A Shade Palette

The blooms which I am enjoying in the garden at the moment, are primarily from the flowering shrubs and trees which predominate here, growing in the shade of the Carolinian forest surrounding us on the Niagara escarpment....

The Chinese peony,Chojwaku...is the tempermental princess in early Spring...

....she reigns over the garden for a very fleeting moment, it seems..... 

....here today, gone tomorrow, depending on the weather, humidity and rains and wind being her capricious instigation for what she will do next....

.....as soon as the roseum elegans rhododendrons, which border the woodland gardens appear, she disappears....

....at about the same time the Pink Cloud kolkwitzia tree and the white flowering deutzia shrubs bloom for a substantially longer period of time, adding to the soft, lavender and pink and white colour palette....

....you can see the roof of the carriage house peaking over the pale pink blossoms.....

....a misty morning view of the south border, with the laden down rhododendrons in full bloom.....

....I long for more options here, but the garden has a mind of its own, and I nudge it along, gently.....

...a singular rose bud, from the New Dawn on the arbour, just beginning to bud....

.....the peonies are still showing great promise....with the intense heat today, they should be blooming in all their glory very soon....

...the pale pink flowers of a wigelia given to me by my Mom, is always a steady performer here in the garden... 

....a section of the back stone steps as you round a hidden corner of the garden, laden with blossoms....
and ivy growing among the crevices in the rockery....

....the Duchesse of Edinburg clematis, just beginning to show off....

....more peony promise!

....I am often asked if I have help in the garden.....the "muscle men", as I call Joe and his crew, look after all the heavy grass cutting, trimming and leaf collection in early Spring and the massive fall clean up....
I spend every minute in the garden I can, tending the beds, terrace pots and border gardens, making it my mantra to fuss and pamper the plant material we have spent so much time and energy to cultivate and encourage to grow, and be happy here! There is always something to do.....but I don't consider it work...
I linger in the garden at dusk, the light filtering through the trees is magical then....

...all growing in the shade of a hardwood forest....more roses planted this Spring....which I shall post about soon....and the peonies....
in the meantime...content with what the shade endowes  us.....
.....a short garden tour for my very appreciated blogging friends...

N.xo