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.

It's a new year....

Picea pungens v. glauca

I want to start the year off right...I want to make a pledge (just to myself since no one else knows this blog exists) to write something here at least once a week, even if I haven't taken any new photos in the County.

So here's the first post of 2014, featuring a photo on my property taken by my friend Terry Shewchuck.  It's a Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens var. glauca -- another pledge, to try and use botanical names as much as possible) I purchased seven years ago.  It was a foot high then.  This past summer it reached about seven feet - so a foot a year on average.  I mostly try to use Picea glauca - the native White Spruce - but couldn't resist this fellow when it was tiny and terribly blue.  Since then friends have given me a few additional Blue Spruces (after using them as small living Christmas trees).  One particular White Spruce on the  property grows much faster , in some years as much as a metre.  Pictures to follow.

Goodbye 2013...Hello 2014!

It's hard to believe I haven't written anything for a year and a half.  Once again, my 2014 resolution will be to try and get something down at least once a week, with our without photos.

In the summer of 2012 I was worried about the drought.  2013 brought lots of rain in the spring, and enough through the summer to make everything happy.  There was snow early in December and it has stayed thanks to unseasonal cold temperatures.  A few days before Christmas came the ice storm.  Throughout the County (and the whole of Southern Ontario) there was major damage to trees - many limbs were snapped off due to the weight of the ice.

Birch trees bent over on Christmas day

In my garden there are a lot of branches on the ground, but nothing major and nothing that likely was not dead to begin with.  The biggest potential issue as been with bent over trees.  These are the small birch and maple, 10 to 20 feet high, that are bent almost to the ground.  There are even a few juniper bent like this. 


The ice made the County a magical place.  Imagine driving through the middle of a sparkling, silver tinted photo as sunshine reflects off a million angles of ice coated twigs, branches, fields and fence posts; an almost turquoise blue sky above with a line of clouds in the distance.  That's how it was.

Here's to 2014, when I hope to share some stories and projects from the past year as well as new discoveries and surprises.

In Praise of Daylilies

One of the perennials to have come thru the drought with no great damage are daylilies.  That was to be expected, I guess.  But what I really love is this late blooming double orange variety.  It’s a vigorous grower – I got mine from a neighbour in Toronto who was throwing out a bunch he had torn from his front yard.  They start late and have many many flower buds so put on a show usually through August, even this year, with the early start.  Most of my daylilies I start from seed.  I purchased six plants over the past 10 or so years and try to cross breed them to come up with interesting colours.  I love the deep lemon yellows.  I also really love this pink Catherine Woodbury – it’s been in my Toronto backyard for about 12 years but I need to move it – possibly in September – because the Kousa Dogwood has grown so much my previously sunny garden is now either partial or total shade.

common 'ditch' daylily

Catherine Woodbury

from July 29...

dead Echinacea

More drought damage – these Echinaceas should be in full bloom.  Instead, most of the blossoms are stunted, petals a third their normal length. On others, the entire flower head has died off – at least the plant itself is not dead and if we continue to get a bit of rain these side flowers may bloom.

healthy Joe Pye Weed

deadish Joe Pye Weed

One of the saddest sites (along with the rudbeckia) is the Joe Pye Weed.  It should be in full bloom right now.  Instead, I have this:   Again, the stalks at least are green so I’m hoping all is not lost for future years.