The Containers are Planted!

I got the containers planted over the May long weekend, but am a little behind with posts (I've been photographing containers, lilacs & tulips and couldn't figure out which to put together!).

Here are my containers of Blue Star Petunias and trailing lobelia (white & blue), I lined them up side by side for quick planting...



And then set them into the wall. They grow well here with just morning sun, the petunias get nice & tall and the lobelia trails over the wall. In the daff bed below I planted some Tiger Eye Gold Rudbeckia and Yellow Snapdragons, I bought too many so...


I planted a few extra containers for the sunroom wall, there are some blue lobelia tucked in as well.


I always do a barrel planter with the same plants as the wall containers (blue star etc), and a Dracaena for height.


Remember my 3 matching pots? I've planted romaine lettuce into the big one, patio tomatoes in middle one, and soem strawberries into the little one. I don't think they get enough sun tucked into the corner here, but I haven't found a great spot for them yet.

I thought I was done, but then found a Tomatoberry plant at a hardware store, I remember seeing an article in a magazine about this new plant, and it looks very pretty. I suspect this pot will be too small, I'll find a better home for it later on.



Does this count as container planting? I like having a cedar in a pot on the porch. I tried to dig last years in at the end of the season, but it didn't make it through the winter.

Here is an orange Thunbergia, all ready to get climbing. I can't wait to see the happy & plentiful flowers.

And lastly, I really liked these Pink Dreams Petunias, and have this extra pot which floats around my yard, I put perennials needing TLC in it occasionally, but it's generally underused. Now it's planted and beautifying the side door into the dog yard.

'Wait! What are we doing here??'

Backstory; Sir Mulch a lot and I don't get out much. We have a small herd of youngsters, and the planets only occasionally align for an outing without them. Today was such a day. It was somewhat last minute and we picked a spot for brunch (which happens to be near my favorite garden centre..do you see where this is going??).


I had already mentioned that I wanted to swing by there, but I'm not sure that it registered - blocked out perhaps? So after bruch I drove over to the garden centre. Hubby couldn't find his wallet before we left so I was the only one carrying a license. Coincidence?...


As we pulled into the parking lot he exclaimed 'Wait! What are we doing here??'. My reply 'I just want to have a quick look around'. Well, truth be told it wasn't terribly quick. I grabbed a few perennials and asked about 'King of Blacks' Dianthus, but couldn't find any with the other hardy carnations. I then headed over to the trees to look for a replacement for my ailing Blue Arrow Juniper. As I was tree shopping, a woman came running over with a few King of Blacks, they had found some tucked away (I love it when that happens).


I also picked up another white Carpathian bellflower (can't have too many) a snowdrop anemone for the new bed and an Edith Wolford bearded Iris (sorry Shady, I know I said I didn't have room but after a dahlia disaster I needed a filler - quick). Here's my haul for the day:



Do you have the same vice as I do? I figure as far as vices go, this isn't a bad one to have.

All roads lead to the garden centre.

Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens.

We have a lovely, tranquil Japanese Garden in our City, Nikka Yuko. It is so very restful, the babbling brook water sounds are a pleasure to listen to. Here are some pictures from this weekend, it was drizzling lightly so I didn't have the camera out much, but wanted to share these with you...

The winding pathways are very inviting.



A closeup of the blooms, I don't know what kind of tree this is.



A series of footbridges over the meandering brook takes you from the top of the garden to the bottom.



Sculptoral elements add beauty and interest.


This stone pathway set in the grass is fun to walk on,


and look! I found a heart that isn't broken. ;)


Restful scenes all around. It is wonderful that the gardens are surrounded by mature trees, enclosing the space so effectively.

I really like this sculpture.


Waterfalls always draw in the eye. This one looks fairly unassuming now but in the fall is surrounded by vibrant colours.

Many of the trees were pruned in the Japanese style I like the way this one is layered along the hillside.

I hope you enjoyed the visit!

Wordless Wednesday: Broken Hearts

With the sun, comes so much new growth.

I'm noticing changes almost by the hour now, so there's lots to blog about.

I can't believe how pretty the Crimson King Norway Maple is at the moment, the leaves are such a vibrant red colour, and since they're still so small it reminds me a little of a Japanese Maple.



I finally got my little signs distributed in appropriate spots In The Garden.



Here is a surprise tulip, the only one in the bed. I didn't think there were any tulips left here, but you never know what will come up.


I'm always happy to see the Ivory Halo Dogwood in the spring, I really love this shrub, it is gorgeous in the shade and is very reliable. It is just starting to leaf out, but should be full & lush soon.


The lilac shrub is getting ready to open, it was 1/2 in the sun 1/2 in the shade this morning, so I took this picture. I like the way it turned out.


Here are a few tulips which just opened, they are from my 'blue' mix, although the darker ones have yet to open. I like the pretty edges on this one, and the interesting shape of the one below...





The Polemonium is setting nice flower buds. After reading Northern Shade's warning about powdery mildew, I gave it a strict talking to and told it that if it misbehaved, it would have to go. Pretty blue flowers or not. We'll see what happens...


And here are some little dwarf arctic (?) irises I was given by a friend last year. It's nice to see them come up & bloom.

I'll buy the rest of my bedding plants today and get the containers planted this weekend. So glad the warm weather is finally here!

(Can anyone tell me if my pictures are decent? I have to lower the image size to about 500kb due to my slow connection and since I only work on a netbook now the images I see are quite small. I use a very basic camera and am not looking for professional type pics, but want them to at least be reasonably clear. Tx)

A Glorious GBBD in May.

I'm very pleased to finally be able to participate in GBBD on this 15th of May, it was an absoltuely glorious day here with temps well into the 20s, it felt much warmer though - even the thermometer thought so!

I planted some species tulips last fall for the first time and am amazed by how very lovely they are. This one is 'Eastern Star', I will buy more next fall and add 'Little Beauty' as well. They close at night, or in the rain and have the most vibrant colours and a lovely shape.

My poor little PJM Compact Rhodo is hanging in there, but I think this is the only bloom for this year. I have tried ammending the soil, providing more sun and giving it lots of TLC, but I can't seem to get it to grow.

The Double Flowering Plum (Prunus triloba 'multiplex') has popped. The blooms remind me of pink popcorn and it is a favorite of bees at the moment.

Not in bloom yet, but getting there. This is my new tulip bed of whites, pinks, 'blues' & purples, I hope it doesn't disappoint. I was hoping it would flower at the same time as the Purpleleaf Sandcherry at the back of the bed, but I think the tulips will be first. We'll see what happens...

I just planted the peony 'Festiva Maxima' in the spot of the unfortunate (ie badly damaged) hydrangea. It will get a ton of sun, but some dappled shade as well. All of the soil fell away during planting, so I lost track of what the depth should be. I find peonies stressful in that regard, I hope I got it right. I so look forward to the white buds/blooms with the little splash of red.

Dicentra spectabilis has hearts! Many around town in full sun appear fully grown, but in my shady beds things take longer to get going.

I like the was these 2 hearts look together. This picture was taken at a different time of day, which may explain why the leaf colour looks so different.

I'm pretty excited to see what 'Barbara Sherwood' (Gentian Speedwell) does next. There appear to be flower heads forming. It has lovely evergreen foliage and seems to like (or at least tolerate) the shade.

Here are some 'Pink Parasol' Narcissus. They are rather short, and not terribly pink, but I am pleased with them regardless. In the foreground is my rescued peony from last year, I think it likes it's new, sunnier location.

I also planted the moss phlox a few days ago. Here it is with the new blue dwarf lilac in the new bed. If by some miracle the bloom times align next year, it will make a nice pairing.

A few May Flowers.

Not too much happening here yet, but I wanted to share these few blooms with you. Cool Flame narcissus is somewhat paler than I expected, but they may darken somewhat now that they are open. It could be the cold weather affected their colour development, but hopefully they will naturalize and return next year.


The Double Flowering Plum is just getting ready to burst, a few flowers have 'popped' already, I hope to have lots more over the next week.



Little Vinca minor is a lovely groundcover here, and has a few charming blue flowers. This one was taken in the 'set the camera on the ground & hope for the best' style of photography.

Do you think it's time for the canoe?

(for canoe reference, see my previous post...)