Fortnightly in the Garden – (#1)
7 June
Needless to say, we have many photographs of our native plant/wildlife garden in an outer suburb of Montreal. As we arrive at early June, when things really start to get exciting in the garden, my intention is to record this same view about every two weeks as we go through the summer and into fall. A month ago there was not much here taller than expanding bunches of violets but today the first flush of flowers on some of the taller native plants is beginning to appear with the Golden Alexanders that were posted here a couple of days ago. Several varieties of Cornus (Dogwoods) are in flower too, and also providing shelter for the birds that live alongside us. Towards the right is knee high clump of Rudbeckia laciniata that by the time it flowers (bright yellow) will be a good seven feet high!
As you can see, we have no lawn at all, just a predominance of species native to, or long naturalized in, this corner of the world (some 52 species at the last count) … joined by a few more traditional horticultural plants, because we are not purists and we like roses (as, sadly, do the Japanese beetles). The pond and its bird-magnet waterfall is to the left of the greenhouse under the tall maple tree at the back. The bright green shrubs in the foreground which are just starting to flower are Physocarpus (Nine Bark) … but we don’t know which species and rather hope it isn’t one of the more enthusiastic varieties, that can reach ten foot high and wide when mature, because that will play havoc with the view from the deck. The mauve flowers are Dame’s Rocket which arrived by themselves and are a non-native relative of cabbages and a bit invasive … on the other hand they do provide a bit of early colour so we allow them to stay while making sure they do not produce seeds after flowering - this keeps them under control.
Note - this is just a regular suburban garden sitting quietly behind a regular suburban house. We do not live in the depths of the countryside with acres to play around in. Replacing a lawn is an easy project and doing so helps to ensure that wonderful things can happen in the smallest space.
What you’ve done with your yard is so inspiring to me! Do you have any recommended sources for native / bird or pollinator friendly plants in the Montreal area?