Tuesday, July 29, 2014

BACK YARD PRIORITY - follow up

Last week I explained that I would be renewing my focus on the backyard gardens which up to this point have been lower priority.

My how fast things can change - as you can see, the garden is quickly filling up!

The first step was to remove the enormous quantity of chives which immediately made it look much cleaner.

The biggest source of plants to fill the void have been:
  • those that the deer eat in my unfenced front gardens
  • those that I find on sale once they are past their best for this year
  • those that are unsuited to where I originally planted them

Deer rescues include:
- lovely orange Oriental Lilies that were completely eaten by the deer last year and heavily pruned by them again last week when they were just about to bloom!
- a few Malva and the lone Lupine from the Monet Garden that the deer also snacked on last week

Sale plants include:
- 5 "Popsicle Mix" Lupine.  Regular price $11 on sale for $3.50, done blooming for this year. I have  to admit it feels quite freeing to purchase a colour mix and it will be exciting to see what comes up next year!
- 3 red and white carnations that would not have fit into my colour-themed gardens, which after a hard pruning should come back for a second bloom this fall. Also on sale for $3.50 from $11.
- 5 Primula with a great spike of purple bloom for the Monet Garden where I have created space by taking out the deer-chomped Malva.

Plants getting a second chance include:
-5 or 6 Rudbeckia that have grown much larger than I imagined when I direct sowed their seeds last spring
- 5 or 6 large-flowering, yellow Primula that have been completely overshadowed by their enormous Rudbeckia neighbours and need to see the sun again

Next I need to dig up the Dutch Iris that clearly did not get enough sun in the Monet Garden. While they may have been the perfect colour match but that does not matter if they do not bloom, does it?

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6 comments:

  1. Your garden is really pretty. You did an awesome job...

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  2. Replies
    1. Jim, thanks for stopping by and leaving your kinds words, much appreciated.

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  3. Gardening is all about experimenting and learning from mistakes. You are off to an awesome start.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Beth, I am already looking forward to what next year will bring.

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