My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Monthly Archives: July 2012


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The magic of roots and the tranquility of a misty morning visit to a local beach.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

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Spent some time on the weekend, while DH was flying .. to relax in a decadent bout of reading.   Time to relax and just explore the pages of my gardening books.  There never seems to be the time to do this during the week so I look forward to these lovely indulgent weekends.

Looking through my treasures .. one of a handful of gardening books that I truly treasure .. this one is “Living Earth” by Peter Farb, by Pyramid Books .. entitled “The Words of Science, Biology”.

Now I hadn’t studied biology in school and I don’t know if this sort of thing is being taught nowadays, that is, the subject of the magic of the root system of plants.   And in such a down to earth manner of explaining!

Peter Farb’s book is fascinating.  First published in January, 1959…. this copy that I hold reverently is 50 years old!  A real treasure. I picked this one up at a local library book sale. One of those magic moments, you know .. when you see a little inconspicuous book, pick it up and open it up and it’s one of those OMG moments.

Words pop out of the page. Worlds open and enchantment begins.  You see, I have a very active imagination and can visualize what I am reading.   Most of the time this is a good thing.  And that is why I mostly read positive things and steer away from nasty things.

Anyway, Chapter 4 “The World of the Root” … describes the importance of tree roots  How they pry and twist beneath the forest soil  The strength of the system.  More than half of the tree’s bulk is underground …busy growing, feeding ..busy roots that have enormous power that we do not see on the surface.

He describes how a healthy root system can “scarcely be destroyed” … chop down the forest giant and its roots sprout dozens of new saplings.

Tree roots grow best in adversity, when the soil is poor and water hard to come by.   Experiments in laboratories have shown that “a rye plant , grown for only four months, developed an underground system of 7,000 miles of roots”!!

And he goes on to tell us that roots go back in the history of the soil about a third of a billion years .. plants have greatly modified their aerial parts, the stems and the leaves in the past 350 million years, but the root structure shows little change.  He states that perhaps in the conservative environment of the soil, there has been little need for  adaption.

Next, he describes 3 areas of the root system which bring forth the magic to me!  These are:

Root-Cap

This is at the very tip of the root, it fits like a thimble and takes the brunt of pushing through the soil.   Constantly renewing itself, it bears the brunt of the movement through the soil.

The Zone of Elongation:   Now I first heard of this in my recent Master Gardening course and the phrase pulled me like a magnet.  Here I discover more about this zone.  It sits directly behind the cap, seldom more than three-tenths of an inch long and this is where rapid cell division occurs .. it is the only part of the root that increases in length.  In all roots.  And finally:

Felty Root Hairs:  Right behind the Zof E, is the only place where the roots feed!  And these are followed by the corky brown roots, older sections, once they fed the sapling, now they are no longer taking in water but now act as pipelines connected to the tree.  It has the same cork covering as the tree bark, but is much thinner.

This book references specialists for further studies and I am so very grateful for their work, enabling me to further understand the magic beneath my feet!

After reading about the root system, I found myself wandering around recently ploughed soil .. and saw root stems lying hither and thither.  After much debate with myself, I finally decided to gather up some sections.  Simply because I normally do not see tree roots in my normal day-to-day living.  And these alder roots were lovely.  So I quickly gathered some up and formed them into wreaths.  To hang them in the trees in my yard .. to add to the natural beauty.

As I pulled some of the tips out of the ground, I could see the tenacious spreading of the root tips and smell the earthy smell of the mycorrhizal fungi as they clung to these areas.  Just doing their job.  Reminders for me as to the magnificence of nature.

I could go on and on about more information contained in this chapter, but, another time!

A few days ago, when I went to a beach up-island, I was fortunate enough to be there at a time in the morning when there were only a few others around.   The morning was misty and a surreal fog was gently engulfing the water and shoreline.

It was one of those very rare moments of peaceful quiet in a beautiful surrounding and I felt honoured to be there at that time to enjoy this lovely gift.    The only sound was that of a few gulls crying out and the sound of the water lapping against the rocks.

So I’m sharing a few pictures of my special time there in all that quiet beauty.

Now .. I must go outside to spread out recently acquired seaweed.  Today is predicted to be hot and sunny and I need to dry out this crop as soon as possible!

On and on with this day!


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Sunny days, blue skies .. it’s shaping up to be a lovely summer

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

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Lovely sunny weekend up-island .. temperatures in the 30’s and hot, hot, hot …. Till we came back home to the rain.  However, the sun returned here yesterday and continues so that is a good sign.

I had added quite a lot of EM to the garden on Friday and so it was nice to see that the plants are growing well.  Especially the squash and the tomatoes.  In particular, a tired sunflower, missing the companionship of the garlic, had begun to lean over an topple to the ground.  So I braced it up with a garden fork …   but the pore ole thing still continued to topple.  So I watered it quite well with EM … and today, 4 days later, the lovely plant is doing much better and the flower is starting to open.  Pics tomorrow.

Lots of cherries .. and lots for the birds.  I froze some and dehydrated some in the oven.   Lovely to have fruit from the garden.

There will be a surplus of apples in the garden .. so we’ll be sharing them with friends.  If I had a cider press, I would think of having cider made .. but .. perhaps I can find out the details of having them pressed somewhere .. something to check out.

I was quite content this afternoon to work away outside in the yard .. until the “noisy” neighbour decided to used his shredder outside.  I can only imagine that he gathers branches from nearby yards, cause he really doesn’t have much left in his little tiny yard .. to shred.  He is the type that leaves the machine running while he tip toes around the yard, sweeping up leaves.  Not exactly true, but you get the picture!    So instead of trying to have yet another “conversation” with him .. I decided to come inside for a little peace and quiet.

Funny  how some people feel a need to make noise with machinery in the faint pursuit of gardening, while others are content to mulch and garden more quietly.   It’s a world, though, isn’t it.

Today I’m drying sea lettuce and some bull kelp, freshly gathered.  The yard smells quite ocean-like and the time was quiet while I was carefully drying my lovely garden gold!

Reminds me of a conversation that I had recently with some visitors from the Netherlands.  The whole family, except for mom .. flew sailplanes .. so we had the opportunity to talk a little about gardening.  Sadly, seaweed is not readily available in that country and when it is . .it is quite expensive.  I  feel  so lucky that I’m able to just get in my car and go up-island to gather some.

Ah .. lovely lovely summer days …. So energizing to just go outside and enjoy the quiet …. Yes .. the quiet .. my noisy neighbour has finished his machine work for now .. so I’ll take advantage of the restfulness of this time.

🙂


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If I hadn’t gone shopping for a cherry pitter, I would have missed the most luxurious vehicle I have ever seen in my life!

Friday, July 13, 2012

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Friday .. the 13th .. is such a lucky day for me!

After the surprise hailstorm of very early morning, the day developed into a lovely sunshiny day!

I tended the gardens at Dakota, ruthlessly clipping away at vegetation .. then a lovely soak with water and a generous application of EM!  I look forward to next week to see the difference.

Finally, I’ve been applying EM to our yard .. and about time!   Everything is growing so well.   The seaweed adds a lovely perfume to the yard … a delicate ocean scent.  And the amazing minerals are feeding the garden.

Picked more raspberries, blueberries and a few tiny red currants.   Then, a few hours picking the cherries … the ripest are beyond my reach, even with a ladder .. so the birds will continue their feasting for a while.

Finally splurged on buying a cherry pitter.   Since I long ago give away the one I had .. because I didn’t need it.  sigh.  So I’ll keep this one.  A few nights ago I spent hours at the kitchen sink, busily cutting open the cherries in preparation for dehydrating in the oven.  Let me tell you, the cherry juice was all over the counter and a bit of a mess.  So I splurged tonight.

So very happy to see the Downy Woodpecker back in the yard!    I missed you .. I whispered .. welcome back.

The Chickadees love the fat that I placed in the feeders …. trying to keep the sparrows away, they are drawn like magnets when I place the suet block there .. so I’m taking a break from them.

Started reshaping the yard again . .now that the garlic has been harvested.   Digging a path by the raspberry bushes …. the yard directs me and I follow, shovel in hand.   Kind of fun and surprising.

Then I planted a few squash plants .. ready to grow up a meshed area.   EM’s like crazy.

Really enjoyed the peace and quiet of the yard today … playing music that I purchased last year when I visited the Sequim Lavender Faire …if I go this year, I’ll buy a few more dvds.

When I was returning from my trip to the supermarket, to purchase the cherry pitter .. I saw the most amazing car I have ever seen in my life!!

It was across the road, waiting to turn right and I quickly took out my handy camera and clicked away .. as the light changed to green, suddenly the road was filled with traffic and I wasn’t able to get a pic. So, the lovely driver, waited, after the light had changed .. and remained in place while I clicked a few pictures!  Thank you!!!

So, here is the car in all of its majestic classic shiny black beautifulness .. and .. if anyone is able to identify this luxurious motor vehicle for me .. well, thank you in advance and I’ll post the name with the picture.

And I owe this lovely surprise to my decision to buy the cherry pitter.   If not for that, I would have missed this amazing spectacle.

So .. remember .. acting on a whim results in lovely surprises!

Enjoy your weekend ..

🙂


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Flying over eagles, gathering raspberries, blueberries …. cherries .. lovely summer

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

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Where on earth does the time go??????

We are finally enjoying some hot weather here .. so that means the veggies in the garden are growing .. I can see some pumpkins and squash, flowering and fruiting .. that is a good sign.

The garlic .. well, I dug it all up today.  Except for some in pots.  There are a variety of sizes and I’m at a loss as to figure out why.

The first bundle that I dug up were mostly large.  And today, there was a mix .. some healthy sized bulbs, some medium-sized, some rounds (which I’ll plant in the fall, for large bulbs next summer) and a lot of smaller bulbs.

The cloves that were planted were pretty well the same size.  And I think that spacing the cloves out a bit more gives the roots the opportunity to spread out and grow more.  I was just antsy to plant as much garlic as I could last fall.  So this year .. I’ll try to be more mature.  But, not by much!

I do know that the EM & the seaweed made a big difference as all the bulbs were much larger than last year’s crop.

I’ve been picking raspberries, blueberries and cherries.   For the past few days I’ve been drying cherries in the oven .. they dry like raisins.  And I’ll use these in my granola .. that I’m going to make.

The winds had been so strong in the past few weeks … I was despairing of having enough fruit from the cherry tree for us to eat .. as the winds were causing quite a few fruits to drop to the ground.  I’d gathered up lots from the ground, so as to dissuade the wasps from visiting.

Anyway, 2 days ago, I noticed that the lower branches were dripping with ripe cherries!  That was a great surprise as I hadn’t noticed them before!  So I gathered quite a bit and pitted them, dried them in the oven and now have a good supply in containers, for my next batch of granola.

Today I gathered more and am waiting for a few more days for more to ripen .. and then I’ll make up some cherry pie filling!

Lots of cherries at the top of the tree for the birds and enough for us at the lower edges.

Last weekend we went to Port Alberni for DH to go sailplaning …. beautiful weather .. except we saw lots of cloudy weather which turned out to be the outflow from fires in Siberia!!

Anyway … DH arranged for me to go for a flight with the lead instructor … we were up in the air for over an hour .. sheer bliss!

At one point, we were flying over a pair of eagles who were soaring a thermal .. how utterly exciting was that!  I took pics, but they are only dots in the screen.  Suffice it to say that this was a wonderful moment.

And as if that wasn’t enough .. soon, we were flying close to DH .. that was utterly fantastic!    He was flying along at the same height .. and it was so lovely to be in the air at the same time!

A few dips and turns and such a lovely time.  I just didn’t want to land .. rather, I wanted to stay up in the air for a few more hours.

Look forward to a self-launching two-seater sailplane .. a gal can dream, right?

Well, outside to hang up the garlic .. or rather, to find a place where I can hang this lovely crop .. to dry!

🙂


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Wednesday was quite the garlic-y day for me .. and guess what, I’ve finally dug some up

Thursday, July 5, 2012

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We are finally enjoying hot summer weather and it’s wonderful for the garden and the humans also!

Yesterday I heeded the information that the garlic is ready to harvest when the bottom leaves turn yellow.  Although I’ve also read that one should wait till the crowns have wilted.  Anyway, I was so excited about digging up some of the garlic that I just started digging away.

The garlic was well rooted, what with the composted soil, the addition of lots of seaweed plus liberal doses of EM …. plus the recent rains had made it a bit more challenging to lift the garlic.

Nonetheless, I did harvest quite a number.  As I was cleaning off the bulb and then trimming the roots neatly, I had a thought.  What if the roots are meant to be left on?

So, into the house and I started searching for information on garlic.  Found several sites.  But .. the best site, bar none, was this one, and located in British Columbia!  Boundary Garlic Farm.  http://www.garlicfarm.ca/about-us.htm

And here I learned to keep the leafy section and the roots attached to the bulb, so that they would add more energy and growth to the bulb.   And not to worry about the dirt around the roots, these can be gently removed later when they are dry.

Besides recipes and many, many growing tips and information on how to choose which garlic would be suitable for various climates .. I learned that I can slice the cloves of garlic in a food processor and then dehydrate them.   I’ll try that .. drying them in the oven.  Then, the dried slices can be kept either in an airtight container or in a ziplock bag in the freezer.  Later, they can be ground to a powder.

Lots of helpful information on this site.

I did find a site that mentioned that the garlic roots are a delicacy .. but can’t try that out, as the root cuttings from yesterday are scattered, drying, in the garlic bed.  Murphy!

Well, I decided to let the rest of the garlic just stay nice and cozy in their bed until the leaves are more yellow.   This will give the soil time to dry out a bit, making it easier for me to harvest them.

I’m sure going to need a lot of space to dry these giants … and luckily, my friend D gave me a wonderful netting that will be perfect for drying.  I’ll take a picture tomorrow!

I am very impressed with the size of the garlic, it’s mostly hardneck (I’d bought 4 types from Richter’s a few years ago) and they are the size of elephant garlic.   I had bought several cloves of elephant, but wasn’t very successful with those.

Other things I learned while searching for information in the world of garlic .. were that the seeds of garlic can be sown .. they will grow into various shapes over the following 3 years, resulting in large bulbs.

And that the “rounds” can be harvested …. dried .. and then planted again and the result will be larger bulbs.

And that those tiny little round chickpea-like growths that are on the hardnecks can be planted again.  So I’ve soaked quite a number of them in concentrated EM and put them in a container for rooting.  At which time I’ll plant.

Also, some “rounds” might result from bulbs not receiving a month of 10 degrees of coldness in the fall.

And that you can speed up the rooting of garlic cloves, if time is tight in the fall, by putting them in containers, filled with compost, in the kitchen, until the roots form … which they will do, quickly . .and then plant them out.

Yesterday was quite a garlic-y one for me.

Yum.  Yum.  Yum.


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The tenacity of life … the power of the Chinook, very empowering

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

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One of the things that we did on the weekend was to make a trip to Stamp River.  We’ve flown over this “little patch” of river many times .. but it was only when we drove to this BC Park & Campground and wandered along the pathway of this turbulent bit of water ..that we could really appreciate the magnificence of the raw power of the rushing waters and the salmon run.

This year was a record for the Chinook .. they were so thick in numbers, you could almost walk along the surface of them. Of course, I’m kidding .. .but there were millions of them.

Nothing equals the raw power of the sounds of the thundering movement of the river as it wends it’s way along.  And really, really .. the spectacular sight of the salmon intent on getting back to their spawning grounds.  Being true to their being.  Awesome.

The sheer numbers and their sole focus was absolutely humbling in every way.   Who are we mere mortals, struggling along in our daily lives, filled with all sorts of meaningless activities … besides the basic instincts of wild animals simply living their live as nature intended.

We spent some time along the river.  Speechless with the view of such power .. words weren’t necessary ..   .

If you’ve ever spent time at such a place, then you will know the atmosphere of which I speak.  The raw power and absolute majesty of the nature fully alive was very powerful and fully inspirational.

What things can I not do, with the energy of this sight embedded in my heart?

So .. I took away with me a fully recharged energizing enthusiasm … it felt good to be thus renergized.   From nature.

Twas a great day.

And now .. out to the garden.

I’ve been going through my seed packet supply .. it’s quite sizeable.  Seeds going back to 1990.

So I did a little experiment.  I soaked 3 packages of tomato varieties .. in EM  . .. then placed them in seeding cells.  I know that it is July and some of the seeds, if they do germinate, might not attain a ripe red stage. But .. I just had to try!.

The I found some Calendula and poppy seeds .. so I just scattered handfuls around the back yard.   These I know will soon germinate and blossom .. adding more colour to the yard.

My lovely garlic is nearing the harvesting stage.  Seems only a few months ago I was carefully reshaping a patch of the garden, lovingly placing the cloves in little rows.  Feeding them EM and seaweed.  Soon, gulp, I will discover if the bulbs will be large or if all the goodness has gone to the stalks.  Well .. there is always next year.

And if I keep the sight of the salmon in my mind’s eye .. well then .. I’ll just keep on trying and trying till I attain a giant crop of garlic.

I’m already planning a shift change for next years garden .. but for now … I’ll just enjoy this one.

Happy Gardening.


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This is so inspirational .. especially since I’m a professional procrastinator!! 🙂

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If not Now, Zen when?

The sun is setting on the last day of my weekend (I work three days a week, take four days off…Lucky me? Darlink, luck has nothing to do with it!) and it was a great four days of painting, doodling. meditating, listening to music and audio books, and just sitting around enjoying the sun-drenched weather. Most of the little canvases in the photograph are in early stages; I only tiled them because they look nice together. they may look completley different when they’re done.

I’m so grateful for this lazy, creative break…and find that I am also looking forward to going in to work, tomorrow, because everything has its beautiful moments and reasons for being, and I am eager…almost hungry, now, for the outside world and its energies and people.

For three days I’ve seen and spoken only to my two favorite cats…snapped together here, in an unguarded moment (because…

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Happy Canada Day!!

On this most wonderful day, a Sunday …we are all celebrating Canada Day.

Weather here has been a mixed bag .. at times overcast and then the sun will break out.

Lots of activities going on .. something for everyone .. from parades to car shows .. fireworks .. you name it.

Many people are wearing Maple Leaf designs on flags, hats, clothing … nice to see the colourful red and white everywhere.

And two days without gardening for me … I feel the pain.   On Friday I spent most of the day outside .. finally planted some sweet peas … dug up two garlic plants … sadly, the bulbs weren’t very big .. so am hoping that the rest of them are larger.  Fingers crossed.

I spread the remaining seaweed mixture around the  yard.

Already, I am planning the shape changes for the garden for next year.  So much fun to play around with that. 

There are still a number of perennials to be planted … these will get planted next week, for sure.  I’ve been looking through some gardening books .. more ideas!

I’ve used pvc hoops (pvc lengths joined together, painted green) … shaped into aerial arches .. by sinking in lengths of rebar, then positioning one pvc end onto one and then placing the other pvc end on a 2nd rebar.  Makes a great inexpensive hoop.  Then I’ve placed screw along the sides .. and then strung up a plastic netting between the 2 sides of the pvc, wrapping the netting ends firmly onto the screws.  Works great .. peas, sweet peas and other climbing plants grow straight up.

So I have snap peas growing on the back arch and on Friday, I planted sweet peas on another.  Should be quite pretty in another month.

Started more seeds, orach, luffa (what the heck, the hot season is late) and a few other types.  Watered with EM .  Hope to plant them soon, when they sprout.

Yesterday we visited Stamp River  Falls.  We’ve flown over this area many times, but never .. until yesterday .. did we realize the mighty power of the falls.  Turns out that this year is phenomenal for sockeye Salmon!  They are so thick in the water that you could literally walk across the water on them!

Looking at the information on the fish ladder I am so humbled by the drive that takes these fish on the journey upriver to their spawning location.

These waters are white water rapids … the noise of the billowing rushing body of water thunders into the air.  The massive energy and power of this force of nature is simply overwhelming.  How puny are the acts of humans .. when compared to the power of the earth.

We knelt down on the cement, to watch through the metal guards of the fish ladder … saw the salmon fly into the air, against the powerful forces of the water.

Walked along to a lookout, saw the crowds of salmon milling about .. waiting their turn to enter the fish ladder.  Again saw the powerful leaps of the salmon fighting against the strong current of the river, to proceed, bit by bit up the river.  

Felt the strong pull of nature, ever powerful .. effortlessly regal and pure …. beautiful to see such true honest energy. 

Photos to follow!

Enjoy Canada Day .. cause I am!