Laking Gardens, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington

A few of us from the garden club went to the Laking Iris and Peony gardens at the RBG.  I had read that on Tues evening that there was classical music in the gardens. However it was in Hendrie Garden that night and we were music -less.  Nevertheless, and in spite of all the rain we have had,  the garden was still beautiful. The peonies were still in bloom and many beautiful irises were open. They have a beautiful perennial garden on the entry to the iris and peony bed.  These photos are courtesy of Sophie Matta.

 The veronicas were just gorgeous colours of blues and purples and really brightened the garden.  The geraniums (or cranesbills) were working their magic as well. The pink blossoms of the pink penny were dispersed throughout the garden.  The goatsbeard was in full bloom and shooting up 7 feet next to the fence.  It really is a wonderful plant for a large open space.  I saw rue planted here one year and went back and planted it in my garden.  I have two kinds planted next to each other the smaller one tucked under the larger. You can make out the thin stalks of the unopened rue blossoms towering over the fence. The smaller one has finished blooming and the panticles have gone to seed. I am allergic to this plant and wear gloves up to my elbows whenever I need to trim or touch it.  But it certainly makes a statement in the garden!

Roses

I don't think roses live up to their reputation of being difficult in the garden.  Okay, we are shortly about to enter the period when you have to hand pick the Japanese beetles off the roses, but I have just spent a month picking the red beetles off lilies and squishing the egg sacs -yuk!
 This David Austin rose, named Abraham Darby, is just so beautiful. It is listed as an apricot yellow rose.  It is a colour I love.  I had it in the front garden for years and it never amounted to anything, so I moved it to the back last year and it just loves the new spot.  This is the bouquet I picked this morning.  The yellow edges and stamens in the pink petals are just lovely. This is what I think of as an English garden rose, even the name evokes England.  Surely everyone has room for at least one rose?

Garden Club Gardens

We visited Jennifer's garden today and it certainly was lovely.  It lived up to the billing, it was beautiful and tranquil.  She had many different areas in her garden, the hosta walk, the rose garden, the spilling urn and the front garden with her beautiful boxwood hedge and her Japanese maple.  Here is a picture of her urn which Kathleen requested.

Beauties of Nature

This buttePublish Postrfly was posing on the flower when I was in the Brueckner Gardens.  I just thought I'd share.

Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens

The Rhodo gardens in Port Credit have started to mature and they really are beautiful now. The setting by the lake is really special too.  I wanted to get down and see them before the rain washed the blossoms away.  There are some wonderful colours in the blossoms.  The small leafed rhodos, like PJM, have already bloomed, but there were some beauties still in bloom.  There are some bushes with extremely large leaves. I was at a pruning workshop where the expert advised that the smaller the leaves the easier rhodos are to grow.  I'm successful with PJM's, but not as much with Nova Zembla with its striking red flowers. I purchased a very large Catawbiense Boursault this year, Its beautiful violet flowers brightened my front garden all May.  I hope it survives!  All around me neighbours have beautiful rhodos, I can't believe that I can't grow them.  I do have a large and healthy PJM which blooms faithfully every year, so keep trying other plants, but I think my soil is more limey than I think.

The Rhodo garden is nestled in the shade under large trees and the path into the garden is a wall of colour.

There are many interesting shade plants along the path such as solomon's seal and large leafed hostas. Most of the azaleas have finished blooming, don't miss this opportunity to see the garden while it is in bloom.

A plant you have to love

Look at how the sun magnifies the drops of dew on the finely serrated leaves of the Lady's mantle.  It is just like a necklace of jewels in the sun.  This is one plant you grow for the leaves.  The flowers are large yellowy plumes that appear in late June, but many people don't like them and cut them off.  This plant plums up quickly in the garden and is a reliable grower.  I recommend it to all gardeners. It can be divided easily and will grow in sun or shade.  This one is a foundation plant in the shady garden.

The star of Jerusalem is a plant you don't often see in the garden.  Here it is paired with a small leafed hosta.  The bright green grass-like leaves of the star of Jerusalem appear well before the hosta emerges from its winter sleep.  Then when its leaves are starting to turn yellow and die back, the flower emerges. Paired with a hosta the flowers poke up through the leaves and show off to great effect.  The yellow leaves of the star of Jerusalem which are lying exhausted on the soil, are hidden by by the newly emerged hosta and the plant continues to put on a show.

A new bleeding Heart plant

I know I haven't been blogging. I have been much too busy in everyone's garden.  Getting gardens tidied and organized is such satisfying work!  Gardens look so pretty after being tidied and tamed.  I went to the Toronto  Botanical Garden rock garden sale and I just have to show you what I bought. Yes that is a $15. price tag next to it!  I know..., but plants are my weakness! This is a new variety of bleeding heart.  I've only seen pictures of the flower on the bleeding heart and we all know that the reality often does not match the picture, but even the foliage is wonderful on this one.  It is a ghostly grey that gleams in the garden.  It is supposed to like sun, and I just don't have much to spare in my garden, so it is in dappled shade.  I will let you know how it does.

This is the second year for the lime coloured leaves of the bleeding heart and when it popped up  in the garden this year it just stood out from day one. It was well worth the investment!