Garden Map

When the majority of the plants I planted by the pond this summer never poked through the ground, I decided to make a Garden map so that next spring I would know what plants were coming through. And also so I would know where annuals were so that I could plant new plants there next year. Granted not every plant I purchased went by the pond, most of them did. This is my little hand drawn, attempt at a map.

Plants are coded by number.

1. Montana Wild Fern                      

2. Trillium Grandiflorum

3. Twin Leaf Jeffersonia                  

4. Dutchmen's Breeches

5. Bottle Gentian

6. Trillium Sessile

7. Helleborus Orientalis

8. Snap Dragon

9. Sweet Potato Vine (Green)

10. Lupine

11. Rain Lily

12. Jacob's Ladder

13. Peacock Orchids

14. Forget Me Nots

15. Lettuce

16. Begonia

17. Corsican Mint

18. Irish Moss

19. Kenilworth Ivy

20. Clumping Baby's Breath

21. New Guinea Impatiens (Apple Blossom)

22. New Guinea Impatiens (?)

23. Labrador Violet

24. Variegated Grass (Pink and white)

25. Variegated Grass (Green and white)

26. Coleus

27. Royal Fern

28. Digitalis

29. Blackberry Lily

30. Sharp Lobed Hepatica

31. Round Lobed Hepatica

32. Ligularia Japonica

33. Balloon Flower

34. Sweet Potato Vine (Purple)

35. Sweet Potato Vine (variegated)

36. Trout Lily (Yellow and White)

37. Jack in the Pulpit

38. Hosta

39. Brunnera (Jack Frost)

40. Wild Ginger

41. Lily of the Valley

42. Dwarf Crested Iris

Pond Plants

1. Bloody Dock

2. Aquatic Mint

3. Penny Wart

4. Aquatic Forget Me Not

5. Hygrophila

6. Sider Lily

7. Aquatic Hibiscus

8. Horsetail Rush

9. Black Gamecock Iris

10. Parrot's Feather

11. Bacopa

12. Dwarf Cattail

13. Dwarf Water Lily

14. Red Water Lily

15. Water Hyacinth

16. Water Lettuce

Found locally

The selection of plants locally is sometimes better than I expect. I actually found many of the Woodland shade plants, that I had purchased online, here in local nurseries. A few of my favorites are Millcreek Gardens, Desert Water Gardens, Earth Systems, and surprisingly my closest Smith's grocery store often has a pretty good selection of plants. Some of the plants I was able to find at local places throughout the summer include:

Snap Dragon

Sweet Potato Vine

Lupine

Rain Lily

Jacob's ladder

Begonia

Corsican Mint

Irish Moss

Kenilworth Ivy

Clumping Baby's Breath

New Guinea Impatiens

Labrador Violets

Variegated Grass

Coleus

Royal Fern

Digitalis

Balloon Flower

Montana

I went to Montana last week for the opening of my family's new business, Intermountain Homes, and a family reunion of sorts. Of course much of my time was spent staring at local flora and fauna. I was absolutely determined to bring home one of the beautiful ferns I saw decorating the countryside. We spent a day in Butte - where my dad grew up, a day in Glacier National Park, and a day at Flathead Lake.  It was truly an inspirational trip for a plant obsessed, aspiring gardner.

Butte

I love moss

And water

The Mountain Goats at Glacier are amazing!

I looked to one of my favorite blogs, Montana Outdoors, to attempt to identify these little flowers. 

This one seems to be Indian Paintbrush

 Not sure about this one

Marmot

Deer grazing

Ground Squirrels

What an Amazing Morning

When I went out to the pond this morning I found this little guy in the shallow end. I quickly scooped him up and brought him inside to clean him up and dry him off. He was shivering violently and looked pretty beat up so I called Wasatch Exotic Animal Hospital to ask for advice. I explained that I had found what I thought was an injured baby Woodpecker. Amy was very helpful and said to bring him in as Woodpeckers are a protected species.

I put the little Woodpecker on a heating pad in my bathroom while I got dressed to take him to the vet. When I came back he had dried off and fluffed out him feathers. He looked much perkier so I called Amy back to see if she thought I would be alright to simply put him back outside. She said if I didn't see the parents after a while, and he didn't take off I might still want to bring him him.

When he hopped up my bathroom towel, in true Woodpecker fashion, and flew over to my curtain I figured he would be just fine.

I placed him on a crab-apple tree in our yard and it was then that I saw his very handsome dad. He was black with white spots and a beautiful red crest. I wish I could have gotten a picture.

The last place I saw him was high up in one of our scrub oak trees.

Made in the Shade

I love shade plants! When I picked up the red water lily for the pond I also ordered a few shade plants as well. They came packaged nicely and the seller even threw in a few freebies. Did I mention I love Ebay?
Plants I picked up are:

Jack Frost Brunnera

Helleborus Orientalis

And Ligularia Japonica

Pond Plants Yay!

I added a photo to the step by step post, but here are some of the pond plants that just got added.

Dwarf Cattails

Aquatic Mint

Red Water Lilies

Dwarf Water Lilies

Dwarf Bowl Lotus

Parrot's Feather

Variegated Water Celery

Horsetail Rush

Black Gamecock Iris

Aquatic Forget Me Nots

Bloody Dock!

Water Hyacinths

Water Lettuce

Spider Lilies

And Water Hibiscus

I also added a couple aquarium plants just to se how they'd do.

Hygrophila - Spreading like crazy

And Bacopa