Today’s photos are from Anne Price in Quebec. She says, “These are photos of my front yard garden from last June in Gatineau, Quebec. Many of them also include mine and my neighbours cars, temporary car shelters etc., but those are realities we live with!
“I am a librarian working for the Canadian federal government. Gatineau is just across the river from Ottawa, our capital, so many civil servants live in the area, which is not far from work for me. I have been gardening for about 18 years and this is my second house. The lot is quite wide as the house is a bungalow so it can be frustrating to try to get a real sense of how the garden elements work together as a whole. I have to walk across the street to see the front and judge whether my ideas are working or not. Of course no one walking by cares about this and simply views the garden close up, but I am trying to get the bigger picture.
“Now that the garden is about 5 and a half years old I have to make some decisions as to what to take out, what can and should stay. Overall I am pleased with the progress and looking forward to working with it as it matures. The yellow rose is ‘Agnes’, an early introduction from the Agriculture Canada rose breeding program. The smokebush is ‘Grace’ and behind that is ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple which survives even here without protection. I am not sure of the name of the lovely bright pink flowers so if anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it.
“The flowering crab is a bit too large for the lot but provides wonderful shade and gorgeous blooms in the spring and I have left an area of grass under it for sitting on hot summer days. Some of the plants and small trees have changed since these pictures were taken and I have more plans for the spring, of course. I am also doing a lot of work on the back yard but it isn’t as far along as the front so I didn’t include pictures. I am a Master Gardener in Training with the Ottawa/Carleton Master Gardeners in Ottawa, Ontario.”
Beautiful, Anne! I just want to lay down in that lounge share amongst all your plants and watch the world go by. I can’t wait to see what you do with the back yard. Keep sending us updates, please.
——–PLEASE HELP ME!! (DAY 3)——–
You guys have been SOOOOO supportive in the past couple of days! So many of you have commented and emailed, telling me I’ll be just fine up on that stage. Thank you!!
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Comments
another great Canadian garden spot! we have enjoyed them from the atlantic to the pacific and all are just great. that rose is spectacular and i learned of Zephirine drouhin from May . my checkbook is suffering collateral damage from this blog. great job, Anne
Love, Love your yellow climbing rose. I love hydrangeas and roses. Yellow roses are my favorite rose. You did a wonderful job with your front yard garden.The seating under the tree almost make it a secret garden. Beautiful
Your yard exudes that you love what you do! I am imagining that you have a lot of lingering passerbys on your sidewalk. Some wonderful plants you have... and that rose is amazing! Will want to see "before and after" photos of your back yard creations!
I love everything you grow Anne! The overall design looks beautiful as well. The pink flower in the last two pictures (by the smoke bush) is Silene Dioica or common names: Red Campion or Catchfly. It seems to have a purple leaf from what I can tell so it may be "Purple Prince " variety.
That rose is exquisite!
tntreeman: I also planted a Zephrine Droughin this year! Mine was a freebie from a gardener who gave it away because she had too much shade for it(:) It is such an aggressive rose in the first year, that I think it wants to take over a whole bed for itself.
Good Morning Anne!
Lovely!,,,, it reminds me of my yard,,,and I would think soon you will have no grass!,,, it looks great from across the street,, I too do the same, one needs to get that view!,, and it does not matter what others think,, so long as you love it!!
I have been trying for the last 45 minutes to locate that pink flower for you, and the only thing that I come up with, which it ' could ' be is Hesperis matronalis,, or Dames Rocket. I have one that I dug up out of northern Wisconsin,,, but the flowers are paler, near white. It resembles phlox. So ,, maybe?
That crabapple tree is gorgeous, I'd love to see it in bloom... if you feel it's too large a pole pruner can easily fix that. Those yellow roses sure look sweet. Anne, your front yard is looking good, has nice elevation too. Your Japanese maple is getting lost in that dark red background, I'd paint those panels to match your front door, a lighter color would brighten up the yard and show off your plants. Thank you, Anne.
i'm a big fan of front yard gardens! How great and so many plant treasures woven together to form a beautiful big picture and lots of vignettes. It's funny how your mind can block out the cars and civilization when you are in the garden, enjoying it. My guess for the pink flower was going to be silene dioica also. The dark leaves are so unusal. Thanks for the possible cultivar name, GardenersWK.
I think I stand corrected! I believe GardenersWK is right on the flower,, Lychnis Dioica,,, red champion!
It is so nice to have this wealth of knowledge here to draw from from everyone!!
Hi, Anne, it certainly doesn't seem like you are lacking plant material choices in spite what is probably your shorter growing season and cold winter temps. Obviously, you've made great choices as everything looks like it is thriving. Is your rose, "Agnes", one with a definite heavenly fragrance? If so, it must perfume the whole neighborhood . It is a breathtaking specimen. I, too, would love to see that crab apple in bloom. When the petals fall, it probably looks like a blizzard of pink snow...so magical!
What a lovely garden!! That yellow rose is so romantic. I bet your neighbors just love to see it all every day :)
I so love to see people enjoying the art of gardening. It is obvious that you are enbracing your creative side. Good for you. The rose plant is gorgeous! I will trust my fellow gardeners about the pink blooming plant as I have no idea. It is gorgeous. I'm sure your gardens will give you many years of pleasure, just as they are giving me now!
I so love to see people enjoying the art of gardening. It is obvious that you are enbracing your creative side. Good for you. The rose plant is gorgeous! I will trust my fellow gardeners about the pink blooming plant as I have no idea. It is gorgeous. I'm sure your gardens will give you many years of pleasure, just as they are giving me now!
Hi Anne,
I love your composition. Your cotinus, barberry, and maple tie your garden to your house. Also I like the diversity you have. You must have planted one big guy of a hosta, there is a lot of space around him. Happy holidays.
If you got all these great plants in the front yard, what must be in the back? I love the look of all the neat little edger plants along the sidewalk. They create a nice tapestry. I will also join the I love the yellow rose choir. Is it fussy? Either way it is splendid.
Lovely! And nice cozy feel to your front yard garden, Anne.
Great curb-appeal! And yes, the yellow rose is amazing.
I thank you for the beauty that shined for you and your lucky neighbors this last June!
..and, Michelle- I'm sure without a doubt, you will do just
fine in your presentation! Come to think of it- how wonderful this will be to entice many of the audience to join in/or sign up to provide new posts and add to this fun-filled and great blog!! :)
I love the yellow rose and the combination of the smoke bush and the Silene Dioica. I'm an ignoramus, but what is the somewhat spiky, antler-like underplanting for the rose? (4th shot down on left). While I'm awed and amazed by some of the quite expansive, featured gardens I see here, I love seeing what (one gardening friend calls) "normal people" do in their gardens, especially in the setting of suburbs, which can be really difficult - all those other people and their stuff! I also am continually amazed at the wonderful ideas we can get from any gardener's creative stewardship of the land. Great job, Anne!
Anne, can you tell us what zone you're in? I know that Ottawa is warmer than we are here in Z5 (southern Maine) and like many others I'm envious of your "Agnes." Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for the comments, suggestions, compliments and information! I do really enjoy this garden and will send pics of the back in the spring. I agree that the pink flower is Silene Dioica purple prince - photos online look just like it. and yes the Agnes rose is very fragrant as it is a rugosa hybrid. The neighbours seem to love it in spite of the fact that it is right beside the sidewalk and a few thorny branches loom over now and again but I am quick with the pruners.
Well good morning once again all gardeners! Anne, you have a wonderful place. I would be so proud to live in your neighborhood! I would definitely stop by to meet you! Well I must say that I haven't seen such a big and beautiful flowering crab like yours! I am sure it is a showstopper in the spring! The rose is stunning! I can smell it through the site! I do love the little pink flower but I have no idea what it is. I would love to have one! Iam glad you can grow things up there where you live. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't grow much where I live. I know you will have a lot of fun when finishing your back yard. Please send us more next year! Happy Holidays!
What a wonderful front yard---I know your neighbors must love to stroll by and check out the newest additions. Have you spurred any of them toward similar efforts? I love front yards filled with all sorts of varied plants all put together in an interesting array. And you've shown great restraint by not planting underneath the crabapple. i can just imagine lying in that lounge chair and looking up through all those beautiful pink blossoms toward the spring time sky.
Lovely front garden Anne with lots of interest throughout the year! A great view for you and your neighbours to enjoy. Your eyes would skip over the cars and other things to seek out the beauty instead.
Your Agnes rose looks so happy, there is nothing so beautiful as a happy rose, and fragrance is icing on the cake! Certainly would love to see more photos, please keep sharing!
Jeff, I don't remember talking about Zepherine Drouhin, though that might be the name of one of my unidentified favourites. It certainly is one of the great ones.
may, i thought you had one at your place climbing on something. i learned about it from someone and you got the credit
Anne, your front yard gardens are beautiful... so filled with textures, shapes, sizes and colors. Lucky, lucky neighbors! I'd definitely be stopping by to focus on the different vignettes on a regular basis if I lived near-by.
I, too, have a front yard garden and my across the street neighbors are quite used to my standing in front of their house staring at my gardens on a very regular basis!
Anne,you've done a wonderful job on your front garden. Your cotinus "Grace," is gorgeous! I just put one in this last year and I can't wait until it attains some size. The color seems to accent everything else perfectly. Same with the crabapple foliage, and as others have said, there're a fairly easy tree to prune if it gets a little rambunctious.
wildthyme: I think I was the only "others" who mentioned pruning that crabapple tree. LOL This is the best pole pruner I've used, and very reasonably priced, all Fiskars gardening tools are first class:
http://www2.fiskars.com/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Products/Tree-Pruners-and-Saws/Power-Lever-Extendable-Tree-Pruner-7-14#.UrHbVO-A1xA
Whenever pruning overhead don't forget to wear a hardhat; doesn't take much of a branch to puncture ones skull, called a widowmaker.
I'm looking forward to seeing Anne's back yard garden, I hope she plans for a big vegetable garden.
Jeff, I'm happy to take the credit for anything good! I would love to have a Zephirine Drouhin climbing on something in my garden. :) Can you just imagine what it would look like climbing up a crabapple tree!
This is probably way off but those pink flowers look just like what I have growing wild in my back yard, a shady place. I found a packet of the volunteers at a local market, and I think they look like "Talinum paniculatum", Jewels of Opar, because they have the green lettuce-like leaves at the base of the blooms. Packet from "Botanical Interests" company says they are easy to grow, annuals, but like I said, mine are repeat offenders in S.C., and I think that I will plant some more. In my heat the hostas don't like the humidity so much and don't get as big as yours in Quebec. When plants are concerned, we can't have it all!
What a charming setting Anne (2nd photo down on left). Your front garden is just beautiful and filled with so much interest. What a wonderful treat for your neighborhood and everyone who passes by. It really exudes 'Welcome'.
Thank you for the view.
to quinquek: we are in zone 5 Canadian which is probably considered 4 in the U.S. I seem to be able to grow what might be considered 'borderline' hardy plants here successfully though so maybe we have a little pocket in my area. I usually cover japanese maples other than the bloodgood but I have a redbud that I don't protect and it does very well. For the spiky plant growing beneath the rose, I imagine it's the globe thistle just transplanted last year.
Agnes looks very, very good. I love roses and that one looks terrific. Whole garden looks good. Thanks for sharing it.
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