My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

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.


Leave a comment

Either in the sky or on the ground – there is a lot of beauty to be found!

Graceful dancing skies .. swirling .. twirling .. dance of joy above us ..thursday-16

Mystical – ephemeral – can you see the two faces and the arms entwined  ….dancing .. flying …

thursday-15

On a more practical day – these clouds are ready to fly you away … however, we took the plane instead.

thursday-08

And soon we were up in the air .. .along with all those lovely clouds!

thursday-09

This plane is so happy it is smiling .. see the big cheerful grin!     Liking this plane a lot.

thursday-01

 

4 Nanchang’s flying formation .. a beautiful sight to see .. but even better would be to be sitting in the back seat!  DH & I were able to do that a number of years ago … simply Stupendous!!!!thursday-02

 

Back home .. in the garden ..here are all the Pyracantha berries that I clipped from the gigantic leaning Pyracantha shrub that I pruned a few days ago.   That is a lot of berries!

thursday-12

And I’ve spread the berries over two large drying surfaces .. here is one:  Luckily we have had sun for a number of days so the berries have started the drying process but there is a long way to go yet.   Looking at the weather forecast, rain is predicted starting tomorrow sometime so I’ll have to move these inside the house to help them in the drying process.  Once dried .. I’ll save them for the winter months so the birds will have a treat!thursday-13

A  sweet Sword Fern .. oops .. I see ivy that needs to be pulled up.  It started off as a tiny little plant many years ago .. I remember planting it!  Now it is a monster that needs to be eradicated.  We have struggled with pulling this invasive plant out but obviously need to continue.

thursday-14

Nature is delicate .. I love how this fine strand of a squash plant is seeking support in the most gentle way ….

thursday-11

I wish that I could wire-wrap my jewellry crafts as uniformly and tidy as these strands!!

thursday-10

Some Red Delicious apples .. so pretty to look at and so tasty to eat!   And drink when juiced!  And most likely scrumptious in pies!!

thursday-07

Little baby girl, JaneE Kat … sleeping in the sun .. my garden cat!

thursday-06

Some of these beans are just quirky.  this bean was growing in lots of space, unimpeded by other beans, yet it decided to twist things up, as it were.

thursday-05

A number of weeks ago, I’d inadvertently knocked off the flower of this tiny little sunflower.  As magical as nature is .. the plant continued go grow and is sporting a tiny little flower again!!

thursday-03

One of the joys of bountiful pole beans and sunny weather!

thursday-04

Summer is still officially here (I think) and I can see the signs of the approaching Autumn … which is sending us little signals that it is heading our way.

The wild and crazy pear stock tree is starting to show colours in the leaves .. no longer a solid deep green, the oranges and burgundy colours are starting to appear and the leaves are beginning to drop.   The pear trellis disease is not showing up much now .. lots of good soil, EM (effective microorganisms) and llama manure have given strength to this tree.   So much so that it is dropping tiny little round pears!   Some are tasty and some are tart.    After  about 30 years, it is nice to see that this tree is getting healthy again.

A few of the Blue Lake bush beans and Spanish Musica beans are starting to show yellow.  Some of the squash leaves are showing the spots of mildew (I clipped and discarded these).  And I trimmed back the superfluous leaves of the self-planted tomato plants so that the energy could go to the tiny fruits.  Next year, I vow, I will actually start some tomato plants early!   ( I promise .. I will do that!)

Today, while the sun shone warmly and I gathered an enormous amount of beans (for juicing) and the occasional orange tomato (to ripen inside, in a basket) .. .I realized that the days are limited for summer enjoyment of the garden.  Soon the rains will start.  There will be the warm sunny days again ..but these special hot days .. will be, for the most part, just a memory.

Autumn will take over and along with that come the chores to tidy up the garden.  Finally sort the pots.   And to decide which plants need to be placed in slightly larger pots for the winter.   Time to remove the plant saucers so that the rains will just flow through the plants and not stockpile in the saucers.

Cooler days to trim  branches.  A time to sort garden items out .. some things to give away and some to keep.

Time for more mugs of Yorkshire Tea.

 

 


Leave a comment

Friday was a rainy day but the sun came out in the afternoon

Monday, March 31, 2014

Amazing to me how quickly the days are passing .. especially since January just didn’t seem to want to move ahead very quickly.  I think that it just seems that time is moving too fast .. when I think about the lovely longer days with more things to do especially outside.

Take Friday, for instance.  The day was a long one and it started out in a rainy fashion.  Our boot camp group met at the designated location for the Friday session.   Brrrrr .. it was grey skies, a light rain and off we went.   I am glad I went but really I was sorely tempted to stay home.  And if I had stayed home .. then I would have missed seeing this Great Blue Heron looking for breakfast!

01

And as we went along the pathway, I turned and snapped another photo, so very glad I had decided to get out and get going.

02

Another one of those lovely bridges/footpaths .. leading us into another area of the forest.

03

I have recently been salvaging native plants (I belong to an official salvaging group) and had collected a good supply of Sanicula, which boasts the most beautiful yellow flowers.  Glad to see this plant growing naturally, to be left alone.

04Also lots of luxurious moss … with many tiny wildflowers waiting their turn to grow.05

A great grouping of Low Oregon Grape .. this is what I will plant at our next home .. mass plantings!

06

Dainty little ferns growing at the base of a moss-covered tree trunk.

07

After traipsing uphill through muddy sections and slightly steep (for a Friday morning!) walk .. we arrived at a viewpoint.  Lots of lichen on the trees .. a very tranquil spot.

08

And on our return trip .. we noticed how high the water was at Elk Lake.   Usually there were Mallards at this area .. but they must have relocated till the waters recede a little.

09

Oh, and here is another most wonderful reward for going outside!  What a very stately and handsome guy!

10

D said hello to him and he patiently stayed in place for that.

11

After a minute though, he had to race to catch up to his doggy-dad.  Enough time spent here … thank you very much.

12

Pretty shades of green … the pale green of the Indian Plum intermixed with the deeper shade of the Horsetail … again, Nature’s Beauty is best.

13

Can you see the laughing face in the tree?  and also the drooping mustache?    Quite a handsome tree.

14

The contrast of the light/dark/shiny/dull image of the lake/trees/background struck a most appealing sight.

15

That was the early part of my day … I then went to do some volunteering at Fort Rodd Hill .. and will share some of those photos tomorrow.

Although Friday wasn’t really a sunny day … I am pretending that the afternoon was like this .. what’s the harm, eh?  Smile

16a


Leave a comment

A Lovely Walk Along the Galloping Goose Trail

Ah, Sunday is but a memory and it is a good one.  It was an overcast morning so DH & I went for a bit of a walk along the Galloping Goose Trail … we made our way towards the Burnside area.

We are so lucky to have this series of interlocking trails.   The names change according to the area but I am lazy and just call them all the Galloping Goose!  Here is a link to the official trail guide:  www.gallopinggoosetrail.com/pdf/lochside_trail_guide.pdf

There had been a few oil tank leaks during the last year and remediation was still taking place.   Crews and volunteers have been working very hard to keep the oil from entering the Creek:

02

Hard working volunteers are restoring native plant habitat along the way:

03

Now, this is a most amazing piece of work .. see how the woven sections of branches have been installed on the far bank …to stop the erosion of soil and to provide habitat for growing plants (and of course, insects for birds to eat!)

04

I just adore pathways, curving bridges … mysterious and inviting.  Not to mention, a safe way to cross a waterway!  This is spacious enough for walkers, bikes – for everyone to traverse with lots of space.

05

The oil spill is nearly cleaned up and these are for delineating the area (I believe)06

The presence of the Mallards is a good sign that the water has been saved from the oil.

07

The tree is majestically growing and see how the presence of the rock has not stopped the roots from taking over.   Trees are such gifts.  We must do our best to protect them.

08

I love these stepping stones.  There were quite a few along the trail.  I wondered if they were the result of a school group .. they were quite pretty and brightened up the trail quite a lot.

09

Tempting to cross over on these stepping stones .. but the moss would make it a slippery adventure.

10

More clever trees hugging the soil, growing despite the challenges.   A good example of tenacity. Nature continuously teaches us if we can only see the lessons hidden in plain view!

11

Another interesting section along the Creek ..

12

Lovely ferns and moss decorate the rockery .. Nature’s gardening.  Effortless and beautiful.

13

Another portal tucked away … to a distant, mystical world?

14

And what a treat it was to meet this lovely dog!  Her second name was Marie, so of course, I was doubly enchanted!  She gets to go to work with her doggy-daddy all the time!  What a lucky dog .. And this was at the end of our walk so it was a nice treat to meet her.

01

Shortly after we came home .. the sun came out .. so I ran outside and played in the garden.  Another gift!

15