Clematis – Cynthia Reyes

Canadian Gardens, Gardening

Pinkie Swear

September 3, 2015September 3, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

I swear: it seemed to happen all of a sudden.

Pink.

Everywhere. Pink phlox, pink anemones, pink sweet pea — pink, pink, pink.

Morning glories in a deep pink, almost red, are now more numerous than the blues….

A late pink clematis

An early spring clematis that sends out a few tiny blooms in late summer…

And a pink surprise — self seeded in the concrete step

… an unexpected reminder of last summer’s pink snapdragons…

… that grew in a container nearby.

Whatever your colours, I hope your garden is doing well.

A Good Home, Flowers, Gardens

The Last of the Summer Vine

August 25, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

The summer vines are nearing the end of bloom-time.

But – oh! – they were so lovely when they were blooming!

My favourites, Clematis, flowered in different shapes and colours.

Some bloomed all summer, and some bloomed twice.

So here’s to the blooming vines in all our gardens: those that have already given their all this summer, and those that are hanging on and blooming their last.

And, as summer ends, I offer a warm welcome to the morning glories who are now ‘in their glory’.

A Good Home, Canadian Gardens, Canadian life

Garden Friends

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

So, okay. I’m seriously not a Snow-White-and-The-Seven-Dwarfs-in-the-Garden kinda girl.

Garden gnomes you won’t find here.

But I have garden friends. I do!

Birds, horses and butterflies…..

A green frog playing a bass serenade to the hosta.

A wind chime whose own song soothes our hearts, and tells us when it’s a windy day outside.

Faces that steadfastly oversee the garden….

And welcomers for the newly bloomed clematis flower…. Namaste to you….

The nice thing about these friends is they listen to your troubles and never criticize. They never say: “Leave those weeds alone! And it’s 11 a.m. Isn’t it time you got out of that tattered old houserobe and put on some decent clothes?”

Mind you, I’m glad for human friends who visit and make me laugh.

Like Pia, who insisted on getting a string to tie back the uber ex-uber-ant clematis that threatened to strangle her and all others who passed.

And Vito, our vintner-neighbour who claims that flowers are useless because – unlike grapes and vegetables — flowers can’t be eaten. It’s an ongoing argument and I think we both like that.

Dedicated to all who love gardens, and your garden friends too.

Photos by Hamlin Grange.

A Good Home, Canadian Gardens, Clematis, Flowers, Gardening

Clematis a-bloomin’

July 22, 2014July 23, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

I promised a blogger-friend that I’d post pictures of clematis in bloom.

But the gosh-darn rabbits ate almost every clematis right down to the ground last winter and spring, so I didn’t know what would come back and what was a goner. We had a few casualties, indeed. We lost the gorgeous white clematis. And the beautiful pink one that graces the arbour on the cover of my book, A Good Home. But there’s much to be thankful for. Now, it’s not all smooth sailing. A few are really struggling, and insects have also attacked them. But the point is that they returned. And others came back in full force. This shy little red clematis decided to spread its wings — er, vines. This one below escaped the rabbits and is full of blooms now. Now, don’t go asking me all their names. Some days, I don’t even remember my own….. But I hope you are suitably impressed – I know I am! Several of these vines were bought for a few bucks at end of gardening seasons in years past, and planted by my Better Half.

I’m especially impressed with this bloom below- usually the first to flower, this clematis missed its moment because the rabbits ate the whole vine and it had to start up again from its roots underground.

But now it’s sent out a single bloom!