Today I added 28 more Tulips to the garden.  I’m not positive I’ll be here to see them come up as I’m currently house hunting, but I didn’t move in time to plant them somewhere else and gardening is never a waste of time.

If you read any of my garden blogs, you may realize they are my gardening diary entries and it’s also a step by step manual of how to garden around crazy dogs!

I expanded my seating area within the actual garden this year, and since I was sad I couldn’t sit it in with the dogs I made one outside the garden and I can see into the main garden when I sit in it. My parents were able to visit from Cape Breton just after it was finished and we had a nice day in the sun and even the dogs could hang out with us. A little planning goes a long way to enjoy your outdoor spaces.

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One of the last things I did this summer in the garden was to try and clean up under the Rhododendron and Azalea.  There were a bunch of Lily of the Valley that really don’t belong in a small garden.  So, I planted 4 pink Tulips there today (Acadie).

The Tulips are grouped by color and spread around different areas of the garden.  There were about 30 before today, primarily Orange, Pink, and Reds.

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6 dark red Tulips (Maple) planted close to the seating area near the Stonecrops.  4 red and yellow Tulips (Bonfire) under the Red Currant bush.  6 hot pink Tulips (Lady Slipper) around the Lavender.  4 pink (Blushing Beauty) between the Roses and the Lavender.

I’m most excited about the Maple Tulips from Vanco Farms in PEI.  They will look like this when they bloom in the spring.

A few weeks ago, I made a small garden in the front yard in an area that was hard to mow.  I used plants from the main garden, Creeping Thyme, Mother of Thyme, and Heather, and today I added 4 purple Tulips (Exquisite) and 12 Hyacinths (4 pink, 4 blue, 4 white).

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I did way too much veggie gardening the first pandemic spring, so scaled back this spring. I had scads of Sungold Tomatoes, a great bounty of Music Garlic, and some other odds and sods. My favorite new thing I grew from seed this year were Shallots. You have to start them inside in March, and they aren’t ready until late September but really worth it and I just grew them in pots.

I really prefer flower gardening, but like to have a few fresh things from home, and I get lots from my friends at New Caledonia Farm too.

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Tomorrow I’ll record my usual fall video so I can review in spring to know where things are going to pop up.  I try not to do much in spring as it’s difficult to determine what should be there, and what should not at that stage of the game.  Gradually as things come up, I pull the ones I recognize as weeds, as each round pops up.  If I’m not sure, I wait.  Sometimes when I really can’t decide but think it’s likely a weed, I throw to a part of the garden that is not finished yet.  Well, it’s all a work in progress, isn’t it?

I often put pots of plants in areas that I’m working on as placeholders until I can put something in.  I think spring of 2022 most of the garden will be filled in, and more will have to be divided and moved out into other parts of the yard.  There should be no more perennials that need to be added.  I was finally able to add 4 varieties of Stonecrop which spread very quickly and some chicks from my Hens and Chicks get mixed around for good measure.

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My neighbour came over a few weeks ago and took some pieces of creeping plants for her yard so I will look forward to seeing how that turned out in the spring if I’m still in the neighbourhood. 

I also decided to garden on the other side of the house this summer.  There is a makeshift barrier there to keep the dogs from barking at passersby so now I’m able to plant things there without them all being dug up.  And so, I just moved the Garlic bed over there and will fill that up in the next week or two.  Mostly I’ve just moved some ornamental grasses, wild Geranium, and Bearded Lilies over from the main garden but could add some more delicate transplants in the spring.  It’s also a great spot to hang Beans, Cukes, and Peas in hanging pots on the chain link, and some flowers along the top.

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And if that weren’t enough, I added a little rock garden by my dog sitting seating area. 

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I spend a lot of time in the backyard with the dogs since we got Milo last year and I can’t spend as much time in the main garden.  Sometimes I sit in the shed if it’s raining or cold and play ball with the dogs from there for my morning coffee.  So, I’ve sort of created this triangle of viewpoints where I can see flowers and pretty plants no matter where I am without having to enter the main garden.  Mostly the backyard is full of holes the dogs have dug and muddy spots from them chasing each other around but I have this little visual oasis when I’m out with them, so I’m surrounded by beautiful things.  I try to sneak into the main garden if the dogs will let me until they start misbehaving, and once they are in bed I just sit in the garden and do a bunch of nothing.  Sometimes I drink beer in the garden. 

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These are a few of my favorite things…and I’m definitely dreaming about a larger rural property for more of my favorite things, peace and nature. I do what I can in my little piece of the concrete jungle.

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