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Monday 27 July 2020

Revelations in the Dusk

I don't usually start a post in the back of an ally .. too many jokes .. too little time ?
That burst of colour is Strutters Ball .. it always amazes me with how long it lasts and in what ever conditions the season brings.
A rather dark ally way needs a poke of colour to make you stop and enjoy the atmosphere there.
Ninebark Amber Jubilee is at the head of the ally way, in a raised bed.
It has plantings of Massachusett's Barberry on either side .. rather hidden by Black Eyed Susans with Gold Creeping Jenny.
This ninebark is much more colourful in Spring and Fall or when trimmed back with new growth.
Have you heard of this barberry before ? ... I don't see it very often , yet it is a great ground cover that resembles boxwood.
The lily beetles have been HORRIBLE .. but a few lilies have survived the carnage .
Truthfully .. I don't remember what this one is .. but it was bright and beautiful to see the other evening, so I had to get a picture or two before it caved in .
Update ... this is Baferrari ... funny, I just don't remember ordering it .. loss of more brain cells ? LOL
Another bit of the green sea before the BES start to open and bloom.
I planted alot in this area because it is a problem area without enough sun and lots of BUGS !
Stand By Me clematis is just about finished but I love the seed heads so I keep them for a while.
That intense blue really stands out with a few more buds doing their best.
The Honeysuckle vines are going to be a bit of a problem each Spring.
Aphids LOVE the new growth, so I am not sure I am going to keep them (the vines that is .. the aphids can go to !!!) so another wait and see mission to get through.
The shots are dark because I experimented and took them at dusk.
Now for my love affair with my hydrangea !
Bobo
Berry White
Little Lamb
Dusk brings a softness but it washes the colour out too.
The shade side actually dries out as fast as the sun side of the back garden.
My huge Pacific Sunset maple virtually sucks up all the water and leaves the rest of the plants dry.

One last shot of colour for this post .. astilbe Delft Lace
Everything about this astilbe is gorgeous from the stems, foliage and that beautiful flower.
It is on my list of "must get this again" .. it almost glows, especially in low light.
I highly recommend it !

14 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I have never heard of this barberry. It looks more like a spirea to me. Cute little shrub. That astilbe is gorgeous. I wish I had luck with astilbe. I have never noticed my honeysuckle getting aphids. Maybe I don't look so close.👁 I hope to never see them. Your garden look good in any light.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi there Lisa ;-) Thank you !
You really can't see the barberry in that picture .. it is a ground hugger and the other plants cover it too well .. but it is pretty and a lot like a boxwood. I have had that ninebark a while now .. it has migrated through out the gardens quite a bit .. so I am happy it is happy there. I have a lot of astilbe but between this a pristine white ones .. they are my favorites .. I think the honeysuckle problem is compounded by my neighbor's plants on the other side of the fence .. I think a heliopses of some kind that rings the dinner gong in the Spring ! haha

Margaret said...

Your garden is looking lovely! I took have a love affair with the hydrangea - I just want them all!!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Margaret and thank you ! .. isn't it hilarious when you get absolutely "stuck" on a plant!

Jenn Jilks said...

How beautiful!
I've been using neem oil on my lilies and they are doing pretty well, for the first time!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thanks Jenn .. I am really going to try and find that oil for next season .. it is so disheartening to see so much damage on these beautiful plants .. maybe next year it will be better ! Thanks for the tip ;-)

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

Hello!
I noticed the title of your most recent post. It looks many bloggers are experiencing problems with Blogger now. Let's hope the problems will be solved soon.
Your garden is really a joy. The alley looks lovely, it looks like a way to a secret garden.
Happy gardening! Stay safe!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Sara .. yes, forcing us to use a "new" platform" is not a good customer relationship plan in my book ! LOL .. Thanks for the nice comments on my garden photos .. I love the atmosphere your photos create and the thoughts of darker evenings (with some frog activity thrown in ? LOL) I can't wait for Fall.

Snowbird said...

Your hydrangea is a mix between a mophead and a lacecap, stunning! I love your gate and the green arch, and strutters ball. I haven't heard of barberry I must check that out. Oh, I'm with you re the lily beetle, I keep most of mine in pots now and keep moving them around the garden, they seem to do better that way, I'm also hopeless at killing anything but flies! That clematis is just gorgeous!xxx

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi there Snowbird and thanks very much ;-) .. Bobo is such a cute small hydrangea .. I can't have enough of them ? LOL
That shrub termed as a barberry really doesn't look like a typical barberry .. I have the thorny kind in yellow and purple .. this one is more like boxwood but hugging the ground .. rather unique. I hate lily beetles, aphids and earwigs .. BIG YUCK !

Hoover Boo said...

So sorry to hear your lilies are destroyed by the beetles. Thankfully so much else in your garden is beautiful. Enjoy seeing your many plants that will not grow in my climate--that type (integrifolia?) of Clematis, the Astilbe.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Hoover Boo .. thanks ! .. I hope to combat those darn beetles better next year .. neem oil is on my radar ! I am grateful I do have a full garden even with the heat and drought thanks to the sprinklers .. we both eye each other's plants that won't grow in our prospective's zone ? LOL .. Yes "Stand by Me" is an amazing blue integrifolia, along with my white one " Twinkle" .. bush clematis are eye catching indeed .. and Delft Lace is so pretty.
I always like to have backups of the plants I really like.

Jason said...

Your one surviving Lily is a beauty, even without ID. Overall your garden looks wonderful, I love the stone pathway surrounded by lush plantings.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thank you Jason ! .. I actually have a tiny "patch" of Casa Blanca in that same ally way that survived the beetle, which makes me very happy .. I love my flagstone paths .. it was always a huge "wish" to have them running along the gardens.