The English cottage garden outside of my Southern Ontario, Canada cottage is at its peak in the autumn. It's prime OoOooOooo and AhhhHhhHhHHhhh season for anyone walking past. If you can't walk past then please enjoy this virtual tour.
In the spring my garden looks like crap. In fact, 3 days before this photo was taken in the fall my garden looked like crap. I may have overextended myself a tiny bit this year ... and then I got a dog. So that's why my fall garden looked like crap.
In the spring it's because I have no evergreens in my yard so it's literally just bare dirt and a strip of half dead lawn until the perennials and bulbs start to pop up.
Once they do, my English Cottage Garden in Canada starts to look less anemic. Tulips, Ranunculus, Rhubarb, Poppies and Peonies start popping up. It's bueno.😘
Then it goes through a bit of a beunopause in the middle of summer when the early bloomers have finished blooming and the late bloomers (the majority of my garden) have yet to explode.
It is now time for the late bloomers.
Celosia in front of Cornel Bronze dahlia.
Apple espaliers just a day before I picked the last of the apples. Some cabbages in felt pots and in the ground.
I'm hoping there's just enough time for my red cabbages in pots to mature before cold weather arrives. Which it should have about a month ago.
I 0% did not keep that intention. It's a riot of colour.
Wine Eyed Jill dahlia to the left, Dollarama tuber to the right.
My spring garden could take a lesson from my fall garden.
The tour ends here.
There are a multitude of other dahlias that I didn't get a shot of or that weren't blooming the day I shot the pictures.
If you'd like to see the complete list of dahlias I grew this year I have them all listed with photos in this post.
If you'd like to see the most exciting, hilarious, ridiculous flower I grow in my front yard you can read all about Buzz Buttons here. They're edible, electric and like nothing you've ever eaten before. Yes! They're edible and very trendy right now.
The dahlias will continue to bloom until they're killed by frost. Years ago they would have been dead by now, but this year it looks like they'll be on display until at least the beginning of November. Same as last year.
Then the work of digging up and dividing the massive tubers starts.
Whenever someone walks past and asks me what all the amazing flowers are I tell them dahlias. They ask why everyone doesn't have them when they're so extraordinary. I explain the part about having to dig them all up in the fall, wash them, divide them ... Oh! You're still here. Good for you. :)
Most people get glassy eyed right after I say "dig them all up in the fall" and then they meander away towards someone else's hydrangea bush.
Yeah. Dahlias are seriously a needle in the ass kind of a pain. But they're so beautiful they'll make almost anyone stop and stare.
Until the dahlias die and the garden once again - looks like crap.
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What do you do with the amaranth, Karen? Can you eat the seeds/leaves? And is that a huge willow I see in the back of the house? I heard that willow roots will break through anything in search of water, i.e., getting into the pipes.
Puppies and dahlias--same amount of work it seens but definitely worth all the work.
I'm in love with Alfred. Have tried storing dahlia's for 2 years, not much success. Bought Bishop's Children dahlia seeds this year & split pack with friend....0 germination rate for these for both of us.
Kind of a downer dahlia year here, but will try overwintering once again ones that I do have & hopefully have better luck.
Your garden is an inspiration.
Hey, hey, hey, bumper crop of luffa this year on one vine. When taking the outer rind off of them, I notice that some of them are mushy to the touch. Do you know if that is because they are not mature enough or something else? It doesn't seem to matter the size, well sometimes it does, but 2 basically the same size can be different to touch. Then, there are dark spots on the cleaned luffa even after the bleach process.
Could you/would you offer some insight on these?
Thanks for a wonderful stroll this morning. Wishing I could see it all in person but it makes me feel happy to know there is this beauty for others to enjoy. Do you realize that the only way you truly own all that is through looking at it? Thats makes us all part owners. Too bad we are not normally available to work in it but I surely would love to one day. It is a thing of dreams.
Gorgeous, as always, when it’s in full bloom !!!
Dahlias are so outrageous. There is a dahlia experimental garden in Tacoma WA that is very worth a trip. They have dahlias that look like 1950 space aliens and chrysanthemums and everything in between.
But they don’t have to be dug up there!!!
I always love your gardens. Always beautiful.
Sheesh! Here I was, so proud of myself for successfully arranging containers at the four corners of the house - ornamental Grasses behind Geraniums in the front, Mandevilla behind some gray-leafed mounding/pot-overflowing thing in one huge rear container, and a prolific red Hibiscus in the other - and then you post this evidence of an actual gardener. The bad news is, since I'm in Iowa I live too far away to stroll by your garden...the good news is I live too far away to be in danger of being embarrassed by you strolling by my "garden". :-p
Your dahlias are so beautiful! Had a visit to Shangri-la Farm in Mission, BC. They have 30,000 dahlias growing that they also did up and replanted. I am definitely looking to plant some next spring.
Your cottage garden has inspired me!!! Thank you!
Lovely garden! Thanks for the Dahlia 101 info--I've never tried them but now I might give 'em a try.
Stunning--absolutely stunning!!
I love the way natural colors never clash--it's why your riot of colorful dahlias works!
I may try again next year to rein the kaleidoscope in a tiny bit. ~ karen!
NEVER!!!
Kaleidoscope pretty!!!
More colors!!! 😁
Gorgeousmous!
Gorgeous! I love the "rambliness" of it (is that a word? If not, I take poetic license!). Any chance you might spill the beans re saving the apples from the squirrels? Only yesterday I broke my 8 year olds heart when I told her we'd decided not to plant 2 apple trees she's been begging us to plant in our front cottage garden because the possums and deer would eat them. Reading this has given me hope. I'm in Australia (Spring) so waiting until next year will be hard. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks :)
I'd say rambliness is definitely a world. Even though spellcheck disagrees. The method I use to protect the apples wouldn't do anything to protect them from deer I'm afraid. :/ This is strictly a squirrel deterrent. :/ ~ karen!
We have small deer where I live. All the gardens around have wire cylinders anchored around the tree, with a wide enough diameter that the deer can't reach over. We use fencing wire, as it is studier than chicken wire with smaller openings than cattle or hog panels. The wire works as enough of a deterrent because there is so much other greenery that it's easier for them to move along to something easier. Many people also use Bobbex Deer Repellant, although it must be reapplied after every rain.
May not work if your deer are regular big deer. No advice for possums, we don't have them here.
You have created a delightful treat for yourself and everyone else who sees it. Thanks for sharing it. Autumn is def my fav time. Spring here in Melbourne is muddy and prone to random hail and chilly winds that blow the blossoms off the trees Give me rich, mellow, overblown autumnal beauty any day.
Absolutely beautiful, Karen! I’m jealous. How’s our poodie? 🐩
Our poodle is good! Very typical puppy, so maybe good isn't the right word.😆 He's ... inquisitive and bitey and smart. And he's a GREAT walker. Loose leash, right at my side. ~ karen!
A GreatWalker is wonderful!
PLEASE consider tipping your hand re: fruit tree espaliered on front porch. One year I got a hundred apricots--- and still enough for squirrels. This year we got ZERO. And squirrels got em all.
Would so appreciate knowing what you are doing. I have stood on ladder and wrapped apricots in olde nylon curtains. Proud. Until the squirrels with nonchalance tossed off each offending bit of fabric and took all the 'cots. HELP PLEASE!!!
long time en joyer,
RJ
So beautiful. All of your hard work in full glory.
The really hard work is going to really start in a couple of weeks when I have to go out into the cold to dig them up and wash them.😆 ~ karen!
Really! I thought that washing dahlia tubers was a no no - promotes rot. I cut mine back yesterday and will dig up next weekend. It's funny how putting the garden to bed for the winter is almost as much work as getting it up and growing.
Hi Jody! Washing them right away is perfectly fine. You just can't put them away wet. Leave them to dry for a day. But if you're storing a WHOLE clump and not dividing it before storing, then you don't wash them because the soil helps the massive clump retain moisture. ~ karen!
Lovely! I especially like the amaranth cascading over the birdbath, very artistic.
I'm fond of that too! :) ~ karen
this was the photo that I stopped and ooh-ed and ah-ed at too!!
You are so right—OooOoOooo! Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Those Dollarama dahlias!
(P.S. how’s the puppy?)
Currently chewing on my arm! ~ karen
Gorgeous dahlias. Definitely the way to finish off the season. Am trying a new way of storing dahlias this year. Got it from the American Dahlia Society website. Have dug them, cleaned, divided and then wrapped them in plastic wrap. Stored this way they pack away nicely in one small box.
Aren’t you afraid they will rot ? Very nervous
I just did mine the same way yesterday. Got the info from a Floret mini workshop video. My first year with Dahlias. Had trouble finding the eyes though, so who knows.
Hi Elaine. Some of the members of my dahlia society use that method with great success so I might try it as well with half of my tubers this year. :) ~ karen!
I did look at the method on the American Dahlia society page….may try with a few tubers this year. Looks interesting for sure. Previously have used vermiculite, may use some wood chips this year as well. My dahlias are still blooming, so not quite ready to dig them up, maybe next week.