Late July Blooms in Gardens4me

Does your garden feature late July blooms? Colour can be a little anemic this time of year here in Ontario, so your gardens may need some extra TLC.

Fill in with Late July Blooms

My solution? I try to visit garden centers every two weeks to purchase perennials in bloom at that time, then take them home and add them to the spots lacking colour in my gardens.

I did just that earlier this week. I found this huge container of pink larkspur that broke up into six individual plants when I took it out of the pot. Bonus! One was blooming, the others have tons of blooms ready to explode. I planted all of them separately to add splashes of colour throughout my backyard garden.

If you have more patience or less money to spend on plants, take note of friends’ or neighbours’ gardens with late July blooms and ask them for a chunk. They shouldn’t divide their plants while in bloom but may be willing to part with a piece to enhance your garden next year.

Annuals Offer Late July Blooms Too

This time of year I also add annuals to my containers that need a colour boost or to replace annuals that are not performing well. Here are a few pictures of the same containers with an infusion of colour…

Ask a Neighbour to Water for you When on Vacation

During this heatwave we have been sweating through, my containers need watering every day. That fact and vacation do not go together well. I recently came home from an extra-long weekend at the cottage to find the cleomes (one of my favourite annuals) on my front veranda were fried. They have since been replaced with three Spanish lavender plants that are considered annuals in my Ottawa area. At present all it has to offer is a heavenly scent, but it should bloom soon…

If you go away for more than two days, ask a neighbour to water your containers, or move them (the containers, not the neighbours) to a shady spot to prevent their demise. Water balls (the things you fill with water and insert into the soil) work well for a few days too, depending on how hot it is and how thirsty your plants are.

late July blooms
the blue water ball (center, back) provides moisture when I am away

The pink wave petunias are stretching towards the sun, but look like they are trying to escape through the railing of my veranda.

Also needing daily attention (refilling) are the numerous bird baths in my gardens, a chore my 2-year-old granddaughter tackles diligently when she is here.

a chickadee sipping the cold water

Lily Trees

The lilies are absolutely spectacular, there must be close to thirty blossoms on the three plants at my front lamp post and more in my back garden…

My lilies in part sun spots are still looking good too, and my weigela tree is providing an encore…

My Annabelle hydrangea is coming along, parts of it are in bloom, and others are still working on it…

… and this pink gayfeather is just beginning to show off…

By next week its bold spires will be stretching to the sun and waving in the breeze.

That’s it for blooms in Gardens4me now that July is on its way out, but into the history books for our hottest and driest July in many years.

Stay tuned for more pictures soon.

Shoveling Makes for Great Exercise in Winter

Shovelling Makes for Great Exercise in Winter

What exercise do you get in winter? With my own gardening business, I get plenty of exercise between April and October, sometimes six hours per day! Exercise in winter can be tricky though, I am the first to admit I spend far too much time sitting down and writing for whatever projects come my way. Shoveling is a great way to get fresh air and exercise.

However, when the snow hits, as it has often these past few days here in Ottawa, I love to get my exercise in winter with a shovel in my hand. Especially when the snow is light and fluffy as it was today. These pictures give you an idea of just how much snow we received overnight. Enough to get me out there with my shovel, but not enough to wear me out. The posts on my veranda make great snow gauges…

Who needs a gym membership when you can get an hour (or two or three some days) of cardio exercise shoveling the driveway and sidewalk? Not me!

Limbing Up: Removing Lower Branches

Recently I took on the project of limbing up several evergreen trees on a client’s front lawn. One of my favourite gardens is part of this gorgeous property. Although I cannot take credit for designing or planting the gardens, I have had the honour of maintaining them for the past several years. The gardens are surrounded by a stone retaining wall with a verdant backdrop of mature evergreens, oak, and maple trees.

The evergreens featured as the backdrop for these gardens are massive (the reach of their branches is at least 30 feet each) with their lower branches sweeping the ground, crowding each other, and choking out everything, including the lawn. Many branches of these trees were dead or dying. Cutting the grass and raking leaves was awkward and frustrating. Annoying and increasingly dangerous mosquitos and ticks are abundant in these conditions.

I had suggested this limbing up process a while ago, but the homeowners were hesitant as they like the privacy of their lot. That is until they were the victims of a break-in recently. Burglars drove into their driveway, broke down a door, gaining access to their home in broad daylight. Fortunately, their security system alerted the police so not much was stolen.

That home invasion was enough to motivate these homeowners into letting me start the limbing-up process. I removed the branches from the first tree, then checked with them to make sure they wanted me to continue. With the go-ahead, I continued with twelve more trees. Removed branches were cut into four-foot lengths and left at the curb for pickup by the local garbage crew.

When limbing up, be sure to cut off the branches as close to the main trunk as possible, without leaving an unsightly and unhealthy stub…

As I was working, a few neighbours stopped by to say how wonderful the yard looked with these branches removed. I agree; the trees look much healthier and the yard still has that woodland setting I would never want to alter. When the lawn recovers, the property will be even more spectacular!