Gardens

I'm not much of a gardener but I've been more interested in it since I started having to be a grown up and owning our own houses.  Our house here in Edmonton had a nasty looking front garden when we moved in, I wish I had pictures.  There was this awful low pine bush thing (I think it's a mung pine?) placed in an awkward spot and then there was a purple bush against the front window that the previous owners had mangled all up by improper pruning.  Brian cut the pine down and we tore out the bush and left it in the front for about a month and then the weeds took over and boy it looked terrible.  Embarrassing!  And of course with a newborn in the house we had no time or energy to do anything about it, until yesterday!  Both boys were sleeping yesterday afternoon and I finally got out there and did something about it! There's still more to do but for now, I'm happy and not embarrassed anymore!

Still a bit left to do but trust me, this is a thousand times better than it was!!!

Same thing, different angle.  You can see my reflection in the window holding baby!  lol

Farther away.

I've done a bit in the backyard too.  This year I have a water plant and a strawberry plant on the deck.  I had fish in the water plant but they all died.  I think it got too murky for them.  I'm going to try again with a beta fish and keep it a bit cleaner!

Can't wait for the strawberries to be ready!

Last summer when we moved in, Mom came out and put in the back garden for me and tidied up the shade garden.  The only bad thing was that we did this in August and chose flowers that were blooming at the time and so the garden was looking a little dreary!  I added a few more perennials that bloom earlier and a number of annuals and it looks a bit better.  But, then we had massive storms while we were gone in Calgary and more than half my new plants look like they drowned!  I hope they haven't but they look pathetic!  I think my poor sunflowers are dead though, very disappointing.  The storms also snapped my Delphiniums :(  Oh well, looks way better than it used to! 

Shade garden, don't look at the weeks against the fence, still have to get out there.

More shade garden.   Need to add a bit of mulch and clean up those weeds.

Back garden view 1 - the Grandma memorial side.  Grandma used to love growing her rose bushes and so I have put in 4 in her honour, also there is some lavender and random annuals and perennials whose names I forget.

Some of the flowers in the Grandma memorial side.

See how the storms have snapped my delphiniums and killed off the poor sunflowers :(

Back garden view 2 - the Nana memorial side.  My Nana had lots of Hydrangeas in her yard so this half of the garden is the memorial to her, 3 white hydrangeas and assorted other plants.  I threw some bee balm in there and marigolds and of course others I can't name.  The hydrangeas are just starting to get flowers now, they will look good in a few weeks!

Some of the plants on the Nana side.  I'm looking forward to all the clematis I planted taking over the dreadful fence the neighbours put up last year.