root off and just toss it away. I guess I'll see how I feel once they are dry. Maybe it will fall off on its' own by then and spare me the guilt.

Benedict

Garden art is very important in my garden. I consider everything that isn't a plant, from containers to bird baths, as garden art. Even when the bird bath has a stump or rock for a base. This is Benedict sharing a view with our cat, Jake. Benedict is our sentinel and sits at the top of the stepping stone steps, facing the drive where he can watch the road and be the first to see visitors approaching. He is so special, he has his own garden. Benedict's Garden extends from where he sits back to the fence on both the upper and lower levels. In front of his lower level is the Nursery and behind the fence on his upper level is the Bird Sanctuary. This area used to be known as the sideyard but Benedict's Garden has stuck since he moved in. In his garden, Benedict has tulips, delphinium, fern, anemone, bergenia and always begonia. You wouldn't know it to look at him but Benedict loves flowers. When we first got Benedict, Wile E. used to bark at him constantly, especially at night. I think Wile E. wondered why Benedict never want to play... or answer. Eventually he figured it out. I do the same thing. I find myself talking to him out there as much as I talk to the dogs. He has a personality for me. Although I doubt anyone else would notice it.

Dark Dahlia 'Cornel'

Cornel is a beautiful dark red dahlia with many layers.  This bloom stands at 3.5 feet and is about 3" across.  Slow to open, it is definitely worth the wait.  It's classification is BA-DR, meaning ball and dark red.  This was one of the dahlia that Danielle brought me in July.