Winter

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant."


















Winter in the garden can be beautiful albeit COLD. The shed is used only in gardening season so no need to keep a cleared path to it. Evergreens are a must for any season. The old bike gets planted with annuals for summer. My little garden on the east side of the house becomes a winter wonderland. Spring is my favourite time of the year, not winter. Soon the snow will melt and the tiny signs of life in the garden will start to emerge - I will also come back to life.

Photos

Heartleaf Berginia

Blood red daylily - name unknown - given to me by my friend Andrea - oh yeah, it's a nice one!

Hydrangea - Limelight - my favourite hydrangea

Hosta - Blue Angel - this hosta has the biggest leaves of all the hostas in my garden. HUGE and beautiful! I will split it again this year and introduce it to my front garden.

Daylily - Custard Candy

Viola - Blackjack - started from seeds given to me by my friend Andrea - they re-seed themselves here and there but are easy to pluck out and move to where you want them

Brunnera - Jack Frost

Globe Thistle - grown from seed - has been coming back for almost ten years!

Life in the Garden

Nothing says it like a picture.

Now that my garden is established with many interesting and beautiful plants, I can combine my love of gardening with my love of photography.

Transforming a Backyard

Added for interest came arbours, a trellis here and there, a stone pathway, gates, birdhouses, feeders and baths

and a new garden on the east side of the house - my oasis - my vision was now a reality... but alas, what's happening now?

2003 - attack of the white grub. Our solution - rent a power thatcher and thatch the crap out of the lawn, let the birds feast on the grubs for several days, get some grass seed, water and hope for the best. As I write this I have to report that the white grub infestation still exists, we enjoyed what we thought was a grub-free lush green lawn for 4 years, but evidence of the problem retuned during the summer of 2007. We have hired a lawn care company and treatment will begin in 2008

The garden hose was laid out to outline a new garden along the west side of our property - something I had hoped to have some day - so do I thanks the grubs?

By now I was very seriously into gardening, reading a lot and learning by trial and error.

A Little History

My gardening adventures began ten years ago starting with a small raised planter filled with mostly perennials...

Eventually we would consentrate on hiding some unwanted views such as the grey garage in the background.

There were horseshoe pits and a couple of small flower beds, a vegetable garden and luckily some mature trees.

Nothing to divide our property from the neighbours (another view to be obliterated).

Many changes to come...