Gardening | My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin

September 14, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment >

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Today is starting off in a fog. Not for me, mind you, I’m as sharp as I can be on a Saturday morning. Sipping away at my second mug of Yorkshire Tea. Kitties (they are all grown up, but, to me they will always remain kitties) are fed, treats given … their day is well started.

The world outside my windows is in a foggy state. Two days in a row now. Soon the sun will shine through and I will be outside playing in the yard.

Rains are destined to start tomorrow. Guess that means summer is over? However, I seem to recall from previous years that there will still be days of sun .. and for that I am thankful, or rather, my tomatoes, squash etc. will be grateful. Oh, and the beans, mustn’t forget about them.

My marvellous crop of Kentucky Wonder Beans are doing so well this year. Last year, I’d left the package outside and it rained .. and they sprouted .. and then I planted them in the shade. So much to learn about veggie gardening. I’m making progress. Decided to grow the easy veggies: squash, lettuce, beans, peas, tomatoes (well, still learning about them). And my absolute favourites – garlic and shallots. And although my experiment with growing potatoes in bags didn’t work out for me this year ..I will try again next year with another system. Despite a very late start to the growing season … I’m happy with what my garden has given me.

Anyway, my KWB’s grow like crazy … spiraling ever higher! I had grown some in pots and trained them up trellis up high onto my sundeck. And learned yet another lesson. How easy is it to gather the beans from this high? First of all, I need a ladder set securely on the ground to reach halfway. Then when I go up to the decking, I am only able to reach down and gather a few. So think next year I might just grow decorative vines in this area and will leave the beans to flourish on a much better type of structure.

Speaking of garden structure! I wasn’t really prepared for the extravagant growth of my beans so have been making makeshift forms for them to grow on, adding bamboo stakes, garden trellis, a real mish mash. I’ve taken photos, just for me to chuckle over during the winter months.

So, one day in August I went for a walk … lovely skies …

And I met this most lovely dog. Isn’t he handsome? I also had a nice chat with his doggy-mom about making blackberry jelly, using apples for the pectin source. You see, I was picking blackberries on that morning. And my first reward was meeting this great dog!

Another reward for my walk was seeing random wild flowers, growing and blooming, despite the dry weather conditions. The bees love them.

And these cornflowers brighten up the area also …. random beauty, free growing plants, uncontrolled by any gardener, except for good ole Mother Nature!

Here are some jars of blackberry juice from my first blackberry pickings. Now in the freezer. Yum.

Blue beans from Renee’s GMO free, organic seeds. 🙂

As always, loving the diversity of sunflower shapes in my back yard. Always spreading cheer and beauty. Thank you .. my lovelies.

Enjoying this day and ready to change into my gardening outfit … lovely worn Carhartt bibs and long-sleeved tee-shirt, gumboots, gloves (which I rarely wear) and sun cap. OH .. wait .. I need to brew more tea so I can start my gardening day with a walkabout and admiration of all that is growing in our little paradise.

More on that later. Time to watch the birdies also. The lovely Chestnut-backed Chickadees, the Red-chested Nuthatches, the Anna’s, the Fox Sparrows, some house sparrows. Wrens also. The Robins seem to have disappeared right now … wonder where they have gone? Bet I’ll find them when I start moving the compost around, though! They love those big earthworms.

🙂

September 12, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment >

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Summer time is a fun time, right? Too much to do and schedules and timelines are just not a high priority with me right now! Yippee. I’ve wanted to write and have kept putting off this decadent pleasure. Time to start-up again so here I go!

Recently I’ve been reminded (yet again) of the amazing power of positivity. How simply marvellous this energy is and how strengthening.to focus on the positive, especially in the garden.

My garden needed some “oomph” which it didn’t seem to be getting, so I went searching online – looking for sites with information on the effects of negativity in the garden (for example, heavy construction noise, dynamite blasting, etc) … and I rediscovered the power of music on gardens.

A number of times I’d heard about the amazing effect of music on plant growth. As a matter of fact, I always have music playing when I garden. Lovely violin, fiddle, instrumental, classical, world music.

Here is a great site on the positive effects of music on plant growth and development, showing the results of scientific testing to prove this: http://www.musicforyourplants.com/

Some of the sites listed details of how the tonalization of the music impacts the growth of plants and you’ll find the Italian video quite interesting.

And from this site, I am learning more and more and Joel Sternheimer thoughts make sense to me, here is his site on energy and the power of music: http://tama-do.com/roothtmls/cell-research.html

So much to learn, so much to discover!

I’ve copied some of the music onto my gardening iPod and have also included my new purchase of sitar music (ranked to be among the best for the garden) by Ravi Shankar “the Living room Sessions Part 1.

Much scientific wording and examples of music are given. Me, I’m a believer. And am shortly going outside to play again my lovely music and admire the growth of my plants. I just love my garden and each and every plant that grows in it!

These geraniums had not bloomed at all this year .. but look at this ..many little buds will be opening soon!!

I was watering some plants last evening after a very hot day. Look at what I found in a sedum planting! I think my friend D was being creative with this surprise! Little kitty kat! 🙂

Peek-a-boo .. I see you! Little cannelloni beans growing away behind the leaves. I’ll leave these on for dry beans later on for winter soups. With a few set aside to plant next year, of course!

Here is a little squash I just noticed last night, growing away so quietly.

Yet another squash that appeared overnight, it seemed! I was puzzled that spaghetti squash were growing and then I remembered the time last fall when I had diligently cleaned the seeds from an organic spaghetti squash, dried and put them away in a Ziploc bag. No labeling (sigh) so I had assumed that these seeds were for another type of squash. Note to myself, label seeds this year.

Grow on .. little squash ….

more surprises …

Our area in Victoria, BC has been hit with a number of days of really hot weather!! so everything seems to be growing great!

I’ve been sorting out my garlic, saving the largest for planting in October. And I’ll also be planting those little yellow thingies that grow at the base of hard-neck garlic … they look a little like dried bean, but have a pointed end. Not sure if they are called “bulbets” Should get a few small garlic bulbs from them.

Here is the most amazing, informative site on growing garlic! https://www.garlicfarm.ca/

Now .. mug of tea, camera, music and I’m all set to go out and play in my yard ….

🙂

August 27, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment >

Monday, August 27, 2013

Finally .. some light rains are happening which is good for the garden, although I really wish for a good downpour, just to soak the soil very well.

My squash crop is growing well .. yesterday I spent some time cutting away the mildew laden leaves … I’ve found a number of good blogs for squash growing, such as: http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/powdery-mildew and this link was quite helpful, with regards to flowers (the first flowers are always male) and not to worry about flowers dropping off, quite reassuring: http://bonnieplants.com/growing/growing-squash/#jump-2

I love finding reading about other gardeners‘s experiences, how they overcome their gardening “issues” .. as in “powdery mildew“. I’ve learned that it’s alright to remove the mildewed leaves, leaving 4 to 5 leaves is fine. Was hoping to have bushels of squash to share with friends this year .. but will still have enough to share so that is good.

When it is time for harvesting, you can bet that I’ll be posting pictures.

Anyway .. .just want to share my most wonderful latest adventure! On Sunday I had the opportunity to fly for two solid hours (more than two, actually) in the PW 6 at Port Alberni and here you can see a great video explaining what a flight is like: http://visc.wqs.ca/

However, as wonderful as my garden is and as much as I truly love each and every living thing that grows there, there is absolutely nothing in this world that equals going flying .. especially when it is flying in a sailplane … and on Sunday .. I had the most wonderful opportunity to fly for hours!! Sheer heaven.

The weather was splendid … a full day of the most amazing cloud formations ..

Isn’t this crazy wonderful ???

Little did I know at that time .. when I was busy clicking photos of the skies above .. that I would soon be up there myself!

So it was a hot, sunny afternoon. I was sitting in my insect screened little tent, avoiding the hornets buzzing around .. reading the final pages of “the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” … when Andrzej called out … Anne-Marie .. do you want to go for a flight??? Well, no sooner did I hear the beginning of his sentence when I’d thrown down my book, chair toppled to the ground, unzipped the insect tent and was running across the tarmac. Where I settled myself into the front seat of the PW-6. And we took off minutes later!! As you can see, this wasn’t my first flight! I love .. love .. love .. flying!

We were soaring .. the tow line was dispatched and there was just the beautiful song of the wind coming in through the side port .. I taped a bit of this, wanting to remember this melodious yet powerful sound for later .. when I’m on the ground … wanting to remember and savour over and over and over again ..

From the ground .. early afternoon …..

From the air .. we were heading towards Mount Arrowsmith .. wow …………

I just couldn’t believe that I would ever be so close to this mountain! Waved to hikers along the top … WOW

How utterly magnificent … I just reveled in the extreme joy of flying so high, I believe over 6,300 feet .. how close to the mountain we are .. gliding in the smooth air .. ever closer …

So close . I could see trees, snow, gullies .. but most of all, I felt the sheer joy of flying with the power of the wind, the thermalling had brought us up here .. no motors .. magical .. empowering ..

Time just stood still as we sailed past this venerable mountain .. such energies of beauty, power, majesty, nature .. struck me speechless as we travelled on in the air .. this was an excellent flying day ..

I felt so blessed to be up here … such a great privilege ..

We did fly near the Comox Glacier .. I’ll share that photo later .. here are more sky shots ..

From up above..

Thanks to my dh’s passion for flying .. I’ve experienced: tandem hang-glider flights, which includes launching off a mountain, being towed by an ultra-light (flown by my dh!); flying on the back of an ultra-light (again, dh as pilot); sail plane rides in California, Nanaimo; an acrobatic flight for one of my (ahem) birthdays, could have been my 50th. Flight in the back seat of a Nanchang; many hours in Cessna 172’s and other aircraft.

However, nothing can even remotely compare with being in the PW 6 up at Port Alberni. The smooth tow up by the Pawnee … the sweet ascent into the skies, the “thang-thwup” of the tow-line release. Followed by hours of other-worldly soaring in the skies, Soaring along the mountain ridges. Thermalling to climb and the cross-country flying … a journey into another realm. One that I truly love .. even though there are no gardens up there.

I am one very lucky gal .. and look forward to another flight ….and then another .. and, yes another ….

A 2-seater self-launcher is on our wish list ….

🙂

August 21, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment >

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Next year, I vow (again) I will have an improved veggie garden.

I’m learning (quickly) my strengths and weaknesses in growing vegetables.

My pal D has a definite green thumb. She can grow tomatoes like there is no tomorrow, harvesting hundreds of tomatoes from several plants. She even gave me 2 healthy specimens for my garden. Alas, I have not harvested as many as she has. She nurtures the plants, carefully watering them, turning them daily to ensure they receive enough sunlight. I, on the other hand, do water them but not as carefully. And the squash tendrils (from the container squash plants) have quite grown through the tomatoes so that I cannot easily turn the pots.

Ah, next year!!

And my squash plants have gone crazy! I’ve planted 3 types so won’t be able to save the seed from this years crops .. but, hey, that is what Seedy Saturdays are for! These look like spaghetti squash, but I don’t think they are … pretty though. Labeling the plants would help! sigh.

Nice hidden treasures …

It feels like Christmas morning, going outside to check on the squash! Little hidden treasures on the ground.

Here is a reason why I have difficulty turning some tomato plants around … squash has taken over!

Quite literally – taken over .. growing onto the grass ..

I made a makeshift area for the squash to grow … they seem to like this! (next year, ahem, I’ll plan accordingly, in advance of planting the squash seeds!) The joys of gardening, the adventures! The discoveries! Plus .. happy memories to remember in the winter!

I had filled Rubbermaid containers with water, to make it easier to nourish some plants that weren’t directly in the easy reach of the hose. One day I found a ladybug vainly trying to swim in the water .. oh, silly ladybug, you are meant to fly, not swim! So I scooped her out .. see ..

And then I gently placed her on the leaf of a nearby .. yes! Squash leaf! They do come in handy for these types of rescues!

Hard to believe that this area was quite thickly planted with my lovely garlic … and now home to squash! Happy memories of my garlic … time to plant again in a few months. Yum!

Kentucky Wonder Beans … although they grew rapidly up the lattice, I haven’t harvested many beans from these, planted in a container.

Quite an abundant harvest from the same type of bean, growing in partial shade, twisting and turning .. as they grow just as rapidly

Happy honeybees ….

Any excuse to stop and marvel at the magic of nature ..

I’ve lost the marker for this flower .. any idea of the name??? I bought it for the hummingbirds .

I bought 2 of these little feeders at the SPCA thrift store in Port Alberni weeks ago .. the Nuthatch approves!

And this dear little Chickadee is happy also!

Well .. the day is starting .. time to grab a pail and check out the local blackberries .. for juicing later on today …

August 17, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener 2 Comments

How an early morning walk segued into my first juicing experience!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Well … yesterday I went for a lovely long walk … and found myself on the section of the pathway that paralleled the local allotment gardens. And along both sides of this pathway were heavily laden blackberries bushes, like a jungle, they were so thick. So I picked a few and then decided to go home, fetch a bucket and return to pick away.

It was an overcast morning and the hornets were not too much in evidence .. so perfect time for berry picking. I hadn’t done this for years and it felt good to be just simply harvesting this wild bounty.

As cars roared back and forth on the Pat Bay Highway, which also paralleled the pathway .. not too close, though – I was protected from this traffic noise by the gigantic thick hedge of tall Oregon Grape and the overgrown thickets of blackberries.

It was a lovely and quiet time of the day .. only two passersby … a lady with a Dutch accent who commented that the best berries are always at the top of the canes .. true! And a brisk walker who was on her morning jaunt and on her return I saw her stop and taste the berries!

Well, I don’t really know how long I spent carefully detaching ripe berries from the thorny branches, but it must have been well over an hour. I had nearly ¾ of a bucket and decided that was enough for now. Next time I’ll bring a little step-ladder with me to get some of those top berries.

Back at home, I searched for recipes using these blackberries .. but not in the mood for baking, so decided to just freeze them. A thorough rinse, patting dry and I put the first of 3 large parchment paper lined trays in the freezer.

After awhile .. a thought popped up .. I remembered that I had bought dh a juicer for Christmas and it had not been used yet. Hmmmmmm

Maybe I’ll try my hand at juicing.

I must say, first, try to imagine a spotless kitchen, with the latest kitchen gadgets spread out on a tidy, work surface. Everything is spotless and sparkly.

Hold that thought .. cause that isn’t how it all worked out. But I didn’t take any pictures, so there is no proof, ha ha ha .. read on! You’ll see why I didn’t take any photos .. perhaps next time.

So I removed the 3^rd tray, the berries hadn’t frozen yet. Assembled the juicer, which is a Hamilton Beach, Big Mouth Extractor. And what a powerful little juicer this machine is .. I love it.

The first batch of blackberry juice streamed out of the machine and I soon had a few jars full .. tasted the juice and it was very concentrated … and needed to have water added.

This is so much fun, I thought .. so why don’t I juice the frozen berries! Went to the freezer, found all the ziplock bags, 2 large and 3 small and began my next juicing session.

Well … I soon discovered that this little machine churned out what was almost like blackberry ice-cream!! The motor slugged away and soon I had more jars filled. Time to empty out the pulp container… and it sure seemed like there was a lot of juice left in the pulp .. so I put the pulp in a strainer.

Finished cleaning out the juicer and thought, what the heck, why don’t I run this pulp through again .. and received more juice. This time I put the pulp in zip lock bags to take to the compost.

I then cleaned out the machine .. this is no big deal, soapy wash, rinse, brush the metallic sieved bowl and ready for action again.

This time I juiced carrots .. oh, my. Concentrated vitamin C.

After several hours of experimenting with other berries .. it was time to call it a day. Carefully put all my new juices into the fridge, some in the freezer for later. Thinking it would be a good idea to fill some ice-cube trays with juice, for easy future drinks.

I have a lot to learn about juicing, that is, to blend various fruits together, but that will happen.

Anyway, time to relax and watch some Coronation Street, so I just left the zip-locked bag of berry pulp on the counter and to the land of tv I went.

Returning to the kitchen awhile later .. I discovered another lesson learned. That is, not to leave a plastic bag of berry pulp on the counter.

There was blackberry juice on the counter, trailing down the kitchen drawer, cupboard and puddled on the floor and baseboard for a circumference of about 3 feet.

Oh, shoot … this isn’t good.

My first thought was, darn, I could have used that juice, what a waste.

My second thought was, omg .. this blackberry juice stains like crazy.

My third thought was, omg .. I am so glad that dh is not here right now.

I quickly gathered cloths to soak up the beautiful juice that was everywhere.

Next I found my container of “Mother’s Choice” hard surface cleaner (manufactured by Pink Solution in Vancouver) applied some of the grey paste to a cloth and scrubbed away. This magic solution completely eradicated any residue of the beautiful blackberry liquid and our counters, wooden trim on the cupboard door, plus the cupboard door surfaces, baseboard trim and flooring now bear no evidence to my “juicing accident”.

Relief!!

Well, if I hadn’t gone for walk yesterday, I wouldn’t have noticed the zillions of blackberries growing so close to home, which resulted in my gathering enough and this segued into my entrance to the world of juicing.

Yeah

Seems to me that every time I go for a walk, whether by myself or with my pal D, something interesting occurs.

Which reminds me of our very interesting walk a few days ago. We were invited on a tour of a garden which belonged to the most amazing planted boulevard. A tour which lasted for two hours! And lots of pictures.

But that is for another time.

For now I will just marvel at the results of my first juicing experience and I think I will search out some sparkling water to add to some of this nectar!

🙂

August 10, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener 2 Comments >

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Murphy’s Law … I’d carefully watered the garden yesterday afternoon and rain has arrived overnight! Well, I’m happy about that! So really I should be doing housework … cause it really needs to be done. But first, some delay tactics before I begin that Herculean task. Tea is called for. Next, I start to go through my photos, of which I have quite a few. So I’ve selected a few to share and here they are:

First .. I was downtown Victoria, heading towards Dallas Road to meet up with a friend when I happen to notice this lovely antique car in my rear-view mirror:

This was about 3 weeks ago and there was the annual antique car show, which was the most spectacular event, Thousands (I think) of amazingly beautiful cars arrive at the Inner Harbour and park there … while thousands of people walk around and admire these autos. It is really quite a happy thing to drive around and see these vehicles travelling about.

Oh my lovely Kentucky Wonder Beans … there will be quite a bounty and I look forward to cooking them and smothering them with butter .. yum! I’ll save some seeds for next years crop!!!

Rose petals drying in the sun ….

Along with some calendula petals ….

Sunflowers are so beautiful and cheerful. They each sport a unique personality … this one appears to have rabbit ears!

Lovely lilies growing in the yard, my pal D tells me that these are star-gazer lilies!

Now there are squash plants growing in the same area where I harvested my huge crop of garlic!!

DH and I had some fun time away and made our way to Port Alberni for some time of flying and enjoying the beauty of the Alberni Valley. No computers as repairs were being made to my new Asus. So some time of being disconnected from the electronic world. And I found that I quite liked that. Although, mid-way through our holidays, we had to return home for a few days. And the laptop had returned. So I found myself wasting hours on both days. Was quite happy to depart again without this item and able to enjoy the world without it.

Up in Port Alberni, A Buffalo prepares for take off .. they had picked up some sky divers who had taken part in aerial exercises .. I just caught sight of the last one landing! Quite impressive.

Beautiful cloud formations on a hot and sunny day …. I love this! And in the fore front there are some trailers for sailplanes which are now happily set up and ready to spend some time in the air!

Wheeeeeee … I was so happy to go for an hour-long sailplane ride!!! The Pawnee is towing my pilot and myself in the PW6 !!!

The pilot released the tow line, and we were flying, thermalling ,,,,, and we were soon flying near my lovely dh, who was flying the PW5 just ahead of us .. that was so exciting ….

Such skies …

We flew above some eagles .. powerful ..

Darling little Coco …. she really wanted to be with her poppa, but it was a very hot day and we had air conditioning in our motor home …. so we hung out there for a while. Her face tells a story, it is as if she is saying, politely ” you know, I do enjoy being here with you in this nice and cool motor home, but you really must understand that I long to be with my poppa. I don’t meant to be rude, but, please, could you let me go to him?”

And what a nice surprise when dh and I returned, midway through our time away … my pal D had left this lovely bouquet of sweet peas! Friends are the best! She also looked after our beloved kitties while we were away!

Well, I can delay no more .. housework calls. I know that once I begin the vacuuming, laundry, dusting activities of making our home tidy .. I will enter the zen flow of energy. My reward today will be the totally surprised look on my dh’s face when he comes home from work today. That will be worth it!

🙂

July 16, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment

Want to know the most effective way to re-start an exercise regime?????

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Another in a series of lovely sunny days, except today, the skies are clouding over .. perhaps we will have some much-needed rain!

DH and I are going away for a quick dash away to relax and just simply enjoy our time away from schedules and work. So Exciting.

So I’ve been busy, going shopping for some summer clothes. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve bought new clothes so I have been enjoying the journey.

And as I’ve been trying on clothes in those stark dressing rooms .. I’ve come to a realization that I need to ramp up my exercise regime!!! Nothing like a reality check to get that going!

ha ha ha

In January I’d started my daily exercise program, only to stop it when we had to focus on working on the yard of our rental, when our tenants moved out. We both worked so hard for 4 months, and my program fell to the wayside. Then I sort of started and stopped it.

Well, no more! I feel so very much better and promised myself to continue this simple little exercise and walking routines .. really very little effort involved and the results are so quick!

Yesterday I began (sigh) my callenetics (Callan Pinckney, she is wonderful) and restarted my lovely daily walks.

Feel oh so much better .. I’ve missed this so much. No quitting this time!!

Anyway, not to bore anyone about my non-gardening life .. I’ll share more lovely photos from my lovely daily life!

Sun and shadows … how lovely …

More sky art.

Oh my darling little JaneE …..

Music “In a Persian Garden” .. it was a day when I really was seeking positivity and beauty outside and when this song started playing on my little i-pod, I felt so happy ..

My pal D and I had gone exploring in Sooke a few months ago .. and we’d found some interesting wood formations, just small ones .. along the beach. Very artistic.

Are these Canterbury Bells? So very pretty. Growing randomly in my garden. Self seeding.

Calendula and rose petals .. drying in the sun.

Fun in the sun and gardening too !

🙂

July 13, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment >

Saturday, July 13, 2013

The hot sunny weather continues … these are the lovely long days of summer! Here’s a pic of my first attempts at braided garlic. As I went along, braiding rope after rope, I began to imagine how easy it would be to incorporate coloured ribbon, flowers, all sorts of things. That will be my goal for next year.

For now, I’m happy with the rustic look. These will be gifts to friends .. and for me, a reminder of the summer. A complete day given up to sorting this years garlic crop. Hours spent, trimming the roots, brushing away the surplus soil. Sorting into sizes and beginning my attempts at braiding! A very happy day. Oh .. and I must select the largest cloves for planting this fall!

All the garlic is now braided or bunched and hanging to continue the drying. I stood there amongst the garlic … savoring the tranquility and enjoying the feeling of accomplishment. Oh, and I also dreamed a bit. Of moving to a place with more land so I could grow more garlic. I’m also growing shallots, they are easy to grow .. so would like to plant more of that also. A gal has to have a dream, right?

One of the zillion busy bees in the garden. Industrious creatures are bees …

Shasta daisy .. a cheerful sight to behold in the front yard. Modest flowers, I don’t notice them growing away until they burst into flowers adding so much beauty . . asking for nothing in return, save a bit of water in order to grow.

The edible peas are growing into giants and I harvest some daily. Still magical, isn’t it .. one little seed produces so much food. And such beauty. These vines have grown quite tall, over 6 feet in height. I’ll be saving some seeds for next year, you can bet!

I love this sky .. reminds me of a giant bowl of clouds being stirred around ..

Now .. this is an impressive cloud …

I watched as it evolved quickly, growing and spreading … see the cavern in the center? There was rain hours later …

A happy view of the suns rays beaming down onto this developing formation …

My favourite channel to tune into .. the sky … every changing and breathtaking ..

The Pawnee coming in for a landing .. it is the tow plane for the sailplane (glider). Having released the happy pilot & passenger way up in the blue skies .. it will land in a few seconds. Lovely plane. Formerly used for crop dusting, now it has a happier life towing sailplanes! The only thing that should be spread on crops is compost tea!

Ohhhhh .. a baby, wispy cloud.. how ethereal …sky art.

Look Dick, see Jane and hey Spot .. here is the Pawnee …

Nothing cheers me up like the sky does. No matter what is happening down here .. there is always something beautiful to see up there. Not man-made .. just nature doing its thing!

Yesterday I spent some time bracing up my bean crop. Using cut lengths of bamboo .. I made a makeshift frame and began running strings from the horizontal bamboo to tie onto the beans and peas to give them something to hold onto as they began their upward growth.

I was wearing my gardening outfit, muddy as usual and kneeling on the ground, focusing on ensuring that the string was snug when suddenly there was a flapping of tiny wings and a young sparrow landed on a length of bamboo that was just inches away from me. I think it got caught in the strings and then decided to cling to the bamboo to get its bearings. I scarcely dared to breathe and didn’t make any movements as we locked eyes .. Me looking at this tiny little innocent bird as it, in turn, stared, wide-eyed back at me. Complete silence for a brief moment of time.

The little tiny feet couldn’t quite get a grip on the smooth surface of the bamboo and he twirled and swirled in graceful minute arcs, round and round. Quickly he flew away and I, just as quickly, added some yellow plastic ties to warn other winged creatures that the strings were there.

Later on I stood quietly watching birds in the cherry tree .. munching away .. and saw the same sparrow. It had to be the same one, as he continued to swing in circles around branches. A fledgling member of the Cirque du Soleil, perhaps?

There are always unexpected surprises in the garden. Whether these be unexpected flowers, playful encounters with my feathered friends .. or something like this:

Honest to Pete, I had tried my best EM treatment with this Mexican Orange tree. It was one that I had neglected and it was really nothing but a stick with a few branches, nothing green whatsoever. I applied a liberal dose of EM about a month ago, but nothing happened. I was going to chop it up for composting, but, just hadn’t gotten around to it.

Yesterday, moving things around in the back yard, I happened to see this strong new growth.

It was one of those magical gardening moments and I just felt again the impact of the forcefulness of nature, the resilience of plants (and the power of EM). This was awesome and in so many ways it was a sign of encouragement and of not giving up. Truly an inspirational moment and humbling at the same time.

A mini-miracle that gave me such joy. And affirmed once again the positive power that we all discover in the garden.

🙂

July 12, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment >

Friday, July 12, 2013

Busy times for everyone at this time of the year. Watering our gardens, ensuring that all of our veggie plants are growing well.

Me .. well .. I’ve harvested my garlic crop. I think that I dug them up a few weeks early, but that’s where the impatient side of my personality kicked in! The garlic cloves that I’d planted so carefully last October, in neat little rows had fun moving around during the fall, winter and spring. Sometimes there were 3 garlic bulbs growing together. There was a variety of sizes, from small to medium to huge .. so that was all right!

Well .. look here .. what is this strange object in the midst of my garlic beds??

Ok, I was having fun with the timer on our camera … hadn’t used it before and wanted to see what I looked like in my lovely garlic bed. Don’t ask how many times I had to reset the camera and run back and quickly look relaxed .. oh, it was fun.

Our Mr. Duncan is the epitome of cool and I recently watched him as he sauntered up the back stairs. .. note the flaring ears as I called to him .. hey, Mr. D ….

whaaaaat …… I’m busy .. lady.

I’m babysitting some plants for a friend and was quite upset a few weeks ago, when this lovely specimen was nearly a goner. You can’t tell by this photo .. but I’d not watered this plant for a while and was sickened to see that most of the leaves were brown and crinkly. I watered with a liberal dose of EM and look here .. magic!

My lovely garlic crop, nearly all dug up …

Garlic placed on makeshift work tables (2 work tables with framed lattice in between …resulting in a lot of space to work with. And I found an easy braiding recipe and will share those photos next time. They look rustic and I’m quite proud of them.

Random beauty . .a surprise flowering rocky rose

A surprise little beetle .. looks like a ladybug .. alights on a garlic ..

It was walking for miles on its tiny little legs .. quickly scurrying up garlic stems ..

I watched as it travelled endlessly … and finally it went to the ground. A huge universe open for adventures … one that is hidden from my eyes ..

And then … far far away …

I had set the sprinkler on at the back of the yard .. left it and later on heard the joyous chirps of the Bush-tits and Chickadees … quietly went over and tried to see what was going on, what were they doing? So difficult to see them in all this greenery.

Look .. the tiny little darlings were having a fantastic time .. showering in the tiny drops of water .. grooming themselves .. I was able to take a few photos …what a wonderful time they were having …made me smile and feel happy too!

Lovely little darlings, aren’t they …its moments like this that adds a big sparkle to the magic of gardening …

Well .. that is just a tiny bit of what has been going on in my life … and so I am donning my gardening costume, brewing another cup of tea and racing outside, to make some bamboo climbers for my Cannelloni beans to grow up against.

Out into the sunshine …

🙂

July 5, 2013
by thedogwalkinggardener Leave a comment >

Friday, July 5, 2013

Life is just a busy fun place to be and sometimes I speed up when I really should slow down. And that is where friends come in!

I have been busy working on the little garden at the Dakota Cafe for the past 3 mornings. One day spent weeding and digging through the plants with my pal D to help me out. The next day was intensive weeding and planting. And this morning, a frenzied time of cutting back Rex Rosemary which had grown to be too high for the windows of the cafe .. it was getting difficult for customers to spot planes through the windows.. so a massive cutback was done (sob). I’ve taken most of the cuttings home and will try to propagate them. No photos really, but once the little flowers start blooming, I’ll be clicking away.

It sure felt good to work intensively for 3 hours or so at a time … and I was spoiled and given tea by lovely Jess .. so I happily drank my tea and gazed upwards at the blue skies. Lots of planes, eagles, turkey vultures and other birds. Sheer heaven.

Then time for a visit with D and her son … she gave me some great clay pots and I plan to make a crooked planting, arranging them on a section of rebar in the garden. Then she showed me a little ladybird dragon that was morphing into a ladybug on the nasturtium leaf… how very magical! Also, she has a Garry Oak growing in her hop plant ….I forgot to take a photo, but believe me .. it is there and very healthy. How exciting!!

Then D wanted me to go to see the amazing boulevards in the Haultain area and here is one that is just spectacular .. I think that the homeowners were advocating boulevard gardens years ago, they were very hardworking. And from the look of their boulevard gardens and their private gardens they haven’t slowed down a bit! Very impressive and inspirational.

And they have provided a lovely rustic area for passersby to relax …

Colourful nasturtium flower peeking out from the feverfew ..

Along another boulevard … labelling helps identify the plants, such as this one:

and here is the California Tree Poppy (listed above):

I love this “secret” front door …. well done!

Then it was time for refreshments … at a lovely little table outside the coffee shop … see the darling dog in the background? His doggy parents were making sure he was in the shade, had access to water and he was one happy little guy!

Yea .. coffee grounds for the garden .. happy to see ..

I’m betting that the coffee grounds/compost material doesn’t stay around for long, there are many gardeners in the area so I counted myself very fortunate to have this bag. Oh, see the red/white polka dot bag behind this? It’s my special surprise purchase from today.

There is so much to see and do here in Victoria .. here are some posters showing some of the activities, music, dance, drumming ….

Ok .. this is where my special unexpected purchase took place. As D and I walked down the street, past little shops, I noticed some clothing on a rack outside of a high-end hair dressing establishment. Couldn’t see anything in particular .. and as I know that normally clothes that are displayed outside these types of shops tend to be expensive, I wasn’t expecting to be interested in anything. However, something compelled me to move closer. This shopping bag is quite interesting, thousands of cut pieces of fabric knotted onto soft burlap. Nope, I wasn’t interested …

But then I fell in love with this very funky dress .. it is from Italy! The owners of the shop had taken a trip there and brought back some clothes to sell. Not sure if this photo does the dress justice, but this dress is me! It’s raggedy, swirling, colourful and I love the uneven hem. See the round circles on the front, showing the colourful fabric beneath . .these aren’t pockets, just design circles. This is my new sunshine dress and I plan to wear it a lot this summer! I’ve been looking for a nifty dress and so happy now I found it! This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone for this walk with D!!! I can’t imagine not having this lovely fun item of clothing! See the pea flowers along the right of the dress … they match!

And here is my sparkly hat (gold threads woven through that just shine in the sun!): So now I am all set for the summer!

Then it was time to check out a lovely new little grocery shop and they have a machine that will grind up grains …. well done.

Back at home, there was just a little more garlic to harvest. Time passes so quickly, it just seems like yesterday when I was planting the cloves in October. Now we have gone full circle.

The garlic is now outside, curing in the sunshine .. and I plan to try to braid the soft necked garlic.

Well, it’s been a busy day. D and I parted ways .. I went shopping for groceries and beer .. promised myself a wee glass of wine when I got home!

And now I must go outside to see if the sage cuttings (from Dakota) are doing well and to put them in a bucket of water .. tomorrow I will taking cuttings of them, the Rex Rosemary and some Wormwood cuttings also.

Also, lately I’ve been buying more plants. I know, I promised months ago that I wouldn’t and I have not yet kept that promise. However, a few days ago, when D and I were returning from gardening at the Dakota Cafe .. the traffic was quite heavy on the highway. So she suggested that it might be a good time to turn left and go visit the Art Knapp garden centre at Mattick’s Farm.

What the hey, I thought, so my car dutifully turned left and .. drum roll … once again I did not keep my plant promise. Due to the heat .. there were a lot of plants for sale. I should mention that we’ve been undergoing a heat wave and plants are just going crazy.

Anyway, there were a lot of deals and I bought all sorts of veggies, 3 different squash plants, a tomato, and many others. Besides some interesting berries, a purple raspberry and I just can’t remember the others. Oh, red onion sets, white onions, a dill .. countless others. They have been soaking in EM and water since yesterday and tomorrow I can plant them in the areas now vacated by the garlic.

Speaking of which, I harvested the last of the garlic .. kind of a nostalgic moment .. and it was a very satisfying feeling to think back to last fall, culling the largest cloves for planting. Then the process of preparing the beds, planting them. Covering with the seaweed that D helped me collect last summer. And then I watered with EM at various times.

Well .. it’s been a day .. just really wanted to share my fantastic dress, really, I just love it!

🙂

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.

Category Archives: Gardening

How an early morning walk segued into my first juicing experience!

Want to know the most effective way to re-start an exercise regime?????

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: