Diary June 2011 - Glorious late Spring!

 Ah, June! Probably one of the loveliest months in the garden!!! Probably why a lot of garden tours are planned for June. Great time to be sitting outside while enjoying the view.
One of the most spectacular flowers in my garden in June are the peonies. Years ago, after the garden renovation, I moved all my peonies from various spots in the garden to around the deck. I may have bought one or two but most were gifts from the Dad of one of our best friends. This year, the wonderful thing was they did not explode because it was too hot nor did they get clobbered by violent storms. They bloomed, they looked radiant and then they just dried up and dropped their petals. Perfect cycle!!!
Here are some shots of how they looked in early June.

Irises are grand in June. I have a few flag irises left (the yellow ones are from a neighbour) and many clumps of Siberian iris. They don't last long but are fabulous when in bloom. Isn't the blue-purple colour so rich??

I have clematis in a few spots: on a metal support behind Elaine, on a wooden arbour and at the side of the house.

Penstemon 'Husker Red" was a Perennial of the year once and it is a beauty! The deep burgundy coloured leaves with delicate white flowers are so airy and light, they don't look real!

Some shrubs like viburnum and forsythia have come and gone but now Weigela and Serviceberry (berries!) rule.

Great perennials bloom in June. Here is Elaine surrounded by wild Columbine:

Perennial Cornflower - Centaura montana

Hostas

Oriental poppy

I saw these on a garden tour once in Guelph - foxtail lilies. I should have photographed them about a week ago, though - sorry. They are starting to fade a bit already.

...and yellow Loosestrife ( a type of lysimachia)

I don't have tea roses but I do have climbing roses, shrub roses and a small red miniature rose.

My containers on the deck are starting to fill in

Ok - so you can't really just sit and admire - as usual, there's lots of work still to do. But when you are doing something you love, it doesn't seem like work at all, does it?

Diary May 2011 - The Good, The Bad and the Very Hard to Rid Of!!!!

I only managed to get 4 hours in the garden this weekend. Why? Because I'm so busy?? Well, I am but  no - it was because IT WOULDN'T STOP RAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was out from 8:30 a.m. until noon Saturday. I was ready to go back after lunch but the rain had started, just as the weatherman predicted. Sigh...
The only wonderful thing about spring rain is it makes everything this gorgeous, fresh, lemony lime-y GREEN colour - so refreshing - so New!
Here's what happening in my garden right now:
The viburnum x burkwoodii under the Dining Room window is ready to bloom - I can hardly wait - it's so fragrant.

The electric blue muscari are stunning in a formal setting or just in small clumps on their own

The peonies and lilacs are in bud - unless it gets very warm and stays warm, it will be about 2 weeks until they pop.

The Serviceberry has delicate white blooms

The magnolia is magnificent! It's short time of magnificence but very powerful

Over the years my tulips have really faded away, only 1-2 coming up where I originally had 20. That's because today's hybrid tulip does not have the staying power of your grandma's tulips. But narcissus divide and spread on their own and the best part? Squirrels hate them because they are bitter tasting

In the front yard the delicate Epimedium (Barrenwort) has come up - one type with pink flowers, the other with pale yellow. So pretty

Emerging hostas look like plump stumps but open into stunningly beautiful variegated leaves

Still with "the Good" I have new growth on the spruce trees (LOVE this colour and texture!)

....and a fabulous clump of Solomon's Seal

Dainty pink Bleeding Hearts

Emerging clematis get ready to go over the arbour

...and a few thin ferns have turned into a lovely clump under the pussywillows

.
OK - there's lots of other gorgeous stuff sprouting everywhere.
Here come the ones that are Bad, but they are not the worst. The reason I term the "bad" is because they spread.

Nepeta (or Catnip)

Periwinkle

 and May Apple

But the Worst of the Worst are 2 plants related to the carrot family
One is Queen Anne's Lace

See the feathery little carrot tops? They grow tall in August!
But the most "insidious plant a gardener can plant (and I did, against all good advice) is Bishop's Weed or Goutweed.
I spent half of Saturday morning ripping out a small section of it and still am not nearly done.

Oh well.....such is a gardener's life! I still love (most of) it!!!!!!