Year 3 is really the year a garden starts to take root. Of course I’m already dreaming of dividing perennials next summer!

I did a lot of planting in 2022 when I bought the house, and then a lot more planting last year in 2023.

Fast forward to the 3rd spring and things are really coming together.

One of the best things yet is that my Percy Wiseman Rhododendron finally bloomed. I bought it as a sad little sale plant in the fall of 2022 and didn’t know if it would make it. As well it’s not for our gardening zone so little hope for it really. But it made an appearance in late May and it is just gorgeous! Yeah, my Border Collie is too I know…

I will write more later too busy gardening now! I’ve been snapping lots of photos though so lots to work with.

There will definitely have to be a post devoted to Tulips when I get time. So many plants, so little Thyme…

I had a visit to a friend’s garden this week and she sent me home with a bunch of perennial prezzies!  The garden on their property is one of the nicest you will ever see.  No grass anywhere on the property.  All mosses and thyme, pine-needle paths, and so many amazing perennials.  It was really something to see so many flowers at the beginning of May. 

My goal also is for less areas to mow and more pretty foliage.

She gave me the following deer resistant, shade tolerant plants:

3 Rhododendrons – planted 2 in back in an old log and 1 in front in a tree stump.

Leopards Bane – tall clump forming spreader perennial of the sunflower family likes moist soil and shade.  Will reside exactly where the chicken coop once stood.  The soil there is very rich.  I have a theory…LOL

It is getting nibbled a little, maybe by the Snowshoe Hares, but doing great generally.

Red Phlox – tall and dramatic – spreads full sun to partial shade moisture air circulate and mulch to keep cool. Planted at back of little garden where a big dirt pile and tarp and chicken wire once was. Will have to add some mulch.

Bonfire Spurge – put in with some Columbine and Corral Bells will be good to have another big splash or color outside the fence it’s great for bird photos.

Wild Ginger – not sure which variety. Spreads and currently there is a huge mess of Buttercups to replace and there was quite a bit of Bindweed when I moved in so even though it’s a little naughty it will be much better than those things.

Bee Balm – added to my front garden. I did some from seed too but not sure if they will take. I also have some weeds in another garden area that may be Bee Balm I planted last year but won’t know for a while until they bloom. Happy to have a sure thing. I’ve always had difficulty with this plant for some reason.

Angelina Sedum – have some in my little dog garden but happy to have a bit more to spread around as it’s nice to have the all year yellow foliage.

Columbine – I have quite a bit I’ve done from seed but always happy to have more and think these will be a different color.

Happy Return Daylily – along back of house where more colorful foliage was needed.

Red Daylily – put in one of my rock gardens near the deck will post pic when it blooms.

Masterwort – It prefers to be planted in part shade to full shade. Astrantia grows best in moist soil with plenty of organic material. Since masterwort plant needs moist soil, it needs to be watered frequently during times of drought, otherwise it will die. Planted it in a shady area of mosses and wildflowers. Once it’s well established I can take out the placeholder bricks and in the meantime I should really get some nice beach rocks to replace them. So much to do!

Persicaria bistorta (Knotweed) – They grow 2- 2½ ft. tall, and spread to form 3 foot wide mounds. Excellent ground cover plant, especially when planted along the edge of a pond, a stream or in boggy areas.

They are very easy to care for plants that can be grown in full sun or light shade,Knotweed should be planted in fairly rich, constantly moist but well-drained soil

Planted in area we don’t mow that is full of wild flowers and ferns and next to a small stream. Put some little Joe Pye seedlings around it but not sure they will grow I think I opened the milk jug too early and they are not strong seedlings.

Common Orange Daylily – in front of garage

Geranium  – in front of garage – replaced some European Knapweed and Dandelions. The Knapweed is very pretty and the pollinators love it, but we have way too much and it’s considered invasive so slowly taking some out. Will try to achieve some balance over time.

Pachysandra – deer resistant and tolerates drought, shade, and heavy clay soils. Excellent groundcover for weed control, as it spreads to form a dense mat that inhibits weed growth.   It can be invasive as it spreads by rhizomes but planted in the goutweed which I hope it may overcome, and will surround by rock borders as Maria did with hers.

And I decided to move my existing Hellebores over by the Coral Bells in the old chicken coop area with some of her Columbine. I brought 2 Hellebores with me from my old house. 1 died almost immediately and the other one has been struggling. But it loves it’s new home and I have high hopes for it. Will add more in time in this area if it’s successful, nothing like a winter rose!

Will update as more things bloom.

Thank you Maria!!!

A number of years ago I saw an ad on Kijiji for perennials really cheap like 1-2 dollars each so I drove into Halifax as fast as I could. When I arrived I met a lady who had been gardening for a really long time who had a lovely garden and at first I was surprised the pieces were so tiny but then she explained that gardening is all about moving little bits and bobs around so they will spread out where you want them. I was intrigued, and it was a life changing moment.

Seasoned gardeners will also tell you that a weed is just a plant you don’t like.

And so for a few years I’ve been moving this weed around, treating it as though it is Irish Moss, and for me honestly it works just as well. This is Pearlwort (I’m pretty sure) I just learned yesterday from a little gardening group online. To avoid digging weeds or whippersnipping, you need groundcover or moss in between stones and so I dig out grass and weeds and replace with this little moss-like plant. Voila.

This seems to have popped up in a few spots and I hadn’t noticed it before so must have come in with a perennial additions, it happens. It’s a little weedy, but I love it and I just learned that it is Thyme-leaved Speedwell. So now I have a new crack filling plant. I’ve started pulling it out of the garden and replacing grass and weeds. By the fall things will look a lot tidier and require much less maintenance, so tired of buying spool for the weed whacker…much prefer to spend it on a local brew to enjoy in the garden!

It seems like a ton of work but I have been through all this in a smaller space and about year 3 you see payoff.

Partially due to finances, and primarily because I hate to waste anything I would prefer to slow garden and move things around. I just group things together and move them out if they don’t tickle my fancy over time. I weed in stages. So I pick a demon weed every year. Once again here it is Buttercups. You need to dig deep to remove them and nothing grows where they are. Takes time, especially in an area as large as I’m dealing with now. Other stuff like Chickweed you can just pull out by hand as you go. As you go you learn each year. And usually learn the hard way not to pull every shoot that comes up because you end up chucking out things you planted.

It may be hard to believe, but by June this will be fabulous.

When I moved in 2 years ago it was just lawn and some established perennials on the edge with rail ties to separate it from the driveway.

Again, you really don’t make big progress until year 3, which for me will be this spring/summer so I expect by fall it will be pretty close to perfect and tidy.

The first year I was here I added some shrubs and started weeding and removed one of the rail ties. Last year I started adding perennial flowers and making the area bigger. I just removed a second rail tie yesterday and moved a bunch of giant rocks from other areas of the yard. This is big heavy work and doesn’t look real purdy yet but it will, I promise.

I drag the old rail ties down by my Garlic patch to create a boundary for what will become an expanded veggie garden once I figure out what I can grow other than Garlic that is deer and rabbit resistant. In the meantime that area is starting to fill up with Russian Sage and Allium until I figure it out. More flowers never hurt right?

Once I realized that all Tulips were not plain red or yellow and that I could hand pick my varieties at Halifax Seed, I became obsessed. They are totally not deer-resistant, so here at the new homestead I only have them inside the area that is fenced in for the Border Collies. I have about 100 and they will bloom every two weeks so very excited today to enter 6 weeks of beautiful Tulips and flowers in vases finally!

I’ve been growing Garlic for over 5 years now. I started at my last house in a subdivision in Eastern Passage and moved out before the biggest haul was harvested! But a chef bought the house, so assuming it was well enjoyed. Last year my harvest was not the best here as I literally planted the Garlic by digging holes into a giant weedpatch and throwing seaweed over the top. I just had no time. But small sad Garlic is better than none. We ate the last one last week. Last fall (2023) I moved a bunch of soil from another part of the yard and mixed sheep manure in and planted almost 100 bulbs. I even mulched it! And it looks great. So excited to taste if this August. Scapes first of course.

All ready to bloom. Columbine, Lamb’s Ears, Tiger Lillies, and Spurge. The area was bare when I bought the house as they had a planter box there and removed it. Lamb’s Ears and Spurge came from Dad. Tiger Lillies from someone in Cow Bay, and I planted Columbine last year from seed and it never flowered, but it never died. So very excited to see it looking all bush and promising. We’ll see in about 2 months how this all turns out but I just know it will be gorgeous darling…

Although I love my new space dearly, I sometimes miss the jungle-like feel of my small space back in the subdivision.

My little courtyard garden where I used to live was greatly limited by space and completely fenced in.  Each summer the fence would be covered when the grape vines filled in with leaves and the small space had some fairy large bushes namely Azalea, Rhododendron, and Red Currant making it super cozy and tucked in.

The current homestead as I like to refer to it, has a lot of open area and almost 2 acres to work with.  Which is amazing and I am extremely fortunate, but I do want to create another little cozy jungle where I can bask in flowers each day in summer and fall.

It was 4 months before I took possession of the property and I made many plans for the house and property, most of which have come to fruition, but some are works in progress of course.  My vision was to have a rock wall surrounding the area from the kitchen door to the patio door to give some height and definition.

So, foraging for rocks has become my obsession, and slowly building an arsenal of shrubs and perennial flowers with height.  I haven’t made much progress it may seem, but I did start with nothing.  Currently I have 4 gardens which are spreading each year and are helping me keep my vision for the rock wall.   In honesty it may not make sense there as there is no slope so I may need to rely on foliage but I am also going to experiment with trellising vegetables this year in the space so it will be fun to see what the plan looks like a year from now.

Partially due to finances, and largely because I love to garden slowly, I work with what I have and build on successes for what grows well in each area.  So, it’s a living process and evolves from year to year.  At my old property it took about 7 or 8 years to get it the way I wanted it and I believe the new tenants love it so that warms up my heart too.

My property is tucked in with a rock wall and big trees in fact which is amazing but I still want my little micro-jungle. 

Over time I will build many gardens on the property and connect them together as I go to reduce lawn and support native plants.  I already built a few down by my garlic patch, and one where the chicken coop used to be.

I can’t imagine I will ever finish them all but life is a journey.