Warm September days continue

We are getting magnificent weather. Nights are cooling down, but daytime highs are in the high 20's. It is quite humid but sunny. Yesterday was grey and overcast and my spirits went down like a stone in water.  It is remarkable what the weather can do to your emotions. It all felt too much yesterday, the move, the aloneness of a new place, the lack of familiar surroundings, the sense that one's day has no rhyme or reason.

But the sun comes out and suddenly all is well with the world.

And with warm weather comes the opportunity to keep planting. Two more hydrangeas have made it into the front yard. One day I will call it a garden, but it has to cross over some defining line before I can feel that it is a garden. It's too rough at the moment.

This one is a Lacecap hydrangea, called Wedding Gown. It will have those lovely flower heads that are almost flat with a ring of petals on the outside and the true tiny flowers on the inside. This one will remain white, it isn't the type that you can change from pink to blue and back again. It is supposed to get 2-3 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide.

It sits between two other hydrangeas, one a Little Lime and the other a Bobo. They are about 6-7 feet apart and I chose the location simply because of the light. When I put the third one in, I realised that these three could form a perennial bed, with two at the ends and one in the middle of the bed. So next spring, I will dig this out in a semi-circle from the hydrangeas and it will become a semi-shaded perennial bed. Much as I love the ability to grow vibrant flowers, there is something very peaceful and soothing about a shaded bed. This can become home for some lovely blue flowers, such as peach-leaf campanula and brunnera which both love the shade.

This is a photo of the three hydrangeas, one of which sits in front of a lovely birch tree. This is pretty much the light that these will get, a little more in the morning when they get some direct sun but this was taken at 4 in the afternoon and they are getting some nice filtered light.

This is a Fire Light hydrangea, a pee gee type. It is another panicle type hydrangea with flowers that start out creamy white and turn a deep pink, almost red, in the fall. It will get 6 feet tall and 6-7 feet wide. It too will be the anchor shrub for another perennial bed to be planted next year. Not enough time this year to get roots established; plus I need to think about what to plant as I don't relish the idea of planting and then having to move things because I planted on impulse only.
To the right of this, you can see the brilliant red of some maple sapling and to the left is a hanging branch of a wild mini-daisy. The trees are changing colour quickly and there are some brilliant maples here. Plus some that are orange, and then the golden colour of the birches is starting as well.

This hydrangea is on the furthest line of the front property and behind it there is simply brush and a culvert that someone dug years ago for drainage. This is where we often see the deer.

Once again, a birch is close at hand. Birches are lovely trees and their small leaves let a lot of light through. Maples are great shade trees, perhaps too great, as they form a dense canopy that completely blocks the sun. That was my Halifax garden, five mature maples surrounding a small yard. Hosta heaven, which is why hostas may be the last plants I put in here.

In a couple of years, it may look like this.

                                

photo from http://plant-quest.blogspot.ca/