Both Kinds of Geraniums Make Me Happy

I'm not sure I can string together a coherent post, so maybe I'll try for an incoherent one and hope everyone gets something out of it.

First of all, I've been meaning to show photos of my hardy geraniums (cranesbill). The only one not flowering at the moment is 'Splish Splash', but I might be able to dig up a photo from last year.

'Johnson's Blue' in Its Glory (from May)



'Rozanne' (2007 First Bloom Today)



'Splish Splash' (from Last Year)



'Mrs. Kendall Clark' (Still in Pot)



'Elizabeth Ann'



'Hokus Pokus'



Ankums Pride



My Unknown Small One



Actually, the small one might not be around anymore. I moved it to another place in the garden, and found out that it doesn't like the afternoon sun, so it's a bit shrivelled right now. Some of my new heuchera have been suffering too. Sigh.

Well, here are some things that Snappy might find interesting. Last year I planted an Asiatic lily that my mother gave me as a gift, and this year there are two coming up where I planted one. Here is what it looks like with tiny little flower buds just starting to form.

Asiatic Lily



And speaking of buds, someday soon I might have dahlia flowers in my container. Here is what the plant looks like at the moment.

Buds on 'Dahlietta Lauren'



I also found out the names of all my brocade-leaf geraniums that I bought for their beautiful foliage. It turns out that the names were printed lower down on the label, covered in potting mix. When I cleaned them off, I confirmed that I do have 'Vancouver Centennial' (like Snappy's) as well as 'Mrs. Pollock' (with tricolour variegation), 'Indian Dunes'(with large red flowers), and one whose name is almost better than the plant itself: 'Pink Happy Thought'.

Brocade-Leaf Geraniums



Right to left, top to bottom they are: 'Mrs. Pollock', 'Vancouver Centennial', and 'Indian Dunes'.

And in this very busy photo, at the far left near the top, you can see the yellow and green variegated foliage and pink flowers on the very lovely 'Pink Happy Thought'.

There's a Pink Happy Thought in There Somewhere


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

And with that pink happy thought, I will leave you.

Purple Poppy and Planter Project

Today was a busy day, with lots of projects getting done. The main one of mine was finally planting my new IKEA pot. When I finished I had to shuffle some of the other pots around to display everything to advantage. Anyway, here is what the planter looks like now.

IKEA Planter with Geraniums and Coleus



Here is a bit of a close-up from above.

IKEA Planter from Above



I was a bit worried that my purple poppy (it's a light purple poppy, must be a cross between a white one and a dark purple) wouldn't bloom, since I was gifted with 'Turkenlouis' this year. I sometimes get the feeling they are in collusion, these poppies, over which ones will deign to bloom for me. I am glad to be proven wrong in this case. So here are a couple of "interpretations" of this poppy. It's the best I could do, since the stems on most of my poppies this year are all twisted.

Purple Poppy Front



Purple Poppy Back


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Taking Time

In last year's post about poppies I lamented the lack of blooms for 'Turkenlouis', a fringed red poppy that I planted in 2004 and had never bloomed since. Well, this year, for the first time, it did bloom.

'Turkenlouis' Poppy



I feel that I should say a few words about my photographs. I mentioned on this blog back in October that I was taking a photography course. Here I am going to post some photos that I hope demonstrate some of what I've learned (using a dedicated macro lens, adjusting the aperture for maximum focus, knowing that I had to use the flash to balance dark and light, adjusting exposure to get a better image, etc.).

Poppy Macro



Even an ordinary looking photo like the next one is not effortless. If I posted the photo that the camera gave me using its own settings, it would not look the same as this one. For this photo I had to consciously decide to let more light in the camera (that is, overexpose the photo).

Two-Day Old Poppy


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

I put a lot of work into my photos because it fills the same creative need in me that gardening does. That's why I love having a gardening blog. It allows me to exercise my creative passions, and share them with others.

I would just like to thank all the wonderful people who stop to read my blog and leave a comment. It really means a lot to me.

Garden Update As June Begins

I should really keep up better with my garden blogging, because so much is happening in the garden all the time now.



The first poppy bloomed on June 1. I also made a trip to Terra Greenhouses with my friend Jane (Better Safe Than Sorry), a person I met online through blogging. We stopped at IKEA first (mmm, $1 breakfast) which is another of our mutual interests. I got a new plant pot there, which will eventually make its way onto this blog when I have found what I want to plant in it.



At the nursery I had a hard time deciding exactly what to buy. I kept picking things up and putting them back. I knew I wanted some pelargonium geraniums for my urn planters in front of the garage, and I also wanted some hardy geraniums for the garden. Well, I got both, including some lovely dark Martha Washington geraniums for the urns, set off by some ordinary hot pink ones. (I couldn't find quite the right shade; I was looking for some that were a bit more purplish, but this combination works anyway.) Along with some licorice plant and bacopa for the trailing action, it should work out well, so long as Martha Washington geraniums are as drought-tolerant as their plainer cousins.



Currently the other containers by the house are filling out nicely. The lamium has started to bloom and the petunias are thriving. I even have three buds on the dahlia, so eventually even the end planter will look the way I envisioned it.



If only the backyard were equally successful. The backyard is plagued by pests that make a mess. Some pests are cuter than others, though. Jack Rabbit from last year has taken a wife and had a child, and they are eating all my pansies! So I have had to move my nice ruffled pansies to higher ground. You can see in the photo how lopsided the planter's contents have become.


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.

The other pests I am not going to show you a photo of. I will just tell you a story of how I first encountered them. One day at lunchtime I watched some goldfinches precariously perched on my honeysuckle that was poking through the lattice on the deck, quite close to the house. They were pecking at the flowers. I was delighted to watch, but I thought it odd. Sure enough, when I examined the honeysuckle closer, the whole thing is infested with aphids. Ugh! Well, I am usually a (mostly) organic gardener, but not this time! I got some insecticide that billed itself as "eco-friendly" (though only in a relative sort of way, I'm sure) and emptied the bottle.

If only aphids were cute, like rabbits.

Lullaby of Spring

Forgot to post a photo of the first 'Lullaby of Spring' iris.



And here is one in the evening light, which is magical.


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.

Heuchera

I really love heuchera. Not quite as much as I love hemerocallis, but it's a really close second. While hemerocallis is all about the flowers, the thing about heuchera is, it’s all about the foliage.

Or is it?

Lately, the many new hybrids coming out are paying as much attention to the flowers as to the leaves. So my goal is to obtain and plant beautiful heuchera whose flowers are as showy as their foliage.

Last year there was ‘Hollywood’, ‘Gypsy Dancer’, and ‘Snow Angel’.

‘Hollywood’ Heuchera (from last year)



‘Gypsy Dancer’ Heuchera



‘Snow Angel’ Heuchera (from last year)



This year I have purchased ‘Mocha Mint’, ‘Cinnabar Silver’, and ‘Petite Marbled Burgundy’ for their flowers.

‘Mocha Mint’ Heuchera



‘Cinnabar Silver’ Heuchera



‘Petite Marbled Burgundy’ Heuchera


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.

This post is for Kim (Blackswamp Girl), my fellow heuchera enthusiast.

Annual Trip to Canning

Yesterday we made the once-yearly trip to Canning Perennials.

Shopping at Canning Perennials



(By the way, not shown in the photo above are 3 more daylilies, another large echeveria, and another heuchera.)

Last year I thought that I would have no new daylilies any more. However, I forgot that Canning always has plenty of "NEW" plants in their catalog every year, including daylilies. I tried to limit myself to 5 new daylilies, but I came away with 8.* Can I help it if my husband encourages me with, "We only come once a year. Make sure you get everything you want. Remember, we won't be coming back." (Is he not truly wonderful, indeed?)

One of the 8 was 'Wayside King Royale', which is one I already have, but the label looked different from mine and it was one my husband himself was urging me to get. The label showed a big, dark, lush flower. Maybe it will be different from the way this one looked in a photo from last year:

Wayside King Royale, July 2006



My two favourite finds, however, are not daylilies at all, but PINK echeveria.

Echeveria 'Perl von Nurnberg'



Echeveria 'Krinkle'



And this is what they look like planted in my stone-look container with echeveria 'Black Prince' (on the right) and sempervivum 'Hey-Hey' (on the left). There are some other echeveria that I don't know there too. They came from my Wal-Mart planters.

Echeveria and Sempervivum Planter



Now for some other garden photos. Someone was asking how tall Lewisia flowers grow, so I took a picture that shows more of the context of the plants.

Lewisia Plants in Context



The flowers grow on stems about 12 cm (4 in.) long that grow out of a rosette of leaves similar to a sempervivum. The flowers are thin in the centre because the stems grow from the outside edge of the plant.

Another beautiful recent bloomer is my 'Sweet Kate' spiderwort (Tradescantia), one of my favourites for its combination of chartreuse foliage and rich purple flowers.

'Sweet Kate' Spiderwort



Here is a picture of my little fairy girl ornament. She is very photogenic.

Little Fairy Girl Ornament



And finally, though I am not terribly crafty like many garden bloggers are, I was not liking the colour and texture of this new Buddha ornament I got for the garden (not from Canning -- it's another Wal-Mart special). So I bought some spray paint and changed the look. He used to be a smooth grey, now he is a textured sand colour.

Brand New Buddha Ornament Improved with Textured Paint


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.

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* When it comes down to it, I really got only 6. It turned out that in my haste I had picked up two of the same. (I gave the repeat to my mother.) Also, I would not have picked up 'Wayside King Royale' myself because it is the same as one I already have in my garden. So, the hemerocallis I chose to purchase were:

• Dominic
  
• Ed Murray
  
• Flamboyant Eyes
  
• Lady Fingers
  
• Raspberry Swirl
  
• Someplace Special

I would have liked to get some others from the catalogue, but I was limited to what was in stock. (Maybe that's a good thing!)

Containers And Mulch

Well, the Monday of the long weekend (Victoria Day in Canada) was a productive one in the garden. My husband, Mr. Wonderful, made it his project to put down the black mulch in the back garden beds. The front is not yet done, and we don't have the brown mulch for the slope yet, but still -- the beds look amazing. One thing about black mulch is that it makes the colours pop.

My Favourite Late Spring View



My job was (finally) putting together my container garden at the front of the house. This year my colour scheme for the containers seems to have been inspired by the coleus Stained Glassworks Needlepoint. That is dark purple, and variegated green, yellow, and ivory. I have also added hits of hot pink to play off against the dark purple foliage.

Strawberry-type Container



This planter contains:

• sorrel (Rumex sanguineus)
  
• ipomoea ('Blackie' and 'Chartreuse')
  
• lamium (Lamium maculatum 'Anne Greenaway')
  
• a hot pink geranium ('Caliente Lavender').

I am hoping this container will fill out nicely and stay beautiful until late September. The sorrel is an unknown, though, so I've no idea how it will mature.

In my plastic urn container this year (compare last year) I am building around an 'Obsidian' heuchera that I rescued from being swallowed by phlox in the front garden. It can stay in the pot for the summer and I will find another place to plant it in the fall.

Plastic Urn Container



This planter contains:

• heuchera ('Obsidian')
  
• ivy geranium ('White-Blizzard'), blooming
  
• another geranium ('Freestyle Arctic Red')
  
• coleus (I have grown it before but don't know the name)
  
• periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Illumination')
  
• petunias (yellow is 'Prism Sunshine', pink unlabelled).

The third container is not quite ready for prime time. The dark purple dahlia and pink geranium with variegated leaves have nothing but buds right now, and there is a balloon flower that blooms later in the season (July-August). So the only real show is from the coleus.

Third Container (Waiting for Blooms)



This planter contains:

• dahlia ('Dahlietta Lauren')
  
• coleus (Stained Glassworks 'Molten Lava' and 'Needlepoint')
  
• balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus 'Fuji White')
  
• periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea')
  
• geranium (pink with variegated green and yellow/ivory leaves)
  
• lamium (survivor from last year)

I also took shortcuts, buying premade planters, one with herbs and one colourful one as a bridge between the end of the daffodils and the beginning of the poppies.

Filling In (Front View from Driveway)



Filling In (Back View from Porch)



As well, for heuchera lovers I wanted to point out this one that I found, 'Mocha Mint'. Heuchera are finally being bred to have both leaves and flowers that are attractive. This one is another in the small (but growing) collection of those.

'Mocha Mint' Heuchera



And finally, just for fun, my fancy brocade-leaf geraniums, now potted up for display.

Brocade-Leaf Geraniums


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.

Digging in the Dirt

Both our composters got filled up over winter, and with spring finally here, it's definitely time to make room for a fresh crop. So our project for today was "harvesting" our compost. We half-emptied both containers, taking the well-cooked stuff from the bottom of the containers, and aerating the rest. Then we emptied any open bags of topsoil, and old planters and baskets into the mix, along with a layer of shredded leaves. (We always save a bag of leaves in the fall so we will have dry material for the composter the next spring.)

As I've said before on this blog, I used an organic compost accelerator, which is just a powdery mix that you sprinkle over the layers of compostable material. It requires you to wet it down to get it to work, but our compost was a little dry after the winter, so we needed to add water to it anyway.



The amount of compost we removed filled several 14-inch pots, along with one large storage box.



I wish I had time for more big garden projects tomorrow -- it's the first long weekend of the gardening season, after all -- but my nephew has chosen it as his wedding day, so I'll be spending most of the morning cleaning the dirt from under my fingernails, and otherwise trying to make myself look presentable.

And speaking of presentable, compost is not exactly the type of photo people are looking for when they visit garden blogs, so here is something a bit prettier.

Unknown Late Daffodil



'Peach Melba' Heuchera



Irises Close Up


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.