Unique Urban Garden
The blue and white clematis are (Guernsey Cream and Maidwall Hall Macropetala). These clematis, which have thickly textured seed heads following bloom, are being grown upon an Edwardian rondel that has been adapted to provide vertical interest in the small yard of the Unique Urban Garden.
White is another colour that emerged as a trend at Chelsea. It can be a subtle theme in a Romantic interpretation featuring white foxgloves and a variegated hosta surrounding a ceramic statue of a young girl that sits under a silver pear.
This garden maker allows Victorian Garden Tours exclusive access to the garden she designed and built with unique garden rooms and her own trellises, fences, gates, arbours, and paving materials. She utilized recycled materials to create much of this garden which she designed repeating the classical landscape theme of the circle in a square throughout the garden. This garden has been featured in national and regional gardening magazines.
There are wonderful perennial boarders created by this knowledgeable plants woman who has written for one of western Canada’s gardening magazines. There is the Edwardian style ‘rondel’ covered with a magnificent collection of roses and clematis while tucked behind a twiggery screen supporting roses, clematis and red leaf grape is a meditative sanctuary garden.
 ‘Molly the Witch Peony’ with its soft primrose yellow blooms echoed by the chartreuse foliage of the mock orange (Philadelphus ‘Aurea’). The blue-green peony foliage provides extra contrast. The pinkish undertones of the peony’s new foliage can be useful in combining this peony with Hellebore sternii . There is a golden full moon maple (Acer shirasawan ‘Aureum’ planted nearby to continue the yellow theme.
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 Zephirine Drouhin 1868 classic thornless rose of Bourbon descent with its fragrant cerise pink blooms is felt to be one of the best roses for partial shade. It has been tied onto an overhang in a narrow passageway. This is the third of three overhang supports in this area. While the arch (made from recycled materials) .provided to support vines is also the last of three. Note the ivy topiary that has been started. Old rusty garden tools and curved lichen covered branches complete the vignette. |
 (tulips with Fringed Bleedingheart (Dicentra exima) This combination of white tulips and the old fashioned bleedingheart against a white trellis fence speaks of romance.
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 The next is a living bouquet, which was created by having a pink rose and Buddleia alternifolia (Fountain butterfly bush) with its long arching panicles of fragrant lilac flowers cascade through a fence into a cloud of bronze fennel. The bronze fennel has been planted with other drought tolerant perennials including Helianthemum ‘Wisley Pink’ that echoes the colour of the rose.
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 Trend of designing with low maintenance plants for year round foliage interest has been identified by for 2005. In this picture is sage, stachys, cranesbill geranium, dianthus (pink) and Osmanthus rosemarius. This is a planting in full sun and has proven itself to be drought tolerant. |
 (Crose clematis wall) - The side of a 1918 salt box house festooned with roses and clematis growing on classic trelliswork echoes a time gone by. Rose in the centre is Compassion The clematis Mrs.Cholmondley is having its blowsy blue first bloom. |
 Spring bulbs immerging in the early spring later the evergreen ferns, Brunnera ‘variegata’, Arum italicum ‘Marmoratum’, False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina racemosa) will take center stage. The edging is a low-growing variegated comfrey (Symphonitum Grandiflorum ‘Goldsmith”). This semi-evergreen perennial will later produce pendent clusters of pale blue, cream or pink, tubular flowers in April and May above low mounds of gold and cream-edged, dark-green leaves Nearby there is a Philadelphus coronius ‘Aureus’ combined with the peony Molly-the-witch (Paeonia mlokosewitshii).
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%20tif.jpg) We have the wonderful trilliums, Erythroniums, Dodecatheon hendersonii ( Henderson's Shooting Star). Here in the Unique Urban garden we have a wonderful planting of an ‘Easter Egg’ pastel pallet of these early spring bulbs combined with epimedium.
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%20a.jpg) Golden Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’ ) – A hand made blue ceramic container draws attention to this wonderful Mock Orange with its yellow foliage and fragrant bloom. The gardener grows several Mock Oranges including the old fashioned cultivar Philadelphus coronarius ‘Blle Etoile” for its rich fragrance and Philadelphus coronarius ‘Snow Belle’ double white flowers.
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 At the Unique Urban Garden a silver-blue ceramic container draws your eye to a soft romantic planting featuring the pink of Geranium (Cranesbill) macrorhizum ‘Ingwersen’s Variety’and the delicate fragrant blooms of theDavid Austin rose ‘jSharifa Asma.’ This long blooming rose is also disease resistant1). Hits of chartreuse are then introduced by the euphorbia and the Hosta ‘Fortunei Aureomarginata’ or “Gold Crown’. Large felt leaves are of Pulmonaria angustifolia ‘Munstead Blue’ provides extra texture and which in the spring provided brilliant blue blossoms. |
 Clematis Sealand Gem provides rosy-mauve blooms with subtle carmine stripes to compliment the grey-blue foliage of the classic Rosa Glauca that was introduced into western horticulture in 1830. The trend of working with foliage colour and texture makes Rosa Glauca with its unique foliage indispensable.
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 Whimsy is achieved by using the Carex comans 'Frosted Curls' as the hair in a recycled container. The vignette is made complete by a willow topped arch which rises from a collection of container plantings.
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 Dry sink Reflecting the traditional heritage trend stone troughs and sinks has continued to be popular as planters and water features in England. Here miniature alpine landscapes, reflecting nature, have been created by the gardener, a member of one of the oldest alpine clubs in North America. Note how groundcovers have been used to merge the containers with their settings in the garden.
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 Dry Sink with Gladwyn Iris - The red berries of the gladwyn Gladwyn Iris (Iris foetidissima) planted behind the dry sink provides extra winter interest
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 Clematis Venosa violacea with its prolific 4-6" (10-15cm) white flowers deeply edged and veined with purple accented by a deep purple centre and black stamens clambers through the chartreuse blooms of a euphorbia. This plant combination has then been under planted with drought tolerant sage officianalis. This Viticella Clematis bred in 1883 has been awarded the RHS Award of Merit and only grows to 8ft. making it a great subject for containers!
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 In the autumn the grasses provide the colour, here the blue of the festcue and the eucalyptus contrasts with the coppery tones of the tall turkey foot (Andropogon) grass.
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