It’s high time I wrote a little bit about the Tranquil Garden. Here it is, June 6th, and I’m probably halfway through my yearly gardening frenzy. I know my enthusiasm will wane as the temperature soars, but right now I’m in love with the garden and have all kinds of plans.
I’ve been spending some time cleaning up the borders of my favourite flower beds, pulling up the weeds and grass that have jumped those borders during the winter when they were supposed to be asleep. I moved a couple of plants to better spots, and divided a blue flag iris that was getting too big. I can’t get enough of that iris, so the more places it can be, the better. I was really happy to see that my bleeding hearts are making a very nice show since I moved them all to the same spot. I think it was last year that I decided to amalgamate them because one of the plants was puny by itself. Bleeding hearts is (are?) one of my favourite plants in the spring and it does my own heart good to see them looking fabulous. Even now it’s still in bloom! 
I had a very enjoyable trip out to my favourite nursery, Pépinière jasmin, on Henri-Bourassa in Montreal. I was glad to be out there by myself so I could take my time and make all my choices carefully. It was very hot out and as I was making the important decision of which hydrangea might work for my shady front yard, I started to wilt. I vacillated between a couple of different varieties, but finally decided to go with “Annabelle” because it seemed to be the most likely to thrive without a lot of sun. I prefer some of the other colours, but this white one will be just fine. I’m glad I made the decision before the heat made it too hard to think. Price was also a complicating factor, since some of the cultivars were much more expensive.
I’ve always hesitated to buy hydrangeas because of the light conditions in my gardens (both front and back), which are problematic. The front gets very little direct sun, due to its north-east facing situation and the large maples which filter whatever light there is. The plants that do well out there are the hostas and heuchera, which I have planted in abundance. Why not? I’m through with experimenting with plants that have too many needs. Tried and true, that’s the ticket! That’s why I chose this hydrangea, which seems to be a workhorse of a plant, if I’m to believe what I read on the sign at Jasmin. My sister, Nora, was here for an overnight visit and helped me plant it and a few other things. She’s an experienced gardener, as I’ve mentioned before, so her help was much appreciated. Her energy level has always been greater than mine, it seems to me. She has taken on huge projects in her own garden, almost completely solo. For instance, digging and maintaining a decent sized pond. I’ve always dreamed of a pond in our yard, but the work just to maintain it, let alone build it, seems beyond me.
In lieu of a pond, I’ve always maintained a little water planter with a pump to create some gurgle and splash, close to the house on the deck so the extension cord would be in nobody’s way and we could enjoy the sound of the water. In recent years, however, the raccoons or squirrrels, (but I suspect raccoons) have made it their private playground. They pull plants and ornaments out of it and toss them around. Quite discouraging and messy. For that reason, I’ve gone from buying new plants for it every year to reusing the ones that have survived this treatment, bringing them in during the winter. As you can see, my gardening philosophy has changed over the years; I’ve learned from my mistakes to rely on and embrace the strong, lovely plants that don’t disappoint. This year, I’m not sure whether I’ll even bother setting up the water planter. We’ll see. I do miss it, though.
This post is getting long, but before I sign off I will talk about one of the plans mentioned in my introductory paragraph. On the inside of our giant cedar hedge, the beds are a real mess. I’ve gotten it into my head to dig out a whole large corner section of it and start over. This will be a big job and I’ll need the digging prowess of my husband, Dave, who has never forgotten how to dig an impressive hole, since spending five summers digging ditches for a cable company in his teens. I’ll keep you posted whether this plan comes to fruition before the heat gets to be too much. Happy gardening and/or happy knitting!
Here’s the link to my latest episode of The Guilty Knitter! Please share it around if you have any knitting buddies.
I love to hear from you!