Moving...

FYI everyone...all two or three of you!

I am moving this blog over to Tumblr...it's just easier to have it all in one place. 

Maybe over the winter I will move all the posts over...that's a good project.

http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/oldladybirdgarden

Just a quick photo update of what is blooming in my garden.

The first photo is just a look down the south-east bed which is currently full of tulips. In the foreground, there is one of many blue fescue and in front some more Johnny Jump Ups. They keep appearing and I keep digging them up and moving them to this spot.

More of the tulips I planted last fall. I filled a bag with various bulbs in my chosen colour palette (orange, red, yellow, white) and let them get mixed up before planting.


Look at those luscious red ones at the back! There is blue, purple and green in the petals. Definitely adding more of this variety this fall.

More tulips. I really like that tiny striped one on the bottom left.


Behind it you can see the long grass of the daylilies, some columbine getting ready and beside it some pretty burgundy Coral Bells.

 Hyacinth. I picked the orange-y pink but J wanted some of the blue/purple ones...they are coming up in a different part of the yard.

One of my favourites and I think quite a classy bit of green. This is Lady's Mantle. This is her second year in my shade garden and I am hoping that she blooms. Lady's Mantle gets these lovely little yellow clumps of flowers but I think she really shines when the rain beads on her leaves.






Just a few more things to do over the weekend. Decide where J's sunflower garden will go, plant another row of sweet peas along the fence, plant some of the veg and see if any of the foxglove I have started in basement are ready to move out from under the artificial light in the basement and into the real world.

Gorgeous day here in Calgary aside from the Lethbridge style wind. I headed out to the garden centres last night, found a few things but was mostly disappointed in the selection so far this year. This morning, I was sitting in the car at 10 to 9 waiting for Green Gate to open. I generally try to stay away from the stand alone garden centres in favour of my local Canadian Tire and it's cheaper prices but my impatience won out.

Apparently, the growers are behind this year and that is why the perennial selections are so terrible. Ah but that didn't stop me! After trips to over 6 places today, I came home with the list below for my dry & sunny south bed.

Common Thrift, white
Geum Borisii, orange
Bellbalm, fuschia (my second one...for balance)
Blazing Star, white
Miniature Dwarf Bearded Iris, white
Dwarf Arctic Iris, purple & white
Snowdrop Anemone for the shady corner
Penny Mickey Viola, purple & white
Drumstick Thrift, pink
English Daisy, white
Blue Fescue  (for continuity, I have a bunch already)
Mounding Geranium, pink

I am still debating over adding another Hollyhock against the house or more white Galahad Delphiniums.

I just reread my last post and realized that I totally changed my plans for this bed but I think it will look great.

Here are a couple pics of the plants I bought today.

Images from:
Arctic Iris myfolia.com 
DrumstickThrift davesgarden.com  
Blazing Star  backyardlandscaping.net 

Spring in Calgary can be trying on a gardener's nerves with stretches of gorgeous weather rudely interrupted by snow and sleet. The irises, tulips, daylilies and pansies have been shooting up for weeks seemingly oblivious to the tantrums of Mother Nature.


We started our tomato plants in the basement a few weeks ago and they are growing nicely. I have tried starting sweet peas and Chinese Lanterns with no luck. The seeds just mold. The weather is set to improve this weekend so I am just going to direct sow the sweet peas as they don't mind the cooler temperatures. As for the lanterns, I think I will have to purchase them as starting from seed is definitely not working.


We are still undecided about the narrow bed directly under the kitchen...what will thrive in that southern exposure? It gets very hot and the soil doesn't seem to hold moisture. Whatever we decide on, be it lilies mixed with ornamental grasses or more peonies, I think some soil amendment is required.


Last fall, I planted about 50 different bulbs around the yard so I am looking forward to the surprise of what I picked and where it blooms. I should have written down the locations but what fun is there in that?  

Even though today we are right back in the middle of cold and snow, last weekend was beautiful and my one wish for Sunday was to go look at seeds at the garden centre. We went from looking, to dropping $120 on seeds and a SunBlaster light fixture. The plan is to suspend the light in the laundry room and line up our seedlings there. They will be out of the way and probably much happier than on the floor of our office baking in the southern sun.

Last year, we ended up with gorgeous sweet peas so I am trying something new...navy blue. One line of fencing in our yard is an unfortunate white plastic but I think the blue of the petals and the green of the foliage will look great against it.

Once again, J picked a ton of veg to plant and a trio of sunflowers. He was really charmed and fascinated by the 14ft giants we grew last year. I am going to try to keep them in one large swath for maximum effect. We are going with 4 types of tomatoes, snap peas (which did incredibly well), zucchini, kohlrabi, carrots, beans and some lettuce for the containers.

Spring cannot come soon enough!

It's been awhile since I last posted but we've been enjoying a week of above  average temperatures and it's got me thinking about my garden. I've been looking at pictures of the yard from last year and pouring over the seed catalogs that have been appearing in the mailbox.

We have a few projects lined up for the spring...the most important is to replace the deck. We have been humming and hawing regarding size and the only constant is that we need to build a privacy screen on one side so that we can sit on the deck and not look down into our neighbors dining room.

I think J would like to pull up more grass and add more garden but we found we couldn't use the veg fast enough. If we do, I would like to add some decorative features like stepping stones and small gravel paths to the compost bin and rain barrel.

Oh, so many plans.

Boo......I guess the gardening season is officially over in Calgary. Our backyard was finally hit by frost last night and boy oh boy, it took it's toll. The gigantic sunflowers are drooping and the last tomatoes that we left in the hope that they might colour a bit, were solid this morning. I've also been avoiding pulling up the gladiolas as they are blooming so beautifully but today, their number is up.
Yesterday, I pulled up the sweet peas and harvested as many flowers as possible. Right now, they are filling the living room with their gorgeous scent!
Later today, the last of the fall clean up will commence.... peonies will be cut down along with the daisies and hollyhocks and the last few bulbs will go in. We have Gladiator Alliums and some charming orange peony tulips left in the garage that need a home.
And then we wait....for spring.