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.

Tag Archives: Saturday


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Monday, September 16, 2013

Such a lovely quiet weekend .. spent time in my garden.  Decadent hours with some of my gardening book collection scattered around me.  A few mugs of Yorkshire Tea.   Inspirational and melodic music playing from my iPod.   Birds twittering.  Sun trying to break through the clouds.  I hadn’t spent such a peaceful relaxing and decadent time in the back yard for a long time.  And it was just wonderful, thank you very much.

And I finally started a long-awaited project of naming the plants that surround me  …. this is truly a formidable task and one I’d started a number of times and just given up.

But Saturday was the day that I once again began this Herculean task.   Armed with my (new) aluminum writing case (I’ll just have to take a photo today to show this and my notes)  …. I started at one side of the yard and began the initial rough drawings, along with a legend of names.

Discovered quite a few name tags were not attached to the plants, so began taking photos and will do some research.  If I have trouble identifying them, then one day soon I will post photos and ask for help from the gardening community!

Oh, wow .. I know that I am a plantaholic but even the list that I made overwhelms me.  I’m currently on page 11 and have only covered maybe less than 3/4 of the yard.  Gulp

Then I took time out to move some of the recently acquired bales of hay .. the dance of moving the bales from the car, through to the back yard and then to the compost area has begun:

01While moving the hay, I heard the soft trill of the European Starling

15aDainty little sunflower peeking out of the tomato planted basket .. how sweet ..

02Volunteer tomatoes have sprung up among the squash plants …

14It seems as if these jewels have popped up overnight …. they are pretty

10The magic of plants .. ever-growing in the sun (and the rain)

12Tiny little squash .. still lots of growing time left as the first frost in Victoria isn’t predicted till early November.

11Another little patch of sunflowers .. growing near one of the bird feeders …

13This squash is growing quite well .. wondering how big it will be when it is time to harvest!  I plan to save this one for decoration until it’s finally time to cook it ..

09Lots of surprises every day in the garden … as I find little treasures tucked away …

07I truly was surprised to see the one luffa plant that survived!  I’d started out with maybe 6 that had sprouted.  This jewel keeps opening up flowers daily …..I love the shape and texture, they are very delicate ..almost humble

06Every luffa fruit that had grown lasted only for a few days before dropping off, so this really was a treat to find an actual luffa growing around the aluminum tubes that are stored here.  And imagine my surprise when I found another one growing nearby yesterday!  These really are gifts from my garden.  Thank you.

05And I just liked the look of the sage plant growing nearby …. I have zillions of sage seeds, so perhaps next year I’ll plant a hedge .. that would be very striking in the summer!

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Grow on .. squash … whether or not I actually am able to harvest squash from this plant matters not   The beauty fills my heart with the joy of the magic of plants.   Plus this will be nice to look at in the cool winter months when I dream again of planting my veggie garden!  Although I think that I might make a structure for them to grow on.  This is my first experience of growing them and is a bit of a learning curve that happens to all.

03There are a few of this type of squash growing .. looks like a spaghetti squash, but not really sure what it is.

08It just never gets tired .. the joy and magic I find in my garden.   And I’ve so enjoyed the wonderful time just being outside, looking through books.   Getting to know what is growing where and listing the names.  I’m reconnecting with the beauties that I’ve been gathering for a few years.

Some will be moved to another area of the yard.   Some will be propagated quite easily.  Lots to do yet in my back yard adventures.  And more delightful discoveries to be made as I venture out there.

sigh.

Time to start my day!

🙂


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I proudly marched in the anti-monsanto march in Victoria, B.C.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A lovely rainy day here in Victoria, B.C.  Good for the gardens and wow my garden is growing great!  I’ve been harvesting the scapes even before they are curling around .. so impatient, I know, but the scape keeps on growing, doing its thing .. so I have more to harvest.

My pal D and I went to the big anti-Monsanto march last Saturday .. it was quite important for us to join in this event.  As you can see .. the skies were beautiful ..

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Many interesting signs ..

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Ok .. this was me .. I was working at our rental and these are my gardening clothes and didn’t have time to change . .although I don’t normally wear a sign!  It was a tiny sign as I drew it up in my car with materials at hand.  It reads:  Grief and More to come, with little drawings of a sunflower, crying and a little bumblee … saying “help me”

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Of course .. lots of darling little dogs attended the event.

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Shades of Avatar …

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We marched along … all together .. a peaceable group …

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.. along the Inner Harbour, past the Empress ..
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Interesting that it was a “no news” event .. yet see here .. lots of people

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True .. it’s not nice …

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And back at the Parliament Buildings

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02There were many people there .. hopefully many more people will learn about the evil of genetically modified seeds.. the harm that is done to the environment, the crops, the people …..

 


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Why I take the photos that I do … Well .. here are some of the reasons!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

There is so very much beauty in this world …. everywhere …up above in the sky.  Scenery.  Trees. Birds.  And photos of these all make the most loveliest of memories for later on.

Such as this tiny bird, perched, ever so briefly, on a branch (I think this is a Golden-crowned Kinglet).  I was out walking and surprised to see a few of these darlings twittering about the tree.  They didn’t stay still for very long, so I was lucky to get this pic.

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And a surprise entry pathway that I’d not noticed before.  It was only due to the fact that I chose another route to my destination and discovered this one.

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The joy of walking along an undiscovered route heightens the enjoyment of my lovely daily walks.12

And the overhead canopy of branches seem to delicately and gently welcome me along the way.  Soon these will be wearing their summer finery and provide shade from the summer’s heat.10Imagine, this pathway was here all along and I’m happily making my way …the highway and sidewalk are way to the left and while people are busily starting their busy trips to work and shopping, I’m quietly discovering more of Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary!!

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After a few minutes I found myself actually at the allotment gardens, a good opportunity to see these plots up close, so I opened the gate and went in.

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So this is, I believe, part of Swan Creek .. lots of water and the reason for the bridge (above) 🙂

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This area is vast .. so beautiful to see unique gardening plots .. lots of work.

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Each gardener has their own unique way of gardening.  Variety, as you know …04

Along the way, I’d gone shopping at Thrifty Foods .. and my visit was made much better by the lovely daffodil that I was given!  It was a surprise and I felt great just walking along with this bright and cheerful flower nodding along in my shopping bag.  So, I just had to stop and take a photo.

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I liked the look of the mossy covered tree trunks.  But just looking at this picture with Saturday morning eyes .. I think they also resemble great big giant legs with mossy green slippers!  Just squint your eyes a little and you’ll see what I mean.

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I wonder if the Downy woodpecker is thinking about gathering some moss for a spring nest.  Or perhaps something else has caught her attention?

07For now, though, time to dine!

06Now .. this chubby little Robin .. is quite the robust little bird, isn’t he?  Dining al fresco on an apple nested snugly in the branches.

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Then he (she) is gone .. leaving the apple for other birds to dine on.  They aren’t greedy.

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Walking downtown, here is this great, gnarly tree, outside of St. Andrew’s Cathedral.  Talk about character .. gadzooks!

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And the remainder of a delicate little frost.  Not heavy enough to freeze the water so the birds can still sip.  Grateful for the lack of snow which is causing misery throughout the rest of Canada.

 

 

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And sometimes I take pictures like it’s my lifelong ambition to capture every single moment of activity around me.   Sometimes, if I’m visiting someplace new to me .. I want to capture the feel of the place.  What it looks like, sounds like, feels like.

Wanting to remember the crunching sounds made by my shoes as I walk on a gravel topped pathway, mixed in with those sounds are the lovely pine scent of the nearby conifers, the cheerful chirping of birds hidden from sight.

When I see the lovely dogs, stop and have a chat with their owners … seeing the happy faces of well-loved pets … brings joy to my spirit.

These are some of the reasons why I take the photos that I do.

But .. Saturday rushes in and I have lots to do today .. .no time for a walk .. that decadent treat will have to wait for another day.

🙂