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Tuesday 3 August 2010

Garden Quips ....

We have noticed a love affair trying to bloom between the kiwi vine and Autumn Brilliance serviceberry .. kiwi wants to hold "limbs" ? desperately ?
I have never noticed so many "serious" bees in the garden before !
This amazing Austrian Pine has survived me sticking it in a pot for over 6 or 7 years now ... we can't help but call it our Charlie Brown Christmas tree : )
You know what plant I am talking about .. come on .. you KNOW which one it is !!
Loosestrife is in the name .....
I have been amazed by this new variegated purple fountain grass (except for vertical height .. hum ?) .. the colour is spectacular and matching my "Pardon Me" day lily to a tee !
Veronicastrum Virginicum .. ha !! Culver's Root to all of us non-fancy name gardeners : )
They look wonderful and yet strange as they mature ... a definite wow factor for me !
I will always have Joe Pye in one form or another ... wink wink
Relaxing view of the back of the bench and of course .. Susans : )
I can't even explain seeing this beauty by pure accident .. husband said the day I did the bench mission, with all of the pea stone and rocks (the mission that has laid me up badly) well .. he said there was this butterfly exactly the same .. fluttering around my head all the while that I worked ! .. I never noticed .. yet she stuck it out with me : ) How wonderful is that !

16 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Such a fun post GJ4M. That kiwi is a friendly vine.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Joy, I hope you are getting better. I miss my Joe Pye Weed with the thousands of Monarch butterflies all over it. I just don't have the room for it in this house. However, I have seen tons of butterflies this year on just about every plant in my garden.

Eileen

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Fabulous photos, Joy, as always. I added Joe Pye to my garden about three weeks ago and I love it! Within a few days after being planted it flowered. What an amazing plant.

And my garden has been swarming with bees, too. I've never seen so many before. Isn't it just wonderful? I love those little bugs.

Anyhow, hope you're feeling better soon ;)

Unknown said...

What a joyful post, Joy! Things are looking quite fantastic. Are you going to bring your purple fountain grass in for the winter? It's only hardy to about zone 8-9, unfortunately, but it's so damn pretty. I am going to send mine down to my friend's nursery and let him overwinter it in his greenhouse, as the cats will try to eat it if I leave it here. Ditto the black mondo grass.

F Cameron said...

Funny quips! My 'Fireworks' purple fountain grass finally started growing in the last week and is now setting plumes! I've tried to grow Culver's Root from seeds to no avail-- must buy plants if it's going to happen, but I'm so enamored by my 'Little Joe' joe pye, that I may give all the extra space to him.

Great to see a Monarch! I have one or two show up and then go away. Soon, they should be coming in to lay eggs (usually mid-August to October here).

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

I particularly liked the ladies all dressed up in white today. Nice caption.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lisa girl thank you ! .. I have a lot of fun with Picasa and little quips on the photos .. and if only you could see this rouge kiwi vine trying to grab the serviceberry tree ! ;-)

Hello there Eileen ! This disc is making a lot of trouble for me .. aarrgghh ! but I am hanging in : ) thank you ! .. Have you seen the much smaller varieties of Joe Pye ? and YES !! we have seen so many butterflies it is amazing and wonderful .. a stretch of years without them was very scary .. but now ? wonderful : )

Hello Martha girl ! I owe you an e-mail now ;-) I knew you would love Joe pye too ! Yes to all the positive insects in our gardens girl : ) Thank you !

Thank you Jodi girl : ) .. I wish I had a garage or a friend with a green house .. I love these annual grasses especially this one .. my first time with this cultivar and I love it .. but it is an annual and I have to say good bye until I find another next year .. sad but true for me ;-( The Black Mondo was impossible to find here this year .. and what was here was so sickly .. I hope to find good ones next year !!

Freda girl thank you .. I have to find some humour while I am laid up : ) Fireworks is gorgeous and I hope to find some for ever year now ! Buy culvar's root in plant form girl .. save yourself the anguish ? LOL I also have Little Joe along with this full size and I love them both .. I think the whole range of butterflies that visit here love them too : ) and I so appreciate seeing them in the garden .. which I miss terribly to be working in .. touching , smelling .. generally loving it ? LOL ..you never know how much you love something until you can't be "with" it !


Hello there BTG ! .. thank you : ) I just heard all of that fussing in my head when I saw the picture ? LOL .. girls !! LOL

Gail said...

Dear Joy, I am so sorry that gardening chores occasionally sideline you! It's truly a pain in the back~I know that myself. But, what a treat to have a monarch whispering encouragement in your ear as you worked~ Take care and keep showing us these beauties! Isn't Joe wonderful! xxgail

Rebecca said...

So clever -- and beautiful!

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Love those quips Joy!! So much beauty in your garden, your Pine is charming and I really like the mysterious Culver's Root. I have tried to grow Joy Pye, but he refuses to cooperate here! Lovely butterly picture, how generous of her to cooperate. We have had some beauties around lately, but they are all terribly camera shy. :) Rebecca

Kimberly said...

Yep, the Culvers Root does it for me too. WAY cool!!!
Love your photo captions!!!

Missy said...

Such a stunning garden... Maybe I can move in and make that bench my bed? ha ha ... Only kidding! But I do know that if that was MY garden, I would NEVER leave it... soooo beautiful and inviting and wondrous... what a job well done!! You can tell how much time and thought you put into where you place your stuff... amazing!

Anonymous said...

Great post, Joy! Your garden looks spectacular. Love Joe Pye, too. :)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Gail girl we might have to form a club called "Joe's Girls" ? now wouldn't that be funny ?
Thank you .. I am feeling rather desperate with not being able to get in my garden .. we are having a heat wave again and I know it needs my touch .. the boys help but your know what I mean ? ;-)
I loved this little wonder .. it really was a gift to let me "picture" her : )

Hello Rebecca and thank you ! : )

My goodness Rebecca ! I wonder why Joe won't grow for you ? .. maybe another variety like "Little Joe" or another one that is even smaller .. can't think of the name darn it ! I have seen more butterflies and bees this year than any other .. and YES ! a lot of the beauties are camera shy for sure .. hang in there though .. I know you will capture one girl !

Hi Kimberly girl ! .. thank you : ) Culver's Root is an exceptional plant with that amazing structure eh ? it takes a few years but it is well worth the wait : )

Missy D you are too sweet ! Thank you very much girl : )
I miss it terribly being stuck in the house with this back/leg problem .. it NEEDS me in this heat wave .. maybe you should come up and help me out ??? LOL
You can sleep on my bench any time girl ! ;-)

Nancy girl ! I have meant to drop by so many times .. but things have been wicked here .. you know how it can fall apart so quickly and easily with our bodies .. I miss my garden so much .. and not knowing if this problem will subside .. well .. it is hell !
I have to get on top of things and be positive !!! LOL

Carrie said...

So gorgeous as usual - and with that butterfly at your side you sound like a disney princess, ummm I think it was Sleeping Beauty, she had all the animals gather around her. Anyway, there is obviously a lot of love in that garden, even the plants want to touch eachother across great distances and everything looks rosey x

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thanks Carrie girl .. I have to rely on pictures from a couple of days ago since I am out of commission for a while yet .. I so miss wandering around .. puttering .. you know what I mean : ) Hey .. you have a thing for Disney characters ? LOL
Yes .. even my plants want to be hugged ? ;-)