MOSS

Well, it's that time of year when the Moss in the garden starts to really take off. And although many gardeners go to great efforts to remove it from every place, I choose to allow it to pop up here and there adding additional interest in the yard. I do remove it from the lawn, the beds, and hard surfaces like walkways and driveways, but other than that, it's a welcome visitor to trees, shrubs, and boulders.
The above photos are lichens and moss growing on the Vine Maples ( Acer circinatum) in the garden.

ENGLISH PRIMROSES AND ENGLISH DAISIES

Well, Winter in the Northwest has been more significant than usual and right now I'm looking at 6" of snow in the garden. It gives me time to reflect on what was going on in the garden last year at this time. At work we have started to get in the Primroses (Primula x polyantha) and soon to follow well be 4" Bulbs, Heathers, Pansies and English Daisies. Every time the first shipment of the early Spring colour appears their is immediate excitement. I believe its because we are well into Winter and seeing all this beautiful colour reminds us that Spring is around the corner.
Last year I planted pots of Primroses and English daisies ( Bellis perennis) to greet guests on there visits to our home and garden. I always select bright colours to offset our grey Northwest days. Both are very easy to grow and are inexpensive. And while both are perennials, generally gardeners in our area discarded them in late Spring using them more as a annual. If you do choose to keep them as perennials be careful with the Bellis, it can reseed into your beds and your lawn (hence one of its common names 'lawn daisy')

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Here's wishing you all a Happy New Year with one of my favourite trees a Coral Bark Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku'). It's a beautiful small tree that has interest throughout the year. Lovely small bright green leaves, amazing fall colour and coral red bark for the winter. What's not to love.

All the best for 2007, may it be filled with Health,
Happiness, and New beginnings :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

I'm back. Sorry for the absence. I was ill earlier in the month and We had that horrible wind storm in our area which knocked out our power for a week and our Internet for 12 days. So its good to be back to share some photos and thoughts.

The above pictures are of a Holiday Nest of fruit and foliage from the garden. I love the natural textures and Autumn/Winter colour combinations. Hope you do too.

Happy Holidays

POINSETTIAS

A few shots of some Poinsettias that I took at a recent visit to Molbaks. This year Molbaks is growing 50 different varieties. Last year I had the opportunity to go to the Poinsettia trials up in British Columbia and see 200 new hybrids. Its amazing to see, through hybridization, all the new colours, bract formation, shapes and sizes. Seeing all these beautiful plants really does help get me in the holiday spirit.

BERBERIS THUNBERGII 'ROSEGLOW'

When designing my yard I wanted to enclude some Barberries. There are so many to choose from, and I really only wanted one type in the front yard. I could have had several varieties of barberries, but didn't want a yard filled with deciduous shrubs only, especially stickery ones! When looking at the textural and leaf colour combinations that I was creating in the beds, I decided on Roseglow barberries. They has beautiful marbled foliage in shades of cinnabar and pale pink and when Autumn arrives the leave turn an electric coral colour ( see posting on November 6th, you can see their fall colour in the collage). Thriving in full sun I had the perfect locations for them. In Spring they fill their more mature branches ( they bloom on second year old wood) with myriads of tiny yellow flowers providing some early nectar for the local Mason Bees. And in fall, after the foliage drops, you get and additional show of small oval red berries. You can see what Roseglow Barberries look like when a little more mature in the posting on November 18th.
From time to time they need some pruning, which is best done in Winter or right before they leaf out. Generally Roseglows develop a vase shaped plant and unwanted stray branches and older wood need to be removed.

This plant should have a space in every yard if your looking for something very hardy with months of beauty and interest.

GOBBLE GOBBLE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

here's a collections of samples from the garden

FALLS GENTLE EMBRACE

Winter is knocking on our door and even though Fall isn't completely over (according to the calendar), it feels as if it has already parted. Every last leaf has been blown off by our recent storms and with temperatures dropping to the mid-thirties, Falls gentle embrace feels like a fleeting memory. It doesn't seem like that long ago the trees were starting to turn in a warm Indian Summer afternoon and the Fall Asters were in full bloom. The Dahlias were still going strong and the Ornamental Grasses were at their peak. Now the garden stands silently in our soggy landscapes waiting for Springs return.
This is a time for the garden to take a much needed rest from the prosperous growth of the previous season and to rejuvenate. And one day, in the not so distant future, will see the Spring Bulbs start to brake above the ground and the Hummingbirds and Gold Finches begin to return.

THE GARDEN REVISITED AGAIN

Here are a few more shots of the garden earlier in the year. Enjoy!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Here are some pictures of one of the beds in the front yard. The two photos were
taken about 4 years apart. It's always nice to view pictures like this to see the progress of the garden and enjoy its maturity. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was planting those shrubs and perennials, but now it's looking well established. Since the beds have filled in, this spring I'll take some divisions.
The women in the photo is my good friend Suzanne who has been available to shovel some of the 90 cubic yards of soil (so far) that I have brought in. Now that's what you call a friend!

Hope you all are blessed to have many wonderful friends to lend a hand in some of the bigger tasks in your gardens.
I know I am. Bob of Bobs garden.com