Shorty Tulip for Macro Friday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have some very short tulips in the garden.  They are only about 6 inches tall.   I caught a bee inside this one just covered in pollen.   Have a great weekend.    Happy Mothers Day.   The garden really needs a lot of attention at the moment and I want to spend all my time out there when the weather is good.

I am joining Laura at Blogging from Bolivia for Macro Friday.    Valerie

Beware: Woman with Shovel

I purchased Hydrangea Endless Summer about 3 years ago.  The first year it did bloom with two or three blooms for the season.  I really enjoyed the autumn colourations of red and gold.  The second year and this year the plant grew bigger but it produced not one bloom.   I had mixed feelings about it whether I would move it to another location in the garden or just toss it in the compost or give it a way and call it a day.   An empty hole is an opportunity to try something new...shaking my head up and down.   This morning I came to a snap decision.   Today is the day I take that shrub and move it to another location.   I will give you one more chance.

Earlier in the summer I expanded a bed on the southwest side of the house.   I used the lasagna method.   I am sure you have heard of this.   I ran a rope along the area I wanted to expand.   I dug out a trench at the front of it and removed the grass in the trench.  The rest I left as grass.   I next got several layers of newspapers and wet them down to hold them in place.  They would blow away otherwise.  Use as many layers as you want.  Mine are 3 or 4 layers thick.   Next, I emptied the compost bins of ready to use compost and spread it on the area trying to cover as much as I could.   I then went to the pile of manure that is sitting at one end of the garden.   Hubby brought it home in the spring.  It is really rotted.....good stuff.    I then added a layer of manure over the whole area.   The final layer is good triple mix hubby   purchased from the nursery and loaded  in the truck.  I did not measure how deep I spread it but a good 4 or 5 inches anyway.   I then left the bed to just settle and the grass underneath to decompose over the summer.

Here is the soil going on the top.    I did not have any plan for particular plants at the time.  There are always a few in the yard that need moving for one reason or another. 

This morning the Hydrangea Endless Summer got planted in the new bed.  I hope it is happier here.   We will give it a chance to settle in over the winter and then check its progress next year.   The plant itself is very healthy.

Daylily Many Happy Returns went in the hole that Endless Summer came out off.   I can rely on the daylilies for bloom and performance.  They rarely disappoint.    So,  if you see a mad woman with a shovel it is probably me.   Happy Gardening.  Valerie

I have passed the one year Anniversary

I have just realized that I have passed my one year Anniversary of Gardening in the Sandbox.  This was my very first post.  I was so excited to be apart of this big world of blogging.  I hoped to make new friends that were interested in the things that I was and share stories and I have done that in spades.  To think that my words and humble photos would be read all over the world and commented on by new friends.  It makes me weep to think of it.   I have to thank you so much for joining me here.  I hope to do better this second year and give you content that will inspire you and give reflection of this wonderful world we live in.

As always have a great gardening day.  Valerie


Daylilies or Hemorocallis are not native to North America but rather originated in Japan, Siberia, Korea, China or Eurasia approximately 2000 years ago. The word Hemorocallis is derived from two Greek words meaning beauty and day. Each flower blooms only for a day although there could be many buds on each stalk and many stalks in each clump. The clump will flower for several weeks and some can be repeat bloomers throughout the season.

Daylillies like a sunny or partially sunny locations and will prosper in just about any soil except where it is consistently wet. In fact, if the soil is too rich they will not flower as well but put out more foliage. Daylilies are drought tolerant. You may lose blooms if a prolonged drought occurs. They really are a low maintenance plant.

Daylilies are available in a rainbow of colours, variety of shapes and sizes. They are easy to grow and suitable to all types of landscaping. Plants are for the most part pest-free with only an occasional visit from aphids or spider mites.

At the moment my garden is awash with colours of red, pink, peach, bronze, orange and yellow.

Whats Growing in the Sandbox this Week

 Every morning armed with my one of two cups of coffee I wander around looking to see what is new in the garden.   I have discovered that I have a lot of daylilies and some I do not remember planting.  When I see them bloom I try to remember where did that come from.  I love daylilies so if there is one for sale at a church plant sale, fundraiser or in someone's garden I will bring home another one.   The unfortunate part of doing this is that you have no idea what the name of the cultivar is.  I am going to show you three of my collection that I do know the names of .   The first above is Strawberry Candy.

This one is called Canada Goose.   Don't know why.  A Canada goose does not come in this velvety deep red colour.

This is called Prague Spring.   I love its delicate colours.

The Belamcanda chinensis is also called Blackberry Lily or Leopard Lily.  It is not a lily at all but is in the Iris family.  It has fan shaped leaves like the Iris with 6petaled orange flowers on it.  The flowers only last one day.  It is native to China and grows in partial shade to full sun.  This plant is really at the end of its range in a zone 5 but it seems to come back in my 4b with a heavy mulch in winter. 

Pink Diamond Hydrangea is coming into bloom.  This large shrub stands at 7ft tall and at least 5 wide.  I did not realize that it would be so large when I planted it.  I give it a pruning in the spring to keep it in bounds.  The blooms go from white to pink as they age.  It is usually covered in bees and wasps as the flowers are very fragrant.

My cosmos are beginning to bloom also.  The roaming ground hog chewed the tops of many of them.  I am glad to see that they are doing fine now.   This one was a pretty pink.   I got fancy and texturized the photo with a light bokka.

Well I have lots more plants to show you but I will save some for another day.   I hope you like these.  I always enjoy showing them to you.   It is amazing the plants that will grow in our sandy soil.   Mother Nature has been very kind this year.  Our summer has been the best in many for temperatures and growing conditions.    Happy Gardening.  Valerie

Echinacea in the Sandbox

Echinacea Purpurea is a staple in the Sandbox.   The birds and the butterflies are attracted to it.  This plant can take the sandy conditions here as well as the heat and humidity that occurs here in southern Ontario in summer.  Unfortunately, the rabbit thinks the plant is tasty and will nip off the tops of them.  Purple coneflower is a pretty easy plant to grow in soil that is average and with good drainage.   If it is happy in your garden it can spread but here it is well behaved.

Just for fun I antiqued this one in photoscape a free software program.  I am having fun figuring out all the things this program can do. 

This Echinacea is called Tango Meadowbrite.   As you can see it has tangerine-orange petals and stands about 2ft tall in the garden.  I love how the petals droop down.

Echinacea 'White Swan' is another coneflower in the Sandbox.  It has a pure white flower that could be confused for a shasty daisy I suppose.   Again it has a reflexed habit. 

Echinacea 'Doppelganger'  is an unusual variety of Coneflower.  This one has not completed its transformation but I wanted to show it to you anyway.  It will get a two tiered effect when it is completely formed.  

I have a couple other types of Coneflower or Echinacea in the garden that have not bloomed yet.  I will share them with you when they do.   I hope that if you have not tried this plant that you will.  When I was at the Nursery Lost Horizons last weekend I saw on display many more different varieties and some exceptional colours of red.   I did not buy one at the time because I had blown the budget already for the day but I will certainly be looking for one to add to this garden. Happy gardening.  Valerie

It suddenly occured to me after I had posted this morning that today is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  The 15to of each month MayDreamsGardens hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day where you can see what Gardeners from all over have on display in their garden.  Come on along. 

It Is A Hot Day In The Sandbox

It has been blistering hot here in the Sandbox this week.  The temperature is in the 30s C but with the humidity it is in the 40sC.  I make my rounds in the yard with a cup of coffee in the morning about 6am.  I fill up the birdfeeders and replentish the water in the various troughs and birdbaths to look after my little friends the red squirrel, black and grey squirrel, chipmunks and various birds.   I have seen at least three garder snakes in the flowerbeds.  I give them their distance.  The first photo is a picture of the Lavendula or Lavender 'Munstead', a Sedum ' Autumn Joy' and Lychnis 'Maltese Cross' .   All pretty easy to maintain in the garden.  The Lavender gets a pruning in the spring to keep it in bounds.

Acanthus 'Mollis' is a first time bloomer.   A fellow Master Gardener and I shared a very small cutting of this plant a couple of years ago.  Last year I was thrilled when I saw that it survived in my garden.  It did not flower last year but it was alive.  When it emerges in the garden  it is rather late at about the time that the Columbine is in bloom.  It looks like the leaves of a dandelion although larger and shiny.   I was astounded when I saw one bloom stalk and then two and then three.   I just love the colouring on it.   I have been told it will create a huge clump if it is happy where you plant it.

I thought that the flower bed on the south foundation wall was looking kind of good this morning so I took a picture.  There is Daylily 'Chrimson Pirate', a dwarf daylily that reblooms, 'Stella D' Oro' Daylily, Trumpet Vine, Coreopsis, Coreopsis 'Zegreb', Lychnis- Pink Campion, Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Yucca or Adams Needle in this bed.  All take the hot sun with very little stress.  They give lots of colour here.

This is the Yucca or Adams Needle in bloom.  I think this is one of the very first plants we put in the ground on this property.  It takes the heat and the dry with no problem.

Hydrangea 'Annabelle' is an amazingly easy hydrangea to grow and it gives you these big full blooms.  They are great in floral arrangements.  The only downside I can see is its tendency to sucker.   If you grow it be ready to divide it often for plant sales.

A female Rose-breasted Grosbeak is sharing the birdfeeder with a sparrow.  It is a joy to watch the wildlife in the garden. 

In the vegetable garden the tomatoes are starting to put on fruit.  This one is 'Brandywine'.   Last year we had no tomatoes because of the rain.  I am looking forward to a tomatoe sandwich this year with one of these. 

Happy Gardening Everyone.   Valerie

End of June in the Sandbox

Is it just me or is spring and summer just rushing away.   It is already the end of June.   Ontarians always consider July and August as summer and then it starts to snowball towards the s...... word.     Every year that I get older the time goes faster.  I feel like a poor hampster on a wheel that is spinning and I am trying to keep up.     This week a beautiful little pink waterlily appeared on the pond.   There is a white one out there as well but it has not opened yet.  If you look closely you can see the fish just underneath the lilypads.  

This little pretty is a Stokes Aster "Blue Danube".   The plant likes a sandy soil and is drought tolerant.  The tag says that they should be grown in groups to give a good display but this gardener has never learned the lesson of buying more than one.   Planting in drifts  101 went right over my head.  

Here is the bud of another Stokes Aster.  I like to photograph plants in bud too.  Sometimes they are more interesting.

Just off the drive way I have Tall Meadow Rue or Thalictrum Polygamum a native of North America and probably seeded itself there thanks to a bird eating the mulberries in the tree above.   I love its airy little flowers.

I can never say that I grow roses well but this lovely little rose called the 'The Fairy' just blooms and blooms away during the season.  It has lovely little delicate pink blooms. 

Astrantia is growing out front on the northside of the house.   It has lovely pink flowers and grows intoa nice little clump.  It seems not to have any issues with insects or disease and seems happy enough out there in the flowerbed.  Next to it is the Hydrangea Endless Summer that has lovely folliage on it but no blooms.   I am disappointed in it.

As a member of the Garden Writers Association I am given items to try out and if I think they are worthy I am to write about them.   This is my new favourite tool.   I have made good use of it this week digging out all the grass that has been creeping into the flowerbeds.   It is great for getting in close to the plant and pulling out stubborn weeds.  It is even a good tool when you are planting as it digs a nice hole easily  to slip in the new plant into.   My husband used the CobraHead when we was putting edging in around the bog garden.  It dug a perfect channel to place the edging into.   I think it is a winner and I will be using this alot.

As I was taking photos of the various flowers I almost bumped into this little baby Dove sitting on the fence.  I could have reached out an touched it and it did not flinch.  So I took his or her picture.  They are kinda cute.

Happy Canada Day

Cotinus Coggygria-Smoke Bush

The Smoke Bush at the front our house is now in bloom.  This tree appeared  as a seedling from a seed dropped by a bird some 15 years ago.  Our neighbours had one so I assume that it came from there. It is a multi stemmed deciduous shrub that has grown to approximately 15 ft tall and at least 8 to 10 ft wide at the top. We prune it annually and sometimes severly to keep the various branches from taking over the walk way to the front of the house.

The flower of the Smoke Bush is huge at approximately 6-8 inches long and 5 inches wide and made up of tiny hairs and seeds that can produce many new smoke bushes.  They are bushy and airy and appear as a puff of smoke in a pretty pink colour.  There are many new varieties of Cotinus these days with flowers of lime green or white.  The flowers last a long time.

Here you can see it as it sits at the front of the house.  Many of the plants under it enjoy the shade that it provides.  This shrub is not fussy on soil.  It grows in our amended sandy soil and is drought tolerant. A plus here in hot summers.  I have to giggle here because after reading many of your blogs I have to remember that a hot summer temperature here is just a normal day say in Texas or Australia.   We are hiding in the air conditioning on a 30C day here when the humidity is wilting this gardener.  

The leaves are a beautiful green colour with red stems on our shrub.  In the fall the leaves turn a beautiful red colour.

Here is what a mass of flowers looks like on the Smoke Bush.  We have not seen any problems with insects or disease on this shrub.

If you are looking for something different in your gardens and have room for this shrub I hope you will give it a try.  Happy Gardening.  Valerie

Long Blooming - Erodium Manescavii

 Do you grow this plant in your garden?  Our Master Gardener group had a sharing table one night.  We had to bring a favourite plant to share.  We then took turns picking a plant for our garden.  I chose this one grown by a gal that likes to try unusual and different plants.  The Erodium is not a common plant that you find in many gardens and is difficult to find in many nurseries.  I do not know why.  It is maintanence free and bug and pest free. In my garden it starts blooming in spring and stops when the frost comes along in the late fall. It overwinters just fine without any particular fussing.   I have never know it to not have flowers blooming on it.  The Erodium or Heronsbill is a relative to the geranium.  The flowers are a lovely pinky lilac much like a geranium but the leaves are different.  They are quite ferny and fuzzy.  It grows in full sun or part shade in ordinary soil.   In my sandy soil it does just fine.  It does not sulk if it is without water.   I never water it in my Zone 4B garden.

I have tried unsuccessfully to divide it many times but somehow I must have been lucky as I do have a new plant that I only noticed this year.  You can purchase seeds but I have not tried that.  When I go to the plant nurseries I am always on the hunt for another one.

If you want to try something different in the front of your border look for this little winner.  Happy Gardening.   Valerie

A Necessary Item in Every Garden

It rained a wee bit last night.  Not a hard rain that we could really use after two weeks of lovely hot temperatures. In the sandbox two weeks without rain can make the difference between plants that are flourishing and doing well and those that are beginning to show stress.  The soil here is sandy, although we are constantly amending it with compost and triple mix. Sandy soil drains like a sieve. It holds no moisture or nutrients for the most part.  Most plants after getting established here survive quite nicely.  We do not grow anything that needs to be babied along.  That means very few roses or pretties as I call them.  Good stout, serviceable and drought tolerant is the way to go.

The reason for my rant today is to introduce two necessary items in my garden.  They being the water barrels that occupy space, one in the back and one in the front of the house.  In summer if it is hot and dry over a period of time we are subject to water bans.  That means no unnecessary watering allowed. Grass, gardens, car washing are no nos.  The water barrels come in handy then.  Of course it matters that we had some rain to fill them prior to the dry spell.  There is always a but to every argument isn't there?

The blue water barrel was scavenged by my dear husband from somewhere and fitted with a tap at the bottom and a piece of hose to fill the watering cans.  I have a few of these too.

The second one was kindly offered to me last summer by Fiskars to try out. They have a gizmo on the downspout to divert over flow to the ground and has a cooler shape than the blue one.  I tried two of them and unfortunately they both cracked and drained all the water collected.  Fiskers readily replaced them.  The third try Fiskars gave me a newly designed one.  I am happy to report that it is holding water perfectly so far.

So, in summary I have to give a thumbs up to my water barrels as a necessary part of this garden landscape.  A bonus is nice soft rain water and not hard clorined town water for my babies.   Happy Gardening. Valerie

Papaver Orientale in the Sandbox

The Oriental Poppies are just starting to bloom in the Sandbox.  These plants have big showy orange red blooms but unfortunately they only last a few days.   This is one plant I do not put in a plant sale.  I have rarely had success with digging them up and repotting them.  You are probably better off to wait for the seed pods and then sow them where you might want new plants to grow.

I think the bud of the poppies is so interesting.  It is rather bristly.  I am sure there is a reason for that phenomenon  but at this point I don't know what that is.

              The  deep green leaves are shaped like a fern with serrated edges and a fuzzy surface.

When the last flower has bloomed the plants begin to die off and disappear into the ground.  Unfortunately that leaves gaps in the flower bed.  Oh Dear.   If you like big and showy you might try these.