I am changing it!

So yesterday, my friend and I worked on the not so great section of the garden. Actually, we worked on two sections. We moved the poor dried out hosta and Ligularia into a shady damp area under some cedar trees - the stove area. Which meant that I also had to juggle that garden around. We thus replanted a rhodo that is a year old, a fern, an azalea and a red astilbe. Everything except for the azalea stayed with the stove. The azalea was moved to the section that I was supposed to be reworking - the kayak section. It is all still small and insignificant but as the years go by, should fill in nicely...I hope.

This is a photo of the unhappy hosta and the perpetually droopy Ligularia in the unsuitable kayak section.

Now they are with the stove and still looking miserable but that will change!

 

 The new position of the fern. Its not too happy about being moved either!

And over there by the decrepit bench is the rhodo. Thankfully looking good.

I have changed the shape of the path up to the shed. I will plant something just in front of the the kayak. There needs to be something with some interest and colour. I have an elderberry "Sambuca" tree that is in a place where it is not well shown or I could buy a weeping maple. I am leaning toward the elderberry because I already have it. It is quite gorgeous. Purply black leaves that are like lace fanning out and pink feathery flowers. 

You can also see the little azalea that I moved from the stove area. It is lovely and pink. I think that it adds some structure to this space.

Here is the same space as the picture above. It is the before picture! Wow does it look better now.

Composting and the problems associated with it. Yuck.

Composting. hmmm.
I don't do it anymore. I did for 20 years but when every other yard began to do so as well, I stopped.
I saw Rats. I HATE HATE HATE Rats. They give me the freaks. As in I am going to scream the neighbourhood down. Gross.
I have no idea how people are ok with them.
They ran along the fences and through the trees when I was lucky enough to see them. Holy cow. Can you stand it? Yeah...no.
My fabulous dirt producer was shut down instantaneously.
The problem is that not everyone follows the same rules of compost. No meat, corn, seeds etc. And I vigorously turned it every single time I put something in. I never once had a rat impaled on the end of the pitch fork! Great huh?
I did do extensive research on composting and knew that rats were a possibility but I did everything possible to prevent an issue but....the neighbours did not.
There are some things that one just can't control.
I am lucky enough to have curb food waste pickup that the district turns into compost. I am a big fan and we produce very little garbage. Oh..and the garbage is kept inside the garage. No bears for us. Oh boy, the joys of living in the forest are endless.
As well, the district picks up the garden waste so that I can get rid of cuttings, branches and whatnot.
However, I really think that neighbours ought to be aware of what is going on in their compost so that people are not over run with disgusting rodents.
It was four years ago that I quit the compost project.
I am still going to add a link to the Metro Vancouver's composting info. Not a bad sight for those of you who still want to give it a go. Remember that you need time , energy and organization if you plan on doing this. It is not just simply throwing your food scraps into a bucket.

http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/HeresTheDirt.pdf

That was not, however, the end of the Rats.
Nope, they are back. I look out my window to admire the garden and voilà, there the horrific little beasts are...merrily running along the fences. Seriously...in my yard.

It turns out that they are living under a neighbour's deck. They raised the level of their backyard so that it is around 4 ' higher then my backyard. They then covered the entire thing in wooden decking. It is gorgeous looking and is an awesome entertainment area but.....rats, racoons, mice etc have a fantastic environment in which to flourish.There are entry points all along the fence line of my and other neighbours' properties. To make matters worse, the family with the deck are big entertainers and amazing cooks. Lots of bbq and parties out there. And they have a hot tub tucked away in the deck. Warm and wet all year long. Man the various rodents are living the life!

Yup...ooh yuck.

So, I contacted my neighbours and a pest company and they seem to be gone for now. hmmm. I hope so.
A few things that the pest lady told me that I found useful are as follows:
1. No trees or shrubs should be less then 24" from your house. Otherwise, the little darlings can run up the tree, get their nails into your siding and enter your house through the soffits. Lovely.
2. They love water, so...water in the morning...not at night when they like to get out and about.
3. Sheds are great attractors. Minimize the attraction by keeping grass seed, feeding pellets, rags, and cushions out of there. Tools are okay because they don't want to eat them.
4. Hot tubs will attract rats. Grim me out.
5. Woodpiles are another no-no. Good hiding spot.
6. If you have a wooden deck...close it in...totally and completely. And you may still have issues. Rodents are tricky and will chew through almost anything.

I hope that I never have to write about this again. EVER. But I am not holding my breath.

PS. I have no pictures of rodents. Sooo sorry. Ha

My Favourite Pictures

This post is just to showcase some of my favourite garden photographs. Usually I take them when I am so overwhelmed with the beauty that just grows out of the earth. I am not artistic; I cannot draw or paint but I appreciate beauty in a big way. The simplest textures and lines that nature produces is simply awe inspiring. From roundness, to spikes to stars. Astounding.

I love the colour of this sweet pea. I planted them because of my own childhood memories and for my little niece. They have a fragrance like candy according to my young son.

These peonies are very fragrant and are huge! This has not been touched up (none of the pictures have...I don't know how to). You can almost touch it.

Some things just speak for themselves.

I have a thing for lilies. The odor is overwhelming. They have so much texture and subtlety.

 Sweet and innocent.

Like lilies, it is the lushness and fineness of the textures that really appeals to me.

Crazy. It looks like a tropical country with massive Douglas Firs. Wow.

Huge and gorgeous.

Another hibiscus. It grows in and between the purple/blue hydrangea.

My first dahlia. Intricate and simple at the same time.

Back to the lilies. I need to plant even more of them.

This is my garden from the road. Part of it anyway. A doorway to stunning beauty.

Small and velvety.

Can you smell and taste it?

Garden jewellry.

I adore the purple stripes.

A pathway where you cannot keep your hands to yourself. 

More lilies. 

Oakleaf pendants.

This is what I call the spiky thing. Love it. It is mixed with cascading decorative oregano. This combination of plants was an impressive accident.

Two more hibiscus. One pink and the other white.

If you don't like it...change it!

So, although I really don't want to showcase my garden failures....I am going to. Totally embarrassed but it is a process. hmmm.
This section is three years old. I cut back the sod from the old lawn. The lawn was also from the previous home owners and had been there for at least 38 years. Can you imagine how difficult that chore was? I had to cut out a section and then scrape it up in huge lawn chunks. Like the sod that you roll out for new lawns. You can buy a sod scraper at most nurseries that works like stink but I found that out after I had finished! Figures. Oh well, I used a shovel and edge cutter. Then I heaved the sodding chunks into a truck and took it to the public compost. I still have grass coming up in the garden but it is less every year. Then I added soil and home compost. I always use Seasoil and buy it by the bag. Lots and lots of bags. I usually go to Garden Works if I need just a few bags as they offer a deal on three bags. I also pick some up whenever a garden store has a 40% off everything sale. Dykoff offers a sale like this at least twice a year. I buy an ungodly amount of plants and stuff on sale. I discovered a few years ago that if I am buying a lot of bags and there is no sale on to ask for a discount due to the fact that I am buying 20 or so bags. This has worked in almost every store. Gardening can be expensive so I try to find a way to keep costs down. Seasoil is my favourite soil by far. I think that it feeds the plants and I use it liberally with any new planting as well as just sprinkling it on for fun. However, I am always careful not to strangle any established plants by putting the soil up over the existing stems. For example, with a hydrangea there are many stems coming out of the ground. I don't cover in and between hose stems; just on the existing ground. Does that make sense? I no longer do my own compost due to rampant problems that I will discuss in another post.
On with my horrifying pictures. I apologize!

This is the section in dire straights. From the bottom of the photo to about 2/3's up where you can see the ground.  Can you see the hydrangea that I am talking about? It is the limp, washed out Annabelle in the bottom centre. Definitely not a centrepiece. Yikes.

Yeah, Yeah...I know....the kayak is the centrepiece. 

This gives a good perspective on how young this section is and how unassuming and under used it is. I want colour, texture, form and interest. What to do?

When I originally planted this section it was shady, super damp and dark. There were humongous branches hanging over everything. I had those cut back in May and it has changed the light dramatically. I planted a shade garden and now it is hot and sunny. Especially this summer! Just look at this poor hosta.

It has been getting way too much sun as had the plant behind it. Honestly, this is the best that that plant has looked for the entire season. It needs a damp area obviously. This area was dark and dank....for a little while anyways. I will be moving these this weekend. I also have some plants that I really love like a Christmas box, rhododendron and fushia.

 I will keep you updated on the progress.

Luscious Pink Mophead

I adore this pink hydrang. The colour is striking against the house and foliage. I have three in a row in the front yard and they fascinate me. I have another pink one but it is an Annabelle and I just find it somewhat washed out. I love it but it is not a centrepiece whereas this one you can't believe your eyes. I am going to start to redo a section of my garden. It is relatively new, 3 years and I planted a pink Annabelle as a structural piece. Hmmm. It is so-so and quite lacking a visual punch. In one of Thomas Hobb's books he uses a quote something like "Optimize the beauty potential of every space." This particular hydrangea will do just that but the Annabelle that I am referring to, does not...at all! 

Are you ready for the pictures? I will also post pictures of the section of the garden that I am redoing...but not until the next post. These photos are so stunning that I don't want to ruin the effect by showing you how amateur I really am. The other pics will make you think much less of my skills.

And more...

I have more hydrangeas! Are they not brilliant?
Remember that my yard is huge and that I need a lot of structure building plants. Hydrangea are my favourite because they thrive in the rain. If you want to know the name of any of these, just message me. I keep a book of (mostly) everything.

This is a Pee Gee tree. "Gandiflora" It is gigantic. I am loathe to prune it back but am going to have to. Part of my reluctance is sheer ignorance. I am going to research it and then will show you what I have done. I have been cutting it back on the bottom because the branches are so heavy with flowers that they drag on the ground!

The following pictures are of Lacecaps and Annabelles with other plants. You can see how they work as a season long backdrop for colour, texture and form.

More hydrangeas

This is the oldest hydrangea in our garden. It is a lavender mop head and it has been around for at least 38 years. The original house was built in 1913, so who knows. It was in terrible shape but has been steadily improving. I prune it carefully and feed it with everything else. The colour is stunning and fades out to a light purple which you can see in the bottom right hand corner.

When I took this photo, I was trying to capture the different colours and textures. The white Annabelle has been there for three years and is somewhat out of control. As in huge. I cut it back in May and then again in July but not hard.  The blue mop head has been there for 5 years and also is gorgeous. This picture shows the different colours that it turns throughout the summer. From blue, to lavender to purple and it keeps putting out new blooms so you always have a mixture. 

This is a close up of my oak leaf hydrangea. It is an evergreen and has pendulum like flowers. It starts out white and then slowly changes to the dusky rose. It has a 3D effect to the flowers. It reminds me of both a wisteria and an ornamental oregano. This shrub is in its third year. The first two were pretty pathetic but it has had a fantastic show in the garden this year.

Outrageous! How fabulous is that? Now you can see why I compare it to a Wisteria.

This shows the Oakleaf from a distance. It adds structure and texture to the garden. This picture was taken in early July whereas the closeups were taken in August.