Shade Garden

 this is a look at the dry stream and the moss growing along its edges.  I will be clipping the variegated shrub and weeding the moss, leaving only the Welsh poppies growing  I am encouraging the ferns and other deep shade plants to grow under the deck. 

 this is a view of under the deck that shows you where the neighbors have destroyed the screening of the cedars, over the years... kids had their hockey net set up in front of this hedge and were forever chasing their balls through the hedge.. and last year they deliberately butchered the cedars even further.  The guy sits out there and smokes, whatever it is he smokes, right next to the property line.  So, I am trying to think of something that will screen this area under the deck and still look good from my side as well.  You see where the chair sits... I would like to make an nice sitting area under my deck, and screened from their view.  Maybe tall evergreen ferns?  Like the one that grows by the back of the garage.  It is at least 4 feet tall.

This is a view of the Japanese lantern, on its new stand, the Japanese Maple the Kalmia, some ferns along the dry stream.

 This is a look at the Lantern from the opposite side as the photo above.  This looks out from under the deck where I want to make my new sitting area, out towards the veggie garden.  I can see that this vista needs to have the white bags of compost moved.  Otherwise it looks quite green and nice.  You can see the moss beneath the Mountain Laurel  in the left bottom corner. 

 A view of the waterfall.

the waterfall, again from under the deck.  I can see that this vista needs to be cleaned up a bit.  May need to remove the white plastic pots that I store on the veggie garden area. Those irises in the foreground will soon be in bloom with lovely purple/gold very showy blooms.

So, the plans go on for the improvement of my space and your perception of my world.  Meanwhile, I have typed my private journal to record my GAWD Ahmighty! venting about what is happening in the news and on our block, even . . . none of which bears repetition here.

James Island is for sale for $75 million... damn.. I only have $54 million      GAWD ahmighty!  You see?  The difference between the rich and the ... moderately comfortable  is incredible.  The difference between the moderately comfortable and the poor is even more incredible.  Do you suppose it has always been so?

More Hatley Castle in November

More photos from the Japanese / Woodland garden at Hatley castle in November, showing good autumn colors.
I managed to get quite a lot of things done today.  I was busy all day.  I moved the potting soil and a bag of compost up to the deck.  These steps are really treacherous right now, in the wet weather.  I used this soil and a bit of bone meal in the 7 pots where I transplanted the orange trees. I grew these trees from pits and have been meaning to move them out of the big flower pot for years, it seems.  Now I have them in pots that I can keep in the house and hopefully they will grow and produce oranges.  I repotted two of the orchids and cleaned up one of the shelves.  I hope these orange trees thrive. Between the pots and the trays, I have $10.00 invested in each one of them, not to count the cost of soil and time to do this.
I moved several clumps of Sicilian Mint from the stepping stones at the back to the stone path at the front.  Hopefully the mint will spread.  A year ago I cleaned up this path at the front and so the little clover and other weeds should find it even more difficult to grow between the stone, when the mint is established. 
I cleaned the kitchen window so as to get better photos of birds hopefully.  When I was out in the garden in the morning there were more birds... fox sparrows, alaska robins,  the juncos and humming birds, robins, saagulls and crows, of course.  I have heard flickers and caught a glimpse of a downey woodpecker at the suet feeder. 
Megashot is growing like crazy.  I must get some commenting done tonite. 

Hatley Castle and garden dressed for Autumn

The bridge in the Japanese Garden at Hatley Castle

Hatley Castle that is now Royal Roads University, dressed in Autumn colors.

One of the peacocks in the garden.  Motion blur on the feathers. 

More Autumn colors in the Japanese Garden

A window in the outside wall that looks out over the Japanese garden. 

On Sunday, we took a deli salad out to the lower parking lot of Hatley Castle.  It was a fine, sunny day with some occasional cloud cover.  I caught the Autumn colors just about right!  This is a very picturesque place.  They want us to go through the gift shop and pay an entrance fee to the gardens, now.  There are locks everywhere and high fences.  On the great lawn at the water side of the castle the geese roam freely.  Its a terrible mess.  I guess the fences keep them out of the gardens. 
After getting home from this fine afternoon we got news that an old buddy had passed away... age 65... just a young fellow yet.  He had not been having any health problems.  It was a shock to all.  We feel fortunate to have had some visiting time with him and his wife a couple of days previous.  It was a massive heart attack and he did not suffer.  RIP Don... you will be sorely missed.
Our Premier Campbell has resigned.  The polls are showing a huge decline in the popularity of the Liberal Party and in Campbell in particular.  He has been in office for 3 terms, and has implemented many changes that have not been well received over the years.  Not the least of which was the recent HST tax grab.  A former Premier had launched a rally and was getting signatures on the protest to have this tax law scrapped.  It seems to be a long process.  The Liberals changing horses in mid stream should not save them, this time.

Victoria Grid Project - October