Hi GPODers! Today we’re getting an update from a frequent GPOD contributor, Alice Fleurkens in Ontario.

This is Alice again, from Sweaburg, Ontario. Here are some recent pictures of my garden.

To get up to speed on Alice’s gorgeous garden, check out some of her previous submissions: Good Friends Make a Great Garden, Alice’s Front Garden in Canada, Summer in Ontario, and September in Alice’s Garden.

This clematis was given to me by a friend. It does not seem to have issues like clematis wilt etc. I did not cut this down in the spring and don’t really know if I should or not, but it seems to be thriving for now. Any advice on that would be appreciated. (Hi Alice, we have an article on clematis pruning that might be helpful for you, but I’m also curious if any readers have advice to give in the comments.)

This morning when I saw the view out of one of the bedroom windows, I thought I should take a picture of the view we never see because we are on a hill.

This mugo pine (Pinus mugo, Zones 2–8) has a lot of the brown things on it (don’t know what they are). It sprays clouds of pollen when I trim it. There is another one of the same tree in the garden that is only green and does not get those things. (Hi Alice, sounds like you’ve got both a male and a female pine on your hands. The one pictured must be male; males form cones at the base of new growth that produce pollen. Females have seed-bearing cones that form at the tip of new growth and are the more recognizable pinecone structure.)

I have been collecting crystals and blown-glass balls over the years and have hung them on two old metal hanging baskets. (Hi again, Alice—just popping in to say, “Stunning!”)

A small garden under the blue spruce (Picea pungens, Zones 2–7) that we wanted to keep but was too big, so we trimmed the bottom over the years. We have lite balls and a fern hanging on the bottom branches.

One year we had so many aphids on our lupins that I got rid of them all. Eventually I saw the odd one coming up. After three or four years I let them stay, and they look nice. If they get aphids again, though, they will be gone.

Another clematis (I believe the variety ‘Nelly Moser’ [Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’, Zones 4–11]) is not doing so well but is coming along slowly. Should I cut it down in the fall or not?

This homemade birdbath is now in the front garden. (I’m absolutely obsessed by your garden art, Alice!)

The iris did well this year because we removed a messy cedar from the front garden, enabling it to get more light and water.

My sister-in-law Ria brought some tulips from Holland. We planted them together, and the frilly edges really surprised me. The heuchera in the background was a piece gifted by a friend. Heucheras do very well in the sun. I multiplied them, and now there are quite a few waiting to grow because they are so low maintenance, which is what I need now.

It’s a bit of a mess, but the daffodils and tulips are lovely.

These tulips are amazing and are among the ones that Ria brought.

Alice asked for an ID on this plant, and I’m pretty sure it’s a ‘Cheerfulness’ double daffodil (Narcissus ‘Cheerfulness’, Zones 2–9).

Thanks so much for the update, Alice! It’s always a treat to see what’s growing in your garden.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

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