Tulip Time

Considering the squirrel population around these parts, it has been a really great year for tulips. I love the drama of this almost black tulip, variety unknown.

The dwarf species tulip "Little Beauty" has finally bloomed despite my suspicions that it may never make an appearance. Its skinny, strappy foliage hugs the ground while the bloom is only about an inch or two high. Tulip Saxatilis, which was planted at the same time as "Little Beauty" last fall, is still missing in action.

The long-stemmed red tulips in the foreground have been blooming all week. The "White Cloud" tulips in the background just opened up within the last two days.

Here's another bunch of long-stemmed red tulips. The red flowers really pop out against the emerging green foliage of the garden.

Of the three species tulip varieties I planted last fall, Turkestanica was easily the strongest performer. Even though its flowers have long since faded, Turkestanica impressed me so much I'm including a picture here and counting it among the biggest tulip successes of this spring.

Obviously the garden isn't overflowing with tulips. I've always been averse to planting them because of the earlier mentioned squirrel situation. This spring's success stories, however, are encouraging. Maybe next year, with some careful selections and clever companion planting to deter the squirrels, there will be even more tulips to enjoy at tulip time.

Garden Debuts, Old and New Favourites

There's lots that new and blooming for the first time in the garden. First up is the epimedium that was added to the front-yard shade garden last spring. There were no blooms last year, so I was absolutely thrilled to see the flowers this morning.

The blooms of "Orange Konigin" are a delightful coppery-orange colour. They are so small that it was difficult to get a good photograph of the flower. Epimedium are great plants for dry shade (lucky for me, 'cause that's where I've planted them). As a bonus, they tolerate drought. In a few years, the sprays of flowers should create an orange haze above a good mound of foliage.

Sticking with the miniatures, daffodil "Minnow" is in bloom. At only about 10 inches tall, this is a diminutive daff. The bloom is only about the size of my thumb.

It is very possible that "Minnow" is in fact "New Baby" but I won't know for sure until "New Baby" blooms. Whatever it's name, I love it.

Tulipa Turkestanica is blooming for the first time. I am so glad I planted this species tulip. The squirrels haven't touched it and the blooms are spectacular in a carefree kind of way. It's a bloom that looks great without looking like it's trying to look great.

Sadly, Turkestanica's companions have yet to make an appearance and I'm beginning to think they might not bother. Tulipa Saxatilis and "Little Beauty" are nowhere in sight.

The smallest new bloom in the garden is Bishop's Cap or Mitrewort. I picked up some Mitella Diphylla at a native plant sale last spring and immediately divided it into six plants.

While it was difficult to get a good picture, these plants are really very charming. The flower stems stand tall with confidence.

The Tete-a-Tete daffodils are new to the garden and already a favourite. How could I not love these? They have been blooming for three weeks already! They look great on their own but next to a pulmonaria they look outstanding. I have grown pulmonaria for years and never give it enough credit. Now that I've seen it with miniature daffs, I think I have a new favourite combination.

The serviceberries are blossoming. Serviceberry has been a favourite for a few years now. At one time, it was one of the garden's earliest bloomers. Now, it has taken its place in line behind some of the flowers mentioned above. Still, I love it for its creamy white blooms that lead to a colourful June display and an even more colourful autumn display. In June, bright red berries against deep green leaves make me think of Christmas. And fiery orange fall colour make this shrub unforgettable in autumn. I love serviceberry.

Bloodroot is relatively new to the garden but a veteran compared to some of the bulbs debuting this spring. It has such a pretty bloom and the foliage is very impressive (sort of like an extremely large fig leaf). My only complaint is that I can't get enough of it. There have only been a handful of blooms this year. I want a colony. I think dry weather is certainly a factor.

I am happy to say that the garden has had something in bloom since the end of March. Just as one bloom is fading, another is taking up the slack. So, I've come to realize that "Succession Planting" is not a myth. You really can have plants bloom one after the other so that there is always something of interest. It has been a great start to spring, with old and new favourites making the garden come alive.

Coming Soon: My Very Own Cottage Garden

One month ago today I received the best message from Connie who blogs at Notes From a Cottage Garden. She was sharing a little bit of her garden and I had just won her Cottage Garden Seeds Giveaway. After three weeks in transit, the seeds arrived in a beautiful package complete with a lovely little ribbon.

Inside was a collection of seeds from Connie's beautiful garden including:

Bachelor Buttons
Calendula (various kinds)
California Poppy (orange and cream)
Cosmos (Pinks, whites, and bi-colors)
Cosmos (tall Orange)
Corncockle
Dairy Pink
German Catchfly
Larkspur
Nigella
Poppy, Shirley
Silene
Rose Campion (biennial)
Mountain Garland
Wild Lupine (perennial)

I was so excited to get started and then...I got sick. Really sick! Sick in bed for eight days sick. Uggh! I'm still coughing and sputtering and sniffling but feeling better nevertheless. With the sunshine calling to me today, I gathered up my strength and prepared two areas for Connie's seeds.

The first is a small patch of garden that sits in shade all morning but gets full-on sun in the afternoon. Some purple coneflowers and maiden grass are already growing here and should mix well with the new flower additions.

The second spot is right in front of my tall bearded irises. They should be done blooming by June. The foliage will fade into the background as the cottage flowers come into their own. I will add a third area of cottage garden flowers but need to prepare it first (it is in need of some serious weeding!) I'm happy to say that there will be enough seeds to share in the community garden down the street. It seems the whole neighbourhood will have a cottage garden to enjoy. Thank you Connie for sharing a little bit of your garden. I'll post pictures of progress in the months to come.

Yellow in the Garden

Visiting with family kept me busy this beautiful Easter long-weekend. I came back from an overnight stay to find the garden had come alive with yellow blooms. The Tete-a-Tete daffodil is so small it makes the Dwarf Iris "Cantab" look like a giant. The bright yellow of the Tete-a-Tete's looks brilliant next to the cobalt blue of "Cantab," (although I have failed to get a picture that really captures the contrast.)

The King Alfreds have begun blooming in the backyard. They are truly giants among daffodils.

Even the windowsill daffodils are getting in on the action. This window box always presents a dilemma in summer. Nothing has ever grown here really well mainly because I forget to water. The simplicity of the daffodils is appealing but what's a good summer alternative that won't mind a little (okay, a lot) of drought? Suggestions are welcome. If I can't think of anything I have not ruled out an artificial window display.

And, finally the Dwarf Iris "Danfordiae" are showing off their sunny faces. Last spring was much more miserable than this year but the brilliant yellow of these blooms got me through. I loved them so much I planted 80 bulbs last fall. While the colour hasn't disappointed, the performance of the bulbs has me worried. So far, out of 80 bulbs only about half-a-dozen have bloomed. Here's hoping that a few early birds have made an appearance with the rest still to come, because a wide swath of these bright bloomers would be a welcome sight indeed.

True Blue: Dwarf Iris "Cantab" Garden Debut

Every morning I pull back the bedroom curtain and peek outside to see what kind of day it's going to be. This morning a flash of blue caught my eye. I raced downstairs and outside into the front-yard shade garden to discover the Dwarf Iris "Cantab" in bloom. I would just like to say "Wow!"

It's only about as tall as my pointer finger but what an impact! It's the bluest bloom I've ever had in the garden and it is unforgettable (even my husband who rarely takes notice of anything horticultural remarked on the colour.) I planted 48 of these bulbs last fall. I can't wait to see each and every one of them show their true blue colours.

Drifts of Crocus: A Gardener's Optimistic View

I was on a mission when I went into the backyard this afternoon...probably something to do with taking care of the garbage or recycling. My mission was immediately aborted and promptly forgotten when I saw the crocus in bloom. Suddenly I was on a new mission: get the camera!

I have always loved these miniature marvels of the garden. They are bright and cheerful and very insistent about the fact that winter is over. There is only one drawback I can think of when it comes to crocus: you need hundreds upon hundreds of them to really make an impact.

Well, hundreds upon hundreds of crocus bulbs can get very expensive, very fast, so over the years, I've been content to watch one or two, sometimes even three, crocus pop up here and there. I figured I'd leave them to their own devices.

During all those years while I wasn't looking, the crocus began to multiply. Where there used to be one or two blooms, I am now finding six, seven, or even eight blooms.

Then it dawned on me: the garden was no longer home to a scattered handful of crocus. It was home to drifts of crocus. Two whole drifts of them.

By the standards of any self-respecting garden book or magazine, my drifts would generously be described as, oh...let's say modest. But for this optimistic gardener, these are some of the finest looking drifts of crocus ever.

Canada Blooms: Better than Ever

Wow and wow! That's the best way to describe Canada Blooms 2010. While the show has left me feeling a bit disappointed and underwhelmed in the past, this year I was really impressed. The new venue at the Direct Energy Centre is far more friendly and welcoming than the cavernous and sometimes dungeon-like Convention Centre. There seemed to be a renewed interest in real plants and people who love plants: horticultural societies and garden clubs got a whole aisle to themselves this year. And all of the really big showy gardens seemed modest, realistic, and attainable compared to the "I'll-never-be-able-to-afford-that-garden-ever" types of gardens that I expected to see. In other words, there were beautiful gardens to see and wonderful ideas to borrow.

"Sea Urchins" by Nippaysage Landscape Architects of Montreal was easily my favourite display. There's simply no way to go wrong with that many tulips. Gorgeous.

"Yellow Beacon," the Canadian Cancer Society's garden, featured a wall of daffodils.

The "Down to Earth" garden billed itself as "a studio garden of earthly energy and edible plants. A place to work, play, create...whatever your passion." It caught my eye with its use of lush ferns and awesome masks.

"Seen Unseen" featured plantings in oil drums to draw attention to Canada's Boreal Forest and how it's being affected by the rapid growth of energy production from the Tar Sands. Gardens with a "message" (like last year's horrible plastic pot landscape) usually make me roll my eyes and groan, but I found this one to be especially effective. The cold, steely drums contrasted well with the warmth of the plantings, suggesting incompatibililty. The size of the drums compared to the plantings also suggested, to me at least, that in the battle of the tulip versus the Tar Sands, the tulip won't win.

Edibles were everywhere, including this edible landscape that can only be described as cute. I just love that little mushroom path! Bright red cherry tomatoes featured prominently in several displays. I was very happy to see the City of Toronto promoting urban agriculture through backyard and community gardens. The focus on edible landscapes as something beautiful in and of itself was such a refreshing change from past years where some of the gardens seemed to be defined only by pavers and patio stones.

There was a lot to see on the floral design front including this eye-catching orchid display. Outstanding!

While there was a lot of creative, avant-garde design, this display of white roses won me over for its simplicity. Classy and classic.

I managed to resist temptation and walked away from Canada Blooms empty-handed. However, if this handmade copper water tree had been for sale I would surely have taken it home. It was just beautiful, as it simulated the sight and sound of rain falling through an oak tree.

Hellebore "Ivory Prince" was the perennial star of Canada Blooms. It was abundant in several gardens as were tulips, daffodils and rhododendrons. All were beautiful, of course, but wouldn't it be amazing to see a garden show in June or July when more plants could strut their stuff? Maybe some day. In the meantime, Canada Blooms 2010 gets a big round of applause from me.