July in 1b garden

9 years ago

For those who requested, here's a few shots of my yard. This is a large perennial border that was my first garden bed. It has heavy clay soil, and has undergone many changes, but never satisfies me. Some days it looks good, but lots of times it doesn't.

This is along my garden path where the wild look took hold. Clustered bellflower and echium were blooming when I took this shot. You can see centaurea blooming too. The daylilies are the common type but they do great under the birch. I have a barrier to keep them in bounds. I thought I'd weeded out all the gallardia, but I see it had other ideas.

I put more thought into my front yard hosta bed, but then the mountain ash tree blew down in a storm. I had to move the hostas that couldn't handle the resulting sun. So again, my plan was foiled.

Another area full of Canada violet. I had 2 clematis planted here, but I guess it's time to declare them dead. Too bad.

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Comments (12)

marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
9 years ago
Very nice, Marie! It doesn't look that wild!
don555
9 years ago
Very nice indeed! Especially impressive for being in zone 1.
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nutsaboutflowers
9 years ago
Marie, the books classify you as 1b or you wouldn't have put it here.

You have a beautiful yard. Would you call yourself 1b ?

Lynn
north53 Z2b MB
Original Author
9 years ago
Not sure what you mean Lynn,
I got the rating off the new Canadian Zone map.
Here's a link to it.
http://www.agr.gc.ca/atlas/agpv?webmap=78529700717d4cab81c13e9f9404ef10
northspruce
9 years ago
Looks great Marie! Your hostas look big & happy.
marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
9 years ago
When i started gardening, my zone rating was 3b but they changed everything and now i'm technically 2b. Well, none of my zone 3 plants suddenly died off because the rating changed, so i refuse to be 2b! So there!
Konrad___far_north
9 years ago
Impressive 1b garden!
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
9 years ago
OMG I will trade your 1b for my wannabe 5!!!!
ostrich
9 years ago
WOW!!!!! That is IMPRESSIVE! I love your "messy" style for sure! Listen, that is NOT messy - it is totally ORGANIZED CHAOS and I LOVE IT! I love how lush and green the plants are, how you combine the textures, colours and forms so perfectly together. I LOVE IT!

I feel like asking you to give me the list and location of each perennial from that gorgeous border, so I can learn what to mix with what to create that amazing effect!!!

WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!! LOVE IT!!! If anyone tells you that your garden is too crowded, they do NOT know what they are talking about.... :-) It's GORGEOUS!!!
nutsaboutflowers
9 years ago
Marie, I feel the same way as Marcia. I also refuse to be a 2a. By the time you consider the protection from the trees, house, and fence, we all have nice little micro zones :) I have quite a few things for zone 4 in my yard .

You're growing all kinds of things that shouldn't thrive in 1b aren't you ?

Lynn
north53 Z2b MB
Original Author
9 years ago
I will embrace the term, Organized Chaos. Thanks Ostrich.

I agree, there is protection from the house & fence etc, for my backyard plants. However the front yard faces north and is wide open. I think having the correct soil for the plants is the most important thing determining survival. And a very big element is reliable snow cover. Though it was a really tough winter, most perennials survived. Trees are another matter. Many ash trees in my area have lost all their limbs but are only coming back from the base of the tree.

But thank you all for the positive comments. It is always a work in progress. Some days things look okay. Other times I think I should grow less and take better care of what I do have. But then PAD kicks in, lol.
moonstarr
9 years ago
WOW ... beautiful! If I could just take all you've done with your perennial border and put it in my back yard, that would be my dream. This is what I hope to work towards one day (I haven't even started with a border around the fence as I'm still working on some raised flower beds). I still have a lot of learning to figure out what goes with what. Looks great!