Friday, July 29, 2011

A giant spaceship hovered over my back garden and a door opened...

...a ramp was lowered and four little green men started wheeling plants down. They saw me in the window, one touched the side of his nose and winked at me before they silently rose up and zipped away.

Okay, it didn't quite go like that, but the plants did arrive! Trees, shrubs and perennials - the bones of the garden. Honestly, it did seem a little surreal.


I've been working on my dream list of plants for soooo long that to actually see them here kinda choked me up. Good thing it was pouring rain or I might have had to do a dance around them. As it was, the only dancing I did was when the mosquitoes swarmed every time I went out to look at them.


As you can glimpse, my focus for the bones of the garden are green foliage with some chocolate and burgundy foliage, mostly white flowers with a bit of pink to pull the various foliage together. I built on my existing plants and got more of the ones that were thriving.


We planted mostly in groups of three or five with some mass plantings of ferns and ground covers.


I went for a few drop dead gorgeous plants to add drama and contrast.


I also got a bit of blue for a special feature area I am working on.


Because those little "green" (Ha! Get it? Gardener's humour lol) men obviously zapped me with something when they winked at me, I am now madly contemplating more plants. And a water feature. Has this happened to anyone else? The more plants thing, I mean, not the spaceship plant delivery... ;)

Hope your gardens are full of pleasant surprises!

Edit: Here is link to where we left the landscaping last year. It has links to the previous stages of landscaping this back garden. Alternatively, you can click on the landscaping label and see highlights of the progress in this garden space - from bare gravel to lush retreat.

20 comments:

Clayton said...

The site of all those plants, I do not envy you the work. On the other hand it will be a great show and a place to enjoy for time to come.

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Wow MsS!! How very exciting!! What a gorgeous selection of plants! If only you could get the little green men to plant them for you lol.

Ann said...

How exciting! I have just moved into a new house and got to do the same thing. After agonizing about choices for months, the plants arrived and we planted like mad for a few days. We only put in the trees and shrubs and now I am deciding on the perennials and putting them in as I get them.
I don't think the plant acquisition fever ever stops!

The Giraffe Head Tree said...

Wow!!! I'm so happy for you! This is a beautiful collection of plants. I have to do similar here and this blog is my inspiration!!! Yeah, I could use those little green men when you're through with them....

Laurrie said...

The "more plants thing" has definitely happened to me, not the green spacemen thing, though!

I'm so glad to see your new plants, all ready to make a garden. But of course you will need and will get more. You just will!

Marguerite said...

I'm ALWAYS contemplating more plants. It's an addiction! Your colour choices are absolutely wonderful. I really like the dark greens and burgundy's mixed with a pop of white, it's very eye catching and elegant.

Casa Mariposa said...

I'm always ready for more plants, even if I have to just stick them in a pot! Your garden will be beautiful!

sweetbay said...

Your new plants look great!!

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Clayton, We did finally get them in with some help. Once they are spread out around the garden they don't seem like as much now. Time to relax and enjoy! :)

Rebecca, Lucky we did get some help from a couple big strong guys. :) Now I just want sunshine so I can be out there with the plants! lol

Ann, It's such an amazing feeling to take that big step forward in establishing a garden. Now that the plants are spread out around the garden I see plenty of spots where I can add more - must be patient! :)

Debi, Thanks! I will be posting the end results in various beds I have started. I see ways to improve already. That must be why gardeners come back every year with new ideas!

Laurrie,It is a long weekend here and several of the garden centres are having sales - yikes! ;)

Marguerite, Thank you! I wanted the back to be very serene and so I am staying with a more monochromatic palette of colours. I will be adding more pops of colour to the front to show from the street and welcome us home. But that's another project! Time to relax right now. :)

Casa,Thank you! I love using plants in pots to create areas of interest and colour. The great thing is you can move the pots around and change them up every year!

Sweetbay, Thanks! Now my job is to keep them looking great! I doubt they will ever all be blooming at the same time again as they were in the nursery. It will be interesting to see next year what their natural timelines for blooming are in my garden conditions. I hope I can coordinate things eventually to always have something blooming.

Linda said...

what a wonderful collection of plants to have to add to your garden

Billie Jo said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog regarding my raspberries. You have a charming lblog! I'm glad you stumbled upon mine so I could discover yours as well. Happy gardening!

GRACE PETERSON said...

Oh, yes. Gardening is so addictive. Not just the acquisition of plants but the work itself. I find that the more I garden, the more I want to garden, if that makes sense. I'm glad the little green men visited. I hope there are a few more visits in the works. :)

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Crafty, It is has been such a long time coming as we have been redoing this space in stages each year. I am so glad we are finally at this stage. :)

Billie Jo, Hi! I am always thrilled to find another "cold climate" gardener. :) If you check the sidebar on my blog you will other zone 4 and cooler blogs for inspiration!

Grace, Now that we are finally getting a break from the pouring rain I am out there every day. I call it "putzing" but it's amazing how much you get done each time. :)

Nickie said...

Ok, I'm really green with envy for all your wonderful plants!!!

I dream of being able to buy plants like that. Saddly, I have to find bits and pieces so my garden will never look planned LOL
Aw well! I bet yours will be so lovely when planted and filled in. :)

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Nickie, After four years of planning this garden, taking it from bare gravel and a broken down fence to new topsoil, new beds and new grass and a seating area, we really wanted to get the main plants in this year so we bit the bullet and did it. So while it seemed all at once, for me, it was *forever* getting here. But now we have the bones of a garden - yay! :)

Diane m. Schuller said...

I always love your style of writing. Who wouldn't want to know more after that opener!!?

A lovely grouping of new plants to welcome to your home. Yes, I too have done that in the past. Right now, I'm a bit crowded. In fact, there are days I'd like to remove a bunch and begin again. In fact, I may do that at my new place.

Oh and I think you have a beautiful aesthetic in how you're planning and growing your yard.
(And thank you for changing your settings so I can now leave a note for you!)

RURAL said...

Beauty, beauty beauty. And a almost instant garden.. What a gorgeous collection of plants.

Can't wait to see it as it grows in.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Diane, Thank you for your kind words. I have been dreaming this garden longer than I have been living it. So nice to see it being realized as I imagined. :)

Jen, Now that the plants are spread around it isn't nearly as lush as the photos of them all grouped together. I, too, can't wait until the garden matures a bit more and fills in. Although we did go for good-sized plants, it is still a bit spotty looking, like most youths! lol

CanadianGardenJoy said...

OMG Ms S !!!!
I would be so excited too : )
Seeing all these wonderful plants and thinking of how they will look as they mature is such a wonderful dream to work on. I'm sorry about those darn mosquitoes .. that is aggravating especially when all you want to do is linger and touch these gorgeous beauties .. let alone when it comes to planting them!
I will be checking as often as possible to see how you are doing with the planting !!
Joy
Plant gathering is an addiction .. you have only begun !! hahaha

Anna said...

Now that looks like a serious amount of planting but I imagine that the final result will be more than worth the aches and pains. I like your little frog too :)