Monday, May 28, 2012

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 
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9 comments:

  1. Darling Nella,

    What a great tour, indeed! We have had the most incredible rain showers for about a week straight that has given birth to some lovely new blooms. Our boxwood gardens in the front and back are just lush with neon green leaves and today as I stayed home from school, I was just able to enjoy the song of the birds, walking out to chat with the neighbor who is planting a boulevard garden and just enjoying my neighbor's peonies. Shade or sun, the garden is the place where my heart soars.....SENDING YOU MUCH love, Anita

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  2. Nella, you live in one of the prettiest places in Ontario. But it is the magic of the mixture of plantings and elements that you have put in your garden, that make it a wonderland.
    The plantings are soft and elegant, the kind that whisper an invitation to come and wander. I love your garden!

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  3. absolute bliss!!!! Nella your garden is so gorgeous!

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  4. Soooo pretty. Those peonies are gorgeous. Ours bloomed for only maybe a week. I wonder why they bloom so short. It's a shame. They are soo gorgeous.

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  5. GOOD MORNING NELLA! Or rather, buongiorno!!!

    Oh how nice it is to see your lovely comment ma belle! Were you born in ROME? I know you are of Italian descent and oh what a culture...I so loved my time there and Ruben and I just gobbled up all the beauty and flavor!

    I am looking forward to so much; our Paris party where I know many people will show their own talents in art, writing or just have fun and share some inspirational photos. Last year it was so fun to just visit everyone and get to know new blogs. ENJOY YOURSELF and have a SPLENDID DAY! Anita

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  6. Magnifique !!!!
    I love your garden ... I dream to have one like it a day ...

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  7. Your garden is really beautiful, I wish that mine looked half as good. I do have the Duchess of Edinburgh just coming into flower though, she grows with Rosa Comte de Chambord who currently has just one flower bud showing colour, lots of buds to come though.

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  8. I missed this post & am so glad I came back and found it. I looked and read through it very slowly taking it all in. Your garden is a dream. How beautiful!! I would say you are lucky-- but I know too well the labor & creativity that brought it to this point. So instead I'll say, "Congratulations!" for creating such a beautiful landscape. It is really wonderful!

    Keri

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  9. Oh, oh.....the capricious Chinese peonies! So well described!

    Wonderful post!
    k

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Thank you for visiting my blog..... I love to hear from you and appreciate every comment received! N.xo