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Tuesday 1 June 2010

Cool Blue to Red HOT

It has been a steam bath here in South Eastern Ontario .. absolutely obscene temperatures and humidity for May .. well, OK .. it is now the first of June but still .. the weather has been out of whack in any case !
Cut to the shade and some relief from the sun beating down .. pictures can look a little lack luster because it is shade .. or do I mean washed out ? worn out ???
But .. shade and cool colours for the most part are so refreshing you have to fall in love with them don't you ? ..
Ferns galore and some special plants that are "water" coloured in cool blue.
I have been waiting to see these gorgeous little iris bloom and I almost missed the show because of a very cranky back complaining big time .. but husband was the crutch I needed to manage a few pictures as quickly as I could possibly snap them ! Admiring that soothing blue with mixed greens .. and yes .. I have to mention Pinot Gris heuchera was a little "hotter" in colour but provided a wonderful foil to the blue ... and you could truly imagine this dry stream bed with water trickling through it !
Are these not fabulous iris ? even as buds they are amazing in that depth of blue : )
Speaking of blue .. my goatsbeard is still in "knots" yet .. taking a bit of time to unfurl to that fluffy white .. but what a picture they make with a brilliant red oriental poppy against that smashing blue sky !
This red is so hot it can't really be seen in its true colour in such bright day light .. too hot to handle ? wink wink .. you naughty poppy you !
Now for something completely different in the world of poppies .. this fragile delicate looking one in soft soft yellow .. against the deep spiky green of the oriental poppies ... as opposed to its own foliage of cool blue green ... now how is that for a foil in colour and texture ?
I have been out of action and not able to baby my garden .. I am sure Ms. Flame is feeling neglected as jumping frog is trying to sooth and comfort her .. I so hope to be able to water and reassure her that she is a much loved tree and I am so looking forward to her show of colours in Autumn .. so that means I have to take special care of her now !
Speaking of needy .. this is one of my garden characters who does NOT need much attention and I so appreciate that fact !
You have to love native plants and their ease of care .. Joe Pye is MY guy and he is popping up to say hello ! .. not to self .. must get BIG support structure to help Joe stay nice an upright .. I won't make all the more than obvious jokes .. you can in your mind and we will all say PHEW !!
I love the stained glass in this support .. one of my older ones and most favored : )
What can I say about Walker's Low that other admirers haven't already ?
It is one fabulous plant .. drought tolerant .. you can keep cutting it back and it will keep coming back for more .. not too many garden plants that can do that for you !
I paired this one with Southern Bush-Honeysuckle which is more bronze than green .. I can't seem to find out what this exact cultivar is because the colours are amazing .. maybe a mutant strain is on the run and no one knows ? .. it just happened to jump in my arms and come home with me ? .. what ever the case it is a LOOKER with the nepeta !
Taking pictures in shade .. well .. you know what I already said .. it doesn't do the plant justice but here we are in any case .. click to enlarge and see the beauty !
OK .. this is ME .. the fallen frog .. trapped on its back because its back has become a pain monster .. just too funny right ? I have developed a great understanding of turtles with this exact same position and problem now .. life just keeps teaching us no matter what postion we take ?
Meanwhile I can admire my plants at eye level .. just look at how well Moonshine pulmonaria has made itself at home along with all the brunnera ! ... aahhhh ! peace and comfort at last ! ZZZZZ!

22 comments:

Deborah at Kilbourne Grove said...

Joy, love that combination of pale blue and the bronze honeysuckle, just gorgeous. Hope your back feels better soon.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Steam bath? We have cold showers here! I think high temperatures got confused and came to a wrong place! Nevertheless, your plants look wonderful. Irises...lovely... why don't I have them in my garden? I know the answer - I am too lazy to divide them. Your poppies are lovely! As for JPW, I think about pinching its tops this year, since it's very tall. Have you ever done it?

Northern Shade said...

The blue iris glows with colour in front of all that greenery. Your goatsbeard is rocketing way ahead of mine, but then we had snow this weekend while you had a heatwave. While you were sipping mint juleps and Dave and the Boys were fanning you with palm leaves, I was shaking the snow off of the bending shrubs.
Take care of your back, hope its better soon.

Kyna said...

*Wink, wink, nudge, nudge*
Your poppy...is she a goer? Does she go? You know what I mean? Eh? Wink wink, nudge nudge!

Steambath...that's us too. Bleah. And hurricane season offically kicked off today :P

I think your shade garden still looks quite shady and inviting :D

F Cameron said...

I do hope your back is better. That's such a disabling pain to have.

The cool colors are really lovely, even in the shade. I actually prefer to take photos on cloudy days as in my latitude, the sun can really make colors appear gold.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Wow, Joy, that Walker's Low is gorgeous - and good to know how tough it is.

Hope your back backs off soon! :)

Kerri said...

Joy, we've had the same weather. Yesterday was brutally hot. Better today though and we had a half inch of rain overnight. Ahh..sweet moisture for the plants. We're very thankful for it. Cooler temps too!
Your garden is looking glorious. What a wonderful mix of plants. You have such a knack for grouping things.
Love that Walker's Low. My catmint is blooming up a storm too. And the poppies...oh my! Aren't they gorgeous?
Thanks for the kind words about my husband. He's doing better but it's a slow process. You and your husband have certainly had your own frightening situation. What an awful ordeal for you both!
I hope your cranky back becomes good natured again very soon.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Deborah girl ! Thank you very much : ) it is a slow process with cranky disc/back but I will get there ? LOL .. I found that little Honeysuckle bush last year and I love it with WL : )

Tatyana girl I SO DON'T know what the weather gods are planning for us ?;-) Thank you ! and yes ! this is the time to start pinching back a lot of Autumn blooming plants .. helenium, asters, sedum, JPW , mums .. all those sorts .. to have better stability from the stalks etc .. I have to get busy for sure !

Kyna girl ! wink wink nudge nudge .. nahhh ! but the boys keep suggesting another plant (which if all else fails I could legally use with the health problems I have ) too funny though girl ! haha
Ah yes ! hurricane season .. I'm grateful not to live in those areas but when husband was in the military he was on call during that time .. so I understand the stress girl : ) KEEP SAFE ! and thank you .. shade garden thanks you too ! ;-)

Hey there NS ! That is what I thought too : ) the blue is so gorgeous (first year seeing it !)
OMG !!! snow !! I am shaking my head here wondering what the heck kind of a year we are having .. there was hail south of us two days ago .. scary stuff .. makes you very uneasy let alone what happens to your garden ?
We are all still concerned about Dave's crack .. he is on bedrest right now on the deck .. no lifting or bending .. poor lad ;-)

Thank you Freda ! Yes .. it takes another back victim to really get that horrible pain : ( .. Yes ! light is such a delicate factor in taking great pictures .. it has to be perfect .. the windows of time when it is are fleeting and too darn quick ! and you are right about overcast skies in certain locations !! Hope Charm is a good girl for you still : )

Thanks Ms S ! Do you have WL ? I think it is so tolerant of grow zones and conditions once it is established .. quite an amazing plant for sure ! Hope your weather is improving too ? : )

Kerri girl : ) I couldn't have said it better about the weather .. brutal is right ! We also got a bit of rain .. mind you we would have to have days of it to be right again but beggars can't be choosers ? LOL
Thank you so much girl : ) I feel so out of it though when I am laid up .. I worry it will get too far ahead of me ? I keep saying "be still till I get to YOU garden !" haha .. Thank you so much : ) fingers crossed we all recover and enjoy some summer before it is whisked away ? : )

Anonymous said...

Those Irises are striking, glad you were able to get a shot to share with us Joy. Sorry to hear about your back, it's not easy being in pain I know. Take it easy and hope you are able to get back to doing what you love really soon. :)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Racquel girl when I first saw those iris my heat just about stopped ! LOL ..with the weather we have been having every plant is rushed to maturity it seems .. so I was a happy happy gardener to be able to see them in their glory before they had to be dead headed ? ;-)
Thanks girl .. it seems to take forever to recover from these bouts now .. it is so frustrating when you want to be in your garden keeping those plant babies happy ?

RURAL said...

Everything must love this steamy heat that you are getting. I was going to jokingly ask if it just wasn't mental-pause symptoms. [A friend calls it that, and it has stuck in my mind forever], but I saw the weather forecast, and I know that you guys are sweating back there. How unseasonable, but it does give you beautiful flowers.

Hope that your back regains some motion soon, and you feel better.

It sucks, I know, been there, done that. Take very good care of yourself.

Jen

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Outstanding!
Sorry about your back I hate when I have a back problem)-: Right now its been my knee, but soon it will be better too(-:
I love how your garden grows from nothing (from the winter) to beautiful and full! Thats how mine is too. I hate winter months when its all dead outside! It is worth waiting for though!!!(-:

MWebster said...

I agree with the heat bath - thank goodness we had a little rain the other night - and fingers crossed for a little more tonight!

Your garden is looking beautiful, love the colors. I am lamenting the fact that some of my flowers are blooming 'too' early...I feel like it's all out of whack!

Anyways, thanks for sharing, and hope your back feels better soon!

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

Hot? let me see if I can remember what 'hot' is. Our weather has been unusually wet for this time of year, we are praying for some sunshine, but can't complain too much about all the rain, as the gardens sure have benefited from all the moisture.

Anonymous said...

I have to rub in the fact that we are getting a cold sea breeze today, and I am going to have to shut the windows pretty soon.

Your garden blues are so nice. Is that your favorite color?

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Jen .. OMG ! .. now I will forever have "mental-pause" stuck in my brain and I will be sure to say it to my doctor ? haha .. good one .. and how true it is ! .. we are hoping like heck ? OK .. hell ! for rain tonight and tomorrow .. things are so dry the earth is cement .. and it has forced unnatural growth and budding out too soon .. kind of creepy almost ?
Yes .. the back issues are such a pain in the ??? haha Thanks kid !

Cindee girl now why does it not surprise me that you have a lot of joint problems ? You work so darn hard I don't know how you do what you do girl !
I think that dead of winter thing makes us "crazy" gardeners .. we appreciate LIFE in all forms (well not bugs and slugs maybe) so much we go nuts with our gardens .. but this heat wave is just plain diabolical !! LOL Thanks girl : )

Thank you Monica : ) we are so hoping this 'threat" ? of rain is the real deal and it does soak the earth .. it is too hot and dry and yes ! I think the plants are being forced too quickly too .. I hate that ! I have meant to visit your blog and my other favs so often yet I load myself down with too much work at the same time and it is on the fly here .. but if it is a rain day and the dentist doesn't kill me ? I intend to catch up ! : )

keewee girl .. I don't know which is worse too hot and dry or too wet and cold but I am more than willing to switch for a while ? lets talk about that and get some action ? LOL .. in a heart beat I would switch for some bloody relief !!! haha

Sandy ................. ouch !! you are very naughty .. what I wouldn't do for that cool breeze !
I'm not sure what my favorite colour is to tell the truth .. being a Halloween type of gal .. well you know the score .. orange and black ? LOL

Lisa at Greenbow said...

That red hot poppy is my favorite. I have a terrible time trying to grow poppies in the amount of sun I have available, which is not much at all. I hope you are feeling better. We all need a break from this horrid heat and humidity that came upon us before we were ready.

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

PS. Not to brag or anything, but I FINALLY have some tulips to show off, I just posted them. Your sisters had me waiting anxiously for mine to bloom. :)

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Such beautiful colour combinations. Your irises are stunning. The red poppy and perfect blue sky makes for a beautiful pairing. Lovely shade pics too. :)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lisa girl I have had years that the poppies refuse to grow and bloom properly .. this year is exceptional with sunny HOT weather .. thus the "show" happened , but never for very long ;-) YES ! we had a cooler wetter weather front pass last night and I am so thankful for rain and cooler temps ! BIG sigh : )

Rebecca girl Thank you ! ..
I bought these last year with no idea how they would look exactly and wow .. I am a happy gardener : )
Hey .. I think that is so cool we can extend Spring with your northern bloomers girl !!

garden girl said...

Hey Joy, wow - I love the gravel curves in those first shots Joy. Very lovely foliage combinations, as always.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Linda girl ! Thank you : ) I love the affect of the large and small river rock .. in fact I have to top it up .. more more more !! LOL .. this wicked weather is going to start to wear on the foliage so this is the prime time for pictures ... BIG sigh ! ;-)