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blackgavotte

any more maritimers out there?

blackgavotte
10 years ago

Hello, I'm just introducing myself to this forum, it seems like this should be a good one for information on all sorts of problems, and experiences... I moved here to Nova Scotia, just outside Yarmouth, in Sept. 11, and since I am certainly no master gardener, I had no idea I would once again experience such challenges of a different sort than ever before. I have enjoyed gardening since my retirement 9 years ago, never had time or energy before, and because I lived in the Lower Mainland of B.C. at that time, with its mild weather and lots of choices and stores, it was reasonably easy to learn... I quickly developed an almost obsessive love of roses. I moved to the Fraser Canyon for 2 years and there learned to love plants which could take those blazing summers and frigid winters... xeriscaping I think they call it... didn't think I'd like the new plant choices but learned to really appreciate them. Now I am learning about wind, fog, rocky ground and salt.... and I have much fewer choices in my immediate area, Yarmouth is at a low point in its history right now, with many stores having closed and much of the population moved for work..Still, I have a large older home here and the largest lot of land I've ever owned ( not counting a short time spent in Saskatchewan with 80 acres, but too busy for gardening there for sure ) the potential would seem unlimited but 'taint so.. Yet, I am managing to already spend more money than I said I would, and dream once again about plants that could live in different spots on this lot, and in spite of the challenges, gardening has once again lifted my spirits and made me feel alive... even with this very difficult spring we've endured. I already have planted a dozen roses, hydrangea, peonies, hosta, bleeding heart, lillies, tradescantia, daisies, hen n chicks, daylillies, aconitum, delphinium, columbine, and more that I can't remember right now.. and that's with my telling myself " I am NOT going to spend a lot on the garden... too much to do in the house first".... so much for that resolution. That's all for now folks.

Comments (11)

  • jel48
    10 years ago

    Hi blackgavotte. Welcome! I'm an occasional visitor to this forum myself, living in the Michigan Upper Peninsula (Keweenaw peninsula, at the tip top, sticking out into Lake Superior). I see there's not been much activity here lately. I guess most people are out taking advantage of the all too short summer and actually gardening :-) I did notice that you and I have planted a lot of the same plants. Hostas are a particular favorite of mine, but I have almost everything else you mentioned as well, with the exception of the tradescantia, daisies,and aconitum. I also have a lot of cone flowers, bee balm, lupins, iris, black eyed Susan, honeysuckle and probably (like you) others that I can't begin to recall at the moment. And, like you, I tend to spend way too much money on plants, tho we (husband and I) tend to do a lot of plant swaps as well.

    Anyway, welcome and happy gardening :-)

  • blackgavotte
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    thanks for the welcome jel48, I hadn't realized how long-winded I got.. will try to watch that in future. I got into the hosta forum a few weeks ago, people nicely identified the one plant which was here when I moved in, turns out its ... ahem,.. undulatum variegata...and I divided it, and now have several lovely, healthy clumps of hostas filling in while I develop these different little areas as the time goes on, and while the purse strings stay alive...My other favourites are Roses. Anyway, TTFN.

  • clairabelle
    10 years ago

    Hey there, I'm originally from southern New Brunswick but have been living in Québec for over 30 years, But you know what they say... once a maritimer, always a maritimer :D
    I remember, when we first bought our house, I sat down one day and discovered the Gardenweb forums and have been around here ever since... such of wealth of information, eh?

    My interest in gardening has grown over the years to become quite the passion (read like to be often on all fours with a flashlight after dusk to hunt slugs OR comparing weeding and mulching to relaxing while reading a good book lol).

    I am partial to alot of different varieties, especially the flowering kind, but am discovering the wonderful assets of flower-less foliage plants and ornemental grasses. And since DH took out the pool when our children flew the coop, we now have a marvelous veggie and herb garden to fuss over. LIFE IS GOOD :D

  • jocelynpei
    10 years ago

    Hi Blackgavotte, I'm in PEI, north of you. I grow a lot of what you grow, and am watching a bumper crop of daylily seeds ripening. Barring any storms, I should have a few seeds, if you'd like some. We deal with salt spray too, but no rocks, and chickens....who love to have a 'garden party', as in, dig up the garden.

    Jocelyn

  • milkwoman
    10 years ago

    Hey all! I'm also in pei. Moved here this past Feb. and loving it. Was always my dream to have land to play on and now I have just over 2 acres! I've had 2 great gardens plowed this spring for fruits and veggies.Some growing great and some not-so-much. But the soil as good as it is, still needs amendment so its an ongoing thing. Still better than my city lot in southern Ontario!! Looking forward to many more years of growing here..

  • jocelynpei
    10 years ago

    Nice to see someone else from PEI. Hope you enjoy your garden. Been a dry summer this year, finally getting some rain. Peaches are ripening, can hardly wait.

    Jocelyn

  • milkwoman
    10 years ago

    YOU GROW PEACHES????????? Somebody told me that peaches are very difficult to grow. I had a peach tree in my yard in Ontario and got great crops from it. I planted a Loring here in a pretty sheltered area this spring. It seems very happy there so far.(I broke the rules and let 2 peaches grow and they were fantastic!) I'd love to know more about how your peaches are doing! Do you give them winter protection? I've also planted cherries, pears and apples but I'm sure they will be fine. Enjoy those peaches!!

  • jocelynpei
    10 years ago

    Yes peaches. Some years the blossums freeze and we get only a dozen peaches, but most years we eat lots of them. Once in a while ALL the blossums freeze and we get none. It is tempting fate, but 4 years out of 5 they do fine. You need to pick a hardy variety or two, but other than that, no winter protection. Redhaven does well, Reliance, Harrow Fair and Harrow Beauty all have tasty peaches here. Expect a shorter lifespan for trees in this climate, but you can start seeds out of the peaches that ripen from your trees and breed up hardier ones.

  • blackgavotte
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hi everyone, finally taking a minute to greet again. This summer has been a pretty poor one, tons of rain, mist, fog, wind, and really not a lot of warmth. The garden has been pretty pathetic, and must admit I was less than enthusiastic about it this time around. However, hopefully within the next two weeks I'll finish the preparation for the expansion of my front plot, ( one more rock pass) and by spring it will be ready for new plants... maybe I'll get some new bulbs in by the end of the month. Hoping that will revive my interest. I am just about ready to give up on my English Roses, I've loved them for years but here they are really not doing well. The tougher explorers are doing well enough, but I simply don't love them the way I do the Austins. Too bad, but maybe one more summer my help me and them?

  • jocelynpei
    10 years ago

    Sorry, I don't grow the "cabbage roses" so I can't comment. The rugosas and hybrids with them do well here though. I have often looked at the David Austin ones and drooled over them, but the requirements listed have prevented me from planting them...with climate change though, I might actually try some. Peaches were a no go 30 years ago, but do reasonably well now, so who knows.

  • cyco
    10 years ago

    Hi everyone,

    I am originally from Edmundston in NB but now live in Moncton, NB nice to see some maritimers on here. I've visited this forum few times but this is actually my first post.

    Cheers!

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