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Thursday 11 July 2019

Gardening Motivations and a Question ?

We all like seeing before and after pictures right ? .. that change up, to refresh the look of the garden that became rather dull and predictable.
I'm not one for extreme upheaval .. rather a more subtle type of renovation perhaps ?

My clematis circle , as I refer to it .. needed something different.
So .. I thought a quick and easy swap would be to add some day lilies to the mix .
This is the old "circle", mainly lamium for surrounding the clematis tower.
  The daylily I chose is Ruby Stella .. an easy rebloomer that should fill in nicely and put up with not always best of conditions ? .. those miracle plants we rely one ?
They are positioned in more of a semi circle towards the front.
The lamium roots are still there .. I just cut the over growth back to refresh the plants.
Hopefully their heads will pop up and fill in giving that lush look they did before.
The perennial geraniums should also spill over with pretty dark pink/magenta flowers in a few weeks if I am lucky.
I intend to plant patches of daffodils, in the Fall, that will look "happy" ? for next Spring.
We are always planning for the next season .. optimism of a gardener (sounds like a good blog name) .. maybe I should change to that ?
Other plants that seem to be happy for now
I can go through phases with certain plants .. I adore the scent of carnations aka dianthus.
But .. I just wasn't feeling it with most of the type of flowers until I saw this one .. I scooped what I thought was the last plant (Lavender Lace) during the end of season sale .. but with luck I found two more, managing that special number 3 for planting .. the scent is amazing and the flowers remind me of orchids.
"Big Blue" eryngium aka sea holly ... is big and blue ...
Clematis "Mrs. Harvey" is ringing her bell on the clematis tower ...
Clematis Madame Julia Correvon in a very difficult area swallowed up by Korean Yellow Wax Bells at the bottom of this planting .. it is a race each Spring for it to establish the vine before the shade of the wax bells takes over .. it amazes me every year that it can flower.
A new vine... a honeysuckle .. Magnifica
It is a "touchy feely vine of course ... notice at bottom of picture
Now for a question ..
I have a few Black Swallowtail instar on my dill pot
But I have or had a curious caterpillar on the annual licorice vine that I have no idea what it is .. if anyone recognizes this guy/gal would you please let me know what it is going to be ?

12 comments:

RobinL said...

Those are American Lady caterpillars!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thanks very much Robin ! .. I have seen those butterflies in the garden quite a bit, so now I know what to look for in the caterpillar ;-)

Casa Mariposa said...

Everything looks freaking awesome! Love those clematis! Thanks for your fabulous and heartfelt comment on my blog. I wasn't sure anyone would even read it.It feels good to be back. :o)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Your circle is going to be gorgeous. I like how the lamium fills the edges. I have just found a spot in my garden where the lamium grows. Funny how it has coincided with the year of all the rain. Maybe mine just never got enough rain until now. hmmmm??? Your clematis are so pretty. I have one similar to your bell one called Rooguchi. Lucky you having an American Lady caterpillar in your garden. The daylily season in my garden is about over for the year. Doesn't it feel good to get a space in your garden remodeled and liking the result!

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Lovely(-: I love dianthus so much. I am a carnation lover too, but it is so hot here I can't grow them so I try to get that lovely smell with the dianthus. I also love gardenia. I am going to plant more clematis they are just so pretty and cheerful!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Tammy girl and thank you ;-) You are most welcome as well .. so glad to see you back, I look forward to you incredible humor .. always makes me laugh !

Lisa girl .. I so hope so .. you can never be sure of how things will really turn out compared to what you think it should ? Lamium can be a bit tricky, although I have to say I have had it in dry spots to .. but maybe it is the sun exposure as well .. maybe it is just touchy?LOL
Yes ! I have seen Rooguchi .. very pretty too .. love the bell structure of them.
I was really stuck on what that caterpillar was .. now I know and realize we have quite a few in the garden (Painted Lady butterfly) .. but the mystery is the Black Swallowtail butterflies .. we never see them yet we have loads of babies on the dill tree !
Fingers crossed it will fill in for next year and look even better;-)

Hey there Cindee ;-) There is something about the smell of carnations I just love .. a fresh spiciness I think .. I wish we could grow perennial gardenia here .. I love the flower and the smell .. I think I am going ot get a nice big white clematis for next year.
White just shines in the garden .. the question is where am I going to put it !! LOL

Jason said...

Lucky you, with American lady caterpillars. I have several of their host plants, but have never seen the caterpillars. Good choices for your Clematis circle!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Jason .. actually we are calling it Painted Lady .. no offence but anything called American in my garden right now makes me feel a bit uncomfortable especially after July15th
I have never seen one before so it is a wonderful surprise .. thanks for the comment : )

Helen said...

Working my way back through your black swallowtail nursery. Interesting how different the instars are from the "adult" caterpillar.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

It is amazing these tiny creatures make it to adulthood at all .. they face so many perils.
I feel like I should be doing more .. each year I plan to do as much as I can to get them through it .. I still have a huge pot of dill on the deck trying to entice more in.
Funny enough I never see the BST adults lay those eggs ? LOL

Anonymous said...

Beautiful gardens!! I discovered your blog searching for Mrs Harvey clematis. Someone in a Facebook gardening group is searching high and low for this variety, in memory of her mother. Do you remember where you purchased it?

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello and thank you for your comment (I hibernate for the most part during this time of year but I check occasionally too) .. I think I bought Mrs. Harvey from Canning Perennials but I just checked and they don't have it this year nor do the four others I thought of.
Sometimes you won't see a particular cultivar pop up for years after you see it that once or twice .. I'm sorry I couldn't help.
If the person is American they would have a better chance finding it because there are so many mail order providers .. we don't have all that many in Canada.