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Friday 7 August 2020

Japanese Forest Grass

 Summer is winding up soon and that dos NOT bother me at all .. other than the work I have planned to switch plants around to nestle in for the winter .. and let's not forget all those .. hum ... loads of bulbs to plant as well .. now that is a bit daunting in itself.                                                                                        

I have no idea how companies make me crazy in the midst of LATE Spring this year with more BULBS to plant for next year!                                                                                                                               

Maybe it was those remarkable patches of pure sunshine aka daffodils, after such a long drawn out winter. I had to have more because this winter could go either way ... really depressing or ? hopeful!

OK .. enough of that and on to the Hakone grass which I scooped up at Costco .. the bargain could not be ignored even by the best of us that would stick to their guns and stop buying plants for the year ?

 The shade side ever increasing due to the ("Mother of all Trees") needed some colour and movement.

The Japanese maples also needed some zest which the grass Hakonechloa macra "Aureola" which provide nicely.

You can't see it right now but the ally way went under a bit of a renovation as well.
The day lilies (Stella) were old and not really preforming very well, so I thought perhaps the over abundance of astilbe might just do the trick .. and hide the taller lily foliage as they died down.
It is all a mass of GREEN right now .. rather boring right ?
However there is a hit of pink to the right.

Lobelia Monet Moment which Grace from Gardening with Grace highlighted at one time on her blog and I took the bait .. but it was all luck that the plant was offered all those years ago. I haven't seen it since !
More PINK coming !
Tiny pink and yellow jewels atop TALL towers.
I have been searching for WHAT one of my two thalictrum is .. one grows to the considered normal height for the type rochebruneanum .. up to 5 or 6 feet and even that is tall for it.
However I have one growing next to it that has shot up over the height of the 8 foot fence and most likely nearly 10 feet plus !
I have been searching for years to find out what this monster is and finally by chance I ran across a cultivar from a supposedly sterile "Elin" .. this one is called "Anne" update .. this could also be the actual parent .. Elin .. yes it is confusing but ? it is the explanation of the tallest meadow rue I have ever seen .. or had the pleasure of planting and watching grow to such heights.
I couldn't have been more surprised to have finally found this amazing monster's identity !
Do you see Anne (on the left) shooting way above rochebruneanum (one the right)  ?
This is an 8 foot fence !
The flowers are almost identical, but at least I can see the ones more to my height rather than stretching my neck to the sky like a giraffe ? with the other cultivar.
Speaking of giants ... my giant miscanthus is starting to set up it's flowers.
A sign that summer is passing by soon and I couldn't be happier.


14 comments:

Snowbird said...

Goodness me....I've never seen plants that tall!!!! So pleased you managed to ID her!!! I can imagine how hot your summers are, heat has me lounging around unable to do anything. You have such a beautiful garden, and your ally is is gorgeous. That Japanese forest grass is lovely, and I loved that lobelia. Good luck planting the bulbs, I always have all sorts needing planting too.xxx

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Snowbird ;-) Thank yoou so much !
It is rather amazing this plant .. and how far off the radar it is to public garden knowledge but I think I nailed it now ? LOL
We have humid heat here and it has to be tallied up a different way so you have an actual temp setting and then a "feels like" setting .. we got up to 40+ at one point and no one wants to do anything then for sure !
It is going to be a mission to get all the bulbs and plants sorted but hopefully the weather will be cool at the right time.
I was AMAZED at Peanut's adventures with her chicks ! that was so intriguing to know she came back to show them off to you and then do a walk about in town ? LOL
I'm glad that you almost have a normal routine without the drama of Peanut & chicks LOL

Jenn Jilks said...

Such a wonderful garden!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

OMG Joy that Thalictrum is TALL. Wow. I have read about these tall varieties but have never seen one in person. Seeing yours makes me want a couple of them. I think it is good that you have that tall fence to protect it from winds.
I love that J. forest grass but it doesn't do well in my garden. I have in the past purchased nice large plants only to watch them slowly get smaller and smaller until I rip them out. Must be I need an irrigation system, which I will probably never have but hey I will just find something that will withstand the conditions here.
Your garden looks so rich and full. Love seeing whats going on there.
Cheers, Lisa

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey there Lisa ;-) Yup ! she is a beauty and the tallest garden plant I have ever had for sure ! .. yes the fence definitely helps, plus the Royal Purple smoke bush on the other side gives it support as well. The forest grass can be tricky but there is the Banana Boat sedge that can take rougher , dryer conditions that might give you that look as well ? .. it is a little wider on the margins but that wow colour will brighten up the shadier areas for sure !
Thanks very much for stopping by girl !

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Jenn .. thanks very much ... I would be remiss to not say .. I am so ready for Autumn now !

Margaret said...

Green is a colour too and I see lots of different textures there, which also count! I am dying to get some Hakone grass into the garden, but this year my planned trip to the nursery never materialized. BUT I'm hoping to get down there soon for some fall bargains - hopefully - unless everything is sold out. It's been such a strange year, in more ways than one!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Margaret !
Yes .. of course you are right because green is a whole lot better than BROWN ?! LOL
Also yes about the textures .. height, width all of those factors interest the eyes.
I am greedy with a plant I am zoned in on .. all I can think of now is why didn't I get 5 of the Hakone grass ?? LOL .. but 3 will do part of the job for now.
What nursery are you close to ? .. but yes .. it is a strange year and no one can count on plants being around .. very disappointing indeed .. but I hope you have some luck and you are able to get the plants yo are looking for !!

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

Hello! Your garden looks wonderful. Flowers and colours are lovely, but green is a very soothing colour and as Margaret writes above, different textures guarantee that the result doesn't look boring at all.
Autumn is an enchanting season. You wrote in your comment (thank you!) that the in-between seasons are not as long as they used to be. I would say that here spring has become very, very much shorter but autumn perhaps even longer. Winter comes later nowadays... which becomes very sad if the Christmases are not white anymore.
Yesterday I completed a 3D puzzle that has been made in Canada. :) Will post about it soon.
Stay safe and well!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Sara ! Thank you ;-)
Yes you are right about the green (so much better than brown if the plants are too dry and unhappy of course ! LOL)
My favorite season is a tie for Spring (which is so much shorter now here) and Autumn because it brings such relief form the heat and humidity and? I just love Halloween and Fall colours so much.
Some years yes .. winter is slow to take over .. other years it arrives with a bang like last year .. I didn't get all of my bulbs in because the ground froze so quickly.
Hey that is fun ;-) ... a puzzle from Canada .. you have me curious as to the scene it portrays now ? LOL

Justcherry said...

Beautiful green garden and pink flowers, Japanese maple trees. Makes eyes fresh to see it. The rochebruneanum plant is so tall.. cool..
Excuseme don't you want to plant sugar cane in the garden?

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Cherry .. I left a comment on your blog about your night bus journey .. that was scary!
Thank you for stopping by my bog ! .. we can't grow sugar cane in Canada .. our weather is much too cold for it .. I would be interested to try it but I have never seen it in our stores

Jason said...

Love your Thalictrum! I tried growing the Japanese forest grass but the rabbits ate it all.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Jason and thank you ! .. it is a crazy monster in my garden but oh so delicate at the same time. I'm sorry the grass was too delicious for the rabbits .. that sort of thing is like a dinner bell in some gardens .. I have been lucky so far !! LOL