recently I wrote about how well the clematis is doing along the driveway…
now it is blooming… and I think this is the most blossoms since we planted it many years ago…
it has more stems and leaves too…
now that I’ve done the math… 🤪… I realize that it is about twelve or thirteen years old… I am actually surprised as I hadn’t realized how long it has been in this spot…
Thursday the kids came over and we spent most of the late afternoon in the garden…
my grandson started work on a bonsai tree and it was great fun to see him trim a blue cedar into something resembling a small tree…
it is going to live in the garden for the summer…
then, we finished the irrigation system… yay… the hose was straightened, holes were punched in various places and tubes with sprinklers were connected… they had no trouble connecting the tubes to the hose, sigh… we ran a test and made sure each little piece was spraying appropriately…
we need a few more pieces of tubing, but most planters, baskets and perennials now will be watered when I turn on the tap… I am sure they will all be happy about this, lol…
so excited to see how well the garden will grow when it is watered regularly…
then we had barbecued steak and asparagus, baked potatoes and a salad on the deck…
summer is here and I am doing my best to cherish every minute of it…
spent the day in the garden… a bit of deadheading and weeding, and lots of time enjoying my current book, which a friend just gifted me a few days ago…
after the crew came and mowed, whipper snipped, and tidied the grass, I put back a few pieces of furniture that I’d moved to make their job easier…
the clematis is filled with buds and I expect they will open in the next few days…
even managed to water the houseplants and produce a few meals… all of which were eaten outdoors…
the weather was lovely… sunny and warm, not too hot, with a slight breeze…
the poppies are nearly done… they don’t particularly enjoy rain…once they are finished the rest of the perennials will show themselves, lol…
the sounds of the two ponds running and the odd bird made for a relaxing time…
to top off the day I received three water hyacinths which have gone right into the pond;-)… the fish are going to enjoy them and maybe babies will hide amongst their roots…
the baskets and planters are doing well and filling out nicely… I had planned on purple and white, but there are pops of yellow and even red…
the poor mandevilla has a bad sunburn and has been covered with a purple umbrella to protect it from further sun damage… I have begun to let it sit with no covering on overcast days and hope it will recover…
the hibiscus spent a number of days in the shade of one of the cedars and has finally moved into a spot along the edge of the pond… I hope it likes it there as most summers it has lived on the deck…
it is fun to look at photos from previous years and see how the garden has changed…
I have been enjoying the garden everyday and particularly my walks around to see what might be breaking through the ground or blooming…
the poppies continue to tease me in their slow process of blooming… each morning I check them out to see if any of them have opened, but not just yet, lol…
the vegetable garden is doing well… peas, beans and a few cucumbers have poked their heads through the soil and are keeping the three tomatoes company;-)…
I have also taken to weeding, which is rather new for me…
I have cleaned up a number of spots in the side garden and am excited to see the painted fern has come back and multiplied…
the wild columbine has popped up in about three spots and I am watching them carefully to ensure they don’t get pulled…
I am being intentional about spending as much time as possible in the garden…
it feels important to enjoy every minute when the weather is good…
I’ve also been doing a bit of weeding whenever I feel so inclined, lol…
although weeding hasn’t been one of my favourite pastimes, I am beginning to enjoy it… the satisfaction of a tidy area that I cleared is rather nice… although I am also thrilled after Hilda the Gardener has been by and tidied the beds and paths…
now that the front beds are complete, I am thinking of using some of the landscaping fabric around the Inukshuk… just have to get more mulch before that can happen…
got a rain barrel and new pots for the front flowerbeds a little over a week ago…
the pots were filled and planted shortly after… three were moved into their correct places and three were put along the driveway waiting for work to be done on the north side bed…
yesterday my grandson and his landscaping friend arrived to beautify the space…
they worked for five hours… removing ferns, weeds, and most of the wild rose which had taken over the space… they redesigned the shape of the bed and put down landscape cloth, laid paving stones where the pots were to go, moved a fountain and the very heavy birdbath… and lastly, dumped and spread fifteen bags of mulch…
brought all the plants out of the garage the other day… I had put everything in after concern that the bunnies might stop by for an expensive dinner, lol…
I have decided that I will be in the garden as much as possible, whenever possible… what with the odd weather I think it will be important to enjoy each moment…
sat by the pond for awhile, although I had a blanket on, before doing a bit of planting…
put in three of my dahlias hoping they will produce again this year…
in the pot on the deck, planted an Eveline and added morning glories to grow up the trellis… this is my favourite dahlia and I’m happy to have two corms that look like they will grow… fingers crossed…
the second one went into the pot in the middle of the garden… last year it did amazing in this particular spot… will add something else to trail down a bit in this planter…
also planted two strawberry plants and a few morning glories in the Bundt pan on the table… hoping the morning glories will climb up the umbrella pole and greet me with many flowers in the morning…
the other dahlia went into a pot that is currently sitting on the deck, but it can easily be moved elsewhere in the garden… I put in two tubers and if them both come up, one will be moved…
of course that bit of planting still left a table full waiting for their new homes…
herbiggirlpants 