DIVIDING HARDY GERANIUM

Last spring when this gorgeous green sphere appeared I was thrilled; so vibrant and not even in bloom yet.

It gets very large and it transitions beautifully to some lightly coloured "Blue Angel" clematis growing up the trellis.

It also gets scraggly later in the season. I had read that it could benefit from a pruning but I had never tackled a plant this bushy before that wasn't woody. 

I cut it back and was surprised to find that there was effectively a mini plant - the basal growth. I read up on it and found out it was the natural place to cut it back to. Phew!  I also learned that next year I will do it mid summer (as opposed to late) to give it time for a second blooming.

I cut it in half and spread it out. I removed the small strip of grass that had separated the garden from where the composter had been and where the cherry tree now sits.

  The geranium will cover the uneven edge of the lawn until I get around to shaping it.

This is what it looked like a few days later. No worries, I expected that since I was cutting right through its root system with a spade.

With the dead foliage removed they looked much better, though admittedly still bedraggled. Fear not, it is what is beneath the soil that counts and I am confident they will recover next year and cover the base of both trellis and tree.

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CEDAR HEDGE UPDATE

Last May I described day one of our major project of bringing all of our cedars together into one place and never got around to finishing the story until now.

Small ceders lined each side of the front yard but felt lost under the towering elms.

May 22nd

I used them to create a barrier between driveway and back yard, staggering them and for some overlap since many were quite skinny and others misshapen. If they really respond well to our loving care in their new home I may have trouble with them being too close together, but that can be the price one pays when looking for immediate impact.


The snow is now at least twice as high and has buried the smallest one completely. We need to add a fence next year to accommodate Suzie our bird watching dog and whatever we get is going to have to be quite high because as the snow piles up from the driveway plowing it effectively shortens the height of the fence. It will have to allow for snow to pass through it since there is nowhere else to put it.

I have some ideas.
Come back in June to find out.

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MACRO BLOOM - foxglove

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YARD ART AS SNOW GAUGE - february

Dec. 19th, 2013

Jan. 26th, 2014

Feb. 23rd, 2014

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UNDERESTIMATING THE SUN

While the influence of the sun in gardening may be obvious to most, I had clearly underestimated it in a number of places last summer, especially how it effects the direction in which a plant will grow. 

Here are 3 examples.

1) 

I prefer to hide the functional aspects of a garden and I planted these daylilies to do just that by covering where the fence and the ground meet. In my mind they were going to mound, as daylilies tend to do, but instead they were clearly reaching for the sun, growing out towards the lake.

If I wanted them to cover up the base of the fence I would have had to plant them slightly behind it to anticipate their forward motion. 

2) 

At the base of this chain link fence I planted peas and Morning Glories. I knew I would need to help guide and wind them through the fence but I had not really appreciated how much I would be fighting the vines' natural tendency to grow away from the fence and towards the light.  

Next time I will plant them on the north side of the fence and use their pull to the south to my advantage.

3)

Once I took note of the lessons above I started looking for other examples around the yard and noticed this shrub whose branches only grow in one direction - towards the lake and the light.

In the retelling it seems obvious, but thinking ahead to how your plants will grow takes practice. Wish me luck, I hope I now have this one licked but sometimes I need to learn things in the garden more than once!

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HYACINTHS ON THE MOVE

I had heard Hyacinths were easy to force (bloom indoors in mid winter) and I happen to have had some on hand this fall for the first time, so on November 20th I started forcing bulbs for the first time.  

I rested 2 of them above the water line in a small rectangular vase and kept them in the garage (cool dark place) for as long as I could.

Then on December 8th I moved them to the basement when the water began to freeze in the garage.

On February 18th I realized that for something supposed to be easy I had already made a few mistakes. According to Martha Stewart:

- I should have been changing the water twice weekly; I only topped it up occasionally 

- I placed the bulbs in front of a window, so I got the 'cool' part right, but should have had them in darkness

Today they basically have no roots but nonetheless are showing signs of growth; check out the shoot appearing on the left.  

Given the importance of roots though, back to the basement they go, this time to a dark, cool spot.

Cross your fingers for me and hope that I end up with something ever after this mix up.  If so, then Hyacinths really will be easy to force!

***
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and Fertilizer Friday

FRONT BIRD FEEDER - dog tv

Recently I posted about the Downy Woodpeckers that frequent our suet feeder but we also have another feeder filled with sunflower seeds - and only sunflower seeds, because last year beneath my feeder was a sea of unwanted grasses and plants clearly spilled from the feeder. 

Birds like sunflowers and I like sunflowers, so next spring when some 'volunteers' appear under the feeder I just may leave them.

 This pair of rabbits are daily visitors outside of my dining room window. Whatever is spilled is not wasted; with -30 degree temperatures I feel obligated to keep the feeders full.
I find it incredible they can manage at all in this weather and am happy to help. 

The scene from inside is entirely different. 

Suzie is the latest addition to our family and she stands guard over the bird feeder plotting her escape for hours on end, thinking about how best to chase the rabbits, for hours on end.  

She does not mind at all that there is only one channel on her 'doggy 'TV'.

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A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST

No question about it, gardening can be expensive, but if we apply ourselves we can sometimes think of ways to brighten up our landscapes without spending a dime. This is my story of how I achieved a different look with no money down.

It can be very dry under a massive tree like this Spruce, so under it I chose to plant an Alpine Garden with lots of Sedum & Sempervivum (and rocks of course), but with all of the clover also under that Spruce it was not standing out as much as I would have liked. 

I turned one of the long narrow rocks on its end. Look closely and see it just in front of the Hostas at the base of the tree, still dark and covered with mud. 

(If you look closely you can also spot my Strawberry Daiquiri too - I was celebrating Canada day with a red cocktail.)

It turned out the 'stones' are actually the broken up original concrete front sidewalk to my home so they are all flat; on the spur of the moment I went with my gut and upended most of the stones, leaving a few as stepping stones to allow for weeding.  

 

Now it draws one in for a closer look.

It is not quite Easter Island or Stonehenge but it IS different enough to give one pause, and half hidden yard waste has been turned into a garden feature.

We should all take a moment to see if there are any simple changes we could be making to our gardens; no money spent, refreshed look achieved.

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CONFESSIONS OF A PART TIME COMPOSTER

For the first time in as long as I can remember I am not composting this winter.  It feels irresponsible and deliciously lazy, and considering it has been -30 (Celsius) many days so far this winter I am  feeling slightly smug about the decision I made in late fall.  

In Toronto we had weekly municipal compost pick up and bi-weekly garbage pick up so there was no excuse not to compost your kitchen scraps and every reason to.  Not only is there no municipal program for kitchen scraps in Winnipeg it now would mean trekking to the back lane in frigid temperatures and keeping the top of the composters free of snow. 

Is just SO much easier to pile the snow on top of them... 

Both composters are filled to the brim ready to start their magic come spring thaw. Brown leaves and green perennial cuttings in a layered pattern perfect for composting: layer of brown, layer of green, sprinkle some soil, layer of green, layer of brown and so on.  They will turn into lovely compost but they are not diverting yard waste out of the system because if I did not compost my yard waste the city would have anyway.
Not so with kitchen scraps, and therein lies the rub.

A better man than me would keep his composting going in the winter to divert kitchen waste from the city's garbage all year long but I have moved to a six-month commitment and my composting has changed from something I did for the environment to something I am doing for myself.

Am I conflicted about it?
Perhaps, but did I mention it is -30 outside?

***
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YARD ART AS SNOW GAUGE - january

December 19, 2013

January 26, 2014

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INVISIBLE DEER

Normally I see deer in my neighbourhood down the block, closer to the river, but sometimes I see them wandering around the streets too and despite their destructive visits in the summer I still love to see them. 

Out our dining room window we have clear evidence of the deer joining the squirrels, rabbits and birds at our feeder during the night. 

That twig sticking up at ground zero is our lone rose bush that was here when we moved in - perhaps it is not ideal to have hung the feeder immediately above it, poor thing, but it is pink in my Moon Garden so it is eventually going to have to go, one way or another.

The critter in the photo?  Look closely and you will see a bird about to alight on the feeder. Can you spot it?

***

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YARD ART - introducing our fountain

From the time we moved in to our new home over a year and a half ago I had been thinking about a fountain and researching through numerous Pinterest posts the idea of building my own fountain.

Then I mentioned it to my husband who immediately fell in love with the idea and two weeks later we had a fountain. I like to gather lots of information before making a decision and he prefers to just get things done. This balance is one of the ways we complement each other, and let me tell you, I am very glad we have our fountain already rather than waiting to build one.  

(I can always build another later!)

Next year I will add plants around its base to give it a rounded appearance and to hide the square concrete base.

Suggestions for low-growing, zone 3, part-sun, deer & rabbit resistant, long-blooming, white perennials welcomed.

It was early September so we were eager to get it out for the limited frost-free nights ahead. We drove it in the back of our SUV onto the lawn after dark, placing it off-centre and closer to the rounded edges of the Moon Garden and our bench, rather than in the centre of the lawn. 

Our fabulous neighbour stopped by to toast our new addition. 

We love any reason to use the bench in the front and this new addition is a great one. Not only does it look great but it has a great sound: as the chamber in the base empties the sound of running water becomes higher pitched and more audible, a kind of musical 'tinkling' sound. 

I like asymmetry so this modern style was just up my alley, and it is plug & play: run an extension cord and fill the basin and you are good to go. 

As you can see it also adds winter interest which is a nice bonus.

***

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TUCKED AWAY

I've mentioned before that I like to take my cues from the garden itself - an example of this is with the bench in our Moon Garden.

When sitting on the bench looking at our home there is a lone branch hanging down from the large Blue Spruce between you and the house, and believe it or not, as slight as it is, it serves to create a vague sense of separation.

When combined  with the Peony it creates almost enough of a barrier that you feel sheltered from the bright lights of the house.

Intimately close, yet at the same time set apart. 

It is an illusion I am trying to enhance by adding five new peony Festiva Maxima

I am also dividing the existing lightly pink-tinged Peony into three and planting them along the border and the pathway. New and old have been inter-planted and odd roots that fell away from the transplant were thrown into the same holes as the new plantings. The more blended these two are, the better.

While I have read that Peony do not like to be transplanted  I have personally had luck with it before, so I am willing to try again.   My hope is that the increased size of the Peony border between the house and bench will enhance the sense of separation and increase the feeling that one is tucked away in a forest.

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MACRO SANTA

I love Christmas and our house is quite decorated (and decorated early) but rather than a red Santa with a sack of toys I prefer something more along the lines of a Father Christmas, the more woodsy the better.

On our front step we have plaster Father Christmas that looks like it is actually carved from wood. I gave it to my husband for Christmas years ago and I think he has always found it a little creepy.

I never have thought so until taking this close up, or at least I can see what he means, though I still love it.

***
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AT THE FEEDER

 

My suet feeder is not in my garden because the best view is actually out of our kitchen window, making the occasional dirty saucepan a pleasure. 

It hangs closer to the barbecue than I would like because it has to be tied to the far end of the branch to keep this big gray squirrel from reigning as 'king of the feeder'.  Instinct sends him scurrying away, momentarily terrified by a rap on the glass, but he is back withing seconds - and without a mortgage to pay he was bound to win our waiting game. 

I would not mind the squirrel if it did not scare aware the other visitors like this White Breasted Nuthatch, who I also see at the seed feeder in the Moon Garden.

This Downy Woodpecker is the most frequent feeder here and one I never see at the 'regular' feeder.

Who else might be snacking here while I am at the office?

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YARD ART - location, location, location

We had a bench on our front porch in Toronto but have no porch to place it on in Winnipeg.

What to do, what to do? 

Under these circumstances I think of the bench as 'yard art'; putting it directly in the yard means it has to look as fashionable as it does functional.

 Before I plant plants I first place them where I think they will go (and generally always make adjustments). It was no different with this bench.
The first place I thought of was on the lawn outside the garden proper but after a few short weeks the lawn under the bench started to die back for lack of sun.

Next I plunked it down in the middle of the Bishop's Goutweed.

While it is not quite a field of poppies à la Wizard of Oz, I liked the sense of being completely surrounded this spot created. There was even already a rudimentary "path to nowhere" curving in that general direction.

My parents had some large paving stones they needed rid of and so a platform for the bench was quickly and inexpensively made to keep the Goutweed from completely engulfing the bench. 

According to Better Homes and Gardens "A curving walkway provides more visual interest than a straight path -- and accents the garden around it." Plus it minimizes how visible the concrete blocks used for stepping stones are; you can make a beeline from the house to the bench without having to stare at the functional concrete stones and then you get to travel through the garden and around the Peonies to get to it.

Next year there will be Peony growing on both sides, hiding the path even further.

Eventually we repainted a portion of our home's exterior and painted the bench the same colour with leftover paint. Love or hate the orangey-brown (we still flip-flop ourselves), it is a nice touch that they now coordinate.

It will be quite exciting to see the plants grow up and around the bench with it already in situ next spring.

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MACRO - concord grapes

July 16th, 2013

October 4th, 2013

January 3rd

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ANATOMY OF A MOON GARDEN - overview map

Finally, a map of the Moon Garden, where all flowers are white unless otherwise noted.

Given I put this map off all summer and fall I know there are gaps in it where I simply cannot recall (hence the need for the map) that I will have to fill in as plants return next year - or not.  While annual Impatiens and Petunias are visible below I am not mapping them and will use them to fill in gaps amongst the perennials. 

Green circle far left is Hemerocallis. Standard orange daylilies.

Smaller blue circle is Lily-of-the-Valley; was already here and has white blooms - perfect fit.

Large pale pink circle is Bishop's Goutweed; was already here with white variegated foliage - perfect fit.

Red hexagons far left are Peony. I divided an existing light pink one and add five new whites in the fall. 

Orange circle is Solomon's Seal.

Yellow dashed circle is Daffodils, last year they were hidden by Solomon's Seal by the time they bloomed, I hope they are earlier this year.

Green chevrons are variegated Hosta which I may move to the front as an under-story to the Peony since they were essentially hidden by the Impatiens last year.

Blue squares are  Bleeding Hearts which kept their shape right into the freezing weather.

Brownish red hourglass is a volunteer Milkweed from the Alpine garden.

Yellow stars are Foxgloves. I will add five more this summer.

Mint green 'not equal' sign are Candy Tuft, designed to be lower growing at the front of the border but a favourite of rabbits as it turns out.

Blue/grey cross are Echinacea, also enjoyed by rabbits.

Another Bleeding Heart off by itself has frilly foliage but was eaten down by rabbits very quickly. Let's hope the roots took and we find it back again. 

Dotted purple line is about 9-11 Allium.

Purple star-burst is a Peony Tree. Planted late, let us hope it survives.

Golden diamonds are Goat's Beard which shall grow tall and provide some substance to the back border.

Large yellow rectangle are 10 re-blooming tall bearded Iris.

Two brown 'flag' shapes represent Lupine that I started from seed and were still very small still at the end of the season.

Blue/grey ovals along the back are Lily-of-the-Valley.

The bright green dashed-line 'witches hat' is 25 Hyacinths. My first year planting them.

The red bullseyes are Tall Phlox designed to cover up the bottom of the trees.

Yellow sideways diamonds are Shasta Daisies, the two beside the  path are "Broadway Lights" and the rest I started from seed last year but did not see any blooms from.

The dashed purple is again Allium, this time the petite "Allium Graceful" (white with flecks of purple) along the front border.

The blue triangles are Dianthus that I refer to as my stowaways.

On the other side of the path we have yellow circles representing Lamium as groundcover and more tall Phlox.  

In front of the hedge we begin our transition to the Monet Garden with a variety of purple Allium and a mix of purple and white Crocus.

Phew!

Stay tuned for deeper dives on different sections of the Moon Garden

***
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