The Summer of Gladiola Abundance 2018

July 2018 was glorious. My roses all looked spectacular.

Winnipeg Parks rose

Winnipeg Parks rose is a very hardy small rose bush that blooms early with big red/pink roses. It will sometimes even attempt a second blooming in late summer, depending on the weather. It is a zone 3 rose, so it's prairie hardy.

Winnipeg Parks rose- prairie hardy

Morden Centennial was the first rose to bloom in 2018

Morden Centennial rose was the first of my roses to bloom in 2018. It is easy to grow and always blooms twice per summer. Zone 3 Hardy to -35C but is always mulch it and wrap in burlap  for winter.

Morden Centennial always delightful

Over wintered bleeding heart with red flowers.

 I had planted a red flowering bleeding heart in my vegetable garden over winter and it has made a beautiful comeback. This is the plant that I gifted my daughter for Mother's Day last year but she had not completed her flower bed then so I kept it for the time being.

Pink perennial baby's breath, tiny but mighty beautiful! 

New Clematis for 2018 Negrit Janka

Clematis Negret Janka close up

I planted this clematis Negrit Janka (type C) on July 3/2018. It had lots of strong roots. Its located in the centre of the 2 trellises next to the house facing south east, but it only gets a moderate amount of sunlight here. (I bought it at Rona's in Red Deer) I hope this clematis Negrit Janka overwinters well.

Guaillardia- blanket flower, new one this year

 I love Guaillardias but they are a short living perennial in my flower beds. Maybe without mulch it might drop seeds more often and grow new babies when the old parent plant dies?

Siberian Iris 

 Ive had 2 Siberian Irises for a while but in 2018 they didn't do as well as usual.  Poosibly to dry.

Tiger lilies

 I love lilies and these Tiger Lilies are one of my favourites. they are relatively easy to grow and propagate, as long as the squirrels don't dig up the bulbs, that is!

Petuniasand citronella in deck pots, with tumbler tomatoes in background and curious Lilo kitty in foreground

Small Stone Crop Sedum never fails to bloom

Zuccini plants, rhubarb, spaghetti squashes, raised beds with lettuce, carrots, onions, red beets, dill, peas and beans.

Brandy and squirrel 

July 9/18 day lilies. 

Deck pot, coleus, white zonal geranium and blue lobelia

Glads

Glads blooming July 10

I started my glad bulbs in water in the house in April and then planted them into yogurt containers and moved them into the greenhouse. This was the summer of "Glad Abundance"  I bought a huge bag of glads, more than I really needed and I started 3 batches of them over the course of 3 weeks or so.  I had so many healthy glads that I gave them away to friends and neighbours when they were about 6 to 7 inches tall.

I planted most of mine out into my flower beds and had a few in deck pots as the centre piece. They all did so beautifully!  

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July 10, Julia Rose Peony 

This peony is such a beauty and smells so heavenly.

Pale pink peony transplanted from a too shady spot in the year into my triangle bed 2 years ago

My  pale pink peony has 7 or 8 blossoms now and it always looks so beautiful. I transplanted it 2 or 3 years ago from a bad location on our property and it loves where it is now, across from the Julia Rose peony. Pale pink always beats Julia Rose to bloom but not by much. My first peony is always my red Dominion day which is so gorgeous and hardy!  These 3 peonies got rid of my "Peony Planting Curse" :)

Maltese Cross

Maltese Crosses

Maltese cross is an easy to grow perennial. It is also long living and it attracts butterflies and, oh yes, Hummingbirds! :D

Red Poppies are my favourite Poppies

These are annual poppies but they seed themselves so prolifically that I have them growing and blooming every year now.

Quickfire hydrangea bush

I love this easy to grow, nonfussy hydrangea bush.  It gets long lasting, single petal blossoms which start out white, but in the fall they suddenly turn a fire colour.  Very striking!

Roman Candles Perennial- non fussy, easy to grow,  short but very pretty perennial.