Todays Word... Tradescant

Tradescantia navicularis

In a Word... Manfreda

A spotted form of Manfreda, a relative of the Agaves.

Agave Theatre

Agave Theatre.
Looking diagonally at top shelf.



Newly acquired Agave species.



The view coming up from the second floor.


I finally have completed a long planned summer home for my Agave, it's situated on the deck leading off the third floor of my house.
It's a perfect place for them as it has long days of bright light throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall, except that previously, they were scattered about on various make-shift shelves, tables and benches and I need a place where I could gather them together.
The solution was a shelving arrangement inspired by the 'theatres' built for Primula auricula. I think the result is very pleasing, and now that they are all displayed in one place it has created a surprising amount of space for sitting and sunning and enjoying a drink in the cool of the evening, I may even be able to sleep out there on hot summer nights.

Clematis Seedling

Clematis Seedling


In an earlier post I mentioned how envious I was at the fact that every time I admired a fellow gardeners Clematis, they inevitably would say "Oh that's just one of my seedlings". How wonderful, I thought, to find an accidental cross of species or cultivar in ones own garden and for it to be worthy of growing on. Well last week I was delighted to do just that, it was high up on top of the fence and past its best by the time I had a chance to photograph it, but here it is; I think that one of it's parents may be a blue form of C. patens that blooms late in August, it certainly has the form of C. patens but in this case it's pink. I hope it will bloom again this Fall and this time I can catch it as it opens and will be able to fully evaluate its garden worthiness.

Summer Detail

Aureum, Aurea and Aureous

Abies koreana 'Aurea'



Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'



Berberis 'Molner'



Chamaecyparis lutea



Pelargonium 'Charity'



Hosta 'May'


In June of this year I went on a bit of a shopping spree at Whistling Gardens; a sort of birthday present to myself, is how I described the purchase of four trees, Abies koreana 'Aurea', Acer campestre 'Carnival', Catalpa bignonioides ' Aurea' and Ulmus hollandica 'Aurea'.
You will notice a lot of Aurea in those names and it wasn't until I got back home that I wondered if I'd gone a little overboard on the golds. I already have Cotinus "Golden Spirit' and Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' as well as many golden leaved perennials, but I figured that since this is a city garden I am hardly creating a naturalistic landscape and feel there is still room for a little more fanciful artifice. Having decided this, I am hoping to incorporate them into my garden as part of what I am beginning to call "The Big Edit of 2010" starting in the Autumn.
I know that my fellow Ontario garden blogger Teza is also very fond of this colour, and Deborah of Kilbourne Grove also has a soft spot for Aurea, especially in the form of Hakonechloa. I wonder if there is something about the quality of light in this part of the world that makes the aureous leaved plant so irresistible?

Flower: Geranium 'Ann Folkard'. Leaf: Rubus idaeus 'Aureus'