CAUTION!!!! THIS GARDEN DOES CONTAIN WEEDS!!!!

In light of the worst storm in years that threatened my gardens the other day, I ran outside and took some photos of my garden (just in case). As it turned out...I was lucky...most of the east side of the city was trampled by large hail. Fortunately I live on the north side!

WARNING!!!!! IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED BY WEEDS....TURN AWAY NOW!!!

I have not had the time to do any gardening other than watering for about 6 weeks now. I am ashamed to say that this is my garden in the back yard. Can you believe that the front is even more filled with the unwanted than the back? I thought I would show these...so that you can all see that even imperfect can look okay...but I am still not happy! lol I am so grateful to my self for the habit of planting thickly...or the weeds would be even more bountiful!

That said....here is a tour of the back yard of a small garden in Central Alberta Canada. A garden known to many as Tootsie's Garden!

The first thing you see when you enter from the back alley gate!
My first view when I open the back door! same bed if I was coming out of the greenhouse.



Mrs.Ben....can you see your flower tower? This looks amazing in the evening when the light from the garage makes the flowers glow.

My Son's bedroom window looks out over this bed.

And to think I was worried that I wouldn't have enough of these big pots! I ended up weed whacking them back as they are so huge this year! These big pots are at least 4 feet across...if not bigger now.



try not to look at the stone patio I have started here....it is not finished yet...and is the topic of a future post.

stop peeking at the stones! lol

another view of the giant flower pots we planted!

my flower bench. can you see the holly I have growing?

There are some of our pots we planted together!

the back line

you are familiar with this one

Oh the weeds are so obvious!



my shade beds


On the kid's tree house

this leads to behind the greenhouse


how did I end up with another of this one?

more flower tower!

the west side...where the storm is coming from. (well at least you can't see it in this shot) But it is there!

Normally, I would make sure the conditions are right, the grass is mowed, the sidewalks cleaned, and the weeds contained....but there was no time. I also thought it was a good way to show that even someone that loves her garden the way I do, can let things slack a little. So...don't be hard on yourself if you have a few weeds and things need dead heading....it's still all good!

I do plan to do a post of that when I get all these things done...but if that storm would have hit us....my garden would have been destroyed. I am so grateful that God spared me. I guess he must have decided that he has tested me enough this summer for a little while!

Until next time!

Comments

artis1111 said…
Girl I thought you were going to so weeds!! This looks better than any thing I Have. Most of my yard looks BLAAAAAA. LOL...Kathy
Anonymous said…
what a gorgeous garden!

arlene,
West Bremerton florist
Bridget said…
Your thumb is not green! It is a veritable rainbow!
Lori Bee said…
We see the amazing beauty and riot of color that you have created...not the weeds. :)
IF the mosquitoes would ever go away here, I can see that I have lots to do! SIGH, Lori
Anonymous said…
WoW,it is so beautiful. I have yard envy!!! My yard looks so weedy and my flowers , well let's not talk about that. Thanks for sharing, it brightened my day. Janie
Picket said…
Girl..what in the thunder do you call weeds!!!!!!! lol I am sitting here straining my eyes trying to even find a weed...all I can see are mounds of glorious flowers with blooms on them to boot..is this a trick post!!!! Bend over cause I'm gonna kick you! lol lol Don't make me go out in my back yard...I'll show you some weed pictures missy! You couldn't grow a weed if you bought a pot full of them from the nursery! lol lol
Allgrins said…
You are amazing! I did not see a single weed. Girl, you are way too hard on yourself. I am the same way. I am glad that your garden was spared from the hail storm. I might get out and garden this morning. My oldest kids are back in school..yippee...did I say that?
Jamie
imjacobsmom said…
My gosh, I thought I was walking through an arboretum! Your gardens are beautiful, girl! ~ Robyn
Anonymous said…
Just beautiful toots. you are the flower queen for sure... Ooooh and I do love the new "HOT" Picture of Bob but please don't tell him that don't want him to get a big head haha!!
Girl I still can't see the weeds!! your yard is a work of art toots. I am so glad you are home. Hugs and smiles Ca.Mama
niartist said…
Oh Tootsie, I need your HELP! I will take pictures of my space this afternoon, but I was too "Mr. Want It Right Now" when I started planting - and it's all too close together. And my liatris didn't do well at all! I don't know what I did - but it didn't do well. It was in bloom when I planted it - but it only looked good for maybe two weeks, and then it just got all gray. So I chopped the flower. I probably shouldn't have, since that's how it re-seeds, but it was so ugly I couldn't help it.
Anyway - now I'm worried I've crowded it all, and I've already had to remove my lavender. No one told me they don't like water, and I put them right in between two River Clump Birch trees that HAVE TO HAVE water in order to live. (They're doing very well by the way - and have grown about 4 feet in just one summer!)
Anyway - I'll post pictures and if you'll stop by to let me know what you think I need to move, I'd just be so grateful!
Thanks,
Artieben
Unknown said…
Thanks so much for coming to visit , muffy said hi . Your so sweet . .

Your flowers look so pretty , with them so close together any pesky weeds don't have a chance . Looks like their playing hide and seek . I got down on and looked .

Ok girl , where's my copy of that , PRETTY GARDENS ADVICE BOOK you should be writeing , like your doing this Blog . Pretty pictures and all . You know I've been thinking that for some time now .
Take care of you sweet girl , Mary
mrsben said…
Tootsie you may have weeds but your gardens looks so manicured. With their splendour of color and variety, they're beautiful.

We have an Neighbour down the block who has quite the green thumb, (a well known Horticulturalist in our parts) and though she has some beautiful flowers, the front of her home is just one verrrry sad sight. It is such a mismash! KInd of resembles the Amazon jungle if you get my drift. Everything is sooooo overgrown. I feel sorry for her adjacent neighbours.
SG said…
Are you freakin kidding me?!?!?!? You call those weeds?!?!?! You wanna see weeds?!?!?!? Come by my house. My rock wall is now a weed wall!

Your garden is just gorgeous!!!!
Anonymous said…
I take the weeds in your garden anytime if I could have mine look like this!!! How many of your pots and such do you try and winter over? I cannot believe that summer is almost gone and that we are fastly looking at what I will be choosing to bring in and try and keep alive till next year! Love Love your place!!!
nikkicrumpet said…
YOU are the glorious goddess of color. YOU are my gardening hero! Your yard is what I aspire to and will never achieve. All my bees and butterflies want to live at YOUR house and they are picketing my right now! They are demanding that I give them better living conditions or drive them to your house! YOU RULE!!!!!!!
Betty said…
Oh the weeds! I just can't believe it! Tootsie has weeds!!!!

Give me a break Tootsie, if you do have weeds they are very well hidden by your gorgeous flowers. I think weeds would be afraid to come into your beds.

Betty

PS I have stones like yours!
Okay, I didn't see any weeds, I only saw magificent beauty! Oh my goodness, your flowers are amazing! So glad they were spared the terrible storm! ~Rhonda :)
Nancy Jane said…
Hey Lady, where are the weeds??? All I can see are glorious beds filled to the brim with color. I've worked my butt off all summer and I haven't come close to this kind of display! I'm afraid I need at least two more growing seasons to even begin to catch up to you. I discovered a problem with my soil, which I'll talk about in my next post, and it really slowed me down this year. Think I've solved it, but we'll see. What zone are you in? Your season must be shorter than mine here in zone 5. It makes your display that more miraculous. Hasn't this growing season just zipped by us??? Beautiful job. I see the love you've poured into your gardens in every bloom. Love it, love it, love it...Nancy
Anonymous said…
Testing.....One, two, three...
Anonymous said…
WEll, that worked fine. :)

Tonight I'm such a DITZ.... I left messages for you at Pickets Place. :( She's going to think I'm nuts, but that's what I get for trying to do something in a hurry. You can read them there. LOL... I have family staying here, and it's time to get the kids in bed. It's been such a busy summer here, lot's of family coming and going.

I'll write soon.

Love & Hugs
'D'
Julie said…
I have never seen so much color in one place like this! WOW!!! Where are the weeds, BTW??? I even got out my magnifying glass..... :)
Tootsie said…
jersey girl left me this comment at Picket's place...It was so sweet I copied and pasted it into here! thanks girl...you make me smile too!

jerseygirl211 said...
Tootsie, WorkED fine that time. :)

One of the things I tried to tell you is that I have a smile on my face as I type your name. Let me explain......

I had a cousin, who's nickname was Tootsie, we were very close as children. However, after my mother died, I was twelve, I never saw her again or knew where she was. So I think of her every time I see and type your name and think back to those times we shared.

Second thing I tried to respond to, was about the coffee grounds. My brother-in-law's father used it around his roses all the time. He had beautiful roses. The older generations knew so much more than we do. I've tried to get my husband to use it on his roses, but those Italian men,;) can't tell them much.

I did score a point today, the Vet was here, the Lab needed his rabies shot. I've told my husband for years, that you shouldn't feed dogs bones and he wouldn't listen to me. The Vet set him straight and told him how it could harm the dog. SCORED POINT FOR ME. ;)

Thanks for getting me in to your blog.

I Love You Too.....
'D'
Anonymous said…
Good Morning Tootsie, :)

Everyone is still in bed, so I have a little time to think. It's been crazy here this summer, we have our children/grandchildren here every year, but this year they kept coming back over and over, sometimes just for the weekends, not staying a full week or two as they usually do. So I've spent a lot of time washing towels and linens,and re-making beds. (My washer and dryer and I have become such good friends);)

For some reason everyone seems so much more 'hyper' this summer, even the parents. Or is it that I am just getting older. :( But I DO love having they here.

Well, I better go get dressed, I have to water my flowers, I thought it was going to rain, but now it doesn't look like it will. I sure wish mine looked anything like yours, you really do have a beautiful 'GARDEN OF EDEN'

Thanks for being so understanding about me leaving my message at Picket's, hope she was, love you bunches.

'D'
niartist said…
Hey Tootsie,
Life got in the way last night, and I couldn't take pictures of the garden, but I plan on doing that first thing when I get home tonight, so tomorrow's blog will be me asking for your help! It's beautiful - but overgrown, and I'm afraid that some of the things I planted just won't live together. Oh, and I have to ask, does your Dusty Miller come back? I bought it as an annual, but a neighbor told me that it has come back for her a few times, and not to touch it when fall/winter comes. Have you had that kind of luck?
Your garden is the most amazing that I have ever seen! Seriously, you should be on a parade of gardens tour! I don't see any weeds, by the way, I just see tons of beautiful flowers!!

Kady
Blogger said…
What a gorgeous yard you have, you must have about 10 green thumbs! Wow!

Very nice to meet you,
Bella
Anonymous said…
Hi Toots! Your garden is fabulous, your flowers are gorgeous! Maybe I should not leave too much because everytime I come back from a trip, my plants in the backyard are all dead. I wish I could borrow your green thunbs.