Gardening in Alberta

Last year we planted a number of plants in our back garden. We had selected plants that were supposedly hardy for the region but all the same, after what has been a long winter, we sort of suspected we would never see any of them again. However, we were wrong! We are pleasantly surprised to report that plants in our north facing garden with winter temperatures of -20 to -30 have actually survived! We are now thinking that it might be possible to have a garden in Alberta!

In early May our Crab Apple was just twigs, with no leaves or flowers. Since then though, the leaves have been coming on gradually and the flowers seem to have come out in just a few days! This plant (we can't remember what it is!), didn't even lose its leaves over winter and now looks as though it is going to surprise us further with bright pink flowers.And there is much more continuing to bud, sprout and grow. We now think that, from the whole garden, we MAY have lost just one plant, unless of course it recovers over the coming weeks.Less hardy plants can survive too. We have had to bring this one in on a few occasions as temperatures can go into minus figures overnight, even in May. As summer comes on though, it should be OK to leave it out all the time, unless we get some freaky weather.So, maybe Albertan gardening is perfectly possible - it just takes a bit of extra thought and care.

J&E