Rogue Daisy

Rogue DaisyJuly 9, 2010
An interesting thing happens after you rip out old garden beds.  Every once in awhile an old plant from the former bed reappears in the new garden bed or if the old bed was seeded/sodded through the grass.  A couple of days ago I discovered this pretty daisy poking through the now grass where a former garden bed was.  What really surprises me is this particular area was

The Unknown Has Been Identified as Columbine

Columbine(Aquilegia)May 10, 2010
I recently posted about 2 clumps of unknown plants coming up in the gardens.  I knew I had identified them previously.  They are Columbine (Agilegua) and thanks to a recent rip-out (more to come on that) it looks like I am now down to one clump.  It is quite pretty so hopefully will spread in the current location.  I may pick up a few more to plant along with

Peonies

Peonies (Paeonia)April 12, 2010
We have two areas in the gardens that have Peonies.  The problem with both of these locations is they are in areas that will be ripped out.  So I'm letting them come up this year and will transplant after they are finished blooming.  In the meantime I'm looking forward to seeing their showy blooms.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Unknown Breaking Ground

UnknownApril 6, 2010
Two small clumps of periwinkle unknown continue to thrive despite the ripouts and disruptions.  I know I identified this plant a couple of years ago so am going back through my plant files and will post the name as soon as I find it.  They are poking up through the ground looking rather cheery.  Soon they will be in bloom!

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Iris verna

Iris vernaPictured is the Iris verna growing in one of our gardens. Iris verna is a beautiful, delicate looking wildflower that is hardy throughout Canada and the United States. It blooms in early spring. This clump forming iris is well behaved in the garden. Deer It reaches a maximum height of 12 inches at maturity making it an ideal border plant or as a statement plant. Iris verna grows

New Raised Beds Layout

Over the past weekend we worked on two new raised garden beds (more here). The beds are being created while we are continuing to rip out existing vegetation so the new beds were not planned using Garden Manager software mainly because the beds were going in late spring. I would have to reboot in Windows as well since this software is not Mac compatible. I've been using the combined with

Please Help Identify

"Unknown"March 26, 2009Please Help Identify: Oh the joys of moving into a home with overgrown gardens and still discovering new plant varieties as we continue our quest to tame the jungle. We have several patches of this unknown plant. I think it is a daylily based on the leaves and flower appearance. The flower is two tone yellow with six petals, 3 on 3 on a single stem. The flower is about

Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)

This is the fifth home we have owned and while each house/property presented unique challenges this property has presented the problem of over growth. The landscaping is mature as far as trees, bushes and shrubs. There really is too much! Compounding the problem are several perimeter, pocket garden beds planted willy nilly with everything imaginable. Despite moving here the end of June 2007

Vinca major (Bigleaf Periwinkle)

One of our smaller garden beds has a pretty green and white creeping vine that has little purplish blue flowers in the early spring to mid-summer. It was quite apparent that the vine was of the spreading nature. It had filled the garden bed and was heading down the divider between our driveway and our neighbours. Our driveway is paved but his is gravel so the vine had no problem spreading and

This Lawn is Your Lawn

I'm of the mindset that every household should have a vegetable garden. This is not a new idea as Victory Gardens were encouraged as a way to save energy and keep people fed during World War I and World War II. Twenty million of these gardens existed producing 40% of the vegetable produce consumed nationally in the United States. Planting a vegetable garden was seen as a national duty.I hope

Irish Moss

Irish Moss(Sangia subulata)I planted Irish moss in a small border bed bordering the garage. The bed is about five feet long, about two feet wide and is tucked between the garage and sidewalk. Like the other border beds here there is a deep layer of gravel for drainage in this bed. Here the Irish moss will be able to spread freely to fill the bed yet be contained from spreading elsewhere. What

Spring Days in the Garden

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. The reality is the gardens in our new home are proving difficult at best. I'm dealing with horrible soil that is mostly clay mixed with a lot of stone and rock along with inclimate weather. The gardens are at the point where I look at them then get frustrated because I simply don't know where to start. The problem is we really are still in the tearing out

A Walk-a-bout the Gardens

Each time I do a walk-a-bout the gardens I discover new plants. I'm excited even though I am sorely missing my main vegetable garden this year. Plans are underway for a late season garden as soon as it cools a bit more at night. I'm hoping to plant towards the third week of August for our zone. In the meantime I've been starting herbs and discovering what is already growing

Bee Balm

Bee Balm(Monarda didyma)Bee Balm (Monarda didyma ) is a hardy perennial herb that is unsurpassed for attracting hummingbirds, butterflies and bees to the garden. It is a member of the mint family. I will be taking a portion of the clump to the new house. M. didyma is a hybrid so is best grown from clump division rather than seeds collected from the plant as plants grown from the seeds will

Lily of the Valley

Lily of the Valley(Convallaria majalis)Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is one of my favourite garden flowers. It evokes pleasant childhood memories and has been in every garden I've created since we were wed. I can remember laying on the cool grass gazing into the glass rocks my mom had surrounded by the heavenly smell of Lily of the Valley. I have a nice sized patch of Lily of the

Trumpet Vine

Trumpet Vine(Campsis radicans)Years ago when we bought our second house there was a vine growing up the south side of the house. This was an old, turn of the century, wood sided, two storey house in need of tender loving care. We were young and naive so tackled the job that ended up being an almost 12 year project. We did everything from designing a huge kitchen, re-roofing, siding, new wiring

Snow-in-Summer

Snow-in-Summer(Cerastium tomentosum)My mother-in-law introduced me to Snow-in-Summer when we bought our first house over twenty years ago. Since then I've grown this low growing ground cover with dusty green foliage and pretty white flowers at every house we've owned. This move will be no different.Snow-in-Summer is a very easy to grow, low maintenance perennial. It is undemanding and will