Atlantic Canada, Newfoundland, NL
 

I am currently visiting Newfoundland Canada where we have a
vacation home...planning a garden for the future years.

Putting a list together what does well here as far as perennials...
Bower mentioned lovage so that is a must grow.

I have lots of chives put in years ago. I have garlic chives seed.
Just harvested rhubarb.

Makamik flowering crab Apple planted a dozen years ago is about
To bloom as well as the lupine...elder lilac big grand bush is forming
Buds. (Example how far behind we are here).

65-70 high, 50-55 low. Perfect weather right now.

I could use a good mail order source for seed and bare-root plants.

Asparagus?

I have all the wild berries and a gooseberry...maybe some hybrids?

What about Tayberries? Said to be a hardy hybrid of black berry and raspberry.

It is great for fresh eating, no hard core, no tough seeds, mild and pleasant. I usually like strong flavored fruit, but the mild taste of this one is surprisingly good. Some small thorns, not tough as wild blackberry.

Do you care for horseradish? Very easy to plant and forget.

- Lisa

Asparagus can be done here. Need to get crowns in spring though - Vesey's in PEI does mail order, but you can probably pick them up at Gaze seed in St. John's as well.
Fruit: Strawberries are good. Currants are an excellent fruit crop here, maybe the most reliable. Even years we had no blueberries, lots of currants red and black. As long as moose don't eat the bushes. Mint is a good companion under gooseberries, it seems to repel the nasty little moths that eat all their leaves in some situations/years. Still looking for a moose repellent. :? Dogberries make great jelly. I think the best plan for fruit is to have a diversity of stuff, some may fail but hopefully not everything in the same year.
Horseradish and sunchokes are good.

Seasoning herbs: sage, thyme, lovage... lemon balm is another one.
Alliums: Egyptian onions, perennial green onions, leeks are making a perennial patch for me here. Shallots didn't do so well, but maybe my fault, bad timing dividing them. The chives in my garden came from my grandmother originally, up in Bonavista Bay. :)

Sorrel, tarragon, skirret should do well for you, as well as the others mentioned above. As for ornamentals, day lilies, siberian iris, own root roses, hardy geraniums and peonies should give you colour and fragrance. (Up until this past winter, I would have added quite a few more - dianthus, nepeta, delphiniums, campanula etc. as being iron hardy but did lose some this year.)

Lichen :D

Thank you!!

Lots to research...should have internet today.

We only have an acre but wild berry canes and nettles have taken
over. Weather has been gorgeous and more to come. Should have
It under control in a few days and start planning....hired a couple
Adorable young boys to hack at it.

Oakley,
Your signature info is bound to be confusing, you will be getting 5a New York advice even though you are in Newfoundland.....

[QUOTE=Nematode;652137]Oakley,
Your signature info is bound to be confusing, you will be getting 5a New York advice even though you are in Newfoundland.....[/QUOTE]

I up-dated my intro post.

Yes, I understand the confusion as I always look at a posters location when reading
a new thread. (I was posting on my phone up until just 1/2 hour ago when service was
turned on finally)...someone had 'borrowed' our cable line during the winter.:?:

I have no garden here to speak of but have plans for a greenhouse, etc. This location
is not relevant 11 months of the year. The altitude of the Catskill farm, where I have
had my main garden for 20 years, is very similar climate to the NorthAtlantic. Often a
few weeks behind here in Newfoundland, yet often identical depending on the year.

[QUOTE]Alliums: Egyptian onions, perennial green onions, leeks are making a perennial patch for me here. Shallots didn't do so well, but maybe my fault, bad timing dividing them. The chives in my garden came from my grandmother originally, up in Bonavista Bay. :)[/QUOTE]Bower, how are you handling your leeks? Is it a special variety or are you just letting some go to seed naturally? I can never use up my storage leeks before they deteriorate, so would be interested in having a bed with various ages to pick throughout the season, if that is possible.

[URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=652084"][IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/images/buttons/quote.gif[/IMG][/URL]

[QUOTE=ddsack;652150]Bower, how are you handling your leeks? Is it a special variety or are you just letting some go to seed naturally? I can never use up my storage leeks before they deteriorate, so would be interested in having a bed with various ages to pick throughout the season, if that is possible.

[URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=652084"][IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/images/buttons/quote.gif[/IMG][/URL][/QUOTE]

Yes, that is of interest. I picked up leeks at Masstown market on the way up...(NovaScotia)
Made leek-greens/veg stock within hours of arrival. And started some SeaSalt
as well once the wood stove was up and going...

The leeks are American Flag. This is the saga of my leek perennial patch experiment!
My friend initially grew them from seed and passed on some extra seedlings. I ended up planting them in a big fishtub and moving them into the greenhouse for the winter, where I cut rather than pulling them and ate them, and then in spring transplanted the stumps (which regrew) outdoors the next summer, where they set seed and also made some 'pearls' that is younguns in the form of a wee bulb on the side after flowers have been cut or finished. I started another batch from the seed, and voila, I had a Swiss Family Robinson of leeks in the garden, of different ages and stages. The idea was that some would be setting seed each year while others would be for growing and eating. I personally don't feel the need to harvest by pulling since it is a home garden not a market garden... I am just as pleased to cut them and let them regrow. They seem to like it.:):roll:

They are persisting with surprisingly little care in a bed with other rambunctious perennials, but like all alliums they cannot grow big and flourish without being weeded and divided/fed/ given space. So far this year I have weeded and top dressed them but haven't separated any. Still they can be eaten at any stage, and it is handy to have the patch so I can divide and grow some big ones any spring without the adventure of starting in February under lights. Also good to have seed setting each year so no buying seeds - but with the caveat they set seed very late some years (weather and leeks being what they are).8-)
One last thing about leeks, they make an excellent crop for over winter in the greenhouse, and really keep growing when nothing else would. I really enjoyed my winter leeks. And that reminds me, to steal some from the garden for next winter.

Bower, it has been so long that I have had my perma-leeks that I don't know what varieties they are. One's flowers are white and the other's are more pinkish. If the flower scapes are cut off they make larger bulbs. I let mine go wild in the garden for the sake of feeding hummingbirds who love the flowers. Bees too. I also pot some up for winter eating.

Oh, I wanted to do a "variety highlight" on... a dandelion!
If you like chicory, something a bit bitter, you've got to try this one. I bought the original seed from Johnny's 4 years ago, named 'Clio". Italian dandelion. Then saved seeds and planted more later. A biannual. Blooming blue flowers in my garden now.
The best part of this variety is its big upright tender green leaves, 1-2 feet long, with sweet white ribs. They stay tender all the way. The leaves stay upright, so no dirt gets in between. They pop up early in the spring, from the last year's roots/stems. No tender loving care needed whatsoever, other than directly sowing the seeds in the soil in the fall. I like them better than lettuce, as they have more texture.
I misplaced my seeds last year, otherwise, I would have offered them in the seed exchange. I will be saving lots of seeds this year.

[QUOTE=NewWestGardener;652205]Oh, I wanted to do a "variety highlight" on... a dandelion!
If you like chicory, something a bit bitter, you've got to try this one. I bought the original seed from Johnny's 4 years ago, named 'Clio". Italian dandelion. Then saved seeds and planted more later. A biannual. Blooming blue flowers in my garden now.
The best part of this variety is its big upright tender green leaves, 1-2 feet long, with sweet white ribs. They stay tender all the way. The leaves stay upright, so no dirt gets in between. They pop up early in the spring, from the last year's roots/stems. No tender loving care needed whatsoever, other than directly sowing the seeds in the soil in the fall. I like them better than lettuce, as they have more texture.
I misplaced my seeds last year, otherwise, I would have offered them in the seed exchange. I will be saving lots of seeds this year.[/QUOTE]

!!!:D
Just put that in my Johnny's cart...

Dandelions are right behind the nettles and berry canes all over the yard. They do well
here, and everywhere. Blue flowers? cool.

Love the idea of a blue dandelion! :D Dandelion was a traditional food in my Dad's family and here in the community, there is some serious dandelion eating amongst the elderly! Some even freeze it for winter... now that we have freezers. :roll:

You might check out Annapolis Seeds in Nova Scotia -- [URL]http://www.annapolisseeds.com/default.asp[/URL] -- I've met and liked Owen Bridge, the main guy who does it -- mostly locally grown seeds!

Clio is similar but different than the wild dandelions. A chicory is what it is.
The flowering stalk is a few feet tall with multiple branches, very different from dandelions. Seeds are more like those of poppies', no umbrellas. The leaves are similar, but much bigger, upright and a lot sweeter than the wild ones. The offsprings of Clio is no different than the original F1s.
I grew up in the cold cold north, wild dandelions are the first thing to collect from the wild after snow melts, for salads. So local people all ate plenty of them. We also collected chicories, much later in the fall.
Locals also eat a lot of fiddle heads, wild rose shoots when tender, wild chives- a surprise for me to see them in people's gardens here, and day lily flowers-- again grown here in people's gardens. We had wild blueberries in swampy grasslands. And orchids! Super hardy of course, considering our winters were 6 months long.
Shallots and garlic always grow well, as well as all kinds of onions in those cold climates. Soy beans, patatoes, sorghum , and corns are the main crop.

Wild hazelnuts were abundant in the fall. So there's a suggestion for hardy nut trees.

photo is from last year, Clio leaves in the background, they are like 2 feet long.

This is from the Internet of chicory blooms, exactly what mine look like now, blue flowers.

Beautiful flowers. Good list going...and good supplier list.
Seems most are done shipping for the season. Still great to get a plan started.

Uncovered a hugelkultur(sp) bed I started a couple years ago and started a new one
with branch pruning. Seaweed collecting and will gather Cod carcass and cover back
up.
The Cod have the 'blackberry' now, a mulusk, or some sort of snail, (periwinkle?) they
are gorging on and makes them taste off like iodine I've heard. So no fishing until the
Caplin run with the whales. Hopefully this weekend.

All my micro-greens are up and about ready...I wet the trays and stack them for the
trip so they get a three day head start. Third year doing that and works great.

Interesting how far behind we are...and the weather is perfect and lovely by my
standards. (not fond of high heat). Anything above 90 and I'm toast.
65-70 daytime, 55-60 nighttime is Devine. Fog, rain, sun, who cares.

Lilacs, lupins, Phlox, still trying outside but blooming in the warmth indoors.

I suppose fruit trees are out of the question, darn.

Even in the cool Catskill farm the Asian pear has one good year out of 5.

Grapes?

No suppliers have any root stock now so that was a too late plan. I'll order early next
year and smuggle some stock from my garden. (without any soil)...dry root and clean.

I ordered 3 dozen birch saplings for the back right corner. The trial ones I put in 10yrs
ago grew fast and good firewood. Still full of nettles but working on it.

(darn side-waze pics)

My greenhouse plans have gone from a nice compact 8x16 to twice that. The back garden woodshed
in the pic gets all day sun so plans to add an attached greenhouse to that....very protected from
ALL DAY WIND, lol.

-the boys did good! the yard was near knee deep a week ago.

front yard pic. Nice Berg.
From the guest room window if you need a break and want to visit Bower, :D

Oakley, my what a lovely spot. :D I LOVE LOVE your behind the shed-rock-gets-sun-all-day !! :yes:Could be perfect microclimate for a fruit tree or two, it's not out of the question but mainly depends on how much MIG you get (Moose-In-Garden:x!). Also snowshoe hares will strip the bark in winter if they're about and anything exposed.
Grapes are only possible in the greenhouse - friend of mine has two types and she rooted a small one for me last year. The grapes are out of this world delicious of course, fresh from the vine duh. :love:
For fruit trees, damson plums were traditionally grown, certainly in the Bonavista Bay area, you might even be able to find some local stock if you look around. I would love to get my hands on some of those old damsons if you find them. They also had an orchard of crabapples at my aunt's place in Eastport. Used to make jelly. But it may be that crabs were grown because other grafted apples were not at all available back in the day. Where I'm living the ravages of animals are keeping me and my neighbours apple-free. :bummer: But I know people in Mount Pearl and CBS who have pears from trees in their gardens... moose free zones. The grafted apple trees I planted have been chowed down regularly and are now just neglected bushes, if you can imagine it. I notice that there are a lot of sprouts coming from the rootstock on one of them - as I recall they were grafted to Beautiful Arcade, a Russian stock that also bears early good apples itself. You could certainly get some shoots of it from me, if you want something inexpensive to trial, and if it does well, you can also graft onto it.... The apple trees and some of my roses came from Corn Hill Nursery in NB. I would recommend them if you decide to try grafted stock. And I have hazelnuts that came from Grimo in Ontario, which have suffered the same rabbit and moose troubles. But there are other issues with hazels, the catkins are frost sensitive and they tend to bloom prematurely in our yoyo spring. I had one tree of 20 seedlings that bore a few nuts a couple of times, and even in the best conditions I think it would not be a reliable crop in NL thaw and freeze conditions.
Lupins are blooming here too, out in the road. In my garden, bluebells and cornflowers and chives and irises are blooming now, which usually are around the solstice. The bluebells and cornflowers and chives all came from grandmother to mother to me... old standards of Bonavista Bay gardens. :) I have an early Dianthus which are also in bloom, and the first roses have begun: Blanc Double de Coubert is first and heavenly scented, and an old fashioned dark pink rambling rose just opened a first this morning. Also lovely smelling, they are both rugosas so very hardy and easy to grow.
In the food department, lovage is about to flower so past its prime for eating afaik (we relish it in early spring) and sage will soon flower as well. Took a beating this winter and I'm still working on the weed and feed of my sage patch. Garlic scapes are just popping this week on the porcelains (Music and Argentina). Spanish Roja will be 2 or 3 weeks later and the small Chesnoks and Persian Stars I'm trying to grow up from rounds will be as late as that or later. I have a pair of garlics I don't know what they are, came from a mixed stock of rounds someone got at the "Bonavista Social Club" a few years back (there it is, Bonavista again!). This is the hottest garlic I've ever tasted and after a couple years of disappearing early and reappearing in spring, produced some large rounds, I'm dubbing them "Bonavista Fireball" for now and eager to see what these two big plants produce. No scapes yet. :wait:

Fantastic information. I'm better prepared for next year. A friend from UpperAmherstCove
offered to put in some garlic if I prep the bed.
Nice garlic and might be BSC stock as you can see the SocialClub from their place.
Have not run into the Pattersons in a few years, (BSC) so might need to take a spin.

Corn Hill will be a definite stop on my way up. Not far off the drive path. Amazing
selection of Heritage fruit trees. Annapolis seed will also be on my order list.

Moose rarely make their way down to the beach. Though did watch one last year, a teen
Moose, dip its feet in the water early one morning.

The flowering crab apple, now 10yrs old, is a good sign me thinks. Especially if I plant
a few varieties in the back sunny-protected-from-the-wind area.

A bit surprised Nursery shipping is over for the season with the Lilacs just blooming...

I thought you may be better off from the wildlife close to the water. :yes: Also it's a good microclimate, the water moderates temperature extremes. My Mom's place is near the ocean and our microclimates are very different a few km apart. Snow at my place, rain at hers. She's much less likely to have a frost than I do inland.
I was very happy with the quality from Corn Hill. :) It is tricky to ship from places where their season is not identical to ours, usually they warm up earlier, so you may have to hold dormant stock here until the ground thaws in spring. :surprised: Lilacs in July, oh my. :twisted:

The weather is just amazing. Yet wind was high today...blew over a gallon of paint all
over...everything. Calm now, like every evening and very warm, comfortable.

Warm here is 'no sweat'...just normal clothing. Perfect.

Monkshood. Deadly. I have two growing patches that I had to eradicate. Gorgeous
flowers and grows so well I wish it was 'nice'.

The boys cleaning the garden had STRICK instructions to stay away from all nettles and
the Monkshood. (my job)

It is so deadly I've given it two sprayings. Careful cutting it out being 4 sq feet now.
My younger pup was eating some nearby grass as pups do and was obviously a bit
mildly ill last night. Toxic plants need to go...winds calmed down and sprayed again.

Still researching the best way to deal with the stalks once dead. Nasty plant and curious
why anyone would want to plant them...

Wow, never knew about monkshood, careful around that stuff.
If it was at my place, I'd be dead already.

From wikipedia:

Aconitum poisons were used by the Aleuts of Alaska's Aleutian Islands for hunting whales. Usually, one man in a kayak armed with a poison-tipped lance would hunt the whale, paralyzing it with the poison and causing it to drown.[12]

:panic: