Mmmmmm! Mockorange!

There is no better place in the whole, wide world right now than the little garden bench on my front patio! It's always a nice place, but right now it is absolutely divine due to the 'Blizzard' mockorange right beside the bench. The shrub is in full bloom, and smells heavenly. It's almost intoxicating sitting on that bench! 'Blizzard' mockorange is a great shrub for Prairie gardeners! It's so tough and reliable, and yet so gorgeous. It's hardy enough to go even farther north: say Flin Flon or even Thompson! Give it room; it wants to be about five to six feet tall and wide and its' natural habit is so nice, you really don't want to get into pruning it to keep it down to a size. It's one of the few shrubs around here that showed no winter damage this year - we love it just for that! Now, if a little hummingbird would come to the feeder while I was sitting on the bench - life would be perfect!

It's So Hard to Garden Here...

We're on the Canadian Prairies, Zone 2B officially. We like to think of ourselves as Zone 3 - it makes us feel slightly better. Farmer Man and I moved here from Vancouver, BC, Zone 8, where you can hardly kill anything unless you let it drown over the rainy winter. So, gardening here in Brandon has been full of disappointments and frustrations. Things die for no apparent reason (well, I can often deduce reasons, but it doesn't make me feel any better!) Pictured is my Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), a Zone 4 plant (OK, OK, it was always a risk), which has been thriving in a sheltered spot for four years. This year: all dead except for a little branch at the very bottom that has leafed out. It doesn't show too well in the photo, but behind it is an Amur Cherry tree, quite hardy, in the ground five years and doing well. This spring, one of the three main branches is dead and gone. As well, I have extensive die back on hardy roses, spirea and barberry. I've given them all plenty of time, so now it's down to the pruning and the pulling out. It's soooooooo hard to be a Prairie gardener!