The Gardens of Montreal

     I haven't been blogging because I was in Montreal and Ottawa last week, the first time for me travelling that far East! Montreal is a beautiful city with a long and rich history which is also reflected in their gardening too. Montreal is gardening zone 5b, a couple higher than Calgary and one can tell with the broader selection of plant material. The city is amazing in so many ways from the 500 year old buildings to the way so many little nooks and crannies are planted with complex patterns of perennials or annuals reminiscent of the French knot gardens.

     This urban garden is part of The Governors Mansion and is free to the public, the house is a museum and the garden is a learning place to illustrate how people in the 1700's grew things. So, imagine this place four times larger and growing all the food for the residents ranging from vegetables and herbs to grapes and espaliered fruit trees. The  trimmed box wood and evergreens really set off that formal European look which I think influences gardens all over the city.

     Of course if you're into gardening a trip to Montreal would not be complete without a visit to the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are easily accessible by the Metro (subway) and contain several collections in greenhouses as well as expansive outdoor collections, we did not see the whole thing because it's so large! Here a large reflecting pool sits at the end of the ornamental shrub collection.

Some of the greenhouse themes, bromeliad and rainforest garden, orchid collection, and the fern house. Each unique and beautiful and probably a wonderful place to spend a winters day!

Above, the cacti and succulent house and one example of the Bonsai house. This is reminiscent of the Calgary Zoo in the old days when they also had the conservatories of different kinds of climes, before they knocked half of it down to cater to the entertainment factor of the butterfly house, which is lovely and all but I do miss the entire plant collection they used to have when I was a boy, what happened to all those plants????

     The rose garden was very impressive, I feel like I've seen many rose gardens from Portland Oregon to Vancouver BC to the Calgary Zoo and must say this one was very impressive. Once we started rounding the corner from the Japanese Garden we could smell the thousands of roses!

     There is a large Chinese Garden here, the largest outside China as it says in the brochure unfortunately most of it was closed and the ponds had been drained for maintenance . Also, I thought the plant sculptures were a permanent display at these gardens, but they are not! If you saw them online like I did and thought oh wow can't wait!, then you were looking at the mosaiculture competition from 2013, who knew!?!?

     The Montreal Botanical Gardens are one of the major horticulture collections in North America  and a must see if you're in the area. I wish I had a slightly cooler day, more time and a more patient companion, after 3 hours of walking in 30 degrees we had enough of the heat and had to move on. One thing I really liked was every plant has a little tag that says when it was collected or how old it is known to be no matter if it is a 40 year old elephant palm or an ash tree planted in 1992.

Shade Plants for the Prairies

     So often clients say they can't grow anything because it's too shady, true for some plants but I grow almost everything in some kind of shade as I live in an old neighbourhood full of mature trees. In this photo, some of the best for deep shade, sweet woodruff in the foreground, cimicifuga, hosta, goats beard and ferns.

   
     Solomons Seal, an undemanding perennial for any shady or moist spot, so named for the Star or David shaped flowers that hang off the underside in late spring. These are a nice batch in my neighbourhood, I have found that they mostly stay in place, not invasive like Lily of the Valley for example.

   
     Goatsbeard, a large perennial for shade that blooms in white feathery plumes. There are many varieties and sizes, the one above is new to me, a thread leaf goatsbeard that is prohibitively expensive according to my better half so I'm not allowed to have one :(. I do have two of the large varieties though, in Calgary they grow about 4 feet tall or so, there are a few on my block that grow outstandingly on the north side of a house. They bloom in early summer and have beautiful foliage for the rest of the year.

   
     Meadow Rue, since we don't easily grow maiden hair ferns in our area, how about a meadow rue!? The fine foliage reminds one of ferns except this perennial also blooms in fuzzy ball shaped clusters in shades of pink to lavender to red hues. There are a few varieties, some miniature and some quite tall, like around 2-3 feet.

     Ostrich Ferns, probably the easiest and hardiest of the ferns to grow on the prairies. These ferns spread by underground rhizomes after a few years, so hopefully you'll end up with more than you planted! A ferns mortal enemy is hail storms, try to plant them in a sheltered location!

     Rodgersia aesculifolia, is not supposed to be hardy in zone 3 but I've had these for several years in my shade garden! The rough and thick chestnut shaped leaves are occasionally topped by fragrant plumes of white flowers (unless a squirrel breaks them off). I seem to see them for sale, more and more these days so give them a try. I grow this in a very shady spot under giant lilacs, sometimes the intense July sun can burn the leaves so I put up a little shelter until we get cloudy days or that time of year passes in a few weeks. Mulch with plenty of leaves in the fall to help them get through the winter. They spread quite slowly in our area and are low maintenance once established, I've also seen them growing quite well against the north side of a house.

          Lady's Mantle, is a mounding perennial with water resistant leaves and massive sprays of chartreuse flowers in early summer. An excellent choice for dry shade where it can be difficult to grow anything. I have my front walkway lined with Lady's Mantle as it is under a giant Green Ash tree. I grew mine from seed quite easily but they are also readily available in retail. There is also a miniature variety which is cute but I prefer the regular one.

     Annabelle Hydrangea, since hydrangeas like to be moist they prefer to grow in dappled or part shade on the prairies, they would resent too hot and dry a location. I've had these for many years, they grow quite happily near my house in the light shade of the Mountain Ash tree. There are lots of Pee Gee or panicle hydrangeas available now too, they seem to also like the same conditions here.

Victoria Day Long Weekend, Annual season again!

      Ahhh, Victoria Day or The May Long Weekend or the May two-four, which ever way you say it it means the unofficial beginning of summer in Canada. Even though in our area we often have heavy snow in the mountains and temperatures in the single digits (Celsius) if you're into gardening it is the beginning of our frost free period which means annuals! For horticulture retailers it is their Christmas, and for many it is the time to plunk a dracena and a few geraniums into a pot and call it a day. I remember, when working at a local greenhouse, a customer was asking about dracenas and said "don't you have to have one?" to which I said "No, the City won't give you a ticket or anything."
Lets try thinking out of the box for once.

So, here is a classic Victorian garden design, formal layout, geometric patterns, usually a tropical focal point collected from somewhere in the Empire at the centre of the display. I think a lot of us saw this in City parks or come from a Victorian mindset whether you're aware of it or not! There is nothing wrong with Victorian gardens, they are amazing, but unless you can carry off your dracena and geraniums to this level of display lets go with something more modern and pleasing.

   
     I always like a few annuals, in an area where we have a three month growing season I like to enjoy the season as much as possible. One of my favourite annuals is Ricinus, the big leafed plant in the middle, it gives that need for height and a nod to Victorian tropical interest. This particular pot also included coleus and nicotiana. I don't love what I call "floral vomit", where every colour possible is included in one pot, you know like the kind that line the streets of Victoria B.C., sorry Victorians!
I go for just a couple of contrasting leaf colours and maybe one colour of flower.

     Here's one from a few years ago, the dark leaves of ipomoea or potato vine contrast vividly with the chartreuse of this coleus. A few silver leafed annuals balance the equation. Of course I took a few courses in colour theory while in Art School so types of contrasting colour combinations come quite naturally to me. Pick whatever you like just try to limit it to one or two colours. Maybe you like yellow? Purple is it's opposite, highest contrast. Yellow and red would be hot colours, very vibrant, for example. Try putting some annuals together while you're at the greenhouse and see what you like. And lets try something new! There's more than lobelia and geraniums out there these days!!!

     This was one of my favourites from last year! When buying annuals for pots also consider location as in is this plant suited to a hot and sunny location, shaded, half sun? You may want to ask at your local greenhouse or pay close attention to those plant tags. This pot is for a partly sunny location, morning and late afternoon sun.

Remember that annuals in pots need to be watered at least once a day and fertilized every other week.

     A benefit of annuals in pots is they can be moved if there is hail or frost and you can rotate out one batch for another as the season goes. I usually start with pansies in April, move to a summer annual until September and finish with kale in the fall.

Cacti and Succulents for Northern Gardens

   As we have seen in California and many other places including Alberta, drought is an ever increasing possibility with so much demand on our fresh water. How can we help as gardeners? I think getting off the 1950's obsession with lawns and getting into drought tolerant plants in our gardens is a start. The City of Calgary promotes "Water Wise" gardening otherwise known as Xeriscaping, I call it fun with cacti and succulents!
     Above is one of the most common succulents in our area, Hen and Chicks Sempervivum. These low growing evergreens come in a huge variety of  colours and looks including the cobweb types. They grow in almost any soil but thrive in a well drained and hot location. If you want more simply pull out some of the "chicks" that surround the main rosette and plant in another location. I sometimes add them to an annual pot for soil coverage, who wants a bunch of bare dirt?

     Prickly Pear Cactus Opuntia sp. is a native of  Southern Alberta and Sasktchewan but please don't dig them out of the wild as they are increasingly available in the local nursery trade. Extremely easy and hardy to grow as long as they are in the hottest and sunniest location you have. My only suggestion is don't plant in an area where grass or weeds want to grow because it is nearly impossible to pull anything out near these extremely prickly characters, I always seem to get one dandelion that wants to grow as a companion to my cactus! From time to time the prickly pear will bloom one summer day, like most cactus it only lasts about a day in full sun, a bittersweet beauty.

      Yucca Filamentosa, it seems crazy that we can  grow something like this at this latitude but it's true! These Yuccas are extremely hardy and evergreen even with a minus 40 windchill and the leaves poking up thru the snow all winter. I spotted this one in my neighbourhood last year, they will bloom after a few years but the plant will die, however, most of the time they have basal shoots that regrow into new yuccas. As for all of these plant in a sunny and well drained area, once established no need to water of course!

     Yucca Glauca, Soapweed, is a native of extreme SE Alberta, so you know it is hardy and well adapted to dry conditions! I must have had this one for almost 10 years, I keep thinking it will bloom one year but it just seems to get bigger. No special care for this yucca either, just plant in a hot dry spot and stand back. The only advice I would give is give it plenty of room as they are like a little dagger, not for a high traffic area.

     The Sedums

     There are thousands of sedums in the world and many of them are popular in local horticulture. They come in groundcover forms as well as upright and sizeable perennials. Sedums are super easy to grow in almost any conditions but also thrive in

hot dry poor soil too! These succulents are also easy to propagate by snipping off a few stems and pushing into new soil, they will root in a short time, even the tall Autumn Joy varieties can be rooted by snipping off a stem and pushing it into the ground wherever you want a new plant. There are many shapes and sizes of sedums and they are readily available so try a few in your garden, you won't be disappointed.

     So if you have a hot southern exposure like against a building or close to a sidewalk, instead of fighting the elements consider some cacti and succulents, they will excel! Pick some other xeriscape plants as companions such as sages, ornamental grasses and heat loving perennial flowers and you will have interest in the garden year round. Here is my arid garden blooming well into the fall.

Crab Apple Time!!!

It's that time of year again, one of my favourites, so fleeting, the few weeks in May when the Crab Apples bloom. For myself, it's a reminder of my years in Vancouver, although, keep in mind many of the blooms they enjoy on the coast are cherry trees and these are of course Apple trees.

I love walking through my old neighbourhood at this time of year to marvel at the blooms, by the time a Crab Apple reaches 30 or more years old I think they become a public service, enjoyment for all including the bees!

For once I don't have a lot of special advice for these trees, obviously they do very well in our climate and throughout the prairies, avoid too wet a location and ensure plenty of sun. Crab Apples come in Pink, Red, and White flowering, and all kinds of forms, Rounded, Columnar, Weeping, Arching. Just pick a variety you like and plant in a good location.

This one was planted only a few years ago and excels in this south facing yard.

I believe this  is the cultivar  'Royalty' a substantial tree that blooms dark red and has burgundy leaves all summer.

Here's an aged yet beautiful white Crab Apple.

This makes one forget we live in an arid grassland with Siberian winters (most of the time!).

The Best Ornamental Shrubs For Calgary

     Shrubs are a great way to add interest, colour, or fragrance to any garden, they can be nestled into any drab corner are are often practically carefree. Here are some of my favourites for our zone 3 gardens.

Beauty Bush Kolkwitzia amabilis
     I got this on deep discount when I worked at a local greenhouse, not thinking it would even grow that well here, as I've never seen them before. To my surprise this selection from Proven Winners exceeds in my Calgary garden! It is one of the first to leaf out in the spring in bright chartreuse followed by delicate tubular flowers in June. The leaves are attractive all summer and in a warm enough fall turn a variety of pink to red shades. It seems to require no care and thrives in a pretty hot and dry spot with poor soil in my yard.

Weigela , Centennial
     I had read many years ago that the variety "Centennial" was the hardiest of the Wiegelas which is very true. Don't mess around with the little dwarf varieties I don't see them growing very successfully in our area. This Wiegela has been moved once and grows inbetween and under some other shrubs and still would like to grow over 6 feet tall! I always say it is very underused on the prairies, the only one I've ever seen was at the Calgary Zoo many years ago. Although it has a relatively short bloom time, the blooms are worth it, a large tubular red-pink flower that lasts a few weeks in June and July, I've read if you trim and fertilize them in midsummer they will rebloom. I find the leaves and plant  relatively attractive thru the summer, in the fall it turns a pale yellow.

Lilac, Tinkerbelle
     These little lilacs have gained in popularity over the last decade probably because they are all kinds of awesome! The variety Tinkerbelle is the one pictured here, there is also one called Little Kim which has larger leaves, similar in many ways but I prefer Tinkerbelle. This lilac has a nice compact and uniform shape, I trim off any long leaders in the summer to keep the shape round, this should take anyone around 5 minutes to do! After a couple of years this shrub really takes off, the flowers are profuse and fragrant like you want a lilac to be. After flowering I often trim off the old flower heads just for a tidy look, it's not necessary it just depends on what you like. In the fall these turn yellow-bronze and drop their leaves almost in a single day.

Boxwood, Green Velvet
     I planted this boxwood 15 years ago and it seems to do just fine in our zone. Perhaps you've seen this plant in Europe?, often used in formal knot gardens or as a high evergreen hedge. I don't think it will grow as large as the hedgerows in England but it will be evergreen! I see these more and more around the city so I'm glad Calgarians are taking a little risk once in a while! Just a few tips to grow a boxwood in Calgary; grow close to a heated building such as the foundation of your house, avoid winter sun and too dry a location, mine is on the North side of the house, ie; lots of snowcover all winter, I think an East facing exposure would be fine too, keep moist, they are evergreen and need help during our desiccating high winds, water well into the fall until freeze up.

Forsythia
     I spotted this one in my neighbourhood recently, I find Forsythia so cheerful in the early spring, often the first colour of the season. These shrubs are pretty easy to grow as a foundation planting, trimmed into a hedge or as a natural shape on a lawn. The main attraction happens in April however, so the rest of the year it is a demure green leafed shrub so plan accordingly, you may want to offset the greenery with some other flowering shrub or contrasting foliage.

Sumac, Tiger Eyes
     I gave one of these to a friend a few years ago and it did just fine in Calgary, seems to thrive in a hot location and even in poor soil too! There are a few at the Calgary Zoo planted against the Africa building. The long frond type leaves give a tropical look and are a yellow-chartreuse all summer, in the fall Tiger Eyes turns various shades of orange-red, after a few years the plant will produce the red cones all sumacs have which stay on thru the winter. Also, like all sumacs, after some years they produce suckers so either plant in an area where this won't bother you or the garden or just dig them out in the spring, hey, free sumacs! This variety will not grow very tall so is well suited to foundation plantings or small spaces, a very interesting and underused ornamental on the prairies.

Mock Orange, Philidelphus
     Apparently Mock Orange was very popular in the Mid-Century as there are many in my neighbourhood. Who knows why this plant was named for an orange? Orange flowers are white and the shrub has a pleasant almost orangey fragrance, either way they are terrific! Apparently there are many new cultivars with bigger flowers and smaller stature, like over 8 feet of fragrant white flowers are a problem? They must be pretty easy to grow as there are many on my street. Like many flowering shrubs these guys bloom on old wood so prune just after flowering, which is late May or June in Calgary. The dark green foliage is also attractive all summer.

Pine Tips, Keeping Pines Nice and Neat

     There's so much going on at this time of year it's hard to keep up with everything. With our early and hot spring this year everything is happening all at once, case in point, the pines need to be candled! If you have a mugho pine or a fancy bonsai pine and wish to keep it looking that way take this advice, this isn't needed for miniature pines just the bigger types. Around this time of year or more normally in May you will notice the long finger looking things emerging from the ends of the pine boughs, this is their new leaves and stems emerging. to keep pines bushy and curtailed a little in growth simply break off about 1/4 to 1/2 of the candle.

     I saw this technique on  TV many decades ago and later found out that in Tokyo there are thousands of City workers who have been doing this for hundreds of years for the many pines there. I usually wear gloves for this task as the sap is terrible, this was only for the magic of blogging. I also learned once, during a brief foray into bonsai, that this makes pines and conifers bushier by promoting more branches below the break. 

The candles easily break, in a few weeks the needles will emerge.

In a few years you will have a tidy looking pine. I got these over 10 years ago for 2 dollars!