Sign of the Times

in other words.... don't be a litterbug.

Garden Again

Two of the gardens are owned by artists who have been featured on the local Artist Studio Tours.

This secluded garden and summer house are both decorated with the artist's creations of fabric garden art sculptures. Fairies, elves, gods and godesses, witches and wizards populate the flower beds and peep out from behind shrubs. They are made of all natural materials; cotton, bark, moss and wood. Most of these creations are no more than 18" high, but some are life size.

I didn't take a photo of the next garden, although I should have because it's so tiny and charming, or of the artist's studio which is in a late 1800s coach house where wagons and carriages were once built. However, this is her garden shed! I loved the colours.

And a village of little houses decorate the grounds, along with all sorts of whimsical objects scattered among the vegetables and flowers.

More to come.....

Gardens

Saturday dawned dull and grey with a threat of showers, but by noon the sun came out. A $20 ticket bought me a tour of 6 lovely gardens in the hamlet of Claremont, and a stop at the Claremont Masonic Hall for freshly baked scones, home made strawberry jam and a cuppa tea served in elegant bone china cups and saucers.
The gardens varied from grand and exquisitely manicured without a single blade of grass out of place, to small and humble and obviously a work of love.

This garden on a 2 acre lot featured a magnificent six tier waterfall and pond. Lots of mature trees, and at the top of the slope was a fire pit surrounded by comfy Muskoka chairs and a grassy labyrinth to walk around, which of course I did!

Across the road was an enormous house with a spectacular back garden. A large pool with a cabana surrounded by stone walkways, a flagstone outdoor living room, a pavilion, an outdoor bar with a huge flat screen TV (Blue Jays were playing!) and a fireplace with a roof, all beautifully landscaped..... everything you need to spend the summer outdoors, no need to go into the house at all! I didn't take any pictures, sorry, it was all a bit overwhelming and more like visiting an expensive resort and spa than somebody's private back yard. I prefer simpler living, but I certainly wouldn't say no to a swim in their beautiful pool! More gardens to come......

Pelargoniums

OK, Pelargonium is the fancy word for the plant generally known as a Geranium. A friend is the current president of the local Pelargonium Society and he can waffle on talk for hours about the various shapes, colours, scents and blossoms, but I know very little about them, other than they make a nice show of colour in the summer.

This bright scarlet red geranium came in a mixed hanging basket as a gift on Mother's Day. Most of the other flowers in the arrangement have finished now but the geraniums will keep blooming as long as I keep watering it. Or it rains.

This pink geranium was given to me as a small twig last September. I put it in water until it grew some roots, and then planted it in soil, talked to it nicely and sang it some encouraging geranium songs, gave it some nice nutritious plant food and now it's decorating my deck and covered with blooms and buds. The pink flowers are small, and never really open wide.

Citronella ... also known as Mosquito Plant Geranium. According to the internet, the mosquito plant geranium came about from taking specific genes of two other plants – Chinese citronella grass and African geranium. It gives off a lovely lemony scent when the leaves are brushed, and just look at those sweet little flowers. And I haven't seen many mosquitos buzzing around here recently.

Rhubarb and Beans

Living in a condo situation doesn't leave me much land for planting, but I make the best of it, although I'd love to have a big veggie garden. I planted two tiny baby rhubarbs at the end of May, and the constant rainy weather through May and June has really given them a good start. I tried to grow rhubarb last year but I planted it in a place that wasn't sunny enough and it failed. So perhaps I'll be making rhubarb pie next year, I hope so.

And another of my favourites is scarlet runner beans, often grown as a decorative red flower, but the young beans are delicious. Just top'n'tail them, cut off the strings, slice, and steam. The plants are climbing up the poles nicely, but the leaves look a bit dogeared, something is chewing on them. That's OK, as long as they leave the beans for me. I see the first red flower is starting.

Canada 150

Happy Canada Day! Canada is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Confederation today. The British North America Act provided for the unification of the Canadian provinces and created the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867.

Lots of celebrations are going on all over the country, the biggest being a huge party on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Here in my town we celebrate with our annual Strawberry Festival. I'll be there in the park later today, so perhaps some photos tomorrow.

Ghost Owl

The sap squeezing out of a wooden support on my deck is creating a perfect Ghost Owl. Pareidolia..... seeing faces in everyday objects. I don't usually see them, but I think I haven't been looking hard enough.