Fall in Anne’s Northern Garden

We’re off to Canada today to visit Anne’s garden.

You have visited my garden before (A Garden That Works With Nature Instead of Fighting It). We are located not far from Ottawa, Ontario, in a rural development. I thought it would be nice to visit it in autumn, a few years later.

Gardening on the edge of an arid alvar environment is sometimes a challenge but often a delight. The trick is to work with the environment instead of trying to change it. The limestone outcroppings all over our garden are a feature of the alvar environment, and we have embraced them.

Since the last time, I have added a permaculture berm in a corner of the front yard and have grown some pumpkin and squash on it. I have continued to encourage native plants in the borders (e.g., asters, goldenrods, columbines) and have noticed a distinct increase in pollinators visiting. I have also planted a pollinator garden area on the side (anise hyssop, echinops, lysimachia, etc.) and have taken out some invasive species (Norway maple, European buckthorn). The latter is still a major issue.

The garden is an ever-changing organism. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep on top of it, but then, nature has its way.

I hope you enjoy my fall garden.

In this mid-fall view from the road at the entrance to the property you can see red maple (Acer rubrum, Zones 3–9), staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina, Zones 3–8), ivory silk lilac (Syringa reticulata, Zones 3–7), and Ginkgo biloba(Zones 3–8).

The staghorn sumac in fall color

Around the pond there is a potted mum (Chrysanthemum hybrid, hardiness varies by cultivar) along with Hemerocallis (Zones 3–8), New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, Zones 4–8), and Van Houtte spirea (Spiraea × vanhottei, Zones 3–8).

A photo