The garden on 17 May 2026

Winter began early last year, around the beginning of November, so there wasn't much chance to rake and bag leaves, or tidy up, or put away garden furniture, or do whatever else one does at the end of fall. Years ago a friend, who had an incredible garden, told me that he rakes the fall leaves onto his flower beds. Of course, gardeners tend to be neat people and don't like the look of last year's leaves the following spring; I never had a chance to rake and bag the leaves last fall although some leaves were onto the garden beds. Now, it's been a long and cool spring and the dead leaves are still there, and I've decided to let them decompose where they've fallen or been raked. It was a terrible winter, it was relentlessly cold, no January thaw and below average winter temperatures. Perhaps partly because of this leaf mulch the garden survived, although most of my lavender has died, other bushes are only half alive, including rose bushes. Most of my hostas survived but they are very slow in making an appearance even by mid-May, and some hostas are indeed slowly pushing through the bed of leaves. 

One last thing, after six or seven years of working on my Canadian cottage garden, it has finally become truly established and I doubt I need to buy many plants this year, I can just leave most of it as it is. The garden is established and it doesn't need my input as when I was planning this garden. Ideas for the garden come at unexpected time, for instance, when watching a mystery on TV or while watching Escape to the Country, or just out of thin air. Last year I decided to let part of the garden go "wild", not cut the grass there, just leave it; so, it's been from planning to abandoning (not interfering).The garden is an invitation to urban wildlife, birds, and insects, and any plant that wants to self-seed. It is an invitation to visit or live where they'll be left alone and admired. Like the rabbit who visited the other day or yesterday's visit by a cardinal and sparrow, both at the birdbath, and then a robin who had waited his turn before having a drink of clean water I'd left for them. Here are some photographs taken on May 17th; photos mostly of hostas that are pushing through last fall's leaves.

Garden in the morning

 

The Gardening Season

All winter we live with cold and snow and then April comes and things begin to change, some flowers begin to appear and tulips break through the ground. More happens in May, more flowers, more change, and life has returned to the garden. We've waited long enough for this and, still, it is slow. But you have to be patient to be a gardener, results are not instantaneous, they are slow, and the garden changes very slowly. It's years we're talking about, not days or months. And now, on the last day of June, the garden is still changing, the favourite lilacs are finished as are the peonies, and cone flowers, brown eyed susans, bee balm, and others are about to bloom. Some lavender has survived the winter and it is brave, it hangs on to life near a rose bush. Things are slow in our northern climate but even the climate is changing, we now have snails (many snails this rainy season) and these snails are new to us only in the last two or so years; otherwise, not much changes and what does change is slow. 

And then, last night, many fireflies in the dark night sky. What a magical sight!

Photos taken 30 June 2024.

Our cottage garden on 9 June 2024, after rain

In about a week or ten days this garden will be full of flowers, then the garden will turn from mostly green to an abundance of colourful flowers.

Growing hostas

It is not that I like hostas that much but they grow in the shade and this is a fairly shaded garden, that's why I have so many hostas. I have always regretted the lack of full sunlight on this garden; in fact, I've spent a fair amount of time regretting the lack of sunlight on this garden but I've also come to accept it and even think it is perfect the way it is. 

Hostas are easy to grow, they don't need much care (or any care), or any sunlight.