poplar road

Happy Canada Day! I can’t believe midsummer’s eve has passed and July begins on Friday. Where does the time go? Work has consumed us this spring, and June saw two weddings, involving reunions with friends on the Coast and family in the Interior. Since then every spare minute of mine has gone into my garden, and the work is starting to pay off, although when I think of things to accomplish before our next long weekend, only a month away, I’m overwhelmed. So I just step back and look. The main bed I’m featuring here is looking so stunning in magenta and chartreuse (a happy accident in some ways as I didn’t know what would bloom when with these new plants!) that I completely relax whenever I stop to look at it. So, in honour of our Canada Day long weekend (and happy Fourth to our American friends), here is my version of R & R, relaxation care of Mother Nature. Now if Mother Nature would just make the sun shine for the next 6 days in a row that I’m on vacation, I will happily enslave myself to her again starting next Wednesday! Cheers, everyone.

At left, by the way, is Canadian columbine, which the hummingbirds love just as much as I do. Great colour this year with our cloudy, wet spring weather, less sun to wash them out. (But I still want more sun, thanks!!)

Black iris after rain.

Flirty yellow iris with purple catmint.

In magenta - sea pinks and wild thyme.

Top tier of the same bed, creeping lamia.

Lily, rusted metal in background.

Roses thriving! It's all the rain, not my thumb.

The new bed, more recently.

This shy one loves catmint. Luckily, cats don't.