A walk in someone eles' garden.

Thanks for everyone who visited for Green Thumb Sunday, your comments were appreciated!

Well the sun finally broke through today, although you could barely tell. The air still had the wonderful smell of spring rain, and there was a little humidity in the air. My daughter takes a class at a local community centre, and the grounds there are stunning. I took the opportunity and took a walk through while I had some time to kill. They also have a stunning rose garden, and Ill take some photo's of that later into spring.
I love purple azalea's. Theirs were just starting to bloom.
If anyone could tell me what kind of tree this is, I'd love to know!
This is the place where the dogwood garden club meets. Hmm I really have to look into that. I love it here!

This is one of those very cool old west coast building that was meant to appreciate the outdoors. There are several small buildings, connected by covered walkways, and streches of gardens. Inside the main building There is an outdoor courtyard. The door is blocked off so you cant go out, but the view is wonderful. Last week the large Camellia bush was in bloom, you can see the spent blooms scattered across the floor. I never did catch a picture.

To spend time in the country....

Happy Green Thumb Sunday!

Evert time I drive in the country, I ponder the move. Today however, I was just there for the plants! One of my favorite farms, was having a plant sale. I always make it out to the farm in the fall for their pumpkin patch, but I always seem to miss their plant sale. Not this year! I went on the second day, and brought home a few gems! I grabbed a couple of Hostas at a steal, and a couple of Iceland Poppies. I also brought home some draconia's. The only thing stopping me from bringing home more, was the lack of cash in hand. Ill have to go back soon! Darn, eh?Now, where to plant them?!


Green Thumb Sunday



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All lit up!

I love it! I went out for the day, and came come to find this beauty towering above. She's beautiful! It really brings the height that my garden so desperately needs. I will eventually be adding some small trees to the yard, but for now the height on this baby will do!
Everything looked especially gorgeous today, minus the grass that's in desperate need of a trim! This is a picture of a Japanese maple I picked up at a plant sale last summer for two dollars! She's in fine shape this spring, and has grown quite a bit since I brought her home. I'm really not incredibly happy with her positioning, and I may decide to move her in the future. Until something better comes along, here she'll stay!
More and more of the tulips are starting to open! I cant wait to see what the next few days will bring!

A morning in the garden.

My mother was kind enough to watch the kids this morning so I could have some undivided time with the garden. Maybe it was divided time, I was after all dividing iris'. Not by choice of course. Id rather wait until after they bloom to move them. However the little plot in which they soak their roots is bound to become part of the driveway, when it all gets repaved in the next two weeks (hopefully!)
So potting I went. I split the large sections amongst 3 large belly pots. I separated the rest into some 5 gallon pots. As long as they survive (finger's crossed!) I'm planning on passing a few along to a neighbor. I also added some marigolds, pansy's (dark bluey purple) and some white poppies in the mix. I cant wait until the poppies bloom!
The whole combo looked especially lovely until I picked off the pansy blooms. I know your supposed to pluck them, to encourage growth, but it always hurts!
I also took a walk around back and found my Peonies that I transplanted a couple of weeks back, growing well! The dogwood tree's are also starting to flower. I have two in the backyard. I love their spring display.

Earth day.

You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion or challenge the ideology of a violet. ~Hal Borland, Sundial of the Seasons, 1964
Well we got out there today and enjoyed a little of mother nature's goodness! She was really showing off today! We took the sunshine and ran with it. Having a little picnic on the small square of whats left of our grass. Perfect spot to sit and take in the view. The birds were out chirping. It sounds like there's a nest in my hedge, boy its a sweet song, all of those little voices.

We planted a few flowers into pots. Nothing special, just a few annuals, but the colouring is really good against all of the pink and purple blooms of the garden.
I was also really happy to see some of my tulips are starting to open! Its all rather exciting. It made for a wonderful picnic display!

As we were heading in I noticed we weren't the only one's enjoying the garden. I spotted Evo the cat napping under the hedges.....watch out birds! That feisty feline always has one eye open!

Rocks, baby!

I was hoping for a few, but I hit the mother load! Over the last few days I have been slowly collecting rocks from the massive pile of dirt on my driveway. I got a few large one's at the beginning. I cant even see them in the pile anymore. I have one more rock run to do tonight, then the big truck comes tomorrow to take the pile away. I cant say Ill miss it.

Its going to be nice to start getting the front of the house back in order.

Progress is being made though. Last night hubby poured a concrete base for the post lantern. To his dismay, I had a little fun poking some polished river rock and a few beads into the cement. I think it looks great! I don't know what it is about wet cement that gets me all twitching to craft!

The lights going to look great! That's the base there. I cant wait to spy on the garden at night, illuminated by that awesome lantern! My street is so dark, this is going to make a big difference.

I took a walk around the front of the garden today, trying to visualize where everything going to go. Its hard to concentrate. Everywhere I look somethings poking through the dirt. I love this time of year! The heather's in bloom, and the tulips are about to burst! I cant wait until next spring when I can enjoy the views without the mess...

Welcome to my Garden!

You`ll have to forgive my learning curve here, as this is my first blog.

When we bought our house three years ago, we inherited a large overgrown garden, brimming with potential. The space was there, with a few shrubs to start us off, but not much else. Having always loved plants, but never being able to keep them alive (the inside ones anyways) I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started digging. What I uncovered was a passion, that soon started taking over my world. I was out there everyday of that first summer, pulling up weeds, learning as I went. I quickly found plants I loved, heather, roses, dahlia`s. Also uncovered plants I loathed, ivy, Lantana (oh the smell!) and an awful thorny bush that keeps popping up in the most random of places. I killed a few plants, and made others flourish. I found and fought battles of infestations, and learned that I'm not so scared of spider`s when they are in the garden, not my house!

By the next spring, I finally had a handle on what was in my garden, and a vague image of what I wanted it to become. I was still defining the borders, and I had come to hate the gravel surrounding it. So dig it up we did. The hubby helped. We rented a bobcat and went at it. All the while my garden sat in the middle of it all, watching....amused I'm sure!

She was well compensated for the trouble. She received a variety of new plants, shrubs, and lots of tlc through the construction.


The summer after that, the garden got to watch the machines roll in again! The city dug up our street. Replacing the water main, putting in curb. What a mess! Dust, dirt, loud noises, big machines and me gardening in the middle of it. I-pod blastin' down in the dirt! When it was all done it was wonderful, I had scored a large pile of rocks from the cities dig, that I used as retaining walls.

Still working on form and structure, a lot of plants were moved and transplanted that summer. She was finally starting to look like my garden! Little did I know, she wasn't my garden, as much as I was her gardener.

So as we enter spring of our 3rd year with the garden, she bears witness once more to large scale construction. This time we are fixing our drainage issues. We've had standing water every time it rains for the last 3 years.

The poor girl, you think we could give her just one year to shine without all the dust and mess. Well not this year. Again, she`s being adequately reimbursed for her time. She`s received new rock walls, a boat to float through her foliage, and still in planning, a patio to sit and enjoy her beauty. Not to mention the newly acquired rocks from my own earth. I'm really looking forward to taking out some of the smaller rocks in my wall this summer, and replacing them with larger finds!

So this is where we start. It a mess. But its my mess, and I love it. I hope you stay with us for the journey.