Just a few photos

We have been quiet here but we haven’t been without work. More on that later. In the meantime here are some photos from this spring and summer.

Peonies please!

Last year I planted some new peonies and they are just about ready to maybe bloom but if they do it won’t be that spectacular.

However my tried and true peony bush has already bloomed and I managed to pick the last of its blooms. This will have to tide us over until the news are ready to pop.

  

Last of the springtime blooms

Well we missed much of the spring here but I have managed to at least see a few springtime blooms.

There are no daffodils left but the tulips and lilac are still holding on. It is the last bit of colour until the summer blooms start to show their stuff. 

   
  
  

Annual report

Well so far so good is the status update on my annuals at the schoolhouse.

The boxes of geraniums and bacopa seem to not only manage sporadic watering but thrive as a result. The petunias are a little less well off but not so bad as it could be. Not that it is an annual but it appears the nearby hosta has gone nuts in its new locale.

This basket seems to be doing very well. I guess I made the right choices this year.

Succulents don’t suck

A couple of weeks ago I got a little creative.

Don’t worry—it was under direct professional supervision. My friend and I recently attended a workshop on succulents at Griffin’s Greenhouse in Lakefield. We learned a little and were able to get our hands messy as we potted up several displays of succulents, rocks and moss.

This nifty concrete planter is on the dining room table right now but will soon grace our balcony as a heat hardy summer display.

There were some very original containers for us to use. It makes you think about the different types of things we can use to display our plants. I’m curious to see what else I might do this year!

 

Dreaming of spring while the frostbite sets in

It looks as though the snow will be here for a while this year so until then I will have to ponder these photos from last spring to keep my mind occupied.

I can’t remember what green looks like at this point.

And last but not least,

The balcony is open

Well I’ve been sick for the past few weeks but not I am back in action and so is the balcony garden.

I’ve been late to the post but have tried to catch up. My flowers are planted, my seedlings are growing and my herb garden already has produced an abundant crop.

I’ve done up my hanging baskets and even a little colour in my table planter. This will go on the full table once I have finished painting it this weekend. I’ve gone with stocks and snapdragons for colour and butterflies who meander their way up to our floor.

Watch for more photos soon!

Summer is over

At least that is what my drought-riddled flower bed here is telling me. I know I didn’t go up to the schoolhouse as much as I had hoped this year so I guess that meant my gardens didn’t get the love and attention they needed. The dry summer took its toll and while they all soldiered on as best they could now I fear all is lost.

Well I guess I might as well plant the bulbs for the spring now.

I flock to phlox

I’ve been going through my old files looking for some photos of our gardens to date.

We've got pink and white but most of our phlox are purple.

I’m not totally sure what type they are as they have been in our garden as long as I can remember. We have hot pink, white, a lighter pink but most of them are purple. While I am adding many other perennials to the side garden the phlox will always be the main theme.

We got rid of the vines as the swallows were building a small city but the phlox come back each year.

I’d love some suggestions as to other colours or companion plants for the phlox as well. Please let me know what you think.