ORIGINAL LASAGNA GARDEN - redone

In hindsight, it is not surprising my first attempt at a Lasagna Garden was not successful, after all, the Chicory and Bugloss were in mid-bloom and their long tap roots do not transplant well. 

Viper's Bugloss

Last summer, with some experience under my belt I redid this new bed in what I hope will be a lovely naturalized perennial bed...now if only I can recall what I planted 6 months ago!

 First step this time was to build some edging to keep the soil in place then build up the bed.

To keep the amount of soil I had to bring in to a minimum I added quite a bit of organic material - just look at all that gorgeous free organic soil amendment washed up on shore in spring alongside an old railway tie.  The small bits of twigs, bark and pine needles will breakdown quickly in the soil.

 The soil resembled a forest floor as much as a typical garden bed, and why not? The Lakefront Garden is a very natural, low maintenance design and the appearance of the soil will become a moot point once the plants fill out.

I planted tall Asclepias at the back, alongside the tree, and Purple Liatris immediately behind the daylilies, both purchased at end of season 50% off pricing as they were both past blooming but should come up fine this coming season.

Buttercups and Daisies (and possibly some Rudbeckia) harvested from the side of the road round out the planting. It was not much to look at last summer but I hope that this summer it provides some  relatively maintenance free blooms for our renters.

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Sharing with Garden Tuesday, Tuesday Garden Party, Outdoor Wednesday, Maple Hill Hop

LAKEFRONT GARDEN - what happened?

Upon our arrival at the Ontario cottage a few weeks back we found a portion of the Lakefront Garden - the portion with the greatest variety of plants including Hardy Geranium, Ox-eye Daisies, Iris, Sundrops and of course the garden-defining Daylilies - had been severely cut back on either side of the steps leading down into the water.

An honest mistake by someone trimming the lawn, but still a disappointment.

This is how it looked this year: B-A-R-E

Compared to how it looked at the same time last year.

Most are tough plants and are already coming back but will not be blooming this year.

This is how the rest of the Lakefront Garden currently looks, a mix of (mostly Kwanso) daylilies, Yellow Loosestrife and Sundrops.

I quickly set about remedying the situation by taking the rest of the Sundrops I started to remove from the Lily Garden last year where they were not getting enough sun. They were past blooming but at least they filled in the empty space somewhat. I also added in some Fuscia; though annuals are not normally my cup of tea they are hard to beat when you require immediate colour.

Friends bought me these "Autumn Colours" Rudbeckia which I just love.  I truly hope they take and become a permanent part of the Lakefront Garden where they were a welcome and timely addition. 

Have you ever found an unexpected and drastic change to your own gardens?

What did you do?

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Sharing with Garden Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday Garden Party,
 Outdoor Wednesday & Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

LAST FLOWERS - German Iris

In a previous post I celebrated the 'first flowers' to make their appearance.  Brave souls eager to have their day.  But I also appreciate 'last flowers', those that wait until you think they are done blooming and then surprise us with a last blast of colour.

This Iris (Versicolor or Virginica?) is one such flower.
This picture was taken on June 29 and about a week after I thought I had seen the last of the Iris.  Remember, everything was blooming early this year.
Whether it will bloom again next year at the same time as the Blanket Flower in the background remains to be seen.

Typically a single Iris among all of the other plants on the Lakefront Garden wouldn't be enough to really catch one's eye, especially when its blooms are so outnumbered by the Sundrops and Daisies.  But when said plant is unexpectedly blooming a single flower can really pop. 

"Good for you!" I say to the plant that goes out with a bang.

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And of course Garden Bloggers Bloom Day