Plant Them and They Will Come

This picture was taken at the end of August in my garden. You can barely see the little bits of orange that are the migrating Monarch butterflies. I must confess that when I plan my garden, first and foremost, I'm looking for pretty flowers that bloom on easy-to-maintain, disease free plants. And, so it seems, so are the butterflies!

They just couldn't get enough of these pretty plants. I had been planning on yanking the pale mauve Eupatorium because it wasn't vibrant enough, but when I saw how much the butterflies loved it - well, it has earned a spot in the garden. This year I'm trying a Echinacea pallida (Cone Flower) from Jelitto Seeds called 'Hula Dancer'. The pallidas have much finer petals than some of the other cone flowers, and for me seem to be smaller more refined plants. So, I guess that means just one thing, I'm going to have to plant a lot more to make a show.

Starting Plants From Seed - Step One

What you see pictured here are the results of my my seed orders when I've "held back". Even surprised myself when I laid them out on the table for their Kodak moment.

So, what's next? Well, what I do is I prepare the plant tags. Using a permanent marker and tags that I pick up at any nursery, I record 4 pieces of information. On one side, I put the botanical name and the variety; on the other, I note the start date and name of the supplier.

The start date is based on the last frost date. In my area, I'm going to use May 17th. Then, I make up a schedule, counting backwards from that date, by week. On reverse side of each seed package there are instructions for planting. For example, Plectranthus 'Emerald Lace', must be started 6-8 weeks before the last frost. Using my handy-dandy schedule, I find that I should start these seeds on the 29th of March.

I then tape the tag to the seed package and file them in a box according to start date. Each week I'll grab those that must be started. While it may take me a bit of time to get my tags organized, ultimately this bit of work at the beginning of the season makes starting plants from seed - so much easier!

Niagara Falls in the Winter

Yesterday, we drove 45 minutes south to Niagara Falls. We left our hip height snow banks behind and were astounded to find stretches of grass - albeit brown grass in and around town. No doubt they'll be planting a lot sooner than I will! The Falls are beautiful in the winter. The light was a bit flat for photos - but the beauty of the Falls was undiminished.

What struck me was how quiet they were compared with the summer - the ice dam at their base seemed to really muffle the sound. Can you believe how the ice has sculpted itself around the light standards; it is simply amazing!

Colder Than Ever & Dreaming of Flowers

Flowers are the perfect antidote to a cold wintery day. It's minus 12C this a.m., and although the sun is shining, it's taken an extra 20 minutes or so to thaw out my toes after my morning walk. So, the moment I sat down I started scrolling through my spring flower photos and found this one of an unnamed Japanese Tree Peony that I got on sale many years ago. I can practically feel the sun's warmth on the petals.

I remember Stephanie Cohen, professor and author, talk about Japanese Tree Peonies - her advice was simple, "Buy the best you can afford - they'll outlive you!" However, their period of bloom is very brief; probably a week from beginning to end. Unlike herbacious peonies that die to the ground each year, these have woody stems and like their cousins are pleasant looking bushes when they aren't in bloom.

Plant Japanese Tree Peonies close to the door so you can catch their progress as you come and go during the day. And, don't forget to take a few snapshots so that you too will be able to enjoy these massively beautiful blooms even on the coldest of days in February.

Dry Shade - Tricky, but not Impossible!

There is nothing lovelier than a patch of colour under a large shade tree. Unfortunately that large tree often provides less than hospitable conditions for many pretty garden plants - primarily dry shade. Here under a large Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) you can see how three different plants are handling this situation. The grass to the upper left of the photo is a lovely shade of beige - while the Foxglove (Digitalis lutea) and Variegated Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum) look simply splendid.

The blossoms on the Digitalis only last for a couple of weeks, but the leaves remain a good glossy dark green. And the Solomon's Seal, well even if it didn't have little white flowers in the early spring - I'd grow it for its form and striking leaves alone.

Once you know what plants will grow in dry shade, you're on your way to changing a problem area into a little piece of paradise.

Growing Bananas from Seed

One of the most rewarding plants to grow from seed are bananas. My banana seeds arrived from McFayden yesterday. This is the 4th year I'm growing bananas from seed. The remarkable part is that this giant banana plant, pictured here toward the end of the summer, started as a seed on my light table in February.

While I'll save banana plants from year to year - I also like to have at least one or two from seed. The best germination rate I've had was 80% - and the worst was 0 from a batch of seeds from Chiltern. This is the first time I've tried any seed from McFayden, so I'm interested to see how they do. I start my banana seeds in soil-less mix in a 4" pot that I keep in a tray covered with a clear plastic dome. My basement is a little on the cool side, so I run a heating cable under the tray to help with germination. The first signs of life will be in about a month. Fingers crossed, all five will sprout and I'll have enough for a grove!

A Tender Perennial for the Shade

If you are looking for a pretty, low care plant for the shade - Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt' is the one for you. It takes all sorts of abuse - dry, wet, dark (in my basement right now!) - and for the most part really holds onto its lovely orange/red flowers. The leaves are a lovely dark green tinged with maroon and as a bonus, the stems are the same dark maroon colour as well. While it is classified as a hardy fuchsia - I beg to differ! Those left in the garden to overwinter had absolutely no pulse the following spring. So, each year, I drag one plant in, pay very little attention to it over the worst of the winter and then in February take cuttings. I'd classify it as an easy plant to propagate - my success rate is about 90% with these cuttings.

Heart Shaped Leaves in the Shade

Brunnera are a terrific group of plants with heart shaped leaves for the shade. This one, called Looking Glass, has pretty blue flowers and these great silvery leaves. Planting them next to plants with more glaucus coloured leaves of a different shape really makes for a pretty picture. It is about 3-years old now, and each year has increased in size by a few more leaves - so it really isn't a big spreader - but well worthwhile for a charming bit of romance in the garden.

Gardening for Winter Interest

Same spot - different season!

Who knew that the most important rule for good winter interest was ensuring that my plants would be tall enough. Another dump of snow last night, and the little bits and pieces that I was able to enjoy in the snow are almost all completely covered.

It's at this moment when I really appreciate all the lovely evergreens for the winter interest that they provide - the Hemlock, Eastern White Pines and Norway Spruce. Against the blue sky, they just look like postcards.

Great day at the mail box! Unsolicited seeds have arrived from McKenzie - Purple Wave and Bacopa. And, my Gardens North perennial seed order is here. Many things to be started now. An Arisaema ciliatum liubaense (no can't remember what this is, but it must have looked great in the photograph!) needs seed soaked overnight, then pressed into soil-less mix. Note on seed package says, "May take many weeks to sprout, so be patient." Dicentra scandens - a yellow flowered, climbing Bleeding Heart should be planted now in a pot and put outside in the cold. I'll seal it in a zippered bag so the squirrels will have a harder time of it.

Happy to start gardening again!

Starting Seeds for My Shade Loving Containers

I always like to start a few plants (well, probably over 100) to add to my shade loving containers. My second seed order arrived today from Stokes Seeds - and the growing instructions on the package of Alternanthera 'Royal Tapestry' says that they need to be sown 11-12 weeks before they are ready for sale in 4" pots. (Stokes do a large commercial business.) I'm using my frost free date of about May 12th to count back from so, I must sow them this week. The germination temperature is between 64 to 75 degrees F or 18-24 degrees C - about the average temperature of my basement. I noticed that these seeds require light for germination. So I'll put them in either a zippered plastic bag or put the pot in a tray covered with a clear plastic hood.

This is a trailer that can be used in either sun or shade. The colour will be lighter in the shade, but I'm hoping will still be vibrant enough to show off the other annuals and tropicals I hope to mix it with in my containers.

Cold Days & Thoughts of Warm Summer Plants

The weather has turned quite cold - -30C. Yesterday, I went down to the lake when the wind picked up to see if I could get a shot of the water crashing against the shore - unfortunately it was a strong north wind blowing off the land - so no large breakers, but still a lovely scene. On the horizon were the snow squalls blowing around the Niagara area.

My first seeds have arrived from Veseys in Prince Edward Island. I'll be starting my Hibiscus 'Red Shield' the week of the 24th of February - 10 weeks before my last frost date of May 12th. I use it as an accent plant - it grows about 3-5 ft high and has never bloomed for me; but that's no problem as it has lovely dark burgundy leaves that secure its pride of place in the garden. It has a very narrow growth habit, so I try to grow 5 or so very close together so that it makes a really good show. You can check it out at http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/annuals/hibiscus/redshield.

The Wonderful World of Coleus

Here is a great display of coleus (now called Solenostemon scutellarioides - doesn't that roll off the tongue nicely). Another photo of the snow outside would be pretty, but today I'm turning my attention to my light table and the coleus cuttings I took last year. If you like the look of this photo, you think like I do - you can never have too many varieties or colours of this great plant.

Every year I pick a few of my favourites that I've grown in the garden, cut a few stems off, then stick them in a couple of pots filled with moist potting mix. I'll put the pots inside a couple of plastic bags and zip them shut. As soon as I've got good roots after a couple of weeks, I'll take them out of the plastic bag and treat them rather cruelly for the next 4 months or so - watering when I remember. It is about this time in February that I get serious about propagating more, so I'll begin to fertilize with water soluable fertilizer so that they'll start to really grow. Once I have nicely bulked up plants, I'll whack off a bunch of stems and root them. These cuttings will be ready to plant and a good size for my pots by the second week of May. Added to these old favourities will no doubt be a few new special coleus that I'll find at the garden centres. It's only a matter of time, until I have a lovely colourful display like this one.

It's a Great Day to be Inside

The second part of the weather system is coming through this afternoon with lots of wet snow - the kind that will make for great photos.

Placing my final seed order tomorrow with Stokes - nobody answering the phone today. Will have another sleep and sober second thoughts on quantities..... Those pretty flower pictures are just so tempting - I just want to have them all.

Yikes, What's that Bright Light!

It has been so dark and miserable - see the photo from a couple of days ago - Hercules (the cat) and I could barely focus when the sun came out this a.m. I tried to get a couple of shots of the light sparkling off the tree branches, but it seems it was just too much for my camera as well.

This is just about the only time when the light is so harsh in my little back garden. As you can see from the shadows, I've got a wonderful patch of shade to play with. There are three large trees - an Eastern White Pine, an ancient Beech in my neighbour's yard that is wrapped in ivy and a poor old Ash tree that I fear will be nailed by the Emerald Ash Tree Borer, just as soon as they find it.

I have about a hundred different types of plants growing back here. When I designed the garden five years ago, I decided to choose plant material that had either flowers or leaves in combinations of white, yellow and blue - fortunately these are colours that are easy to find in plants that enjoy shade. Eventually I added more clematis in colours of purple and pink just because I love the way they look on the fence, and am always pleased to have more bloom to mix with all the lovely leafy shady plants.

Shade Perennials from Seed

Over the years I've started a number of shade perennials from seed. Here is one of my favourities: Symphyandra hoffmanii. It grows to 60 cm in height and width, has lovely white bell-shaped flowers and simply blooms its little brains out. In fact, the plant may act like a biennial and die at the end of the second year, but fear not - there will be a tonne of seed that you can let fall, or share with friends. Symphyandra grows in either sun or shade and also can handle very dry and hot weather without looking the least bit wilted. It is almost annual-like in its period of bloom - once it starts at the end of June, I have blossoms often right into September. I got my seed from Gardens North outside of Ottawa and see that they still offer it. Its an easy germinator and will reward you with lots of flowers with hardly any effort at all - what could be better?

Hiding from Winter - Thinking about Spring

Seed catalogues are well worn - and am about 75% there as far as my ordering goes. Each year I say I'm not going to order as many seeds, and somehow, once I've opened up the last padded envelope of seeds, my package tally usually comes in at about 65.

Perhaps it's because it looks like this outside when I'm ordering and it's so easy to forget there are hundreds of perennials underneath all that white stuff just waiting for spring. This is the view from the dining room window today - a good day to stay inside. I'm tackling the Stokes, Park, William Dam and Johnny's seed catalogues today. So keen on getting the light table fired up and all the little plants started!