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Thursday 27 May 2010

The Shadier Side

I am using the shadier side of the "force" to which I am totally drawn to.
A large Crimson King Maple shelters the front garden from harsh sunlight .. he is a generous tree and we love him for that kindness .. as do the wee plants underneath.
The mix of colours follows NO colour chart.
Two things I ignore .. colour charts for planting and trying to make an outdoor space like an indoor one.
I blows my cork when I see pictures of "living room" type furniture along with fireplaces and gigantic BBQ units .. why do you bother going outside ? why mask what should be a beautiful and NATURAL setting ?
OK . I just stepped down from my soap box .. I think .. for now ?
Greens .. lots of different greens not only look lush but so cool and fresh : )
Do you remember "Colour Flash" Astilbe that turned amazing shades of red last Autumn ? Well here it is in soothing green still, making friends with that BIG hosta in the above picture ..
Then I have to push the button .. the STOP button and fire in some "in your face" bright colour to shake you
up and stop that snoring ? wink wink with the below picture .. Stoplight heucherella makes you look twice ? .. and with that blue and rippled texture .. well it is DIFFERENT ;-)
My Monet weigela is very fond of this hosta .. it just has to reach out and touch it .. I think it has a crush on it actually .. I wonder what kind of a cross breeding plant that would make ?
Now here is the other side with dwarf goatsbeard .. Korean Dwarf Goatsbeard .. and this little guy turns amazing colours in the Autumn too .. am I obsessed with Autumn do you think ? ;-)
This is just plain gorgeous and cool to look at .. take a five minute break staring at hosta Guacamole .. she is a gorgeous creature that exudes COOL vibrations ?
Now for some brighter light and colours .. and Halcyon hosta plays foil to Lime Ricky .. I think they have a "thing" for each other in fact ! .. again my thoughts are .. cross breeding and what would these plant kids look like ? wink wink
Lamium ... Ostrich fern leaf ? and Marmalade heuchera make a great trio in the shared space between houses.
Now look at how this astilbe horned in on this photo op .. a little of the Gold Creeping Jenny thought to do the same as well .. plants .. they do have egos don't they ?
Then another creeping ground cover said to itself "why are they having all the fun .. let me in too!"
Ornamental Kiwi vine .. do you think I could find another one this year ? NOPE !! Darn it all !!
This one was moved from the back garden to the shared space on my arbor gate and it is looking awesome this year with great splashes of silver white on its leaves and ...
... and ... that part is coming ... but in the mean time another shot of that brilliant silver WHITE !
A secret world lays underneath those leaves .... something that most people of the non gardening nature might miss ?
Tiny gorgeous flowers in its own shady world under the shielding leaves .. I stood under the arbor and was amazed how cool and beautiful it was and those little flowers were awesome !
Back into the stark BRIGHT light and Chardonnay Pearls Duetzia has opened those pearls to become star like flowers : )
OK .. I had to do one last sneak peak into the shadier side .. rather ironic to have a lantern there isn't it ?
More ironic that it is a solar light that isn't really getting to charge .. but .. it looks nice with the others there.
Why shake up a good thing ? : )

10 comments:

Kyna said...

I love ornamental kiwi vine, I've only seen it in gardening magazines though. :)

Love that hosta Guacamole! :D Makes my eyes VERY happy.

Lona said...

You kill me. LOL! I have thought the same thing about those kitchens outdoors. I might as well stay indoors and cook without the mosquitoes added in.I still love an old charcoal grill that adds flavor to the food.
I like you plant combination's so much. The Lamium and Heuchera is my favorite. What beautiful leaves the Kiwi Vines has. All the leaves are a little different too. Very pretty.

VW said...

Pretty shots of the hostas and heucheras. Did you see Helen's post about hosta virus over at Toronto Gardens blog? I'm thinking I need to go check all my hosta leaves now. Not that all of them are completely leaved out yet, can you believe it? That's what you get in a spot on the north of the house with full, heavy shade.

Anonymous said...

So many stunning plants! Does your husband garden, too? You yard almost looks like too much work for one person.

By the way, I am always writing down names of the plants you mention. I think seeing them together is so much better than just looking at rows of plants at the nursery.

Kathleen said...

Hi Joy! I haven't "seen" you in a while. :-( Seems like I do more blog hopping during the winter ~ I'm working on doing better tho.
I can't believe you don't follow color charts ~ your combinations are always so fantastic. You must be a natural! Me, I have to work at it! LOVE that guacamole hosta. Such a beauty.
I can't believe 'Maypop' didn't come back for you??? That's insane. After all that out of control growth, then nothing??? I would have bet money it would come back. Of course mine hasn't but it never did much of anything in the first place.
Have a great weekend.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Helllooo there Kyna !
I was so lucky to find this vine a few years ago .. and move it a couple of times without it giving up on me ! I love it in the shared space between our house and the neighbor's .. on the garden arbor gate with clematis it is a gorgeous vine indeed !
Guacamole makes me smile too .. but holy cow .. the hostas are getting huge with this heat and I have to divide some of them .. come on over and get one ? LOL

Lona girl .. I so hate those idiot design ideas of bring the indoors out or the outdoors in ? LEAVE nature alone and out doors where it belongs !!!! hahaha
I am so with you about charcoal BBQ .. it has been years and years since I have had that .. we have a gas grill and that is fine .. husband does all the BBQ .. I don't touch it ;-) haha
Thank you girl .. I just throw things together and leave them be until all hell breaks loose and I have to do some tweaking ? LOL
Yes .. this weather has fast forwarded a lot of plants .. I wish it would take a break ? haha

VW girl : ) how are you ? and thank you ! OMG .. no .. I will have to get over there and find out what that is about ! hey .. that spot should be just great for hosta .. but no that I am paranoid I have to find out what is going on ? eeeeeeeeekkkkkkkk !!

Hi there Sandy girl : )
Husband does the lawn (or what is left of it) and other than major jobs like planting the trees .. I do the rest of the gardening .. husband is a golfer and fisherman so we have our singular quiet time with nature ? LOL .. but you have pointed out something that is happening .. the work is getting intense .. or maybe it is the weather this year that has forced so much growth etc .. it is a handful for sure !
I agree with you totally with seeing plants in a nursery/garden center as apposed to them in a garden setting .. it makes it a lot easier to visualize what they should look like : )

Hey Kathleen girl ! I know exactly what you mean about this time of the year and not getting around to blogs .. I am totally guilty too girl ;-)
I can't follow colour charts to save my life and add dyslexic to that and you get one madcap gardener ? LOL ..
YES ! guacamole is a gorgeous hosta and getting rather HUGE ! eeekk ! haha
Maypop was the strangest garden plant I have had .. all that crazy growth then bang ! no show this year .. BUT .. Vesey honored their policy and gave me credit and I have JP Connell rose and I am hoping it will be a beauty : )
Mean while there is an annual Passion Flower vine in a BIG tub on the deck for husband ! wink wink
have a great weekend too girl !

Northern Shade said...

Despite the recent record setting temperatures, your plants are all looking so healthy with lush green (and other colours of the rainbow) leaves. Your Astilbe 'Colour Flash', Heuchera and Hosta look good together, as do the other Hosta pairings. I love the large Hosta leaves next to lacy foliage like your dwarf goatsbeard or ferns.

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Joy dear, how on earth did I miss this post? Must be the twilight zone thing happening again. The indoor/outdoor rooms blow my cork too. Totally impractical (who will remember to put EVERYTHING into a deck box after each use??). Your post is beautiful, your shades of green are lovely and the flowers in the secret world are so very special. My Monet must be quite a flirt, mine is in love with a blue arrow juniper, which sadly didn't make it through last winter. I wonder what she'll do when she wakes up and finds out?? You reminded me that I need to find some astilbe this year...I can hardly wait for my garden to get growing like yours is. Your hostas are amazing, mine are always a slug buffet lol.

Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA said...

Goodness, what a tour thru your shade garden. I love shade gardens. I planted some astilbe and it got enormous, however, so now I don't know where to put it. How about adding some fuchsias, columbines, begonias, dusty miller and lobelia for some more color?

I also agree that those ridiculous furniture rooms outdoors are just an attempt to sell us more stuff. Not an outdoor thing to me, either.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thank you NS girl : )
I have some different "couples" that seem to be enjoying each others company ? LOL
I was over at your place enjoying the bloodroot flowers .. they are gorgeous girl ! I so wish I had some as well .. can't seem to find a provider here .. but I do have those nice large white Trillium so that helps .. I know you are a brunnera fan and I have extra here now because I love them so much too !

Good Grief Rebecca girl , I have so many Twilight Zone moments I wonder if this is the alien planet I am visiting ? LOL
... and those outdoor rooms ? BAH ! HUMBUG !!! horrible social climbing crap !! hehehe
I read your post on finding those goodies and I wondered where is the astilbe this girl wanted ?? LOL
... and who will "My Monet" flirt with now ?? My hosta will be battling slugs shortly .. the weather is going to cool and rain is coming .. eventually and slug season will be opened in no time ! LOL wink wink

Hello Sara ! Thank you for dropping by and YES ! Your suggestions are great : ) I am going to dip my toe into those annuals some day soon .. my columbines funny enough are mostly on the other side of the garden .. although I have two here .. "canadensis" which just finished blooming and another shy one some where ? .. YES ! another gardener who agrees with us on outdoor room idiocy ? LOL