I mentioned that last weekend was nice and warm. How warm you ask…?

How about “Need to wear shorts” warm.

It got up to about 20C/68F… but when I was out working in the sun, it felt much warmer. Perfect weather to get those clearance perennials, as well as the second box of bulbs I ordered (another 120 bulbs or so…) in the ground.

I know you’re just dying to see what I got. Of course, there’s no actually flowers, but here’s a look at what we have to look forward to next year.

For the clearance perennials…

These three went inside the catio. Potentilla is something I’ve been considering for a few years. I’ve never actually seen it in a garden centre – just my mail order catalogues. The Iceland poppies and Pasque flower I had at the townhouse, but neither made the move. It will be nice to have them again.

The pussytoes I had to get just because of the name. But it’s a nice little ground cover plant so it went in the driveway garden. I also added two ice plants. They are also supposed to be great for groundcover too. I tried tog grow them at the townhouse a couple of times with no luck. I planted one here in mid summer. It didn’t bloom, but it’s nice and healthy so I figured why not get a couple more.

Spiderwort has foliage like a dayliliy, but smaller simpler flowers. I planted a bareroot one back in spring, with no luck, so I figured I’d try these two. I might have better chances with an already established plant.

I already have some Beard Tongue (also known as Penstamon) and Globe Thistle, but I love them both so I got more!

These four are going to get pretty big, and I need to dig a new garden for them. For now they are planted on the edge of Willow Grove. Come spring, I’ll build a new garden and give them the space they need to shine.

Now onto the bulbs…

I’m trying out some Winter Aconite for a nice pop of early colour.

I’ve also added a mix of muscari (grape hyacinths) since many of the ones from the townhouse didn’t make it. None of my Allium did either, so I got these nice Drumstick Allium. Dad has a tonne of Glory of the Snow in his garden and I always forget to did some up… so I just gave up and bought some. It won’t come up quite as early as the Aconite, but it’s still one of the first pops of colour.

I got a pile more tulips – including a Wine Lovers’ Blend, a Pretty in Pink collection, and a mix of Turkistan Tulips (also known as ground cover tulips).

And of course, we can’t leave out the Daffodils. I got a gorgeous mix of whites, as well as a traditional ‘Poet’s Daffodil’

And last, but definitely not least…

Lilies!!! You didn’t see much of my Oriental/Asian lilies this year because they got absolutely ravaged by orange lily beetles. But I’ve got a plan to stay on top of it for next year, and I always want more lilies! I got a “Red” mix, Muscadet, and Hotel California.

And now… there’s nothing left to do but wait. All the planting and tending is done for the year.

So I leave you with one last visitor to the garden…. a Common Checkerspot butterfly who stopped in last weekend when the sun was shining bright and warm.