Gardening Zone 3b

This clematis is doing extremely well this season, chock-full of  large violet-blue hand-sized blooms. Besides the peonies, and some of the (overblown) German irises, the large-flowered clematis varieties are some of the few flowering plants that survive Zone 3b and still manage to provide a tropica

Of all the plants that grow in our garden, it is the humble and unpretentious Bigroot Geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum) that is the most appreciated. Working quietly in the background, it serves as our most dependable and adaptable groundcover. From full sun to full shade, in soil dry to moist, this

This is probably the most common german iris seen in the Edmonton area, a purple-violet with white. Someone once called the more over-bred and frilled german irises “…a flower designed by a cow.”, but this one is still within the bounds of decency. All the more so before it opens fully, while the ra

Deep in the shade of the far corner of our back garden, under the overhanging branches of a small birch, an intruder lurks. Hearkening back to the days when reptiles ruled, this raider fears nothing. It is a fickle beast, appearing every spring to continue its determined advance into the garden, onl

Spring has been good at the home garden. The Siberian squill (Scilla sibirica) and marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) have done their bit for the year, and the daffodils are fading. Golden Spurge (Euphorbia polychoroma) and Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) are now the highlight of the gardens. Gl