Bridal Veils and Zombies: The Making of a Blog Post

You know how in the movie Shaun of the Dead they have to run really fast from hiding spot to hiding spot on their way to the pub to escape the zombies? And how along the way they have to keep whacking zombies with shovels and stuff to slow them down? Well, that was me trying to get some pics of my Astilbe.

The mosquitos are crazy for blood here tonight so I could only take a few quick snaps without really aiming. (One zombie mosquito was in my ear going for my braaaainnns). ;-)

This is Astible x arendsii ‘Bridal Veil’. I planted it last summer to test it out before committing to any more. Well, I needn't have worried. It loves it here! It is turning into a giant and I don't mind.

It's probably about 30 inches tall altogether with the white plumes waving hello over the top. The foliage is finely textured and has a bit of a shine.


It is a welcome plume of colour (yes, white is a colour!) this time of the season. I have it in pretty deep shade and it is getting a ton of water this summer as it is positioned near the run-off point of a downspout.


I know that having more than one wedding dress is probably gauche, but how about more than one Bridal Veil? I think that might be okay, don't you? Besides, I can always give any extras to those zombie brides lurking out there.

*Please forgive me as I am not visiting your blogs as quickly as I would like, I just don't seem to have much computer time these lovely days! Couldn't you all just come over for a garden party, hmm? I would make lemon cookies!

It's not you, it's me

You were a soft, gentle blue with a hint a lavender.



I was instantly smitten and decided to build you a home



that showcased your beauty



and complemented your complexion



And then I had to go away for week. While I was gone, you...changed



I hardly recognized you upon my return. You didn't seem like the same flower, you were...Pink!



Now, my dear, one of us is blue, and it's not you.

You Glow Girl

There's a glow in my garden these days.

You can really notice it in the evenings

It's not the showiest bloom on the block

Her beauty is more sublime

And elegant in her simplicity

Her scent is fresh with a hint of citrus

And she seems to like it here.

My Morden Snowbeauty, purchased last year, is a real asset to the garden. She came through our winter with no extra protection and narry a problem. Her glossy green foliage is delightful. Her long buds are truly elegant and her open-faced blooms are sweet bee magnets. She's a nightime girl, though, and it is the evening when she really becomes the star that she is. I can't take my eyes off her when I am supposed to be sitting out there reading a book and sipping wine. Given that evenings are when we really get to enjoy the garden, plants that add something then, including scent, are an important part of the garden. This charmer politely stays within her space and her blooms are recurring after this first glorious flush. Yay for sweet hardy roses!

Snowbeauty, you glow girl. :-)

She always holds a party in June

One of the great thrills of June is Mother Nature’s elegant hand at carpeting the world with flowers. She really thinks gardeners are quite clever with their studied designs and drifting borders, but she chuckles to herself because she knows we are really just learning from her. Walking in the woods is my way of visiting her garden and acknowledging the Master Gardener of us all.

Her paths are swept with borders of bluebells.




Her groundcovers inspire the carpets in our grand hotels




She has made an art of combining textures


And always has a few stars show up to create a buzz


And some interesting bon mots tucked away here and there






It’s no wonder her garden residents wear their finest gossamer wings


And volunteers clamour to be part of the show


Ah, a June early morning in the woods.

"In small proportions we just beauties see,
And in short measures life may perfect be."
~ Ben Jonson

I left all my words in the garden last evening

I found I could say things


with colour


and shapes


that I couldn't say any other way


-things I had no words for.


~Georgia O'Keeffe, Artist


It is warm and sunny and the late afternoon light is dappled through the stand of spruce bordering the west side of the garden. I have a terrible cold and my thoughts are running, I suspect, out my nose. ;) Now I am off to to lay under the umbrella in my garden with my new book. Hope you are all enjoying these fragrant, lustrous days.