The vine that ate the compost pile

Back in July, this pumpkin-like mystery vine started to grow on our compost pile. It has now covered it entirely, plus our leaf mold pile, and is moving onto the mulch pile. Makes a nice camouflage of our less than attractive heaps of stuff, doesn't it?

It grew for weeks before revealing what sort of fruit it's producing. Now we know: it's a small gourd. I used to grow these for fun, and to use as fall decorations. The gourds are all quite small, and I don't know if they'll ripen. I think that's because we have not had the kind of heat this summer that we normally have.

I don't mind, because I don't enjoy hot, muggy summers. This one has given me little to complain about, but I'll admit that many people don't share my point of view.


© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

A co-operative subject

On Sunday morning I finally got very lucky with a butterfly. This Monarch was extremely co-operative and let me shoot 30 pictures of it. It chose good flowers with reasonable backgrounds that were accessible for me with my tripod, and stayed on them for a good long time.

I find with photography that the more you're out there, the better luck you have. Of course, that means the key to success isn't really luck at all. To use a sports analogy, the more shots on goal, the better your chance of scoring. In practice, this means getting up early, something I don't like to do, but with other camera club members coming frequently I have managed to get into an early rising routine. Unlike them, I don't have to drive here, so I can't really complain. It's getting to bed early that I can't seem to do, so I burn the candle at both ends until I finally have to sleep in for a few mornings.

Here's another favorite shot from Sunday, meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis), a favorite butterfly flower. This is an image overlay done in the camera, combining a sharp exposure with a soft focus exposure.


© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

It's amazing how fast they grow

Barn swallow babies that is. This season, the swallows that built their nest in the garage part of our barn decided to have a second family. It's amazing how much they've grown in just six days.

I predict that they will start flying lessons tomorrow.* I sure hope they have time to get competent and grow stronger before the rigors of the migration south.

Scrawny little things on August 18th
Our babies today:
sleek little birds ready to leave the nest

*Note from Aug. 25: As predicted, they were out flying today.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

"It's the nature of the willow beast"

That's what the man from the tree service said about the big limb that tore off and got hung-up in the tree after Tuesday's thunderstorm.

I didn't notice the problem until after I had already mowed under the tree. Once I saw it, I made sure everybody steered clear of the tree until the tree service could deal with it. They got the job done this morning in 20 minutes.

Definitely not a do-it-yourself job
The power of men and equipment
© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Calling all vegetable gardeners

My tomato and garlic harvest last September
If you or someone you know is a star at growing veggies, you might be interested in a photo contest that Stokes Seeds announces in this email, which came across my desk this afternoon:

Across the gardening industry it has been noted that vegetable gardening has become extremely popular again. This is probably due to communities across North America, setting up "eat local" campaigns as well as the rising prices of fresh vegetables in our grocery stores.

This year Stokes Seeds plans to help new gardeners plan, plant and harvest their own fresh vegetables. We are asking you, our valued customers to help. We are in need of photos of vegetable gardens to accompany articles and possibly be featured on the front cover of our catalog. A photo of you working in your garden would also be of interest to us.

Stokes will award 4 of the best photos with a $25.00 gift certificate from Stokes. If your photo is chosen for our catalog cover, a $100.00 gift certificate will be awarded. Any photos used will include a photo credit with your name and the area you are from.

If you use a digital camera for your photo, please make sure it is set at the highest resolution for the best printing quality. Send in digital photos to jadam@stokeseeds.com.

Prints can be sent to:

Joan Adam
Stokes Seeds Ltd.
Box 10
St. Catharines ON L2N 3M5

Please make sure you include your name and address with your submissions.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

More rain today...

We had another thunderstorm this afternoon: half an inch. The lawn seems to need mowing every four days, which is astounding this time of year; in a normal season, the landscape is fried, waiting for September to bring relief.

Here's what the rock garden looked like very early this morning:

Mystic garden: 'Pink Diamond' Pee gee hydrangea -
a sure sign that autumn is just around the corner
© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Trimmed boxwood hedge: the finished product

We have now have trimmed the boxwoods, edged the lawn around the four-square garden, and renewed the mulch. It looks fabulous, but I'm exhausted, as I was the one working on the edging and mulch. I had a little help from the boxwood-trimming team at the end with the mulching. They're worn out too.

Now it's all crisp and sharp-looking for Saturday's open garden for members of the Ontario Rock Garden and Hardy Plant Society. I shall wear my garden hat, and play lady of the manor. That reminds me: I once had a garden helper, my friend Elisabeth, who used to call us Lord and Lady C. Do you suppose our boxwood hedge elevates us into such grand circles?

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Bloomday highlights this month

Well, so much is in bloom now, it's hard to choose. A lot of DYCs (damned yellow composites), as garden writer Wayne Winterowd likes to call them.

Here are some highlights of what is the most colorful time of the year in our garden:

The usual suspects: Two rudbeckias, 'Goldsturm', and in the background, Rudbeckia nitida 'Herbstsonne' (Autumn sun)
The meadow in the early morning dominated by Ratibida pinnata
A Ratibida closeup is always irresistible
Russian sage with Joe Pye weed and grasses
Joe Pye weed with Echinacea
Echinacea with painted lady butterfly
White turtlehead growing wild in a naturalized area by the creek

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Plant sculpture: experts at work

Our boxwood hedge with a section trimmed
On our 10 acres this summer, I'm taking care of all the maintenance myself with one main helper. It's a full-time job, actually. (In the spring we have three helpers because cutting down the ornamental grasses, cleaning-up from the winter, and moving or dividing plants is just too much to do ourselves.)

I have a couple of exceptions to the D-I-Y regime: one is pruning big trees, which a professional tree service does for us, and the other is pruning the boxwood hedge around my four-square garden.

Bob May: pruner extraordinaire
The master at that job is Bob May, a former gardener at Royal Botanical Gardens, who now runs his own business, which he calls the "Plant Sculptor". He's in such demand that although I called him in early June, he and his crew weren't able to get here until yesterday. He's so busy he can't take on any new clients so I'm glad I got in on the ground floor several years ago.

The key to precision is a string line and sharp shears
© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Something else likes all the moisture

More dewy ratibidas
What I didn't notice in the viewfinder
The wet weather is producing bigger slugs this season. Lots of tasty morsels for toads and birds, I guess.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener