thedogwalkinggardener

January 7, 2014
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Yesterday .. high up in the sky .. and back at home, I discovered why my garlic was so scattered last year!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

We’ve been enjoying a brief few days of sunshine …. and so .. DH & I went flying! But first, breakfast outside and we shared a pot of tea!

What you can’t see here is the steam rising from the mugs of tea! It was very cold but the tea warmed us up. So very wonderful to be at the airport again .. it is almost our second home …

Soon we were up up and away …. our shadow tried to follow us …

Mount Baker off in the distance ….

The layers of white isn’t fog .. this is smog from brush burning down below in Central and North Saanich. Rather disheartening to see this when brush could easily be composted or chipped for mulching .. I think.

The smoke spreads easily all over …

There is Mt. Prevost off in the distance … the air doesn’t seem quite so bad over there.

Down below are some container ships .. patiently waiting to be directed to proceed to a port for unloading.

We flew around the Cowichan Valley for awhile …Such a wonderful flight way up high in the sky …. and soon .. time to make the approach for the Victoria International Airport .. home of the Victoria Flying Club!! 🙂

The end of a fun flight … time to land and put our little plane to bed for the day.

Such a lovely sky ..

Back at home … I realized now how the garlic bulbs were so terribly mixed up last year. I’d carefully planted them neatly in rows only to find, when harvesting them last August, that mysteriously, some bulb were growing in groups of 3’s, crowded together and smaller. Look at what this little squirrel wasdoing!!!!!

There are 2 fat grey squirrels who visit our back yard. They have been greedily filling up on the sunflower seeds left for the birds .. so I took pity on them and bought a large bag of unshelled peanuts, thinking that they would be sufficed with that.

But, oh, no .. they gather the peanuts, eat some and store the others. In my garlic beds and containers, as I’ve discovered!!! Argh! Some of the garlic greens have been destroyed .. I know they will grow back, but still! I need to put something on top of my garlic plantings, to dissuade the squirrels from digging, but I don’t know what to use. sigh.

The rains have returned today …. and the weather is cold. I know full well that the warm sunny weather will soon be here. The busy times will start. For now, I am enjoying being lazy. It’s not a normal condition for me, but I’ve learned to enjoy this brief time. For I know the time will soon arrive when “there is not enough time in the day” to do the things I want to do. That is .. being in the garden.

🙂

January 3, 2014
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Friday, January 3, 2014

This is how my day started out! Friday is the end of the week exercise session and I was surprised to see the frost on my car windows!

Ice scraped away and finally could see out of the windshield .. drove to our meeting area and soon our little group was traipsing around Elk Lake .. quite a trek. And we were all so glad to see the sun after days of gloomy skies, I can tell you!

Such a beautiful day and so exhilerating to walk at a very brisk pace, all the time enjoying the sight and smells of nature along the way.

This looked like a lovely place to set and ponder the universe in a quiet setting. Not for our group, though, as we swiftly hiked on and on.

Back home and outside for a bit .. looking ever upwards …

It felt so wonderful to look up and see those cheerful blue skies with the puffy white clouds. Hey, this is a brand new year! Reminder to myself. Enjoy and anticipate the adventures to come about in this wonderful new year.

Walked around the backyard enjoying the sunshine and the beauty of this lovely little fern, all snuggled in with a mulch of oak leaves.

And some of the many – many garlic bulbs sending their green shoots up towards the sky! Soon .. my precious .. I will add more EM to you.!!! When the weather turns a bit warmer, I think.Spent some time pruning some branches from the plum trees .. they’ve been attacked by a series of black fungal growth. I tried my best to stem their growth, but, sadly, the fungus spread to a number of branches, so this afternoon I started the arduous task of clipping away the affected branches. These trees grow so well and quickly that I imagine there will be lots of new healthy grown this summer. Seaweed, applications of EM . … will take care of that. I didn’t take any photos of this activity!

I’d just walked over to my garlic beds, beneath the branches of the wild and crazy tree .. when suddenly I heard a quick swoosh sound overhead and suddenly saw a Coopers Hawk land in the yard, not very far from where I was standing. He (she) had dinner clutched in its claws:

We both stayed quite, motionless. He .. to watch for any other nearby predators? He uttered sharp cries from time to time. Was he calling his mate? He would turn his head this way and that and every so often .. would call out.

Time really did stand still. I had my camera ready and kept clicking away. Finally, though, I stopped and just stood there, silent, watching raw nature occur before my eyes. He saw me there and kept a watchful eye on me. Suddenly, with a quick flap of wings, he was gone from our yard. Gone where? I ran to the front yard, but he would have been long gone in the few seconds that it took me to open the front gate.

I’ve seen this hawk many times … at the top of the wild and crazy tree, in nearby trees, and just flying around. But this is the closest I’ve ever been to witness the hunt. I felt quite honoured to be in this place at this time. I am sure that this is a common occurrence in the back yard but I’m not always there to witness this.

So it’s been a day. A good day. Full of sunshine. Walking with friends. Witnessing a rapture in action.

Now .. time to get on with my day and un-decorate our Christmas Tree.

Although, it seems, I do tend to leave one or 2 decorations out all during the year. Not on purpose, I don’t think, and I do get a chuckle at seeming the odd decoration or ribbon still hanging about.

🙂

December 31, 2013
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

I haven’t made resolutions for years simply because I used to set up these lofty goals that I ended up not keeping . So I thought .. let’s just try not making resolutions for a few years and this has worked out very well.

I have been setting little goals and these have worked. Like the one about downloading photos daily .. this goal has been achieved and works well. I can now select photos from a certain time frame and know when things have happened. Important things. Records of my first luffa. Tumbling jewels of tiny tomatoes ripening on the vine. Sweet little birds frolicking around the yard.

Photos of delicious squash and other veggies growing in the yard.

Except something happened this year that caused me to rethink this whole resolution thing.

It was a squash that changed my mind and started to turn my world around.

Here’s me with my Brode Galeux d’Eysines, a French heirloom. I’d started my squash plants way too late (sigh) yet I was successful with growing some. I felt so very proud of this one! D took the photo. I know I look like a Gomer with my hair all over the place, but, hey, I’m in the garden, right? Plants are more important than my wardrobe! Sheesh.

This lovely squash weighed 20 lbs (and a half, I think!):

And there were other squash also .. here are a few more:

So I had this one giant squash and 2 smaller ones of the Brode type. The largest one I proudly placed on a shelf .. actually I kept moving it around it was so beautiful. I was going to cut it up in January and share with my pal D.

However, she told me that a friend was having problems with squash, growing soft and had to be composted. No, I thought, this won’t happen with my crown jewel from the garden. I would tap the exterior from time to time and it felt solid.

Except, one day, I had this funny feeling .. so I went to my computer room and carefully picked up the squash. And, the bottom fell off. Oh No.

Yes … the worst thing imaginable had happened. This treasure had started composting internally .. most likely weeks before. I carried it carefully to the sink. Delicately, with a sharp knife .. I tested cutting through the skin. And it sliced through quite easily.

With a sinking heart I opened up the squash .. and .. believe me when I tell you that there was nothing to be retrieved from the interior. Thank goodness there is no smellivision in blogs. Pheweeeeeee!

I was able to gather a handful of seeds which I washed and cleaned and am drying for another try at growing this year.

So this adventure has taught me a very valuable lesson. Admire the squash, but cook it and enjoy it. Take a photo and admire the beauty. But … cook it!

So I have been cooking and freezing the rest of my squash, jut to avoid any further disappointments.

Another resolution I will (try) to keep! To not buy up a carload of plants just because they are on sale and are perennials and are so very beautiful. Here is a photo of one of several (ha, several can mean 3 or 4, can’t it?) carloads of plants that I bought last summer. Now all potted up and waiting to be moved to our new home in the coming year!

Looking through my photos of last summer, found this beautiful shot, taken when I was flying in the front seat of the PW-6U glider in Port Alberni. Such beauty.

This was a great bumper sticker I saw during the summer. Speaks volumes.

Another lovely summer sky ….. how uplifting

I was so proud of this squash patch. However, next year, I’ll grow them in very large containers. I did grow some in very large pots this summer, but they weren’t terribly successful.

This is why I love taking photos in the summer .. reminders during the winter of what is soon going to be happening again in the yard.

My pal D is an avid collector of teacups …. here is one that she bought and it just matches the cover of the Butchart Gardens blue poppy seed packet!

My collection of organic seeds. I had so many packets that one sunny afternoon last summer, I placed them all out on a table, just to see how many I had. Enough, I think, Except for the Heirloom seeds which I later purchased from a small organic farm in Antigonish, Nova Scotia! I’ll be sharing these with fellow gardeners next summer.

Another dreamy sky from 2013 ..

Well, it’s been a year full of happenings. And I look forward to a growing year in 2014.

Happy New Year to everyone and I wish all the very very best!

🙂

December 11, 2013
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Looking backwards in time .. to a sunny day in June!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Well, I really want to talk about my garden. Started looking through my photos and perused some sunny days in June when D and I went seaweeding in Sooke. Our good friend R joined us in September, I think, and I have some good photos from that time and will post later.

Anyway, it was a midweek day and D & I set off to Sooke. Looking forward to spending time on the beach, harvesting some seaweed for the garden. Breathe in the fresh air and just spend some time away from the reality of daily life. So, it was a sunny day, see this beautiful sky ..

It was early in the day and the tide was way out there .. we could walk for miles along the shoreline .. see the seaweed covered rocks. Lots of sea lettuce. I’ve seen people just hacking away at these and stuffing huge bags full .. to use in restaurants. That is just so wrong. D & I, having taken seaweed courses, know that you just carefully trim a leaf from a plant, leaving the rest to continue growing on the rocks.

Such an eerie feeling, really .. to walk along these rocky shores that normally are full of water, too deep for me to ever enter when the tide is in. I am so grateful for this experience.

Tide is coming in .. the hidden sea creatures can now escape their hiding places and cavort about in the salty brine of the ocean.

And here is D .. she’s found a lovely kelp, the fronds are still attached. The plant itself is ok to harvest, it is not still growing. Treasure indeed, my garlic thanks you.

Yum yum .. says my lovely garlic .. more than 60 minerals in seaweed .. enriches the soil quality and adds taste to the garlic.

And the Elephant Garlic mumbles a gnarly thanks also … it is too busy growing to pay us much attention!

Later we wandered along this lovely wooden walkway that stretched over the waters of Sooke …

And along the way we saw this happy family busy throwing their crab traps … they would carefully check the size of the crabs and any too small or too large would be cast back into the ocean.

Don’t these branches remind you of a giant dinosaur or a monster of some type?

The beautiful blue skies continued overhead .. how lovely is this ..

Saw some magnificent trees along the switch back walkway that led us down to the ocean .. strong, beautiful trees .

Loving the contrast of light and shadow. The Yin and the Yang. The Positive and the Negative. Balance in all things. Too much of one is boring, but a subtle mix is seductive and interesting, non?

A last look at the shoreline .. and it was nearly time to leave.

Back home, in between unloading the seaweed and moving to the back yard, I just had to stop and admire busy bees cavorting in the lupines.

And the red-hot poker plants … the birds and insects love these blooms.Sigh .. that was a lovely visit back to June .. especially in this winter. Although, the weather in Victoria, BC today was sunny, there was some chill, but not much. So we can’t complain. And must not boast, you know. But we all do enjoy this lovely weather. And I, for one, just plain dream of next spring and summer.

December 5, 2013
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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Well so much for my getting over procrastinating about blogging! It’s been awhile .. and so I am making a huge effort to get back.

What reasons can I use for not blogging for over 2 months? I’ve spent so much time in the garden … and have joined the most amazing bootcamp and dog sitting and you name it. So this sign that I saw in a local park was totally appropriate, I think, for my first photo on my return!

I’ve enjoyed the most amazing skies …

These sky pictures are from a week or so ago .. very dreamy overhead ..in the heavens .. when I was out for a walk with darling little Coco dog.

We were pet sitting her for over a month and now she has gone back to her doggy parents. She is a sweet little dog.

This is one of the sights along the path way of the Gorge park … our boot camp goes to the most amazing places. Victoria, BC is one of the absolutely amazing places to be. I have gone to places hitherto unknown to me and I’ve lived here for many many years. There are incredible forested areas deep within the heart of this city and without this group I would have had no idea that these pockets of paradise exist.

Just had to stop and admire this carved birdhouse ..

Such a tranquil setting and the pathway is very lengthy and totally beautiful

This is from another outing. If I don’t take signage photos, then I really have no idea where I am. Let me tell you, this group is just a fantastic gathering of interesting ladies! My life has changed so much since I’ve joined them. I have way more energy and my interests have broadened as I listen to conversations on art and life. And my chattering on gardening and the magic of EM!! (effective microorganisms … see: http://www.gardenerspantry.ca/).

And on another day, I met with a friend for lunch at the Stonehouse Pub, just the other side of Sidney, B.C. This is a little sunken garden and I just felt like being silly. Actually, I would love to have a little sunken garden like this one .. so I was dreaming a little bit about that and M took this photo. I have a little lunch takeout box with some beautiful lichen that I found on the ground… silly me.

Today it snowed .. brrrrrrr .. here’s a little apple left out for the birds to nibble on…

One of those cute garden decorations that are enhanced with the snow. Perhaps there are tiny inhabitants of this little building .. I wonder …

The birds had been doing their “shuffle shuffle” dancing on this circle of ice ..

Guess I’ll have to empty this container as I don’t think the carrots will be growing anymore. I planted the seeds at the very end of the summer, just couldn’t resist trying to grow them. Organic, non GMO … the only kind to grow, don’t you think.

And yesterday, while the sun was out shining .. I moved my garlic containers around. I’d been devastated this summer as I realized that my garlic had grown in the same area for 2 years and I needed to plant them elsewhere. This was the sunniest part of the yard so I hadn’t many options. The option I chose was to use containers! I guess I kind of got carried away, because I now have: 8 blue styrofoam containers, one large half oak barrel, 31 very large plant containers, 2 raised beds, and a number of rectangular containers. Plus garlic from Ireland and some from Christine!

Seen from farther back, you get a better picture .. but .. there are other containers planted withgarlic at the side .. sigh.

Some Rosemary cuttings ( I have 2 flats of these) taken in the summer .. fingers crossed that some of them will root for springtime.

Sweet little Anna sitting in the sun . .there are quite a few in our yard ..

I took this photo of a Spotted Towee, sitting outside our kitchen window .. beautiful winged creature.

Can you see the squirrel? I took this photo from the kitchen window also … felt bad for him, I’d moved the sunflower feeder to another area so he was confused and hungry. I sprinkled a generous amount of sunflowers seeds on this bale of hay and soon he was happily munching away.

Sweet little gold crowned sparrow .. choosing sunflowers that have fallen from the window feeder. The tones of their songs touch my heart deeply and I was so very happy when I heard them calling from the trees in our yard a few months ago.

And now I’ll sign off … with a good-bye to our little Duncan .. a once feral cat, well loved .. he was called to the Rainbow Bridge 2 weeks ago. He was lord of the yard and after years of trying to get along with JaneE .. he’d finally accepted that she was the boss in their cat relationship. We will miss him forever and he’s always in our hearts.

October 15, 2013
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so much for avoiding procrastination … ha ha ha

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Well .. so much for procrastination .. I was going to blog every day!

Instead I found myself either outside, gardening or exercising with a great group of gals! Or out flying with my sweetie .. he is the best.

Blogging is always on the top list of things to do .. somehow I want to but put it off.

And why .. cause it is so much fun.

I will get back to it ..but in the meantime .. here are some lovely cloud pictures taken recently .. I do spend a fair bit of my time looking skyward … such beauty there ..

September 24, 2013
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Being adventurous and growing lettuce, onions and carrots! A walk along the shore.

Tuesday, September 20,2013

About 3 weeks or so ago, I decided to just trying growing some greens .. the first day of frost here in Victoria isn’t due till November 1 .. so I filled up my new plant containers (a sort of waterproofed fabric with grommets for drainage). This one has green onions and two types of greens .. quite a few have sprouted and I believe that I will be able to harvest some for a few meals.

Some (non gmo, organic) Red Bowl lettuce .. and I’ve planted some coriander in all 3 containers.

And some multi-coloured carrots!

This is my first time at growing squash .. some sites state that long vines should be cut so that all of the strength would go into the growth of the squash. Being a timid soul, I didn’t do that .. thus this lovely little squash growing at the end of a long stem of vine. Hurrah!!

Heritage strawberries. Interesting that I paid nearly $7 for a plant from a market and only $2 at a plant sale in Port Alberni! Yeah for Port Alberni. Anyway, next year I plan to start more of these from saved seed. They are a rampant grower! And the berries are so tasty. I believe they are “Fraises des Bois” and here is a good site for saving strawberry seeds: http://gardentherapy.ca/save-alpine-strawberry-seeds/

Last week I ventured down to Dallas Road .. the tide was the lowest I’d seen .. so I walked about for a bit.

Lovely skies set the scene for a quiet stroll ..

The sea birds were enjoying the peaceful serenity .. sharing a bit of gossip, enjoying the view ..

This little guy was taking a little snooze …

I wasn’t wearing my walking shoes and some of the rocks were a little slippery so I proceeded along slowly … striving to maintain my dignity! After all, falling by yourself takes on a different view than it does when walking with a friend, then it’s not so bad, eh? One can imagine all kinds of reasons why someone would fall when walking by themselves ,,, at least, with my active imagination anyway!

Tiny little worlds of living beings in the little tidal pools ..

Logs left behind by the receding waters ..

Dreamy skies …

And then the brilliant rays of the sun and puffy cumulus clouds take over ..

I walked on a little .. and turned back …. enjoying the sweet solitude of the early morning . A little moment in time when the crowds were somewhere else. I love these moments.

This is truly a lovely time of the year. A delicious blend of sun and rain. Now .. I love the rain. Absolutely love it. It’s a time when I can actually get something done in the house. And walking in the rain is a delight. Memories of getting soaked as a kid, then in the house, change into dry clothes. Mug of hot chocolate or tea.

Speaking of walking .. time to get out and see what’s happening in the neighbourhood! Maybe I’ll meet some lovely little doggies!

🙂

September 18, 2013
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Ha .. again the weather report was wrong and today was a sunny day and no rain!

Enjoying the tranquility of my garden and the lovely plants that are happily growing therein! Here is a lovely basket of lettuce & some carrots that I harvested a few days ago:

I felt quite pleased with myself for harvesting a variety of lettuce, some I’d quite forgotten that I’d planted! Cause they were in pots around the yard. Good idea to have them in the same area!

One of the many beautiful skies overhead .. I love the muted blues in this one

This geranium is slowing opening scarlet flowers .. such a lovely surprise .. it hasn’t flowered all year, imagine that! So I am quite happy to see this ..

So happy, also, to see that the birds have been feeding on the sunflower seeds …

While I’ve been doing other things in the house and yard, my feathered friends have been enjoying these seeds …

Next year I will search for very large sunflower seeds to plant so I can grow lots more for the birds to feed on. These plants have grown from the seeds fallen from the bird feeders .. a good trade, I think.

This time of the year is so rewarding … time to enjoy the garden. Watch the birds. Look way up at the skies.

It’s been a good summer and I’ve already started ordering Heirloom seeds for next year’s beans and peas. More later.

It’s been a busy day and time to relax.

🙂

September 17, 2013
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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

We certainly have a mix of weather here in Victoria! Yesterday started out overcast as I busily filled my car with just an amazing amount of recycling items and headed off to the local Bottle Depot!.

Despite all items having been carefully rinsed beforehand .. once I’d loaded them onto the wheeled cart at the Depot… I noticed several hornets buzzing around to investigate my bottles and tins. I tell you that I’ve never pushed a fully loaded cart up the cement ramp so fast! Just racing to get inside and once there, the hornets had decided to leave. Sheesh, anyway!

Back home, I decided to just go for a little walk to pick some blackberries … just enough to make a pie for my DH when he comes home from work. The big fat berries were way out of my reach and I had to avoid some busy hornets/wasps that were hungrily gorging on the fat juicy berries .. so I contented myself with gathering about 2 cups worth of berries … that’s enough .. I’ll mix them with apples for a one-crust pie.

Enjoying the antics of a little Red-Chested Nuthatch:

So spritely and teeny-tiny … there are a number of them in the yard, very busy munching on insects so the birdseed is a treat for them to enjoy.

The Hummingbird feeders have all been cleaned and refilled … and they pass inspection! The Anna’s are very particular and require clean feeders so I do my part at taking care of them.

I’ll definitely plant more of Renee’s seeds next year …. lovely beans …

One of my recent acquisitions from a consignment shop in Port Alberni .. a friend suggested a plant would look good in this .. a great idea and I’ll do this. The top hinges open for easy access.

Found this little gem at the SPCA thrift shop in Port Alberni … great for making applesauce!

Coincidentally enough, on the same shopping day, in another thrift shop .. I found this treasure, brand new and the receipt inside! I might try grinding up some dry seaweed in this one. The proprietor of this shop was the most amazing lady. She and hubby live on acreage in Port Alberni. They have masses of dogs and cats and chickens. Oh, the funny stories she told me .. .I was so happy that I went shopping there and look forward to returning!

My crop of Kentucky Wonder Beans … I’m waiting for the beans to rattle in the pods so I can harvest them for drying. Some for soup and some for next year’s crop!

Gentle sunflowers at the end of the day .. getting ready for a night full of sunflower dreams … sleep well….

My one little acorn squash is growing quite well …yum yum!!

And seeing that I was going to be saving my dried Kentucky Wonder Beans for next year’s crop …. I started looking for blog sites on seed saving. And there are quite a few .. thank goodness for all of them. I quite liked this one, as I wasn’t sure if I should just pluck some pods, shell them and dry them (which I’ve been doing). Then I thought, maybe the pods should be drier .. I like the information that this blogger shares: http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.ca/2007/06/saving-peas-for-seed.html

I’m so glad that people share their garden lessons so we can all learn .. so very helpful.

Than I decided to go and search how to save strawberry seeds. Well .. I certainly learned a lot about that!! As my knowledge about growing healthy plants increases, so too does my awareness of the preciousness of heirloom fruits and veggies.

I discovered that the small, pretty, white strawberries (that I bought from the most amazing couple in Port Alberni!!) are actually heirloom strawberries. http://gardentherapy.ca/save-alpine-strawberry-seeds/

Afterwards, I went looking for information on potatoes. Oh, well .. that is quite another story for another day!

On y va!!! A new day commences and I need to go for a little walk!

🙂

September 16, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener 4 Comments >

Monday, September 16, 2013

Such a lovely quiet weekend .. spent time in my garden. Decadent hours with some of my gardening book collection scattered around me. A few mugs of Yorkshire Tea. Inspirational and melodic music playing from my iPod. Birds twittering. Sun trying to break through the clouds. I hadn’t spent such a peaceful relaxing and decadent time in the back yard for a long time. And it was just wonderful, thank you very much.

And I finally started a long-awaited project of naming the plants that surround me …. this is truly a formidable task and one I’d started a number of times and just given up.

But Saturday was the day that I once again began this Herculean task. Armed with my (new) aluminum writing case (I’ll just have to take a photo today to show this and my notes) …. I started at one side of the yard and began the initial rough drawings, along with a legend of names.

Discovered quite a few name tags were not attached to the plants, so began taking photos and will do some research. If I have trouble identifying them, then one day soon I will post photos and ask for help from the gardening community!

Oh, wow .. I know that I am a plantaholic but even the list that I made overwhelms me. I’m currently on page 11 and have only covered maybe less than 3/4 of the yard. Gulp

Then I took time out to move some of the recently acquired bales of hay .. the dance of moving the bales from the car, through to the back yard and then to the compost area has begun:

While moving the hay, I heard the soft trill of the European Starling

Dainty little sunflower peeking out of the tomato planted basket .. how sweet ..

Volunteer tomatoes have sprung up among the squash plants …

It seems as if these jewels have popped up overnight …. they are pretty

The magic of plants .. ever-growing in the sun (and the rain)

Tiny little squash .. still lots of growing time left as the first frost in Victoria isn’t predicted till early November.

Another little patch of sunflowers .. growing near one of the bird feeders …

This squash is growing quite well .. wondering how big it will be when it is time to harvest! I plan to save this one for decoration until it’s finally time to cook it ..

Lots of surprises every day in the garden … as I find little treasures tucked away …

I truly was surprised to see the one luffa plant that survived! I’d started out with maybe 6 that had sprouted. This jewel keeps opening up flowers daily …..I love the shape and texture, they are very delicate ..almost humble

Every luffa fruit that had grown lasted only for a few days before dropping off, so this really was a treat to find an actual luffa growing around the aluminum tubes that are stored here. And imagine my surprise when I found another one growing nearby yesterday! These really are gifts from my garden. Thank you.

And I just liked the look of the sage plant growing nearby …. I have zillions of sage seeds, so perhaps next year I’ll plant a hedge .. that would be very striking in the summer!

Grow on .. squash … whether or not I actually am able to harvest squash from this plant matters not The beauty fills my heart with the joy of the magic of plants. Plus this will be nice to look at in the cool winter months when I dream again of planting my veggie garden! Although I think that I might make a structure for them to grow on. This is my first experience of growing them and is a bit of a learning curve that happens to all.

There are a few of this type of squash growing .. looks like a spaghetti squash, but not really sure what it is.

It just never gets tired .. the joy and magic I find in my garden. And I’ve so enjoyed the wonderful time just being outside, looking through books. Getting to know what is growing where and listing the names. I’m reconnecting with the beauties that I’ve been gathering for a few years.

Some will be moved to another area of the yard. Some will be propagated quite easily. Lots to do yet in my back yard adventures. And more delightful discoveries to be made as I venture out there.

sigh.

Time to start my day!

🙂

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.

Author Archives: thedogwalkinggardener

Yesterday .. high up in the sky .. and back at home, I discovered why my garlic was so scattered last year!

Looking backwards in time .. to a sunny day in June!

so much for avoiding procrastination … ha ha ha

Being adventurous and growing lettuce, onions and carrots! A walk along the shore.

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