Summer Wrap

        Record-keeping has been poor electronically, although I do have a Lee Valley Garden Journal (from my sister for my birthday) to which I have been more faithful. However, I can't add photos to it, so I still like this format for the more colourful reviews of the garden. So here comes a photo essay of the summer!

        This was my 'Garden Treasure' Itoh peony, the first one of my Itohs to bloom. It had two blooms, and, while they didn't last very long, they were beautiful while they lasted. It bloomed after the tree peonies, but before the herbaceous ones. It was probably 20 cm. across. Glorious. Other Itohs still to bloom are 'Callie's Memory', 'Cora Louise', and 'Hillary'. Here's hoping for 2018. 

     One of the nicer herbaceous ones, and a new one which hasn't bloomed before, was this lovely very-pale-pink with  pale yellow centre, called 'Immaculee'. It fades to white as it matures, and it had five (5!) blooms this year. A keeper for certain. Other herbaceous yet to bloom are 'Henry Bockstocke', 'Raspberry Sundae', and 'Felix Crousse'. These are all from the Veseys fall sale. There are even more but I can't remember them all. But they are all written down!

    Roses were good this year as well. This one, a Gallica called 'Tuscany Superb' did particularly well this year - it was covered in buds, and so bloomed over quite a long period. It's a bit lax, and I have to get going on making supports - both for the lax roses and the peonies! The commercial peony rings available here are quite inadequate. I bought this rose years ago at Cornhill Nursery - they don't sell it any more because it only blooms once, and "people won't buy them if they don't repeat bloom".  Glad I got there when they were still selling this one!

       The Philadelphus did itself proud this year, blooming like a good one. I feel I should be propagating it, as it is such a good bloomer (the first two I planted never bloomed at all, so this is why I am so pleased!). I have had remarkable luck with propagating cuttings this year, particularly weigela and hydrangea. And Anne gave me a pot full of Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Mariesii' (Summer Snowflake) which is one of the ones which is not susceptible to viburnum beetle, and 5 out of 6 have rooted! And I have moved them on into individual pots. They are tiny so far, so shall spend the winter in the cold frame, but there is potential to have viburnum once again.

       The Cornus Kousa 'Satomi' bloomed this year, although the blossoms weren't terribly pink - it suffers from lack of full sunlight, which will continue until the oak tree is cut down. It's a tough decision to make, cutting it down, as it provides lovely summer shade to the south side of the house and a cool place to sit and enjoy the view. However, its demise is inevitable, just not sure when.  The Kousa was lovely, however, and now there are fruits! From which I am harvesting seeds. Just for the fun of it.

       My Kalmia, 'Heart of Fire', bought at Lakeland Nursery in Dartmouth in 2011, bloomed this year, though not prolifically. I am a member of several garden groups on FB and one, I think the Atlantic Rhododendron one, had lovely photos of different kinds of Kalmias - and now I want them all! To name a few: 'Galaxy', 'Keepsake', 'Raspberry Glow', 'Sarah', 'Little Linda' and 'Minuet'. I have them listed on my iPod Touch so if I visit a nursery - not here - I can consult the list. They are all so lovely. And they are never sold in local nurseries. I wonder why - I think they are quite hardy.

         And so to my late summer favourites, the hydrangeas! I just have one lacecap, 'Bluebird', but I have decided that I must have more. This one comes out blue, but turns pink later. I did a bit of feeding and mulching where I have my hydrangeas, which is to the west of the house, and there was a macrophila called 'Cityline Mars' which has been languishing behind some phlox, in a bit of a low spot, so not much sun or moisture, probably. Anyway, I hoiked it out and put it up where it can be seen. I also dug out 4 'Annabelle' hydrangeas from under a fir tree - these are progeny of ones I dug out of Mum's garden many years ago - and put two of them in the "hydrangea walk" at the top of the west path. And I bought a new one, at Home Depot for $15 at the end of the season - it was labelled paniculata 'Grandiflora' Pee Gee and had 3 blooms not yet out - they have come out now and I suspect it is NOT a Pee Gee- as it has those larger bracts - similar to the lacecap above - which the standard PG doesn't have. Ah well. I put the other two "Annabelles' in a new bed under the white pine, straight out from the front door - and then decided to make it into a blue-and-white bed, adding another white hydrangea (paniculata 'Kyushu') and some lavenders, blue fescue, and various salvias and later monkshood (moved from another bed). I'm trying to leave some holes in case the Veseys sale is wonderful again and I get some more peonies or....

       Other bloomers this year in the hydrangea department include 'Pinky Winky', 'Incredibelle', 'Burning Embers' and my favourite, 'Vanille Fraise'

I had to put in an expanding fence to keep the blooms off the ground, but then it grew these two big, upright, branches, one of which bloomed - so I suppose I shall be able to cut off the lower branches one year soon. It is backed by another 'Annabelle', bought from Sandy in Summerside last year (and doing incredibly well) and on the lower left, one of those exotic indoor ones we bought after Easter two years ago for 99 cents each. I bought 3, one died, and the other one isn't blooming. But for 99 cents who cares? I  had them in pots outdoors last winter, so this one will be the test of their survival. But isn't the bloom great and colourful?                                                              This is a closeup of 'Vanille Fraise', speaking of colourful. You can just see, behind these hydrangeas, a half-price Japanese acer, Acer palmatum 'Tamukeyama', which I planted in July. In looking it up, I discovered that, according to one site, this is the perfect 'beginner' acer, easier than all the others to grow. Fingers very much crossed.