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.

The flowering stars...

Here I go again, swooning for a silvery lavender rose. A couple years ago it was the gorgeous hybrid tea 'Sterling Silver'. These silvery phantoms have haunted me ever since I saw a pale rose shimmering in someone's front garden in Victoria, BC. I was smitten and have remained so since. I tried to overwinter the Sterling Silver to no avail. I shook it off and swore my obsession was satisfied and needed the silver rose no more.

 

Of course, I was delusional. I am so not over this rose. I was at a garden centre last week for a brief escape from the rain. It was there I spotted the miniature rose, 'Lavender Crystal'. I had no choice. It had to come home with me. I circled the table, elbows at the ready should someone move in on my rose before I could secure it. I told myself that at $8 it was the deal I was after, not the rose. Yeah.

 

I potted it up in a black ceramic pot with a pearl finish on it. The perfect foil for the rose. I had to put it by the front door so it is the first thing I see when I come home. I am telling myself that my time with this rose is fleeting. It will never make it through the winter. Besides, there are other silver roses out there.

 

But then I look at her, gleaming in the soft evening light, impossibly mysterious and regal. If I believed in elves or other magical creatures (which as a grown woman I certainly do not - harumph!) this miniature beauty would be of their garden.

What is it about roses that inspires such flights of fancy? I really have no idea. They don't affect me at all. Really.

For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.

On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.

~J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit


BTW: Planting finally commencing in garden! Will post updates soon. :)

 

A Little White (and red) for Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

In honour of our red and white Canada flag, here is a one of my favourite Canadian whites, the Morden Snowbeauty rose. This sweet rose was bred here in Canada as part of the Parkland series at the Morden Research Station in Manitoba.

This is year three for this shrub rose for me and it just keeps getting better. It is tough with practically no winter dieback, the leaves are glossy and mildew resistant, and this year it has more blooms than it ever has. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Love it!

It is hardy to zone 2b and is said to grow to about 5 ft high and wide. Mine is at about 3 1/2 ft high this year and about 4 ft wide with a nice low rounded form.

My shrub is absolutely covered in buds this year - too many to even count. After this first flush I expect it to bloom intermittently throughout the summer. I don't give it any special treatment other than the usual deadheading, which results in a later second flush at the end of the summer. The buds have the palest pink veining in them that absolutely enchants me.

So here's a salute to my favourite plant blooming in my garden on Canada Day.

Oh, and as for the red of the Canada Day red and white? Just look at those gorgeous red thorns on the snowbeauty. Big and well-spaced enough to be easy to avoid, they add a lovely contrast to the creamy white blooms.

Have fun where ever you are this Canada Day and think of us northern gardeners keeping it beautiful in the GWN! xo

I don't know how to make this post not sappy

This is a post about rainbows and wishes. Just shoot me now. Really, does it get any sappier? I fink nottle. Stop reading now if you can't bear it. I warned you.

It was a dark and stormy supper hour... ;)

And then the west sky broke open and light streaked through to the east. We had a gorgeous rainbow - a double rainbow. My four-year-old boy jumped up and down on the front stoop, enchanted by the ribbon of colours that arched across the sky. He ran up and down the sidewalk in the rain, giddy and whooping. I explained to him that he could make a wish on the rainbow. He was dazzled by such an offer from the sky.

Finally, he determined what he wanted to wish for. Wait for it.

His wish was that the colour orange would come down out of the rainbow. He loves orange like nobody's business. All his favourite clothes and toys are orange. I know him and I know he wants to hug orange and probably rub noses too. So, Orange, did you hear that? Come on down anytime. You have a little fan waiting to meet you.

And the song below? That was the song that kicked off our wedding reception. I can't help myself today. I'm just a ball of mush. *sigh*

I hope you are finding some rainbows in your downpours this strange summer. Oh, and if you see orange, send it this way, won't you?

Rainy Day Mystery Game

Anyone up for some gardening mystery fun? Is is raining where you are? Because it is raining so hard here I feel like it must be raining everywhere. :) What does a convalescing gardener do when her garden is turning to mush? She pores over her garden photo files. Of course!

I found pics of a couple of mystery plants I have been wanting to ID and I thought this might be a good time to ask all the wise gardeners out there for their help. Both of these plants are in my back lane here in zone 3.

This first one I photographed early last September. It was about 5 ft tall and covered in these pink and red flowers. The flowers themselves are about one inch in size. While the plant was a little scrubby in nature, I think it was a perennial, not a shrub. Any ideas on this one? (BTW, you can click on any of these photos to make them bigger)

Now this second one I discovered only the other day, although I noticed it last year too. It is a ground cover, 2 - 4 inches high, and runs rampant along some properties in the back lane. It looks like an ajuga but I am not sure. If it is one, which one? I like it and am thinking of nabbing a piece from the lane for a little project I have cooking. Before I do that I want to know just what the heck it is. If it is aggressive like goutweed, then I will have to put an icepick in my forehead if I bring it into the garden. (Kidding! No icepick, but please, don't let me get started on my neighbour's rogue goutweed!)

I appreciate all possible id suggestions. And I wish you sunshine in your gardens very soon. Lots of warm, golden sun. (And a cool glass of wine to enjoy out in that sun!) Thanks muchly!!

UPDATE: Many thanks to Ann and Laurrie for their quick identification skills. Wow, you guys *are* good! And this is why I love the garden blogging community. :)