Rain, Mug Shots, and Glorious Green

Did you know that the Government of Ontario has conspired to make our Driver's License photographs even more hideous than they have been in the past? Every five years we have to have a new photo taken - so today was the day, crummy cold or not. Troweled on the spackle, carefully applied the lipstick, cleaned the glasses and presented myself in a classic outfit - worthy of this important piece of identification that I'd have to keep with me for half a decade.

After a short wait, it was my turn, I walked up to the desk - paid my $75.00, got my sticker on my old licence stood in front of the ubiquitous white wall, waiting for my Kodak moment, when the Government of Ontario employee said to me in no uncertain terms - NO SMILING. At that moment the flash went off - and I figure I've been captured with an expression so addled, that on that photographic evidence alone, no one will be believe I should be permitted to drive a car, or even cross the road on my own. No smiling, what's this world come to? Between my passport photo and now my driver's licence, it's enough for a girl to want to go out and get a disguise.

After my visits to official government offices, I managed to get a bit of long overdue gardening done. I'd had a couple trays of bits and pieces that I've planted and positioned on the back deck and had a go at more edging and weeding. The rain has dictated the amount and type of work I've been able to get to. It's been a real mixed bag of rain and sun for the last two days.

Here's the sunshower we had last night taken from behind the glass storm door.



After an hour it all stopped -all my edges were filled to the brim with water.


There's nothing better than a soft sunny morning after a good rain.

The Thermopsis looked so pretty this morning. I'm a fan of Lupins - but they only last a year or two for me. I think of this as a Lupin on stilts - it stands about 150 cm - or about 4-5 feet.

Good yellow circles of Inula royleana.

I'm starting to warm to the Salvia transylvanica 'Blue Spires'. Anything to take your eyes away from the lawn that has started to go dormant.

It's been a bit of a rough year for the Anemone cylindrica. Parts of the plant seem to have melted away from either virus or damage from direct sun. Such a wonderful understated little woodlander.

I've never seen the little hairs on the Trycirtis hold water after the rain.

Here's Ipomopsis rubra - before it does its shocking orange red floral display.

Look at that mighty edge!

Even the little furry bits of the Monarda had tiny little water droplets trapped in the individual hairs.

I love this part of the summer when the blue Hosta are still so very blue.

And, hiding underneath those beefy leaves are lots of pure white blossoms.

Into the back garden. The patch of brown on the stone are the little bits from the Eastern White Pine - needle shed yet to come.

These are the green seeds of the Thalictrum aquilegifolium. While it does self-seed - it's not overly aggressive. And, unlike Aquilegia whose leaves are mined into white/brown muck by mid-July - T. aquilegifolium doesn't appear (up until now) to have any insect problems. A good shade plant that handles the dry and heat very well for me.

Here's Hosta 'Strip Tease'. It is in a very shady area - comparing mine to others on the net - I guess I would classify it as more Tease than Strip.

And, as if on cue, my Clematis viticella, yes, you know the one that doesn't get wilt, the one you're supposed to plant instead of all those saucy big-flowered varieties, is demonstrating once again, that plants do not read.

A Week Ahead or Behind? - Not Even the Garden Knows

I was trolling around the garden this morning and was trying to figure out after our bland spring if my garden was ahead or behind last year. Rather than tax my little brain, I thought I'd check my photo-record to see what was what. The surprise discovery was that the plants do not appear to be in lock-step as I had originally thought. Have a look at this shot from last year on the 27th of June: The Persicaria polypmorpha and Thermopsis are blooming together. The Allium are still a little green and look at that old fashioned Tansy - growing, but not so well.

Hmmm, Persicaria polymorpha, check; Tansy much better, but still at the same stage of bloom; Thermopsis days away from colour; and Allium brown. So about the same for two, behind for another, and ahead for yet another plant.

All too confusing for this first bloom of Calendula 'Victoria Sunset'.

With all this thinking I've been doing, I didn't cut these back, so I'm hoping that the gold finches have thrown their portion control to the wind and eaten all these seeds. I don't want to think about where the Doronicum seeds might be otherwise.

The Salvias are starting to bloom - and wouldn't you know, I don't have any photos to compare - note to self - take photo, even if dull just to have a record!

This Salvia transylvanica 'Blue Spires' from Select Seeds was much smaller last year - started it in 2007 - it is a bit rambunctious. I'm going to have to rethink where I've planted it.

You'd almost believe it was blue looking at this close-up wouldn't you?

Salvia glutinosa - a quiet shade lover getting ready to bloom.

And this beefy biennial that I got from the Niagara School of Agriculture:

Which brings me back to my Ahead or Behind game. Here's last year in the back garden:

And this year: The Schizophragma hydrangeoides on the fence just barely has blossoms showing. The Euonymus looks like it is on steroids this year and is currently in bloom. And, sadly you can see to the far right where the Japanese Maple was and also the spot were the wonderful Brunnera once was. So again - one ahead and one behind.

And one more spot in the garden - Look at that Rodgersia blooming its little brains out last year - the Hosta not so much.

And this year - leaves again fantastic on the Rodgersia - but no blossoms, no buds in sight. However, the Hosta have sent up their scapes and are ready to start to bloom. Very interesting, again: one ahead, one behind.

It just makes me smile. Here it is, I work so hard for just the right combinations and think I've got it all nailed and then it all changes. There really is just so much you can learn in your garden - perhaps the most important lesson is that most of it is out of our hands - and maybe that's not such a bad thing afterall.

It's Easy to Play Hide and Seek These Days

As you can see, the cool spring combined with earlier rain has made it very easy for my stone saint to hide in the garden. Here he is peaking above Paul's Glory. I did a quick check on the net to see if I had the name right and was amazed at how different this hosta looks with a good dose of sunshine - the centre positively glows.

I think I'll take out a couple of leaves at the bottom of the Hosta so he doesn't disappear altogether. The smaller Hosta is "White Ray".
Lot of little Clematis are starting to bloom.

I've had a real challenge these days trying to get early morning shots. The light goes from flat to blast in seconds. Look at the contrast in this shot of Corydalis lutea - it's not even 8:00 a.m. This is a happy little plant for me. It spreads like crazy, but is easy to yank where I don't want it.

Now that it's summer, should I feel the need of thinking about snow, all I have to do is look at the blossoms of the Aruncus dioicus.

I'm not fussy about the blooms when they're finished - sort of a nasty shade of brown, but if I cut back the flower stocks the leaves continue to look great throughout the entire summer.

Tricyrtis 'Lightning Strike'. Year five and it has doubled in size from last year.

Saw this hole in the garden and remembered the poor banana plant in the basement that I started from seed several years ago. I yank him up every year, stick him in a brown paper bag over the winter and replant him in the spring. With the late frost, and my mind in other places I completely forgot about him. Fingers crossed that he'll forgive me and take hold once again. Certainly isn't the most attractive feature at the moment.

The gold finches are back right on time to eat the Doronicum seed. Just think how much better this picture would be if it actually had the gold finches in it!

You've just got to be impressed with a bug that can do this.

Of the six Inula I've decided that this is the one that will stay and the rest will be sent to compost. It took four years for me to come to this decision and fortunately it was easy - this plant looks terrific and the others are bug eaten, leaf mottled and nasty. This plant is in the bed by the street - it was hit with salt and dirty snow and probably the odd dog and still is growing strong. The others had such a good life - new bed, new soil, lots of manure - perhaps this is one plant that likes life to be a little rougher.

Hosta montana macrophilla is blooming.

You have to really look for the blooms - they barely make it over the leaves.

Allium christophii has gone to seed. I'm thinking I need another colour here. Hurry up Monarda and give me some red.

Lots will happen over the next few days - the weather has gone from sweater to bikini in a day - with more warm to come. Got my second battery all fired up and ready for action.

Lawns and Edges and Some Flowers for the Soul

Today I dragged out the pusher mower and re-did a section that Kevin had worked on this w/e. It's the appalling bit that's under the Eastern White that is shedding pine cones by the bucket. Rather than remove the pine cones before he sets off on his attempt at the Canadian Pusher-Mower record, he moves at the speed of light, mowing on one wheel, and then on the other turning the mower from side to side, so he is not impeded by the dastardly blade crushing pine cones. While he gets full marks for his stealth and speed, he has had to compromise precision and clean cutting. Also, having the pine cones sitting in the middle of a lumps of grass that are above my ankle does not add to the overall charm and beauty of the front garden. So I raked the cones; clipped the edges of the garden and re-did the mow. And on such a nice day - no big deal, got to spend the garden portion in the shade playing in the dirt.

So, no photos of that garden, but a few shots of what caught my eye: Here is Heuchera 'Pink Lipstick'. I have quite a few Heuchera - this is one that is worth committing its name to memory.
The Clematis are just starting to bloom. Here's one that I got off the sale table from Loblaws several years ago.

Another back garden shot. It was a brutal year in this garden - lost quite a few favourites. This is a very dry front-of-border section - and this little Heucherella 'Stoplight' is such a dependable plant.

The Cotinus in a Pot was moved here to replace a wonderful Japanese Maple that didn't make it through the winter.

A close-up of Thalictrum aquilegifolium.

The Aruncus dioicus is just about to bloom. Just to give you an idea of how dry it is back here - normally the Thalictrum should be the same size - you can see (to the left) how it has been dwarfed.

Not quite in sharp focus - but pretty all the same - and I did it from seed, so you'll probably have to see more photos of this lovely bulb later on in the week.

Bit of a yo-yo - into the front garden - taken during the same morning walk - just to show you the light differences between the front and back garden in the morning.

The poppy leaves and mess will be covered for the most part by Eupatorium coelestinum that bloom in the fall. They have just started to emerge, so they'll have some growing to do if they're going to do what they're supposed to.