When we moved into this house it was with the knowledge that no one had cared for it in a Very long time. The family previous to us had done work in the garden but, they took all the plants with them when they moved. A little upsetting when come spring you are hoping for something other than slush and mud to appear in your front yard. I believe I had one lone tulip which had somehow been over looked. Along with a mess of over wintered kale in the so called "veggie garden".
That first year the garden was very bare as I waited hoping, that some of the other removed plants might make a come back. To my delight some columbines poked their heads out and grew vigorously. All spring and summer I waited, but no flowers appeared on them. The only bloom other than the tulip was a 
lone iris. Pretty, but one flower does not a garden make. Some other plants popped up that I really wasn't sure were plants but, thankfully I have left them in. Now I have some lovely perennial geranium, some additional irises, Shasta daisies and some pink cone flower. I raided my mother's garden for her cast offs and friends gardens for seeds and found a great deal on some out of season bulbs.
Thankfully the second spring was a little better. I had some lovely Daffodils, tons of Grape Hyacinth, my lone tulip and the start of more columbines. Spring faded and summer past with a few more blooms but still no columbine flowers. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. All the other plants were blooming. So this year at the advice of one of the garden centres I put fertilizer on the garden as soon as the snow melted. The daffodils, hyacinths and new tulips came up beautifully and with them came my columbines. They now created huge foot and a half mounds of foliage and I was preparing myself for another year without blooms. Much to my delight one day I noticed new shoots of growth coming up from the middle of the mounds and on the shoots were flower buds. I know this is how they normally grow but for me after two years of waiting this
was a miracle. This weekend Finally they opened.
lone iris. Pretty, but one flower does not a garden make. Some other plants popped up that I really wasn't sure were plants but, thankfully I have left them in. Now I have some lovely perennial geranium, some additional irises, Shasta daisies and some pink cone flower. I raided my mother's garden for her cast offs and friends gardens for seeds and found a great deal on some out of season bulbs.Thankfully the second spring was a little better. I had some lovely Daffodils, tons of Grape Hyacinth, my lone tulip and the start of more columbines. Spring faded and summer past with a few more blooms but still no columbine flowers. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. All the other plants were blooming. So this year at the advice of one of the garden centres I put fertilizer on the garden as soon as the snow melted. The daffodils, hyacinths and new tulips came up beautifully and with them came my columbines. They now created huge foot and a half mounds of foliage and I was preparing myself for another year without blooms. Much to my delight one day I noticed new shoots of growth coming up from the middle of the mounds and on the shoots were flower buds. I know this is how they normally grow but for me after two years of waiting this
was a miracle. This weekend Finally they opened.My other favorites so far are the English daisies, I got a great deal on them at the local flea market. They remind me of something from a Dr. Seuss book. So this year the garden is shaping up to be a colourful display.
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