These long bloomers are growing in my garden and I’ve been absolutely thrilled with their performance. Some are old, some are new, some unexpected, and even some blue. With the exception of one, all of the following pictures are representative of what’s blooming in my garden this Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Ahhh, there’s nothing like long-blooming perennials - a little dead heading is all that’s required to keep them looking good (well a little water and sunshine help too).

Shasta Daisies - They’re getting a little long in the tooth, but are still standing tall and putting on a show in the garden. Out of three, this is the last one in bloom. I can’t remember ever having Shasta Daisies last as long as they have this year. Could it be all the rain and humidity? I thought they preferred dry heat.

White Spiderwort - I trimmed them back several weeks ago and they’re blooming again. The purple ones were trimmed later than the white so they haven’t started up again yet. I imagine that when September 15 rolls around they’ll be included in that GBBD post.

Mourning Widow Cranesbill - This was a new addition for the area by the new dry creek bed. For the longest time I thought perhaps it wasn’t getting enough sun and wasn’t going to bloom. The foliage has been lovely all along and now finally I’ve been treated to flowers as well.

‘Jackie in Yellow’ Mullein - I bought this mullein for its color - it reminded me of the yellow foxglove I had at my previous home. A search earlier this summer for a yellow foxglove proved fruitless and the mullein was a sort of booby prize. What a prize it has turned out to be. Since planting it has bloomed non-stop.

Anise Hysopp- According to my mom, this was supposed to be a Bee Balm. Must have been a little plant label switcheroo. Obviously it’s not exactly what she expected, but we’ll hang onto it anyway. Maybe the Bee Balm will happen next year.

Royal Candles Speedwell - Plant labels can get mixed up, however even when labeled correctly, the pictures on plant labels can be a little misleading. When I purchased this speedwell it wasn’t blooming. I bought it because I liked the color in the picture on the tag. Now that it is blooming, I can see that it’s a whole lot more blue than purple. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Although this isn’t really a bloomer, I couldn’t help but include a shot of the porcelain vine. I love its mottled leaves and they way it seems to creep up on me. One day there’s a few straggly shoots and the next thing I know it’s taken over the garden obelisk! This is one plant where the name is misleading. Mine is not in the least bit fragile.

Any thoughts on how many of the bloomers will still be around next month?

I know that the 2008 gardening season is not over yet, but I thought I’d do a quick round up of my favourite additions to date. Is it actually possible to have a garden without adding new plants each year?

The majority of perennial additions landed in the new gardens along the dry creek bed:

Heuchera ‘Strike It Rich Gold’ - As soon as I saw this plant at the garden center I was drawn to its lime green leaves with their deep burgundy-red center veins. For some reason the veining isn’t as apparent now as it was earlier in the season, but the bright color of the foliage still captures my attention whenever I walk past this part of the yard.

‘Jackie in Yellow’ Mullein - I didn’t intentionally set out to buy this flowering plant - originally, I was looking for a yellow foxglove. When I couldn’t find the foxglove I purchased this instead. I have absolutely no regrets! From the moment it went into the ground it has bloomed profusely and continuously. This perennial, sporting creamy yellow flowers with deep mauve/burgundy centers, looks fabulous next to the Heuchera pictured above.

Mourning Widow Cranesbill - A rather somber name for such a beautiful plant, don’t you think? It seemed quite slow to bloom, but sure enough it has started. Even without the flowers I’ve really enjoyed the interesting colors of its leaves. There’s certainly something to be said for choosing plants based on foliage alone. I consider the blooms on this perennial to be a bonus.

Hmmmm, only three favs up to this point in the summer. A trip to the garden center is definitely in order.

Have I mentioned that my parents are trailer trash? No? Must’ve been an oversight. My parents are trailer trash. Whew, glad I got that off my chest! What I mean by trailer trash is that my mom and dad live in their fifth wheel trailer for most of the year. For the past few years they’ve spent winters in Florida and summers in Wiarton, Ontario. In the fall, between gigs, they come home to roost for about four weeks. Same thing happens in the spring. They drive back from Florida and hang out with Connor and I for about four to eight weeks until their summer camp opens for the season. The house we live in belongs to them, but Connor and I stay here all year and take care of things. Good thing for my parents - they have a home base, and a very good thing for Connor and I - we needed a place to go two years ago after a divorce. Even though the house isn’t mine, the gardens pretty much are. I do occasionally ask before making drastic changes, but mom is very generous and has given me free reign. So what does a die-hard gardener like my mom do when she’s almost never home? Container gardening of course!

Each summer she plants up containers with herbs and annuals to set out on her deck at the trailer.

Any perennial items that can handle the shade are stuck under a cedar hedge in the fall and left to winter over until the following spring when they are once again called to duty - filling containers for another summer. Some perennials have remained under the hedge.

Sweet Woodruff, Lamb’s Ears, Oregano

Purple Perennial Violet

Even before becoming trailer trash my mom planted beautiful containers. The color combinations were always stunning - one year it would be blues, another whites. The various pots would fill up and overflow in all the right places. My attempts at container gardening are a little less exciting. I have some planted, but they lack my mom’s special touch. I’m much better with solid ground, really!

Yes, these are mine - pardon the mess.

As for trailer trash gardening in Florida…she’s just starting to dig in down there. I fully expect to see pictures this winter of some spectacular southern plantings from down there as well.

Here are several homemade recipes for preventing fungus such as powdery mildew or blackspot on perennials. The emphasis here is on prevention. That means these methods are meant to be used before you notice a fungal infection.

All-Purpose Recipe:

1tsp. baking soda
few drops Trounce or 2 drops liquid soap
2 cups water

Mix and spray generously on plants. Repeat every two weeks.

Also try:

• Spray roses and new seedlings with a “tea” made of ground cinnamon.
• Steep and cool chamomile tea (4 tea bags in 2 cups water), spray new seedlings to prevent “damping off”.

Heat and humidity in mid summer are key contributors to the development of fungus. Perennials prone to fungus should be spaced in a way that promotes air circulation.

Some perennials that are susceptible to powdery mildew are: Garden Phlox and Bergamot (Bee Balm)

Black Spot typically strikes roses.

Wow, what a difference a few weeks makes in the appearance of a garden! Come along for an early June garden tour.

The three Bridalwreath Spirea shrubs are fully loaded and bending under the weight of thousands of glorious white blossoms.

It’s hard to believe they are the same scrawny, spindly specimens we planted last year.
continue reading "How Our Garden Grows - June"

We moved into our house in August 2006. We being my mom, dad, my son and myself. (Strange living situation I know, but that’s a story for another time.)

There were gardens here, but they had been pretty much ignored and the plants, shrubs and trees within those gardens had been left to fend for themselves. Mom and I spent much of last summer trying to shape things up. Through ruthless trimming, the removal of ancient shrubs, and new shrub and perennial additions, we are finally making some headway.

continue reading "Front Yard Makeover"

The two green thumbs of 2greenthumbsup.com added a couple of new gardens and a few new items to their existing gardens in 2007. We (okay, I) have a weakness for garden plants on sale. My mom, the other green thumb, has a little more self control, but can be persuaded, cajoled, heckled, and pressured into making the odd purchase. She’s a planner and I’m a bit more spontaneous - together we make an awesome gardening team.

continue reading "2007 - The Garden In Review"

If you haven’t been in to your local nursery or garden center since the spring, you’re way overdue! Now is the time for finding great deals on trees, shrubs and perennials. There’s still plenty of good weather ahead and fall is a perfect time for planting. Trees, shrubs and hardy perennials will have an opportunity to become established under optimum conditions - abundant rainfall (we hope) and moderate temperatures - unlike the hot dry days of July and August.

Need proof or further encouragement? Here are the current manager’s specials at my favorite spot, Humber Nurseries. As you can see, if you click the link, you can get trees and shrubs for 30% off the regular price! You don’t have time for a longer post - you have shopping to do!

One of my side gardening projects this summer has been to help my sister-in-law makeover her front garden. Many moons ago when she and my brother bought their house, they planted some dogwoods, junipers, lilies, thyme, euonymous, bleeding hearts, and tulips in the front bed. Over the course of the past 15 years or so, some of the items placed in that front bed got a little out of control - the juniper mostly. Early this spring, my brother (D) and my sister-in-law (J) removed the crazy, overgrown juniper with the intention of doing a garden makeover. Then came summer. A zillion other events and activities stole their attention and the front garden sank to the bottom of their priority list.

Here is a photo of what the front bed looked like after they removed the crazy juniper. Sorry, no before shot with the juniper.

Enter me (Cathy). All the dirt that had been worked up when they removed the crazy juniper became a perfect breeding ground for spring and summer weed seeds. The crazy juniper was gone, but the wild weeds had taken over and were flourishing! Weeds are my nemesis (along with maple keys). While visiting one weekend at D & J’s house, I decided to take action. In one long day I pulled the weeds (and maple keys which had sprouted into little trees), dug out tulip bulbs and lilies and re-planted them in a temporary area, edged the front garden bed and trimmed the dogwoods. The following day, J and I put down landscape fabric and spread mulch around the remaining plants. It was a whole lot cleaner and the mulch and landscape fabric would hold the weeds at bay until D and J had time to do more work on it. Finding work time aside, there were several other issues surrounding this project that had to be addressed before we could proceed any further:

• Maintenance - J wants a maintenance-free garden. She wants the front of her house to look good, but doesn’t have extra time to spend tending to needy plants and shrubs.
• Drought - We have been experiencing very dry summers in Ontario for the past few years, so any potential plantings will have to be drought-tolerant.
• Exposure - This garden has a south-eastern exposure and all plants must be sun-loving.

Personally, I don’t believe there is such a thing as a maintenance-free garden. Even the hardiest perennials and slowest growing shrubs and trees will need some type of maintenance throughout the growing season. If she chose to cover the area over with grass, that too would require maintenance.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of J’s maintenance-free garden dreams!

With the hot and dry summers we’ve been experiencing in Southern Ontario over the past few years, it only makes sense to plant perennials that are drought tolerant or heat resistant. The move to conserve water is even more incentive to plant perennials more suited to our individual environments.

1. Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart)
2. Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)
3. Armeria maritima (Thrift)
4. Sedum spectabile (Showy Stonecrop)
5. Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
6. Coreopsis verticillata (Thread-leaved Coreopsis)
7. Gaillardia x grandiflora (Blanket Flower)
8. Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender)
9. Achillea filipendulina (Fern-Leaved Yarrow)
10. Artemisia absinthium (Common Wormwood)
11. Nepeta x. faassenii (Catmint)

Some of my favorite pairings are Lavender with Catmint and Purple Coneflower with Russian Sage. The different colors and types of foliage add interest and texture to a perennial garden.