I always enjoy seeing your garden! BEAUTIFUL. It is easy to see the care it receives. Definetly something to be proud of.

Beautiful photos! Your garden is awe inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

Alexa

Always good to see your garden,Wayne! Even though some hostas are coming up here,it will never look as good as yours! Phil

Wayne - I have to ask about your grass... it looks PERFECT! What sort of weed/fertilizer combination do you use?

Alexa

WOW! I think you should dig out every other one and send to me! LOL! They're huge...do you fertilize and if so, what?

Char

Nice garden there Wayne, has me really wired for this spring, thanks for the nice pics!! Great job!!

Paul

ahhhhhhhh.....my dream garden...

Thank you all for the lovely comments!

Alexa - We had tons of rain last summer which made the lawn and the garden both look great. Lawn maintenance is a pain and it takes too much time but key to growing bluegrass in southern Ontario is to cut it no shorter than 2 1/2 inches and cut it often which means twice a week when it's growing fast in the spring. M'lady wants her lawn to look good so she is the one out there with the dethatching rake in the spring. Core aeration in the spring seems to help as well. We fertilize around May 1st and September 1st with Scott's or whatever is cheapest at Costco. I spot spray weeds with Killex to keep them in check and that's about it.

Char - We do need to dig out some of them and expand the bed to make some room for them! We don't fertilize but we do put down a heavy mulch of mushroom compost every spring and all the plants love it, it's cheap (~$25. for a pickup load) and it looks good.

Wayne

Gorgeous hosta bed. You have some beautiful shots of your gardens. My hosta are just now poking out of the dirt so can I put some of the mushroom compost on now before the leaves all come out? Can I just shovel it right on top of the eyes or should I just spread it to the outside circle of the hosta? Thought it might be easier that way. My hosta really don't seem to have grown a whole lot the last couple of years and I thought it might be because of the drought but now I am wondering if its because I never fertilize them. Thanks for your help and thanks for sharing, Judy

Hi Judy, I like to mulch the whole bed 2-3 inches deep but NOT on top of the crown. Wait until the eyes are up then mulch only to within a few inches. Remember water, water, water is the key. Perhaps your soil is deficient and does need fertilizer. If you type fertilizer into the search box you will find lots of opinions. Wayne

Waynet..wow at the pictures! Where in zone 5b are you roughly if you don't mind me asking?

I want that mushroom compost, where can I get some? Am in zone 5b also in southern ontario.

Those hostas look amazing....mind sharing the names of the ones you have there and other shrubs?

Cheers

Mick

Mick, I'm in Ancaster. Where are you? Wayne

I am just down the road from you, Brantford. I'll like to come see the garden when it's in full bloom.

Where do you buy your plants from, is it that garden centre on the way to Hamilton main street west?

You didn't mention where I can get the compost

Thanks a bunch Wayne. I will definitely go get some Saturday and toss some around the edges. Thanks again, Judy

Hey Mick,
Get your mushroom compost at Brantford Mushroom Farm which is closer to Ancaster than Brantford on Hwy#2 out near Alberton.

If you mean Harper's Garden Center on Wilson, they have a great selection but they are too expensive. We only buy there when they mark stuff down in the fall. Holland Park and Terras in Burlington have a good selection of the classics for good prices.

The Potting Shed in Dunnville is our favourite place now. Jack has very well grown hostas for good prices and a super selection of daylilies. (www.pottingshed.org)

Hosta Choice Gardens, just west of London, is re-opening this year with new owners. They have a huge selection on-line now and wonderful display gardens. Check them out.

The Ontario Hosta Society has a nice list of suppliers on their home page.

If you haven't done so already see the FAQ section on this site and look at Papou's "Top 10 favorites Survey 2007" right here: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hosta/msg0310313316651.html?14 You can't go wrong with any of the plants on the final list, down near the bottom of the thread posted Sun Mar 8, 07. If you want to be amazed and inspired and have lots of photos for reference, click on his name then go to his home page. Wow!!!

Hope this all helps. Feel free to send me an e-mail if have any more questions. Cheers, Wayne

Gorgeous walkway Wayne....How much sun exposure does the front of your house get. Paul

Thanks for that Wayne. There is a Terra in waterdown, so might not have to drive to Burlington.

I do get my elephant ear bulbs from Holland park in Burlington. You are right about Harpers being expensive, but they do hae the odd sale here and there.

I'll be trying the mushroom compost this year. Wonder if I can use it on the veggie garden?

I was unable to get Papu's top 10 list, the link you gave redirected to this thread

glaswegian, try this link: Top 10 favorites Survey 2007.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hosta/msg0300385110762.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Top 10 favorites Survey 2007 Link

Wow! I am in LOVE with your front yard!

wow

I'm in the meadowlands....so if you ever need help thinning that jungle down.....

My shade bed along the back fence, ready for hostas and other shade loving plants

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I hope the bed turns out like Waynes pretty soon :-)

{{gwi:527670}}

rain rain this week in southern ontario

Beautiful gardens Wayne, you have the "touch". I miss my mature Hostas from Southwestern Ontario, as we moved to PA last year and I had to leave my lovely yard behind. I plan to stop and visit my old yard when we are back in the area this fall. Now I am trying to develop some shade, we moved into a new neighborhood.
Great Job!!

Wayne: You can't possibly be thinking of changing that beautiful front garden...DON'T CHANGE PERFECTION!

LOVELY!! Thank you for sharing those pics
I must ask.... what variety is the gold beauty that is closest to your driveway?

Thanks all ... closest to the driveway would be little golden tiara then big Sum & Substance.

Incredible!