Went to a Garden Party

Well, actually I didn't...I was one of the garden hosts for the Horticultural Society's annual garden tour. There were 7 garden in total, located from South Taylor to Charlie Lake, to Claremont Subdivision to in town.
We have had a fabulous summer so far, even with a late start, and the garden looked great.

I blocked off the front of the garden so no-one could park in front so that visitors could receive the full impact of the garden.  Many people commented on the wooly thyme that was growing over the curb.

This grass is in the "tea room".  Every spring I cut it down to nothing and it quickly grows to 5 feet.  It will probably grow another 18 inches this summer.

This area of the garden is where I have been able to successfully overwinter lavender.  Lavender is usually rated as Zone 5-we live in Zone 2b!

The garden is a feast for all senses--the roses are highly scented, salvia, thyme, lavender get your nose twitching (in a good way!)

Textures are also important.  The lambs ears were a real hit with the young visitors.  A little boy of about 2 spent 15 minutes stroking the velvety leaves while his parents toured the garden.

The ceramic lamb is "Winton", named after a small town in New Zealand.

Visitors toured both the front and back.  There were 200 tickets sold and I think that most people came to see our garden.

We actually had 4 spinner/weavers set up on the patio, part of a partnership between the Horticultural Society and Arts Council.

Greg did a lot of the behind the scenes work in preparation for the tour.  He painted the greenhouse, mowed and whippersnipped the lawn and helped tidy up.

He has been spending a lot of time on "his" garden.  Kinda obvious with the inukshuk and Canuck solar light.

We only have 2 inukshuks together this year.  The other one is a memorial to Mocha and is at the front of "her" garden.

This area is where the new raised beds will be built.  The old ones were about 18 years old, the wooden ties were rotten and the soil was so full of quack grass that we couldn't get a garden fork in it.  Pat Dressler came by with his little bobcat and took away the old beds.  He then came back and scraped away all the grass and levelled the area.

The allen blocks are just a temporary wall.  I used them in the front garden before the renovation and have been stored at friends for the past 6 years.  They didn't want them so they were returned home, just in time to use them to organize the back garden.

The Martha Washington that Mummy and Daddy bought when they were here at the end of May.

Around the patio are 2 small raised beds--one has a trellis for sweet peas.  I also planted evening scented stocks and allyssum.  The other bed is the temporary host for Greg's strawberries that were in the raised beds in the back.  I have also planted nicotiana, pansies and more allyssum .  Along the wall are 4 wooden boxes with pansies, basalm and lobelia, interspersed with ceramic pots of begonias, impatients and fuschias.  

Around Greg's windsock pole are 2 large square wooden planters and 2 ceramic pots.  The area is very colourful and sweetly scented.  I planted fewer containers this year (about a third less) and I like it.

I got rid of many containers but I did buy something new.  This is called "Tower of Flowers" and I ordered from Lee Valley Tools.  There is a piece of perforated PVC pipe down the centre so water can get to all the individual impatients.  It is filling in quite nicely.

This was the topic of conversation during the garden tour.  When I was weeding the garden in May, I noticed an unusual plant was growing on the corner of the bed by the front door.  I didn't recognize it but it looked interesting so I let it grow.  It reached about 3 feet tall and soon simple yellow flowers appeared--they looked a bit like a daisy.  The seed pods were the next stage.   I asked many people who stopped by if they knew what the mystery plant was.  Someone took a photo and posted it on the internet.  Unfortunately she moved on to another garden so I didn't hear the results.  Another person went home to get her book of Medicinal and non-medicinal plants of the the Rocky Mountains.  That confirmed the general consensus--it's a weed.  Ah well, it's a very attractive weed.  Then, the bad news...it's a noxious weed and must be pulled up.  

I haven't done that yet but I am cutting off the seed heads as they appear and putting them in the garbage.  The seed pods are soft--it's like patting a kitten.

I really enjoyed having people visit my garden.  It was hot but I had a parasol so that helped.  After the tour wrapped up, I had a shower, Greg brought in take-out for supper and I was in bed by 8:30!