I had to share these great pictures of what someone (no idea who) did, in a field, along the main road coming into town, for no other reason than to make people smile.
Author Archives: gardenchatter
2013 Perennial Plant of the Year
The 2013 Perennial Plant of the Year was recently announced –
Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’, or more commonly known as Variegated (or Striped) Solomon’s Seal.
Solomon’s Seal is a stunning spring-to-fall, low maintenance tall foliage plant suited to areas with shade or partial shade. Sprouting small greenish-white flowers in late spring, the bright green foliage displays creamy white edges throughout the growing season, turning yellow into the fall months, and may develop small blue berries.
Solomon’s Seal (both plain and variegated) grow to 24 inches tall and are spread by rhizomes to form colonies of bright color all summer long.
Solomon’s Seal nicely complements other shade plants like hostas, astilbe and fern to create a striking but serene woodland garden.
Requiring little care other than moist soil conditions and shade, Solomon’s Seal is hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 8.
Wonder if the garden centers are open yet……
2012 in Review – Welcome 2013 and More Gardening!
Thanks everyone for a fun 2012 – looking forward to more gardening adventures in 2013.
Resolutions for the garden – try something new, grow something from seed, plant a tree, grow a few veggies and share them with friends, and don’t be too hard on yourself if the garden isn’t perfect – you just can’t fight Mother Nature!
Happy New Year!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
//
Christmas Decorating for Gardeners
A number of my gardening friends have been sharing their ideas for decorating and keeping the garden theme going all through the holidays – here’s a few thoughts…
Think about the garden when setting your Christmas table. For a simple centerpiece, add small ornaments to rosemary plants, or the miniature trees that are available this time of year. Or create an original arrangement using clippings from the garden – branches from different evergreens and holly bushes, dogwood, birch twigs, pinecones and acorns. Add sprigs of berries or greenery to the base of candleholders or tapers. Create garden themed place-card holders with small clay pots, wrapped in raffia or ribbon, complete with herb seed packs and a name card in the pot or purchase small herb plants from a garden centre for each dinner guest, inserting a card in the foliage. Wrap up cutlery and napkins with raffia or ribbon and tuck in a sprig of fresh greenery, thyme or rosemary.
Glass bowls or vases full of brightly decorated pine cones are easy and fun to create. Roll the cones in glue, and then in coloured glitter flakes – the glitter will stick to the glue along the edges of the cone, giving the cone a frosty look. Spray paint the cones gold, silver or a metallic shade that compliments your own holiday décor. Or spray paint the cone white. When it dries, roll it in glue and then glitter, giving the cone a snowy look. Place metallic beads between the open scales of the cone, holding them in place with a spot of hot glue. Add sprigs of berries or greens for added colour and place the decorated cones in a variety of glass containers for an interesting table arrangement or centerpiece.
Brighten up your houseplants for Christmas. If your houseplants are already in decorative containers, add bows or ribbon to the plant for a festive look. Cover simple pots with bright Christmas wrap, foil or fabric to dress them up for the holidays. Taller, sturdier houseplants or small trees are strong enough to hold a small string of lights or small ornaments.
Use old garden tools to decorate the gardeners Christmas tree. Collect old hand tools from garage sales and thrift stores, and spray paint them with colours that compliment your own holiday décor and will stand out against the dark green foliage of the tree. Tie velvet bows around the handles and hang on the heavy branches of the tree or place them on branches within the foliage. Decorate small watering cans with holly sprigs and greens, and add ribbon, raffia, berries and holly sprouts to small clay pots to hang from the tree. Finish the gardener’s tree off with seed packets carefully saved from summer planting, or new ones – attached a loop of velvet ribbon and hang throughout the tree.
When creating your outside arrangement, consider using a potted tree that can be planted in the garden when the warm weather returns. Fill the tree with bright lights, and enjoy it right through the winter season.
Happy Holiday Decorating!
//
//
//
//
Sculpture
I had the honor today of touring the studio, workshop and gardens of artist Patrick Thibert.
A truly amazing talent.
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds amaze me.
Have you ever seen them dance and play through the light shower that the sprinkler provides? Every time we water, there they are – swiftly spinning and flying through the drops, sparkling in the sunlight and enjoying their quick bath. I guess bird baths are typically too deep for them so perhaps this is how they get around it??
The ruby-throated is what spends the summer in our yard each year, and they have remained close by again this summer. Three or four times a day they make their rounds from plant to plant and stop by the patio table to hover for a second or two, as if saying hello, before they fly off to the next bright flower.
A few interesting ruby-throated facts:
– They beat their wings roughly 55 times per minutes.
– It’s short legs prevent it from walking or hopping (answers the bird bath quandry!). The best they can do is shuffle along a perch. It scratches it’s head and neck by raising a foot up and over its wing.
– They prefer to feed on red or orange flowers. Like many birds, they have good color vision and can see into the ultraviolet spectrum, which we cannot (However, the one that came to visit pictured above seems to be quite happy with large, pink zinnias).
– They also catch insects in midair or pull them out of spider webs.
They’ll soon be heading south, to warmer climates for the winter season, so as the summer blooms begin to fade, remember to keep the hummingbird feeder full to give them plenty of food and energy for the long flight!
The Garden Looks Fabulous (and I have a new friend!)
Wow! I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve been chatting about my garden adventures, but I must say with all the time I’ve been spending out there, it sure looks incredible.
The raised veggie beds are doing great. Usually I’ve got cherry tomatoes and peppers in pots, but decided it was time to try something different. Corn, snap peas, regular peas, pole beans, beets, broccoli, brussels, squash, turnip, zucchini and cucumber. It’s quite exciting watching it change from day to day. And I do hope it all continues – fingers crossed!
And I have a new little friend. This toad has decided to make one particular pot on the deck his home. He spends the day wandering around somewhere – and without fail, he’s back every night, hopping into his pot where he snuggles in for the night. I don’t know that he ever leaves the deck, I assume he does, but it would be interesting to see how he gets back up there.
We discovered this rather large, well…quite fat, colorful toad sitting on the deck one day. Just sitting there, catching flies or whatever toads do during the day and apparently, minding his own business, not expecting anyone other than him, to try to run his life.
We, in our infinite toad wisdom decided he needed to be back down in the garden and moved him there, into a soft, shady spot under the ferns.
An hour later we saw what we thought was the same toad back on the deck. (Huh?) So once again, in our obviously knowledgeable and brilliant toad wisdom (because we somehow believe we are smarter than the average toad) we carried him back downstairs, once again where he could play in the garden he grew in. Happy happy toad.
And I swear, within 10 minutes he was right back up there.
That’s when I realized it was where he wanted to be – now no one is allowed to walk on the deck until I inspect it for toads.
Wonder how I’m going to deal with the skunk that now comes visiting………
Driving Over the Mackinac Bridge
Part of the trip to Sault Ste. Marie (see previous post) included a drive over the Mackinac Bridge. And while this isn’t a gardening topic, it was so interesting that I want to share it.
The view was amazing!
Here’s a few facts:
– It’s the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world, just short of 5 miles, and the longest in the western hemisphere.
– The height of the bridge at its midpoint is 200 feet above the water level.
– The bridge located on Interstate 75 in northern Michigan at the Straits of Mackinac and separates the upper and lower Michigan peninsulas.
– And the amount of cable used – 42,000 Miles /67,592 km
Other interesting facts, figures and bridge history can be found at http://www.mackinacbridge.org
God’s Country Part 2
A few pictures. These don’t do it justice, but am glad I have them. This is a trip I want to take once everything is awake and in bloom.
And the Mackinac Bridge – another stunning site. But more on that tomorrow.
God’s Country
I finally understand what that means.
Just had an excursion to Sault Ste. Marie, ON, and it was my first trip through Northern Michigan.
What a beautiful area. For miles, the highway was lined with bright pines and spruce, native birch, red-twig dogwood and numerous other species of trees just starting to leaf out. As far as the eye could see, it was stunning. And if it’s stunning this time of year, I can only imagine what it would look like in full bloom through the summer or as the brilliant shades of fall begin to develop.
An overcast day, even the clouds were something to look at. Billowing white waves of marshmallow cream. I’ve never seen clouds look so comforting, or inviting – as if you could snuggle in and have the best sleep you have ever had.
Yes, this is truly God’s Country. And if I had my way, Heaven would look like Northern Michigan.
gardenchatter 