My Country Garden

Winter Burn

OK, it may be winter but there is still lots to do. Winter burning of branches, twigs and things. The logs have been cut into 4 foot lengths but that’s only part of the tree. the tough part is the smaller branches and things. Those have to be burned or put through a chipper. We don’t have one so we burn. I can’t believe how well we’re progressing with the clearing.

November And The Garden Is Bleak

Is there anything sadder than a garden between seasons? Last night we had ice rain. All that is supposed to melt today according to the weather reports. There is only dirty ice on the ground. Once it begins to snow, it will look pretty again, especially on sunny days.

I now have three seed catalogues that came just this week. Although I enjoy looking through them, nothing really appeals to me. I have most of what they’re offering. What I want are the unique things that seed catalogues don’t offer. That means I have to wait till spring and then visit a nursery. That’s expensive. Last year when we visited said nursery for planting out the round bed with perennials, it cost us $250.00. That’s just one bed.

Mostly, I’ve been trying to grow perennials from seed which is more economical but, of course, the plants take longer to mature. I find asking friends and neighbours for seeds or roots works but I don’t like to impose. So, better save my pennies. Gardening costs can add up. Good thing I saved seeds from last summer.

Wonderful Tropical Seeds

It was during a visit to Austria that I first noticed banana trees in people’s yards. I was totally surprised by that having never seen them in a temperate climate. Turns out, they merely chop them close to the ground in the Autumn, cover with a good amount of mulch and, just like magic, they pop up the next Spring. Talk about giving your garden a tropical feel.

I was so happy when a friend sent me a link to a source of banana seeds, a website where I could actually order seeds and start my own tropical garden right here in Canada.

Of course, The Banana Tree doesn’t just offer banana seeds but a large variety of tropical plant seeds as well as plants. We are in a 5a zone so of course the further south you live, the easier it is to grow these beautiful plants. However, if you live in a cooler climate, you might want to grow them for indoor enjoyment all year round.

Generally speaking, seeds can be shipped anywhere, however not all plants can be exported from the USA so check on the website for instructions regarding your particular order.

If you’re an avid gardener like me, you’ll always be wanting to push the envelope. I have a microclimate all ready for my choices. How about you?

Last Pictures of the Garden

Since this is the first of November you know it won’t be long before the snow flies. Already we’re waking up to mornings with frost on the ground. Well, it could be worse, we could live in North East USA with their incredible snow storm, fallen trees, power cuts. Mother Nature is a fickle woman. You can never tell what goes on in that pretty little head of hers. I wonder what devious plans she has in store for us?

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures, probably my last ones for the season, to let us remember the growing season of 2011. Most of the annuals have been yanked out of the ground. The only annuals remaining are the Yellow Calendula and Dusty Miller. I’ve read the calendulas will self-seed but I’m not taking any chances so I’m also saving seeds. As for Dusty Millers, I just don’t know where they keep their seeds. Some say they are perennials, I’m leaving them in the ground, so I guess we’ll find out next Spring what they really are.

The Shasta Daisies are incredible. When I say that, I mean indestructible. I’ve given some away, moved many and they always look like they’d always been there. I got some sedum and perennial poppies from friends, the four o’clocks are wonderful hardy annuals as are love lies bleeding. One of my favourite flower is the red geranium. I grew up with geraniums in Europe. To me no garden is complete without them, but what a royal pain in the butt to overwinter them. Sure, you can put them in pots and have them all over the house. That way they grow leggy and ugly but you can cut them back and get new plants. I’ve tried hanging them upside down in the basement but that didn’t work, this year I’ve got them in paper bags hanging upside down in the basement. Maybe I’ll spray the bags with water occasionally to keep the roots from drying out completely. I don’t know.

I don’t think I’ll sow Devil’s Trumpets again – or maybe I will. They are not as lovely as Angel’s Trumpets and you have to nip the seed-heads daily. Sunflowers are wonderful and make a huge statement when clustered together. Easy to grow.

Asters as perennials are great. They spread. I also got all kinds of yellow daisy-like perennials from neighbours called Heleopsis and Coreopsis. They look promising. I’m not sure the baby’s breath was such a good idea. They look like weeds. I do tend to ramble on so I will stop. Thank you for your patience.

Autumn Has Settled In

The leaves have turned and are dropping steadily, especially in a breeze. It’s autumn once again. Time has certainly moved along so quickly. Seems like the other day we moved in and tackled a mammoth job of transforming this plot of earth. We’ve only just begun. The more we do, the greater the job that is left to do.

I’m not complaining. On the contrary, I’m just reminiscing about our journey so far.

The End of Summer Weather

And I couldn’t be happier. Of course, as is usual here in Southern Ontario, the weather is in the extreme. Suddenly, for the last couple of days, I’ve been waking up to single digit temperatures. Celcius, that is. It still warms up during the day but it has certainly got cooler.

The leaves are turning and falling. The most beautiful season is coming upon us. Sadly, it is short lived before winter sets it. So, here are some pictures for remembering summer. Love Lies Bleeding is a very good annual. You don’t need to do anything special to it – just throw the seeds on the bed and they will grow without a problem.

Humidity and Rose of Sharon

Today and for the rest of the weekend it’s going to be humid – hot, yes, but it’s been hotter. The humidity just kills. I dusted today and broke out in a sweat. I thought the A/C season had passed, but I was wrong. After this weekend, maybe we get back to some normal September weather.

Anyway, for all you Rose of Sharon enthusiasts, I thought I’d post this video.

Oh, Those Rascally French

They think of everything. Last Spring, I found I had too many tomato plants and the bed was full so I decided to plant the excess among the flowers in another part of the garden.

This morning, I looked around the flower beds and made an observation – the tomatoes and also peppers that I’d grown in flower beds were doing much better than the ones I had in the vegetable bed. I’d read that the French like to plant vegetables and flowers in the same bed. They call it Potaging and I guess that makes me a Potager. Well almost. There was no critter nor insect damage on the plants and they seemed much bigger and stronger. Furthermore, the soil in those beds was nowhere near as good as in the vegetable bed where I’d tilled and manured and worked myself silly.

So, guess what I’ll be doing next year? Count on it.

Garden Highs and Lows

I thought I’d jot down my thoughts about my successes and failures in my garden this year.

To my surprise, the Africa Marigold Inca seeds I ordered this year are a failure. Who ever thought marigolds could be failures? Besides, they were so pretty last year. So for next year – no marigolds.

A note to myself – never under any circumstances order plants through the mail. The Golden Elderberry didn’t get off the ground and neither did the Highbush Cranberry. I replaced the Golden Elderberry with Black Lace Elderberry that I bought at the garden centre. It’s thriving and growing daily. I replaced the Highbush Cranberry with Tiger Eye Sumac. However, the Giant Fleeceflower and Pinky Winky Hydrangea that also came through the mail are thriving. Pinky Winky will probably be great next year. So maybe “not under any circustances” was too strong a statement.

Love the Love Lies Bleeding. A note to myself – start them inside. That way they’ll be pretty big plants ready for transplanting. This last Spring I just took the dried ropes and threw them on a couple of beds. They landed wherever but grew quite well, all the same. Still, a little more structure would be nice.

I got some seeds and plants from friends. Some, I’ll do again and others I won’t. Angel’s Trumpet is making quite a stir in the neighbourhood, so I will sow them again. They are very dramatic.

Now for vegetables. I will buy two dozen cages and give tomatoes another go next spring. If they’re still a mess, I’ll buy my stuff at the farmer’s market and forget about growing them. If I buy a bushel of Romas I can make a lot of sauce. If not, I’ll buy the cans and return to doing what I’ve been doing for so long. Biggest problem with tomatoes – critters. There has been a lot much critter damage.

I grew snow peas but I won’t anymore, I don’t think. A lot of trouble for little yield. Besides, they need to run along some kind of wire or something. Maybe I will try again. They were so good.

I’m having great success with beets. No pests seem to bother them and so they are always delicious. Carrots are doing well so is the lettuce. I hope the leeks are fine. I won’t know till I pull them. My peppers are doing well, too. Next year I’ll grow the red and yellow ones as well as the green. Well maybe just the red. I use them to make roasted peppers.

A friend gave me some seeds I thought were bush beens. Instead, I’m growing squash – both Acorn and Butternut. It’s a messy business with them running all over the lawn. Charlie made me promise to plant flowers and shrubs along the South side of the house next year. Maybe that would be a good place for sunflowers. Or not.

So, in conclusion, it looks as though the trouble spot is the vegetable garden. Beets, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes (maybe), leeks, potatoes, carrots are good. Squash, peas are not.

This was my second year of growing vegetables. I’ll try one more year. Maybe I’ll get sick of it and turn the plot into a rose garden. There’s a switch. Or maybe build a nice stone patio – naw, I think roses would look nice there or maybe just grass. In any case, once the lower garden is cleared and ready for planting – if I still feel like doing it – I’ll put the vegatable garden down there. Or not.

The Rains Came

It’s funny how quickly things change. The rains came, the grass turned green, the flowers are blooming and I’m happy again.