June

We've had endless rain in these parts.  Good for some plants not so good for others.  Mainly some of my veggies.  Hydrangeas are starting to bloom and my David Austin right outside the dining room window is bursting at the moment.  I like the idea of seeing flowers out every window.  Brings pure joy to the soul if you ask me.

June has been about breaking out of routines.  Not many projects or makings have gotten done minus some baking with the beans.  Rolling out of bed late, make believe, popsicles, bike rides, books, bathing suits, day trips and play dates have been filling up our days.  We've really enjoyed this time to just be.  How is June wrapping up for you?

Enjoy the week Friends!  

MAY

This is the time of year when the inside of the house becomes neglected.  When you live in a region that gives you less than 6 "good" months in the garden you can't mess around.  My hands and shoulders are sore and my garden boots are muddy.  After the beans go down for the night I retreat to the work room to get to work on several garden designs I have been working on for some folks.

I've been delivering plans in metal buckets for my clients with a bag of organic Bio-Tone Starter for their new plants.

Lungwort and Dwarf Solomon's Seal

Creeping Jenny along my newly lined beds. Things popping in this bed include Lady's Mantle, Catmint, False Indigo, Anise Hyssop, Dark Towers Penstemon, Autumn Joy, Joe-Pye Weed and I sowed some Poppies in this area for a splash of red.   

I recently bought three wired lanterns to hang above the deck...they add a bit of whimsy for those summer nights to come.

Blooms that I cut from my new David Austin Rose bush.  After I planted my rose I noticed that it was floppy perhaps from shock so I cut it back in hopes that it would lighten the load as it settled in. 

And some more blooms from my bleeding heart.

other blooms around the garden include.....

Foam Flowers

Geums

Lungwort

Hellebores

Anemone Sylvestris 

May is also the wind down of school.  We are really looking forward to some slower days ahead like this one we had a few days ago when we released our painted lady butterflies that the beans raised.

With the wind down I also hope to get kicking with my posts to show you all some projects that I've been plugging away at!  Until then......Happy MAY!!!!

thinking ahead...garden solutions 2015

When we finished the deck last month we were left with a gap between the house and the deck.  We left a space because we have a window well there and we did not want to cover it up.

There are several design dilemmas when looking at this space.  The first is the drop off when walking out the door.  Though the drop is only about 10 inches I want to place a planter there for safety and visual interest.  The container will not only act as a boundary but will be a great location for kitchen herbs.


The next dilemma is what to plant here.  Being a gardener who lives on a city plot I don't want to waste any space.  Looking at this little area we have about 3 feet between the deck and the house.  Here are the options I thought would work for the space....

1.   Climbing roses (first choice)
2.   Tall perennials...this could be a fun mosaic of wild in a contained area
3.   Flowering shrubs
4.   My tomato plants...which don't do anything for winter interest



Here is where we are now...

This is where I could take it with a trellis to create height against the house...

There will be some space left under the window for plantings if I go ahead with the trellis.

Jennifer from Three Dogs in a Garden wrote about Rosa "Jasmina" which I thought would make a nice specimen.  I like that it is disease resistant while also having great size and form.

Rosa 'Jasmina': A climbing rose with long-lasting pastel pink roses that deepen to mauve in the centre.  This rose has disease resistant foliage and can reach a height of around 8'.

This winter I hope to target most of the areas in my garden to give myself a head start before spring. 

 What would you vote to plant in this little space???

Happy Making, Baking, and Growing Friends!!!

Here is to a wonderful November!