Shame I don't have a pic but a volunteer bronze fennel has appeared in a clump of tangerine geums and looks completely at home. Naturally, I have been taking the credit for this serendipitous pairing, despite zero effort on my part...

"... Naturally, I have been taking the credit for this serendipitous pairing, despite zero effort on my part ..."

And so you should lol! I do all the time! No one has to know I don't really have exquisite taste and artistic skill, lol

Lovely combo, floral. What's the hosta? I'm such a sucker for variegated hostas. I probably really shouldn't even ask.....

:)

Dee

No idea what the hosta is. I got it from a market stall. It's the only one I have and has to be grown 3 feet off the ground in an old chimney pot and strewn with slug pellets. I'm not that interested in hostas, luckily. I just fancied this one.

And even then, with fortresses, moats and chemical defences, it will still resemble a lace doily in a few weeks, I am not much of a hosta fan either...but I could be if it wasn't such an impossible task to grow them here.

About 6 years ago, when I was having my large trees pruned, one of understory Japanese maples sustained damage to its central trunk. I was bothered, but let it be. Years later it has developed a beautiful multistem - you can’t quite see from the pictures, but there are three branches out. Ironically, this year I’ve started learning a lot more about pruning; whereas before I was of the school of leave the tree to grow as it wants. So that “damage” actually ended up being a kind of pruning I would have never been able to do at that time, if that makes sense…

@LaLennoxa 6a/b Hamilton ON that’s a gorgeous tree! I’m so envious of those who can grow japanese maples. Do you have more in your garden?

Thanks! Yes, about 10 years ago when I was really getting into gardening, I entered into my Japanese maple phase. That, combined with a local nursery having an 80% off sale at the end of the season (!!), prompted me to add quite a few to my garden at that time. So I ended up with 9 in my garden. I thought I had my fill, but as usual these phases come back full circle: this spring I added 3 new maples - young saplings on which I will hopefully use what I am learning about pruning. Two of them are coral bark varieties which were considered somewhat borderline in my zone - but now I’m thinking, especially with climate change, we’ve passed the point of concern in my microclimate.

Ive enjoyed this combo for years , volunteer columbine joined my trollius -

photo from last year , I’m still in crocus season

this is a very long lived columbine !