A Year in Review for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

In my neck of the woods of southern Ontario and in particular my own patch called the Sandbox I garden outside for three seasons: spring, summer and fall. Winter here is cold and snowy.  The trees, shrubs and perennials all take a nap until the soil warms up again in spring.
We had a very good growing year with very warm temperatures and a reasonable amount of rain. The plants looked good with no long periods of drought and certainly not like the season of 2009 where we had too much rain and not enough sunshine.  It was quite perfect for producing good bloom and growth.
I decided to offer you a small offering of what grew well in the Sandbox.  I chose those blooms that were especially lovely but there were others I could have added.  

A yellow early daylily, grape hyacinth, white trillium, pink peony, clematis ‘Guernsey Cream’, Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’, Double Bloodroot, peach daylily, and a blue columbine.

Bear’s Breeches, Cosmos ‘Pink Pom Pom’, Cup Plant, Rose ‘The Fairy’, Gaillardia, Lavender ‘Hidcote’, Daylily ‘ Canada Goose’, Hydrangea ‘Pink Diamond’, Cardinal Flower.
Clematis orientalis, Smooth Aster, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ with morning glory, Chrysanthemum ‘Clara Curtis’, deep pink cosmos, Echinacea purperea, Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, Phlox paniculata, and a red aster.
There were so many others that were equally glorious in the garden.   We are getting heavy frosts now.  All the annuals have succumbed.   I am planting bulbs now for the spring showing.  
Join Carol at Maydreamsgardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  I am also joining Tootsie for Tootsie Time.  I hope to see your post there too. Have a great weekend.  Valerie

September Blooming for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

You know it is fall when the colchicum’s are in bloom.  One day they just appear in the garden without any warning.  I have heard them called bare ladies because they have no foliage at this time of the year.  They are a wonderful surprise.

In the front garden I have a red aster. The tag has disappeared so I can not tell you its cultivar.  Asters come in many colours. It forms a good size clump. This one is drought tolerant.

A few weeks ago I posted Miscanthus sinensis “Summer Solstice.  This one is a relative of that called Miscanthus sinensi ’Huron Sunrise’.  They both have beautiful pink plumes that turn a white colour over the winter and hold their shape even though the snow piles up around them.

Cosmos ‘Bon Bon’ threw us another bloom.  If your order flower seeds try Renee’s Garden Seeds.  I grew some mesclan seeds from Renee’s in a container this year.  I wish I could tell you they were delicious but the ground hog had lunch on them before I got any.

Well, this is my offering today for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Visit MayDreamsGardens for more delights from the garden.   Happy Gardening.  Valerie  

Baptisia australis on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Although it is not in full bloom I thought I would show you a beautiful plant with  violet blue lupine like flowers. Not only are the flowers this intense colour but the stems of the plant are also.  The plant is called Baptisia australis or Blue False Indigo.  It is the 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year for 2010 chosen by the Perennial Plant Association.   Baptisia is a plant native to North America that is home in any style of garden from cottage garden to meadow or prairie garden.  It grows 3-4 ft tall and can be 3 to 4 ft wide if it is happy in the garden. Flower arrangers love the charcoal black seed pods for use in flower design.  It loves the sun or partial shade in a well drained soil. This plant is drought tolerant after become established which is good here in this garden.  The plant has no serious insect or disease problems.

 The Native American natives used the Baptisia as a treatment for snakebite, bathe cuts and wounds.  The Colonists used the plant for a dye in their textiles.  This plant is in the family of legumes so fixes nitrogen in the soil through specialiazed nodes in the roots.

In this International Year of Biodiversity sanctioned by the United nations to reduce the constant loss of biological diversity world wide the Baptisia is a magnet for Sulphur butterflies and the Gray Hairstreak.  If you have not tried this plant in your garden do look for it at your local nursery.  To find more garden blooms join in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day at MayDreamsGardens here.  Happy Gardening.