Delphiniums and Bumble Bees

The biggest bumble bees seem to be attracted to our delphiniums.  It’s great fun to get the camera out and take some shots of them buzzing around and gathering nectar.

Creative Gardening

We get lots of comments from neighbours and passers by about the old tree stump in the front yard, and the flowers we grow in it.  This year it has red ‘Dream’ petunias.

The tree stump looks for all the world like it has always been there, but actually we brought it with us from our previous home in Carcross, Yukon.  It was a remnant of an old forest burn between the Carcross Desert and Lake Bennett.

Here it adds a bit of creativity to the front yard garden.

Yep, that’s right !

 

A bit of fun in the garden

We’re not much for garden gnomes or animal ornaments to decorate the garden. OK, you’ve noticed the odd frog in some of the photos.  But generally, we try to focus on the plants and minimize the number of ‘cute’ accessories of which there seems to be an endless supply in catalogues and nursery centre shops.

However, we couldn’t resist this ‘peek-a-boo’ elf when we saw it in the catalogue.  It’s whimsical and a bit goofy, and makes visitors smile.  Well, us too when we pass by.

We Have Apples !!

A headline like this would probably not draw a lot of attention in southern climes.  But in Canada’s Yukon Territory, believe me, it’s pretty good news.  We’re not exactly the apple orchard centre of Canada, like perhaps Meaford, Ontario, or Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

So when we get apples on our Norland apple tree, we like to celebrate.  Or just delight in the idea that we can really grow apples here.  Well, at least for a time.  The tree has been producing apples quite faithfully for the past four years, but the sad fact is we run out of summer before the apples actually ripen.  So in the late fall, before the heavy frost ruins them, we bring them inside and ripen them in a cardboard box with newspaper.  Then, some applesauce.

Bishop’s Goutweed

Long considered one of the worst garden weeds in the perennial garden because of its invasive nature, Bishop’s Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) nevertheless is an excellent ground cover.  Ours is contained in a small raised bed with stones all around, and we expect (unreasonably perhaps) that it will behave and limit its travels.  As you can see, it overwintered very well and is thriving in this location where it gets mostly shade during the day.  This is its first season of performance, so we’ll see next year whether it will succeed in escaping its present confinement.  We pinch off the flowers so it wont’ spread by seed dispersal.

In the meantime, we’ll enjoy its wonderful variegated foliage – a great addition to the garden.

Olympiad Rose

There’s something about hybrid tea roses that’s uniquely appealing.  Perhaps it’s the combination of form, fragrance and colour all coming together in what approaches perfection.

Each spring, when WalMart has hybrid tea roses for sale in the milk carton sized pots, we buy at least one.  When we get home we re-pot them and nurture them in the greenhouse until they can be planted safely outside – the first week of June.  This spring we bought three for several reasons.  The first one we saw (going by the picture on the carton) was a bicolor red and white rose called ‘Love’, so how could you resist that.  Then we saw a beautiful pink rose called ‘Queen Elizabeth’, and since it’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year we had to have one of those.  Finally, we came across a deep red rose called ‘Olympiad’.  Well, it’s the summer Olympics in London this year, so why not?

What a treat when ‘Olympiad’ bloomed recently.  The photo below doesn’t really do the colour justice because digital cameras seem to have difficulty rendering the colour red, but this is not a bad representation.  The form is absolutely flawless, and the fragrance is lovely – not an overwhelming scent like we get from our rugosas, but more subtle.  By the way, don’t mind the accompanying leaves in the vase, it’s just a small sprig from our red-leafed rose (rosa rubrifolia).


Presenting ‘Olympiad’ …



And here is the ‘Love’ rose.  Again, a bit of trouble with getting the red colour to match what the eye sees, but pretty nice.



And, here’s ‘Queen Elizabeth’,