More Images of My Cottage Garden.

Spring 2013 is coming in slowly for us in southern Ontario, Canada, and I'm getting impatient. Started perusing some of last years pics of the garden in anticipation and thought I'd share. 

These are 2012 garden photos -- June and July

I'm forever bringing things into the garden from back forty.
This is the wildflower penstemon, also known as beardtongue.  It grows to about 3' in my garden.

I love roses -- Complicata on the left and a R. rugosa on the right.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on my Korean Lilac. They are large and lovely butterflies and they appear each year.

Spring 2012, Late May, Early June
Wigelia, the later-flowering Korean Lilac and Sprirea in the forground.

More foraging in the back forty. This is Virgin's Bower. Also known as Sweet Autum Clematis (I think)

The Best Budget Gardening Tips

In my neck of the woods (southern Ontario, Canada),
these orange daylilies grow wild along roads and in
country fields. These rizomes were plucked from my
  fields and added to my garden.
 photo by Lorraine Syratt ©2012

Not every gardener can afford to recreate those beautiful gardens seen on the pages of magazines. However, even on a budget, we can create a pleasing landscape utilizing all the flowers and shrubs we love. We just need to know how.

Perennials vs Annuals

 

Purchase perennial plants instead of annual bedding plants. Annuals flower in the first growing season. Few annuals flower the second year. Perennials do survive the winter, and planting them instead of annuals is more cost-effective. Most perennials don't actually begin flowering until the second year. Consider buying perennials that spread by their root systems. As they get larger, they can be divided in order to fill spaces elsewhere in the garden. Many shrubby perennials are easily propagated by leaf or stem cuttings. This is an easy way to increase stock.

How to Force Spring Flowering Bulbs in Water

Photo copyright by 4028mdk09A

Bring April into your home in the winter by forcing spring flowering bulbs. When the snow blankets the garden outside, the forced bulbs will remind the gardener that spring is just around the corner. Most bulb packages will indicate whether or not the bulb is a good plant for forcing. Hyacinth, Crocus and Paper White Narcissus can be easily forced in water.

Forcing Hyacinths

Hyacinths are an easy choice for forcing. Their scent is very strong and the plant is easily tricked into thinking it's spring. You can force them in soil, or set the bulbs into a glass or vase filled with water.

Four Early Spring Bulbs for Naturalizing

Snowdrops in the Snow
Photo © Copyright Walter Baxter

We can welcome spring early with a variety of early spring flowering bulbs. Some are hardy enough to poke up through the snow of March and early April. When planted in large groups, these bulbs add a show of brilliance to the garden.

Old-Fashioned Snowdrops

Old-fashioned Snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, are very early to flower and are actually partial to the cold weather. They grow 7" to 12" tall and flower from January to March in zone 7 and higher gardens, or late February to April in zone 5 and zone 6 gardens. Snowdrops generally flower in March and April in much colder areas. Bulbs should be purchased in the fall and planted 3" deep in healthy garden soil. They like a dappled shade location. For the best show, purchase packages of 20 or more bulbs.

How to Make Garden Maps to Chart Plant Locations

Garden maps make it easy to find our plants in spring, ensuring we don't mistake our treasures for weeds. Garden maps assist us in charting the garden design.

Over the winter, plant labels fade, rot, break, disappear, or get lifted and moved thanks to nature's constant rhythm of freezing and thawing. The best defense against the loss or misplacement of plant labels is in keeping a planting chart within our garden journals.

Winter Morning in my Garden

This is what I woke up to this morning, on the last day of February, and I had a little fun playing with the images. It's a mild morning, so all that thick snow on shrub and tree branches is starting to fall away. Wanted to get the pictures before that happened.

Chris Eirschele's Garden Truths From My Family's Stories

If reading gardening essays warms your heart as well as your green fingers, Garden Truths From My Family's Stories  is a lovely little e-book from garden writer Chris Eirschele. It is beautifully written and a pleasure to read. While written as a tribute to her parents, a gardening duo, it is sprinkled with folksy tips and gardening know-how passed through generations. Eirschele's childhood experiences gardening with her parents set the tone for her future as a gardener and garden writer.  The e-book is available through Amazon. She blogs at Stay Gardening.

Horticulture - 5 Things A Flower Green House Needs To Stay Green

Horticulture is the agricultural practice of growing flowers, fruits and vegetables on large scale as a means of getting an income. That is the old meaning, today; it is the simple practice of growing these crops under special and not so special conditions either with a goal to sell them or for subsistence. The unique thing about horticulture is the dwelling on these three crops. They are grown with the aim for home use or export depending on which market is more receptive. Since it is all about making money, the idea is to make lots of it and heavy investments are placed on the crops.