More Seeds & Trial Gardens & Archer

I haven't grown a lot of ornamental chili peppers - the amount of sunny garden area I have is limited. Here is a cute little pepper I saw growing at U of Guelph - called Chilly Chili. Considering that it really wasn't a great year from tomatoes, eggplants or chilies, I thought this little fellow looked quite attractive & would be very cute in a pot as well. It was just covered in these banana yellow fruit.

I've been a huge fan of Agastache - it's just a pity that so many of them are just borderline hardy here. This is called Agastache 'Bronze Foliage' - perhaps a better name is on the horizon? The flower colour was so pretty but I don't find the plant to be all that attractive, check out the next photo - nothing I'd want right at the front of the border.

Here's the All America Selection winner for 2009 - Viola Rain Blue and Purple. This photo was taken the 3rd week of August - I've never seen such colour on any viola that late in the season. Plant seems to have a nice form as well - good for containers too.

If I have to beg, borrow or steal, this is one plant I'll find room for in my garden next year. Rudbeckia Tiger Eye. Stunning colour and look how bushy the plants are. The only stone you might throw, is that they don't look real.

Just to give you an idea of its size, here it is next to Salvia 'Mystic Spires' blue.

There were a couple of grasses featured in with the bedding plants.

This one is called Wind Dancer. It would need one heck of a mighty wind to start dancing. The grass below is called Panicum Frosted Explosion - cool name for something that spends a good part of the summer that you'd want to take the weeder to.

Not so pretty here is it?

All in all, it was a great day at the trial gardens - between this post and my last there are at least 5 new plants I want for my own garden. And I feel I know a little more about some others, I'm not going to be in an enormous hurry to make room for any time soon.

So, Archer warning from here on in.....and, this may be the last post....I expect to hear from his real mum and dad today.

This weekend we spent saying our goodbyes. Visited SiSi Ambrose for a good romp in the garden. She's quite a bit younger than Archer - she's a King Standard Poodle & she definitely is going to be a big girl. Here she is in hot pursuit of our boy.

Gotcha!All tuckered out.

Sunday a.m. after breakfast, Hercules had his way with Archer - sucking him in one moment, getting licked on the head, followed by hideous cat hissing, spitting and howling & then chasing Archer up and down the halls.In order to get away from the demon kittie, Kevin & I took Archer down to the harbour on Sunday a.m. He really is improving on his walk - although Kevin insists on not using the gentle leader - so he ends up with a bit of a bouncy buddy at the end of his long lead.
I guess there is just enough warmth from the harbour, that there were still leaves on this brambly rose bushes. Nice to see the colour - everything is very beige at the moment. Here is the lookout to 16 Mile Creek.

After the long walk & lunch it was off to see Percy for one more play-date. Percy is 2 weeks younger, and hasn't had his first trim yet. We could barely get the door open fast enough for these two to get outside and play.With any luck, that wasn't Joanne's favourite plant that Percy collapsed on.And then, with the weather turning stormy - Archer & I went down to the lake to see the waves. Things were just starting to build. Hard to see - but those are swans floating around the big waves. I guess at one time, this had been an estate with just one large home - there's a tremendous old cement peer that seems to calm the waves where the birds like to take refuge.

At the end of the day, the radio broadcasts of the BIG STORM were far more exciting that what we got - rain, a few ice pellets and not much else.

So that was that for our walk by the lake - Archer and I beat a hasty retreat back to the car and home. I'd say it was a pretty good doggie weekend.