GARDENS BY THE BAY

North  Garden 2005

NORTH GARDEN


A line of cedars once ran from west to east along the north perimeter of a grassy area. Their boughs touched the ground and created a huge barrier blocking breezes off Georgian Bay. They also blocked a lovely view. So one day we decided to limb them up. Now we could see the view and enjoy cooler temperatures but removal of all the limbs had created a large area of rocky terrain in which weeds quickly sprouted once exposed to sunlight.

We made early attempts to plant shrubs and a few perennials in pockets among the rocks. These included one evergreen at the west end and, spaced out to the east, three boxwood shrubs and three cypress spreaders. No major gardening was attempted however until we built a garage in the spring of 2002. By then, time had taken its toll. We weren't as young as we once were, and we no longer had the energy to dig out more stones from the ground than we needed to use for other projects. So we simply dug trenches that meandered among the shrubs and evergreens already in place.

trenches among the rocks

We filled the trenches with good soil, and made a few areas deep enough to plant bulbs. We brought the front of the bed forward and repeated the raised edge theme of other beds. Our huge new North Bed now ran parallel to the south side of the new garage, separated from it by a wide walkway to our work area, compost bins and outhouse. Clearly visible in spring in the photograph above, this work area will soon be hidden from view by emerging plants. By the following summer, the difference was obvious. Oh, the wonder of perennials and Ornamental Grasses!

North Garden one year later

At the east end, this new garden joined up with the north end of the East Garden created a year earlier.

North Garden joining with East Garden

North Garden in late fall Ornamental Grasses in winter

Seen from the work area, the North Garden looked lush and full in late October, just before everything was cut back for the winter. Little over a month later, the sight was considerably different, with snow covering the ground and boughs of the trees and shrubs and with ornamental grasses holding their tan flowerheads high above.

We thought this would be our last expansion, but of course that is never the case in the gardening world. Our few Hosta plants sited in individual holes in the rocky ground needed room to expand as well, so we found ourselves doing additional work to help them perform even better. To follow our progress, follow the link to HOSTA GARDEN. Or follow any of the links further below for help and inspiration in your own gardening projects.


UPDATE 2006

The montage below contains images of the North Garden taken from different directions during various seasons in 2006.

North Garden montage - 2006


The image around this page is an edited version of a gorgeous, extremely popular daylily cultivar, 'Catherine Woodbury'.


All of our own Gardens By The Bay pages can be accessed by clicking on the links below.


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BOTANICAL LATIN - BASICS

COLOR THEORY

THE GARDENS

CORNER GARDEN CONSTRUCTION  |  CORNER GARDEN PLANTING  |  LONG GARDEN

EAST GARDEN  |  HOSTA GARDEN  |  NORTH GARDEN  |  WINTER GARDENS

PLANT PARTNERSHIPS

BLUE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Geranium  |  Iris - Vinca

BULBS    Allium - Hyacinthus  |  Narcissus only  |  Tulipa only  |  Minor Bulbs

BUTTERFLY MAGNETS    Anaphalis - Hemerocallis  |  Liatris - Veronicastrum
DAYLILIES      Spider & Unusual Form

EDGERS    Arabis - Iris  |  Nepeta - Veronica

FOLIAGE PERENNIALS     Alchemilla - Tanacetum

HOSTA    Hosta - all

HUMMINGBIRD-FRIENDLY PERENNIALS    Alcea - Salvia

ORANGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Tulipa

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES    Acorus - Imperata |  Miscanthus - Spodiopogon

PINK PERENNIALS    Achillea - Lilium  |  Lychnis - Veronica

PURPLE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Liatris  |  Polemonium - Veronica

RED PERENNIALS    Achillea - Veronica

SHADE PERENNIALS    Aegopodium - Erythronium  |  Ferns - Polemonium  |  Polygonatum - Vinca

SILVER FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Cerastium    |    Cornus - Limonium    |    Lunaria - Veronica

SIMPLY SPECIAL PERENNIALS    Acanthus - Saxifraga

WHITE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Iris  |  Kalimeris - Yucca

YELLOW PERENNIALS    Achillea - Hypericum  |  Inula - Verbascum

VARIEGATED-FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Acorus - Erythronium  |  Hakonechloa - Lysimachia  |  Miscanthus - Yucca

PLANT PROFILES

Dianthus 'Tiny Rubies'  |  Geranium  |  Geum coccineum  |  Kerria japonica  |  Knautia macedonica

Paeonia tenuifolia  |  Papaver somniferum  |  Rudbeckia  |  Salvia 'East Friesland'

Trollius  |  Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'

PROPAGATION

DIVISION - SPRING ONLY  |   DIVISION - FALL ONLY  |   DIVISION - SPRING OR FALL  |   DO NOT DIVIDE

FERTILIZATION

BULBS  |   ORNAMENTAL GRASSES  |   PERENNIALS  |   SHRUBS  |   VINES

LINKS

GARDENS  |   LOCAL GARDENS  |   BOTANICAL TERMINOLOGY

GARDENING BOOKS  |   NON-GARDENING


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