Monthly Archives: December 2018

A Year in the Garden: Part 3

December 31st, 2018 | 6 Comments »

This final post of 2018, written on the last day of the year, brings the garden at Glen Villa to a close — for now, at least.

August is high summer in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

The trail through the Joe Pye weed is luscious in August.
The trail through the Joe Pye weed is luscious in August, for bees and for pedestrians.

 

Insects make their presence known.

I'm not sure what flying creature this is, but I love the translucency of the wings.
I’m not sure what flying creature this is, but I love the translucency of the wings.

NOTE: Thanks to Mark A. for identifying this as a damselfly.

 

 

Roses bloom.
Roses re-bloom.

 

Chanterelles gleam in the woodland darkness.
Chanterelles gleam in the woodland darkness.

 

Near the house, a path leads up the hill and into the woods.

Petasites japnonica variegatus thrives in the shady woods.
Petasites japonicus variegatus thrives in the shady woods.

 

Canadian thistle blooms in sunny spots.
Canadian thistle blooms in sunny spots. Even though it is a pest of a plant, I like its form.

 

Autumn announces itself late in August.

Leaves in the Lower Garden are just beginning to change colour.
Leaves in the Lower Garden are just beginning to change colour.

 

It becomes more and more prominent as September progresses.

This tree is one of the first to change colour every year.
This little horse chestnut tree is one of the first to change colour every year.

 

Trees begin to change colour along the driveway.
Trees begin to change colour along the driveway.

 

Autumn colours is spectacular1
Autumn colours is spectacular.

 

I spent most of September in England, leading my final garden tour. But home again, October made its own strong statement.

Hydrangea's colour isn't spectacular but the dying form has its own appeal.
Hydrangea’s colour isn’t spectacular but the dying form has a delicate appeal.

 

The young buck is becoming a stag.
The young buck is becoming a stag.

 

Wild turkeys graze along the crabapple allée.

 

November is normally a boring month. This year, though, snow came early, giving the month an unexpected charm.

Snow caps the hawthorn trees by the road.
Snow caps the hawthorn trees by the road.

 

We spent lots of time constructing the temple façade, part of Timelines.

We started builing the façade in late October; work ended in early November with the first snowfall.
We started building the façade in late October; work ended in early November with the first snowfall.

 

A frosty morning coated all the trees with a gleam of ice.
A frosty morning coated all the trees with a gleam of ice.

 

Turkeys crossed the road -- who knows why!
Turkeys crossed the road — who knows why!

 

A wet heavy snow weighed down all the tree branches along the driveway.
A wet heavy snow weighed down all the tree branches along the driveway.

 

Finally, a look at what 2019 may bring -- sunbeams and glorious light.
Finally, a look at what 2019 may bring — sunbeams and glorious light.

 

May 2019 bring you happiness at home and in the garden.

Posted in Glen Villa, Miscellaneous, Plants | 6 Comments »

A Year in the Garden, Part 2

December 28th, 2018 | 6 Comments »
The meadows and fields at Glen Villa are white with snow in December, but in June and July, they are alive with colour. [caption id="attachment_7079" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] Lupins brighten meadows and fields in late June and early July.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_7092" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] Buttercups and dandelions colour a field yellow.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_7088" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] Ragged robin turns this field rosy pink.[/caption]   Closer to the house, colours appear in smaller doses. [caption id="attachment_7090" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] Hawthorn trees are a froth of white.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_7096" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] Old-fashioned day lilies

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Posted in Glen Villa, Miscellaneous, Plants | 6 Comments »

A Year in the Garden, Part 1

December 23rd, 2018 | 9 Comments »
On a surprisingly mild winter's day -- not at all typical for Quebec in December -- I'm remembering the garden at Glen Villa as it looked earlier this year. January brought lots of snow.   [caption id="attachment_7035" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] A stream coming down the hill marks an S-curve at the entry to Glen Villa.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_7036" align="aligncenter" width="4836"] The Crabapple Allée marches across the open field.[/caption]   February brought snow and gloomy skies. [caption id="attachment_7037" align="aligncenter" width="3456"] My sculpture Tree Rings honours the life of a maple tree that died

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Posted in Glen Villa, Plants | 9 Comments »

Topiary for the Holidays

December 14th, 2018 | 8 Comments »
Do Christmas trees qualify as topiary? We never think of them as such but they fit the definition -- the Oxford dictionary calls topiary the "art or practice of clipping shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes." And surely Christmas trees don't grow naturally into the perfect cones commonly seen but have been pruned and clipped to shape them.   [caption id="attachment_5888" align="aligncenter" width="2099"] This cone-shaped spruce tree is attached to the chimney stack at Glen Villa. It hangs right outside our front door.[/caption]   As a young gardener, I disliked topiary, thinking that it was a distortion

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Posted in Design, Miscellaneous, Plants, Quotations | 8 Comments »