Garlic | My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin

February 16, 2015
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Sunny .. sort of .. Sunday .. my “winter sowing of summer seeds” is progressing very well.

I started my “winter sowing summer seeds” at the end of January. Guidelines thanks to Kevin: http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/11/winter-sowing-101-6/

This year I carefully labelled everything, writing the type of seed neatly, with permanent ink, on garden markers. And I wrote the dates and details of each seed that I sowed into a hard covered notebook. How veddy veddy mature, wouldn’t you say! Last year I emptied the full packets of seeds into the containers. And the seeds grew so well that I had way too many seedlings. So this year, I only sowed partial envelopes. Except for some wild flower seeds and nodding onions (which my pal D, gave to me). I can be constrained for so long and then just throw caution to the wind, as it were. Here are some of my containers. I ran out of milk jugs and decided to use the clear containers from lettuce and berries .. they worked out just as well. Many of the seeds that I started at the end of January have sprouted already!!

Here is a container of glass chunks that I uncovered when I was digging and sifting the ground, a few years ago. There used to be a glass factory in the neighbourhood and our property sits on a portion of it. I’ve uncovered a few cement foundations that I was going to use for a garden feature, but decided that it wouldn’t work out well so I covered them up. The greenish glass is rather pretty and I’ve been thinking how best to show them off to their best advantage. Still working on that.

I use a fair bit of coconut coir in the garden, buying blocks of the compressed material and I leave them outside to crumble in the rain. Far better than using peat moss, which is a non-renewable product, compared to the readiness of coir. The plant cell flat is just waiting for the seedlings to grow a bit bigger so I can prick them out of the milk jugs and plant them in these cells.

Ah .. garlic. This was the year when I was only going to grow garlic in just 2 areas of the yard. I’d created 2 temporary garlic beds, creating circles with 2 levels of brick. Wonderful new soil, mixed with glacial rock powder, coir, compost. I’d placed way too much organic straw on the bulbs and had to remove most of it to allow the greens to welcome the rays of the sun. So, here are my two garlic beds.

However, as I still had lots of garlic left, I thought, why not plant a few more cloves? So I did just that. I created forms with bits of wood that my DH had in his workshop. Fastened them together with screws, filled with the above mentioned soil and planted the garlic. Ok, thus far.

But, wait, I had a few more garlic cloves, sprouting greens, and I thought, what’s the harm in planting these. So, this is part of the side of the yard. Garlic happily growing there. Lots of seaweed tucked around them.

Then I noticed more cloves sprouting, so I planted a few more on the other side of the yard. After this, I planted some more by the garden gate, but haven’t yet taken a photo. I’m hopelessly in love with garlic. And dream of growing much more than this.

Last fall I wasn’t able to “tidy up” the yard and thus there is still lots of things to do. I found a container into which I had tossed a pile of bulbs and had forgotten about them. I discovered some interesting things. One was that this tulip bulb, thrown upside down in the pot, was still determined to grow roots and see how they have grown!

Another thing I discovered was the magic of bulbs. Determinedly flowering away despite the lack of soil. No care whatsoever. So what’s a gardener to do?

Well, I potted them up, that is what! I think these are Muscari bulbs, quite pretty. Grow on, bulbs!

I took time to walk around the yard. And I stopped by one of my two dwarf weeping willows. One is quite strong (this one) and the second is needing a bit more love and care, which I happily supply.

How sweet are these diminutive little willow buds.

There are a couple of Flickers who visit the yard. They really seem to prefer one of the plum trees for some reason. And at this time, one was hunkered down by a suet block. He did spend some time wrapped around the suet container, plucking out lots of the suet and now he was taking a break.

Later on, he perched onto the trunk of the wild and crazy tree. He stayed there for quite a long time. Whether resting, or hiding from a raptor .. I didn’t know … I just was happy that he had a place to rest.

A short time later, I was unloading things from my car when I noticed this eagle flying overhead, so I quickly got out my camera and clicked away.

And he landed atop a tree way down the road.

I just stood there for awhile, leaning against my car, clicking away, while this majestic raptor looked around, patiently, for the next meal.

When the eagle left .. the Coopers Hawk took up residence.

It’s been an interesting time in the garden again …

October 4, 2014
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Spiders and seaweed .. some of the things I have in my garden. Plus some photos of the moon .. how fun

This is one of 2 Silverberry plants that I bought many .. many years ago. Tough as nails these plants are. They survived neglect (kept in a plant pot out in the garden .. forgotten) and although they didn’t grow much, they didn’t give up. Bless em. 4 years ago I finally planted them and last year they started to flower. These plants are quite large now and I’ve begun pruning them. The flowers are a positive sign that they are happy …and I’m loving them for hanging in! This is just a small section to show the flowers up close .. there are hundreds of these tiny little beauties of joy.

A few days ago I was removing plants that had come to the end of their growth .. trying to make some space for kale,spinach and mizuna plants. I noticed this spider had settled in on the squash vine .. so, not wanting to disturb him … I left the removal of this spent vine for another day.

Finally all the seaweed sacks were emptied, the seaweed either dug into the soil or put in the compost bins. These were then rinsed thoroughly and draped on the conduit frame and bamboo, wherever there was space .. to dry and soak up the sunshine. Ready for another trip sometime in the future.

At the end of the day …. spider was still there … he looked settled in so I left him in peace.

Part of an old window from our house and a little stained glass sunburst them I made years ago. Just waiting for me to re-purpose them into something artsy for the garden. For now they will just stay put .. pretty to look at and not in the way of anything.

Last year my pal D and I went to the beach shores in Sidney, there is a small section which receives a lot of broken ceramics and bricks .. washed ashore from a nearby island. Lots of treasures to be found .. I might sprinkle some into a fairy garden, they would be perfect.

Each sunflower is different, some have broader petals, smaller faces .. each one is beautiful.

The moon two nights ago .. I was playing with my camera to see how close I could aim with the 30 zoom (Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40) …. loving this camera .. here are some views that I took ..

The moon doesn’t really seem that far away .. shapes and craters can be seen ..

And just as I finished my little tour around the garden .. I noticed that a potato had been growing away in bean container. Fancy that .. I must have used some compost here .. it will be interesting to see if I harvest any little taters here!

Well .. its’ a new day, lots to do .. .which includes a garlic workshop at the Victoria Compost Centre later on in the day. I intend to learn a lot about this lovely crop!

🙂

February 27, 2014
by thedogwalkinggardener 2 Comments >

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Today the weather was sunny and a bit of overcast ..but last Sunday, there was snow! My garlic is all covered … but it is very resilient.

My winter sown summer seeds are safe in their individual greenhouses

Monday .. more snow and some rain .. here is my wonderful garden cart … I really should have put it away from the elements .. but it is a tough little cart.

My little crop of lettuce, spinach and Mizuna and other greens were doing well, during the snow/thaw/snow/thaw routine. And a few days ago I removed all of these containers from the old hot tub cover and took down below to my potting area. There was lots of cilantro .. I potted some of that up .. will show later.

These stair photos are from last Friday .. here is a view at the top looking down (and thank goodness we only made one trip down and one trip up!)

This is the view from the bottom (at the beach part) .. lots of stairs..

Last Wednesday, as we walked briskly along .. I happened to notice this beautiful formal pond and statuary down below .. can you imagine having such a garden? So peaceful.

We continued on to the most wonderful Finnerty Gardens at UVic

Ok, this was a bit funny to me .. this is obviously an oak stump .. talk about excess signage .. still, rather sweet..

I believe this is a deer tongue fern ..

And in the city of Rhodo’s .. here is yet another …There is another park, Playfair, in Victoria, which has a forest of rhodo’s .. the park is also a doggy park and I spent many many hours there with my lovely dogs.

Back at home, I noticed many daffodils, snowdrops, tulips and other bulbs that were preparing to show their flowery wonderfulness .. here are some daffs …

Our neighbourhood squirrel was trying to get a drink of water out of this bucket .. however, I had emptied it .. so she was a little surprised. There are lots of water sources in the yard for the birds and squirrels.

Here she is, attempting to hide her cache of peanuts .. oops .. she sees me ..

Yesterday’s glorious skies …

Lovely …. sky art ..So, some snow, some rain, some sun, some rain. Typical Victoria weather .. aren’t we lucky!

And today I went to get some lovely Llama manure .. more about that tomorrow. Today also I attacked my triple compost bins .. emptying, sifting, mixing, spring is definitely on its way!
🙂

February 8, 2014
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Saturday, February 8, 2014

We actually had a smattering of snow yesterday! I was going to cancel out of going to the Friday workout and actually called my pal D… who convinced me to go and R would drop by and pick me up. So despite myself I went exercising with the others and it was so very beautiful. I took lots of photos and will post them tomorrow.

Anyway .. look at this beautiful sky!! I went outside this morning to re-fill the hummingbird feeders (otherwise they freeze) and replenished the bird feed. Looking up .. what sky eye-candy!

more….

and more .. and then I really had to get going … although the sun was a little warm, the air temperature was not!

A chubby little Robin flew past me and settled onto this little gate post. This is one of my new raised beds full of garlic .. see the lovely green leaves. And this funky gate is so lovely and I plan to use it as a little feature all throughout the garden. Then you can see the pvc loop (I put green plastic mesh for climbing plants) and then there are those wonderful garden trellis planter things .. I have 3 and they are very portable to put throughout the yard. I’ve just left them here for the winter.

Here is a longer view of that same photo of the Robin. All those pots you can see in the background have garlic growing. Even those little buds from the bottom of the Elephant garlic are planted in shallow pots.

Then I caught a glimpse of the little grey squirrel, racing up the sidewalk and heading for the stairs … excited to fetch two more peanuts from the sundeck above. They have to eat .. theirs is a precarious life and so I am happy to provide them with food during this freezing weather. Can you imagine if humans had to travel so far for so little and survive on these few peanuts? I thought about that last night as I grabbed a handful of peanuts from the large bag that I bought (for them!) and thought how easily I can provide them for myself, compared with the little squirrels, who value these treasures and travel far and wide to gather them, cache them and save for future meals.

I was still watching the little Robin when I caught sight of the squirrel racing away with his treasures. I clicked the camera and hadn’t expected to actually get a good photo! He’s racing like mad.

Oh, I must share these photos. Dh & I had this ficus for many years. It flourished well .. except for a time last fall .. when all but a few leaves survived on a sad looking dried branched tree. It had developed soil mites .. they were little little fruit flies. I searched for remedies and tried them .. like putting a layer of sand on the surface of the soil so the eggs wouldn’t hatch. That didn’t work. I put the plant outside for weeks .. .the mites were still there. Drastic measures called for a new pot, new soil. I removed the figus from the old pot, washed the rhizomous roots in a light solution of Ecos laundry soap and then rinsed thoroughly with clear water. Into the new pot, with new soil. And .. a good application of EM . I didn’t bother to even trim away the dry branches, as I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Well .. a few months later and we are astounded at the tiny little new growths and now these have become leaves and stems! I believe it was the EM that saved it and encouraged the tree to grow. Isn’t it lovely! I’ll trim away any dried stems in a month or so. We are so happy .. DH, myself .. and the ficus, all three!

Then there is another success story. This plant below, was purchased from a “big box store that I will not name” over 10 years ago. I don’t know the name of the plant. If anyone could identify it .. I would be most grateful. This plant is tough. It has survived on no care, no water and has been moved about a lot. For the past 4 years, it has sat in the back room of the basement. I moved it outside for the summer and back inside for the winter. Then, a few weeks ago, I felt so bad for this living plant that just wanted to keep on growing and wouldn’t die. So I added a bit of soil to the top surface. Gave it a liberal dose of EM and some sunlight. And look! It is so very happy and is growing so well. The power of a tough plant and the magic of EM! I love you little plant.

Just can’t get enough of this beauty ..

Thank you .. lovely skies up above for this glorious display! I could look at you all day!

And finally … a friend told me about a little bird that was drawn into a Buffalo (airplane!) which was flying low and slow .. the little bird perched on the Captain’s finger .. I found this to be such a fabulous photo & story and I’m sure you will agree:

http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/news-template-standard.page?doc=search-and-rescue-crews-take-unusual-passenger-on-board/hkdonpzz

The tiny bird sitting so confidently .. while flying inside the mighty Buffalo!

I sent the photo to Ann Nightingale, a birder extraordinaire, based in Victoria, BC. ! I haven’t met her in person yet, but whenever I have a photo of a bird that has issues or a bird that is unusual, I always e-mail her and she always has the right answer for me. I look forward to meeting her someday.

Anyway, here is Ann’s information on this little bird:

“It’s a Kinglet … perhaps (because the photo is from July) a baby Golden-crowned Kinglet .” How magical!!!

Sigh .. what a wonderful world! And such amazingly wonderful people!

🙂

January 21, 2014
by thedogwalkinggardener 5 Comments

Visiting with old friends, watching birds … enjoying being lazy for just a little bit more

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

This brand new year is just speeding along! Here it is the 21st day of the new year and I sometimes just have to stop and think about what is going on in my life … really .. not much! And then my days started to fill up with activities and I suddenly felt like – hold the phone already .. I just want these long lazy days to go on and on. At first I fought against the lethargic laziness … it wasn’t just right to not be inspired to do things. I found myself visiting so many creative sites for inspiration. Many hours spent there! I did feel the tiniest bit guilty, searching for innovative ways to garden and lovely crafty sites. This wasn’t something I normally indulged in.

And then I just gave myself up to the sheer luxuriousness of this unaccustomed state of non-doing. And then I remembered that a few years ago I went through the same thing. And I know that this laziness, morphing into energized activity is a normal start to the year. Soon enough .. I will be spending my days outside, lamenting the sunset and eager to rise with the sun the next day. So time to enjoy this brief interlude of low activity.

Anyway, a few days ago, DH & I made the trek to the Mainland. This involved driving to the ferry terminal, boarding the Swartz Bay to Vancouver ferry, disembarking and driving for an hour or so to our destination. It is kind of fun to do this once in a while and I’m so glad that it is not a trip we often have to undertake.

Getting around on the newly built expressways “over there” admiring the new bridges and overpasses .. I really felt like the little country mouse visiting the big city. It’s interesting and energizing . .however .. I prefer the slower pace of life. Anyway .. here is one of the new bridges .. it was a foggy morning and I just loved this dreamy effect:

and from the middle of this span:

The highlight of our trip was visiting with old friends. Old .. meaning .. .friends for a very long time!!! It is such a joy to reminisce with such good friends. And every time we visit I fall in love again with the beautiful items from the Netherlands. I took many photos a few years ago of their fancifully painted dishes .. and so I couldn’t help doing so again. These cheerful cups are so very sweet.

And this cup is designed by a famous artist in the Netherlands (sorry, I didn’t write down the name. Such beauty makes the tea taste so delicious.

Their backyard entertains quite a variety of birds .. and I learned a bit more about the behaviour of the Stellar Jay! Peanuts were carefully left out for these birds to munch on. These birds are crafty! They will quickly push food out of the feeders onto the ground just so the other Jays won’t know .. and then they go back to retrieve the food. Here is a Jay who has just selected a peanut that was put on the roof for him … he’s thinking “where can I hide this”??

Back home …. it was time for me to check out the feathered friends in our yard. This bird intrigued me. He flew in a rather ungainly fashion … clumsily latching on to a branch, awkward flight patterns. He was a bit larger than other sparrow types and his head seemed to be a bit large .. I was perplexed and watched him for quite some time as he made his ungainly way around the yard, from feeder to feeder.
A little Chestnut-backed Chickadee stopping by for a sip of water.

My garlic is growing oh, so very well!!! Loving the sunshine.

R’s cat .. looking outside, thinking .. well, I would love to come outside and play with you .. except .. I’m nice and warm inside. Nice fluffy cushions .. lots of food, many places to curl up on for a comfy snooze or two. The merits of staying in far outweigh any adventures that I might find out there. Sorry, Charlie.

Yes .. staying inside was a good decision.

Look at this most lovely lemon tree!! R has carefully wrapped Christmas lights around the tree and has covered it with an overlay of fabric to retain the heat during the winter. This very happy tree is covered with many flowers and tiny lemons.

And many large lemons also! How very exciting this would be .. to go outside and pluck a lemon from a tree! I think I want one!!!

Blue afternoon skies .. how joyful this was! I found myself outside in the afternoon … clipping branches, watching birds, admiring the garlic growing away. Making plans for the spring. Dreaming of garden transformations.
All those things that gardeners think about. Dreams. Plans.

sigh.

🙂

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.

🙂

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.

September 12, 2013
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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 ….

🙂

July 13, 2013
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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 …

🙂