How does your garden grow?

The term "garden" translates slightly differently on either side of the Atlantic.  In the UK, your garden is the whole patch of land that comes with your home - large or small, grand or paved - the whole area is called your garden.  

In North America, this would be called your "yard" - and the term "garden" is used more to describe the actual flower beds or vegetable patch where you physically grow stuff. What do your call your outside space in your part of the world?


So, when I first moved to Canada I would tell colleagues I had spent the whole weekend in the garden.  I got slightly quizzical looks as they were probably imagining me standing forlorn in the middle of my poppies, or soaking up the sun among the carrots.  But to me I was spending time in my yard - gardening!  

Regardless of the terminology, I do like to try and grow stuff. Not always successfully. I try to make my "yard" look pretty. My British assumptions and ambition are repeatedly thwarted by the shorter growing season and the Alberta winters - but I'm learning!  

I was sad that my favourite Globe Thistles (echinops) 

have not re-surfaced this year.

However, my lasagne gardening did finally work - it only took 18 months, instead of the usual 6 !  So this has resulted in more space to plant new stuff - and spend more money of course.  Everything is small and new but in a couple of seasons (if it all survives!), these will have filled out nicely.

To finish up this exisiting flower bed, I've put in soft silver Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina), interspersed with spikey blues of the Sea Holly (Eryngium).  And some pinky-blue Columbines (Aquilegias to me).  At the back, to give some height, will be some tall blues of Monkshood (Aconitum). And then I've just thrown in some blue pansies this year to give it some instant interest.


So 4 years ago, we owned this barren patch of grass:

And now we own this shapely little number:

A dog run, a home for the trampoline, a path out to the back park area, and a still-terrible lawn (mostly because I refuse to irrigate it) - but it is taking shape and looking better.  Well, I think so anyway!

I love these three trees that were hurredly shoved in the ground in September 2009, with a little prayer that the snow would stay away for a few more weeks - which it did.  They are simple, and fairly commonly grown here - Caragana "Sutherland" - I love the vase shape and the bronzey green bark.

We've given Daughter Number Two a patch to play with - and she chose (what I think are slightly old-fashioned plants) Gladioli and Dahlias - and some ever-popular pansies - plus an obligatory plastic dragonfly to brighten things up!

 Things that do grow remarkably well in this area are poppies, day lillies, iris', russian sage, potentilla, heuchera, and some geraniums.
Coneflowers, columbine and thrift survive well - but my lupins and astilbes all gave up and died rapidly. 

 Oh, and of course, the conifers and pines love it here!


So - how does your garden grow?

Garden Makeover - Day Three

Just a couple of pictures to update you on what I've been doing the past three days. Well, not just me - husband has been roped into this too of course, 'cos try as hard as I do, I can't shift 10 foot chunks of timber on my own - and he's very handy at digging too. I'm sure he was muttering something about gardening being devil's work but I have no idea what he means. I just ignore the mumbling and point the next bit I'd like digging. Actually, he's been brilliant and I couldn't do it without him, and I think he has secretly enjoyed this little project - it gives him an excuse to air all his tools which were gathering dust in the garage.

So from the back gate, new edging and gravel path added, 10 small Cotoneaster plants planted (in the hope of one day having a 5 foot high hedge along the back fence line. Give it about 10 years and it should look pretty good). I also risked digging up and moving a raspberry bush - it may or may be too late in the season for doing this, but the thing hasn't earned it's keep yet so I figured I had nothing to lose. I've created a specific area to keep the kid's trampoline on a semi-permanent basis too and then placed bark down for that. I must admit that this was not done for the benefit of the children but for the grass - Smudge can now continue to cock a leg and pee up the trampoline posts and no longer trash the grass underneath - genius huh?

I decided to remove a pile of big and little stones from around the base of Chokecherry tree which I suspect was planted when the house was built in the late 90's. I figured the tree could do with some mulch and nutrition. So I scraped away the oval shaped pile of pebbles and what did I find underneath? Kitchen lino, I kid you not! Who on earth puts kitchen floor vinyl around a tree? Granted, it makes a fantastic weed suppressant as not one little weed had made it through - but good grief, I'm surprised the tree was still alive. It has now been lovingly topped with a little quality soil and some bark and I sent out a neighbourhood invitation to any bugs and worms who would care to over-winter there.

Remember I said I hated digging up turf to make more flower beds? Well, last year on my gardening course I learnt about something called "lasagna gardening". No, you don't tuck into the perennial borders with a knife and fork washed down with a large glass of Chianti, though sometimes I can see how that might appeal if there was a good enough veggie patch on the go.

No, it's an easy no-digging way of making new flower beds whereby (condensed version coming up) you layer newspaper and cardboard straight on top of your grass and then top it all off with compost or topsoil and/or mulch (and a little parmesan - OK, not really) and then wait for 5 or 6 months. Apparently this will all compost down and the newspaper, cardboard and turf will decompose and hey presto, one new flower bed. So I thought I'd give it a go. This had better work or it will be one heck of mess to un-do. And for some reason, half-rotten soggy Panago Pizza boxes are not what I wish to face next spring.

So the left hand side of the garden is pretty much done already and I am very pleased with the shape and the contrasts so far. Smudge is already heading for his all-new, purpose-built bark-floored outhouse.