My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Tag Archives: Perennial plant


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Oh my, not more perennial plants on sale???

Friday, August 24, 2012

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What a week this has been.   I’m almost embarrassed to recount that I found yet another perennial plant sale.  This one was at the local Sears mall, at Cannor Nursery.
I’d started my Thursday debating as to whether I should just go straight outside .. or dilly dally and go out into the world.  The local Toyota dealership had a special test drive day .. complete with sandwiches, deserts etc.

So I decided to go there first thing .. to enter my name in a draw for one of several prizes.  Walked around with a young sales guy and looked at a few trucks .. dreamed of how lovely it would be to have a nearly full sized truck, one I could use to load up on garden materials.

Years ago I did have a few trucks, they were quite handy .. and I seem to remember that I was quite often helping people out with moving, loading up on gardening materials etc.

After a nice chat I made my way to Sears .. for a little walk-around.  Big changes happening to that mall … and I looked at the huge buildings that were going to be installed there.   My main interest, though, was in the native plant garden plantings … too soon to see now …. later on I will take photos .. but not expecting it to be in place till next summer.   Lots of work to take place before that.

I just about made it to my car when I noticed the Sale sign at the garden center.  I’m weak, I know.  And soon my car was filled with even more lovely plants.  Included were some Rock Rose plants .. which grow to 3 – 4 ft in height and 6 to 8 ft in width!  And they don’t like to be transplanted, so I made sure that I placed them a decent space apart.  I plan to make cuttings for propagating in a week or so.

I love plant sales.

Then, back at home .. hard at work to mix soil & miracle mulch, plan where to install the plants and many happy hours situating my new perennials into just the right place.

And finally, this morning .. the moment I was waiting for .. the EM moment!  I mixed up over 5 litres of EM, into many large containers and then this mix into the watering cans.  Started at the front yard, then to the various front and side gardens.  This took hours, no kidding!

Then, on my energy roll, I finally tidied up the yard.  Sorted hundreds of plant pots into their various sizes.  Shovelled up the remaining Miracle Mulch into containers, this will go in the very back border next week.

Took down my work tables, neatly tucked away.  A final deep watering of all of the gardens.  A final watering of EM for the veggies & the basil.

And .. sigh of relief .. yard looks nice and tidy.  Room to breathe.   There are still veggies to gather.  Tomatoes to ripen.  Pumpkins to develop.

Special moment .. when a flock of Canada Geese flew overhead.  We are on the flight path to the local Nature Sanctuary .. so we see them quite often.  Lucky, I know.  I think that the Geese flying overhead are the very goslings that I saw in the spring.  Their Moms have taught them well, how to fare in the world.   Now .. is the time for them to fly.   They have earned my respect and I wish them well on their journey.

Well .. August is nearing the end.  And we are so lucky to have sunshine.  Even some cool weather would be welcome, for the sake of the plants and the grass.  And me!  🙂

Lovely days.

🙂


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About the lovely joy of surprises and unexpected treasures from a friend! Oh, and the birds are now visiting the birdbath!

 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

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It is true, time does fly when you are having fun!  Our summer started at the beginning of July, when the warm weather stayed to visit and here it is, past the middle of August.

Yesterday was a serious planting day .. one in which I devoted hours to installing some of the many perennials that I’ve been buying on sale!

First thing though, as I went outside, mug of Yorkshire Tea in hand, ready to take a little walk around the yard.  To check on the differences since the latest application of EM, last Friday.

Walking past the garlic drying area beneath the sundeck, I remembered that my friend D had mentioned that she was going to leave a surprise for me there.  So I looked in and there was a magnificent picnic basket!  I’d always wanted one of these, but it just never happened.   And here was one for me!

I quickly picked up the basket and took it over to one of my outside working tables and opened the top latch, to see how much space there was in the interior.

Wow .. imagine my surprise when I lifted back the folding lids and saw treasures inside!  It felt like opening a surprise Christmas present, only on a warm sunny morning!

Inside there were such beautiful things .. a magnificent book on Hummingbirds, with exquisite colour plates and information on their habitat, how they live their daily lives.  Included was an article on the loss of hummingbirds in Cuba, that is terrible and I plan to find out more information.

I’m also inspired to plant more Hummingbird plants after seeing some of the beautiful photos.

Oh, more and more treasures, a book on lavender & one on craft printing (I’ve always wanted to learn how to write those curly cue little sayings and this books shows exactly how to do it).

And more and more .. I put the basket on the grass and then just sat down, lifting each item out, admiring the beauty of the candle holders, the bright colours of the mugs (now these will be my gardening mugs, easy to spot and not lose in the grass!)

I had fun, lifting out each item!  And happy when I saw the note about the tomatoes.  The story behind this is that my friend & her son grew 5 tomato plants last year, they were small little plants and they had a few tomatoes from each plant.
This year, they grew the same type of tomatoes, but, this year, they added EM on a weekly basis.  The results?  Over 400 tomatoes on 5 plants.  And the plants were not small this year, they were like little trees!  Ah, the magic of EM (effective microorganisms).

After playing for a while, I tucked everything away in my new picnic basket … time to get serious now!

I wandered over to the hanging bird bath and saw some tiny little feathers in the water .. and shortly after, I saw a little Chickadee perch on the edge of the bath .. another special moment to enjoy in the garden!

Spent some time admiring the busy activity of the bees as they visited the prolific flowers of a plant that was given to me by my gardening neighbour.  It grew from seed (see how tall this plant is!!) and I think it is part of the daisy family.  This is the second year.

Late in the day, I was furiously planting lots of perennial grasses and a mixture of other hardy perennials in one part of the side yard.   Looking good.  I’ll take photos in a few days.

Thankfully the weather is a little milder and not so hot .. making it more pleasant to play outside.

And now I’m off to start my day.  Lots more plants for the other side of the yard.   Oh, plants are my life,  and I just can’t seem to have enough.

🙂

 


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The Flower Fairy visited the Cafe!

Friday, August 17, 2012

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Oh, plants are just so my passion, I cannot help it.  On Wednesday, I went out shopping for a few things, at the end of the day.  Found a great plant sale at a local supermarket and came home with a car full of perennials.

Well, guess what happened yesterday?  The exact same thing!  I went out shopping in the early morning .. found a great sale of colourful annuals and perennials.   Quite a few I selected for the little garden that I take care of at a cafe.  Time to add some slash of colour.

Then, I picked up some perennials that were in need of some love.  The salesperson was very helpful as she clipped away dead growth on a Tea Rose (my first ever!!!!)  and lo and behold, she discovered at least 20 new growth areas.  I’d only seen a few.  So this was a learning session for me.  She told me that removing the dead growth gives the plant more energy for new.

I am always learning about gardening, it is such a big world and love all the new items that I find.

So soon I was on my way home … car full of plants.   Mid-way home, I remembered those lovely perennial pots filled with sturdy plants, on for half price.   So, oh  my, I sought the next safe place to make a turnaround and then soon was on my way back to Home Depot.  Now, I normally don’t drive far out-of-town to buy plants, but, umm .. what could I do?  I’m under the spell of plants.

I chose a big shopping cart, marched into the store, shared a laugh with the sales clerk, put the two plant filled containers in the cart and then proceeded to head towards the area with bagged soil & manures.    I filled the remainder of the cart space with as much of these bags as I could, then slowly pushed the heavily laden cart towards the cashier.

So we had another long garden talk and then it was time to go to my car and with some creative moving around of plants, I was able to heft my most recent purchases into my little car.  And happily we chugged our way home.

Once at home, I removed all the plants, put them in containers with water to freshen them up.  Next I mixed up some bagged steer manure with some of my miracle mulch and filled 3 large Rubbermaid totes with this mix.

And then I gathered up all the things that I needed for my planting expedition at the cafe and soon was on my way.

It was a hot day.  And I was totally garbed in my anti-hornet attracting outfit: long-sleeved black shirt, black car-hearts and my trusty gumboots.  Whew.  To say that I was hot was an understatement.  However, that did not stop me for the next 3 1/2 hours to do my gardening.

I trundled my gardening supplies across the tarmac, over to the fenced patio, heaved them all over the fence and then got to work. First thing, tarp is spread on the flooring, materials & plants gathered to one side.  Then, I brought the poor, parched, dried out plant pots over to the work area.   It was a sad sight to see these, so I didn’t take any pictures.

One by one I emptied the containers of the hard, dried soil and replaced them with the refreshing new mix.   Then I arranged the plants as creatively as I could in the containers.  A thorough watering and an application to EM and they were finally looking full and happy.

I did take pictures of these and will post on my next blog.  They look a little sparse right now, but in a week or so, they will be flowering to beat the band.

As I gathered all my materials together to make a nice, tidy exit, I pondered on  my time spent there.   And anticipated the happy look on Dak’s face when he would open up the cafe this morning!  Surprises are great!  The Flower Fairy has visited!

Gardening, transforming, is so satisfying.  I know that all gardeners share this energy.  Positive, creative, satisfying!

At the end of the day, though, as I arrived back home and unloaded my car .. I realized that I did have a touch of heat stroke.  Which I haven’t experienced for years.  So I took care of myself and rested.  Realized, after I prepared supper that I wasn’t hungry, so out went that meal as I gave up trying to eat.  Rest was instinctive and so I did.  Feeling much better today.

Today, I will work in the shady areas of the garden.  Because .. I still have all those other plants to be dug into the side gardens.

Oh, happy days!


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A variety of things, including flying, gardening, mulch .. etc.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

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So, August is zipping along.  Lots of gardening.  Lots of flying.  Now that summer is here in full force, it’s so easy to forget those cold rainy days.

Veggies are growing well.  I finally shovelled the last of the 5 yards of the miracle mulch and so the perennials have a nice soft blanket to retain moisture and keep the soil cool.

And yesterday, so lucky .. woke up to the sound of branches being buzzed and then ground up as a few neighbourhood trees were being trimmed.  These included an oak tree.

Quickly grabbed my mug of Yorkshire Tea and dashed out the door … and politely asked the working crew if I may have the chips!  Well, lucky me .. they said yes and I was ecstatic.  These are things that only a fellow gardener can understand!

So at least 1 ½ yards were gently deposited on a tarp in the driveway and I spent a few happy hours shovelling up this lovely mulching material and spreading under our first Christmas tree … the 2 yards that I placed there yesterday has nearly disappeared.

And I noticed that this tree only has a very few cones on it this year .. this means that the tree is not under stress.  Finally, I’m giving it the love and attention that it needs.

Once all this shovelling was done, I decided to clip some roses for drying.  But first, I:

–          Discovered that the branches of an old apple tree in the back were in my way, so went to find the clippers to trim away some of the ones that were at eye-height

–          Then I thought it would be a good time to drag out the soaker hoses for the recently updated side yard .. this took a good chunk of time as I sorted through the two sizes of hoses and too late remembered that I couldn’t attach the 3/8 to the 5/8 .. so undid my work and started again

–          Put aside a tarp to take to the front yard, to help when I weed that area

–          Became enthralled with the sight of the bees buzzing around flowers, so took pictures

–          Again, became enthralled with the skies up above and more time spent there

–          Took a few minutes to search for berries

–          Had a look at the various squash, basil and pea pods growing

–          Then finally I walked to the rose-bush, clippers in hand (after searching for a basket to hold the flowers) and finished what I’d wanted to start over an hour ago, that is, clipping roses

Then, time to go to the front yard and begin pulling out some invasive perennials .. they’ve served the purpose of greening up the yard, but time to remove these, fluff up the soil and then go shopping for some ferns and things to complete the woodland look along the front of our first Christmas tree.

And now I must go outside and continue what I started yesterday.

I forgot to mention that my work was stopped by a thunder & lightning storm …  heavy raindrops, thank you for watering my garden!

🙂