Welcome to the garden Grant!! :D
With a name like yours I have to ask what varieties of Cannas do you have growing in your garden?
Welcome CannaAskForMore
Have you been lurking? Noticed you signed up in April. Welcome to DG and DGC. Maybe you have just been too busy gardening to talk to us.
Welcome Grant.
edited to ask if this is Guildwood Grant? I mean how many Grants can there be in Metropolitan Toronto anyway?? lol
This message was edited Sep 29, 2004 4:37 PM
Thank you for the very warm (is it still warm in Moose Jaw?) welcome Lilypon! Yes it is true I do have a serious issue with cannas and do have a bit of a collection. I would list them all for you but I would be doing a quite a bit of typing. If you spend any time on GW, I have most of my list posted there under my first name.
Hi Liz! Yes this is the Grant of the Guildwood. Good to bump into you again! Actually Jagonjune I was trying to lurk for a while but I could only see the first message in each thread and it was driving me crazy. So I paid my dues and now I can actually see all the posts. It seemed like their was a fair bit of Canadian activity on the site so I thought I should check it out. Different dynamic from GW. People here seem a lot more outgoing and lot less formal. I never had a welcome thread started on my behalf before either - oh well, so much for lurking!
TTYAL,
Grant
I have no first hand experience with GW but from what I have gleaned from posts I think I would constantly have foot in mouth disease on that forum. Dave's is just perfect for this gregarious slightly crazy but equally committed (do I see the guys in white jackets) group of Canuck Canardiners.
echoes
Oct 02, 2004
Welcome to DG, Grant. Glad you're not just lurking anymore. Try to bring some of your friends over too. Tell them what they're missing.
echoes
See? There is apparently only one Grant in the Toronto area.
Grant, as a canna afficionado, you might want to search Abutilon here. She's Alice from Karchesky Cannas.
Glad you joined us.
Lynn, Canardiners? Love it! lol
Nice to meet you Grant! :D It's getting a wee bit chilly at nights here now (first hard frost in town was last night)....ice is on the pond and the neighborhood's flowers were looking pretty sad today. What is it like in Toronto?
I'll have to take a peek at the *other* garden site and look at your collection. Please tell me tho' a few of your favorites that would do well in a pond.
edited to add Grant's trade list: http://members.gardenweb.com/members/exch/grant
This message was edited Oct 1, 2004 11:15 PM
Lilypon, the weather here has been pretty good except for the last 2 nights. But I think it may be time to start bringing in the tropicals. I haven't noticed any frost yet, but a few of the more tender plants seem to have been affected by the cold.
Actually speaking of ponds I am currently working on putting in a bigger pond. I better hurry before it gets too cold. Should have it all complete this week. I will try to post some pics of the finished product.
Re favorites, I am not sure if you meant plants for the pond in general or cannas in particular. I have a smaller raised pond with a bit of an asian feel to it. Due to its small size and asian influence I try to keep it simple with just few splashes of color. I usually use some grasses, taro, or horsetail at the back with other submerged plants in the foreground (yellow heart, water lilies). If you are looking for canna recommendations, I have to say I haven't tried it but I think most would do fine in the pond once temps are warm and the cannas have grown a bit. There are specific water cannas but I think most cannas will do well as an aquatic marginal when the temps are warm. In larger natural looking ponds I love to see yellow flag iris blooming. If I had a larger inground I would be inclined go with more of a Balinese styling with lotus, water lilies, other tropical plantings surrounding the pond.
I think you may have to Grant...I noticed the arctic cold front, that we've been having the pleasure of, is headed your way.
Thank you for the information regarding the Cannas....I've had mainly the water Cannas in my ponds, as well as Stuttgart, but wasn't sure about the others.
Your pond sounds lovely......one of these years I will have to look at theme planting. :)
This message was edited Oct 4, 2004 10:54 AM
Speaking of cannaskfor more. Have just pulled my canna tubers. Any one know how long a dormancy they need before I start them again??
Grant I was just looking at the different Cannas in the Plant Database and I hope you have some pictures of your new releases you can post for us to drool over........I've got my bib ready!
Lynn when I've noticed mine starting to grow again I've brought them up from the basement and put them in front of a bright sunny window.
This message was edited Oct 9, 2004 8:42 PM
Hi Grant, I just saw this thread.....A big welcome to DG! Glad you decided to take the plunge. I'm looking forward to your pond photos, or even the work in progress. Don't worry if it looks a mess...no expectation of tidiness here! LOL Hope you're having a great Thanksgiving weekend.
Shannon
Hi Ceedub, welcome to the neighborhood! I live close to the Scarborough/Pickering border and made the move in 2000 from the Yonge/Eglinton area. It has worked out pretty good so far, however I won't be staying for long as I have sold my house and will be moving to Maple in November.
Jagonjune, actually I am not sure if cannas really need a dormant period at all. I think the dormancy period is an adaptation that allows them to survive in their native tropical/semi-tropical areas that experience a dry and rainy season - although this process allows them to adapt nicely to our climate also. But if they were growing all season long in a greenhouse and had a nice plant servant to water and feed them I think they would keep growing and flowering dependant on light levels. I would prefer mine to stay dormant until March/April but often they startup earlier than that -it is just unfortunate when they grow too leggy and need to be cut back.
Lilypon, I don't think I have any cannas that are so rare that they haven't made it into the plant database yet. However, I probably have a few decent photos of different cannas and other plants that I can post. This is a pic of Snow Dragon which was hybridized by Donnie Hallman. The canna behind this is Australia.
Grant
Hi Shannon, I don't have any pictures of my new pond but I can show you a picture of the old one that it is replacing. The old pond was 150 gallons with an in pond biofilter and was approximately 4 (L) x 2 (W) x 2.5 (D) feet. What I really liked about the old pond was that although it was newly build (and clad in pine) it had an aged look to it that it matched my patio table (Indoneasian hardwood). The new pond will be roughly 600 gallons and is 6 (L) x 3.5 (W) x 4 (D) feet. Instead of the in-pond bio this pond will have a bottom drain to an external filter. It is almost complete but I still need to find a couple of bulkhead fittings to be used for overflow and electrical accesss for lighting, and the container and media for the external bio filter. I am a little nervous about cutting into the liner, however if all goes as planned It will be great . I will likely look into getting a couple of colorful koi in the spring.
Grant
But yours will be new and different to what we are used to seeing and, *most importantly*, they will be available here! :D
This message was edited Oct 13, 2004 4:34 PM
Grant, the old pond looks great! Very nice Asian influence. Thanks for that pic.
Good luck with cutting into the liner....as my carpenter DH would say, 'measure twice, cut once'...lol
Grant, you can find out your new hardiness zone at this website.
http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/climate/hardiness/intro.html
Hello Cannaaskfomore!
I thought that is thread title...
I like your name
Hi Grant: A belated welcome. Actually Liz sent me your Website awhile ago, when I found the Xanthosoma. I grow only Journey's End, Tropicanna--which I use as you would a patterned rug or sofa, to play colour off of (or off of which to play colour) but I am not fond of the flower. Mine are a very brassy orange. I often just eliminate them. A couple of Dark leafed unnamed pink and gold ones. Stuttgart is in the pond and very happy. Has grown like mad and very few crispy brown edges. Love it! I guess I should dry him down and bring him into the garage for winter. SAD
Enjoy Dave's. I'm sure you'll find the format and the tone much easier, and as jagonjune has already informed you--We are all a tad "odd" which is what we love about each other.
Thanks Yumiko, I was trying to think of a user name and I thought I would take a little creative licence with my Scottish ancestry and my interest in a rather lovely plant. Picture Scottie on the bridge of the Enterprise and you will get the idea!
Is Yumiko your first name or does it mean something else?
Grant
Thanks Shannon, I have the same motto as your DH but don't always follow it. :~) I was a little concerned about cutting the liner but I came across a small 2" bottom drain that was reasonably priced at Clarke Koi. This will make the job much easier and less worrysome.
Hi Sunrise. I know what you mean - I hate bringing in my plants. Things just start to look really great and then it is time to pack up. Ya tropicanna is great! Do you have any photos of it in a combination? I added a pic of mine below from the start of the summer. I think all cannas look great but I really like the variegated ones. It is fun to punch it up and play off the colors.
Here is another pic of a combination that worked out pretty well with pretoria.
What is the lime green grass in with the tropicanna? BTW I really like your pond Grant...we have a similar one here but not finished off. Seeing yours makes me think I should do something about that.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you Pam, it is Bowles Golden Carex. I had to go out and actually check the tag on this one. :~) The cool thing about this grass is that it is a perennial down to zone 5.
PS.
New pond is almost ready for water. Will be update with pics shortly.
Cheers,
Grant
:D A fellow ponder.......with pics to boot! :D
Thanks for the name Grant.......both the Carex and the Black Mondo will definitely have to find a place in my garden. Wonder if overwintering in the fridge would work?
Can they be found in BC??? (before I get my hopes up)
Pam, this year I am trying a new overwintering technique. Put the grasses and patio roses in the back of the truck before it went to its winter storage area. I'll still be able to check on them occasionally and add water if necessary. Don't know if it will work or not.
Pam, they're quite easy to find here.
:D
Pam all the perennials are available from the beginning of March, the annuals and more tenders start to come in the end of March, beginning of April. Like clockwork. lol.
Liz if they have the Carex and Mondo I'll be happy!
You'll find them everywhere. I can divide mine and send them over if I can't make it.
BTW, my surgery is December 1st so hopefully I'll be there.
Im in Texas but had to stop in to say I love your name CannaAskForMore.
very original.
Welcome to Daves.
Sandy
Thanks for the complemtent Sandy, and now for some pond pictures.
The pond holds approx 625 gallons and the dimentions of the pond are 6' (L) x 3.5' (W) x 4' (D). For anyone who is interested I will post more details regarding the construction in the pond forum.
Before Pic
This was actually a picture of the alocasia in the foreground but does show a fair bit of the pond escavation after it was completed. Or almost completed as I had some minor digging to do in order to fit and level the framing for the pond.
After Pic
Well there is still a bit of work to do but at least it looks a little more like a pond and fortunately holds water. I think the fish like it after being cramped in their previous 150 gallon pond. I wish it was still summer so I could enjoy it more. What remains to be done is siding the pond with either wood or cultured stone and making it look a little more finished. I also need to construct the out-of-pond bio filter that will keep the water nice and clean. Water will flow back into the pond via the bamboo fountain which will be positioned at the back in the middle if it fits or alternately in the middle of the side where it is currently positioned.
Fish Pic
Wow what a difference a few gallons make. I thought my goldfish were fairly large in the old pond but they suddenly look really insignifigant in the new pond. I don't want to overload the pond but I think might have room to add a couple of really nice koi in the summer. Keeping fingers crossed! The sound of the flowing water is really relaxing. Landscaping wise I am planning on flanking the pond with a black bamboo and alocasia odora on either side and also 2 pots at the front with a small lotus of some type. The back of the pond will have some type of grassy plants resting on a pvc plant shelf that I wil make in the summer along with a water lily at the front. The back of the pond also has two access holes for electrical connections and water overflow so I will likely add a couple of lights for night time enjoyment.
Grant
Looks great, Grant, and it's going to be gorgeous when you're done. Thanks for sharing your photos. We hope to see lots more as your pond reaches completion. :D