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.

Tag Archives: nature


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Hopes and dreams abide in my garden ..

 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

 

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Sometimes it takes me awhile to get into that wonderful garden state .. the one where time stops, energy increases and I just keep moving things around .. but sometimes it’s just well worth the wait.

Yesterday was a day of going hither and thither and yon.  (are those really words?)

And finally, time to put on my garden costume and step forth into the yard.

With all my recent plant purchases, I’ve amassed quite a pile of plant pots.  These need to be completely sorted, put in bags and then I’ll list them in the local Free section of our Used Victoria and hopefully an ardent gardener will come by to claim them.

I used to save them all for future propagation, but realize that I was simply hoarding them.  My precious plant pots, ha ha ha.

So that’s on my to do list today.

I had moved about a yard of the Miracle Mulch (sometimes I just call this my Magic Mulch .. same thing!) onto a tarp in the back yard.  This was where I headed yesterday afternoon.  Soon I was mixing this with bagged manures and then shovelled this onto the other side yard.  And here I began placing the final lot of my recently purchased perennials.

Looks lovely, but no pictures yet.  I’d placed landscape ties against the edges of this area but finally decided that the neat and tidy edging didn’t fit with the natural flow of the plants, so moved them to the back yard.  Ah, yes, this was much better.  Now I feel the yard can breathe .. no structure here.

Noticed that the grass is now growing quite well around the paving stones that I carved into the yard .. soon it will be lovely and green in this area.

Visited my recently planted Tea Rose .. and see the leaves are burgeoning all over!  Hard to believe that when I’d seen this plant at the store last Thursday, it looked as if it was on the fast road to the compost heap.   The sales clerk had swiftly trimmed away the dead leaves and soon  I could see about 20 little areas of new growth.

Took it home  (after I paid for it, ha ha ha ), planted it and with a liberal dose of that magic elixir, EM .. it is now sporting a vast array of leaves and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it were to grow some lovely fragrant roses soon.

Itching to dig in the potato patch . .how many taters are left there for me to find?  Feels like a treasure hunt as I gently probe the garden fork around the base of the raspberry plants .. where the darned things have grown.

I stop for a while, looking at the rich, beautiful mulched soil that is now here ..  thankful that my hard work of gathering oak leaves, spoiled hay, compost, aged manure, spent hops .. all combined to create such a wonderful growing medium.

What a treat to finally see the red skin of the potatoes peeking out from the rich dark soil.  Sheer magic, I feel!  I gathered up the remaining  crop and put them in an old white enamel pot that had belong to my DH’s grandfather.  He used to garden a fair bit and I’ve been lucky enough to have some mementoes from his hobby.

I have two zucchini plants and a few are growing from these .. so I pluck one to take inside for cooking.

The pea plants are nearing the end of their cycle .. fun to see the peas growing in their pods, distorted and twisting with the energy of their growth.

Lots of tomatoes, but still in the green stage.  Strawberries are still flowering .. fingers crossed that these will grow into ripe red fruit.

Lots of dreams and hopes lie in my garden .. and time to go out there and play again for another day.

🙂

 

 


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Oh my .. the last day of the plant sale . .what’s a gal to do ???

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

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So yesterday … I am a little embarrassed to say .. I went back to the supermarket where I’d purchased a lot of plants on sale (two for one) lately.   It was the last day, so .. ahem .. I bought a few more plants.

Back home and I decided to tackle another neglected garden area.   This one is in the front side yard, behind our “first ever Christmas tree” that is now well over 100 feet tall.  I’m guessing, as I don’t have anything to compare it to, size wise.  But its gigantic.   And all the birds love this tree.

Anyway, I dug away at the hard packed soil, amended it with a very generous amount of magic mulch & soon I was settling in my new purchases.    You can’t see it in the photo, but there is a very healthy Jasmine plant, with two vines.  I’ll be training each one up against several fence panels and so soon they should be growing quite nicely.

I was soon in the Zen of digging the soil and deciding the best places for the plants so it was quite a shock when I was finally finished for the day.  Tired and happy at the work done.  Tidied up the area and then brought out the hose and watered everything quite thoroughly.   Followed by a liberal dose of liquid EM.

Have you ever noticed sometimes how quickly the day passes?  You sit and think, now what did I accomplish today?  Much or nothing?

Well, I’ve decided that I always do accomplish quite a lot .. even when I feel that I haven’t made any advancements in my many projects.

And I know this because I take quite a few pictures throughout the day.  At the end of the day, after I’ve uploaded them to my computer, as I look through them .. I think back to where I was and what I was doing as I’d taken them.

I remembered my little breaks from working, looking up at the magnificent skies overhead.  The opportunities to just rest awhile and look at the sweet little birds who visit our yard.  Admiring how the plants are growing.  The advancements made in their growth from one day to another.

Feeling such joy at the way the sunshine transforms the surface of a leaf, the texture of a stem, the decadent blossoms of the cheerful sunflowers that the birds have planted, as they’ve scattered the seeds while they munch away at the feeder.

Remembered how wonderful it felt to just wander around the yard, planning for changes.   Opportunities for me to utilize my creativity in plant placement.

Another wonderful day spent.  And there is still a fair chunk of summer left to enjoy.

Life is great in the garden!

🙂

 

 

 


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About the lovely joy of surprises and unexpected treasures from a friend! Oh, and the birds are now visiting the birdbath!

 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

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It is true, time does fly when you are having fun!  Our summer started at the beginning of July, when the warm weather stayed to visit and here it is, past the middle of August.

Yesterday was a serious planting day .. one in which I devoted hours to installing some of the many perennials that I’ve been buying on sale!

First thing though, as I went outside, mug of Yorkshire Tea in hand, ready to take a little walk around the yard.  To check on the differences since the latest application of EM, last Friday.

Walking past the garlic drying area beneath the sundeck, I remembered that my friend D had mentioned that she was going to leave a surprise for me there.  So I looked in and there was a magnificent picnic basket!  I’d always wanted one of these, but it just never happened.   And here was one for me!

I quickly picked up the basket and took it over to one of my outside working tables and opened the top latch, to see how much space there was in the interior.

Wow .. imagine my surprise when I lifted back the folding lids and saw treasures inside!  It felt like opening a surprise Christmas present, only on a warm sunny morning!

Inside there were such beautiful things .. a magnificent book on Hummingbirds, with exquisite colour plates and information on their habitat, how they live their daily lives.  Included was an article on the loss of hummingbirds in Cuba, that is terrible and I plan to find out more information.

I’m also inspired to plant more Hummingbird plants after seeing some of the beautiful photos.

Oh, more and more treasures, a book on lavender & one on craft printing (I’ve always wanted to learn how to write those curly cue little sayings and this books shows exactly how to do it).

And more and more .. I put the basket on the grass and then just sat down, lifting each item out, admiring the beauty of the candle holders, the bright colours of the mugs (now these will be my gardening mugs, easy to spot and not lose in the grass!)

I had fun, lifting out each item!  And happy when I saw the note about the tomatoes.  The story behind this is that my friend & her son grew 5 tomato plants last year, they were small little plants and they had a few tomatoes from each plant.
This year, they grew the same type of tomatoes, but, this year, they added EM on a weekly basis.  The results?  Over 400 tomatoes on 5 plants.  And the plants were not small this year, they were like little trees!  Ah, the magic of EM (effective microorganisms).

After playing for a while, I tucked everything away in my new picnic basket … time to get serious now!

I wandered over to the hanging bird bath and saw some tiny little feathers in the water .. and shortly after, I saw a little Chickadee perch on the edge of the bath .. another special moment to enjoy in the garden!

Spent some time admiring the busy activity of the bees as they visited the prolific flowers of a plant that was given to me by my gardening neighbour.  It grew from seed (see how tall this plant is!!) and I think it is part of the daisy family.  This is the second year.

Late in the day, I was furiously planting lots of perennial grasses and a mixture of other hardy perennials in one part of the side yard.   Looking good.  I’ll take photos in a few days.

Thankfully the weather is a little milder and not so hot .. making it more pleasant to play outside.

And now I’m off to start my day.  Lots more plants for the other side of the yard.   Oh, plants are my life,  and I just can’t seem to have enough.

🙂

 


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The Flower Fairy visited the Cafe!

Friday, August 17, 2012

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Oh, plants are just so my passion, I cannot help it.  On Wednesday, I went out shopping for a few things, at the end of the day.  Found a great plant sale at a local supermarket and came home with a car full of perennials.

Well, guess what happened yesterday?  The exact same thing!  I went out shopping in the early morning .. found a great sale of colourful annuals and perennials.   Quite a few I selected for the little garden that I take care of at a cafe.  Time to add some slash of colour.

Then, I picked up some perennials that were in need of some love.  The salesperson was very helpful as she clipped away dead growth on a Tea Rose (my first ever!!!!)  and lo and behold, she discovered at least 20 new growth areas.  I’d only seen a few.  So this was a learning session for me.  She told me that removing the dead growth gives the plant more energy for new.

I am always learning about gardening, it is such a big world and love all the new items that I find.

So soon I was on my way home … car full of plants.   Mid-way home, I remembered those lovely perennial pots filled with sturdy plants, on for half price.   So, oh  my, I sought the next safe place to make a turnaround and then soon was on my way back to Home Depot.  Now, I normally don’t drive far out-of-town to buy plants, but, umm .. what could I do?  I’m under the spell of plants.

I chose a big shopping cart, marched into the store, shared a laugh with the sales clerk, put the two plant filled containers in the cart and then proceeded to head towards the area with bagged soil & manures.    I filled the remainder of the cart space with as much of these bags as I could, then slowly pushed the heavily laden cart towards the cashier.

So we had another long garden talk and then it was time to go to my car and with some creative moving around of plants, I was able to heft my most recent purchases into my little car.  And happily we chugged our way home.

Once at home, I removed all the plants, put them in containers with water to freshen them up.  Next I mixed up some bagged steer manure with some of my miracle mulch and filled 3 large Rubbermaid totes with this mix.

And then I gathered up all the things that I needed for my planting expedition at the cafe and soon was on my way.

It was a hot day.  And I was totally garbed in my anti-hornet attracting outfit: long-sleeved black shirt, black car-hearts and my trusty gumboots.  Whew.  To say that I was hot was an understatement.  However, that did not stop me for the next 3 1/2 hours to do my gardening.

I trundled my gardening supplies across the tarmac, over to the fenced patio, heaved them all over the fence and then got to work. First thing, tarp is spread on the flooring, materials & plants gathered to one side.  Then, I brought the poor, parched, dried out plant pots over to the work area.   It was a sad sight to see these, so I didn’t take any pictures.

One by one I emptied the containers of the hard, dried soil and replaced them with the refreshing new mix.   Then I arranged the plants as creatively as I could in the containers.  A thorough watering and an application to EM and they were finally looking full and happy.

I did take pictures of these and will post on my next blog.  They look a little sparse right now, but in a week or so, they will be flowering to beat the band.

As I gathered all my materials together to make a nice, tidy exit, I pondered on  my time spent there.   And anticipated the happy look on Dak’s face when he would open up the cafe this morning!  Surprises are great!  The Flower Fairy has visited!

Gardening, transforming, is so satisfying.  I know that all gardeners share this energy.  Positive, creative, satisfying!

At the end of the day, though, as I arrived back home and unloaded my car .. I realized that I did have a touch of heat stroke.  Which I haven’t experienced for years.  So I took care of myself and rested.  Realized, after I prepared supper that I wasn’t hungry, so out went that meal as I gave up trying to eat.  Rest was instinctive and so I did.  Feeling much better today.

Today, I will work in the shady areas of the garden.  Because .. I still have all those other plants to be dug into the side gardens.

Oh, happy days!


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Do Zucchini’s grow overnight into giant plants? And why are they spelled this way anyway?

Thursday, August 16, 2012

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I wake up in the mornings now, planning my days outside.

Yesterday I looked at my latest little area of beauty .. the three pavers that I installed at the end of the little cement sidewalk that ends about 5 feet from the cherry tree.  I’d chiselled out spaces in the hard packed clay soil to fit these in and they do look rather well.

And I added grass seed, topped with some soil and a thorough watering …. the grass should be growing in a week or so.  Whatever is left from the birds .. I do know that they like to nibble.

Grass is not my thing, but it does give the yard a lovely green quality.  And I’ve been forgetting to water the grass once a week … so am starting that habit.  It doesn’t take much .. but I hear the words of one my instructors at the Organic Master Gardening class .. just an inch of water per week will keep the soil moist so the living creatures can go on living and nurture the soil.  I want to keep them alive.

I also weeded the front patch of grass .. trying to nurture that back to a healthy green .. if I can keep cars from parking there, grrrrrr …  then a thorough watering.   And the final piece de resistance .. a liberal dosing of EM!  I’ve bought a huge, bright orange, 3 L watering can and so I filled that up 6 times with the EM/water mixture.

The changes should start appearing in a few days .. oh, hold me back from checking every 5 minutes.  And I will make sure that I keep this patch watered every week.

Bare soil, with no covering, is dead soil.   There needs to be a covering, mulch or plant materials, some water .. and this will keep the soil alive.

Looked around the little veggie patch, saw a surprise in one of the zucchini plants.  I swear there were only 2 tiny zucchini’s there the day before and now I see one that is nearly 5 times the size.  Do these things grow into giants overnight?  I have much to learn about growing vegetables.

And I think, why are zucchini’s spelled with two c’s??  I play around with the n’s, adding an extra one, short changing the c and then realize I need to correct. Sigh.

And I vow that next year, I will watch for the potato plants and will quickly scoop them up and grow them in containers.   They take up a lot of real estate in the garden and I plan to grow lots of garlic and more raspberries!

Looked at the little water feature hanging from a branch of the cherry tree .. glad I took the advice of my friend D, to put something in there for the birds to perch on .. when they finally visit the water.   She notes that the feature is too new for the birds .. they will use it when they become familiar with it being there.

Despite my great plans, I still haven’t planted lettuce in my little portable raised bed.  A situation that I plan to rectify today.

The day disappeared yesterday!  What with some necessary shopping.  Which included filling my car with plants that were on sale at a local supermarket. Three types of grasses, and other perennials that I’ve never used in my garden.,

I normally venture towards perennials, and am strongly attracted to herbs.  But sometimes it’s good to have a variety.  All the plants that I chose yesterday are strong, hardy and drought resistant.  My kind of plants.

Well .. on with this most lovely day.  Things to do.  Plants to plant.   And a little portable raised bed to situate somewhere.

And will I find time today to haul out my garlic bulbs, sort and choose which ones I will plant and which ones I will use and share?

🙂


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Just another lovely sunny gardening day … that’s all

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

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The lovely heat stays with us … and things are growing well.

Especially the Wormwood Artemisia absinthium .. it is growing very well with the Columbine and the two are almost intertwined.  I looked up some info on the Wormwood and read that the roots secrete a substance that inhibits the growth of surrounding plants.  Well, it had no effect at all on the Columbine.

I’ll propagate it in the fall and will add more plants around the yard borders.  Years ago I included this in a moth repellant that I mixed .. might do the same this year.

Lots of steady work in the yard .. pruning, digging.  Today I dug away at the hard clay soil and scraped out enough space to place 3 round pavers for walking.  Pics tomorrow.  Then I moved some of that lovely Miracle Mulch onto the pathway in this area.  Starting to look and feel good.

I’d scattered hundreds of Calendula seeds around the base of the cherry tree and can see them growing like crazy!  I’ll have lots of the bright flower petals soon, I think!

The birds are all having fun.  Yesterday I noticed the swallows having fun up above.   They were flying en masse and then one would chase the other and would flutter it’s wings!  Maybe a flying game.

And yesterday I dug up the first of my volunteer potatoes.  How exciting was that!   They have grown up amongst the raspberry canes and so I didn’t want to dig too deep .. I’ll check for more in a month or so .. when I’m digging up and moving the raspberry canes.

I’m changing the shape of the garden again, a bit at a time.  Plan to grow lots of garlic!  And speaking of which, next week I plan to sort through my current harvest, which is drying in beneath the sundeck.  I’ll choose the largest cloves and will plant them in September.  And will use up the smaller ones for cooking.

I plan to try to grow carrots next year .. and maybe a few other veggies.

Lovely day .. back outside to work before the sun sets .. which it is doing, earlier and earlier!

🙂


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I drew the winning ticket! However, it wasn’t for me!

Monday, August 13, 2012

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We went to a car event on the weekend .. many hundreds of classic and stock cars of all kinds.  I took lots of photos, only to find out later that I’d accidentally smudged some sunscreen on the lens … so although I love the photos, they all have that slightly blurry effect!  Sigh.

As we were parking, dh pointed out the Martin Mars water bomber that was flying overhead, so I scrambled to take a picture and was able to take a quick one!  What a magnificent plane this is!  Wonderful to see it flying .. just for fun!

Several times on that day, Sunday, we found ourselves stuck in a long line of traffic … so during the first wait, I looked outside the car window and rested my eyes on the calming greenery of a little wooded area .. it helped me avoid the “argh” feelings of being stuck in traffic.  And eventually … traffic inched along and soon all resumed speed.

Beautiful weekend.   Lots of lovely skies.   Many birds sighted.  People in a holiday mood.

At the end of our day at the car event, we were on our way out and gave in to the volunteers selling 50/50 tickets and bought ourselves a strip of them.  We waited around to see if we would be the lucky winners.  The volunteers were busy tearing up the perforated tickets and mixing them up very well.  One of them called over to me and asked me to draw the winning ticket!  So, facing away from the large ticket container, I swirled my hand around through the tickets .. which one shall I choose?  Finally I plucked one up and handed it over to the gentleman in charge.

Woe, it wasn’t one of our numbers.  However, the money is going to a very good cause, so we are happy about that.

As we left the area, we could hear the announcer telling everyone the lucky number!  And I felt happy that somehow I was able to be a part of the connection in the outcome of the lucky winner!

It was wonderful being away and doing something very different from our everyday lives … on a sunny Sunday!

Today I spent some happy time in the garden . .visiting with my good friend D.  We spent hours and hours talking about creative things.   Good energy.

I happily showed her the changes in my garden since her last visit.  She has grown vegetables for years and so I ask question after question.   And get the answers that I add to my growing veggie gardening information bank.  I’ve really only started growing veggies last year .. so every year I get a little better.  Still haven’t tackled the whole tomato pruning thing yet.  Lots to learn yet.

Here it is, nearly mid-August .. we’ve really only had full hot summer since the beginning of July.  I feel as if I “should” be farther along in my gardening than I am.

There are half-finished projects here and there.  I have been successful in some things and have cleared away hundreds of gardening pots to give away. And washed (in the same water, so as not to waste) plastic bags that once held soil or manure.  Dried them in the sun and they are ready to take to the recycler.

Slowly, slowly, the hundreds of chores that I have listed in my mental “to do” list are getting done, a few at a time.

Recently, I’ve devoted many hours .. a whole day even .. to completing little jobs.  Like, one section of the front yard .. weeding, pruning, mulching.  Another involved one side garden .. that I am so happy with.  There are more to do.   And although I know that gardening will never be finished …I am truly enjoying the journey!

And tomorrow, I plan to get up real early and start again.

It is so tempting to just run outside in the morning, but, there are litters to be cleaned, floors to be swept, little daily household chores.  Better to be done with them first thing in the morning and then I don’t have to think about them till the next day.

It’s been a day!  Another great one, of course!

🙂


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Do plants collect marbles in their root systems? I found one that did!

Saturday,  August 11, 2012

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I don’t know why I have begun to type November instead of August for the past few days!   Maybe in November I’ll start typing August!  The mind/hand/keyboard connection is a vicarious one!

Yesterday, time moved very slowly .. I really wanted to do so much in the garden but the motivation just wasn’t there … I think part of this was due to the fact that I really want to do so much and then things just start to pile up in my mind and I just need to erase my mental list and just focus on what I’m doing.

So after lunch and a few cups of Yorkshire tea, I did that.    And felt much calmer and more energized.   Sheesh . .I’m turning myself into my very own person bossy-boss .. time to stop that game!

I focused on one of my side gardens .. I’m so proud of that!  I’ll post a picture, but really want to show the before and after … in order to truly appreciate the transformation.

A few years ago I’d planted a row of little cedars and they have been growing nicely .. except that 2 of them had grown too close to each other and there was a gap between the next one in the row.  I debated whether or not to leave them as they are until the fall, when the weather is cooler.  But .. I’m feeling a little cocky now that I have lots of EM ..  so I decided to dig up the one little cedar and move it over a bit.

Lovely root system .. I carefully dug out an area and gently planted it.  And braced it up with a length of tubing and tied it with a string .. to guide it to grow straight.  Looked at it this morning and it’s looking happy.  Fingers crossed.

Lucky me .. I was digging up and moving another plant when I saw something shiny tangled up in the roots.  It was a little marble all nestled in the middle of the root system!  So it appears that I’m not the only one with an eye for sparkly things!  This plant also collects them!  Nice surprise, that was.

Went to check on my lovely garlic, drying underneath the sundeck.   And … what do I see!!! Two scapes growing happily in their corkscrew manner .. one sporting a lovely flower and the other one has gone beyond that, into seed mode.

Oh, how they must have chuckled to themselves  ..  they were able to avoid my search for them, so I could make garlic scape pesto!    The funny ways of things that grow add to the allure and mystery of nature and growing things.

Noticed Youbou & JaneE having a staring match .. cute to watch them.  They are so similar in personality and size.  Very sweet.

Not exactly sure where  I’m going to place my masterpiece of a raised bed .. somewhere in a sunny spot.  And I’ll plant some lettuce !!

The tomatoes are still growing and flowering.  I know that I should remove some of the flowers, there are too many for the length of the growing season left, but just can’t bring myself to do that.

Well .. a lovely day .. what more can I say.

🙂


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Time for a playing day .. in the garden.

Friday, August 10, 2012

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One think that I like about gardening is that I can spend one day working very hard outside and the next day I can play if I want to.

Playing means to me .. things like .. finally sifting the beach stones that I’ve collected, separating the tiniest stones and rounded rocks from the vegetation that has been mixed in.  Ending up with little buckets of these and a bucket of fine sand & grasses, to use on a garden bed.

And putting together a little raised bed from boards left over from a project that dh has done for the yard.   I had to get help from him in putting them together.  I won’t even go into the details of how I was trying to assemble the boards, but his way made more sense.   I am just not gifted in building things with wood.  I learn really easy, but the hows and whys are just not part of my creative bent.

So I ended up with a raised bed that is truly creative .. in that it is not perfectly square and two ends are higher than the sides .. but this will go on the ground and filled with lovely mulch and so no one will ever be the wiser.

DH looked at my results, shook his head and laughed .. I told him that it was just perfect for the garden .. a true garden is not perfectly square and in alignment.

Next in my playtime . . I separated the seeds from the dried flower pods from the white flowering sage plant.  I’ve read in one of my gardening books that sage would make a good garden border, so I’ll try that.  Free sage border, gotta like that.

Then I decided to cover up my tomato plants.  Having given away yards of Remay years ago … I wasn’t sure what to use in place of that .. so ended up fetching some Ikea lightweight cotton sheers and spent some time wrapping up some of the larger plants .. I’ll take pics later today.

I was on my hands and knees, pulling out grass and plantings from an overhead bird feeder, when I noticed a young Anna hovering above .. finally settling on the  tiny perch of the hummingbird feeder.  And the camera is at least 10 feet away.   So I quietly observe this little visitor.  I believe it must be one of the babies, there is still fluffy white downy feathers on the lower part of its body, and tiny little markings at the outer edges of the eyes.   He watches me and I watch him .. timeless magic.   One of those gardening moments that money cannot buy.

Sigh.

Next I mix up dilutions of EM so that I can install some perennials in one of my newly tidied side gardens.  Which gives me an idea .. one rainy day .. I will spend some time looking through photos of the past few years and I’ll show the transformations that I’ve made in the yard.  Creating areas of beauty from badly neglected spaces.   If I hadn’t taken the photos, I would have forgotten how much I’ve done.

I planted several lavender plants, carefully removing them from their plastic pots.  Soaking their roots in EM, trowelling out a space and putting them in their new home.  Gently tamping in soil around them and a final watering of EM.

Then I notice that the sunlight has disappeared .. .dusk has arrived.   I walk around this garden edging … noting where I’ll be digging in more plants and then finally decide that the time needed for this chore is going to take hours.   So might as well pack it in for the day.

Thought back over my day, what I’d accomplished .. and reflected on my playing time (that’s where creativity kicks in and time stops) and decided that I’d had yet another most wonderful day in the garden.

So, time to take a mug of freshly brewed Yorkshire Tea (the lovely loose leaf type) and go outside for another playing day.

🙂


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Thankful for the help on the WordPress Forum! They are wonderful! And also, more about my gardening life

Thursday, August 9, 2012

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Thank goodness for the so very helpful contributors to WordPress.  I’d been plagued with rather distasteful ads on my working pages of my blog .. they had all of a sudden appeared and I had no idea how to get rid of them.

So I posted on the WordPress Forum: “ Offensive ads showing on my blog ..how to stop them from appearing?” and received the most amazing help – easy to follow steps to get rid of these types of ads, which are add-ons and they are disgusting and sneaky.

If you have experienced these, then by all means, please visit the forum and you’ll find these most helpful links to get rid of them.

Now I am much happier.

So, back to gardening!

Yesterday I toiled away at the front yard  ..  completing the removal of invasive perennials that I’d let grow just to keep the area green in an easy manner.  Time to make changes and remove them.  Make room for more natural and still drought resistant type plantings.

All pulled, dug, cleared & clipped and then  top dressed with tree chippings to keep down the weeds and keep moisture in.  I didn’t take a before picture, thought of it too late.  But I will take an after picture.  This area will look a little bare  ..  I intend to pick up some woodland type plants, ferns, etc. and plant them there.

Then I began the task of pruning one of the two lilac trees that are on either side of our driveway.  For hours I clipped away at dry branches and overgrown trunks.  Some branches had grown about 4 feet over the tops of nearby cedar & bamboo plants.

At the end, I was much happier.  Noticed the chickadees flying through … and thought, oh no, they’ve lost some perching branches.   But  ..  looking around, I see thousands more of branches in our yard for them to perch in.  You see, I love the wild and natural look and am happy that there are zillions of hiding places for my winged friends.

Now the light comes through for the plants and they will grow even more!

Spent a few hours clipping away at the branches,  so that they would fit in my Rubbermaid containers, nice and tidy, so I can take them to the local municipal yard for them to compost.

And so I arranged the 3 large yard bags and 5 Rubbermaid containers into my little Echo.  How did I do this, you may ask?  Well, I pushed, shoved, squeezed and forced them all to stay in the car.  Even had one of the yard bags on the front passenger seat.  Ha ha ha …. It did look a little funny, but I was able to load the car up.

And this morning, first thing, I drove to the yard and offloaded them.   Now they will be chipped and mulched and be part of the garden dressing in the municipality.  No waste.

So now .. for the rest of the day, I can play in the back yard and be creative.   I’ll share that tomorrow!

And also for now I can enjoy a lovely mug of Yorkshire tea .. made with the loose leaves … such a very delicious treat.

🙂