Three Dogs in a Garden

Missed Grange Hollow Nursery Part 1? Go back and read it here.

It's late summer at Grange Hollow Nursery just south of Owen Sound, Ontario. Nursery owner Katherine Taylor sets the scene for us:

"As autumn approaches, the perennial gardens are shifting to fall colours. Seeds are beginning to ripen - for collection by both the birds (for food) and by us (to grow next season’s stock). The grass garden is reaching its full glory - hundreds of towering spikes topped with feather blooms wavering in the breeze."

"The vegetable garden is bountiful and we’re struggling to keep up with canning and freezing, while savouring the last of the fresh produce. The final waves of migrating butterflies are passing through and wee first-year frogs have dispersed from their ponds seeking refuge for the winter."

"It’s a different hustle and bustle from the springtime, but not less active. Business is winding down at the greenhouse, but fall cleaning, potting, and planning are ramping up until the first blanketing of snow when we can take a breath and relax."

At the heart of the Grange Hollow is the old brick farmhouse. Adjacent to the house, the is a long vegetable garden and a butterfly garden that we are about to see. In this post we'll also visit the shade garden, with its rustic arbor and pond, that sits in the shadow of the smaller of two barns.

An overhead view of the property.

The layout of the nursery in closeup.

The vegetable garden.

Katherine describes her vegetable and butterfly gardens:

"The vegetable garden was the first garden we built using this farm’s most prolific crop - limestone. We filled it with composted manure from our cattle and chickens (Note: we no longer have livestock)."

"The butterfly garden and vegetable garden blend together in late summer as the tall perennials mature, obscuring the rock walls built by my husband in the exuberance of youth. The self-seeding Heliopsis, Echinacea and Malva contribute to the profuse wild look."

Malva on the rock wall that Katherine's husband built.

A mix of flowers and vegetables.

"This is an amaranthus variety named "Velvet Curtains." It has darker blooms and leaves, and a more upright habit than Love-lies-bleeding. It is a great filler in cut-flower bouquets, but really we grow it because Mom likes it, " says Katherine's daughter, Sarah, who works alongside her mother at the nursery.

Butterfly weed

Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa has clusters of orange and gold flowers mid-summer. This is a native North American wildflower and is the principal source of food for the both the adult and juvenile Monarch Butterfly. Butterfly weed likes dry conditions and well-drained, sandy soil. Full sun. Height:60-90 cm (23-35 inches), Spread: 45-60 cm(18-23 inches). USDA Zones: 4-9.

A Zinnia flower in full glory.

The vegetable garden.

"In the vegetable garden, we grow just about everything: asparagus, rhubarb, lettuce, chard, radishes, kale, beets, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onions, cabbage, peppers, beans (bush and runner), sugar-snap peas, cucumbers, cantaloupe, squash of all kinds, garlic (which we sell) and of course lots of heirloom tomatoes," says Katherine.

"We also like to try something different every year, like sweet potatoes, popcorn, edamame or okra - not always with success! This year’s experiment: cucamelons. I like to have flowers among my vegetable plants to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, and also because it looks pretty! "

Another of the Zinnia flowers.

Sarah Taylor says, "This plant is an artichoke relative named Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus). Its stalks are an edible delicacy if you are inclined (we are not). It is borderline hardy here, but has overwintered for close to 10 years now. Great for pollinators and just generally cool-looking."

Borage, a prolific self-seeder, had taken over the far end of the vegetable garden by late summer. Bees adore this herb. The big swath of sky-blue flowers hummed like a hive (as it happens, borage flowers add a delicious flavour to honey).

Borage has limited culinary uses, but the flowers are edible and taste a little like cucumber. They look beautiful as a flourish in iced tea and can be also make a nice garnish in summer salads. Here's a link to 15 borage recipes.

In late August, the area behind the seed starting greenhouse had a terrific display of pink, purple and white phlox.

Sarah says, "This Phlox could be "Bright Eyes" or one of its seeded progeny."

Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes' has fragrant flowers that are pink with a contrasting magenta eye. This is a mid-sized phlox that likes average to moist conditions and average garden soil. Full sun or part-shade. Height:60-75 cm (23-29 inches), Spread: 45-60 cm(18-23 inches). USDA Zones: 3-9.

Another late summer perennial:

Variegated Sea Holly, Eryngium planum 'Jade Frost'has grey-green leaves edged in cream and clusters of violet-blue umbels. This perennial likes hot, dry sites and soil that is high in salts. Pick stems just as the flower clusters begin to open and hang them to dry for fall arrangements. Full sun. Height:50-60 cm (20-23inches), Spread: 30-60 cm(12-23 inches). USDA Zones: 3-9.

Our final stop on this visit will be the shade garden next to the smaller of the two barns.

"This garden bed faces south and used to be hot and dry. It was home to many daylily cultivars. As the trees and shrubs have matured (especially the oak), it has become shady. Over the last few years I have been swapping out sun-lovers for more shade-tolerant plants," says Katherine.

"The flagstone walk was formerly the path to the barnyard, whose split-rail fence has been re-incarnated as a rustic arbor (a Mother's Day gift from my sons). Generous annual applications of mulch have greatly improved the soil (standard practice for all of our gardens) and reduced time spent weeding.

1. Japanese Fern, Athyrium niponicum 2. Japanese Forest Grass, Hakonechloa 3. Lungwort, Pulmonaria 4. Hellebore "Golden Sunrise"5. Autumn Fern, Dryopteris erythrosora 6. Hosta probably "Janet"7. Lamium 'White Nancy'8. Bugbane, Actaea (formerly Cimicifuga) "Pink Spike" 9. Canadian Ginger, Asarum canadense

A closer view of a few of the plants in the previous image. Hellebore "Golden Sunrise"(top left), Hosta probably "Janet"(top right), Autumn Fern, Dryopteris erythrosora (chartreuse fern in the middle) and Canadian Ginger, Asarum canadense (foreground).

"The globe thistle surprised me - it doesn't seem to mind the shade!"says Katherine.

Phlox and Turtlehead flowers.

Turtlehead, Chelone lyonii has pink hooded flowers from August into September. Turtlehead prefers moist soil, but does pretty well with average soil moisture. This is a long-lived perennial that can easily be divided in the spring. Full sun or part-shade. Height:60-90 cm (18-23 inches), Spread: 45-60 cm. USDA Zones: 3-9.

Note: There is also white flowering native Chelone glabra.

"Nestled next to a forty-year-old Alberta spruce, our small pond is home to various amphibians, and neighbouring garter snakes. We plan to add large submerged containers of native wetland plants and resurrect the waterfall in 2018."

"We had some pots of Cyperus "King Tut" and "Prince Tut" left over in the greenhouse, and after endlessly watering, I thought I would try growing them as pond plants (works really well!) and has given me some ideas for next year... Looking lush and prehistoric in the background are ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris)," says Katherine.

And this ends our little tour of Grange Hollow Nursery.

Missed Grange Hollow Nursery Part 1? Go back and read it here.

An Invitation to visit Grange Hollow Nursery:

All our plants are grown using pollinator-friendly practices. We will help you pick the perfect plants for your growing conditions. Try something new from our extensive selection of heirloom tomato and vegetable transplants, herbs, annual flowers, native and exotic perennials. Find inspiration or relaxation in our sprawling, cottage-style display gardens, teeming with bird, insect and animal activity. We welcome you to take a scenic drive to discover our unique gardens and plant nursery in picturesque rural Grey County!

Iris mixing with tulips and forget-me-nots in my garden last May.

Bearded iris are a classic cottage garden flower, but I think they are so traditional they often get overshadowed by other perennials. With this post, I hope to remind you just how beautiful they are.

The earliest bearded iris begin to bloom at the perfect time. Late tulips are flowering and alliums are putting on a show, but many perennials are still in that early stage of green growth. In my garden I find that bearded iris, with their ruffled blooms, are a welcome addition in May.

A Tall Bearded Iris at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, ON.

With satin petals that shimmer in the sunlight, the flower of a Tall Bearded Iris is an exquisite thing to behold. They are perhaps the most iconic iris, but they aren't your only option.

Here's a look at the range of bearded iris available:

MDB: Miniature Dwarf Bearded Iris are the smallest and earliest of the bearded irises to bloom. They grow up to 8 inches talland have flowers that are three inches or smaller.

SDB: Standard Dwarf Bearded bloom after Miniature Dwarf Iris and usually finish flowering just as the Intermediate Bearded Iris are reaching their peak. SDW reach a height of 8 to 15 inches tall and has blooms that are 2-4 inches in size.

IB:Intermediate Bearded Iris are 16 to 28 inches in height. The flowers are 3.5-5 inches in size and extend up above the foliage for a nice display.

MTB:Miniature Tall Bearded are 16 to 18 inches tall and have flowers that are approximately 6 inches. The flowers are fragrant and are often used as cut flowers.

BB: Border Bearded Iris are 16-27 inches in height and are more resistant to wind damage than Tall Bearded Iris. At 5 inches the flower size is a little smaller than TB.

TB: Tall Bearded Iris are the last of the bearded iris to bloom. They are 27 inches or more in height.

Border Bearded Iris 'Batik' in my garden.

How to Choose: Bigger is Better...right?

Not necessarily. Selecting a bearded iris is a mix of personal preference and what works best in your garden. Statuesque Tall Bearded Iris have the largest blooms, but they are 27 or more inches in height. The big flowers make them top heavy. Wind and rain can send their flowers right to the ground. In an open area, Tall Bearded Iris generally require some form of staking.

The blooms of the shorter types of bearded iris are significantly smaller, but they are less top heavy and yet still manage to be quite showy. Over the years, I have come to prefer Intermediate Bearded Iris, partly because I am lazy, and don't want to have to stake flowers, and also because I find the metal stakes detract from the flowers.

You, on the other hand, might prefer the larger flowers and think stakes are a small price to pay for the amazing blooms.

By way of example, here's a comparison of two peachy-pink iris:

Tall Bearded Iris 'Beverly Sills' is one of the most popular peachy-pink tall bearded irises. It has a reputation for being a vigorous grower that blooms heavily mid-season. Full sun. Height: 60-90 cm (24-36 inches).USDA zones: 3-9.

Intermediate Bearded Iris 'Pink Kitten' has much smaller pale pink flowers with tangerine beards. Fragrant. Full sun. Height: 45-60 cm (18-24 inches). USDA zones: 3-9.

A purple Intermediate Bearded Iris in a master gardener's backyard in Mississauga, ON. A step-back view of the same iris can be seen below.

A yellow Intermediate Bearded Iris in the same master gardener's backyard in Mississauga, ON.

The yellow iris in close-up.

A few other considerations:

Bearded irises flower for 3 or 4 weeks. You can extend the flowering season however, by selecting early and late flowering varieties.

Some bearded irises have a light fragrance. If you are looking to add fragrance to your plantings, you can shop for scent in a range of iris sizes.

Even if your garden is small, there is still a bearded iris for you. The Miniature Dwarf Bearded Iris (see below) in my mother's old garden kickstarted my passion for these tiny iris.

Planting a Bearded Iris:

The best time to plant bearded iris is in July, August and September. To ensure your iris will make it through winter, be sure to plant it at least 4 weeks before the first hard frost. Typically a bearded iris will bloom a year after it is planted.

Iris like full sun (6-8 hours of sunlight). The exception might be a hot climate where iris might benefit from light shade in the afternoon. The only other requirement is good drainage. If your soil is poorly drained, add organic matter to improve drainage.

Plant your rhizomes at least 12 inches apart. Crowding them can create an impressive display, but you'll have to dig your iris up and divide them after just a couple of years. Spacing irises properly also encourages good air circulation and helps prevent disease.

If you iris is in a nursery container, remove it from the pot without disturbing the soil. Plant it at the same level or even slightly higher in the ground. Be careful not to cover the rhizome with soil. Water well. Continue to water every few days for about a week. Then water weekly until the iris has rooted.

Planting a bare-root bearded iris is a little more tricky. If the roots are looking a little wrinkled you can rejuvenate them by soaking the rhizome in shallow pan of water for a couple of hours just before you do your planting.
Irises like to have the top of their rhizomes visible to the sun. Dig a planting hole and fashion a hill of soil in the middle. The mound of soil should come up to ground level. Centre the rhizome on top of the mound and spread out the roots down the sides of the hill. Bury the roots taking care not to cover the rhizome. Water well. Continue to water every few days for about a week. Then water weekly until the iris has rooted.

A Tall Bearded Iris with Columbine just in behind it. My garden in May.

Ongoing Care

Water
Established clumps of bearded iris do not need supplemental water. They should be fine with natural rainfall unless there is an extended period of drought.

Fertilizing
Generally speaking, bearded iris do well in average garden soil and do not need regular fertilizer. If your soil is really poor, a light application of fertilizer can be added in early spring and again a month or so after bloom. Superphosphate or a well balanced fertilizer (with a NKO ratio of 10-10-10 or 5-10-10) are two good options.
There are a couple of fertilizers that should be avoided. Fertilizer that is high in nitrogen can encourage lush growth that is susceptible to bacterial soft rot. A weed and feed fertilizer should also be avoided.

Do not mulch!
Mulch locks in moisture and can cause the soft rot of your rhizomes.

Avoiding Potential Problems
To avoid problems with disease and pests keep your iris clear of garden debris. Remove any dead foliage and after your iris finishes flowering, snap or cut the flower stalk off at the base. In the late summer/fall prune back the foliage to discourage over-wintering pests.

Bearded iris mixing with Peonies in a private garden in Caledon, ON.

Dividing

A decline in the number of flowers is a sign that your iris needs to be divided. As a rule, you should divide your irises every 3-4 years in late July or early August.
To divide your irises, dig up the entire clump with a garden fork. Gently pull apart the tangle of rhizomes with your hands. Cut off the larger, healthy-looking young rhizomes with a sharp knife. Throw away the old core "mother" rhizome. It's past it's prime and won't bloom again. At the same time, you should also discard any sections of rhizome that have been adversely damaged by pests. Cut back the leaf fans of your divisions to six or eight inches. This will ease the stress of replanting by allowing the plant to focus on growing new roots. Allow the rhizomes to dry overnight to seal up any cuts before replanting them.

Pests and Problems

Iris Borers
Adult borers are nocturnal moths that lay their eggs on garden debris in last summer or fall. They hatch into one inch sized larvae that that chew into the leaves and then eat their way down to the rhizomes. Borer damage is often seen as notched wounds or slimy, wet-looking areas on the leaves. Once they eat their way down to the base of the plant, they begin to hollow their way through the rhizome. In August they pupate in the soil and hatch into more adult moths.
To deal with this pest, I have learned to keep the rhizomes clear of any debris throughout the growing season. I also try to catch the larvae in the spear-shaped foliage by removing any slimy leaves.

Bacterial Soft Rot
It is hard to imagine anything more putrid smelling than mushy rhizomes infected with this fungal disease. Too much nitrogen in the soil, garden debris around the base of the plants and too much water are all possible causes of this problem.
Dig up the infected plant/s and cut away the rotten parts of the rhizome (throw the infected sections in the garbage–do not compost them). Allow the cut areas to sit in the open air for a day or two.You can also disinfect the wounds with a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.

Bacterial Leaf Spot
Small pale spots on the foliage are a sign of Bacterial Leaf Spot. Sadly there is no cure. Remove any infected plants and wash your tools with a 10% bleach and water solution.

Planting Ideas

I always like to end on a positive note. Pests and disease can be an issue, but these are wonderful perennials.

Here are a few ideas on using iris in the garden and how to combine them with other plants.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

Try planting three or five complimentary colors together.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

Mix bearded iris with Peonies.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

Mix bearded iris with other types of iris (above and below).

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.

Private garden in Mississauga, ON.

Let a shrub or tree create the perfect backdrop.

Private garden in Mississauga, ON.

A bearded iris in my garden with Sweet Rocket in the background.

No matter what type of bearded iris you choose, it is bound to be a great addition to your spring garden.

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Pollypetite® Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus sp. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

You'll notice that "dwarf" is a recurring descriptive in this post. Smaller yards mean that gardeners are looking for small-scale shrubs and growers have responded with new dwarf versions of classic favourites.

I'm opening with this dwarf Rose of Sharon. If you dislike this kind of shrub for having a plethora of unwanted seedlings, you'll be glad to hear that the new Pollypetite® is nearly seedless.

Pollypetite® Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus sp. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

And how pretty does its cool pink blooms look paired with this greenish-white hydrangea? (quite possibly a BoBo® hydrangea paniculata– a 2017 introduction)

Pollypetite® Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus sp. has a rounded, wide habit. In summer it's loaded with lavender-pink blooms floating over handsome dark blue-green foliage.

Full sun
Moisture: average
Deer resistant
Blooms on new wood (prune in early spring)
Height: 36 - 48 Inches
Spread: 48 - 60 Inches
USDA zones: 5-9

The feathery pink plumes of "smoke" are fine hairs on infertile flowers.

I have wanted a purple smokebush (cotinus) for ages, but they can grow to reach epic proportions. Where on earth could I squeeze a large shrub like this into my already crowded garden?

Their clouds of pink "smoke" in mid-summer are a nice feature, but what I really like is their deep maroon colored foliage.

Winecraft Black®, Cotinus coggygria. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

Winecraft Black®, Cotinus coggygria Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

So I'm super excited to see Proven Winners® is now offering a dwarf cultivar. Maybe I can finally fit a smokebush in somewhere!

Winecraft Black®, Cotinus coggygria has round leaves that are a rich purple in the spring. As summer heats up, the leaves turn a deep near-black tone. In the fall, the foliage turns an array of reds and oranges. Soft panicles of bloom appear in spring and become the misty "smoke". Unlike older cultivars, this smokebush has a rounded, dwarf habit. Winecraft Black® smokebush is very easy to care for and requires little to nothing in the way of regular maintenance.

Full sun

Soil: average Moisture: average

Deer and rabbit resistant

Blooms on new wood

Height: 48 - 72 Inches

Spread: 48 - 72 Inches

USDA zones: 4-8

On the left is a Pugstar Blue® Butterfly Bush. In the middle is Pugstar White®. On the right is Pugstar Pink®. Photos courtesy of Proven Winners®

Pugster Periwinkle®. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

I seem to have terrible luck over-wintering Butterfly Bushes. This Pugstar® series offers increased cold hardiness and full sized flowers on a dwarf-sized shrub. Dare I try one?

Pugster® butterfly bushes are the first to offer large, dense blooms on a small frame. They bloom from summer through frost without deadheading. The thick, heavy stems of Pugster® butterfly bushes ensure better hardiness in cold areas.

Full sun
Soil: well-drained Moisture: low
Deer and rabbit resistant
Blooms on new wood
Height: 36-48 Inches
Spread: 24-36 Inches
USDA zones: 5-9

Festivus Gold® Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

I already have four Ninebark shrubs in my garden. This new cultivar, with its striking yellow foliage, tempts me to consider adding yet another.

Festivus Gold® Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius has a semi-dwarf habit and yellow-green foliage. Even in full sun, the foliage stays bright and is free from the fungal diseases that plague other varieties. In spring, the entire plant is covered in white flower clusters. Ninebark are native to North America, so they are extra tough and adaptable to various sites and soils. Once established, they are quite drought tolerant, but will benefit from a layer of shredded bark mulch.

Full sun (6-8 hrs.)
Soil: average Moisture: average
Blooms on old wood (It's best to avoid any kind of regular trimming or pruning of ninebarks. However, dead wood may be removed in spring. Should further pruning be required, do so immediately after flowering is finished.)
Height: 48 - 60 Inches
Spread: 36 - 48 Inches
USDA zones: 3-7

Invincibelle Mini Mauvette® (left picture) and in the centre (right picture).

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

Invincibelle Mini Mauvette®. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

I have a pale pink Invincibelle Spirit®, which I absolutely love, so of course this new introduction caught my eye.

Invincibelle Mini Mauvette® hydrangea blooms every single year, even in cold climates. It's the same type of hydrangea as the classic and much-loved 'Annabelle' but instead of plain white blooms, the flowers are a deep pink-mauve. The stems are strong and sturdy, so the flowers don't flop. It blooms in early summer, and continues through to frost.

Part sun to sun (minimum of 6 hrs. of sun)
Moisture: average (Mulch recommended to help conserve water)
Blooms on new wood (Prune in early spring. Cut the entire plant by one-third its total height)
Height: 30-36 Inches
Spread: 36 - 48 Inches
USDA zones: 3-9

There is also a white option. Invincibelle Wee White®. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

A full sized Doublefile Viburnum. Private garden in Toronto.

Up next is yet another dwarf (I warned you it would be a recurring theme!)

A traditional Doublefile Viburnum (seen above) is a glorious thing, but again, it is enormous. The new Wabi-Sabi® Doublefile viburnum Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum (seen below) is a lot smaller.

Wabi-Sabi® Doublefile viburnum Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

To be honest, I don't think this new cultivar would have quite the same drama as the full-sized Doublefile viburnum, but its modest proportions allows Wabi-Sabi® to step out of the background and become a shrub you might use at the front of your garden.

Wabi-Sabi® Doublefile viburnum Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum grows low and wide, making it perfect for the front of beds, planting atop walls, or lining walkways. Every branch bears large, pure white lacecap flowers. Like all viburnums, it is somewhat shade tolerant. Plant in well-drained soil and sun to part sun for best results.

Part sun to sun
Soil: average, well-drained Moisture: average
Deer and rabbit resistant
Blooms on old wood (Pruning should not be required regularly, but if you wish to prune, do so after flowering. )
Height: 24 - 36 Inches
Spread: 48 - 60 Inches
USDA zones: 5-8

Czechmark® Trilogy (left) and Czechmark® TwoPink (right)

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

Czechmark Sunny Side Up™ Weigela. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

The Czechmark® series of shrubs promises heavier blooming than a typical weigela. Czechmark Sunny Side Up™ Weigela caught my attention for its white flowers and its apple-green leaves. And look how pretty it looks in a mass planting (see above)!

There are also two pink cultivars; Czechmark® Trilogy and Czechmark® TwoPink (also see above).

Plant in full sun for the very best floral display, but a little light shade isn't too harmful, particularly in hotter climates.

Sun
Soil: average Moisture: average
Deer and rabbit resistant
Blooms on old wood
Height: 36-54 Inches
Spread: 36-54 Inches
USDA zones: 4-8

Tandoori Orange® Viburnum dilatatum. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners®

This is not a sponsored blog post. I have showcased new introductions that appealed to me personally in hopes you might be interested in them too.

Even though I famously write ridiculously long blogs, there are more new shrubs than even I dare include in a single post. You can check them out by visiting Provenwinners.com.

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with photography by Maggie Sale

There was a time when art collections were displayed in grand homes, and were a sign of wealth and privilege, but with the advent of the internet, the popularity of artist run co-ops and studio tours, works of art have never been more accessible or affordable for the average person.

At her home in Guelph, Ontario, Maggie Sale has gathered a collection of artwork that she displays in her large suburban garden.

"Having an English background, combined with artistic family members, and having travelled throughout the UK and other places where there are beautiful gardens, I have always appreciated art in the garden. I guess it was inevitable that I would find my own pieces, but I never set to become an art collector!," she says.

Maggie is an accomplished photographer and world traveler whose adventures have taken her to far off places like Iceland, Morocco, Spain, Istanbul and Jordan. Last fall Maggie and her husband Julian visited Peru. Then in February, they toured parts of Sri Lanka for sixteen days.

If you have a moment, pop over and take a look at the image galleries that chronicle some of Maggie's travels. From her recent trip to Peru, there are stunning views of Machu Picchu, a 15th century Inca citadel situated on a mountain range almost eight thousand feet above sea level. There are also images of ancient temples and crumbling palaces, elephants and other exotic creatures from her most recent visit to Sri Lanka.

Maggie's collection of artwork began with a purchase for the couple's English summer home.

"The first piece was purchased in England for our 1850's stone and slate cottage which had a small walled garden. At that time we moved from Toronto, where we had a very small townhouse garden, with no art, to a larger home in Guelph. I began to acquire additional artwork for the cottage and pieces for the garden of our new house," says Maggie.

Both Maggie's passion for photography and her travels have been a great sources of inspiration.

"Travelling certainly helps you appreciate other countries, their culture and uniqueness," she says,"Photography takes this a step further, where you are developing your "eye", searching for interesting subject matter and compositions, whether in natural or man-made environments, or in large or small scale."

"I think there is no doubt that both travel and my photography have influenced my own creativity, which in turn has had a spill-over effect into the garden, an important but more recently developed aspect of my life. Colour, form and texture in the garden and the way plants are grouped, are all influenced by developing ones "eye" just as it does in photography."

While the focus of this post is art in the garden, I would hate to miss the opportunity to draw your attention to the beauty of the garden itself.

A carpet of groundcovers, which hug the earth, and low-growing, mounded perennials keep the front garden looking every bit as tidy and presentable as a lawn. This is not to say that the garden is flat by any means. Groups of taller perennials create an gently undulating landscape of hills and valleys.

Even without a ton of flowers, there is still lots of color. In the foreground of Maggie's photograph (above) Creeping Thyme and Silvermound, Artemisia schmidtiana add a hint of blue-green. A couple of burgundy colored Heuchera add warm color into the mix. Yellow springs from the Angelina Stonecrop, Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'.

One clever design trick is the flagstone pathway that links the front yard with the boulevard garden. Even though the sidewalk divides the overall garden into these two distinct areas, the path joins them into a unified whole.

This post looks primarily on the front garden, which I haven't featured before, but you can take a tour of the back garden here.

In this photograph, Maggie has captured a tapestry of shade loving perennials.

1. Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris 2. Fern-leaf Bleeding Heart, Dicentra 3. Hosta 4. Golden Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' 5. Japanese Fern, Athyrium niponicum 6. Autumn Fern, Dryopteris erythrosora 7. Miniature Hosta 8. Lamium 9. Hosta

How to choose an Artwork

For most people, artwork represents a bit of an investment. If your spending money, you don't want to get it wrong. Where do you even begin to choose a piece of art?

Choose artwork that speak to you on a personal level. This makes it impossible to go wrong.

"As soon as I saw this piece of art, I knew it was the right accent for my rock garden at the front of the house," says Maggie.

"It is visible from the sidewalk and sits on top of a slight berm where it's circular form draws attention. It was made by an artist (unknown to me) in the Ottawa region and was bought from an art gallery in Eden Mills, near Guelph. The slate layers remind me of slate buildings and walls in the UK. The metal has now taken on a lovely rusty patina."

A couple of Tips on Choosing Artwork for the Garden:

• Think about where you want to place a piece of art when your making your choice. A large sculpture makes an excellent garden focal point. By its very nature, the location of a smaller work of art is likely to be somewhat obscured by foliage and flowers. A small sculpture is often a nice surprise that you happen upon as you stroll through the garden.

• Ignore the rule that says you ought to choose small artwork for a small garden. Depending on the piece, one large sculpture in a small garden can be quite stunning.

• Another rule suggests that artwork you choose should be in keeping with the style of your home. To me this is a little like matching a painting to the color of the sofa. With the right placement, a contemporary piece can look terrific in the garden of a more traditional home and vice versa.

• The impact an artwork will have is somewhat determined by scale. A large sculpture makes a big statement. A small sculpture speaks quietly.

1. Mountain Bluet, Centaurea montana 2. Dwarf Bearded Iris 3. Arabis or Rock cress 4. Heuchera 5. Snow-in-summer, Cerastium tomentosum 6. Sweet Woodruff, Galium odoratum 7. Dwarf Bearded Iris

This is a photograph of the front of the house a little later in the summer. Daylilies, Echinacea and Russian Sage (not shown) are a few of the perennials that add mid-summer color.

Like any garden ornament, a work of art can be something unexpected you happen upon.

"This was the first Shona sculpture from Zimbabwe that we acquired," says Maggie, "It was bought for our cottage from a local art gallery owner, who was a friend of my mother. It introduced me to a beautiful style of African art that I didn't know before."

"When we sold our cottage 3 years ago, we brought the sculpture and a couple of other pieces of garden art back to Guelph. This small sculpture, almost hidden until you stand in front of the small rock garden in the backyard, complements the plantings and existing rocks perfectly - a happy coincidence!"

A few Tips for Displaying Artwork in a Garden Setting:

• Less is more. Too much visual clutter diminishes the impact of each piece. Don't ask artwork to compete for the attention of garden visitors.

•Aim for contrast to help a sculpture stand out in the landscape. For example, place light objects against a dark background of foliage and set a dark artwork in front of bright flowers and foliage.

• One of the biggest trends in interior design is an eclectic mix that mixes traditional and contemporary furniture and accessories. There is nothing to say that the same approach won't work in a garden setting. Go ahead and mix different types of artwork (example a traditional figure with a modern sculpture). Just be sure to give each piece enough space to shine.

Artwork need not be big or grand to be meaningful. It can be something as small as a single poppy.

"The red ceramic poppy was a gift to my husband Julian from my brother in England," explains Maggie.

"The poppy is a remembrance of Julian's uncle who died in the second world war. It was one of the red poppies that were part of an art installation at the Tower of London in 2014 to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the first world war (the poppies numbered over 880,000 - one for every British service person who died in WW1). The poppies were sold afterwards to the public to raise funds for service charities."

Family members have added their own unique genius to Maggie's collection.

"The cedar driftwood was picked up by my in-law's many, many years ago on one of their frequent fishing trips to Georgian Bay," says Maggie.

"Our son Jayce, who creates art out of found objects, used a piece of red metal (resembling a moth), which he found when the house next door to his home in Vancouver was demolished, to make the piece that fits perfectly into the top part of the driftwood."

The ceramic owl that now presides over this planting is another of the pieces Maggie brought back to Canada when she and Julian sold their property in England a few years ago.

"Every year there was a pottery festival at one of the stately homes near our cottage in Cumbria in the north west of England. Simon Griffiths was a artist who had many birds, animals etc. in his stall there. They were so life-like that I knew it would be a wonderful garden ornament for our cottage, so we bought the Tawny Owl. When we sold the cottage, we brought it back to Canada. We found a post in a local wood and erected it in our garden here," Maggie recounts.

This last piece of artwork owes its inspiration from a place far from Canada.

"We lost a large locust tree in a storm a few years ago which resulted in a corner opening up. I decided it was an ideal place to put a larger statement piece of art. The swirling black stone sculpture made by Sylvester Samanyanga, an artist from the Shona tribe of the indigenous people of Zimbabwe, was bought last summer at an outdoor art gallery near Peterborough called ZimArt's Rice Lake Gallery. It makes a nice focal point in the back garden."says Maggie.

To close this post, I asked Maggie to make a few suggestions for someone looking to start a collection of their own:

• Start small and local

• Go on a garden tour to see what other gardeners are doing with plantings and art.

• Visit local public gardens and art galleries for a broader picture.

• Take a studio art tour and learn about and visit local artists - you might find the perfect piece right on your doorstep!

• Expand your search with the internet, if you are travelling.

• Above all, be patient and enjoy your search! It might take some time to find the right piece(s). Art collections grow with time and can't really be achieved in a hurry - but they are worth the wait!

Great advice to be sure!

Many thanks to Maggie for sharing her art collection and garden

through this lovely series of photographs.

About the Photographer:

Maggie Sale is originally from England and has lived in Canada for over 40 years with her husband Julian. Most of her photography is done outdoors, and often involves travel, which she loves. Maggie is a life member of the Etobicoke Camera Club, a member of the Grand River Imaging and Photographic Society and the Canadian Association for Photographic Art. Her photographs have been published in magazines and books in Canada, the USA and UK. Maggie is also a member of the Guelph Horticultural Society and is a committee member and photographer for the Guelph Annual Garden Tour. Her website is www.maggiesale.ca

“Urban and suburban aren’t so different anymore," writes author Susan Morrison in her new book The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Garden. And it’s so true! Suburban houses are about the same size, but the lots that they sit on seem to be getting more and more modest in size. A "small" urban garden no longer refers to the outdoor spaces offered in townhouses, condos, and apartments. Tiny backyards are the new normal even in the suburbs.

Susan is a landscape designer with a long, successful career, so it's no surprise that the focus of her book is garden design. It is is a practical, “less is more” approach to gardening that links the design of a garden to the lifestyles of the people who will be using and enjoying it.

This book is aimed primarily at young professionals juggling careers, kids and busy lives. The goal is to get the most out of an outdoor space with least amount of effort.

From the book The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Yard by Susan Morrison published by Timber Press in 2018. Excerpted with the permission of the publisher.

When it comes to gardens, bigger isn't always better at any rate. A small garden requires fewer plants and less time to design, install and maintain.

Susan's new book aims to help homeowners make the best use of every square foot of space. When she tallies up her less is more approach to design, there are actually a lot of pluses:

• Less space, more enjoyment
• Less effort, more beauty
• Less maintenance, more relaxation
• Less gardening-by-the-numbers, more YOU.

From the book The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Yard by Susan Morrison published by Timber Press in 2018. Excerpted with the permission of the publisher.

I found another review that broke the book down into chapters really helpful, so I thought that I’d take a similar approach:

Chapter 1 poses the questions that will help you match the design of your landscape to your lifestyle: What time of the day and in what seasons are you likely to use the garden? Who will be using the garden? Chapter one also guides you through the process of making allowances in the design for children, guests and even the family pet.

Chapter 2 tackles a variety of possible design approaches.

Chapter 3 helps homeowners use a small space to its best advantage. Growing vertical, creating an illusion of space and the debate of lawn/no lawn are some of the issues covered.

Chapter 4 addresses sensory elements. Topics covered include attracting wildlife to the garden, including scent, adding color and the relaxing sound of water to the garden.

Chapter 5 looks briefly at a variety of different hardscaping options.

Chapter 6 touches on plants that will make a garden attractive and yet keep it low maintenance: plants with four seasons of interest, dwarf shrubs, long-blooming plants and easy perennials.

Chapter 7 helps you add in personal touches that give a garden style.

From the book The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Yard by Susan Morrison published by Timber Press in 2018. Excerpted with the permission of the publisher.

This book is represents a modern, realistic approach to gardening where the lifestyle and design intersect to create outdoor spaces that are suited to a family’s needs. In short: gardens that don’t involve a ton of traditional gardening.

I closed the book wondering if this is the way of the future?

My own garden is old-school cottage garden. It’s pretty, but it’s high maintenance. As I set the book down, I began to feel a bit like a dinosaur...but then I paused to reconsider.

The thing I am most passionate about as a gardener is nature and the outdoors, not the labour. Every family deserves a private haven where they can enjoy being outdoors. If Susan Morrison's less is more approach means that more people are doing just that, then we are actually on the same page. After all, reconnecting with nature is were a passion for gardening is often born.

The Less is More Garden is filled with the wisdom honed from Susan's experience as a designer, lots of practical advice and stylish examples of her less is more approach. There may come a time in the not so distant future when my creaking back and rickety knees see me trading in my high maintenance plot for a garden that is much smaller, but hopefully just as beautiful.

Thanks to Timber Press for providing a copy of The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Garden for me to give away. Because this book will go to a winner through the mail, we will have to limit entry to readers in Canada and the USA.

Please leave a comment below, if you would like to be included in the book draw. The draw will remain open until Saturday, March 31st. If you are not a blogger, you can enter by leaving a comment on the Three Dogs in a Garden Facebook page (there is an additional link to the Facebook page at the bottom of the blog). You are also welcome to enter by sending me an email (jenc_art@hotmail.com).

About the Author:

Susan Morrison is a nationally recognized landscape designer and authority on small-space garden design. She has shared her strategies on the PBS series Growing a Greener World and in publications such as Fine Gardening. Morrison has also served as editor-in-chief of The Designer, a digital magazine produced by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.

I was uncertain how to title this post when the gardener herself gave me the words: a garden close to the heart.

"A garden had always been a dream since I was a little girl," Joanna tells me on the phone. She grew up in Warsaw, Poland where her family lived in a small apartment. After WWII Warsaw had been left in ruins. The new communist authorities that came to power considered moving the Polish capital to another city. Life under communist rule was not easy either. The socialist food distribution system barely functioned and Poles lived with censorship, rules and restrictions.

For her tenth birthday her parents gave her a book filled with beautiful gardens."It must have cost them a fortune," Joanna speculates. She loved her present and the wide open spaces she saw on its pages. For Joanna, gardens came to represent the possibility of a different sort of life.

Years later Joanna found herself with a choice between immigrating to Canada or Australia. Half a world away from her homeland, Australia seemed too far. In the years since her decision to choose Canada, she's had a chance to visit Australia. "It's a beautiful place," she tells me with the slightest hint of regret in her voice. Who could blame her on a cold day in March when there are snow flurries in the air? Canada offered opportunities and the wide open spaces she had dreamt about as a little girl. Plus she knew people here.

At her lovely home in Mississauga, Joanna has created the garden of her childhood imaginings.

The space has evolved and changed over the years. "My husband's original idea was to create a mystic garden with a number of rooms," Joanna tells me,"He used his creativity to to incorporate some of his own art installations."

The idea was to have a garden filled with surprises. Many of the original art pieces were made of wood and rope which weathered over time and eventually disintegrated. Joanna opted not to replace them and instead seized the opportunity to take advantage of the increased light and space. She also deepened and expanded the garden's central feature, a stream and pond with a bridge.

In her garden Joanna has created spots for birds, chipmunks and all the other natural inhabitants. She's even spotted a coyote. The coyotes seemed to disappear for a few years as the housing subdivision expanded, but they've slowly moved back into the neighbourhood. Joanna will often hear them calling to one another when she walks her dogs. She's not worried about her dogs though. They are rescue dogs from overseas that survived a tough life on the streets.

The decayed stumps of some poplar trees make homes for insects and birds.

A view of backyard from the deck.

In the centre of the yard there is a covered deck with table and chairs.

At the back of the property, Joanna has a vegetable garden. "Tomatoes, beans and lettuce greens do the best," she says, "I will have some heating in my greenhouse as of this spring. There are lettuce seeds planted as of two days ago."

Joanna's own pictures of her vegetable garden.

The vegetable garden is a big job, but Joanna has help from friends. In return, she shares some of the garden's bounty.

Here Joanna has used wide pieces of tree bark to hide the flower pots

and create a display by the shed.

One of the works of art Joanna's husband created.

A beautiful fern from a shady area of the garden.

A view of the generous wood deck at the back of the house.

The central pond and stream was ment to create a cottage or “Muskoka” feeling in the heart of the city. "I sit on the deck often in the summer feeling not that far from "the lake country” of northern Ontario."

Fish and a number of frogs call the pond home.

Another view of the stream.

Joanna's own picture of her Bearded Iris.

Gratitude is a very important sentiment for Joanna. She feels a close connection to nature and is grateful for the beauty it provides.

Years later, Joanna still has the gardening book that her parents gave her back in Poland. I am sure her parents would be proud to see the garden their gift inspired.

Fluffy Ruffle Fern or Sword Fern, Nephrolepis exalata likes bright, diffused light

and soil that is evenly moist.

I have a soft spot for ferns. I like seeing their bright, kelly-green foliage on my window ledge in the winter months when the garden is blanketed by snow.

Ferns do well for me. They seem to like the morning sunshine that my biggest windowsill affords.

I often move my ferns outdoors in the summer and back inside in the fall.

All of the ferns in this hanging basket (above) performed well in a shady outdoor spot. The only thing they demanded was regular watering. In the fall, I divided the container planting and potted up the ferns individually for the winter months.

Birdbath container planting in a private garden in Toronto.

As well as ferns, this post touches briefly on plants that look like ferns, and are commonly referred to as ferns, but aren't actually ferns at all.

These fern-like plants make nice outdoor container plants too. This birdbath is my favourite example of using one of these non-hardy fern look-a-likes in a outdoor container planting.

Plumosa Fern, Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri' also know as Asparagus Fern is often used by

florists as a filler in arrangements. It's not a true fern but is actually a member of the lily family.

There are quite an array of indoor ferns you can collect and most of them like similar growing conditions.

Here are a few basic tips for growing ferns:

Light: Avoid direct sunlight. Ferns like bright, diffused light. They prefer a north-facing windowsill that has indirect light. An east facing window is also good throughout most of the year, but may become too bright in the spring and summer months. With a east-facing situation, it a good idea to move your ferns back a few feet from the window in the summer or install a sheer curtain to help block the hot afternoon rays.

Water: Ferns like evenly moist soil and regular waterings. Water deeply!I always take my ferns to the sink and give them a really good soak. Most indoor ferns are tropical, so lukewarm water is best.

Soil: Ferns like a good quality, well-drained potting soil.

Temperature: A fern's native habitat will tell you all you need to know about the temperatures it prefers. Ferns from the tropics like temperatures in the 60-70 degree F range (15-21 degrees C) Those from more temperate areas of the world are much more adaptable to a cool spot next to a window.

Humidity: Providing a fern with the humidity it likes can be a challenge. If your house is really dry, you can mist them with lukewarm distilled water. You can also place the fern in a closed terrarium, put it under a cloche or stand it in a water-filled tray of pebbles.

A few ferns that don't mind low humidity include: Boston Fern, Nephrolepis, Button Fern, Pellaea, Rabbit's Foot Fern, Davallia and Staghorn Fern, Platycerium.

Ongoing Care: Keep your ferns looking their best by trimming away any brown or damaged fronds. Repot a potbound fern in the spring.

Fertilizer: In the wild, most ferns live on the forest floor where there is shade and plenty of decaying organic matter. In the spring and summer use a liquid fertilizer (following the label's directions) every couple of weeks.

Using a fertilizer in the winter months, when the plant is not actively growing, is unnecessary. Excessive fertilization in the winter can actually cause brown, wilted fronds.

Propagation: A large fern can be repotted or you can use the opportunity to divide it. Remove the pot and carefully break the plant into smaller pieces. Replant the divisions and water well.

Pests and Diseases: Possible insect pests include mealy bugs (soft, downy looking insects), spider mites (look for delicate webbing) and scale insects that can form lumpy colonies.

A few of the Many Types of Indoor Ferns:

Jester's Crown Fern, Nephrolepis obliterata

Sword Fern or Jester's Crown Fern, Nephrolepis obliterata makes quite a bushy plant and has sword-shaped fronds. In the wild, it can be found growing in the rainforests of Australia and New Guinea.

Tricolor Fern

Tricolor Fern, Pteris aspericaulis 'Tricolor'is another tropical fern that has pretty red stems and new growth that is bronze in color.

Silver Lace Fern, Pteris ensiformis

Silver Lace Fern, Pteris ensiformis (sometimes called Sword or Slender Brake Fern) has delicate, dark green leaves with silvery accents.

Glowstar Fern, Pellaea 'Glowstar'

Glowstar Fern, Pellaea 'Glowstar'has shiny, dark green fronds. It originates in eastern Australia.

Korean Rock Fern, Polystichum tsus-simense

Korean Rock Fern, Polystichum tsus-simense(family dryopteridaceae) has lance-shaped fronds. It is a South Asian fern that grows in shade near water or on rocky faces. This fern can take a fair bit of shade.

Maidenhair Fern, Adiantum raddianum likes bright diffused light and evenly moist soil.

Maidenhair Ferns, Adiantum Raddianum have to be one of the prettiest indoor ferns, but they have a reputation for being difficult, so I thought I would add a few extra pointers.

Like most ferns, they like bright, but indirect light. Too much sun and their foliage will scorch. Too little light and they turn yellow. The soil in their pots needs to be kept evenly moist, but not soggy. Neglect to water them and they shrivel in a heart beat. If this happens, cut the fronds off at ground level, water well, and fingers crossed, your Maidenhair Fern will recover.

This is a plant from the Brazilian tropics, so it prefers a consistently warm spot. It's also a fern that craves humidity (see care tips above).

Asparagus densiflorus in a private Toronto garden.

A Few Fern Look-a-Likes:

The Asparagus "Fern", Asparagus retrofractus with its fine, feathery foliage that makes it look like a fern, but it is actually a member of the Liliaceae family. This houseplant has some definite drawbacks. The fine, needle-like foliage is feathery soft, but the base of the plant's woody stems have fine thorns. Ouch! Asparagus retrofractusalso has a way of dropping their fine leaves the moment they get a bit dry. The good news is this plant is very easy to grow provided you water it regularly and give it a spot in a north-facing window.

The Foxtail "Fern", Asparagus densiflorusis very similar to Asparagus retrofractus, but it has foxtail-shaped plumes. The care for both plants is basically the same.

It you want to take either plant outside for the summer, place them in a lightly shaded place with protection from the afternoon sun. Water them thoroughly and regularly.

Moss Fern, Selaginella

Moss Fern, Selaginella kraussiana 'Aurea'looks like a cross between a moss and a fern, but it is neither. It makes a great understory for taller houseplants or can be potted up all on its own. It likes humidity and moist conditions, so don't let the soil dry out completely. Like ferns, Selaginella is easily scorched by the sun, so give it indirect light.

A Container Planting using Ferns

I thought that it might be fun to gather a few ferns along with some other houseplants into a container planting.

Any ceramic container can be turned into a plant pot with a drainage hole. All you need is a drill and a set of tile and glass drill bits (these drill bits can be found at just about any hardware store).

Drilling a drainage hole is fairly easy. There is just one tip: use a small puddle of water on the surface your ceramic dish to keep the container and the drill bit cool.

I used three small ferns along with a Moss Fern, Selaginella and a variegated ivy. The mushrooms are from the Dollar Store (I think the large mushrooms were $2.50 and the little one was just $1).

If you're an indoor gardener who sometimes forgets to water, ferns may not be for you. But if your willing to keep a watchful eye of your plants and have a room with indirect light, ferns might make a nice addition to your collection of houseplants.

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The older I get, the more artificial fragrances bother me. I dread a walk down the laundry soap isle in the grocery store. The highly perfumed detergents and fabric softeners overwhelm me and put me on edge. I can't wait to flee. The underlying problem is that "fragrance" is a great catchall for many unnamed and somewhat dubious chemical ingredients. No wonder they can be unpleasant!

The natural fragrances I find in the garden do not have the same effect on me at all. I still love it when my fingers end up smelling like roses after I do my deadheading. I don't even mind the white Actea that blooms in the fall and fills the air with the most intense perfume.

Am I alone in this? I'd love to hear about your experiences with fragrance in the comment section.

Here are a few ways to get more out of the fragrant plants in your garden:

• Place fragrant flowers in an area you pass frequently.

• Edge a pathway so visitors will brush by fragrant plants.

• Plant fragrant flowers next to a bench or seating area.

• Many flowers are their most fragrant at night, so plant them near a deck or patio so you can enjoy them on warm summer nights.

Spring has lots to offer in terms of scent. Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for fragrant plants, trees and shrubs:

• Shop for variety as well as type of flower. Daylilies are not usually very fragrant, but my Mom had an old yellow variety that had an amazingly scent. Roses are another great example. Most modern roses have little or no smell. Check the plant tag or descriptives in nursery listings to make sure you are choosing a rose that smells divine!

• Don't forget about aromatic foliage. For example, I love the fresh scent of Ostrich Ferns.

• Herbs have aromatic foliage and sometimes have scented blooms. Lavender is a perfect example.

• Plan beyond spring and try to have at least a few plants in each season that will be fragrant.

Woodland Phlox in my own garden.

Woodland Phlox, Phlox divaricata 'May Breeze' has fragrant, star-shaped white flowers in early spring. Unlike more familiar Phlox paniculata that blooms much later in the summer, this plant has fine, delicate foliage. Phlox divaricata 'May Breeze' slowly spreads to form a small clump. Divide in the fall. Moist soil and part to full shade are this plants preferences. Height: 30-40 cm (12-16 inches), Spread: 30-60 cm ( 12-23 inches). USDA zones: 3-9.

The path leading toward my four raised beds.

Dwarf Korean Lilac tree form, Syringa meyeri 'Palibin' in the near distance.

Fragrant Varieties of Common Lilac, Syringa vulgaris:

White: 'Ellen Willmott', 'Mme. Lemoine', 'Angel White', 'Primrose'

Pink: 'Belle de Nancy', 'Edward J. Gardner'

Lavender:'Victor Lemoine', 'Katherine Havemeyer', 'Maiden's Blush'

Purple:'Charles Joly', 'Sensation', 'Congo'

Blue: 'President Gehry', 'President Lincoln'

Other fragrant lilacs:

Dwarf Korean Lilac, Syringa meyeri 'Palibin'

A young Fringe Tree at Earthbound Gardens on the Bruce Peninsula.

White Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus has showy white flowers that are fragrant. This deciduous tree is easily grown in average, well-drained soil and will reach a height of 20-25 feet. It requires full sun. USDA zones: 3-9.

Peonies at Keppel Croft Garden on the Bruce Peninsula.

Peonies from my own garden.

Not all peonies are fragrant, but many cultivars have a pleasant scent.

Fragrant pink peonies include: 'Eden's Perfume', 'Sarah Bernhardt', 'Mons Jules Elie', 'Mrs FDR', 'Madame Debatene', 'Myrtle Gentry' and 'Alexander Fleming'

Fragrant white peonies include: 'Festive Maxima', 'Raspberry Sundae''Duchesse de Nemours'

Summary List: Late Winter/ Spring

Fragrant Plants for Sun

Annuals: Pansy, Wallflower
Perennials: Creeping or Moss Phlox, Sweet Violet
Bulbs: Hyacinth, Daffodils, some varieties of Tulip, Narcissus
Shrubs & Trees: Viburnum, Fothergilla gardenii, Witch hazel, Star Magnolia, Lilac, Crabapple, Fringe Tree, Japanese Flowering Cherry,

Fragrant Plants for Part Shade/Shade

Perennials: Woodland Phlox, Ostrich Fern, Lily-of-the-Valley (aggressive perennial)
Shrubs & Trees: Winter Daphne, Rhododendron, Azalea, Viburnum, Daphne, Fothergilla (part shade)

Fragrant Herbs for Part Shade and Shade: Sweet Woodruff

Read more about this garden filled with lavender and heather here.

It's summertime and the days are hot and languid. It's the perfect time to sit with a cold drink and enjoy some of the garden's most striking scents.

Lavender likes poor soil with good drainage. Read more about growing Lavender here.

Make a lavender sachet here.

For mid-summer fragrance it is hard to beat Oriental Lilies. Plant Oriental Lily bulbs in the spring or fall in full sun.

Old shrub roses at Earthbound Gardens on the Bruce Peninsula.

Old fashioned shrub rose at Earthbound Gardens.

Sadly fragrance has been bred out of many modern roses. Here are some of the many roses that still have a marvellous fragrance:

Fragrant pink roses:'Louise Odier', ' The Generous Gardener', 'Madame Isaac Pereire', 'Heritage', 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', 'Harlow Carr' and 'Boscobel'

Fragrant white roses:'Claire Austin', 'Moondance' and 'Bolero'

Fragrant red roses:'Mr. Lincoln', 'Munstead Wood', 'Memorial Day'

Fragrant yellow:'Graham Thomas', 'Honey Perfume', 'Julia Child' and 'Golden Celebration'

Fragrant climbers: 'New Dawn', 'Zephirine Drouhin', 'Madame Alfred Carriere', 'Constance Spry', 'Gertrude Jekyll', 'Buff Beauty' and 'Old Bourbon Rose'

Pinks, Dianthus have a rich, spicy fragrance. Plant them in full sun.

Summary List: Summer

Fragrant Plants for Sun

Annuals: Sweet Peas, Stocks, Petunias, Nicotiana, Sweet Alyssum, Moonflower, Heliotrope
Perennials: Oriental Lilies, Daylily, Lavender, Dianthus, Bearded Iris, Peony
Shrubs & Trees: Roses, Mock Orange

Fragrant Plants for Part Shade/Shade

Perennials: Hosta (some cultivars like 'Guacamole' and 'Honeybells' are fragrant)
Shrubs & Trees: Sweetshrub, Bottlebrush Buckeye (lightly fragrant)

Fragrant Herbs for Sun: Thyme, Chamomile, Rosemary, Monarda, Mint, Scented Geranium, Nasturtium, Lavender, Sage, Artemesia

The most fragrant flower in my garden is a shade plant. Read more about growing Actea

(or Cimicifuga as it was formerly known) here.

It's fall. The days are shorter, but there is some welcome relief from the heat. Summer annuals are often at their fragrant best at this time of year. There are also a few perennials making their own contribution.

Phlox paniculata 'Franz Shubert' at Larkwhistle Garden on the Bruce Peninsula.

I don't find most varieties of Phlox paniculata are all that fragrant, but there are a few that have a light perfume particularly at night:

Phlox paniculata 'Starfire', 'Blue Paradise', 'Rembrant' and 'Franz Shubert'

Phlox paniculata 'Blue Paradise' in Joe's Brampton garden.

Summary List: Late Summer/Fall:

Fragrant Plants for Sun

Perennials: Agastache, Phlox Paniculata (sun or part shade)
Shrubs & Trees: Butterfly Bush, Sweet Autumn Clematis (vine)

Fragrant Plants Part Shade/Shade

Perennials: Phlox Paniculata, Actea (or Cimicifuga as it was previously known)

There is lots of talk about limiting perfume in the workplace and other public spaces. What are your feelings about fragrance in general? And how do you feel about fragrance in the garden? I am curious to know!

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The steep, rocky slope and the splendid view of the pine forest beyond were one of the many things that first attracted John and Peggy Lewzey to their property near Everton, Ontario.

"Our previous house had a very open yard, so the privacy of the enclosed wooded garden was very appealing. The property was covered in snow when we saw it, but the bones of the house and garden spoke to us. We thought that the existing concrete steps would, at some point, be replaced with natural stone," Peggy tells me.

A stone staircase at the side of the house takes you down to a narrow plateau where you get the first glimpse of the waterfall and oval pond at the bottom of the ravine.

The lovely Annabelle hydrangea on one side of the stone staircase.

The striking contrast of bright green on grey stone.

Looking back to the first set of steps.

Looking forward to the steps down to pond.

The first view of the pond.

Bright purple Campanula set against the grey limestone.

Imagine the effort involved in moving these huge boulders into place. They must weigh a ton!

"The stone steps, paths and patio were added in 2010," says Peggy," We have a friend whom we consider an artist with stone. The dolomitized limestone was sourced by him from a quarry near Glen Williams. The stone suits the craggy landscape around Everton and Rockwood very well. The project took 2 months to complete and was accomplished by one man with a small bobcat machine."

Left: Hardy succulents Right: A carpet of Creeping Thyme cascades over the rocks.

"Japanese Maples are a favourite shrub/small tree in our garden, especially those with fiery fall foliage", says Peggy.

“Rob the Rock” was a delight to work with," says Peggy, "He would muse thoughtfully and decide which particular rock would be just the right one for a certain location. We had a rough idea of how things would look when they were finished, but it was very much a work in progress that would be adapted by Rob or ourselves as we went along. The flagstone was laid down by the bridge, working up past the dry stone wall that supports the patio, many meandering steps, a connecting pathway to more steps and the side garden. Then some stepping stones finally takes you to the driveway at the front of the house...37 steps in all! Not for the faint hearted, but good exercise."

From the stone steps there is now a good view of the pond. John and Peggy give some credit for the pond to the original owners of their property:

"The location was originally quite boggy and fed with a spring, so it was a natural area to visualize a pond. It was dug out with a backhoe, which got stuck in the mud more than once. The finished depth in the middle is now about 9ft."

"The pond is lined (the spring keeps the level constant). Any overflow finds it’s way via a creek to the Eramosa River."

"The pond is stocked with rainbow and speckled trout that overwinter there. The spring, which runs into the pond, keeps an open area in the ice which enables the water to stay well oxygenated," John tells me.

"We had regular visits from great blue herons when the pond was newly stocked with small fish and now that they are full grown we see mink hunting in the area. When newly stocked several years ago we started with 50 fish, but nature takes it’s toll, and we now have about 15. Our oldest resident lived to be 9 years old."

"The 12 ft. limestone rock face is naturally occurring, we have a pump underneath which cycles the water to the top, making a gentle and natural looking waterfall," says John.

"Cedar bark was tied around the pipe carrying the water to the top of the rock face so that the workings of the waterfall are camouflaged for a more natural look."

I asked Peggy about her favourite plants.

"Favourite plants? We all have lots of those!," she replies,"For shade, Maidenhair Ferns, which look so delicate and lacy, but are actually quite tough in our garden. Japanese Painted Ferns. which are tough and are quite happy to be divided and spread around the garden... I love ferns!"

The list of favourites does not end there...

Japanese Forest Grass

Hosta (left) and ferns growing amongst the rocks (right)

"Japanese Forest Grasses of all varieties which so elegantly drape over rocks and the edges of raised beds," Peggy continues her list.

"We have a lot of hostas in the garden, another good shade plant...all sizes from the huge 'Sum and Substance' to the tiny 'Blue Mouse Ears'."

"For spring colour in the shade garden, Bleeding Heart is a favourite, pink or white flowering, both green or chartreuse foliage."

"Some favourite spring flowering, sun-loving shrubs are lilac. We have a common lilac that flowers spectacularly next to our driveway, but had to remove a French hybrid because it just didn’t do well. Also we have a White Star Magnolia that flowers beautifully without fail."

Lamb's Ears, Stachys byzantina

"Sometimes it isn’t just a favourite plant but rather a favourite combination of plants that pleases the eye. A favourite grouping is Ladies Mantle, chartreuse Forest Grass, the bright blue of trailing Waterfalls Campanula and the soft grey of Lambs Ears. I could go on and on," Peggy says.

"The boardwalks enable direct access across some boggy garden areas to the acres of forested conservation area and a regional scout-camp with many trails, limestone cliffs and geological pot-holes. the Eramosa River runs through it all. We have made good use of the trails over the years for dog walking and exploring with our grandchildren. We are encouraging the spread of wild ferns in these damp areas, including Ostrich, Sensitive and Hay Scented ferns," Peggy tells me.

Looking back up the slope, it is easy to think that you'd have to be part Mountain goat to garden here, but Peggy takes it all in stride.

"The steep slope is a challenge to garden on, especially as we are not as nimble as we once were!,"she laughs."Recently we have been getting some gardening help on the steeper areas.Our aim with our plantings was to cover the hill with low maintenance plants which we keep well mulched."

"There was some existing English Ivy groundcover from the previous owners, difficult to eradicate but it gets a severe haircut every year to keep it from smothering out other plants. There are many evergreens planted, along with Buddleia and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' for autumn colour."

"The slope is south facing so can become dry; in periods of prolonged drought we have an old pump that takes water from the pond for occasional watering."

The property may have its challenges, but it is hard to imagine a more spectacular setting for a garden!

The notion of creating a white garden in part-shade or shade is an interesting twist on a classic idea. It's also an idea that works on more than just a design level. When you step out of the hot sun into the shade there is always a sensation of relief. The canopy of trees overhead provides such a welcome respite from the heat, you can feel your body relax. The change is refreshing, and so is the color white.

Contrast allows white to stand out while other colors fade into the shadows. White also has a luminous quality that can brighten a shady corner of any garden.

In a white shade garden, it would be really fun to use variegation to compliment the white flowers.

1. Yew 2. Golden Shadows Pagoda Dogwood 3. May Apple, Podophyllum peltatum which is a native plant. 4. Solomon Seal, Polygonatum 5. 'Butterfly' Japanese Maple 6. Astilbe 7. Astilbe 8. Astilbe

I doubt that all the flowers in the garden above are actually white, but I think it is an excellent example of how foliage colors might be used in creating a white themed shade garden.

In the famous white garden at Sigginhurst Castle, Vita Sackville-West used plants with silvery foliage to play off the white flowers. A contemporary shade garden might use blue-grey hosta in a similar way.

'Joy Ride' not only has great curves, it also has foliage with a wonderful powdery, blue-green color. Light lavender flowers appear mid-summer. Part-shade to full shade. Height: 40-45 cm (16-18 inches), Spread: 90 cm ( 35 inches). USDA zones: 3-9.

There are a huge number of hosta with white flowers. Here are just a few of them:

Green Leaves: 'Guacamole', 'Guardian Angel', 'Journey's End', American Icon', 'Brother Stephan', 'Fragrant Bouquet', 'Earth Angel', 'Cinderella', 'Faith',

Blue-green Leaves: 'Humpback Whale', 'Blue Angel', 'Coalminer', 'Fragrant Blue', 'Frosted Dimples', 'Komodo dragon'

You might also use other plants like native White Banberry, Actaea pachypoda 'Misty Blue'and Japanese Ferns that have silver-greens.

Actaea pachypoda 'Misty Blue' has blue-green foliage and white flowers in spring. In summer the flowers become white berries on contrasting red stems. This plant prefers sandy or clay soil with average to moist growing conditions. Height:60-90 cm (23-35 inches) , Spread: 60-90 cm (23-35 inches). USDA Zones: 3-9.

Japanese 'Ghost Fern' has that has upright, silvery-grey-green foliage. It forms a slow spreading clump and likes soil that is rich in organic matter. The 'Ghost Fern' is more tolerant of soil dryness than other types of Japanese ferns, but it prefers soil that has medium to average moisture. Height: 90-120 cm (36-48 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA Zones: 4-9.

Daffodils bloom early in the gardening season so they can get some sun

before trees overhead leaf out.

Trilliums (left), Violet (middle) and Snowdrops (right).

There are probably more white flowers for moist shade than there are for dry shade, but I think a white garden might be made to work for either set of growing conditions.

Primula Sieboldii for moist shade.

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis is one of the native options for shade.

Bleeding Heart, Dicentra spectabilis, 'Alba' has bright green foliage and white flowers. Height: 70-90 cm (27-35 inches), Spread: 70-90 cm (27-35 inches). Light shade to full shade. Average to moist soil. Hardy: Zones 2-9.

Foam flower, Tiarella is great in moist, shady conditions.

Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum. Read more about this plant here.

A Doublefile Viburnum, Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum

Sweet Woodruff is a spreading groundcover for shade.

Astrantia for moist, part shade. Read more about this plant here.

Valerian, Valeriana officinalis for moist, part-shade (but will tolerate some dryness).
This plant can be a prolific self-seeder.

Here is a list of white flowers for shade. If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment and I'll update the list:

White Flowers for the Spring Shade Garden:

Bulbs: Hyacinth, Daffodils, Snowdrops
Annuals: Pansy, Sweet Alyssum
Native plants: Trillium, Gilleau, Shooting Star (Dodecatheon), Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra culcullaria), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Perennials: Violet, Hellebore, Bleeding Heart, Foxglove, Astrantia, Japanese Iris (part-shade)
Groundcovers: Lamium 'White Nancy', Lily-of-the-Valley (aggressive plant*), Vinca (aggressive plant*), Sweet Woodruff (spreading groundcover)
Shrubs & Trees: Azalea, Rhododendron, Viburnum, Fothergilla gardenii, Star Magnolia, Dogwood, Service Berry

*Aggressive plants: I think it is important to put all the cards on the table. I do not mean to recommend aggressive plants. Quite the contrary. These plants can however have their uses. Just be cautious and make sure you choose your location carefully so the plant's aggression may be contained.

White Flowers for the Summer Shade Garden:

Annuals: Impatiens, Wax begonia
Perennials: Astilbe, Goat's Beard (Aruncus), Hosta, Phlox (part-shade), Sedum (part-shade)
Shrubs & Trees: Hydrangea (part-shade)

Climbers: Climbing Hydrangea, Rambling Rose (part-shade only)

White Flowers for the Fall Shade Garden:

Perennials: Actea (formerly Cimicifuga), Japanese Anemone (can be an aggressive spreader)

I think creating a white garden in shade is such an interesting challenge I'd love to find a way to take on the task myself. If only my garden were bigger....

The white garden at Larkwhistle Garden on the Bruce Peninsula.

One of the most celebrated and iconic gardens in the world is one based around a single color–white. Created by Vita Sackville-West with her husband Harold Nicolson within the ruins of tudor manor house, the white garden at Sissinghurst was one of Vita's many experiments with color. Vita's idea was to limit the flower colors to just one to better focus visitors attention on other design elements; texture, shape and form. Created to peak mid-summer, the garden was planted with a romantic mix of flowers like white lilies, delphiniums and roses set against a backdrop of silver and green foliage.

Limiting a whole garden to a single flower color would certainly require discipline. You'd need to have the will power to pass on that sky-blue delphinium or the pretty pink rose you saw on your last visit to the local garden centre. Most gardeners, including Vita herself, would probably struggle with those restrictions. The white garden at Sissinghurst Castle was just one of ten "rooms", so Vita had plenty of opportunity to express her love of color elsewhere.

A white climbing rose in a private garden in Toronto, ON.

A white rose.

I adore color, so making a white garden hasn't appealed to me until recently. The change of heart began when we lost a large tree at the side of the house. The little courtyard with the tree at its centre was my favourite part of the garden, not because it was especially pretty, but because it always felt cool, comfortable and private the moment you opened the back gate. We've since replaced the fallen tree, but the magnolia we planted is still spindly and small. How I miss that old feeling of quiet and calm!

While we wait for the new tree to mature, I began to think of other ways I might recreate the old feeling of a soothing green oasis. That's when it occurred to me to create a white garden.

There are so many great white options for spring: white tulips, narcissus and Spring Snowflakes, Leucojum vernum.

Daffodils

Allium

To my mind, there are two ways to go about creating a white garden. You can start from scratch and grow only white flowers or you can work with an existing garden and slowly edit out the other colors.

For me the working method will be the latter. There are a few hosta with lavender flowers that were shaded by the old tree. I was too busy to move them last year and the poor things got scorched, so they need to go, white garden or no.

Echinacea purpurea 'Pow Wow White'

Wether you are starting from scratch or editing an exisiting planting scheme, a few boundaries will need to be set. For instance, is a cream colored flower close enough to be considered "white"? And is a white flower with a yellow centre "white" enough to be included in your white garden? I have a feeling that Vita might think that a cream flower and the Echinacea above aren't "white", but what the heck, her vote isn't the important one. It's your garden and there is no right or wrong answer. Only you can decide.

One of the things that interests me the most is the sheer challenge of working with one basic color. I think Vita felt the same way.

"It is something more than merely interesting. It is great fun and endlessly amusing as an experiment, capable of perennial improvements as you take away the things that don't fit in, or that don't satisfy you, and replace them by something you like better," she wrote in her weekly newspaper column.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Plan for flowers in each season. Bulbs and early perennials are a great way to start off in the spring. Follow with annuals and mid-season perennials. Keep the color going into late summer with flowers like Sedum, Phlox, hardy Hibiscus and Turtlehead.

• Shrubs and trees can also be a source of white flowers and add structure to the garden.

• One of the things Vita hoped to emphasize was form. You can do this as well by including a variety of flower shapes. For instance, lilies can have trumpet-shaped flowers while Delphinium has tall flower spires.

• Use white or neutral colored flower pots or lined baskets for annuals.

• Use plants that have interesting variegation and foliage that has a variety of shapes.

White Columbine

The white garden at Larkwhistle Garden on the Bruce Peninsula.

White Lilac

There is one other advantage to creating this type of garden that I want to mention. Vita Sackville-West located her white garden in a place that she and her family liked to gather for dinner in the summertime. White flowers take on a luminous glow as twilight descends.

If you are considering making your own white garden, locating it next to a deck or patio where you dine in the evening might be a nice idea.

White peonies at the Toronto Botanical Garden.

Lavatera (annual)

Phlox paniculata 'David'

Though a single flower color was the core feature in Vita's white garden, she played it against a backdrop of mixed greens and silvery foliage.

Artemisia and Lamb's Ears

Here's a list of silver-grey plants:

Lamb's Ears, Stachys byzantina
Lavender (white flowering of course)
Artemisia (A word of caution: chose your Artemsisia carefully. Some types can be aggressive.)
Sea Holly (Eryngium 'Miss Willmot's Ghost)
Snow-in-Summer (Another word of caution: this can be an aggressive groundcover. Chose your location carefully)
Dusty Miller

Dusty Miller (Annual)

Culver's Root, Veronicastrum virginicum 'Album'

A late summer white: Balloon Flower, Platycodon grandiflorus

If a white garden is of interest, here are some of the many plants you might want to consider:

White Flowers for the Spring Garden:

Bulbs: Hyacinth, Daffodils, Tulips, Scilla, Grape Hyacinths, Allium
Annuals: Alyssum
Low growing/rockgarden: Creeping or Moss Phlox, Candytuft, Arabis
Perennials: Columbine, Bearded Iris, Japanese Iris, Salvia, Campanula
Shrubs & Trees: Lilac, Crabapple, Weigela, Viburnum

White Flowers for the Summer Garden:

Annuals: Nicotiana, Cosmos, Cleome, Moonflowers, Stocks
Bulbs and Tubers: Gladiola, Agapanthus, Dahlia
Biennials: Hollyhock, Lychnis
Perennials: Yarrow (Achillea), Lupine, Shasta Daisy, Bee Balm (Monarda), Oriental Lily, Delphinium, Daylily, Butterfly Flower (Gaura), Coneflower (Echinacea)
Shrubs & Trees: Rose, Rose of Sharon, Hydrangea, Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

White Climbers: Sweet Pea, Morning Glory, Rose, Clematis

White Flowers for the Late Summer/Fall Garden:

Perennials: Turtlehead, Coneflower (Echinacea),Yarrow (Achillea), Phlox, Hardy Hibiscus, Aster

If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment and I'll update the list.

Sedum 'Stardust'

Peony

There is something so fresh about a white flower, don't you think? And at the same time it feels restful. I am hoping that in creating a white garden at the side of the house I will be recreating that serene feeling that disappeared when we lost the tree.

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Thank you to everyone that entered the latest book draw on Facebook, by email and by leaving comments on the blog.

Many thanks also to Thomas Allen & Sons and Timber Press for providing a copy of The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing Your Small Yard by Susan Morrison.

I had my husband help me draw a name. And the winner is...

Congratulations Sarah Dundas, who lives in Toronto, and entered via email! Sarah, I will be in touch in the next few days to confirm the book is in the mail.

Up shortly is a new draw for a recipe book and seeds from Renee's Garden!

"It was the 60+ year old English house I bought in 1982 that had an established though long neglected garden that started my love of gardening," says Carina Wong.

Originally from Malaysia, Carina had gone to England to study nursing and decided to stay on after she graduated. When she purchased her first house in March, she had no idea there was a large garden sleeping through the final days of winter.

When spring brought the garden to life, Carina was at a loss how to handle the mature garden she'd inherited. At that time, she had no experience with gardening. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, she hired someone to help her in those early days. Then, slowly over the next seventeen years, the garden ended up teaching her how to be a gardener.

A move to Canada saw a fresh set of gardening challenges.

A visitor to the garden sits by the pond.

"I wanted an English-themed garden for the front of my new house," Carina recalls.

The property she bought in Mississauga had two large maple trees in the front yard that cast a tremendous amount of shade. Carina had one removed and limbed up the other to let in a little more sun for the roses she hoped to grow. Other than the two maples, the garden she inherited had a lawn and a narrow flowerbed that ran along the front of the house.

"I had many lovely roses, but sadly the arrival of Japanese beetles nine or ten years back became too big a problem to keep under control. The roses were sad and any blooms were quickly decimated. In the end, I got rid of over 30 rose plants! How should I put it - gardening phases come and go with the gardeners' aging process!"

The idea of installing a pond in the front yard began as a solution for a grub problem in the lawn. On the advise of her local garden centre, Carina tried to treat the problem with a pesticide. The chemicals smelled horrible and they were expensive. Worst of all, the grub problem persisted even after a couple of treatments. So Carina decided to dig up the lawn and put in a pond.

Over the years the pond went through a number of phases. In its first incarnation, it was a small preformed plastic pond. Not satisfied with that, Carina hired someone to come in and create a larger pond. A number of years later the skimmer broke, and rather than replace it, Carina decided to replace the high maintenance pond with a pond-less waterfall that was a lot less work.

The interlocking brick was another time saver. No more lawn tomow!

The garden along the front of the house.

1. Bearded Iris with variegated foliage 2. Tall allium 'Purple Sensation' 3. Rhododendron 4. Stonecrop or Creeping Sedum 5. Allium 6. Thyme 7. Moss Phlox, Phlox subulata 'Emerald Cushion Blue'

A closer look at the Moss Phlox (left) and the Thyme (right)

Phlox subulata 'Emerald Cushion Blue' creates a low mound of green needle-like leaves. In the spring, it is covered with lavender-blue flowers. This is a clump-forming perennial and is not invasive. Good drainage is essential for over-wintering moss phlox. Once established this plant is quite drought tolerant. Height: 10-15 cm (4-6 inches), Spread: 45-60 cm(18-23 inches). USDA zones: 2-9.

"I have happy memories of sitting on the park bench under the Canadian Maple in the evenings and listening to as many as 13 pairs of frogs' croaking - is there a better way to describe the beautiful sounds they make? Sitting on that bench also offered me the perfect vantage point for improving the layout and making changes over the years as well as enjoying a glass of wine or two!", smiles Carina.

A birdbath and one of the roses that still remain in the front garden.

In the next post (up shortly), we'll head into Carina's wonderful backyard.

After chatting with Carina about her garden, one of the things I came away admiring the most was her resourcefulness. When she needed a bridge to span of the natural stream in the backyard, she borrowed a neighbour's power tools and made it herself.

Challenges were tackled head-on, and if her initial solution didn't work, she's wasn't discouraged. She simply moved on and adopted a fresh approach.

An overview of the garden as seen from the back of the house.

Many a homeowner would have been defeated by the uneven terrain in Carina's backyard.

The ground slopes steeply down from the back of the house. In the centre of the yard, a stream divides property in two. On the far side of the stream, the ground sifts again, this time on a sharp incline.

The lawn just behind the back of the house was not fairing well, so Carina got rid of it! Instead she created a Japanese style rock garden using crushed limestone, pebbles and large boulders.

This view of the shows the sharp incline.

The bridge Carina made herself.

"The back garden has a lot of shade and is boggy from underground springs. Astilbes, Foam flowers (Tiarella), Brunnera, wild gingers, lilies, Bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) thrive in the the wet environment, unfortunately so did ferns, Goutweed and Lily-of-the-valley which I completely removed in one area," says Carina.

An old stump is now a host for a variety of plants.

A closer look at some of the hosta along the stream bank.

Carina's hosta's look amazing, so I made a point of asking her how she deals with slugs and snails. "Racoons drank the beer traps I put out," she laughs.

Her method is quite basic, but very effective; she hand picks the slugs from her hosta with a set of tweezers or chopsticks and drops them into a soapy bucket of water. Carina found it to be a quiet task that's therapeutic after a hectic day of nursing.

A line of Carex and a rocky drainage ditch that flows into the natural stream.

In this area an Euonymus adds a splash of yellow. There is also iris, a Bleeding Heart, and if you have eagle eyes, you might even notice a Cobra Lily (edge of the photo middle right).

The line of "grass" you see is actually Carex a perennial that has fine, grass-like foliage. I am not sure of the exact cultivar, but will give you a reference to one that looks quite similar.

Sedge, Carex oshimensis Evercolor 'Everillo' forms a mound of cascading lime-green leaves. This grass-like perennial likes moist, rich soil, but it will tolerate dry shade with occasional watering. Part to full shade. Evergreen. Height:45-50 cm (18-20 inches), Spread: 45-50 cm (18-20 inches). USDA zones: 5-9.

Red Trillium, Trillium erectum is native to North American woodlands and has many common names including Beth root, Stinking Benjamin, Wake-Robin and Indian Balm. This is a long-lived perennial that can live for up to 30 years. In the spring it has chocolate-red blooms that have a somewhat unpleasant scent up close. Trillium erectum likes moist, rich, well-drained soil. Part to full shade. Height: 20-50 cm (8-19 inches), Spread: 22-30 cm (9-12 inches). USDA zones: 4-9.

False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum racemosum, syn. Smilacina racemosa

False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum racemosum, syn. Smilacina racemosa has a number of common names including False Spikenard and False Lili-of-the-Valley. It is native to North American woodlands and has lance-shaped, green leaves. Tiny white flowers are followed by green berries that become red in late summer. It spreads by creeping rhizomes, but is slow to get established and produce a good display. Part-shade to Full Shade. Height: 60-90 cm (23-35 inches), Spread: 60-90 cm (23-35 inches). USDA zones: 3-9.

Redbud blossoms that have fallen into a birdbath at the back of the property.

I always like to ask gardeners about the wisdom they've gained after years of experience.

"Depending on lot size, grading, the condition of your soil, the amount of sunlight/shade and your budget, planning is important. I did not plan well, so I am speaking from experience after lots of trials and errors made over the years," Carina advises.

"Learn as much as possible about the type of plants you like. This will save you some headaches, time and money. Find out how they grow and spread, how much sun or shade they like, how tall and wide they get and whether they are high or low maintenance. Prepare the soil, water them well and regularly in the early days."

Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum' (left) and Canadian Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense (right)

Two great shade-loving perennials from the far side of the stream:

Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum' has dark green leaves accented with red. Soft yellow and cream flowers appear in mid to late spring. To make the tiny flowers more visible prune the previous season's foliage to the ground in late winter/early spring. New foliage will follow the flowers. Drought tolerant once established. Divide in the fall. Height: 20-30 cm (8-12 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA zones: 4-9.

Canadian Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense is native to the woodlands of Eastern north America. It bright green, heart-shaped leaves and insignificant brownish flowers that are largely hidden by the foliage. It will colonize an area and tends to be more vigorous than European Wild Ginger (Asarum europaeum), but is not considered to be invasive. Part to full shade. Sandy or clay soil are fine. Average to moist soil suit this plant best. Height: 10-15 cm ( 4-6 inches), Spread: 15-30 cm (6-12 inches). USDA zones: 3-9.

Last year Carina sold her home and garden. She's retired now and wants to be free to do some traveling and hopes to visit family in Malaysia more often. I asked her what she will miss the most about her garden.

"The large lot size afforded a lot of privacy," she laments. "I shall miss being outside with a good book, puttering in the garden, enjoying the birds and the occasional wildlife that visits; as well as the water feature out front."

It must be hard to leave behind a garden that you laboured almost thirty years to create, but Carina isn't looking back, she's moving forward into the next phase of her life.

"Gardening is hard work, but it doesn't feel like work once your garden gets established and it rewards you back," she muses. Based on the lovely garden Carina's managed to create, the rewards have been many.

Kids and hens helping each other heal. Photograph by Signe Langford

by Signe Langford

If you’ve spent any amount of time online, no doubt you’ve seen the adorable videos of fluffy hens visiting seniors’ homes in the UK and Australia. If you haven’t; do, you’ll be glad you did!

Then there’s Little Miss Sunshine. No, not the movie, but rather, the genius chicken from down under; and Jokgu the musical hen from America’s Got Talent; she’ll make you reconsider your menu choices tonight.

Miss Vicky was my most eager gardening assistant and a real snuggler too.

Photograph by Donna Griffith.

Baby came to me from another backyard coop; she would have spent every hour of every day

in my arms if I'd let her! Photograph by Donna Griffith.

Most folks don’t give a second thought to the inner life of a chicken. But, if you’ve spent some one-on-one time getting to know them, they you know there is so much more going on than meets the eye. Yes, we eat them, and yes, they have personalities, intelligence, and a social life. They can do us humans good – beyond supplying us with eggs and meat.

It was at Cobble Hills Farm Sanctuary, just outside Stratford, Ontario, where I began learning about the good hens can do. Author and adoption advocate, Christen Doidge Shepherd, was in the business of rescuing ‘spent hens’ from local egg factory farms and mentoring troubled kids from two nearby group homes. Her eureka moment came when she put the two together – broken, unwanted hens and throw-away kids – to look after each other on her farm. That’s right, look after each other.

A "spent hen"; a throw away of the industrial egg business. Photograph by Signe Langford

Discarded egg layers feel a loving touch for the first time. Photograph by Signe Langford

Fast friends! Photograph by Signe Langford

Christen lets each kid pick a hen of their own to care for, starting with a much needed nail trimming for these cage-bound hens. “It’s incredible to see the gentleness these kids show to their hens; to see them so gently handling them and giving them pedicures. It’s just lovely.” Christen just beams when she tells me this. And this is huge. These are kids who have suffered every manner of neglect and abuse. Love and gentleness isn’t something they know or express with people very often, if at all. But it’s different with the hens. Christen has seen the transformation first hand; “People think these kids are lost, but they’re not, they just need the chance to show how good they really are.” Caring for a little hen that was treated much as they were is the key that unlocks their hurting hearts.

As the days pass, the hens and kids learn to trust each other. The hens get healthy in body and mind, and so do the kids, gaining self-esteem, empathy, and a real sense of accomplishment. These are kids

who have been labeled “aggressive” or “incapable of connection”, but when they lovingly hold a soft, clucking, hen they can trust and make eye contact – perhaps for the first time in their short lives.

Backyard chickens can be just as loving a pet as a dog or cat. Sadly, as a society, we continue to underestimate them. Each little lady I’ve had in my coop has had her own personality, quirks, and food preferences, but they all come running just the same, when they hear the front door.

This post was written by Signe Langford

Signe Langford is a restaurant-chef-turned-writer who tells award-winning stories and creates delicious recipes. She is a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Life, Canadian Living and Garden Making magazines. In 2105, Signe published her first book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden- with 100 Recipes.

Raised in the town of Hudson, Quebec Signe grew up surrounded by an ever changing menagerie of critters, both wild and domestic, and her special affection for all feathered creatures has never flagged. At present, she shares a downtown Toronto Victorian with a tiny flock of laying hens. For more stories and recipes please visit www.signelangford.com

Instead of focusing on specific plants, for this post I thought that I'd point out some of the many bits of inspiration a garden can offer.

The house is a typical bungalow–long and low. The yard is wide, but shallow. At the back of the house there are two distinct elevations. As you will see, the homeowner has played up this shift in elevation with a set of stone steps that lead from the upper level of the garden to a lower terrace with a large area for entertaining.

Idea 1: Soften the straight lines of your house and driveway with curved flowerbeds.

A simple way to tackle the front yard is to add a flowerbed that sweeps along the face of the house. Link it to a second flowerbed that curves away from the straight line of the driveway.

I like how this homeowner has added a few taller shrubs at the far corner of the house. The shrubs add privacy and helps create a little separation between this property and the one next door.

The homeowner was also smart to avoid evergreens that will grow to monster proportions. Instead, she's opted for shrubs that can be pruned to keep their growth in check or shrubs that have a low mounded shape.

Idea 2: Lavender-blue & White What a fresh color combination this is! These are Spanish Bluebells (a bulb planted in fall) with Candytuft in the background.

Evergreen Candytuft, Iberis sempervirens: Candytuft has glossy, evergreen foliage and white flowers that bloom for several weeks in spring. Prune lightly after flowering to keep it from getting leggy. Good drainage is essential and somewhat dry conditions are preferred. Candytuft is not easily divided. Full sun. Height: 20-25 cm (8-10 inches), Spread: 30-90 cm (12-35 inches). USDA Zones: 3-9.

Idea 3: Save money by growing plants from seed. Start easy to grow and short-lived perennials (like these columbine at the front of the house) from seed.

15 Perennials easy to grow from seed:

• Columbine

• Balloon Flower (Platycodon)

• Coreopsis

• Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

• Blanket flower (Gaillardia)

• Lupins

• Yarrow (Achillea)

• Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria)

• Salvia

• Coneflower (Echinacea)

• Mallow (Malva sylvestris)

• Delphinium

• Maltese Cross (Lychnis chalcedonica)

• Butterfly Weed (both Asclepias incarnata and Asclepias tuberosa)

Idea 4: Create a destination by placing a bench opposite a gateway or at the end of a path.

Idea 5: Install a low-maintenance water feature.

Ponds can be a lot of work, but there are other options that give you the same relaxing sound of splashing water without the labour of installing and maintaining a pond. Most big box stores and nurseries now offer kits that come with everything you need to install a water feature.

In this garden, a covering of grey pebbles disguise a pump and an underground reservoir. If you want to go with a water feature like this, be sure to chose a kit with a large reservoir so you don't have to refill it every day.

Hydrangea, Japanese Ferns and Lady's Mantle are a few of the part-shade plants you see here.

Idea 6: Make your yard seem bigger by making the fence disappear.

Climbers, shrubs and trees can all help disguise the boundaries of your yard and make it seem bigger than it is. Here, mirrors have been used to reflect the green of the garden and make the fence less of a stopping point for the eye.

Idea 7: In shade, take advantage any sunlit pockets

Even the shadiest garden will often have a break in the canopy that creates a small area of part-shade or even full sun. Use these pockets to grow containers of colorful flowers that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum at the side of house

A Euonymus hides the chimney.

Idea 8: Make the entrance enticing and the exit memorable.

This was probably my favourite area of the garden. The wrought iron gate is pretty and even though there isn't a ton of color, the plantings are lush and green...which brings me to the next takeaway idea.

Idea 9: Use a single type of plant to make a statement.

Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris has not only been planted in a large clump, it has been repeated on either side of the garden gate. The same hosta is also repeated- this time on either side of the path.

Pathway leading back to the front of the house.

Idea 10: Use a container of annuals to add color to an area that is mostly green.

Perennials are great, but annuals bloom for months once established. In a shady area that is mostly green, a container planting of annuals is well worth the investment.

by Jean Godawa

In the early years of my career, when I visited nature and gardening groups or was invited to a classroom of eager six-year-olds, I was curious to hear the stories and background knowledge that people had about insects. Sometimes the stories were stated with such conviction that I had to go home and check through my textbooks to make sure I wasn't missing some obscure fact.

I did not enjoy telling a sweet child that the number of spots on a ladybug doesn't indicate its age or that earwigs don't crawl into your ear and nibble on your brain. When it comes to insects, I feel that knowing the straight-up facts makes people less afraid of them.

Myths and misconceptions about insects abound. Insect lore has a long historical tradition that is usually based on the predictive abilities, dangerous potential or valuable qualities of these fascinating creatures.

A common legend says that if a woolly bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella) with wide black bands crosses your path in the fall, it will be a long, harsh winter, especially if it is crawling in a southerly direction, trying to escape the northern cold. Narrower black bands, apparently, predict a mild winter.

As tempting as it would be to believe a simple caterpillar over complicated meteorological tools, sadly, the black bands on a woolly bear caterpillar have nothing to do with the upcoming winter. This caterpillar moults several times before it pupates and becomes the adult Isabella tiger moth. With each of the caterpillar's moults, the black bands get shorter.

There is, however, an insect that truly does have a bit of weather expertise. It may not be able to predict upcoming weather but it can tell you the temperature. If you count the number of chirps of the snowy tree cricket (Oecanthus fultoni) in a 13 second period, then add 40, you will get the approximate temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

Long before we were measuring the outside temperature with cricket chirps, people looked to insects for other inspirations.

The ancient Egyptians had a particular affinity for a creature whose behaviour many of us would find repulsive. The scarab beetle rolls up balls of dung to bury and lay its eggs inside. Rather than seeing this as something disgusting, the Egyptians saw it as a symbol of the sun rolling across the sky. Since the young hatched from the dung ball, they interpreted it as a young sun god being reborn every morning. This god, Khepri, was often depicted as a man with a scarab beetle for a head.

Cricket cage of coconut shell and ivory from the Qing dynasty (Smithsonian Institution)

They may not be soft and cuddly like puppies or kittens but some insects are treasured pets. Valued by some Asian cultures for their melodious and calming chirp, crickets have been collected in cages for hundreds of years. Elaborately carved bone or wood cages have been found dating back as early as 960 A.D.

Another insect, cicadas, were also revered in Chinese culture as a symbol of rebirth and immortality. While too loud to keep indoors, they were sometimes kept in cages that hung from the eaves of the house or in tree branches nearby.

This attraction to insects is very much alive today. Bug markets in Shanghai and Beijing have become popular tourist stops where thousands of crickets along with some very decorative cages are sold. Many of these insects are used for sport rather than their soothing sounds, as cricket fighting has continued to be a popular pastime.

Thanks to a lazy grasshopper, I learned early that it was important to prepare for tomorrow. Many of us remember Aesop's story of the grasshopper who spent the summer singing and dancing while he watched the ants collecting food for the winter. When winter came, the grasshopper, near death, begged the ants for help, which they refused to give. Aesop was harsh!

Whether founded in observation or superstition, stories and beliefs about insects are just as common today as they were in antiquity.

I have been told many times that having a ladybug land on you is considered to be good luck. While not one for superstitions, I have to agree. Ladybugs eat plant pests which is definitely good luck for gardeners.

Post written by Jean Godawa

Jean is a science teacher and writer. She has been writing science-related articles for print and online publications for more than ten years. Jean holds a degree in biology and environmental science with a focus on entomology from the University of Toronto. She has also conducted field research in the tropical rainforests of Asia and South America.

Many thanks to Ken Sproule and Joseph Berger for allowing us to use their photographs in this post.

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The Bruce Peninsula is a thumb-shaped jut of land that lies between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. It is a place of breathtaking views, rugged cliffs and dense forests that are home to some of the oldest trees in the eastern half of North America. The summers are short, hot and often dry. The winds that sweep across the Great Lakes make the winters long and cold.

In this picturesque, but somewhat inhospitable place, Dawn and Bill Loney chose to make a home and create a garden.

"For a number of years we lived in the Eastern Arctic where all our gardening was done in juice cans," laughs Dawn Loney. "The serendipitous purchase of our farm at Big Bay in 1977 allowed us to contemplate gardening on a larger scale. The original garden included a bank of lilacs, several old apple trees, a clump of rhubarb, two blue columbines and a tulip. Little did we know that we would be gardening on a prehistoric beach with a skim of topsoil over three metres of gravel."

"Bill is the garden's guiding spirit at Keppel Croft Gardens," says Dawn. "He's a self-taught gardener whose interest became a hobby, which in turn became a passion, and then an obsession!"

Dawn, herself, was no stranger to gardening having grown up in New Zealand where her parents kept an extensive garden. "Every year Bill and I, and the gardens, get older and, we hope, more interesting!" she jokes.

The old farmhouse with its red door beacons you in the distance.

From the first of May through to Thanksgiving, Keppel Croft has a steady stream of visitors. We arrived on a warm, sunny afternoon in late June. Once you park your car in the shade, you're free to wander the property at your leisure.

Dawn and Bill are very welcoming hosts: "Throughout the summer we are happy to host weddings, annual family picnics and other celebrations. Don’t forget to pack your picnic and enjoy staying a little longer in the gardens."

Dawn says there was never any a grand, overall vision for the gardens.

"Most parts of the garden began after some thought, discussions and sometimes some sketches on the back of an envelope or in Bill's garden idea book. We originally planted close to the house because we wanted to be able to find things in the long grass!"

In prehistoric times, the Bruce Peninsula lay under a shallow warm sea. Over millions of years sand, silt, clay and lime-rich organic material became compressed into layers of rock. Gardening on an ancient shingle beach makes a pick axe Bill's gardening tool of choice.

"After realizing that conventional plantings are impossible in most places in the garden, Bill perfected a planting technique which has been quite successful. He begins by digging a hole with his pick axe then everything is sieved into a wheelbarrow. The stones are collected in buckets and the soil amended before being put back in the planting hole."

"The surprise garden was made on top of a large square of carpet placed over our septic bed," says Dawn.

Today, Keppel Croft Gardens stretches over four acres and includes perennial borders, a rockery, xeriscape, zen and woodland gardens.

"There are several ponds as well as numerous art installations. Our collection of lilacs is growing with additions each year. Among plans for this gardening season, Bill hopes to complete the dry stream, which is a project that has taken several years already. We also hope to renovate the iris beds and the old vegetable garden which got overshadowed by trees," says Dawn.

In June, the peonies are at their ruffled best. Over the years Bill has built an impressive collection.

"Peonies- so stalwart! They'll will be blooming when I am long gone," says Bill. "Nothing eats them! They provide three season's of interest; colourful spring shoots then glorious, perfumed blossoms followed by attractive seed heads and colourful autumn foliage. They're no worry in the winter either."

Centranthus ruber 'Albus' (see profile below)

Gorgeous Oriental Poppy.

A shady bench.

"Jupiter's Beard (Centranthus rubra) red, white or various shades in between...It's a prolific self-seeder that thrives in the hot, dry location with poor, stoney soil. It doesn't like to be transplanted, especially when its older," says Bill.

Jupiter's Beard or Red Valerian, Centranthus ruber is a short-lived perennial that has fragrant pinkish-red flowers. Removing faded flowers will encourage them to bloom all summer long. It likes hot, dry sites and poor soil. The flowers are also attractive to butterflies. Height: 30-90 cm (12-35 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA zones 4-9.

Centranthus ruber 'Albus' is the white flowering form. The small star-shaped clusters of flowers are again fragrant.

Two visitors relaxing and enjoying the view.

Traditional flowerbeds will often have a band of bare earth on the outer edge. It makes the tangle of a traditional cottage garden look neat and contained, but bare earth is often an open invitation to weeds. At Keppel Croft, Bill takes a more novel approach:

"The mowing strips around the beds keep us and the other grass mowers sane. To create them, I dig a trench with a spade that is 5 to 7 cm deep. Then I set thin, pliable wood form along the outer edges. A piece of 2 x 6 is placed at the ends to keep the form upright and restrict excess concrete from escaping. Next I pour in a layer of concrete, lay down a piece of reinforcing material and pour another layer of concrete. Finally I set palm sized flat rocks in the surface and there you have it!"

"To create the pebble mulch, I use a layer of wet newspaper over the ground, then a sheet of plastic and cover the whole thing with a layer of gravel. Pronto, a long lasting inorganic mulch! You only weed and water the holes in which the plants are located. There's just one drawback. No one ever explained an easy way to remove autumn debris without raking off the gravel."

Plume Poppy, Macleaya cordata

Plume Poppy, Macleaya cordata in its fall colors.

Plume Poppy, Macleaya cordata is a somewhat controversial perennial. It's a tall, statuesque perennial that has gorgeous foliage and panicles of tiny white blooms that are the plant's namesake "plumes." In the fall, the leaves take on the most amazing shades of yellow and orange. The down side is that Plume Poppy is an aggressive plant that spreads by rhizomes and by seed. It has proven to be a problem in warmer parts of the United States and is considered a noxious weed in Hawaii.

It's a plant that's tempted me for years, so I asked Bill for his opinion. "Wouldn't be without it," he tells me. "When in flower it has Victorian wallpaper colours. It spreads by roots and seeds but is controllable ...except you never want to tear it out."

Bill's endorsement and those colors make it very tempting. Just remember, if you'd like to grow this perennial, you'll have to work to keep it in check.

A pretty sundial in the near distance.

Pinks, Dianthus

Peonies, Jupiter's Beard and a couple of wicker seats under an old apple tree.

"How I wished for a stone barn foundation or an old silo, but our barn foundation still has a working barn resting on it," says Bill.

"This folly was built using an old stone wall construction technique making use of forms. Many of the stones were collected, often a few at a time, in a dry stream bed at the back of the farm. It took several years with the help of WWOOFers (short for Woldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) to complete the construction. The folly is now taking on a life of its own and, with time, it should improve in appearance with weathering."

There is more of the garden to see, but I think I will have to leave that for a Part 2.

Don't forget that Keppel Croft is a garden you can visit yourself this summer!

For directions, hours of operation and other details check out the garden's listing on the Rural Gardens of Grey-Bruce website. You can also visit the garden's website for more information.

There are a couple of special events this summer:

June 21, 2018

Summer Solstice celebrated at Keppel Henge. The event is attended by the Bruce County Astronomical Society and several Tai Chi clubs that come with picnics and exercise in the gardens before the Summer Solstice observation in the Henge. The celebration usually includes a presentation about the solstice and there are often special telescopes brought along for sharing a view of the sun! "We always cross our fingers and hope for a sunny day," says Dawn.

July 14th, 2018, 10am - 4pm, Admission $3

Art in the Garden features forty plus artists and artisans with creations for sale. There will also be plant sales and live music.

Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue' in Carina Wong's front garden.

Creeping Phlox always makes me nostalgic for my mother's garden. Mom had great swaths of Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue' in her rock garden at the front of our house. Those dense mounds of lavender flowers were always spectacular each May alongside white Arabis, dwarf bearded iris and sunny-yellow Basket of Gold, Aurinia saxatilis 'Compacta'.

Mom always referred to Phlox subulataas Creeping Phlox, but Moss Phlox seems to be the common name I hear more frequently these days. Phlox subulata flowers for a number of weeks in early spring and forms a low mound of green, needle-like foliage. The star-shaped flowers have five petal-like lobes that are notched on the outside edge.

The native form of Phlox subulata can be found on rocky, sandy slopes and open woodlands in Michigan, Ontario and in a large area that runs from New York south to Tennessee. Modern cultivars come in an array of colors including pinks, reds, purples, white and white striped with hot pink.

Moss Phlox is fairly adaptable to a variety of soil types, but the soil must be well-drained. I can't stress this enough. Nothing will kill your Moss Phlox quicker than cold, soggy soil in the wintertime. If your soil isn't free-draining, amend it with fine pebbles, sand and organic material.

Moss Phlox prefers evenly moist conditions, so water young plants until they are established. Even after Moss phlox has settled in, it still may need a supplemental watering during periods of prolonged drought.

Full sun will produce the best show of flowers. In southern gardening zones however, Moss Phlox will appreciate a little respite from the heat of the afternoon sun.

Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue' in the garden of Marion Jarvie in Thornhill, ON.

A cushion of lavender-pink flowers in Marion Jarvie's garden.

Here pink Moss Phlox mixes with white Arabis in the gravelly soil of the rock garden at the Agricultural Campus of Dalhousie University in Truro, N.S.

The somewhat messy appearance of Phlox subulata after it flowers.

Ongoing Care

After the spring flowers fade and turn brown in late spring, Phlox subulata can look a bit scruffy and untidy. Give your plant a light haircut to remove the spent flowers and promote fresh foliage. If you're lucky, you might even see a little bit of reblooming.

After a few years, the plant's stems can become woody and will produce fewer and fewer flowers. To stimulate fresh growth and more springtime blooms, cut the stems back by half.

If you want to divide your Moss Phlox, do it in early spring just after they have finished flowering.

Cultivars to Collect

In the pictures below, one cultivar may seem pretty much like any other with the exception of the flower color. There are differences however:

Some cultivars grow more quickly than others. The needle-like foliage can also be finer and more dense on some cultivars. Finally the flowers vary in size. When you do your shopping, you'll note these distinctions much better than you will in my pictures.

Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue' is a popular cultivar for all the right reasons and is a great one to start with.

Phlox subulata 'Violet Pinwheels'has intense violet-purple flowers in early spring. Plant in full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 10-15 cm (4-6 inches), Spread 60-90 cm (23-35 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Phlox subulata 'Red Wings' has hot pink flowers with a deep magenta eye. Plant in full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 10-15 cm (4-6 inches), Spread 30-60 cm (12-24 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Phlox subulata 'Pink Emerald' has pink flowers with a hot pink eye. Plant in full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 15-20 cm (6-8 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Phlox subulata 'Purple Beauty' has magenta flowers with a purple flash at the flower centre. Plant in full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 15-20 cm (6-8 inches), Spread 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Phlox subulata 'Crimson Beauty' rose-pink flowers with a magenta flash at the flower centre. Plant in full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 10-15 cm (4-6 inches), Spread 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue' soft lavender colored flowers with a purple flash at the flower centre. Plant in full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 15-20 cm (4-6 inches), Spread 30-60 cm (12-24 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Phlox subulata 'White Delight' has large white star-shaped flowers in April or May. Full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 15-20 cm (6-8 inches), Spread: 30-60 cm (12-24 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Other white cultivars: 'Cotton Candy', 'Early White', 'Spring white'

Phlox subulata 'Candy Stripe' has masses of white flowers with a hot pink down the centre of the petal. Full sun. Average, well-drained soil. Height: 20 cm (8 inches), Spread 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA zones:3-9.

Several types of Moss Phlox in the private garden of Marion Jarvie.

Companion Planting

Moss Phlox is most often used in rockeries where it fits in well with other alpine and rock garden plants.

Its low carpet of blooms also makes a great understory for daffodils and tulips. It can also look terrific planted alongside early flowering hellebores.

Plant type: Perennial

Height: 4-8 inches (10-20 cm)

Spread: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm)

Flower: Star-shaped flowers in a variety of colors

Bloom period: Early spring

Leaf: Green, needle-like foliage

Light: Full sun

Soil: Average, but must be well-drained

Moisture conditions: Prefers evenly moist, but free-drained soil

Divide: In spring after flowering

Deer Resistant: Somewhat deer resistant, but rabbits will eat this plant

Problems: Leaf miners, mites and caterpillars can be an issue. Other issues include rust, mildew, blight and stem canker

USDA Zones: 3-9

Visiting other gardens has become one of my great passions. My resources for travel are limited, but I don't need to travel to distant shores to just see stunning gardens. They are right in my own backyard so to speak. It never ceases to amaze me what other gardeners have managed to create.

There is nothing like seeing a plant in a garden setting to give you a true sense of how it grows, what shape it takes and how it mixes in with other plants. And you're bound to come home from your visit with a lots of ideas and projects in mind. I certainly came home from our trip to Bill and Dawn's garden on the Bruce Peninsula with lots of ideas, many of which I'd love to share with you today.

Idea 1: Make your own artwork.

You don't have to be an 'artist'. A little creativity is all you need.

Throughout Keppel Croft, you'll find examples of Bill's handiwork. "Not wanting to waste extra concrete, I poured it into waxed juice containers. When I peeled off the wax cardboard, I noticed a neat folded design on the bottom of the concrete blocks. Then I had a 'light bulb idea' to make the blocks into a miniature sculpture by setting them into fine, local beach gravel," says Bill.

The tall sculpture you see on the right was inspired by travels to Asia.

"This sculpture celebrates a week my daughter and I spent touring South Korea a few years back. We admired all the pagodas there. I bought a book of Korean culture in a folk museum in Seoul," Bill recounts.

"The finial represents a lotus blossom, which in turn represents the Buddha. It sits in a prominent spot in the rock garden. The tier overhangs make perfect sheltered nest bases for wasps."

Idea 2: Frame a view.

Here the path directs the eye, while two upright shapes (Bill's sculpture and the tall, columnar evergreen) create a frame that funnels your attention toward the distant view. There is a hint of what is to come, but plantings on either side obscures a complete understanding of what lies ahead.

A sense of mystery is always a great draw for the curious garden visitor.

Bill and Dawn have a large country property, but you can use this design trick in any sized garden. Find an existing frame and make use of it or create a brand new one. Here's an example of using an existing frame:

Open the gate to your backyard. Think of the gate as the sides of your frame. Now take in the view. What is at the centre of your line of site? If its not something interesting, make a change. Add a bench or an attractive object like an urn filled with flowers.

And here's an example of how you might go about creating a brand new frame:

Create a doorway from one area of your garden to another with a wooden arbor.

The pathway channels your attention while the sides of the wooden arbor frames the view you see.

Here the plantings and the two teal pots partly obscures the full landscape and create that all important sense of mystery.

Idea 3: Repeat a color without using the exact same plant.

Blue-green is a color seen both in the low evergreen in the foreground and the blue spruce trees in the distance. The type of plant is different, but the color is the same.

Red is also repeated in the Barberry shrub in the middle foreground on the right and also in the distance. The shrub is the same, but the cultivars are different.

Repetition helps unify the garden into a cohesive whole.

Idea 4: Start a collection.

As any collector will tell you, it's fun to have a focus and a mission when you're shopping. To start a collection choose a plant that speaks to you. It could be absolutely anything you love: minature hostas, roses, clematis, heuchera, native plants or maybe even different types of iris. Search out and grow all the examples of that plant you can possibly find.

Over the years Bill and Dawn have gathered a terrific collection of peonies that they have scattered throughout their country property. The use of a single plant unifies a big space. And when all those peonies are all in bloom, they make a dramatic statement.

A nice play of texture and leaf color.

Idea 5: Play up the contrast of color and texture.

As any experienced gardener will tell you, flowers come and go, but foliage is around for the long haul. This spring, make a point of choosing at least one plant for its foliage and not its flower.

Idea 6: Make use of found metal machine parts and decorate metal objects.

Here an old machine part is hung on a wall and a metal butterfly has been set into a concrete stepping stone.

You may remember the notes on Bill's unique way to edge his flowerbeds from part 1. He's used that same basic technique to do something fun in a nondescript expanse of lawn.

Idea 7: Make a swirl in the grass.

Again Bill's made use of concrete and stones to create this swirl in the lawn. If you don't want to go to the bother of laying forms and mixing concrete, you could use a simple line of bricks or small pavers to create something similar.

Idea 8: Make your own stepping stones.

"These stepping stones were formed from an old piece of lawn edging in the shape of a circle. Bits and pieces were set in the concrete and stamps were used for letters," says Bill.

Here's a link to one of the many Youtube how-to stepping stone videos. Be sure to wear gloves and use safety glasses and dust mask when working with concrete.

Idea 9: Make a hypertufa plant pot.

"The planted (landscaped) pots are placed about the garden in strategic spots to create focal points.

This particular trough was made using a hypertufa mixture over a huge soup pot which someone donated to the cause. It has been used several times and was reinforced with hardware cloth during construction," says Bill

Hypertufa is a mix of peat moss, perlite and Portland cement (do not use pre-mixed concrete or mortar). Here's a link for a full how-to from Fine Gardening magazine.

Idea 10: Take advantage of unique and interesting natural objects you found in your garden or in your travels.

"The troughs are wonderful place to showcase 'special' rocks. This rock has a hole in it", says Bill, "Some have crevices in them which hold tiny rock plants such as Sempervivums, Sedum and Draba."

Idea 11: Create a grouping of plant curiosities.

Hardy succulents and textural groundcovers can be so odd and intruiging! Display them in a container where they'll get noticed or elevate them up closer to eye level in a birdbath planter.

Here's a link to making a birdbath planter.

Idea 12: Make an inukshuk or an inunnguaq.

In the snow covered regions of northern Canada everything can look the same. Inukshuks served many purposes. They were used a as a point of reference for navigation and as a signpost to mark a good hunting or fishing spots. Inukshuks often marked a cache of food and were sometimes used as animal blinds when hunting for caribou. Women would case caribou toward the inukshuks where the hunters lay hidden with bows and arrows.

In its simplest form, an inukshuk can be an upright stone. Balance was key to making a these stone markers. No mortar or glue hold the stacked stones together. Each stone supports the one above and below it.

Stones piled up to look like a human figure are called inunnguaq and have a more spiritual significance. After they were married, Bill and Dawn spent a number of years living in the Eastern Arctic. An inunnguaq now stands on the edge of their garden and looks out onto a field of wild flowers and grasses and the forest beyond.

I hope you have enjoyed these two posts on Keppel Croft Garden.

If your lucky enough to find yourself exploring the Bruce Peninsula this summer, I am sure Bill and Dawn would be happy to welcome you to their garden.

You might even want to buy a little souvenir of your visit. I know I did.

For directions, hours of operation and other details check out the garden's listing on the Rural Gardens of Grey-Bruce website. You can also visit the garden's website for more information.

A reminder that there are a couple of special events this summer:

June 21, 2018

July 14th, 2018, 10am - 4pm, Admission $3

Art in the Garden features forty plus artists and artisans with creations for sale. There will also be plant sales and live music.

How to Choose: Bigger is Better...right?

Planting a Bearded Iris:

Ongoing Care

Dividing

Pests and Problems

Planting Ideas

with photography by Maggie Sale

How to choose an Artwork

A couple of Tips on Choosing Artwork for the Garden:

A few Tips for Displaying Artwork in a Garden Setting:

About the Photographer:

A few of the Many Types of Indoor Ferns:

A Few Fern Look-a-Likes:

A Container Planting using Ferns

Summary List: Late Winter/ Spring

Summary List: Summer

Summary List: Late Summer/Fall:

Perennials: Agastache, Phlox Paniculata (sun or part shade)Shrubs & Trees: Butterfly Bush, Sweet Autumn Clematis (vine)Fragrant Plants Part Shade/Shade

White Flowers for the Spring Shade Garden:

White Flowers for the Summer Shade Garden:

White Flowers for the Fall Shade Garden:

White Flowers for the Spring Garden:

White Flowers for the Summer Garden:

White Flowers for the Late Summer/Fall Garden:

by Signe Langford

This post was written by Signe Langford

by Jean Godawa

Post written by Jean Godawa

Ongoing Care

Cultivars to Collect

Companion Planting

Perennials: Agastache, Phlox Paniculata (sun or part shade)
Shrubs & Trees: Butterfly Bush, Sweet Autumn Clematis (vine)

Fragrant Plants Part Shade/Shade