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Garden Bliss & Blunder, Issue #58
June 07, 2026

JUNE'S MAGIC

Green was the silence,

wet was the light,

the month of June

trembled like a butterfly...

~Pablo Neruda

Bluebells in our garden with "Nike".

Spring Flowers for Bees...

Lungwort or Pulmonaria... see the little bee-bum under the middle flower?

Blossoms with a single row of petals leave the centre open for bees and other pollinators.

Service berry blossoms and blues skies

Single petalled roses are a haven for bees.

The quince is the sole member of the genus Cydonia

in the Malinae subtribe of the Rosaceae family.

Quince is a deciduous tree that bears hard,

aromatic bright golden-yellow pome fruit,

similar in appearance to a pear.

Ripe quince fruits are hard, tart,

and astringent.

(Wikipedia)

Ice Storm Damage Recovery?

The heavy ice bent this privet to almost touching the ground.

Historically, it was pruned as a standard with the main flush of leaves at the top, giving this side of the garden some interest.

Privet uprighted itself a few weeks later.

However, this spring... there were only a few buds on the highest tips.

With few signs of growth, we pruned all the little branches, hoping this will stimulate new growth

... as of early June, still no signs, but hope lives in every gardener.

And if it does not live, it will be a great place to hang lovely pieces of glass!

Grass Repair?

Both salt from the walkway and a convenient pee place the winter for Lucy, this "grass" needed some repair.

I don't sell products here, but received a free sample and decided to use it last summer... it was the only green area during our drought so I ordered more; scraped off the dead pee-grass.

Dead grass gone.

Seed mixed with compost and spread on bare patch

(May 16)

Sprouting in 4 days

Filled in completely by June 4

Arctic Raspberries? Yes...

(Rubus Arctic's L subsp. x stellarcticus)

These super-hardy Swedish selections are possibly the most uncommon members of the whole Raspberry clan.

The low-growing, thornless plants spread by root rhizomes, forming a thick mat of bright green trifoliate leaves, no more than 15 cm (6") tall. By late Spring the carpet is adorned with small, pinkish blossoms followed by dainty, delicious and aromatic red raspberries in mid Summer.

The Fall foliage is a feast for the eyes with shades of crimson and burgundy. In the early following Spring, the plants bounce back from the roots.

These are from Whiffletree Farm and they offer several of Dr. Gunny Larssen's favourites, selected on the basis of plant vigour as well as fruit quality, quantity and flavour.

Although almost identical, the two varied sties are needed for pollination.

Grown in Ontario at Whiffletree farms.

Whiffletree Farm and Nursery

"Valentina" is planted with "Anna" to cross-pollinate and they came like this with just a few tiny green sprouts.

Little pots, alternating between Valentina and Anna,

ready to be planted

May 4

May 20

Cannot wait for berries !!!

The Dirt on Soil...

Have you seen this? Makes sense right? But read on....

Linda Chalker Scott- garden scientist and author from Washington State U. says this:

"The graphic is inaccurate in a few respects:

1. Leaf mulch is "not the best for soil life." Leaf mulch is colonized primarily by bacteria and breaks down quickly. Wood chips are colonized primarily by fungi, including mycorrhiza. They break down slowly and add complex organic compounds to the soil. I would argue that wood chips are the best for soil life.

2. Gravel and stone mulch are natural in many settings, especially in the dry US southwest. If you live in that area, then these mulches are fine for native plants. However, if you are growing trees, shrubs etc. that are NOT endemic to an arid area, then they do need wood chips.

That being said, the graphic makes some good distinctions in general."

More Chores? Always...

MULCH BARE SOIL

DEADHEAD - for more blooms - preventing it to go to seed.

THE CHELSEA CHOP: we have a lot of Phlox and until I remove some for other plants, I cut those in the front of the bed by half... yes, by half... they develop more leaves and flower later so there are blooms all over the garden and not just on the tops of the tallest ones.

Phlox and Asters do well with "the chop"

ANNUALS: WATER WATER WATER.... keep the pots moist as they dry out quickly... FERTILIZE ANNUALS WEEKLY Pots hold little moisture and potting soil has few nutrients... a liquid sea compost works well.

PERENNIALS: Don't feed them... feed the soil instead... with an extra layer of compost on top of the soil, then water it in and mulch with wood chips if you have a lot of bare soil.... I still let Violets stay in the garden to cool the soil and become "green mulch".

Deadhead below the flowers that are done

Cut down the stem to the next bud for more blooms.

Echinacea purpurea is the familiar coneflower,

and we have a lot of them.

Echinacea is from the Greek 'echinos' meaning hedgehog

or sea-urchin, referring to the spiny cone,

Art in the Garden...

Add your own touch of whimsy.

... statues, bird baths, pots etc

.... our favourite is blue

Can you tell?

Hedges to trim?

If your hedge is like ours and we cannot manage to trim it, we hire a professional.

..." cousin Alfie" may cost less, but professionals are trained and insured and they know the best way to keep your hedge healthy and happy.

Sometimes we choose the method that costs less in the beginning but in the end will cost more to fix the mistakes.

No offence intended, "cousin Alfie"

Weeds and Invasives...

There is a lot of controversy about how to get rid of the nasty invasive weeds.

There are three that come to mind that folks complain about most:

Goutweed

Garlic Mustard

Dog-strangling vine.

Some swear (yep, lots of that) by placing black plastic over the area : but here's the thing... these weeds spread with voracious underground roots and when you pull up that tarp, they will yell... HAHA we are still here !!! so besides more swearing, and the weeds still being there, the soil will be dead.. yes, dead... no air, no light, no water... SOIL IS A LIVING THING...so don't do this

Some others like to dig them up.... another issue... those roots are an underground network of roots and one small piece left in the soil will grow at least one more plant... so digging - unless you can sift that soil.... will likely grow more weeds.

Spraying? again, rarely works and the damage to other plants is worse.

NOW WHAT?? there is some science (or actual experimental experience) that shows pulling Goutweed off the top of the soil - (yes, sometimes you get roots) will prevent photosynthesis and slow its growth down.... cover the area you pulled GW from (or cutting it off the top of the ground) with 2 or 3 inches of wood chips.

It does work over time.

As for Dog-strangling vine, cut it off at the soil level too... Garlic Mustard is easy to pull - thank good ness

The Goutweed here is on the middle right side... about 8 inches tall... the area the GW was cut off is now covered in wood chips and even when the GW comes back it is smaller and thinner and easy to pull off ....

It is a frustrating task but can work over time... lots of time.