In Our Garden

At last, some photos taken in the gardens of our new home in early June...I need to do an update already!

Calgary sits in a cold, arid gardening zone (Zone 2-3), so sadly, our gardens lag behind those in much of the rest of Canada and other warmer climates. Our peonies haven't bloomed yet, while in some parts of the country, they're already past their prime! However, we are a hardy and optimistic lot, us desert gardeners, so in Calgary, we wait. And we savour our precious blooms, which change and grow every day but seem o-so-slow unfurling.... Containers of impatiens, verbena, dahlias, alyssum, and such on the front steps (above).
The shade garden (above) in our back yard, full of ferns and hostas, wonderful sweet woodruff (which has since filled the bed), and a little Japanese pagoda we inherited. We rested Davey's antique gate against the fence and placed a low-slung pot of geraniums in the crook of the mayday tree (back).
My three herb containers (above) with a cedar box in the background, which is full of coniferous shrubs and an ornamental caragana. We planted heather in the cedar box this year. My herb garden is luscious with lemon balm, basil, rosemary, chives, humble parsley, and several varieties of thyme, my favorite herb.
One of two new columbines (above) I planted this year. If it survives the winter, it will spread into new stalks, which will climb the fence alongside the original.
Pots on a window ledge (above) containing the ubiquitous geranium, and bacopa (the little white flowers), which remind me of wild strawberry flowers.

The cedar box, again, plus my precious herbs. The little cymbal-playing cupid/muse was inherited from the previous owners whose tastes ran to the traditional. Note the solar lanterns we have scattered throughout the beds, to add a moonlit glow at night.
Hydrangeas starting to fill out (they will get very tall), plus lamium (purple nettle), I think...
Containers in the front yard, where we have a "dry river bed" rock garden feature. The spikey purple flowers are salvia, which I love. There are also pansies and crysanthemums and stuff that wasn't yet in bloom since the pots had just been planted.

Another pot of snapdragons and osteospermum (sp?) under our crabapple tree in the front yard. The neighbours dogs like to run around here. A cotoneaster hedge sits in the background...