Hedging and paths

Shooting from our driveway up the grass path, at the trimmed hedge. You can see the garden hose that leads to the slow drip for the plum tree. The peony tree is about finished blooming.
This is the stone path that leads through the central part of the inner front garden. It has been relatively easy care for the past 12 years since I first installed it. It has become overgrown with clover and other weeds. I am digging it up, putting a layer of new paper down on the base, covering the newspaper with sand and setting the flat found fieldstone rocks back. The base was clay before. I will want to add some of the clay back to the top sand, and then cover this mix with pea gravel. I have been weeding a bit along the edges, as I go along redoing the path. I have finished about 1/4 of it. I have been working at it for the past 4 days. It was heavy going at first, but I am making better progress now. The largest stones sit in the middle, spaced for convenient stepping. When I made the thyme circle I put down a newspaper weed barrier... 12 years ago also. The thyme bed does not have the weed problem that the stone path has; so I hope this works for the stone path, now. I had my garden scissors out there for cutting open bags. I am so annoyed as I seem to have misplaced that scissors. I would hate to find it again by stepping on it.
The lupines are in bloom and looking nice. Last year I had a few plants of peloric foxgloves growing with the lupines. There are none this year. I suppose the heavy leaf mulch might be a deterent to the germination of the foxgloves. The lupines are next to the new little cedars along Parmar's side of the front garden.
At the corner of Parmar's property and ours right by the street, I have planted a purple plum tree. This plum produced fruit the first year, but not since. I consulted with the people at Cannor Nursery. They advised me to give it some fruit tree spikes and keep it watered. Planting a fruit tree in this high traffic area is not a very good idea as the roots might get compacted. I have put the garden hose out to the tree area and have it on a very slow drip. I have given it fruit tree fertilizer spikes. Yea! There are small plums on the tree!
This is the little honeysuckle hedge that runs along my side of the property with Parmar's strip of grass to complete the 'frame' of my garden on their side. There is a strip of grass across the front by the street to further the allusion of a frame.
This is shooting at the grass path and hedge from Parmar's side of the path. The gold spot in the hedge is what appears to be a dead boxwood plant. Mrs. P. has had a workman painting and whatnot at her home over the years. It is my suspicion that he dumped some toxic material on this plant. If it does not green up by the Fall, I will take it out and put in a new little cutting. It looks rather unusual, as is, though. I have planted some cedars next to the little hedge. They will add some screeening from their driveway. Their front is just lawn with small strips of beds around the edges with a few small trees. Their property is on the corner. So these cedars will also screen from the street.
This morning I clipped the boxwood hedges along the top of the front garden. The grass path is approximately 4 feet wide. The grass will need attention this year, as it is full of weeds and moss.

Rhodos and stepping stones

The bench and the thyme circle.
Today I spent a few hours digging out the stones from the rock path. I am putting a few layers of newprint under them with sand and putting the stone back down. Over the past 12 years this has been a relatively easy care path, but in the last couple of years the cloverr and other weeds have taken over. So, it is time to renovate the rock paths. It is going to take me a while to get this done. I made a good start today. It was hot and sunny. I clipped a bit of the boxwood hedge too. As always, it looks very good when cleaned up. Its coming along.
a close up of the rhodo nearest the patio area. The 'dames rocket' which is a lovely purple color, self sows next to this rhodo. I inadvertantly cut a stem of this bi-annual and so brought it into the house. It has a marvelous fragrance. I must get photos of this combination.
this is the stepping stones path shooting from the grass space towards the rhodos with the Harry Lauders Walking stick shrub on one side and the achillia and others on the opposite side. The hose runs to the top of the photo and to the steps that lead into the back gardens. So this is shooting from the opposite end of the stepping stones from the other shot. I have liberated a sturdy stepping stone from the front to replace the last of the decorative stones.
this photo is taken from the steps leading up to the back garden. This is the new stepping stones going past the rhodos on one side and the fig and fennel on the other side. The garden hose is going to be a permanent fixture this summer. It empties into the pond and I use it to water the veggie garden, the moss, and all around the back area. To water the woodland would take a major realignment of the hose.

Japanese Garden

This is looking back towards the grass from beside the pond. You see the Lebanon cedar and the little clipped boxwood.
This old stump is what I am calling the reason for the curve in the stream. Also I have put down some strips of old wood to make it appear as a fallen tree, with parts of the tree falling across the stream. This idea is not working very well, and I might just remove the ones over the stream. I will probably add more big rocks in the pea gravel, too.
We follow the dry stream around the curve and on under the deck. At the right top of the picture you see the area that I want to get some good lush moss growing. I have transplanted the golden club moss here and the wood anemone. I will probably remove that fern as it gets too big for the size of the stream.
this shows the stone path that goes off to the left on cement blocks around the pond. We see the lily of the valley shrub, the little Japanese maple, the lantern, the mountain laurel and the extended little dry stream to its first curve. You can see the moss beneath the mountain laurel as well as under the maple. These are both spots where I have mounded up the soil. Perhaps if I am going to get moss to grow I should enrich the soil a bit.

I have finished weeding in the Japanese garden area, around the pond and under the rhodos. I have finished making the little dry stream that now goes along the edge of the deck and disappears under the ferns. I moved part of the big blue hosta, removed quite a lot of ferns to reveal some very nice moss under the steps. The moss garden will need attention to watering and to keeping it weed free.

Next I will be cleaning up the front. Under the deck will be next year's project, I think. It is almost June, and I have the front garden, the woodland and half of the driveway strips to clean up yet!

Mossy Waterfall

This is a close up of the moss on the waterfall. This moss is slowly spreading as I want it to. I should slow the water flow down a bit, perhaps. It has a nice sound as it trickles into the pond, now.
This is my fish called Elvis. He lives in the half barrel in the front garden. I am always surprised to see that he has survived. So.... oh yeah, Elvis lives!
This is my newest teddy bear. I found 'Willow" in the drugstore. This bear is sooo soft and cuddly, I had to bring it home with me.
Yesterday I managed to get the last of the pictures hung... not all where they were before, but they are up and off the bed. Now I am ready for our expected guests and the unexpected ones too.
After doing laundry and a few other house chores, yesterday, I was out to mow the lawn. I don't have much to mow and I really like my little rechargeable mower. The crocus leaves were turning brown, so I decided it was time to mow that area. The daisies have escaped the flower bed and so had to be mowed also. They have ended up as the boquet of the week. They look not too bad with a bit of fern. All of this was throw away material, so it was worth the 20 minutes it took to make the arrangement.

Transplanting annuals

I potted up this blue container with lobelia and a sweet smelling heliotrope in the top. You can see the strawberry jar that sits at the end of the lewisia rockery. I have marigolds and a vine with yellow flowers in it. I have added allysum to the 2 black pots on the veggie garden path. I have put 2 more heliotrope by the primula bed. More of the lobelia is in a pink pot. The petunias are in the square cedar pot on the deck and in a clay pot in the front garden.

When planting the ones in the front I found that the soil was very dry. So, this meant that I spent quite a bit of time watering around the front. I weeded a bit, too. The little pink penstome is in bloom. I have been nursing this little plant along for ages, and finally, it is beginning to look good. Must be the compost it has been getting. The lupines are just in buds now.

After getting the annuals transplanted I began weeding more violets out from under the deck. I added the club moss I purchased and the anomone slyvestria (wood anemone) to near the edge of the extended dry stream. From there I proceeded to extend the dry stream more, along towards the steps. It now meets the river of stones that I had put there before to catch the water run off from the edge of the deck. These stones are lined with lovely moss beside them. I will be filling the slight depression I made for the extended dry stream with more pea gravel and also covering the little stones with pea gravel so that the dry stream extends into the ferns and disappears. I cleaned up the moss and left only a few choice plants growing in it. There are some lovely welsh poppies self seeding under there. No pictures yet.
The clematis on the corner of the deck is beginning to bloom. I let it twine around the tub garden.
zoomed closer to the wisteria flowers.
My wisteeria blooms about 20 - 25 feet above in the cedars. Its a good thing it blooms there because I had to cut the rest of it down when the neighbours decided they needed a new fence. It seems my wisteria was in the way. Well, I am now attempting to grow it into a standard tree with branches only on my side. It really would look good on that cow pen they call a fence.

sunset silhouettes

In trying to clean up my files a bit, I found this one from about a year ago. There are some things that I just cannot throw away. In fact, I could not find very much today to throw away.

On Saturday I was to Cannor nursery and bought 16 new perennials, a few annuals, 3 tomatoes, more sand and a bit more topsoil. They will probably deliver tomorrow. So, on Saturday, I got nothing done in the garden. Yesterday, I spent a few hours cleaning out more violets and weeds in the Japanese garden area. I finished cleaning up to the edge of the deck, today. I have extended the little dry stream to run back to the big old stump at the deck edge, then it curves and goes over towards the deck post. In front of this area I am going to grow moss. Nothing else will be allowed to grown here except the moss. I have transplanted a few tufts of really good moss from under the steps but will do more to get a good start on the moss garden. I have one more side of the pond to weed and clean; and the rhodos area by the deck steps to clean. I will pull most of the ferns out of the moss that is growing so nicely under the deck steps and make it an extension to the moss out in front of the deck area. This should only take a few hours, and then I will be finished that area for now. I must keep the area moist. If I run too much water into the pond to top it up, the overflow point is conveniently right at this little dry stream area and the water runs down into the moss garden. Pictures tomorrow, maybe.

I must keep the veggie garden moist now, too, until the seeds germinate. The spinach is up and now the radishes are too. So, there is something happening, at least.

The next thing I must do, is to clip the hedges, then get the thyme circle and the other beds at the front cleaned up. I will be taking up the stepping stones of the paths and digging out all the little weeds and clover, then resetting the stones on a bed of newspapers covered with sand. I will wet the newspaper as I go along, so I can get the stones set more or less level. I don't want to use any of that garden cloth... not sure why... just being perverse, I guess.

Some of the Front Garden flowers in May

This is a perennial bachelors button flowers. They are rather floppy plants but I like the show of blue with the last of the pink tulips. They are easy care plants.
The peony tree by the front entry is in full bloom at the moment. It is a light pink with huge blossoms and is about 4 feet high. This particular bloom has faded to white and is almost finished.
The thyme in its circle in in bloom. You can see the gold of the "Vancouver Jade" - a tiny well behaved low growing broom plant that is indigenous to our area. You can see that I have not finished cleaning up the thyme circle yet this spring.
This is the view across the corner of the thyme circle, past the alliums and columbines to the tiny sundial circle. This bed has been difficult to get things started growing in and still needs more nourishment.
This is shooting through the red/purple smoke bush leaves to its under planting of silver sedum. It is in the same bed as the alliums. It is in the inner garden at the front. This bed needs some renovation and removal of plants that are no longer decorative, but look rather messy. I think the smoke bush, the silver sedum, the alliums, and the armerias might make this bed much more attractive.
My best penstemone. Evergreen and every year at this time it is covered with these lovely purple flowers. It has spread into a patch with a diameter of roughly 3 feet. It falls over the tiny rock wall. I planted it a bit above the basic clay soil when I made this flower bed in 1997. So, it has been a good carefree plant for over 10 years. A mountain avens is beside it in the bed and is also evergreen and an excellent spreading little plant. This one has finished its blooming and has fluffy seed heads which are part of its beauty and stay on into the summer. Both of these plants have spread onto the little flat field rock area. The seem to like this hard clay area. I have been removing some of the flat stones from under them for use in other parts of the garden. I must give them some compost, too. They are excellent plants.
The alliums are putting on their show. The blue green penstemone behind them needs to be moved or taken out. I want the silver sedum to spread under all these plants to make a flat silver carpet in this bed. The alliums go to seed and there are many tiny plants sprouting.
These photos are not taken in the optimium lighting conditions. I should have wated about half hour more to get the light, just as the sun went down.

The Japanese Garden Area

This flower is actually only about 3/4 of an inch across. It is a little bog gentian that I keep in a pot on the deck. The pot sits tightly in another pot to hold the water in. It sits beside the tub water feature on the deck.
This is two kinds of saxifragia. I think the big leaf is another saxifragia, but when I bought it, it had no tag. They are all evergreeen. They are all growing and spreading nicely this year.
Over the last few days I have been weeding in the Japanese Garden area. I cleaned up the primula bed and added more compost to it. Then I began weeding along the front of the deck towards the little Japanese garden area. I have been pulling out violets and dandilions. The Canadensis Sanguinaria plot is expanding. The leaves are gorgeous. Mine is a double pure white blooms. I fed it some compost also. Then cleaned up the rhodo that hangs over this plant with long branches. Next to the rhodo behind the primulas is a big patch of hellebores and a very floriferous little white azalea. On the other side of the rhodo I have a minature blue spruce. This little shrub is very well behaved and always looks good. Next to the spruce is a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. This shrub is not growing fast either so still fits in its alotted space. Next to this one, I have some small bamboo in a big paint bucket buried in the ground. This bamboo has not escaped to travel around. It is only about 3 feet high and looks a bit ratty right now. Maybe it is time to replace it. Behind and towards the pond I have a tri-colored lily of the valley shrub. Its rather lovely. I prune it judiciously to keep it in its space. Next to this shrub going back towards the deck I have a little red split leaved Japanese maple. The treasure of this garden area. Next to it is a mountain laurel that is also well behaved. Then still going towards the deck I have a bit of open area where I spent quite a lot of time removing violets carefully so as not to disturb any moss that was growing here. I want this area to be mossy. The mountain laurel is planted on a bit of a hill to try to keep its roots a bit drier. This little mound is covered with the most luscious moss. Beside the little red maple there is a rock that has some good moss on it also. Continuing along the deck front across from the mountain laurel is a dry stream made with pea gravel. The little dry stream has the Japanese lantern sitting in it. Across the dry stream is a little cedar and a baby boxwood. I keep these two clipped so that they do not touch each other. Next to the boxwood is the cement blocks for the path around the pond, another rhodo, more primulas, delphiniums, and a clematis at the corner of the deck before the cedar hedging between our properties. Across the stone path from the lily of the vally shrub is the big yellow plum tree. This trees branches form a canopy of the pond and Japanese area tying them together as one garden room.
I have more violets and weeds to cleam up at the end of the dry stream in front of the deck, then I can finish putting down the new pea gravel along the path and the dry stream. It is coming along. The saxifragia along the pond edge is slowing growing over the rocks. I need more of the little campanula that is growning further along the edge of the pond. At the corner of the pond between the pond and the cement walk and across the walk from the little boxwood, I have a minature lebanon cedar. I am pruning it to stretch out over the pond, but keep it pruned to its alotted space also. Its amazing how well these plants do when pruned regularly. I must get the rhodos some food, and more compost for the edging plants. I am going to try to keep the area moist so that the moss grows, and I must keep it weeded. Letting the violets get out of hand just causes way too much work.

Veggie Patch and stuff

Another look at the vegetable patch and little rockery. I will get a few tomatoes to put in and then hope all the seeds grow. Will keep it watered and mulched.
This is the showy lewisia in full bloom. You can see a few of the smaller lewisias. The blue is the self seeding columbine. I have put down a layer of pea gravel to finish this little rockery. I might need more as most of these plants do not like to water logged.
The lilac is in bloom. I have some in the house and they smell heavenly. I liked this photo for the whimsical view of Mrs. P.'s garden trowel against her shed wall. My lilac is just at the edge between our vegtable gardens. Not a great idea to have trees by the vegetable garden, but I have them all around my veggie patch, except the little rockery side.
My seahorse sits among the ferns next to the steps that go up to the deck. Its a handy place to keep my trowel and few small garden tools.
The tulips along by the garage. The dutch irises are starting to bloom. The Gentian with its big blue trumpet blooms is finishing up. I really should do a macro of that flower this year, even though I have lots of them. You can see the buds of the Oriental Poppies. The bright gold at the top is a pleasant surprise. This must be the sun shining through behind the garage along the old cement path that curves around behind the garage.

Yesterday our new sofa bed arrived and so I spent some of the day rearranging the library room. I did a bit more today and got a couple more pictures hung. I made a rhubarb and strawberry pie yesterday and it turned out pretty good. I had it in my biggest pie plate but it still boiled over into the oven, so I did an oven cleaning. It really was time I cleaned the oven, anyway. It, too, is so much nicer when cleaned up.

We have had a couple of perfect gardening days and I have been stuck in the house most of the time doing laundry, meals, cleaning, etc. Well, tomorrow I should be able to get out and make some more progress on picking the violets out of the Japanese garden moss and dry stream.

Weeding and planting

This rock is for you, Jaromey. Its a lava rock from the roadside near Clearwater. :-))
This rock is in the inner garden at the front and is surrounded by a globalaria (a very good plant), some thyme, and you can see the leaves from the fern leafed peony. Sorry to say, I forget the name of the bright blue one. The other rocks are flat and part of the rock path.

Today was another perfect day. Bit of clouds and warm. I finally got outside at about 2:30. The slight breeze kept me hatless, but the sun was not too strong. I pulled back mulch in the veggie garden and planted a few little rows - lettuce, radishes, yellow beans, swiss chard, cosmos, marigolds. I covered the seeds with a very light sprinkling of top soil. I put grass clippings between the rows. I have a couple of feet of space to plant tomatoes when I get them. I replanted the dill, as it did not seem to be germinating. I think the spinach is germinated, and the sunflowers.

I transplanted the daphne and the cyclamen into the new little rockery and added more pea gravel mulch over it all. Weeded it, although I have been keeping it really clean.

I did some weeding in the bed by the garage and next to the sidewalk. These beds are not too bad for weeds either. The newest area is pretty clean. The rhodos and ferms need a little more attention, but I will do them when I get to the space under the deck. This is dense shade but gets water when it rains and water drips down through the deck boards. I want to make a shady sitting area under here, eventually. I will need more cement pavers.

I have started to clean up the Japanese garden area. The little stone path and the beds have violets growing in every possible crack. The soil is moist right now, so it is easier to pull them out. It looks so much better when cleaned up.

I was out for about 3 hours today and got quite a bit done. My back is complaining though... just new muscles being exercised, I guess. We don't have much on this week so I hope I can be out in the garden without worrying too much about fingernails and hair! I think I got a bit of sun today, but can't really see it yet. I didn't get out and take photos. Maybe when I have things a bit more cleaned up.

There are so many of the plants in bloom now. This is the best time for my little rockeries. I am happy to see the lewisias expanding. The bulb oxalis are in bloom and looking good.

one of the columbines I have added to the garden. I love these flowers and so let them self seed and pop up all around my garden.
The stone path goes past the 'david' garden ornament and past the little stone wall (1 foot tall of flat stones, no mortar). The water tub sits at the edge of this wall. You continue past this water feature and around the corner to a little circle 3.5 ft diameter) containing a few rock plants and a sun dial. This little circle is hidden by the smoke bush on one side of the path, the california lilac on one side, the cedar hedge on the other side. The path leads around the small circle and opens onto the thyme circle. (7 foot diameter). The garden bench sits at the bottom of the inner garden within the enclosure of the cedar hedge and looking out on the thyme circle. I need to finish edging around the thyme circle to make it perfectly round again. The thyme is starting to bloom. I liberated 3 cement stones that lead across the circle to the bench to use in the back garden. They were mostly over grown with thyme. I replenished the stone spots with sand and compost and expect the thyme will have grown over them by summers end.
This stone path leads off the grass path and you enter the inner garden. The boxwood hedge is at the top of this inner garden and at the bottom there is cedar hedging. Within in this inner garden I have a water feature, a garden bench, a few decorative cement planters, some little rock plants and other special plants that I will show in the next posting. As you can see, this stone path needs to be cleaned up. I will put round up on it, this year. I don't think I will have time to redo the path with weed barrier and a good sand base with pea gravel in between the stones. It looks much better when it is cleaned up and the beds weeded.
As you come around the house from the back you cross the wide driveway of exposed aggregate and enter the front garden on this grass path, or go up the 2 steps to the front entry of the house. This grass path is about 4 feet wide and winds past the tiny rose bed. It is lined with boxwood hedge that now needs clipping. This grass path goes across the top of the garden and over to the neighbours driveway. They have a strip of grass along their driveway, so that it appears that this grass path continues around the inner garden. I have more evergreen honeysuckle hedge along the side of their grass strip. The honeysuckle pilea is rather like the boxwood, but has smaller leaves and a slightly more open appearance than the boxwood. I have planted some cedars for taller hedging within this little hedge. When they grow, we will have more screening from their driveway and from the whole street on that side. If you turn to the left instead of going along the neighbours grass path, you would go along their sidewalk. There is about 5 feet of their sidewalk and 5 feet of my plants between our houses.

I mowed the bit of grass today. I really like my little rechargable mower. No stinking gas, no cords to drag around. Its light and easy to handle. I did not mow the grass where the crocuses are along the front grass strip. The crocuses need to go brown and dormant before I mow them off.

I took the axe and chopped the runners of the black bamboo out of the rectangular flower bed. The hollyhocks and peonies are just coming up in that bed, with a few other perennials. This grass strip along by the front of the street contains the crocus field. I have some perennials, a current bush, the plum tree, the spirea, and a small woody shrub like perennial along a 5 foot strip right across the front garden, next to the crocus field grass. Next to the perennial strip there is small hedging. The form of the cedar hedge makes two rectangular beds on each side of this front garden. In between these two rectangles is the block where the bench sits, protected from the street view by the cedar hedge. The perennial strip has daisies coming into bloom at the moment. I will need to do some renovation in this bed, as I seem to have clover and lemon balm taking over.

The garden hose you see in some of the photos leads across the inner garden to the far side rectangular bed. This year I put fertilizer spikes around the plum tree and will be watering with this hose set to drip. I really want to see this tree produce. I have planted it in the worst possible place ... near the street and the neighbours driveway. Hopefully the fertilizer and better water supply will help it produce fruit. It had lots of blooms. The yellow plum tree at the back is forming tiny green plums. We will have the usual abundant crop from it. I have used up the last of the plum sauce, so will be looking forward to the plums this Fall.

I weeded a bit in the woodland garden. This area is getting a surprisingly good tilth, considering it has been the most neglected area. The weeds pulled out quite easily, after the rain we have had. The blue bells are not all blue... there are pink and white ones, so I have not gone after them to dig them out or mulch them over. I will try to keep the trilliums area clear of them, but otherwise, I think they can spread in the woodland area.

A few days ago I saw a yellowish bird in the back garden. On looking it up on birding sites, I think it was the female of the yellow warbler. I was hoping for a gold finch. So, since finches and I think this warbler like thistle seeds, I left a couple of thistles in the back corner of the woodland. But I really must get rid of the morning glory back in that corner.

There have been dandilions going to seed everywhere. I was not out for a few days because of the rainy weather and the car show... and now I see the dandilions have got right out of hand again.

My garden tour - Patio and Driveway areas

The spring bulbs along the driveway. At the top right corner you can just see a bit of the geraniums. The van is just to the left of this view. When the bulbs are finished there will be an oriental poppy, some creeping phlox, some arabis, but not much for the summer show. There are morning glories in the hedge that need to be constantly killed. I treat them to some round up painted on the leaves, but this never seems to be very effective. I will have to be more diligent, I suppose.
I have a tall cedar hedge that runs from almost the back fence line along between our driveways and up to where the front line of our house. This is excellent privacy. In front of the hedge are some perennial geraniums at the back garage end. These plants are carefree, evergreen ground cover. Tough and reliable. They are just now coming into bud. The van is in front of them so they are seldom seen. At the other end of the hedge there is an opening between the hedge and the moutain ash tree. This is a borrowed vista showing our neighbours' cherry tree in bloom.
This is a very nice statuesque grass like plant. It is going to show up better in the edge of this garden when I have taken out the artemesia. I might replace the artemesia with more of the sedum. Behind this plant and the sedum there are 3 Rose of Sharon shrubs. They look okay when in bloom but otherwise are not that great. They leaf out late, and the fall color is non existant. As you can see in the bottom of this photo, I need to clean up the daffodils that have finished blooming. You can see some of the arabis in this photo. The arabis is doing great in the bottom part of this 5 foot wide strip. I have added some aubretia to the mix and will be adding more this summer for a nice show next spring. Both the arabis and aubretia are evergreen with white blooms and purple blooms respectively. They make a nice ground cover over the dying bulbs. In this area I need to remove a torch lily that is old and ragged. I also need to weed out dandilions, other weeds, blackberries and be sure the rose we took out a year ago stops putting up shoots.
This is a very well behaved sedum. As you can see, it needs to be dead headed. I am about half way finished in cleaning up this part of the garden. I have added 3 bags of the compost to the tulips and other plants along in front of the cedar hedge.
At the street end of the driveway we have a Virginia creeper going up a utility pole. This plant makes a lovely dark green mass in summer and turns to glorious autumn colors. Right now, before it leafs out, you see its winter underwear. This is a silvery ivy growing up through the creeper and slowly spreading up the post for winter color. At the foot of the creeper post we have St.John's wort. This is another very invasive plant but if kept in check and planted in the right place it does real yeoman duty. Its good here contained within our driveways and the street. I have to clip it back every few years. I only got it partially done last fall. The St. John's wort is expanding towards the other plantings along this strip between our driveways. In the bottom left corner we can see the New Zealand flax plant which has not survived our cold winter or the snow it had dumped on it. I will also take out the artemesia that has been crushed by snow load.
These tulips sit below the bird feeder by the garage door and downspout from the eaves.
To continue the garden tour from the woodland area we come past the van and big green compost bin. This bin is emptied once a month and I receive a 20 litre bag of compost from the service I have hired noted in the side bar of my blog. This is the patio area between the house and the back garage. You see the grape vine just coming into leaf. The bird feeder is empty because the starlings have been at it. It took them no time at all to gobble it all up. You get a glimpse of the tulips beyond the garage. To the right in this photo you enter the back garden or go up the steps to the deck.

VCCC May Tour

I was using my CS filter to capture the flares on this hood ornament.
I have quite a few detail photos from the weekend. I was not sure how my longer shots were going to turn out. I see to have nearly a GB of photos that are mostly keepers, though. I am not sure of the name of this hood ornament. Jim Colwell has a book out. His own photography and editing. Excellent on both counts. Pat has all the volumns and if I had time I could have looked this one up in his books.
The judging field on Saturday was at the Mary Winspear theatre building (?) parking lot in Sidney. We also had our lunch there. Was a good venu. The sun was out again too, with a few clouds. I HAD TO take this photo! We are not sure what is under the blanket in the bottom right corner.
This is the Saturday venue where Pat was signaling the cars to turn. Another fine location. See the dogwood in the background? The cars are polished and gleaming. There were 188 cars so at least twice that many people. Was a good meet and tour.
Steve and Ruby's car. I would really like to do a black and white of this at some old filling station building or some older building.
On Sunday Pat was stationed on a corner again to direct traffic to turn to the left. This is a unique and interesting corner of our city. Interesting houses with great gates and gardens. VCCC? oh yeah the cars. The Vintage Car Club of Canada had held the May Tour in Victoria this year. The tours on Saturday and Sunday were splendid from all reports. The weather co-operated to give us good weather for the runs and for the judging field in Sidney, as well as the display near the Legislative Buildings on Sunday.

Election Day

The front of the legislative buildings on a cloudy, grey day. Wish I knew how to skew this so the buildings were straight. Well, wide angle lens might help?
This plaque is under this big old beech tree at the back of the legislative buildings grounds.

Today we voted for our Provincial Government members of the legislature. As at this posting, the results of the voting are not conclusive.

When I went to get my ballot the person at the desk could not accept my passport as identification, because my address was not on the passport. How silly. This passport does have my address, only I had to write it on the page. If that address did not match my voting card or if that address did not match any of the passport checks it has gone through in the last year, I would probably not be home from Russia yet. I find it entirely ridiculous that the passport of the country I live in is not sufficient identification for the poll people... whatever they are called. When I protested about this the lady... whatever her name was... said "I'm sorry but we don't make the rules". I had to stop myself from making a loud raucous guffaw! If 'we' don't make the rules, ma'am, where are they coming from? Does King Kamball hand these decrees down from his lofty position in the government house or from his Hawaiian jail cell? So be it! I handed them my BC Id card with picture and address. Oh, my, yes! This will be fine! By this time, I was nearly in stitches and trying to keep a straight face. This ID card expired in 2006. Oh my yes, I really think they failed their citizenship tests! oh wait, they were born here, they didn't need to take the test. Or need to know how precious our ability to 'make the rules' just might be, not having had to reason or use any common sense.

The woodland garden

I don't remember the name of this plant. It is very well behaved and has big green leaves. It is just at the back of the garden by the firethorn and holly trees. It has some lemon balm near it, that needs constant controlling (another invasive plant, but lovely fragrance).
As you walk along the chip path along the side of the garage the last plant before the driveway is the bleeding heart. This plant is becoming quite thick and lovely since I have been feeding it compost and more water. There are also a few other choice spring blooming plants along this little strip of woodland garden, in the shade and under the eaves of the garage. I now have the new big green compost bin by this end of the garage and we park the van right up by the green bin and the front of the garage in the side driveway. I might be the only one who gets to see this garden because of the close proximity of the van and bin.
This is the large trillium. I found it had two blossoms this year. The red one is the older one. They turn red as they age gracefully. Its nice to see my trilliums increasing. The fawn lillies are finished but, they too are growing into a nice patch with a few new ones popping up in other spots of the woodland garden, too.
This is the linaria or money plant. It self seeds and is an excellent plant with its silver seed heads all winter.
The Saskatoon berry trees are full of blooms this year. I must keep them watered and see if I get enough berries to make a pie this year. They are delicious fresh also.
As you walk along the old cement sidewalk it turns left at the end of the garage and goes long behind the garage with approximately 15 foot strip between my property and the neighbour's planted with woodland plants, a huge eucalyptus tree, an evergreen that turns a burnished brown in winter, some cedars for screening, a yew, a holly tree, a firethorn, Saskatoon berry trees, a few sumacs. On the side of the path nearest the garage there is a bed of sweet smelling evergreen ground cover (forget its name) with a special hydrangea, a large fern, a lily of the valley shrub, the compost bin, some daylilies, a multistemmed pin oak, and a rhododendron. At this point the old cement sidewalk is mossy and becomes the chip path. As you turn the corner around the garage you follow the chip path with tall cedars along one side and more woodland perennials. I have bluebell bulbs taking over... they are very invasive. I have found that if they are covered heavily with mulch they can be controlled somewhat. I have some talll german irises along this area also that will one day have to be moved. Many of the plants that no longer fit in their beds find their way into this woodland area. The honeysuckle and a little black bamboo are in the corner and will need attention. There are thistles (from birdseed fallout) and those awful perennial morning glories (very invasive) as well as black berries. I need more chips for the trail. It is still a fairly easy care area, with lots of good interest in the plants and trees in color throughout the seasons.

The vegetable patch and surrounds

this photo shows part of last year's newly made perennial and special plants area with one of the new heavier cement stones and one of the last year's decorative stones on the path. The path along the grass is flat field stones on a thin layer of sand. To the left is the border along the old cement path by the garage and to the right is the Japanese area /water garden and the vegtable garden. If you take the old cement path around the garage at the top of the left side you will be in the woodland area behind and on the other side of the gargae. The areas are small but definely give you the distinct feeling of being in a different 'garden room'. The apple tree needs the grass around it so that I can harvest and prune the tree. The branches coming in from the top right of the photo are the yellow plum tree branches. Its in the Japanese / water garden area.
In the forefront of this photo you can see the little lewisia. I have a pink and a white... nevada? maybe, and a few of the large showy varieties. The top of the photo shows the bottom of the veggie garden, including part of the rhubarb plant/
The strawberries are doing nicely this year. I do hope they get pollinated. I have some frozen ones for the next rhubarb and strawberry pie. The rhubarb can be harvested now.
This is the view past the little rockery, along the top of the garden path past the strawberries that are mulched, fed compost and slightly hilled up. At the back of the photo you can see the compost bags and 3 large black pots. I have transferred gladiola bulbs into one of the pots, but will need more annuals or perhaps tomatoes in the pots. The dill seed is in the row marked with its package. Across the path from the dill are the other herbs. I added some oregano to the spaghetti sauce last nite, but did not get the full flavour. I think I will add more next time.
In this shot I was standing by the Irises and shooting towards the grass (garage).
I added the brick edging along this little rockery to give me a bit of room to walk along its edge to tend the plants and view. I think it turned out rather well. It needs a bit more topsoil, then plants and the final pea gravel mulch. At the moment I have a cyclamen coum and the daphne to add. I have taken some of the very nice green mounding plant from the front and added it. It looks like it will thrive. I really like that plant .. wish I knew what it is. That upside down pot is hanging on the stump of the pear tree we took out. The pears were scabby and miserable hard things.
Primula marginata, potted, with its own special piece of rock. Its decorative to keep on the deck. I wonder if I should bring it into the house early next year to enter in the show. I can see that it is already too low in the pot. It needs a feeding as does the little willow.

April Showers in May

The apple tree is in bloom. The plum trees are finished blooming. I have not seen very many bees around this year. I hope our Island is not affected by the diseases that are diminishing the bee populations on the mainland to alarmingly low levels.

Along the old cement path along beside the garage the tulips are putting on a good show. They are also blooming on the other side of this path too, so that right now this path is lined with tulips. All these tulips that I thought I had lost are blooming all over the garden now. I could still use a few more at the front.
This is a rather colorful shot of the garden pond featuring the water hawthorn blooms in the reflection of the marsh marigold. I am keeping the pond topped up. The water fall looks good. the edging plants are filling in and some are growing over the rock edging. I must add compost to these plants to encourage more growth. The pond is going to look so much better without the rock necklace.
water hawthorn close up.
The water table on the deck showing some of the rain we were having yesterday. The tub on the deck needs to be topped up more than the rain is going to supply. I need to fill the blue pot with soil and plant something bright pink in it... petunias, perhaps. The little willow, the soldenella, the little bog plant with big blue trumpet flowers and a very nice little Primula marginata seem to have survived. I lost 2 or 3 other potted alpines, probably due to neglecting their watering needs.

Gardening

This is another photo from the Kitty Coleman woodland garden at Comox. I think this is a magnolia. I was quite far away from the tree and used the zoom lens. I must have had the flash on to get that black background, but at the distance I was from the tree, I don't know how the flash was even effective. Just a lucky muddle through, I guess. I like the white on black, which is usually a very difficult light situation.

I have added more sand and some pea gravel to the new little rockery, as all the plants will want good drainage. I think this soil mix I have in layers is going to settle a bit yet, so I will probably add more of that fluffy top soil and some more sand before I consider it ready to plant.

I planted 2 rows of spinach at the bottom of the garden where there will be most shade, a row of dill at the top of the bed, by the other herbs. I put lobelia seed in the cracks along the bricks by the new little rockery and planted a row of decorative sunflowers next to the strawberry patch. The vegetable patch is ready to be seeded. On the left side, I am just going to move the mulch back and plant seeds. The right side is dug over. I must fiinish putting soil on the little rockery before planting any more on this side, as I need the space to work.

It is good practise to vary tasks when out in the garden. I did a variety of things today. Besides the seed planting, I moved another round cement stone from the thyme circle to the back and dug it in and levelled it. The stepping stones on this path are now much more stable and durable than the little ones I had last year that have mostly broken up. I am using them under the big stones for fill. After setting this final stone I spread some pea gravel around between the stepping stones. I have the little mint and irish moss to fill in around the stones.

While digging the stone out of the thyme bed I did a bit more weeding around the stone paths at the front. I might resort to putting round up on the paths, as there is some very persistent weeds like a little clover that are taking over the path, and covering the rocks. I don't mind a few of these little plants in the path, but there are just too many of them right now.

After finishing these things, I watered at the back. We got some quite high winds later, so I hope the watering held the seeds in place. We could use more rain yet, too. It was a cool day, good for getting things done, but not a great day to encourage seed germination.

I must do photos of the progression of the rockery and veggie patch... tomorrow, perhaps.

Gardening

One of the anemones that need a bit of special attention. I have this one potted but out in the anemone bed. I have another tiny one in the little lewisia rockery. Both are in bloom. They are a fine plant and are often seen at the rock and alpine garden show.
Tent catapillars! I have only seen this one nest, in the plum tree, so far this year. I hope it is not going to be a big year for these bugs. I found that I could reach the branch from the deck, so I tore it off, bagged it and burned it.

I have finished putting the bricks along the veggie garden edge of the new little rockery. I dug over a bit of the veggie garden and am into the area where I have put grass clippings down as mulch. There are very few weeds where I have put down this mulch. I found 3 gladiola bulbs while I was digging over the bit of veggie garden and have moved them to a big black pot. I won't dig any more of the garden, but will just pull back the mulch and plant seeds. I should plant the spinach, lettuce, swiss chard. These plants should be able to take more cold. There have been threats of more cold for us yet, this spring, so I will wait a week before planting more things. I do want to spread the lobelia seeds along the edge of the rockery, between the bricks and the rocks. I will be planting the marigold seeds next to the strawberries, perhaps. I have 3 big black pots that I might put the cosmos into. Sunflowers can go next to the marigolds.

I moved 3 of the round cement stones from out of the front thyme bed, into the back by the anemone bed. I need to move 2 more of these stones and the path should be good to walk on again. The little decorative stones I had put in there last year are broken. I guess they were not really meant to carry any serious foot traffic. The thyme was almost grown over the stones in the thyme circle. I added a bit more dirt to the empty spots and hopefully the thyme will just fill in. When I have the last of the round stones moved to the back, I will add pea gravel between the stones and encourage the irish moss and the little sicilian mint to grow. This mint is a lovely, fragrant little plant. It needs sun, or I would use it as a substitue moss in the Japanese garden area.

We had rain yesterday. The pond looks pretty good. I did not water the front plum tree, as I hope the rain we had will do the trick. I am watering it by letting the hose run in the general area, so hopefully, after the fertilizer spikes and the water, we may get fruit this year.

I spent some time this morning getting a few of my emails caught up. I have a couple left to do, but it feels good to have these done. I really must finish all of them, though. I owe Peanut, Jaromey, Bev and Irene, yet! Tomorrow!!

On my walk and in my garden

This lovely spirea, bridal veil, is in the front of my front garden. I have it pruned into a round ball. If I did not prune it the branches would fall over the plant in long sprays. But if left unpruned it would become ratty and stringy in appearance. The bright white just glows against the dark hedge.
white fawn lillies in their natural habitat, except for the ivy that is very invasive and is taking over the planet.
This is an armeria or thrift and a couple other little rock plants. You can see the work I have ahead of me in cleaning up this rock path, though.
The tulips all over the garden are blooming. They are so late, I had thought the squirrel had got them.
I seem to have only one of these lovely red anemones blooming this year. I must get more.
The trillium turns reddish as it ages. It is growing old gracefully.
Every year I see holes eaten in the buds of this peony. Ants making those big holes are out of the question!
the fern leaf peony is putting on a great show now

Yesterday I did quite a few things out in the garden. Mowed the lawn and did some of the edging. Put the lawn clippings around the strawberries for mulch, over the compost. I mixed a bag of sand with a bag of topsoil and added this to the little rockery areas I cleaned. Cleaned up two little areas of rockeries in the front and started the trimming of the thyme circle, which is long over due. I watered a bit in front and back. I did the transplants of the little lupine, the new thrift, an iberis, a phlox. I dug out the old rosemary and replaced it with a new one and a lavendar beside it. I may need to keep both of them pruned to fit the space. Was really quite warm out.

Today was a lazy day. I finished reading my Deverell book last night and stared this new one about identity theft. I am barely past the first chapter and finding it very interesting.

I tweaked a few photos for the Victoria Grid group on Flickr but my heart is just not in it!! Flickr can be so slow and the glaring white makes my eyes hurt. I just cannot seem to find the time or inclination to keep up with commenting friends or group pool photos. The garden beckons and the books, too.