Victoria was ahead of the game last week when we had some snow. I wasn’t going to take any photos, but decided, what the heck so I fetched my camera and took a few pics.
Some snow on the Mexican Orange shrub .. this plant is tough as nails! I can do an extreme pruning and then a few months later, it flowers! 
Below, photo taken this week .. snow has gone (yea!!) and the flowers are still looking great.
My little garden bench .. where JaneE loves to perch and await her treats! I liked the way the sun brought out the shadows which always adds interest. 
Leaves decorating the frozen water in the bird bath. I replenished the water so that the birds could bathe. 
Honestly, these sweet little flowers just add so much beauty and carefree energy to the garden .. love them!
One of the many reasons I love taking photos in the fall .. so I can remember how beautiful nature is. Took this photo last week. Nothing like a cheerful sunflower to brighten the atmosphere, n’est-ce pas?
And this venerable rose bush, another tough as nails plant! I planted this – maybe 35 years ago? I swear it lives on love as I rarely water it even during the hot summer. It does not mind a heavy pruning and just seems to flourish. The Anna Hummingbirds love this one!
Alpine strawberries. I do not plant these in the ground as they are tenacious and would soon cover the yard, as I discovered a few years ago! Now I just keep one plant in a pot and that is enough. Yesterday, this caught my eye, I loved the dainty flowers against the broken clay pot. This .. to me .. is true beauty of the best kind.
A few days ago, I gathered some pumpkin seeds and scrapings, placed them on a Rubbermaid container lid for the birds to feast on. Our lovely JaneE (nearly 22 years old now) loves pumpkin squash and I caught her eagerly dining on this! She soon stopped and walked away to her little bench. The Stellar Jays noticed this food and quickly made this disappear. I noticed one of the Jays swallow a seed whole, snatched up another and flew away to rest in one of the trees!
Last year I only noticed one Stellar Jay in our yard .. this year there are 4 and they are such beautiful birds. If only their song would match their beauty! Happy to see them pick out the peanuts I leave for them. 
It is the first week of November and I still haven’t planted my garlic. This week I will definitely plant a small patch just to enjoy their growth. At one time I really wanted lots of property so that I could grow lots of organic garlic to sell. Plans change and now I am content to just plant a small amount.
As all gardeners know.. the peace and tranquility of a garden soothes the soul and the joy of watching plants grow, the love of watching the interaction of the birds has an energy unlike anything else.
Sometimes I wander outside, a little overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done. After giving JaneE her treats, and filling up the bird feeders, checking on the hummingbird feeders to make sure they have enough for the day .. I wander around, with my mug of strong Yorkshire Tea .. looking at the various areas in our garden.
And I truly surprise myself (time after time after time!) at what happens next.
I move a few plant pots, tie up a few wandering berry vines and soon find myself involved in changes that involve a different way of using the yard.
Loving the idea of creating private garden rooms and not wanting a permanent structure anywhere .. I am always thinking of a different way of doing things. And so happy at the results.
This year I’ve placed two arbors (from Lee Valley .. not the expensive types) in the garden about 5 feet apart … and next year will plant a string bean tunnel!
And I have quite a few planters with bamboo and am playing with them to use as green walls in another garden place. It’s funny how I’ve been focusing on just one area of the yard, forgetting about others and now I am re-discovering these sort of forgotten areas.
And mulching the seaweed that my pal D and I gathered a few weeks ago with straw from the summer and leaves raked last week. This will make lovely soil for next year and also provide a place for the birds to peck away, looking for the insects that will live there.
Love being in my garden.
But now, off to practise my fiddle and my singing as I have another voice lesson soon! Loving this also!
🙂
Another one .. beautiful!! I did take some little wedge sections for my garden .. couldn’t resist doing that.
On the way home, little baby girl was so sleepy .. and worn out from pacing back and forth in the car, she finally succumbed to dreamland. Love her so much.
And the great scape escape. I had a feeling, while I was hanging bunches of garlic to dry beneath the sundeck, that I may have missed a scape or two. Proof here that I did!! I could plant the seeds and in a number of years of replanting, I might receive a regular garlic. Might just do that for the fun of it … but will need to clearly label the container!!
Everything has been carefully planted and watered – the water was obtained from Eagle Lake and brought up to the planting site, bucketful by bucketful. I simply had to encircle the plants with rocks. This, hopefully, would allow passersby to understand that these plants were intentionally placed there.
Important information for people to see and learn more about the turtles.
I also learned that one can have one’s property noted as a Habitat Steward! The information is on their web site. This is wonderful.
There are about 5 or 6 logs near the edges of the lake. These were placed there by HAT, so that turtles could bask in the sun!
Some aquatic plants floated in the water, a gentle breeze created some graceful arcs around them .. in a very artistic manner.
There is a cob house in the area and the owners take people on guided tours to show them how the house was built. I think that the same people built this cob building for the park. It certainly suited the surroundings. At any moment, I half expected Snow White to saunter out of a little doorway in the building, basket in hand, all set to harvest greens and mushrooms for supper. Really, that is how my mind works and I like my imagination a lot. We spend a lot of time together, and this is how it should be, for a creative person, n’est-ce pas??? 🙂
So my pal, D, whom I had visited just before driving out here, packed me a little picnic treat. She’d made a delicious apple crisp (made with the dehydrated apples I had prepared from our tree!) and insisted on giving me a portion to take with me, complete with a fork to eat it with! She also gave me the Red Green bathroom book .. he is such a funny guy! And there is my watch, ready to let me know when to leave for my lesson!
Back home, I kind of wandered around the yard with my camera .. and saw the Iris flowers blooming away. Beautiful, floppy, gentle, calming and graceful.
From the backyard .. more pretty flowers ( and yes, cannot remember the name).
Salal growing like mad at the front of the house .. and more evidence that the Leafcutter bees have been active!
Darling, lovely Bewick Wren .. perched atop our First Christmas Tree … so precious. I love them. This photo was taken from the back yard, about 30-40 feet from this 50 foot tree (or maybe higher than 50 ft., it’s hard to tell, but it is tall!)
I hadn’t noticed that my garlic was growing scapes, my pal D pointed them out to me!
This is the first year that I had planted all my garlic in containers. They are doing well.
Bizzy Bee …
On one of my (too) many trip to Michael’s Craft stores, I happened to notice this Guide Dog vehicle. I have the highest respect for what they do and this was the first time that I’d seen a car with the signage on it, so I just had to snap a photo.
Life has been pretty busy, now that the rains have stopped and the sun has begun shining.
Not far away is this lovely old rose bush .. the roots are deep so it doesn’t need much water at all .. my favourite kind of plant. Once in awhile I’ll add some EM or some other nutrient .. liquid seaweed. It’s a tough old plant and adds beauty and nectar for the bees and I’ve seen the Anna’s there also.
I planted some blue Columbines and now I see that there are pink ones also. Love garden surprises.
The blue Columbines that I planted …years ago ..now flowering away like mad .. a neighbour to the pinks!
So here I’m being “artsy” and applied a Slate shade to the blue Columbine.. glad that the flowers aren’t really this colour, but I do like the dreamy effect.
Some thornless blackberry flowers .. huge berries!! I wonder if the Leafcutter bees have been active .. as I’ve noticed some circular indentations on a variety of leaves. Busy Bees.
Sweet little Lady Jane .. this is one of her favourite places to have her treats. She keeps running towards this little bench, sits and stares expectantly upwards .. “where is my picnic?
Where are the rest of my treats?????
I finally decided to try growing potatoes in straw, having read many online accounts of success. I carefully unrolled some chicken wire, folded in half, lengthwise, inserted bamboo sections for the frame. Added some organic seed potatoes and covered with the straw. The potatoes had already started rooting when I planted them. Added some water and now I’ll just wait to see how they grow and will keep adding straw as the plants grow. I shovelled some soil on top, just a little bit.
These are the little potato sections that I had cut up, a few weeks ago, and planted them in little pots. 99% of them rooted and sprouted leaves .. see how strong the root section is!! And also, I see a couple of bean plants in the cells .. no idea where they came from as I had not planted them. happy to see them, though. Time will tell what kind of beans they are. One of the joys of using homemade compost, I think! the magic continues.
Every year I shape-shift my veggie garden. Every year I just cannot fathom how to come up with a new design .. and .. every year I do! This year is the same. We have had steady rains up until last week, so I haven’t gone outside to play. Now the sun is here and I’m all excited about work in the garden. It takes a few sessions outside before I’m really energized so patience is a virtue there.
Sunshine on the Lily of the Valley leaves … sweet. 
They were so lovely, that my camera just clicked away …to capture this momentary deliciousness for me to savour later on.
My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin 