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Monday 4 January 2016

2015 Gone Like A Flash !

I have never had such a long gap in posting like this before .. my garden brain just up and quit on me with no two week notice or any such agreement .. what a nerve !
Slowly but surely I am beginning to think about the upcoming season and yes I already placed an order for something rather specific.
It wasn't actually for me as much as it was for Garden PA.
Have you had any experience with King Kong poppies ?
Vesey's (Canadian company) have the roots on Spring order for me .. I was thinking of refreshing my old garden poppies .. refreshing is saying nicely that they are old, bedraggled, and on their way to poppy heaven.
Garden PA really likes the deep red oriental type colouring .. and these poppies are supposed to weather rain and wind and look totally stunning all the while .. hope so !!

So before rushing into plans and ideas for 2016 ... I had some pictures that grabbed my attention with the old year rushing out the door ...
Frost late November early December was scary because of lack of snow, yet so beautiful.
The wood of the deck sparkled
I fell in love with the table looking so pretty

The greenery I had right into December was amazing this new climbing rose really caught my attention .. sadly no roses happened for the first year but I am hoping for this year !
I have two Autumn ferns that looked amazing .. but the track record between other garden friends and I for having them come back the next year is not a good one ... but I can always hope right ?

Now for something strange and unusual ... I have quite a few pieces of driftwood  thanks to Garden PA .. might ask for more if he ever sees any while fishing .. replenish the stocks because they do tend to compost themselves eventually ... but the lichen on some pieces are just about spectacular.
So here comes the show !



I have a few mossy rocks that i just had to throw into the mix .. fuzzy little creature
The lichen colonies are tiny worlds unto themselves ... I find them fascinating .. they are a healthy aspect to the garden as well ... and of course the best of all plants .. no care ! haha
So are you beginning to really plan for the 2016 garden yet ?

24 comments:

Leslie's Garden said...

Look at you! Finally got that post made! I love the pretty lichen covered pieces of drift wood. Really gorgeous! I like how you use them almost as art in the garden. I know it will be a while before you can do any serious gardening. I will actually start in mid to late February. I can't wait to get out there! I have to sit on myself to keep me from going out and poking around. I always do it, then I slice through a lily or something!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Joy, I too have been struggling with writing about my garden. This past year was the pits for me. I hope to get back into the writing habit. I haven't really started thinking about my garden yet. It seems that this past month I have been so busy. I hope all slows now and I can sit back to contemplate that garden. I will no doubt be doing some maintenance. We need a new garden barn. I could go on and on now that I think about it. We will see what happens. I love your drift wood. I don't have access to much of it even tho I live near a river. It isn't like what comes out of a sea. At least that has been my experience. I love to see lichen and moss. Beautiful and as you say their own little worlds.

Rose said...

Love all that lichen! With as much rain as we have had this past month, I might have some in my garden, too, if I just got out to look. Those poppies are gorgeous! I should look for these to add to the garden, since it's one plant Mr.I-Don't-Care-About-Gardening mentioned one time that he liked. Now that the holidays are over, I'm just starting to think about gardening once again, especially with all the seed catalogs arriving in the mail. I just wish I had thought to start some hyacinths and amaryllis before Christmas--now they'll probably start blooming about the time I'm ready to work outside:)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Leslie girl and phew ! yes I finally got a post in .. bit tricky coming back to it since there was such a large gap in posting.
I love my driftwood ... never thought I would have any because I always thought of it coming from the sea .. but lake driftwood is just as good ... and yes I consider them as garden art but so natural blending in and having their own little plant colonies.
OMG ! I can't imagine being able to garden that early .. I am really jealous but yes! do wait so you don't do that slicing thing girl ! haha

Lisa girl how are you .. busy it seems eh ? .. I'm sorry about the pits thing .. I can identify with it though because it seemed last year was that for me too .. lets hope this year is much better eh ? Garden barn .. is that a shed ? or bigger ? .. this is all lake drift wood and quite old so it is beginning to decompose but I try not to move it so it will stay as long as possible ... yes the lichen and moss are my *smiles* in the garden .. I really love them. Good luck girl .. hang in there !

Rose girl how are you managing in the cold of winter ... it was -18 yesterday morning here.. I won't even mention wind chill .. brrrrr !
Isn't that funny your hubby is a poppy fan too .. Garden PA is drawn to them because he is ex military .. but I think of them more as a man flower now ? LOL
I wish I could start bulbs in the house but the sneezing would be unbelievable here so that just isn't going to happen ... good luck with the garden "pondering" girl : )

Pat said...

It's hard to post about gardening when winter comes but you seem to be able to get it together. We who have been around for a long time and speaking for myself...I'm no expert or a writer of any sort realize well IT"S WINTER. Anyway don't worry about taking a break. Happy New Year !

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Happy New Year!!!
Rain rain and of course more rain here. We are so happy no need to dance! It just finally after what...5 years? Arrived in buckets! So exciteddddddd for Spring and to see all the flowers growing and blooming like crazy because of it!!!!!!!! Yay I know 2016 will be my favorite Spring ever(-:
Love your pictures of course they are lovely!!!! I do love lichen and have never grown poppies before except the California ones(-:

Angie said...

A Happy New Year to you and yours Joy - wishing you a splendid 2016!
I hope those poppies live up to their billing for you. I love the lichen photos - you could probably look at them 100 times and see something different each time. I am doing things a bit different this year and letting the garden do what it wants without me fiddling around with it every other day. Happy Pondering!

Victoria Williams said...

Loving your lichen! Plans here are for a new grandchild arriving in March. :-)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

hey there Patsi girl ... yup it certainly is WINTER here even if we are not having a typical Canadian winter ... but soon a few of my companies will be putting up their Spring websites and that will be fun for me big time ... I just love strolling around them.
Happy New Year girl !

Cindee girl I am so happy you are so happy and getting so much rain your garden is going to be absolutely gorgeous !!! I haven't done California poppies so maybe we should try the ones we don't have eh ? LOL .. a friend did send me some Shirley poppy seeds so I am excited about seeing if they take ...Happy New year girl !

Angie OMG ... so much rain and so many storms your poor garden has been through a lot!
That is so true about lichen .. such a tiny world unto themselves ... I am happy I have so much. hey that sounds like a plan girl ... now are you able to stick to it ? LOL
Happy New Year too !

Thanks Victoria and best wishes for 2016 and that new grand baby !!

Nadezda said...

Hi, Joy! I liked lichen, it seems winter resistant, does it? I know you always have new plans for new year, so I wish all your plans come true this year.
Here December was very mild +9C but January is very cold, we had no this weather for years -22 C. I went to my summer cottage, the day was sunny but very cold.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Happy New Year Nadezda girl !
Yes lichen is one of those mystery "plants" that survives everything ... I love it !
Thank you so much for that wish ... I don't have any BIG plans but I would like to organize the gardens a little better perhaps.
I can well imagine even with the sun those temps are COLD ! We have had a bit of that too.
But over all our winter has been too weird to believe ... hope our gardens make it through with out too many losses !

rochefleuriegarden said...

I like your collection of lichens. Do you know that apparently they only grow where pollution is not too high.
I was also on "blogging holidays" these last 2 months.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Ohhhh...I absolutely love the lichen! There must be lichen gardens somewhere! So nice that your Rose had until December to establish. Blooms next summer!
This has been a very mild winter for us and I am hoping it is topped off by an early spring. Happy garden dreaming for 2016! :-)

outlawgardener said...

Beautiful lichen-covered driftwood! I haven't finished planting bulbs yet and certainly haven't begun thinking about the garden in the new growing season. Well, maybe about a couple of total garden-bed overhauls that need to happen but I've been thinking about those for years now. We'll see if I get to it this season.

Liz @ Sit With Me In My Garden said...

I've been a hit and miss garden blog poster for a while. I like the lichen and moss accented pieces you have. We finally have snow but are way behind the usual snowfall amount. I'm enjoying it especially since we havne't been nearly as cold either. I have a fern that is as hearty as they get simply calle "Male Fern" It wouldn't be as delicate as the one you have but darn reliable. I've never kept poppies in my garden but this variety you're talking about sounds like a good one. My problem is having enough sunny spots to grow sun loving plants.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Alain and thank you for stopping by : ) I enjoyed the tour of that marvelous garden what a treat you had there. I am a total lichen nut and so pleased to see so much of it growing in my garden on the drift wood .. yes a very good indicator indeed !

Yes Ms S I am so lucky to have so much of this green miracle .. tiny worlds of their own aren't they ? This winter has been VERY strange .. I worry about what plants I may lose but there is nothing I can do about it but wait and see and YES ! hopes for a decent Spring this year !!

Peter I am so jealous of your fantastic sales you have "pictured" for us to see and drool over you naughty garden gnome ! haha You never know what you can get up to each season so this might be the one for you ... fingers crossed ? LOL

Hello Liz your snow picture of the garden was gorgeous .. I have lots of reliable ferns ranging from Ostrich, Log, Painted Japanese varieties, Maiden Hair etc ... but this Autumn one is a stickler so I am curious if the two or one of them survive and smile in the Spring. Yes I only have a strip of sun garden left but I love our big maple tree because it is such a wonderful source of shade for us and the birds .. so it is give and take with sun values.

Cat said...

So pretty, I love lichen too!
Things here have been sedate, we put out bird feeders, but they have not been discovered yet. We had heavy rain storms this week, we all survived them, but it was nasty where I live. We are not used to heavy rains and our drainage just cannot cope. We are coming up for the annual Rare Fruit Growers Scion Wood Exchange, of course it falls on the same weekend as the Lunar New Years Celebrations So we will be a house divided.
I love your pics as always.
Stay warm!

Casa Mariposa said...

I have plans to add a few more birdhouses and will be up to 23 by the time I'm done because 20 isn't enough apparently. ;o) I've also started my seeds. I have no idea where they'll all go but I love the idea of being able to shop my own nursery this spring! Love your fern! I added a few more to my garden after admiring yours all summer. :o)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Cat girland thank you !
Lichen is a little miracle world isn't it ?
We are having heavy rain for just this day and then it is going to FREEZE !
I'm glad you have been safe with it though .. I know it has been serious.
I loved your post on the Kimono demonstration ... such beautiful Kimonos gifted to you and the one you see is like the night sky is exactly what I think too, you lucky gal !
Good luck with the events .. enjoy as much as you can : )

Tammy I am still laughing at that pirate post girl .. that was too funny !
I think I will try to add some more birdhouses too but we always have to be on the look out for the neighborhood cats which makes me so mad since we keep ours indoors. PICKLE-Heads!!
Imagine having your own nursery fully loaded ... just you wondering around picking plants here and there .. HEAVEN ! .. Ah yes .. you NEED ferns in any garden .. they are a staple!
Thanks girl !

RobinL said...

My plans for the 2016 garden are still tenuous, which is strange because now that my new knee is working better, it should be a great garden year! Winter is the time for me to start planning, so thoughts should firm up soon. All I know for sure is that we'll have more veggies this year, because hubby built new raised beds late in the fall, more than doubling the space we already had. We just need to fill them with soil and start planting!

Unknown said...

Nice to catch up with you again, and Happy New Year, Joy! I hope it's been a good winter so far (I know, I know, just getting started). Thankfully there is the season ahead to anticipate...

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Robin ..hey that is great your new knee is working so well! You will be in the thick of things once we are truly in Spring mode .. that was wonderful your hubby built the raised beds for you .. mush easier to work with and loads of payback to look forward to !

My goodness Jodie girl how are you ! Happy New Year back : ) Yes winter is here finally after all the weird weather we have had .. I know the east coast is going to be dumped on many a time yet but yes ! anticipation of Spring and what is to come helps a great deal .. I have that little light going on too ! LOL

GRACE PETERSON said...

I love those little lichens. I have them too. They're so interesting and like you said, a whole different world. Great photos.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey Gracie girl .. isn't it amazing to see such detailed tiny worlds humming along in our gardens .. I will always be fascinated by such things ... they are so special !