The Mound, 2014

OK - here's what it looks like in the middle of winter.  Exciting eh?  I think that when the snow starts to melt and you're able to see the little creeping Junipers it might be a bit more interesting.  I should perhaps throw some large boulders here and there as well, to stick out through all that whiteness!

It's going to be interesting seeing how many of the new plants survived this rather harsh winter, and how may Tulips and Allium come up again!

Plans for the year?  Finish taming the backside of this hill - pulling out the wild raspberry canes and the thistle and buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), while keeping some clumps of Goldenrod and Aster for colour and nectar.  Add boulders (see above).  Transplant more Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) from the Birch Border and Corner Garden.

it's that kind of winter

Seems to be turning into a real winter, one we're not used to after four or five winters of above average temperatures and below average snowfall.  This year, in fact, we're running below the seasonal norms.  So far, at least.  And there's no relief in sight.  What makes this winter even more unusual has been the number of freezing rain incidents, and the number of days with winds high enough to produce white-out conditions.  Come April I'll have a lot more dead and fallen branches to pick up from the driveway and I may try getting a burn permit for the first time, to burn them instead of just piling them up.  Anyway, nothing new to report, really, so I think I'll just post a couple shots from earlier this year.  One is the twisted branches of a corkscrew Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') that I kinda like.  I'm going to try and get a few more artsy pic of this little bush later in the year.  It was a rescue from an old landscaping job about 12 years ago; I had to cut it back by about two thirds to move it and it has taken until this past year, really, to show any vigour.

This picture is Shileau inspecting mother nature's version of professional tree trimming.  This Black Maple (Acer nigrum) had sprung up by itself right under the hydro wires.  This past summer I had been contemplating the necessity of either chopping it down or pruning it back severely so that it wouldn't interfere with the wires.  The Christmas ice storm beat me to it.

The Mound, revisited

Nothing to do with the mound, just wanted to remember this beautiful Lilac.  I purchased two of them in three gallon pots from Canadian Tire at an end-of-year sale two years ago for $10 each.  They have a beautiful fragrance as well.

A friend remarked yesterday morning, while on a run with me and a few others, that sunshine in winter is like a free drug. So beneficial to the soul that it could almost be classified an illegal narcotic.  I couldn't agree more!

Today, another freezing rain warning for Prince Edward County.  That means it's a heck of a lot warmer this weekend than it's been for the past few days.  It's expected to get colder again Monday night through Wednesday, then warm up again next weekend.  In other words, a fairly typical winter.

April 27, 2013 - the first of several stair cases built into it.

A month later (May 21), the Alium had bloomed

It's probably time to update everyone (LOL!) about The Mound.  You may recall The Mound is a pile of soil created by a contractor friend when he dumped (at my request) several loads of soil from a home he was excavating/building five or six years ago.  I discovered early on some surviving reminders of that original house:  beautiful Iris, Paeonia [Peony]and Hosta; most of these I transplanted elsewhere in the garden, and let the pile of soil just sit there, untended.

The wild flowers had their way those first few years and I wound up with a colourful yet unappealing mix of six foot Solidago [Goldenrod], Aster, thistle and other things I don't know the name of but had tiny yellow flowers.  Three years ago I started to tame the Mound, section by section, by cutting down dead stalks, using Round Up (sue me...) on new growth and a shovel to round off and distribute the soil a bit more evenly.  Then I started transplanting things from my Toronto gardens, planting bulbs and scattering seeds.  In 2013 I finished about 80 per cent, I'd say.

Same day, wider shot.  Notice all the branches on the Juglans cinerea 

(Butternut tree) on the far left.

There are five paths through the Mound, and I've planted everything from Hemerocallis (Daylily) to Rudbeckia (Black Eye Susan), Hosta, Sedum spectabile, Veronica "Whitley's Speedwell" and may others.

 Here are three shots from the spring.  More to come in later posts.