raiding

I raided my best friend Fiona's garden for some pass-along plants to put into my own garden. Lamb's ears, yarrow, iris, rose campion (Lychnis coronaria), mint, campanula, sage...now to find time to extend the flower beds and pop them in...

on the side of hope

Here's a project that addresses the state of the world with an optimistic attitude vs a defeatist one.

race day

in my friend Fiona's garden, after the race

Graduation race day. Most of our 10 km clinic gang from the Whitby Running Room entered the Ajax Along the Lake Race that went off today! They even had a 1 km race for elementary school age kids -- who were so cute! Awwwww...

Kinda steamy day, cloudy with the odd sprinkle of rain, about 22 degrees C., then a cool breeze in your face (aaaah!) on the return after the 7.5 km turn-around point. The route is along the lovely waterfront trail in Ajax.

So here's me, high as a kite on endorphins and on the fact that I came in 2nd in my age group of women (pooh pooh all you want that it was a narrow field to compete against; I'm ga-ga over myself!) and have the fancy medal and everything to prove it! I even beat my personal best by a bit over 3 minutes!

new beginnings

So! The deal was, if the supers didn't think it would mean more work for them, my landlord is okay with me putting in a garden on the grounds of our wee apartment building. Tee hee hee! As the supers detest mowing the lawn almost as much as I detest lawns, everybody will eventually be very happy, right? (that is if I had endless energy and money to totally replace the boring and unnatural monoculture of lawn as I'd like to!)

As you can see, it's a monstrosity of a building for someone who has been accustomed to thinking about gardening in front of much more modest houses until now. Whatever can I plant -- no, that's not the problem! Endless possibilities, aren't there, but the real question is: what can I afford to plant that will make any impact at all -- generous pass-along plants from my gardening friends not withstanding???

A completely delightful passtime, lately, has been mulling over the possibilities...This is a south-facing facade...

In the meantime, here's what I've done.

Rosa 'Fairy Tale', a pink floribunda

Heuchera americana 'Dale's Strain'

Geranium vivace 'Rozanne'

Miscanthus sinensis 'Dixieland'

Echinacea (?) a pass-along pink from my friend Irene

Lavendula angustifolia 'Munstead'

Thunbergia, black-eyed Susan vine

and then in the pots, Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor', deep yellow million bells, purple fountain grass, Sedum x 'Frosty Morn', Strobilanthes 'Persian Shield', and Verbena 'Lanai Peach'

I don't know how to be modest in my enjoyment of what I've done! It gives me a little thrill every time I come up my road towards my building and whenever I step out the front door, I'm pleased as anything all over again!