autumn in our garden

Welcome!

We have had a spring/summer filled with muscle aching

back breaking good times! Lots of boulder moving,

hole digging, pallet reusing kind of fun.

ok, maybe not that much fun, 

but extremely satisfying.

Drought or no drought it all seems to be filling

in nicely. Now that it is a little quieter around 

our place, I thought I would show you what

we've been up to.

First, let me say that all of the pictures that I had taken of 

the process of building our waterfall and creek 

have been misplaced.  As soon as I have them back in order

I will show you the steps we took to build it. 

So, we will start in the other corner...my view from the living room.

This is the back right side of my garden. A private little corner.

With a wonderful resting spot. My grandfather would

sand and protected this bench every spring.  Its been a very long time

 since its been protected, this winter it will receive some serious tlc.  

It is so relaxing to sit and enjoy the birds

 bathing and playing in the water fall.

I did however, do a little bit of a switcheroo here...

I needed to create an easier access to one of our bird feeders

without disturbing any of my plants.

First I dug up most of the perennials and sat them in the shade.

I then, laid down a few flat rocks we had left over from our
cottage pathway to create better access to the feeder.  Once I was happy
 with the stones, I replanted the perennials.  Now, they can get settled in and GROW!

There it is, the hidden bird feeder...way back in the corner.

Most of the plantings in this corner, actually through out

our garden, are from end of season sales.

When I bring these poor little neglected plants home

they spend the first year just holding on...but the next

year is usually when they thank me!

Its a great way to stretch the garden budget.   

This corner 3 years ago.

  

And NOW

The two pictures above are the lower garden last summer.

This was another winter/spring project.

 Labour intense, but so very worth it.

We built these raised beds out of pallets we tore apart.

I stained them with interior stain so they didn't have any

harmful chemicals that may effect the produce. We  marked

a circle out on the lawn  then removed 

the grass and added wood chips so we wont have to mow around

all those corners.  

Ofcourse, it is a work in progress, but it was

exciting to hop out here and pick fresh veggies

for our meals.  Herbs, veg and some fruit.

At this moment it is messy and overgrown,and I already know

of a few things I am going to change up however...

worth every splinter building them!

I used pots, tubs and baskets to 'soften' the edges and try to create

a cottage feel....another plus for the wood chips.

In behind the veggies I planted some raspberry canes,

I am going to have to observe them next summer and see if they like

the amount of sun/shade they'll get.

To the right of this picture above, you can see the leaves 

of the Dwarf Cortland Apple Tree we planted. 

Such a sweet pot, but WAY too small for our strawberry

appetite! I am going to allocate a full bed to these guys! 

 Our new Cortland Apple Tree

Just a little guy right now, in about 3 years we should

get fruit.

A French Hollyhock

that I started from seed.

I am going to try add more next year. They have bloomed

continuously through out the summer.

This is a Hollyhock from a friend.

Had no idea what color it would be,

and it turned out to be such a perfect shade of pink!

As for the rest of the yard... 

our biggest project of the year...

This is the corner to the right of the waterfall.

Amur maple, loving the autumn colours.

Under the maple, a little toads house.

Not sure what's been eating my Hostas....

but once a toad moves in I'm sure the holes will disappear.

This corner isn't really how I had envisioned it.

I am sure I will do a little revamping next summer.

My absolute, hands down, most favorite part of the garden.

My waterfall creek.

If you are thinking about a water feature...

YOU MUST DO IT!

The sound of the water, the birds that visit, the energy it brings to

the yard.  It is incredible!

It has completely transformed our garden.

It is now our sanctuary.

And lastly, I have planted a few more bulbs around the garden again.

Allium Gladiator, Assorted Allium, Tulipa Alicante, 

and some Leucojum.

I took pictures to document where they've been planted.

For the last couple of years I have continually added to

my spring bulbs, but with all the moving and digging I do 

in the garden you would never know.

So I must continue to plant.

Have a wonderful day,

and 

Thanks for visiting!