MACRO MONDAY - poppy & delphinium

Both plants from a garden tour I was on this weekend.

Poppy

 Delphinium

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Sharing with Macro Monday 2, I Heart Macro and Blooming Tuesday

NATURE MANITOBA GARDEN TOUR

Today I learned about Nature Manitoba by going on their fundraising garden tour. Their stated goal "is to promote an appreciation and understanding of nature, and to preserve and enjoy it." which is completely aligned with the goals of my organization, the Winnipeg Bulb Project. 

My membership dues will be in the mail tomorrow. 

A great cause and a beautiful day to explore some Manitoba gardening.  Of the 8 homes who volunteered their time and energy on the tour I am going to share two.

Twice in the last two weeks I have had the pleasure of seeing my friend Gerard's garden in bloom.  He has three acres only 10 minutes from my home but it feels like it is in the country and he has already had four different garden tours through this year.

Two weeks ago it was all about the poppies for me.  Even from a great distance the red ones in the upper right corner of the photo still pop.

Today so much had changed.
Yes there were still gorgeous Peony blooms, but now the Delphiniums were holding court, their delightful purple spires calling to me from across the spacious yard.

In particular they are splendid paired with Maltese Cross (which I put in my garden for the first time this year and am thrilled to see how it looks once established).

This enormous white Peony has solidified my thinking that white belongs anywhere. 

What an excellent foil to the surrounding riot of colour!

So elegant.

You are not dreaming, Gerard maintains a grass labyrinth, and not just any grass but beautiful ribbon grass.  I cannot wait to see it later in the year at its full height.

Tucked around one side of the house these vibrant shade dwellers appeared happy and healthy.

From Gerard's I also have some amazing macro shots.

So be sure to check back on Mondays when I link up with Macro Monday 2 and I Heart Macro.

Just up the street and also on the same tour was another house with amazing gardens.

This fish-eye shot is a little out of focus but you get the general idea of the incredible multi-faceted entrance. You can approach the house from the driveway three different ways, all of them beautiful.

Like the Peony at Gerard's this white Delphinium really speaks to me. I love the many blue and purple delphiniums, but if I was forced to choose...well let us hope it never comes to that.

I have never seen a bigger more healthy looking Delphinium. I may have to drive slowly by this yard for the next week or so to watch those spires fill out. 

I wish I had taken more photos because it was really stunning, both plants and sculpture, but I got caught up in enjoying it - and that is a pretty good reason I am sure you will agree.

Sharing with: 

Today's Flowers, Floral Friday Fotos, Weekend Flowers 

DIRECT SOWING - new to me

Between my small Toronto gardens and my large but treed woodland cottage garden, the idea of starting from seeds rather than purchasing plants never appealed to me. The idea of having shelves and lights inside and having to harden plants before getting them outside seems like more work than I will have time for, until I retire.

Until now. 

Now I have massive (for me) weed-free (for now)  garden beds just begging to be planted. So I have begun researching what perennials I can direct sow here in zone 3. 

Here is what I have found so far:

Foxglove is something I have always wanted to grow. I planted it once at the cottage with no success which I attribute to not enough light and so I tried again last year but we moved at the end of July and so I do not know how they finished up the year.  I will not deadhead them and hope that they spread like crazy!

Poppies are another plant that I have always wanted to grow but never had the right conditions. This excellent article on poppy growing gives me hope that I should be able to direct sow with success.  I would have liked Himalayan Blue Poppies but apparently they prefer cool summers. I will try Oriental and California poppies instead.

Sunflowers, another plant I have not had enough sun to grow and am eager to try. There are so many gorgeous varieties, including lots with tints of red which I will go for to keep things a little bit different and interesting.  I will experiment with varying heights since they come in sizes from 2' to 12' or more!

Rudbeckia on the other hand I have grown before, having transplanted hundreds from the roadside at the Ontario cottage. With that said I will be trying out new varieties like "Cherry Brandy" (above) and "Autumn Colours" (below).  

They should be sown at around 14 degrees Celsius and I will probably plant them near the poppies so they fill the gaps the poppies leave behind later in the season.

Scabiosa are on my list and should also flower in their first year. Most often in shades of bluey/purpley, I just found this red variety I might try as well.

Echinacea is a must have though I do not expect them to bloom in the first year. Luckily I already bought "Hot Lava" and "Secret Desire" last year to get me off to a blooming start next year.

I am sure there are more (e.g. flax!), but I will have to leave them for another day.