Gardening for nature, walks with my dogs and the books I’m reading.

MarkD said:
Another walk in the garden this morning after rain last night. Starting in the back garden.

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Then in the side garden.

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What a paradise! Beautiful photos and so tranquil. Loved it!
 

Sliverfox said:
So nice to see your garden & what's in bloom.

April weather has been miserable for my daffodils.
Their blooms are hanging low due to the cold weather.
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Strange weather here too. Starts to warm up and go dry one day and the next we have an arctic cold front coming our way with cold rain. I don't know which may succumb but I won't feel too singled out if I lose a thing or two.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
You have the most beautiful home garden I’ve ever seen. Your hard work has definitely paid off 🌸
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Thanks PPatty. It is a lot of work now as I get older but it used to just feel like a pleasant itch to scratch to do another project in the garden.

Being in perpetual lockdown it is nice to be able to share it with you all.
 

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MarkD said:
Thanks PPatty. It is a lot of work now as I get older but it used to just feel like a pleasant itch to scratch to do another project in the garden.

Being in perpetual lockdown it is nice to be able to share it with you all.
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Are you still in perpetual lockdown or were you talking about before now? Maybe your garden is what keeps you healthy and striving in life. You should be proud.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Are you still in perpetual lockdown or were you talking about before now? Maybe your garden is what keeps you healthy and striving in life. You should be proud.
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We are because Lia’s fragile health. She has Pure Autonomic Failure which suppresses her immune response and very low kidney function which limits what drugs she could take if she caught Covid. The infectious disease doctor has told her she simply mustn’t get it and as her most likely vector, i mustn’t either. So we always have masks and put them on anytime we shop or go to an appointment. Outside we put them on if there are a lot people near around us. Sucks.
 
I often overshare photos of the garden in April. Sorry if it gets to be too much. I went around the garden in some nice light taking these this morning while Lia finished getting ready for our walk. Me and my giant fennel friend which Lia shot just before we left.

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The Clematis which did so well for me last year looks good again this year but mostly out of sight because I pruned too much of it in front.

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Ember earned her kibble as a garden ornament this morning.

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Your spring clematis looks gorgeous Mark.
I miss all the clematis I had at our old house. Actually I miss our entire property. It had 24 years of gardening efforts. What are the yellows flowers next to your dog? Are those lilies. There’s some bluish green foliage but I think that’ another type of plant. Your garden looks magical at any season.
 
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PeppermintPatty said:
Your spring clematis looks gorgeous Mark.
I miss all the clematis I had at our old house. Actually I miss our entire property. It had 24 years of gardening efforts. What are the yellows flowers next to your dog? Are those lilies. There’s some bluish green foliage but I think that’ another type of plant. Your garden looks magical at any season.
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Those yellow flowers are Freesias and very fragrant though I also grow a smaller white version with yellow streaks that have the most amazing scent. They’re not as showy and grow so low that when you walk by you naturally look around for something more notoriously great smelling.

This is the description from the nursery where I got them: Freesia alba - Buy Online at Annie's Annuals
 
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PeppermintPatty said:
Your spring clematis looks gorgeous Mark.
I miss all the clematis I had at our old house. Actually I miss our entire property. It had 24 years of gardening efforts. What are the yellows flowers next to your dog? Are those lilies. There’s some bluish green foliage but I think that’ another type of plant. Your garden looks magical at any season.
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I get the feeling that you have been heavily into gardens at one time. Were you a designer, propagator or manager of some kind?
 
MarkD said:
Those yellow flowers are Freesias and very fragrant though I also grow a smaller white version with yellow streaks that have the most amazing scent. They’re not as showy and grow so low that when you walk by you naturally look around for something more notoriously great smelling.

This is the description from the nursery where I got them: Freesia alba - Buy Online at Annie's Annuals
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Freesia is nice. I think it comes in pinks and purples too. It’s nice having scented flowers in the garden so every time you walk by you get a whiff. I’m on my phone so my view isn’t as big as my iPhone.
MarkD said:
I get the feeling that you have been heavily into gardens at one time. Were you a designer, propagator or manager of some kind?
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At our last house, we bought a forest acre with 100 acres of preserved land behind us.
For 24 years I gardened and had flowers everywhere. We had a deck front and back plus 400 feet of 6 foot fences which I took advantage of. At one point in time I had about 35 different varieties of clematis and ivy grow where we had brick walls. I enjoyed many climbing vines. The ground here is far too rocky and so I have a lot of potted plants. Most perennials don’t last through the winter.
I wasn’t any type of manager but WAS heavily into gardening. I took care of all the landscaping at our last house and enjoyed it immensely. I miss our last house a lot.
I was a professional cannabis grower for a number of years. I had a license to grow for others and I liked it but it also caused others to break into our house and steal from us. :(
 
I liked the light this morning and took photos before we left for our walk. The first two are in the side garden where roses will be popping soon.

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Then just inside the back garden looking past the fountain followed by Lobelia aguana against our back wall. .

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Then the pond where I'm trying out a portable bench in a possible location followed by the Mauve colored Geranium maderense.

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Coming around the back side of the pond looking at the birches in the corner and then Dombeya burgessiae.

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PeppermintPatty said:
Your garden is truly magical. I love the dew on the orange flowers. Is the a water fountain in the 3rd picture? Do you use your phone camera?
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Yes I don't have any other camera now except my phone. It does okay I think.

The water fountain is made up of a large navy blue ceramic urn (with a hole in the bottom for a pipe) which sits on a ceramic base with a hole coming out its side for a flexible tubing from the pump. I worked fine for a long time having been fashioned by a Japanese crew at a pottery place. But when it failed I wasn't about to try and do what they had done which required real skill. Instead I plumbed all the pipe and hose fittings together, permanently joining the vase to the base, which means if it ever needs redoing again someone stronger than I will have to lift out of there. I had help from a friend who lifts weights when I set it in there.
 
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Lots of rain early this morning. Different light.

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The next two are details taken in that large circular raised bed in the last photo where a lot of cool little things live.

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Around the pond:

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Tomorrow morning we'll have 15 of us seniors here for tea in the garden. The clean up in the garden and set up for tables is about finished. Now I just need to pick up ice and a cake and then drop off Ember at the doggy hotel for daycare tomorrow before coming home to put together a dish for the gathering: Kinpiri Gobo and sushi rice rolled up like little sushi/burritos. Here is a short video I just took in the garden yesterday:

https://flic.kr/p/2pLhPX6
 


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