Tangled Brush

I have opinions on cosmos, I really do. I have always enjoyed cosmos, those cheerful multicoloured blooms atop tall stalks fringed with feathery fronds. This summer, when I was trying to tame the side garden, cosmos were high on my list. They have a wildflower aura to them, and so seemed perfect for that still disreputable corner of the garden. They grew nicely and I had high hopes for them. But they kept growing, and growing, and growing...and nary a bud to show for it! This seemed very odd. I consulted with my neighbours; they said they had never seen cosmos grow so tall (they were over 5 feet at that point), and didn't know why there were no buds. I consulted Google - it said possibly too much water, not enough water, too much nitrogen in the soil or maybe I had planted them too late to get any blooms this season. My husband said I should not have used sheep manure, my neighbour said sheep manure was the best thing to use. So. Well, I left them in the bed, as they n...

Transported with joy, that was my feeling upon seeing the French garden, one fine day in August. I had been waiting, impatiently, for poppies for a very long time. In May I planted so many seeds in the French garden. But, nothing. Finally, a few plants started popping up. Three tiny spindly ones, and one that grew bigger, and bigger. Here is the French garden in early July. (The lupin was a plant I bought - it was quickly eaten by some voracious creature):                                             These are the poppy buds on the big plant in August, so full of promise:                   And, finally, they bloomed! Ta da! Aren't they glorious? I had been hoping for big, extravagant scarlet poppies with black centres. But, now I know those are called "Oriental poppies," are perennials, and take a few year...

I have never been overly fond of chrysanthemums. Vast quantities of tight, homogeneous small blooms...boring! I occasionally relent, however, when I see an array of them at the grocery store. They are cheerful and resilient, which is helpful when autumnal gloom descends. But this year, I may have been won over completely because...I have my very own chrysanthemum bush! And I didn't even    put it there! It wasn't there last year, and I don't even remember there being a plant of any kind there last year. But it is so large and well developed that it must have been. Did the birds bring it too? It certainly has brought a lot of happy insects to the yard: bees, wasps and flies have been buzzing around it for days. I do love to see the happy bees snoogling away in the flowers. When I sniff the blossoms, some of them smell like honey!

I legit have sunflowers! Really, truly sunflowers. They are giant and amazing! Whatever else happens in my garden, I can say that I really, truly had sunflowers. They are about 10 feet tall and everything a sunflower should be.  I can even see seeds for harvesting! The butterflies and bees love them too.

The front garden isn't looking too bad, at least the corner nearest the entrance path. Look at all the pretty colours: The hostas are, of course, from the previous occupants of the house (and not my favourite plant in the garden, though I know many appreciate them). But I have added the happy yellow pansies, cheerful pink and orange roses, and orangey pink lantana. The lantana is a plant I know from India. My father's bungalow had bushes of lantana, and I would pick the bright orangey crowns. After they finish blooming there are green berries. The flowers have a spicy smell. They don't last the winter, but this year I may bring them in and see if I can keep them going.

A few weeks later, the sunflowers are approaching the fence! It is such fun to watch them grow, along with the other wildflowers I planted in the bed. The cosmos is fluffy and tall and doing great, as are the bachelor's buttons that came in the packet of seeds. Also growing from that packet are some tall green plants that I can't identify. When I rub them there is an amazing smell...it reaches back into my subconscious and makes me think of something green I smelled a long time ago...memories like that usually reach to India. Is this a plant I knew in India, so many decades ago? Time will tell. I will wait for it to bloom and reveal its name.  The wildflowers were growing so well that I decided to add more flowers! I dared to plant perennials - cheery coreopsis (in burgundy and gold), hot pink sweet william, and a tall plant with spidery pink blooms. I have seen it at the Experimental farm and never knew its name. I googled it this time ("tall pink...

I love orchids - those exotic, many varied epiphytes growing high above the trees in their native state. Of course, in Ottawa, we only see them in pots at the grocery store. Also wonderful! But did you know we have some native varieties? The pretty pink lady slipper (which I have never seen) and, a wild green elfin one. What does it look like? This!                                                This was the latest, exciting thing to grow in the drain pipe corner. Prior to this I had: lily of the valley and white violets, then columbines, then primroses, and now two wild orchids! Maybe I should call this the Magic Corner!!