A Quick Dash About the Garden - Before I Head to RBG Laking Garden Reopening!

These photos represent the last week and a bit.  It's so exciting.  Every morning seems to bring something new.  

(Noticing that the focus on many of my photos is a bit soft.  Wondering what the total # of pictures these little Panasonic DMCZS7s can do?  Anyone know?  Must be over 15,000 now....

Deutsia 'Chardonnay Pearls' is in bloom.  Consistent performer.  Stays small.  And if you like chartreuse like I do, its leaves are a post-bloom bonus.

When you pick your photos from thumbnails, you miss the gigantic flare of light.  At this stage the leaves are almost full - if you look closely you can pick up a few ash that will have to be taken out due to the borer.

Even the end-of-the-driveway lilacs are exquisite.

This house is for sale.  Notice how nicely the irrigation system cleans the road.  Also hard to see, but the pressure is so high that the drip irrigation in the birdbath-come-flower-pot squirts artfully up over the flowers.  The house faces Lake Ontario and is being offered for sale for $8MM.  I'm thinking for $8MM, as nice as Lake Ontario is and even knowing that the water pressure is excellent, I'm thinking for my fictitious funds, I'd like to have small apartments in London, New York and Paris - I'd save the extra $2MM for running around money.

The town had to pull apart the tulips that were still blooming - but obviously for not much longer - to put in its bedding plants - lots of tropical palms and bananas all over town.

There's a very sweet home on the lake with this pretty planting.

I had coveted this beautiful tree for years - so sad to see that their Zone denial over the years has finally come to a shattering end.

I know, it will look disgusting in another week, but my, how old-fashioned and romantic.

The ivy is starting to recover:

I'd hoped to catch the geese taking off.

This year I planted up my Loblaw trial plants into pots and left them in place before I move them around the garden.  Very pleased with how they're doing and how colourful they are.  The pink/red will be moved to the front of the house - the orange/yellow will stay in the back:

It's that time....Clematis wilt.  I've pulled off these stems from the base of the plant and so far, so good.

Still have lots of garden grooming to do, but did manage to get in here and take away the needles of the Eastern White branches that had fallen.  In some cases they were as deep as my hand.  You can see the little dots of Pine blood on the stone.  I've called the arborist again to see where we are on the schedule, once there are tidier cuts and the dead has been removed, I shouldn't have so much dripping.

 A lot barer than in other years.  The empty patches represent dead perennials and new opportunities.

I've never seen so many flowers on the reduced-in-size Calycanthus  - no doubt trying to regenerate itself after the rough winter.

Dug in a number of perennials into the empty space made by the murdered Tsuga.

Yesterday in the rain, got the edge done on the drive-through bed (3 cars have driven through).

Don't think I'll bother with another tree to anchor this bed.  Kevin will have to take down the Cornus that looks more like a sad pole than a lovely small tree with alternating branches.

This berberis is doing pretty well.

Noticed that its seedlings are a bright green, making them easy to pull out.  My first Euphorbia made it through the winter - and what a winter that was.  However, at this stage, dark leaves without a contrasting buddy-plant really don't make much of a show do they?  The other little dark leaves are some perilla that I let self seed.  The dark leaves have that wonderful oil-like opalescence when they're mature.  Looks great with orange.

Note to self.  Move the Allium.

Tomorrow I hope to tell you all about the splendid re-opening of the Laking Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens - lunch at noon & a tour - should be fabulous!  Better scoot.