Pages

Sunday 19 July 2009

Red, Green, & White = Xmas ??

OK .. I will admit to sucking you in with that title .. especially when those weird Christmas in July sales happen .. you just have to look, you can't help yourself right ?
This is Chicago Apache day lily and even though it is a once a year bloomer (competition grows with all the new rebloomer day lily cultivars now) it is a beauty .. true eye candy.
It is a Christmas "red" in July !
Water droplets seem a little like ice maybe ? .. use your imagination !!
My red Morden rose also has water droplets on from yesterday morning .. but yet another nice red to enhance my Xmasy post : )
Now for the "green" part ... actually green relief is what I call my shade corner. The ferns and the variegated Solomon's Seal , which is doing very well this season from all the rain .. it just breaths freshness and relief doesn't it ?
I love my Japanese Painted ferns .. I don't know why or how they work .. but just staring at them is a stress buster moment in my life .. they are so serene and beautiful looking ;-)
Quick Fire hydrangea has been the most pleasant surprise to me with such early blooms and that fragrance I did NOT expect .. this is the "white" part of the kooky Christmas post .. it is SNOW : )
See that tiny bug with his snow shoes on tracking across the snow drifts ??
Last but not least (sorry about the BRIGHTNESS of this picture .. you have to squint your eyes a little) .. but the "Christmas Rose" part is a must .. even without blooms .. and I had BLOOMS .. the foliage is gorgeous .. plus the fact that I finally added two more cultivars that I am very excited about .. "Royal Heritage" and "Ruse Black" .. I'm already looking forward to next early Spring to see how they do : ) ... it is all about future prospects and waiting for them :-)

PS .. I find it rather funny that I planted my hellebore next to my one Lupin plant in this raised bed .. they share similar leaf structure .. my garden brain works even when I have no idea it is ?

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

A very festive post in July! ;) Your Quickfire is fragrant? Okay now there's another one I need to add to the garden,lol. Thanks for enabling me Joy again... :)

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

HO HO HO-- looks wonderful!!!

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Awesome! I am thinking of December and how cool it is then instead of 109+ degrees it is here today! I am going to get some reblooming daylilies though that would be cool!

Unknown said...

Very nice Joy. I've been thinking about starting to make Christmas presents, but I've been so busy with my outdoor projects I haven't yet found the time.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

I'm glad to hear the quickfire is working for you. I have read so many good things about them and they are definitely on my "acquire' list.

Very festive post!! :)

tina said...

Christmas in July. What fun! The daylily is an awesome red for sure.

Kaija said...

Hi! Beautiful photos.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi there Racquel .. hard to believe I'm doing THAT right ? hehehe ... Yes ! it is fragrant .. it surprised me with that option .. it really is wonderful !
I had a feeling I would be an enabler some how ? LOL

Janet .. did you practice the ho ho ho girl ? I could have sworn I just heard Santa ! ;-)

Cindee .. I thought you had some already girl ! .. I may have to look at some myself .. there is always SOMETHING right ?? ; )

Hey there Cinj .. it is hard to focus on Xmas presents right now .. but I could not resist this post ..I don't know what started it all really ? haha

Hello Ms. S .. I have on ein the front garden under much better lighting and one in the back under poor lighting and it blooms no matter what , so YES ! I would have even more if I had the room : )

Hi Tina .. it is a nice clear red one and quite large too .. I have Chinese Scholar and that is BIG but not as clear a red as Chicago Apache .. yup ! festive ! LOL

Hello Kaija ! Thank you : )

Rose said...

Now this is the kind of Christmas in July I like! That's a beautiful daylily; I've always thought I wanted to add more rebloomers, but I've noticed that so many daylilies that don't rebloom last a long time anyway and have bigger, fuller blooms. I'm going to keep an open mind on this. Your Christmas decorations are beautiful!

Lona said...

Okay, I bit ;-) Your flowers are looking so beautiful. This is a great time to get those bargain plants when everyone is gearing up for fall planting. Your lily is beautiful.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Rose girl and thank you ! .. it is a bit of a thinker , isn't it ? I actually don't think I have a rebloomer in my mix of day lilies yet (or if I do I have forgotten already ?) .. location makes a huge difference in how beautiful some of these can be .. go figure .. 3 years in a not so hot location and bang first year in the perfect one and wow !
Yes .. this kind of Xmas in July is fun girl : )

Hello there HHG ! Thank you !
You are so right .. I am going to go hunting this week for some bargains if I can squeeze any more in the garden .. that urge to add more just never seems to go away does it ??

Gail said...

Hi Joy, Love the Apache red daylily...the color is perfect. Here the really red ones have to go where there is afternoon sun or they fade out. I've been thrilled with my daylilies...none are rebloomers...but I still have one or two blooming...It has to be this strange cool weather we've been having. It feels like autumn! Happy gardening days to you! gail

Anonymous said...

Hi Joy~~

"Garden brain." I believe you used this apropos term when replying to one of my posts illustrating my tunnel vision/scatter brained ADD. LOVE IT. And your Christmas garden is fabulous. Excellent photos of the reds, greens and whites.

Cat said...

Very nice.
My yard is "off the hook" as my kids like to say.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Gail girl ! I also have to say it has been a good year for day lily blooming in succession .. I still have ots that are budding out nicely : )
Yes I can well imagine yours would need afternoon shade with that heat and sun factor. AND YES ! some of these mornings are cool and they do remind me of Autumn !!!

Hello there Grace .. Thanks girl !I really believe for most of us that there is that sceret brain, working in the background trying to keep us on the true ? path for gardening .. I can't explain why some of my better combinations worked out even prettier than I expected .. I thank my "garden brain" for thinking of that ? LOL

Cat ... how are you ? I have to get over to your blog and see what you have been up to girl : )

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Wow Joy! What a colourful and festive post. Love that Chicago Apache; it's stunning. I don't think I've ever seen one in that shade. Your garden is amazing. I just can't get over how beautiful it is. You sure know what you're doing.

donna said...

You have such pretty red in your garden. The Japanese Painted Fern that I planted this year doesn't look gorgeous like yours...not yet. And a Merry Christmas to you!

Aiyana said...

Everything is so green and gorgeous in your part of the world. Makes me want to take a long road trip to cooler climes! Thanks for your visits and comments. I have been doing a lot of volunteer work of late, and getting around to all my favorite bloggers has been really hard the last few months as I've been so busy. Soon, I will cut back to one day a week, and then I'll have time. I miss seeing everyone's photos and posts!
Aiyana

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Martha ... thank you girl ! It truly is due to the great rain we have been having .. Me dragging the hose around... well it isn't a pretty sight, so I am grateful to mother nature helping me out with that. I moved this poor plant around a lot (the good point about most day lilies is that they tolerate crazy gardeners) ..finally I hit the right spot for it to flourish ! : )
When you see it in person it won't look as good as the pictures I bet ? LOL

Merry Christmas back Donna ! You have to give these ferns a little time to settle in and be happy .. but the wait is so worth it when they smile back you at you ! Hold on there girl : )

Hello Aiyana : )
Summer is a busy season for so many people .. I feel a bit stretched at times too .. so don't worry about visits .. we all seem to catch up in the winter time when you can relax and enjoy peoples posts .. so now worries girl ! : )

VW said...

I mistook a lupine seedling for a hellebore and was disappointed to realize that it was just lupine left over from when the previous owner scattered wilflower seeds all over. I'm looking forward to seeing your new cultivars bloom next year!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there VW !
I can see how that would happen actually .. I didn't realize how similar the leaf structure was until I stood back and REALLY looked at that section of the border .. and I was surprised at myself .. unconsciously grouping similar plants together or what ?? LOL .. I am looking forward to next Spring already .. gardeners are strange people aren't we ? : )