A new garden, a new blog

Temperature: -9 (centigrade)
Sunny

Having mostly survived our first winter in the new house, my thoughts now turn to gardening. It is the second day of Spring after all. The snow cover is still impossibly thick, and local forecasts call for a long, slow start to Spring.

Let's begin with a description of the property and the little that I know about it. We moved in in late November, just before the first of many snow storms. As such, I've had little chance to become closely acquainted with the property (I hesitate to call it a garden yet). We're located in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, which boasts of weather extremes ranging from -30 (plus windchill) in the winter, to the high-30s in summer (plus the humidex). Ottawa suffers under what is called a "humid continental climate" (thanks, Wikipedia!). This year has been the second snowiest on record, and I expect to see a soggy start to the growing season as the snow cover melts. I also suspect we are on clay or a clay-loam soil, which will delay the season even further.

The property itself is just over 1/3 acre (16,000 sqft and change), located where the urban centre turns into mid-century suburbs. The house itself is a split-level ranch built by a locally famous builder. The property features some slopes which provide visual interest and no doubt inspired the split-level design. Prior to the house being built in 1957, the area was historically meadows, sited along the bank of the Rideau Canal. Completed in 1832 by Colonel By, the Canal is a historic site and we've always enjoyed living near its bike paths and beautiful aspect. The area we now live in was once settled by canal workers, and later featured small cottages owned by the likes of the poet Archibald Lampman. It has been lightly lived-on for most of its history.

I would like to research the geology more and post on that topic at a later date.

Our site faces west, with a 90-foot frontage. The one stand-out feature of the landscaping is the trees. Most of them were probably planted 50 years ago.

The front yard: Split in 2 by the driveway, there is a strip of grass on the south side (which includes a deep depression which has a storm sewer drain) about 10-15 feet x 55 feet, plus a line of cedars (primarily) following the property line. Near to the house (too near?) is an oak, still fairly young. It is about 25 feet tall. A 5-foot-tall deciduous shrub sits next to it. On the north side of the drive is a front yard about 50x70. (All my numbers are guesses at this point!) This yard is mainly grass, with a limestone retaining wall nearer the house. There were signs of a bit of gardening along the front of the house, and the steps. 2 overgrown cedars line the driveway side (one is growing into the spruce at the front corner). That "bed" also features a little christmas-tree evergreen (pine? fir?) about 3-4 feet tall. There is another overgrown cedar smack against the house, its only redeeming features being a) the privacy it gives my office window b) local birds like it c) it hides the air conditioner. The northern edge is lined by a ratty-looking cedar hedge about 4-5 feet tall, 2 very tall pines (the kind with the feathery needles) and a huge weeping willow at the front corner. Everywhere else is grass.

The north side: Not much to say - only about 6-10 feet wide, and the length of the house (22-24 feet). The cedar hedge continues along here, as well as 3 spruces. I aim to remove at least one, and preferably all 3, if I can convince my DH. They are too close to the house, and pretty ugly, with no branches on their north sides. This area is quite shady, and lined with patio pavers I believe. Most of our (soon to be replaced) roof directs runoff to this area. It will be first and foremost a utility area for rain barrels, etc - but is useful as a path to the back deck.

The south side: Wider than the north - 15-20 feet x about 35 feet long. The property-line cedar trees continue along this side, casting it into shade most of the day. Their only useful purpose is to provide privacy from the neighbours. The cedars are interspersed with the occasional deciduous tree, species TBD. The back corner, by the walkout door from the den, is more sunny at this time, as the deciduous trees are denser here. There are pavers along here as well. The neighbours' chain link is partly visible along the trunk line. This side will provide main access from the garage to the back, as well as for garden party guests I expect.

The rear yard: There is a large deck along the back of the house, and a limestone retaining wall at the slope next to it. The rear wall of the house provides many views of the yard from windows and glass doors.A path leads from the den (at the lowest point) up the slope to the yard. The rise is perhaps 3 feet? The back south side of the yard drops down to a small ravine wooded with deciduous trees, including a large maple, perhaps very old. The ravine is mostly unexplored so far, but has a small creek (seasonal?) at its base. The rest of the yard is reasonably flat, and grassy (although perhaps as much as half is actually groundcover or weeds?) In general, the north side is mostly line with evergreens (spruce) and the south and east with deciduous (maple). In the summer/fall, no neighbours are visible. There is a compost area, and a little "garden area" lined with an amusing ranch-style fence on the north side. That is butted up against the neighbours chain link (where they have a pool). I think I saw a clematis there. This is one potential veggie garden spot.