Stilted Ninebark

I planted a pair of Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) a number of years ago and they've grown into a lovely shrub.  They've proven really forgiving of the secateurs - at first I pruned them for height, and then I thought I'd give them a weird sharp - start low to high like a wave, and now I've stilted them, pruning them up so you see their bare legs, and the lovely exfoliating bark.  This is a really hardy native species, growing in a really dry part of the field, shaded somewhat by some tall pines directly south.  I'll get a photo at some point of the bark, but here they are today, in full bloom:

The Mound

Eight or nine years ago a contractor friend dumped several loads of "clean" fill onto a front corner of the property.  Of course the definition of "clean" is subjective, and I've since dug out from it many chunks of concrete, sewage pipe and big limestone chunks -- it seems he was digging out the foundation of an old house to make way for a new one.  Some good things have come of it, though:  Peony, Iris and Hosta somehow survived the trauma and I've transplanted some beautiful heritage varieties to other gardens.  The Mount itself I left alone and it soon transformed into a home for enormously tall wildflowers - most of them not really welcome.  Last year I started to reclaim the Mound - here are some shots:
Last June after I cleared away about a quarter of it:  

I transplanted daylilies, Peony, Iris, Rudbeckia, Echinacea last year plus dug in some Tulip bulbs; I also scattered seeds from Lupin, Liatris and Hollyhock and there are many Lupin sprouts this year.  I mulched a bit this spring and tadded stone steps to the top.

The next stages will include  clearing away the rest of the Mound, adding more steps to the centre and continuing to transplant things from elsewhere on the property - there's always an over-abundance of Echinacea sprouting up!

Magnolias!

I started a few Magnolias from seed seven or eight years ago - one is a Cucumber Magnolia and the other is an Umbrella Magnolia.  They went from pots in my backyard to the allotment garden to the County.  This year the Cucumber Magnolia bloomed!  Lovely smallish (compared to Saucer Magnolia) yellow flowers with a slight lemony fragrance - I've renamed it my Lemon Magnolia!

Not to be outdone, the Umbrella Magnolia is once again sending out its enormous leaves.  I love how each one starts out protected in its own tissue thin membrane that peels away as the leaf grows.

Sunday, April 29, 2012
Finished the spring clean up this weekend.  Daffs are still blooming, tulips about midway through their season; the spice-bush - a Viburnum of some kind, is starting to bloom having escaped the deer this past winter.  Everything seems to be about two weeks behind Toronto - lilac flower buds are still tight while blooms are starting in Toronto.  Serviceberry has yet to flower while those on my street in the city have just about finished. 

It's weird having had such a dry winter - no flooding, very dry surface soil in parts of the property...they've had a bit of rain though - my rain barrels are almost full.  Here's a few shots - the corner garden waiting for the iris and peony to bloom and some daffs.  My camera battery ran out before I could get a shot of the new mound garden - where the tulips are in full bloom.  Next week - perhaps the iris will be out by then.

Saturday March 17, 2012

Spring has sprung a lot earlier than usual, thanks to the winter that wasn't. Made it out for the day and started the spring cleanup several weeks ahead of schedule - the fields weren't even flooded! Cleaned up some buckthorn from behind the mound - hopefully the stuff I planted/seeds I scattered will come up; cut back perennials from the newish corner bed where all the crocuses are now blooming and cleaned up a bit around the Magnolia where snowdrops have been enjoying the fine weather. Shileau had a great day too!

Crocuses - or is it Croci?

Snowdrops near the entrance garden

the 'Mound' - near the front - a pile of not too clean fill that over the past few years grew giant goldenrod and other stuff - trying to reclaim it!

Shileau