Virtual Garden Tour 2000-2021

I am simply enamored with these. Sternbergia lutea. Spring color in the fall. And a lot of tiny iridescent wasps, blue, green, golden green.. I don’t think they are trying to pollinate, it seems like a case of mistaken identity. I believe they are trying to mate with the base of the newly opened flowers. It is fascinating.

 

That is a stunning natural contrast of texture and color

What does it look like in a New England snow?

And in your post above - I venture to suggest that the Japanese style as we know it is trying to emulate what you have naturally and have carefully kept

Out here, people intentionally remove and kill moss —- I like going to drop off at the green waste and it’s stunning the natural flora that people have ripped out and disposed (salal!!)

 

Some belated photos of an earlier week in Sept 2021

My (almost invasive) asters have taken a long time to come in to blossom ... lots of buds yet not many have opened (the wild asters in Okanagan are happy bloomers)

My plumbago which is normally a lovely display of blue right now is looking shy!

I notice this sudden transition at Coast from hot dry to shade wet and heavy hours of RAIN have spurred some plants in to a rebirth

Like new sword fern fronds

Oh and Arctic Fire cornus (red twig dogwood) decided to flower again

Speaking of dogwoods - the various typical garden birds have been having a noisy fiesta mucho grande on the native (BC official floral emblem) dogwood tree out on the lane. I think the flickers and others like what really is the flower (versus the white “petals” leaves)

I do not have irrigation system so it’s up to nature or emptying the pets’ water bucket or an occasional dose of hose H2O

I went to look at all the beautiful spring bulbs at nurseries the other day — wow, nothing like Nature’s stored-up energy (and a spring bulb cover model photo label) to remind my grumpy human mood to get in gear and enjoy what is here today

Well on that philosophic note - here are some photos


Photo 1 - a mix basket of typical rockery plants - I always forget their name!

2. Sad PJM Rhodo —- thé leaves still have the unique scent —- it’s done well all temps considered (it’s a keeper - it is healthier than appear in photo)

3. Native sword fern rebirth —- one of my fav Colors —- whether coleus / hosta stained glass / Midwest magic ... really perks up a shady garden

4. My splurge last May June on coleus which I pot up in a mixed arrangement

The background is Hydrangea Blushing Bride - it starts out quite ivory white then transitions - of course I like the contrast from the art color wheel opposites

5. A sentimental autumn crocus from a long ago garden as a child ... Port Alice

6. A vine maple leaf - acer circinatum my all time fav native to BC ... and yes, once established, no fuss in our hot cold / wet dry weather at Coast

7. Aster - again - highly recommend - I have no idea how I have it at this house tho I know I planted it at a prev place years ago and I likely packed it for the move before the heirloom silver :)

So glad it came along — yes, it’s not showy and rosy, yet it has done so well this past season with minimal care incl water shortage.

8. Final is a screenshot of recent days - actually NIGHTS with full moonlight up on Anarchist just east of Osoyoos BC ... unbelievable and a pause for reflection - and then equinox sunrise from same location DriveBC cam - to think not long ago t was so thick with smoke — BC is amazing and résiliant.

————-
And that is our Autumnal Equinox big moon garden tour for today - thank you everyone for all your Informative and enjoyable tours here.

 

Next moment to explore online - I am going to look up your yellow « spring meets autumn » flower

I have never seen it - even in all my years of loyally reading Taunton FG from your part of the continent

I hope you will post some typical eastern autumn foliage photos

We don’t have the same bright reds and oranges out west — except where planted on purpose - and those are starting now in some street and mall trees just north of the 49th parallel shared border.

 

Oh dear, deer @Margot
It took me a while to figure out your hosta photo

Ouch
I wonder which salad dressing they ordered on the side

[Comment by wcutler as moderator: the rest of the text originally in this posting, and Margot's reply, has been moved to a new thread at (7) Changing Climate - Plants to Keep or Toss | UBC Botanical Garden Forums.]

 

Hasta la Vista Dressing no doubt. (Recipe unavailable)

[Comment by wcutler as moderator: the rest of the text originally in this posting has been moved to the new thread at (7) Changing Climate - Plants to Keep or Toss | UBC Botanical Garden Forums.]

 

Just saw this and I have to say that a good garlic wash is what I reccomend to keep pesky slugs and snails at bay. 1 garlic bulb to 1 litre of water crushed and blended in a liquidiser. Then strained and placed in a sprayer. This I use every two weeks and it does the job pretty well.
All natural with no chemicals to harm the hedgehogs.

Hope that helps

D

 

Hi Georgia, do have a look at my posting 1007 to Margot, as I know you love Hostas.

D

 

I will definitely give that a try. It seems that certain critters are acquiring a taste for my stand-by, Bobbex. I hope though, that as I beef up the fence to prevent deer coming in, such strategies will become theoretical. I've already given up on 2021 but have high hopes for 2022.

 

Totally agree with that theory Margot. There's always next year.

D

 

The turkeys seem to like the area of the yard that I am working on for the past few days..

 

Those are wild turkeys?

 

Yes.

 

Well thanksgiving dinner walks by :)
Are they considered feral? We have neighborhood feral peacocks that are a noisy messy nuisance —- not to mention Canada Geese ... cities have tax money budgets to try to discourage them (incl addling thé eggs)

So I am curious about the turkeys.

2. Do thé lovely rock outcrops occur like that or do local people peel off moss and power wash to view the granite? People do that on the coast. (I wouldn’t)

 

The turkeys are very quiet birds and don’t cause any trouble or mess because they roam around large areas. As for their history in the state, this is from the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection:

“Wild turkeys were abundant in Connecticut when the first settlers arrived. However, a combination of forest clearing and a series of severe winters eliminated the turkey from Connecticut by the early 1800s. From the 1950s through the early 1970s, attempts at wild turkey restoration through artificial propagation were largely unsuccessful. The major breakthrough in restoration efforts occurred when free-roaming wild turkeys were live-captured and translocated using a rocket net. This large, lightweight net is fired by rockets from a remote blind and carried over turkeys that have been attracted to the area by bait.

Between 1975 and 1992, 356 wild turkeys were released at 18 sites throughout the state. These releases and subsequent population expansion have resulted in the successful restoration of wild turkeys to all 169 Connecticut towns. Recent land use practices in Connecticut have also favored the expansion of wild turkey populations as the landscape has become more forested. As a result of restoration efforts and the increase in forest habitat, sportsmen have been able to hunt wild turkeys since 1981, and landowners and others have enjoyed observing them in their natural state.”

As for the rocks, they are all natural in our yard. I have never power washed the granite, because I love the lichens, however I have removed some moss and soil (few small patches) to reveal more rock and make the moss-covered areas more irregularly shaped. I think that makes them more attractive and more like a Japanese moss garden.

 

I can't believe how busy I've been lately! - no time for photos.

I'm still shuffling and moving plants, which also means improving and/or repairing the hardscape as necessary, but I'm almost finished with this project (its been over a month now). As well, I had to find room in the covered garden for some cactus that were gifted to me (this involved removing a 2 m loquat that will now be donated to a spring plant sale); these new plants are some sort of small barrel cactus that had been living in someone's front yard and were no longer wanted. And on top of all this I've been harvesting and dealing with various fruits but I was so busy with other things that I actually missed harvesting my akebia (hope the birds enjoyed them) - you only get a couple of days from the time they look ready until they are split open and gone!
And now I've discovered a leak in my fish pond liner! This issue we'll be dealing with in a couple of days - nothing like draining a pond on a cool, wet day - so I hope the fish will appreciate spending the time in my upstairs bathtub.

But I did remember to harvest my pawpaw, Asimina triloba. The fruit is much larger than I imagined and surprisingly very scented, almost floral with a taste that reminds me of mango.


pawpaw NC-1


unknown varieties of cactus

 

A small section of our backyard, that I recently cleared out of weeds. (Sorry for the garage roof making it into the picture, it’s just the way our weird house is..) The second photo is taken from the same spot, just a 90 degrees turn to the left, part of the ‘wild’ areas of the yard that I never touch. Our plant material compost spot is right next to this part of the yard. Compost has been accumulating for many years and I have not used it for anything yet. Just don’t see any purpose for it in our kind of ‘garden’. Any suggestions ?

 

Good morning N. I would leave it as it is, but think about an aray of flowering bulbs that pop up in different locations in this area. The old adage of less is more. IMO a scattering of low flowering white snow drops would look very pretty and natural for your late Winter. Then a consideration of some Spring and Summer bulbs of again whites would be very calming and cooling for that time of year.

D

 

Good evening everyone, not been on here for a while, but I have been watching.
Here are a few Hostas and my Handkerchief tree in full Autumnal colours today.
The Hostas are First frost, Halcyon and Great expectations.



D

 

My garden looks pretty sad this autumn compared to last year but here are a few highlights . . .

1. Nerine bowdenii - recently confirmed to be deer resistant by the fact that the deer who continually breach my fence have ignored it completely!
2. Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake'. After being pruned hard last summer, it produced no flowers this year. But oh, what gorgeous fall colours; continually changing too.
3. Skimmia japonica 'Red Princess'
4. Polypodium glycerhiza - native to this area.
5. Polypodium hesperium (I think), also growing wild here on the ground.
6. Asplenium trichomanes - native to this area
7. Acer palmatum 'Osakzuki' - 10 years since I planted it so, maybe, 15 years old?
8. Acer palmatum 'Osakzuki' in 2011.

 

Small Japanese maples are on the list for rutting bucks at this time of the year - better cage that 'Osakazuki' if you are letting them in now as you will not be pleased to come along some morning and find half or more of the bark on the trunk gone, wood beneath damaged. And if your deer fence is being crawled beneath, squeezed through or jumped over (needs to be 8' tall at the minimum, with 10' being best) then that won't stop until you make adequate modifications. (When I bought the current place the seller had a wire fence around the orchard and decorative plantings near the house maybe 5' tall with metal poles reaching above that, a couple levels of strings running horizontally between them. That supposedly produced an effective psychological barrier reaching up 8'. Soon after I took occupancy a doe interested in fallen apples inside the enclosure came along during the day while a couple of us were working nearby, entered and exited the fenced area with little difficulty or apparent effort - the psychological barrier was actually the small dog that was being let out to patrol within the compound).

 

Thanks for the reminder @RonB. Damage from rutting deer is what finally persuaded us to put up a plastic net fence about 10 years ago. They had completely destroyed a newly-planted, 5-tree Leylandi hedge (which turned out to be blessing in disguise). Until recently the fence has been very effective at keeping the deer out even though it is only about 6 feet high max. I think the reason they don't jump over is that the ground is so steep that they risk falling if they tried to jump and there's no way they can take a run at it. Fingers crossed. For quite a while deer were getting in through holes chewed by rabbits or perhaps raccoons. The picture shows my creative :-) use of wire rolls at the base of the fence to block the holes. Not at all attractive but I like it because it conforms to the unevenness of the ground. I've got about another 100 feet to go to have the entire perimeter secure; better get at it.

 

Beautiful, Margot!

Do you know which hardy fern grows in the forest up in the mossy branches of the old « big leaf Maples » ?

This one?
Polypodium glycyrrhiza - Wikipedia

 

Yes, that's the one - aka Licorice Fern. If you grow it, make sure to add some calcium (Bulb Fertilizer will do).
Polypodium glycyrrhiza - Licorice fern

 

New Azalea seedling, way too small for the deer to notice.