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Thursday 14 August 2014

Thursday Garden Review

We have just come out of 48 hours "the heavens opened and it has RAINED!!"
I won't have to worry about watering the garden for a little while at least.
This was one healthy rain that truly went down a few inches of the soil even under our big maple trees.
So what is my subject for this meme day ?
Something old and something new ... sounds like a lead up to a marriage right ?
Actually when you think of it ... a garden is one marriage after another .. you could even call it polygamy?
You are trying to combine plants to compliment each other .. maybe call it dating instead, because we do tend to change our minds about whether they work together or not and out comes the trowel or shovel yet again!

I have an older plant that has been so well behaved it is amazing ,one of my favorite children !
(Barry ;-)
Crown of Rays Solidago


Bees absolutely love this plants as well .. it is a plant I can have no complaints about and that in itself is nearly a miracle because I can usually find something cranky to say about most plants !
So I highly recommend this one if you are looking for a late summer bloomer that you can actually cut back and it will keep blooming for you until frost.

Now for the new one .. a bit scary but exciting ... Miscanthus Sinensis Goliath 
Ever since we moved here 15 years ago I have lusted over a neighbor's patch of said grass in their front garden .. I even considered a ninja night mission dragging my garden PA along with me and sneaking some of said giant grass .. PA said "ABSOLUTELY NOT .. it gets dark past our bed time anyways !"
Then I thought maybe asking for a division, but being the shy person (yes SHY !) that I am ..
I decided to order two babies from Canning Perennials this year and they are planted temporarily in the ally way garden for now.

Don't try this at home kids unless you are prepared for the explosive size this grass reaches ..
Of course you know I'm not either .. haha .. but I  have ugly things to hide aka gas meter, pipes and what not.
Plus I am still wanting that secret garden look when you almost have to fight the plants to get into the garden itself ?

My MIA landscapers have still not gotten to me yet, so in preparation of grounding it better (said arbor), which will entail digging deeper to stabilize it .. the vines have to be "hands free" ? from it.
See bald arbor below ? .. I am going to miss those Sweet Autumn flowers this Fall !
Pretty kiwi to the left .. Sweet Autumn to the right.
Sad and crooked ...hum ? ... some what like me ! haha
OK now that I am done with my rant , I hope to "hear" from you other gardeners too !


11 comments:

Barry said...

Joy:
Will start off with letting you know the link to this week's plant is at the bottom of your first Thursday Review Post as I could not see the Inlinkz button this time around. Having said such.....
Its a brave gardener who brings Solidago into her yard. Before you go calling me an elitist, let me explain. The year I started gardening seriously, I thought I might like some yellow in the garden.... and was gifted with a division of what was supposed to be a dwarf species that had near black stems and bluish foliage. Yeah..... Not so much. Yours is a stunner though. As for the arbor.... sono tubes with concrete, cause then you can grow a Wisteria on it...... just saying! Two posts down.... its getting easier, right?

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Barry .. the linkz thing is so NOT working ... BIG sigh !
This has been the best behaving solidago I have ever had (got rid of the other types years ago) .. still not sure what I am going to do with my arbour gate .. might go to a wood one with an Asian theme top ?
Wisteria and I do not get along. I expect it to live and look beautiful .. it expects to die and have done with it ! hahaha

Anonymous said...

Wow, I feel honored that the linky thing worked for me! I like your arbor a lot, crooked or not! I wish I had a logical place to put an arbor in our yard, where it would seem like it's actually leading somewhere! I have so much native goldenrod around my yard and boundaries that it always amazes me that people plant it on purpose! But then I see it as lovely as yours, and I begin to understand! Your alleyway is gorgeous, BTW.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there girl ! Thank you so much : )
I finally got it up and running with help from the Linky staff ;-)
Yes .. goldenrod in the wild is not quite what I would plant but Crown of Rays is really well behaved and pretty .. it is a touch of Autumn I love : )
I really enjoyed your "vinca" post .. I had no idea how tolerant they are to hot conditions .. I will be looking for some next year for sure!
Thank you for joining in too : )

GRACE PETERSON said...

Hi Joy,

Your posts are always so delightful. I love your humor and the photos are to-die-for. Now, if they'd make that Solidago in pink, I'd be kicking people to get to the front of the line to buy it! I love the form, the flowers splaying outward like that.

Gosh, I don't know why PA didn't want to steal, I mean "borrow" a little of 'Goliath.' I'm sure the owners would never know. :)

I do love that arbor. I those landscapers hurry their butts up!

Great post, as always.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Gracie girl !
Thank you : ) Can you imagine what that would look like in pink?WOW!
I'm afraid something has happened to my landscaper .. will have to try and find out what is going on or it will be snowing by the time I get this done !!

Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening said...

Wow! I love your foliage combinations and the Solidago is beautiful at this time of year! I also enjoyed the ally way with the hosta and ferns which go so well together. As a fellow foliage fanatic I am glad to have found you through Pam's Foliage Follow-Up and will be visiting frequently!

Angela said...

I love your alley way garden- how lovely it will be to have to fight the plants to get in the back! the hostas are gorgeous- and the goldenrod is really lovely.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Lee !
I just visited your blog and love your plant combinations .. the pictures are stunning!
Yes we are foliage fanatics that is what my gardens are about!
Hope to see you again : )

Angela You photos are simply amazing ... the plants and your little ones make your blog magical!

Thank you both for your comments on the solidago .. so many gardeners are afraid of it and there truly is no worry with the right cultivar : )

Casa Mariposa said...

I've been shopping for solidago so it's good to read about yours. As for a grass called Goliath, better you than me! I had a friend who once had to hook a chain up to her trunk, wrap the chain around her Pampas grass and then use the truck to rip it out of the ground. I need grasses that tremble a bit when they see the mower!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kimberly girl you crack me right up!
Yes .. I know some grasses need a whip and a chair .. so I will be watching closely what goes on with Goliath ... the tremble bit can also apply to some perennials too! LOL