Where to start? Bloodroot.

Well...things have been busy. Stupid busy.
I have been snapping pictures as things change but I am not so sure that I got everything.
I will try to break it down into smaller blogs so that it is not too confusing. I am confused and I have been living it!
Every single year, I wait for my bloodroot to come up. This year....it was spectacular. It didn't rain for around a week which allowed for the flowers to develop fully. A first. The pictures say it all.

These photos are in chronological order over a week. Check out how small the leaves are in this picture and how they increase in size until they are all that remain.

These leaves are all that will remain for the rest of the summer. However, I love the shape and texture of them. The flowers are like small lotus flowers that are stunning in their beauty, fragility and daintiness. These qualities are made all the more obvious by the oddly coarse and heavy leaves. The exquisite bloodroot is breathtaking.

It is springtime and man oh man, am I happy!

It may be spring but the weather is still quite crazy. Rain, rain, rain and then sunshine for a day or two...then rain. Ha, my poor plants aren't really sure what is going on!
I have pruned my clematis, wisteria (ok, not really but I thought about it. It is still too puny for words.), taken heads off of hydrangeas and cut back all of the ferns.
Many plants are starting to develop. Hydrangeas , day lilies, weeping maples, iris, peony, poppies and lily of the valley are starting to green up. How thrilling. Seriously.
I have some ideas for this coming season. Maybe too many.
Firstly, I want to paint some antique gates that I bought last year. I think that they came from Turkey and I am going to paint them purple. Sacrilege and I don't care because it will look amazing. The hydrangea that I want them to highlight is in the following picture.

PS If you don't see a picture this summer...I didn't do it.
Secondly, I must plant some ground covers amongst my hodgepodge of stepping stones. Lots of them and whatever takes my fancy. If I don't like it, I will dig it up and get rid of it. Kidding. I am way too much of a sap. I will move it!...maybe to the recycling bin. HA!
Thirdly, I am going to plant potatoes, mini cucumbers, lots of garlic, strawberries and carrots. Of course, I will do my usual mini tomatoes and lettuce.
Finally, for the moment, I would like to rearrange some areas of the garden, to make the most of the "beauty quotient" in every single corner. Make it more stunning. Think of the visual, odour, textual impact of each plant. How is any individual experiencing the garden as they walk through the paths. What do they choose to smell or touch or exclaim over?

Hoorah!!!! It is that time again.....

Oh the joy. There are birds fluttering about and green shoots coming out of the ground. And the best thing yet? My Botanus.com ordering catalogue arrived. My heart is beating faster just writing about it.
I ordered from them for the first time last year. I bought peonies, iris and blue star thistle. They arrived in a packing box wrapped up, damp and ready to plant. If fact, Botanus sends you your order when you ought to plant it! How brilliant is that? It will be interesting to see how everything does in its second year. Almost everything took last year.
This year, I have ordered more. Yes, already. A wee bit of a keener!
I chose two different types of Trilliums "Trillium Erectum" and "Trillium Grandiflorum", something called Pulsatilla, Echinacea "Green Envy" and two Helleborus "Golden Lotus Strain" and "Rose Quartz". Ooh ahh. Seriously, I am so pleased. I am dreaming of their placement in the garden. Truly? Pathetically...yes.
I also ordered 2 boxes of their Acti-Sol Natural Fertilizer. It is hen manure without the funk. Apparently, you just sprinkle it about and the rain will release the nutrients. Easy peasy...I hope. Usually, I use kelp that I spray on everything. That has been very successful but this sounds even easier. I think that this year, I will use both methods and see how it goes. It depends on my level of competence when there is weeding to be done. A sprinkle of nutrition just sounds so much more do-able than hooking up the hose to the kelp sprayer.
Finally, I ordered their CocoEarth Bricks. I have, in the past, used peat moss but as it is not sustainable I am going to try coconut coir. I did do some research on the topic but without a definitive conclusion. So, I guess that I will figure it out on my own this year!
Yesterday, the garden received a bit of weeding and tender loving care as the weather was sunny and 5 degrees celsius. Not too bad for January. During one of my wanders through the garden, I noticed that the grass which grows up and between some iris and Lily of the Valley was waiting to be pulled. So it was pulled! I hope that this is a long term solution to this issue. It drives me crazy all spring and summer long because I can't get rid of the tall grass without yanking out my plants. Also of interest was the fact that the new blackberry vines were easily dealt with..as in pulled out!
I will post some pictures with this post so that you can see how the garden is coming along.

This is the new section that I was working on last summer. Not much going on yet. Iris are peeking through. Grace Ward is still green and pretty but the best plant at this time of the year is the Christmas Box. It is the biggest, green shrub at the middle top of the picture. It smells like jasmine...right now! There are little white flowers that pack a huge punch of delicious door. I have 3 of them in the garden.

This is where the grass is being pulled out. It is so established that it is tough to remove. However, I shall endeavour to win.

This is a good picture of the Christmas Box. You can also see the evergreen jasmine that still looks good.

Chives are coming up!

Jasmine again with a good view of the clematis and honeysuckle. I intend to prune them this year in February. I hope that it will help and not hinder or....kill off! Scary.

Hydrangeas that were pruned into a bouquet shape and a hardy fuchsia.

This is down the side garden where I have my shade garden. Usually it is full of huge hostas but right now it is pretty bare. The Daphne is an evergreen and is always glorious. The bloodroot is just starting to come up but is not really even noticeable. My Hellebores are blooming though! I cut back almost all of their leaves as they were lying on the ground and had rotten spots.

There is another Christmas Box. I continually prune that one as it keeps spreading and going up. See the hellebores?

And here are some blooms. Obviously different colours.

And more fall beauty...

I almost forgot to include a picture of my Beautyberry (Calicarpa).( Actually, I did forget yesterday but there you have it.) This is its third year. I have studiously ignored it until now. This is the first time that it has produced. It suddenly appeared stronger this summer and seems to have found its roots. It is so great when a weak, fragile plant strengthens and proves that you had, in fact, been correct in buying it. I am thrilled. I love it.
FYI: Branches of Beautyberry are striking in flower arrangements. That is where I first saw this plant and have always wanted one since. In a fall flower arrangement of 2006.

Another surprise, as I have already mentioned but will do so again, is the colour of some hydrangeas and the show that they create with the silvery lavender at this time of year.

This hydrangea was a bright blue in the summer. I am in awe of its colour now. Gorgeous.

You can see the blue colour in the picture below. 

And now, next to the lavender. You would think that I had planted these side by side on purpose. No. Pure luck.

If you look at the bottom right side, you can see how the lavender is crowding about the hydrangea. I have never planted lavender there. It re-seeded itself. Like I said...luck.

Surprise!!!!!

Honestly, this is too exciting. Things are still popping up in the garden. I can hardly stand it.

A quick note before I forget:
Dÿkfof Nurseries and Florist has a 35% off everything sale on Saturday and Sunday. I am beside myself with anticipation. Oh, the things that I might buy.... I can think of so many needs. Not wants. Needs. Number 1 is a new pair of clippers. I would buy titanium but I lose at least 2 pairs every single year. Arg. See? A necessity. Get going people.

So, the colours in the garden are simply magnificent. Plants, shrubs and trees that I love during the spring and summer change yet remain as beautiful as during the summer.
here are some of my grandest surprises.

Those lush yet lacy leaves are golden. 

My rhodo is blooming again. Delicate pink amongst the golds and greens.

A new bloom mixed with the old on a blue hydrangea.

This gives me joy.

And next to the blue hydrangea...an astramaris trio of flowers. 

And then the toad lily against the backdrop of white, green and gild.

Colour everywhere. Wow.

More updates

Well, I am feeling enthusiastic. It is still glorious outside and my garden is fantabulous. (I sang that in my head Fan..Taaaa..bu...lous!)
I collected maple leaves from my lucky neighbours today. Down the street I went, with my rake in hand. After 10 trips or so, I had covered the fragile areas that I worry about in the winter.
I always cover my tree peony, my maples that are in pots, the bases of any trees that I do not want to lose over the winter because they are not established and newer areas that are dry and not rich enough.

My tree peony is too the right of the picture. You can see the leaves all over the base. Also, my rhododendron is blooming. How fortunate are we?

This is the new reworked area. I covered it in leaves for the winter. I am especially careful with the Ayesha hydrangea. I have two. One is pink and the other blue.

If you look at the top of this picture, to the left, you can see the Sambuca Elderberry. I hope that it survives the winter after being transplanted.

Today I managed to prune some of my plants. I actually took up the bottom of the PeeGee tree. It was scary but I only took off the bottom. Here is how it was in the beginning of the season and then how it was the other day and finally, today. 

Can you see how the air can get in there and circulate during the coming seasons? I may prune it back some more but not before reading up on it.

I also cut back the hydrangea in the next picture. Do you see how it looks  (very roughly) like a tied flower arrangement? I love that shape and so do the hydrangeas.

Finally, I pruned back my apple tree and cut back the lavender. I will not torture anyone with pics of the apple tree. I am not a fruit tree person. No knowledge whatsoever and my tree looks like someone has hacked at it randomly. That would be me. 

The lavender haircut just helps the lavender look less straggly next year. It works brilliantly and is a pleasure to work with. Texture and fragrance.

If you look in the bottom left hand corner, you will see the lavender. Only the finished lavender was cut. Some is still blooming and I left that alone!

Some Updates

The rats are gone!! Hoorah!
I admit to still looking about fearfully but so far so good.
I did find one that had passed on.....Gross. I am shuddering with horror.  I really do not like rodents. For everyone's peace of mind, I did not take a picture. Grim.

The lovely flower eating deer seem to have found greener more welcoming pastures as well. I am really happy because my Toad Lilies are having an incredible show even though the deer chowed them down over the summer. They recovered. I love them amongst the fall colours.

My garden is still doing beautifully even on October the 15th. The air is cool and the wind blows. You can hear the crackling of falling maple leaves when you stand for even a moment outside. It is quite an experience. So often, it is pouring with rain and everything is sopping wet but not this year. We have had days of sunshine...in a row. The green, purple, brown, burgundy, gold and silver of foliage is simply stupendous. We live in paradise. It may not be warm and balmy but it is visually a treat every single day.

This maple tree was given to me and my sons when their father died. It is exquisite and very meaningful to us. He passed at this time of year when the maples are changing colour and dropping leaves.

As the trees shed their leaves, they open up to a form, texture and shape. I love seeing the peeling bark of an arbutus or maple tree. Or the gnarled limbs of a magnolia tree. It is a different aspect of garden beauty that I admire as much as the bright hues of summer flowers. I would argue that in buying a magnolia tree, it is for the beauty of the shape of the tree as much as for the flowers.
The birds are still singing and chirping. Some of them are quite bold...they just hop over to stay out of reach and keep on looking for food. In fact as I am writing, there is a Blue Jay loudly complaining outside of the window. Oops, now he is picking through my basil pot and throwing stuff about. Hmmm.
There used to be a bird that woke me up at the crack of dawn every single day. He would shriek Uh Huh and harass me (not really, but it sure felt that way) to the point where I could not fall back asleep. Now I miss him. He must have found another tree and another poor sod to taunt in the morning. He will probably come back when my kids are grown up and I can sleep in again. Sometimes that is just the way life works!

My friend and gardening helper and I, have attempted to put the garden to sleep but to no avail. This fantastic weather is messing with my normal timelines and I am just fine with that. We did put mulch onto parts of the garden that seemed too dry during the summer, divided some irises, moved an  Sambuca Elderberry tree, dead-headed some hydrangeas and pruned things back which looked a bit wild after the summer.
The Elderberry went into the garden that I have been re-working. It is perfect there! I did not like where it was because it blocked the view of my honeysuckle, clematis and jasmine (evergreen). Now I have to find a new beauty to go into the vacant space. Yeah! I hope to hit the sales and find something exceptionnal.
My personal philosophy of pruning is not rooted in the right way or perfection. I just do what I feel like and sometimes have to learn the hard way. I research pruning on plants that I am crazy about like my PeeGee trees where I really don't want to kill it. Otherwise, I snip away for maximum form, air movement and re-growth. Actually, I am so scared of harming my  huge, glorious PeeGee that I haven't touched it for three (yikes) years. It is so huge that the flowers trail on the solid. So not good.
I only dead-head those hydrangeas where the flowers have turned brown and look like they are rotting or if I need to pull up the bottom for maximum air movement. We really love the look of the dried hydrangea flowers over the winter. They add to the winter landscape in some odd way. I dead-head all hydrangeas in the spring once the new buds appear. Some of my Annabelles are looking rather huge so I will likely take off some of the flowers.

My enormous PeeGee tree.

So my big plan for the day is to hit up my neighbours for the maple leaves which cover their front yards. For some reason (figures), the leaves do not fall in my yard and I am the only person on the block who actually wants them. Oh, the fun.