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Aug. 27th, 2007
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Aug. 27th, 2007 07:19 pmSinging along to jazz and drinking wine and cooking butter chicken after a busy day, waiting for my husband to get home. Life is pretty freakin awesome, I have to say.
Despite the yard's disasterness, I think it's time for a garden post, if only in honour of the arrival of my Vesey's catalogue. Not in the way of posting pictures - although I think I have a few lurking on the camera, I will have to look into that - but in the way of planning re. how to avoid this disaster next year.
My biggest problem is that everything is finished blooming at the end of June. Except for the lilies and the beans. The hollyhocks don't really count - I now have one single, solitary, sad little bloom on one plant. I think they need more sun. The marigolds haven't done so well this year either; I guess it's just too shady in the wild and woolly patch. I'll try them over by the rose next time, maybe, since I suspect the ferns there may have been in too much sun. Don't know if those ferns are going to come back, nor the potentilla, which were vanquished by a combination of squirrels and drought. Peonies were also a total failure. I have to cut them down at some point and dust them with fungicide; hopefully they'll come back with fewer issues next year. Also, the wood violets are going on my list of pernicious weeds to get under control, they are TAKING OVER.
Biggest lessons learned: (1) pay attention when the label says something needs sun, (2) I need more plants that bloom July - September, and (3) maintenance - particularly WATERING - is kind of important and I have to find time for it!
Maybe I will order some of Vesey's dwarf lily mix and interplant that with the tulips, since they can tolerate some shade and bloom late. Kind of boring to have all one plant in that bed, though - I really prefer the patches of different kinds of foliage and flowers, a variety of heights and colours. And I'd like to have something kind of different going on in each bed. Plus that would probably provoke lily beetles of doom, which I'm not sure I feel like dealing with.
The autumn-flowering crocus and colchicum look interesting; nice water-lily-like flowers in the fall. Hardy cyclamen also look like a good bet for shady fall blooms. And there's a pretty red daisy-like thing that is supposed to be able to handle just about anything; that could go in the bed with the rose, since to my surprise there's actually some sun there. The rose and the hydrangea are both doing pretty well, to
I know I already have more than enough flowering in the spring, but I would really like to get some of those double tulips - they almost look like roses. I suppose I may as well try some coneflowers, too. More foxglove and astilbe, those were gorgeous - plus the astilbe was a little later than everything else.
Aaaaand I guess I could give in and get some hostas, since they're selling them for 3/$10. Or an ostrich fern or three - I bet those would love it in my yard, between shade and acid soil. And I really hope I can track down more deep-discount rhododendrons, even though those are (again) spring blooomers.
I think I will also try my luck with some annuals next year. Impatiens in particular, although I don't really have much use for them except the gorgeous double-flowering ones. I confess I never find the Loblaws displays very inspiring; maybe I'll check out an actual nursery and see what I can see.
Despite the yard's disasterness, I think it's time for a garden post, if only in honour of the arrival of my Vesey's catalogue. Not in the way of posting pictures - although I think I have a few lurking on the camera, I will have to look into that - but in the way of planning re. how to avoid this disaster next year.
My biggest problem is that everything is finished blooming at the end of June. Except for the lilies and the beans. The hollyhocks don't really count - I now have one single, solitary, sad little bloom on one plant. I think they need more sun. The marigolds haven't done so well this year either; I guess it's just too shady in the wild and woolly patch. I'll try them over by the rose next time, maybe, since I suspect the ferns there may have been in too much sun. Don't know if those ferns are going to come back, nor the potentilla, which were vanquished by a combination of squirrels and drought. Peonies were also a total failure. I have to cut them down at some point and dust them with fungicide; hopefully they'll come back with fewer issues next year. Also, the wood violets are going on my list of pernicious weeds to get under control, they are TAKING OVER.
Biggest lessons learned: (1) pay attention when the label says something needs sun, (2) I need more plants that bloom July - September, and (3) maintenance - particularly WATERING - is kind of important and I have to find time for it!
Maybe I will order some of Vesey's dwarf lily mix and interplant that with the tulips, since they can tolerate some shade and bloom late. Kind of boring to have all one plant in that bed, though - I really prefer the patches of different kinds of foliage and flowers, a variety of heights and colours. And I'd like to have something kind of different going on in each bed. Plus that would probably provoke lily beetles of doom, which I'm not sure I feel like dealing with.
The autumn-flowering crocus and colchicum look interesting; nice water-lily-like flowers in the fall. Hardy cyclamen also look like a good bet for shady fall blooms. And there's a pretty red daisy-like thing that is supposed to be able to handle just about anything; that could go in the bed with the rose, since to my surprise there's actually some sun there. The rose and the hydrangea are both doing pretty well, to
I know I already have more than enough flowering in the spring, but I would really like to get some of those double tulips - they almost look like roses. I suppose I may as well try some coneflowers, too. More foxglove and astilbe, those were gorgeous - plus the astilbe was a little later than everything else.
Aaaaand I guess I could give in and get some hostas, since they're selling them for 3/$10. Or an ostrich fern or three - I bet those would love it in my yard, between shade and acid soil. And I really hope I can track down more deep-discount rhododendrons, even though those are (again) spring blooomers.
I think I will also try my luck with some annuals next year. Impatiens in particular, although I don't really have much use for them except the gorgeous double-flowering ones. I confess I never find the Loblaws displays very inspiring; maybe I'll check out an actual nursery and see what I can see.