See you in the Spring!

Well, it is officially winter and my garden beds are insulated in a blanket of snow.   I'm going to work on some improvements for my blog over the winter.  Any suggestions would be most welcome.I look forward to documenting my garden's progress in 2011 and will start up again as soon as I see the first sign of spring. 

I'm going to end my 2010 portion of the blog, with what I have on the front of a t-shirt!  Lots of good advice can come from reading t-shirts, right? 

                         ADVICE FROM A GARDEN                          

Cultivate lasting friendships.

Sow seeds of kindness.

Listen to sage advice.

Don't let the little things bug you.

Be outstanding in your field.

Take thyme for yourself.

No vining!

Late Summer Bloomings

It's December, and I'm just posting some photos of my August and September flowers. We have a couple of centimetres of snow on the ground now.

This is my border in August.  You can see some of the different colours of perennial phlox here.  What I love about them, is that they don't all bloom at exactly the same time - so I have a lovely array of colour from mid-July right into September. 

The 'Michaelmas Daisies' or fall asters put on a great showing in the later summer as well. I started out with just two of them in 2008 and have divided them twice already. Love them.  Couldn't resist posting this picture of Hudson posing in front of them. 

This clump of fall Monkhead (I'm not sure the exact variety, as they were a gift from Rita) bloom much later than my other ones.  They have a tougher and sturdier stalk, but otherwise look very similar.

And one of my very favourite later blooming plants is my white coneflower. 

...And the Rest of the Daylilies

August 20 - So, I've been really absent from my blog. Summer got really busy, so I am very much behind in blogging about what's going on it the garden.

These are the rest of the daylilies. The bloom on the last one has faded. I actually divided the ivory one (that's shown directly below) and it was the first time I divided daylilies. I gave half of it to my friend, Rita, who has given me most of the plants I have - but she didn't have this particular variety.

Sharing is the nicest way to get new plants, don't you think?

This is a very special daylily, that I transplated out of my Aunt's garden last fall.  I didn't measure it, but I believe the flower was a medium size.  Not quite as big as the 'Catherine Woodbury', but bigger than 'Pandora's Box.'   It's a stunning ivory colour.

The small and lovely 'Stella d'Oro' daylily.   A bright and goldy yellow. 

The name of this large daylily is not known to me, but it has a  dark burgandy flower with a yellow throat.

The Daylilies are Here!

July 14 - I am in my glory at this time of the year. Each morning (and let's be honest, every noon and night), I walk around my garden, deadheading, seeing what needs staking, but  most importantly looking for what has come out in bloom since the last time I checked. Everything seems to be all coming out at once. The last few days have seen the appearance of seven different daylilies.

All except the two orange ones were gifts from Rita's garden. 

These are my 'Catherine Woodbury' daylilies.   I'm not really sure what to call this colour.   I've seen it described as 'salmon' but it's almost a mauvey-pink, with lovely yellow in the centre.  The flowers are quite large at 5 1/2 inches across.

 

'Missouri Beauty' daylilies.  These are also really large flowers and a lemon yellow colour.  I love the way the flowers only live a day, but there are always new ones to take their place.   The lovely flowers are also about 5 1/2 inches across. 

These are my two orange daylilies.  They are slightly different.  Some people call these 'ditch lilies', I guess because you see them everywhere - including seemingly growing wild.

I once read that they fell off the wagons of pioneers and grew where they fell.   The bottom one, which I call my 'Cottage Lily' because it came from my family cottage, I'm growing in a pot on our deck.  It looks great there and I will bury it, pot and all, in the compost pile for the winter. 

This is the other large-flowered daylily I have in bloom right now.  The name is unknown to me.  I'm not sure the photo does the colour of it justice - but it's very much a golden yellow, with a burgandy throat.  They are quite striking en masse!

These two are my little daylilies, about 2 1/2 inches across.  Again, I don't know the name of the red one, but the cream one with burgandy centre is the darling 'Pandora's Box'.  It is just the sweetest little thing.  I adore it. 

Rita's Garden

I've mentioned my dear friend Rita on the blog before.  She is the dearest lady, whose garden I stopped to admire one June day in 2007.    After we spoke for just a few minutes, Rita invited me to come over again to give me some of her plants.   We have become good friends and she has given me many delightful perennials over the last couple of years.  But even more wonderfully she shares her knowledge and love of perennial flower gardening with me. 

The picture above is the garden in Rita's front yard and this one is her side garden.   Rita has a different kind of garden than I do....she has her perennials placed in long rows, with straw in between, to mulch and walk on.   Because she mixes up the perennials, her garden doesn't give the impression of being all straight lines.  Quite the contrary, her garden is a place of beauty, where one can walk through and admire everything close-up. 

A closer look at some of Rita's beautiful delphiniums. In front of the delphiniums are her 'Missouri Beauty' daylilies.




And a sample of the beautiful beebalm that is at it's peak.

And last, but not least, Rita's beautiful poppies. 

I hope you've enjoyed the tour of this lovely woman's garden.