North Western Ontario Gardens

Hi

Just curious as to whether anyone in the forum is from the North West of Ontario (Thunder Bay and area) and what plants .. in particular 'perennials' have done well for you.

We have success with Oriental Poppies, day lillies, varegated Hosta etc .. I am wanting to plant Lilly of the Valley .. have already failed twice. Also have had no success with Celmatis (3 times) .

Any info would be greatly appreciated .. :-)

~*M*~

Don't be too disheartened Marilynne. I failed with Lily of the Valley twice in zone 6a when I lived in London - in a 6b micro-climate. I finally succeeded in my new home in zone 5a. What did I do differently? I exercised a little more patience (not exactly my strong suit) :-) It took them two seasons to show foliage, and three to flower.

--Ginny

Thank you for the encouragement Ginny .. perhaps I will give it another go this year

Have GREAT hopes for the 2 wildflower gardens we developed last summer. The Hydro was cutting back (ditching) on our country road, after they had gone for the day I walked down and was greeted with huge mounds of dirt topped by Wild Phlox, Black Eyed susans, Violas .. and another dusty mauve kinda flower. I bootled back home, grabbed a bucket and shovel, dug them up(while furiously batting away mosquitos) and transplanted them around the house .. AND .. they took!! Here's hoping they'll come back :-)
You can barely see them in this pic( at the back) .. I bricked in the garden which has a Mugo Pine smack in the middle of it .. I had also already planted some pink and white Impatiens.

Again .. thanks :-)

~*M*~

You are quite welcome. I love what you are doing with your gardens. That squirrel is just too precious :-)

--Ginny

Hi Marilynne! The Ontario Rock Garden Society 2006 handbook lists three private gardens in Thunder Bay that may give you some inspiration.

First on the list is the Robert & Sharon Illingsworth Garden, in the R.R.7 area. It is described as a "large country garden with an amazing array of plants...woodland garden...rock garden". Phone 807 964-2265, e-mail illngwr@tbaytel.net. I have seen pictures of this garden, and it is spectacular.

The second garden belongs to Susan Jaward, of Farrand Street. Its description is a "suburban garden...mixed borders...alpine raised bed...species clematis...small pond...ornamental grasses...bog garden." Phone 807 344-1949, e-mail sjaward@tbaytel.net.

Third listed is Lada Malek's garden on Ray Blvd. It contains "an ecclectic collection of whatever survives our winters" and the owner has a fondness for gentians. Phone 907 344-0230, e-mail Lmalek@mail1.lakeheadu.ca.

Instructions for visiting all the gardens state "Please phone ahead".

Thanks everso for the info June. I know where these gardens are, but have yet to visit any when 'tour time' comes .. maybe this year I'll rethink that ..

~*M*~

Dmail me your address and I'll send you some lily of the valley for postage as soon as it thaws. I pull up and chuck out tons of it every year.
inanda

Well I'm not exactly west but I qualify for north. We inherited a flower garden when we moved here. I haven't identified everything but some of the things we do have are columbine (many varieties), tulips, daffodils, irises, peonies, daylillies, lilacs, phlox and what I think is monkshood. We also have lots of rhubarb and a gooseberry bush. I've had success with lily of the valley, hostas, golden glow and crocus but last winter (their first one here) was very mild so we'll see how they fare through this one.

There are others as well that I either can't think of at the moment or I just haven't identified yet. I have to say that I was quite surprised when I realised just how much will grow here.

I love this quiet spot which the town of Huntsville may buy from the trust. Nice selection of what grows well in this area. http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/1173280856/

Holy smokes, gillibean, you are WAY up north! James Bay. Where did you move there from? Interesting to note how many of the plants I love will grow in zone 2b.

Patti, it seems so romantic, doesn't it, to have your ashes atop that huge stone pillar. Lovely!

Sandy

Loved the Huntsville pics .. thanks for sharing them.

Our property has Lilac trees .. and Apple trees .. I kept 2 Delphiniums and 2 light pink Phlox .. Purple Irises do well as did Peonies (but I gave them away :-( ) I must have been having a bad day that day.
Tiger Lillies bloom with no problem as do Poppies ..

Every year I add 2 to 3 perennials .. Lupins which grow wild here .. don't seem to do all that well when purchased and planted .. lots of foliage .. NO flower.
Lavender .. shew .. whatever is wrong with it is a mystery .. well drained soil .. in the sun .. again .. foliage with perhaps 2 stringy sikes of Lavender ..

What seems to do admirably is Nasturtiums and Morning Glory planted from seed .. very prolific and the Hummies LOVE the Morning Glories ..

Have included a pic of the east side of the house .. can't see much but the Delphinium and Marigolds .. as well .. we planted Tomato plants on the east side of the property last year .. WOW .. what a great idea that was .. they were so prolific.

~*M*~

Wanted to add one more pic .. my all time FAVOURITE Annual are BEGONIAS :-)

Enjoy .. it's our cats hiding spot (at least last year) :-)

~*M*~

Sandy - I grew up in Bancroft and DH grew up in London (ON). We lived in Kitchener before we moved to Moose Factory. We were both very happy to leave. We've been here for almost 4 years now. We were lucky to inherit a flower garden with a lot in it. It hadn't been tended very well though so I've been spending my time trying to get some order to it as well as trying new things. A lot of my new plants have come from my mom's garden in Bancroft. I also tried veggies for the first time last year - will have to start earlier this year.

Ironically, we've been thinking of moving in the next couple of years and Thunder Bay keeps popping up here and there. This thread is just the latest in the "Thunder Bay would be a nice place to live" argument. Now if I could grow a magnolia tree there, it would win for sure. Marilynne, it's been so nice to see your gardens and hear about what you grow.

HAHAHAH Gillibean .. no Magnolia trees here that I am aware of .. lotsa Spruce and Pine though :-)

I won't go on about the benefits of living in TBay .. I'm way too biased even though I was born in Belfast Northern Ireland :-) Have lived in TBay since I was a baby though and I am now .. ummmmmmm .. lets just say older ..

Glad you have enjoyed my pics .. have many more but am not about to start posting'em .. I am everso fortunate to have a very best friend who is a landscaper .. her talented hands and hard work have taken our 4 cleared acres to the MOON and back .. and she daily regales me tales of what she plans to do next .. I say .. HAVE AT"ER :-)

~*M*~

I have a question .. (gosh when DON'T I have a question) :-)

I see that most everyone has been 'assigned' a Zone under their name .. but I don't have one .. have I to do something extra to see what my zone is .. or is it that my area is kinda tough to describe ??

Just curious

~*Marilynne*~

Marilynne re zone - you enter it yourself - go to My Info and look for My Location in the bar on the left =- thereis a spot in that screen to enter your zone.

Here's a link to the Canadian Plant Hardiness Zones map for you to look yours up if you are unsure what it is Marilynne. http://nlwis-snite1.agr.gc.ca/plant00/ Just click on the View by Province dropdown and choose Ontario to see it better.

Edited to add: On the right hand side of the page is a set of 4 tabs. Click on the Legend tab to see what the colour codes mean.

This message was edited Mar 18, 2007 11:02 AM

Thanks so much :-)

Have discovered I am Zone 3a ... .. thinkin I can remember that :-) Kinda curious as Calgary Alberta is also 3a?

~*M*~

Maybe because of the effect of the lake?

Yup .. Ol Lake Superior can make a ONE zone place .. a MANY zoned place .. and .. since we are approx 25 miles west of its shores .. we could be a whole different ball park out here ..


~*M*~

Well .. as I had mentioned (it seems eons ago) a new perennial bed is now done and awaiting final fillout ..

So far we have Callas, Delphinium and Phlox .. and I am up for suggestions ..

Will post a coupla pics .. the first is the sod removal before 4 yards of screened topsoil was added.

M :-)

This pic shows the placement for the Callas .. plus some big old Northern Ontario rocks that were placed as an accent .. the whole garden still has to be 'tied in' with some kind of brick or stone .. a work in progress for sure .. but .. the snows won't hit for at least 4 months :-)

M

Very nice Marilynne. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like once everything has filled out and is blooming for you.

--Ginny

Thanks Ginny :-)

Well .. we 'wussed out' on TOTAL perennials THIS year and filled in with annuals .. I did get a beautiful Mount Duckling Pink Lilly and a Rudbeckia though :-) The rest is a double ring of marigolds .. 6 or 7 Zinnias and some ornamental Millet and some HUGE Celosia (Gold) .. the cost for perennials right now is ASTRONOMICAL .. and .. since I want Silver Mound .. I am willing to wait ..

Here's a pic ..

~*M*~

Hi Marilynne, happy Canada Day! You've made a great start on your flowerbed. The annuals that are giving you colour can be interplanted or replaced with perennials later, which is what I have done in the past. Your flowerbed will soon fill up, and then you'll be digging up the next piece of lawn!

Well June .. today (in rainy conditions) we decided to put an accent garden around our Weeping Birch .. the catalyst for this was a 50% OFF sale at a local nursery .. we came home with 2 flats of very lovely varigated (red/white) Salvia .. and some flats of the tall wispy Marigolds in a nice deep gold colour .. the garden is outlined and we are about to start to remove the sod .. pics to follow :-)


~*M*~

Marilynne, forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but take care not to cut off the birch tree's roots when you are digging around it!

Hiya ..

We were careful re the roots .. the birch is 11yrs old so is well established altho it's NOT a big tree .. apparently I thought back 11yrs ago I was purchasing the 'full meal deal BIG tree' but this is considered a 'dwarf' ..

Am posting some pics of the job :-)

~*M*~

The first pic is my bud Lorna (she's a landscaper) taking away the sod ..


M

Next pic is topsoil on ..

Last pic :-) The finished garden :-)

~*M*~

Brilliant! I love the shape of the bed.

Thanks June .. Lorna has done both beds this year .. and as we have 4 acres of lawn to work with .. everytime she is walks it she says her brain is going 'tic, tic, tic' !!!

Weekends are usually a bevy activity here with pruning and cutting and dead heading and watering .. but .. she always finds time to do something to spruce up one area or another.
Her fulltime job is groundskeeper/gardner at a local cemetary .. now THAT place looks totally awesome and is up for a City of Thunder Bay Beautification Award .. she truly has an amazing talent with design and flowers ..

~*M*~

Whoa .. what can happen in a month with a garden :-)

I have QUESTIONS !!

First off .. the Cannas are coming into bloom Soooooooooooo slowly but .. I would imagine in another week they will be awesome (maybe 2).

Canna question now .. Do the bulbs ever go "I've had enough and I'm done" ? Just curious as I think some of the plants won't be producing a flower .. course .. maybe I'm just a bit impatient ..

Last question .. re Ornamental Millet .. gosh .. it looks so spectacular in the garden .. can I perhaps cut it back and bring it in for the winter ?

Am posting a few pics taken today .. compared to the ones above when the garden was made .. well .. all I can say is wow !!!

~*M*~

As you can see .. everything filled in nicely .. only lost ONE Zinnia ..


~*M*~

Hi Marilynne. Thanks for giving us an update on your gardens, and you're right - WOW!!

I can't answer your Canna question as this is my first year for Cannas, but the Ornamental Millet is easy to grow from seed. If I were you I would just collect some seed from them and start new plants indoors in the spring.

Looking very nice!

--Ginny

Hi Marilynne. Your gardens are looking great! As to the cannas no they will bloom eventually. Some just take longer than others, but once they start and assuming you are watering enough they will bloom right through to frost. I always have a lot of them- I use them in pots around the pool , and they are still going when everything else has petered out. Very similar to the big dahlias- late to bloom but put on abig show then to frost. I am also a zone3 in Sault Ste Marie, and I noticed that earlier you had a problem starting lily of the valley. It is very easy to grow and can be a bit invasive. I had dug out some for the S.S.M. hort society's annual sale and just haad it in a plastic bag with a little soil. Well, 1 of the 3 bags got knocked under the steps of the patio and I didn't notice it until much later, well it ended up there until the following spring and when I saw the green shoots coming out of the bag, I crawled under and got it --they were fine!!! Very hardy and tough. If you want to try more, let me know and I will send you some. If you want suggestions for other flowers- what about day lilies(hemerocallis), campanula, echinacea, monarda(bee balm) , coreopsis. These are just a few that I know will grow in your area. If you want more,let me know.
Sandra in the Sault

This message was edited Aug 6, 2007 1:15 AM

Hi Sandra ..

Thanks for your comments and suggestions ..

I am going to give Lilly of the Valley another go next spring .. as well .. I DID plant one Bee Bomb this past June .. so far all it has done is gotten tall and green .. everyday I do my 'mantra' beside it "Make a flower, Make a Flower ) LoL
Love your suggestion re DayLillies .. they are definitely on my "I need to get" list .. they certainly do VERY well here in TBay. My Purple Iris can be seperated and transferred as well .. maybe this fall, and I have a HUGE Phlox and a Delphinium that need to be looked after as well.
Never seems to end !! :-)

Again .. thanks

Marilynne