Green Thumb

Today I went to the garden centre...again!  Everyone has an addiction to something, and I think for me it's gardening.  I guess it could be worse.  Gardening really gives me gratification in many ways; I get to go outside; I get a bit lost in my putzing and it gives me a creative outlet that I don't get as much now that I don't do web design at work anymore.

When I lived on the acreage, I had a large space to fill, so gardening was different than I have now.  I decided to create a pond.  This was many years ago when ponds weren't really that popular and resources in how to construct them were few.  So I did a lot of trial and error.  I also never had equipment to move rocks, so everything was done the hard way.

I got rocks by driving down the road and picking them from the ditch.  One farmer saw me and told me I could pick all the rocks from his field for free!  He was laughing thinking I was crazy I think.  I got a lot of perennials from my grandma and dug some cattails from a local sloo.  So here is what it ended up looking like. 

I also had many koi in the pond and I would winter them every year.  Unfortunately one day a heron flew over and spotted the fish, came down and had a big dinner.  All my large fish...gone in one big gulp!

I had some other gardens as well, and learned alot from the acreage. 

When I moved into St. Albert, I now had a much smaller space to work with.  Yes, it is a pretty decent size lot by city standards, but seemed small.  There was some rocks and grass and some large trees in the back, but not a single flower on site.

Our front faces south and back is north, so now I had the challenge of growing in full sun, which i was used to, and also if shade, which was new to me.

I started by building some raised beds around the perimeter of the back yard so I would have some planting areas.  I planted some trees to soften the side fence area.  Don't get me wrong, we have nice neighbors but I don't want to look in their yard all the time.  I prefer privacy and greenery, so trees were planted and curtains put up on the deck. 

Columnar Aspen trees are amazing.  They have gone from about 5' tall and skinny to prob 30 ft tall in a couple of summers.  They are great for privacy and don't take up much "horizontal" space in the backyard.

There are some really tall pine trees in the backyard, they are great but a challenge to grow things under.  So I created a shade garden.  Its a work in progress, but I added lots of soil and have been gradually adding more and more plants.  Shade is quite different as you don't get magnificent blooms, so you have to play more with foliage color.  I recently added a mirror to the wall on the fence to give some sparkle to that darker area.  This is only the second summer for this garden, but things are really taking off.  It is really low maintenance and will kind of be a more wild look.  I added a fountain and the birds are really liking it.  I also found some little glass shrooms to tuck in for interest.

In the front there was already rocks covering half the lawn.  Actually this isn't that bad as it saves on mowing and also helps to keep watering down to a minimum.  I planted lots of grasses and perennials in the rocks to soften it a bit, and used the front porch as an opportunity to put a few substantial containers and baskets.  I also got another rock fountain for the front.  It has a little container underneath it where the water circulates (it is actually a laundry basket).  One of the neighborhood kids seems to think it is a drinking fountain.  I saw her take a drink from it on a couple of occasions.

It is funny how I have done a lot, but my mind is always thinking of something new to do.  I want to cover the side of the garage with a vine and do a bit more with the new trellis.  I guess some day when I work at holes : )  I will have lots of knowledge to draw from.

So, that is what keeps me busy a lot of the time.  Actually its not all that hard to maintain, and I love creating new spaces.  I like the garden to feel like a bit of a sanctuary for us and any wildlife we are lucky enough to get.