May 2- Sprouting Seedlings and Yard Work

And the winner is…. Cosmos!!!     They are the first seedlings up 4 days after planting. :)

As of May 2, one pot of Lavatara has started to germinate (my collected seeds) and also the bachelor buttons (my seeds).

May 1-  Happy May Day!
It was a beautiful, sunny warm day, ideal to be outside.  I raked some of the sunflower seeds and husks (plus dead grass) out of the lawn under the bird feeder. So many weeds growing there! I need to spread some grass seeds there and start watering or wait for the rain/ snow that is forecast for tomorrow and the next day to provide moisture.  :(

I raked the lawn around my Angel bed and along the south side of the long perennial bed since it was shaded. (Too hot to work in the sun that day: +21C!

We cleaned out most of the dead leaves, twigs and maple tree seeds from the drained pond. Then I refilled it, clipped off the dead stalks of last years pond plants and put the plants back into the pond as it was filling up.
Darn chilly weather is forecast for the next 5 days, with sub-zero temperatures for over night, so it's still too soon to put the goldfish out….   Thankfully I do have someone who wants some of my goldfish so I don't have to over-populate or small pond.
We have over-wintered 22 gold fish in 2 tanks in the house, 8 large, 10 medium sized and 4 tiny (last years babies).  I'm going to give 8 goldfish away leaving us 14. The 4 tiniest ones can stay in the tank inside for now and serve as back-ups if anything happens to the other 10 fish in the pond over the summer... (like night herons visiting the pond for lunch as happened last year! )

I clipped the huge day lily by the pond and noticed that the wild rose stems there have some black growth on them. Last year and the year before they had rust… Maybe I should just cut them right to the ground.

Other things showing signs of life:
Besides tulips, the daffodils are up in my stackstone bed. The Hollyhocks are starting, as are the bellflowers along the side of the house (like weeds!) and of course daisies.

Top of the rock garden shows some small sedums growing and the Blue Sage perennials there are starting to come. My Autumn Joy sedums are showing signs of life in the lower rock garden.

The Monkshood and Jacob's Ladder perennials are sprouting in my Angel bed. Lots of spring clean up still needed in that bed; (fallen Karl Forester Grass stems).

Little by little, it's all starting to look green now and I'm so excited about another season of gardening!

My Greenhouse is Full!

My Greenhouse is full!
I finally found the time (what with holidaying, Easter weekend visitors, Guild meetings and other obligations) to start planting my tomato and squash seeds in the greenhouse on April 25 (2014).

I washed about 100 small pots the day before and then I got busy and I planted 50 pots of seeds!

Tomatoes:
4 pots of Lemon Boys seeds (Produces sweet yellow tomatoes)
3pots of Early Girls seeds (my favourite as they always grow fast)
5 pots of Black Krim (strange looking dark purpley heirlooms)
4 pots of Purple Russians (also heirloom tomatoes, odd colour and shape)
2 pots of Tumblers (Love their tiny fruit!)
3 pots of New Zealand tomatoes (Only 1 plant survived last year, with no fruit to speak of, but I'm willing to try again…)

Unfortunately I must have forgotten to collect Early Girl Seeds in the fall of 2013. My super-diligent husband picked ALL the tomatoes off ALL the plants one day in anticipation of frost.  I had no way of knowing exactly which tomatoes were Early Girls, but I did have some seeds left from 2012 to plant…)

Squashes:
 4 Pots Spaghetti Squash seeds (one of our favourites!)
4 pots of Butternut Squash seeds
3 pots of Acorn Squash
1 pot yellow zucchini
1 pot green zucchini

Each pot has 2 or 3 seeds in it so we'll see how many actually sprout and live to become a viable fruit-bearing plant.  Last year I gave away tomato and squash plants to numerous friends and neighbours since I had so many. (Trying to keep it to a reasonable number this year :)

Also:
1pot catnip seeds
1 pot dill seeds

Flowers:
1 pot calendulas (my own seeds)
2 pots marigolds (Red Durangos- own seeds)
2 pots Bachelor Buttons/ Blue Cornflowers- 1 own seeds, 1 package seeds)
2 Cosmos- both package seeds
2 lavatara- both own seeds
2 Sweet pea pots- 1 Cupani package, 1 Cuthbertson  package, 1 mix of both )
2 Morning Glories seeds (package)
2 nasturtiums- (mixed colours- package)
1 pot oriental poppies seeds (own seeds)
3 pots castor beans


Store bought plants so far:
1 medium sized tumber tomato plant ( with flowers already!)
1 red oriental poppy (not sure yet where it'll go…)
2 Monard/ Bee balms
1 rose bush called "Turbo" (super hardy, zone 3/  Probably will dig up some irises next to the house and plant it there…)

The spring weather has been quite chilly at night so we have to turn the greenhouse heater on and some days leave it on until late morning! No wonder things are reluctant to germinate… :(

Spring Has Finally Sprung!

It seems like this Spring has been a long time in coming. Old Man Winter got a grip on us early last fall here in the western prairies and then hung on relentlessly for far too long. Truthfully, I do remember experiencing longer winters when we lived in northern Manitoba, but even now the weather is unseasonable cool…

Tulips are up in the flower bed next to the house.

My perennials are slowing inching their way above the ground. The tulips in the bed next to the house are about 6 inches tall now (15 cm) which is wonderful to see! That bed has been free of snow for several weeks and the shelter from the house encourages the first sprouts to appear. 

Hollyhocks are sprouting in the same bed as the tulips

Happily we had a warm sunny Easter weekend which melted most of the snow off the rest of my garden beds.

Snow is mostly gone off my flower beds now.

The daffodils have started sprouting in my stack stone  bed as well. Time to get out the Bobbex spray to discourage the deer and rodents from munching on them.  The rose bushes are still wrapped up in burlap and will stay that way for a couple more weeks till  the temperature stops going below 0 C at night.

Grape hyacinth, tiny but wonderful to see!

The hardy white Ox Eye daisies are growing already as well. They almost seem to start turning green beneath the snow.

The perennial beds in the middle of the yard need to be cleaned up once they get a chance to dry. The Karl Forrester grass that I left standing in the fall has all fallen over flat. The nesting birds like to use it when building their nests, but so far we haven't seen any tree swallows or wrens,  just some house sparrows and Black Capped chickadees (my favourite little birds) which were here all winter. 

The robins have graced us with their presence again, though. Heard one cheerful fellow singing his heart out a few mornings ago. He seems to be camera shy, though. As soon as I tried to take his photo he disappeared and hasn't been back :(

In need of a clean up

The black Juncos  and the Red Winged Blackbirds are back now as well.  The Canada Geese have been back for over a month already and many of the ponds around here have ducks on them again in the last few days. Saw Mallard ducks, blue-winged teal, and buffleheads all paired up. Also a black duck with a white beak which I can't seem to find in my bird book. 

I love this time of year!!!

October has Arrived

Autumn is here without a doubt and October seemed to sneak up on us! Where has the summer gone?!

Fall beauty- Mountain Ash tree

September was a blurr in passing. Sadly, my mother passed away and we had to travel back to Manitoba for 2 weeks for the funeral service and to deal with all of her affairs. We packed up  and gave away most of her belongings and we vacated her apartment. It was all very sad and extremely stressful, but was necessary to do.  Now we can deal with the grieving.

Crabapple splendour

Now that it's October, the fall clean up is happening in earnest.  We had some frost in September, but luckily we had picked most of the tomatoes off the plants beforehand.  The garden is all rototilled now except for a few areas where there are still some carrots and some red beets.  I planted 2 iris plants there last week (which I have been caring for in pots all summer for my daughter from the garden in her old house,) into our vegetable plot temporarily.  She wants to plant them in her new garden next summer. I also planted, pot and all, a big Mojito mint which I want to keep. Because of the hard frost that we get here on the prairies, we can't keep anything alive outside all winter unless it is in the ground.

Cleaning up fall flower beds- ready to wrap burlap around the roses

For that reason, I also dug 4 raspberry dianthus plants out of my flower pots and found them homes in my flower beds. They are quite hardy and should make it through the winter to bloom again. I hate to let things die!

For that reason I also dug out 4 geranium plants, potted them, clipped them back and brought them inside to make a total of 7. The dahlia tops were black after the frost last week, so I dug the tubers up and left them out to dry overnight. Now they are in bags in the laundry room waiting for me to add some peat moss and put them away for the winter.  I have 2 big clumps of Firebirds (which bloom orange and yellow) and only 1 clump of red Thompson dahlias, which I have been over wintering for 11 years now.  Next year I plan on finding some additional exotic dahlia bulbs and growing a lot more. Starting them indoors and then transferring them to the greenhouse in early spring gives them a head start to bloom.

Chickadees getting ready for the cold weather.

The big winners of the "Gigantic category" in my graden were the cosmos! I have never grown them 6 feet tall before! They were covered in numerous blossoms and bloomed all summer in spit of the fact that I neglected to deadhead them. A gardeners dream!  Because I grew them from seed I was especially partial to them. I harvested some Cosmos seeds so I will try and grow them again next year.

Fall asters defying Jack Frost

One of the few things still blooming in the garden are my fall perennial asters. I'm so pleased with them... at last! They were so puny and half dead, barely growing at all for the first 3 years I had them. I moved them twice in the meantime, but finally found a spot where they would not only grow properly, but actually bloomed for the first time last year. Now they are looking really magnificent. Another added bonus: the deer don't like them! :)

With the colder weather we needed to drain our small pond for the winter. We rescued the goldfish out of the pond to bring into the house. Their new quarters, the 2 fish tanks in the laundry room, are very small compared to the freedom of swimming all summer in the pond. We hauled out every last goldfish that we had put in, (no casualties all summer- a first!) plus 4 tiny grey goldfish babies that managed to avoid getting eaten.

The fish had grown a lot and I don't want to overcrowd them in the small indoor tanks. It causes stress to the fish (causing disease), plus you have to clean the filters more often, I job I dislike. Rule of thumb is 1 inch (2.2 cm) of fish per gallon of water in a fish tank. My fish are close to double that amount...

So..... I took 4 big white goldfish (yes, I said white) and released them into our nearby lake!   They will likely become a meal for a big lake pike, but at least they have half a chance of survival. (The gold ones would be spotted too readily.) Now, imagine the surprise on the face of the ice fisherman who catches one of my goldfish this winter!!! :D



Next job:

Add leaves to the compost around the rose bushes, and wrap them snuggly in burlap and string. That should help to protect them from the coldest winter weather and allow them the chance to bloom again.

(I am up to 6 rose bushes now, 2 pink Morden Centennials (1 in my long perennial bed, west end), 1 Morden Ruby, 1 Morden Sunrise, 1 Winnipeg Parks, and my newest addition, 1 pink and white John Davis rose.  We will skip mentioning my huge Hansa rose and all the wild rose bushes that keep popping out all over the yard and flower beds.)

Angel bed -half trimmed; The tall grasses will be left till spring.

Patio Pests- Wasps and Ants

 We had company a few weeks ago and wanted to have a picnic out on the deck. We had put the food out on the patio table and were about to put the umbrella up when we discovered a big problem. WASPS! They had built a huge wasp nest inside our patio umbrella and they were very angry about being disturbed. They came buzzing out in a stormy cloud looking to do battle!

Fast-thinking husband grabbed the umbrella and threw it out on the back lawn as far away from the deck as he could manage, then he dumped the nest out of the umbrella and stomped on it. I don't know how he managed not to get stung! We all ran into the house for a while until things settled down...

The wasps continued to circle around the corner of the deck where the umbrella had been stored looking for their nest. Then they proceeded to start a new nest at the same spot in a metal waste bin. Determined or what!  Diligent husband put on his long sleeved coveralls and a cap and proceeded to put the can in a large black plastic bag. He tied it shut and left it out in the hot sun by the garage. We think they all got baked in there, although many of them had escaped earlier.

We made a wasp trap out of an empty 2 litre pop bottle. We just cut the bottom off about 6 inches tall (16 cm) and filled it with cocoa cola; Then put the top spout part in upside down. The wasps are attracted to the sweet drink instead of the food on your patio table. They crawl down the spout to the coke, but can't get back out so they drown.

We went to town the next day and bought a new fake wasp nest at the hardware store to hang in that corner of the deck. We also bought a wasp trap and some bait cubes to attract them to the trap if our homemade version isn't sufficient...

We have a lot of ant nests around our property and for once they were being a benefit. The ants found the squashed wasp trap on the back lawn in no time and they took care of all the wasp larva, carting them away (to their own nests as food, I guess.)  :)

September is here!

I love the fall!

Firebird Dahlias with pink Lavatara

My garden doesn't look nearly as gorgeous now as it did in July and early August, (less blooming going on), but I love the cooler nights and the more pleasant daytime temperatures- At least it's SUPPOSED to be cooler daytime temps.  Unfortunately it has been close to 30C for the last week or so and expected to stay that way for another 4 days without a drop of rain in evidence!

Normally that wouldn't be too much of a terrible problem; more of an inconvenience because of all the extra work to water everything.
This week however, it could be problematic: Sad to say, my mother passed away 2 days ago and we are in the midst of funeral preparations. We are travelling back to Manitoba for 10 days to 2 weeks to honor my mother and get my mother's affairs in order.  I'm afraid that we will come home to mostly dead plants and flowers. :(
We do have someone feeding and looking after our pets, but non-gardeners really can't give the place the same TLC that it normally gets from me who planted, nurtured and love every leaf, stem and blossom.
We have been harvesting green tomatoes galore and composting most of the smaller plants to try and downsize things before we go. The 8 or 9 big plants that are  left will just have to take their chances, I guess. Old Jack Frost is not expected to visit yet, thankfully.  I may still have the chance to dig up some of my beautiful geraniums to bring inside for the winter.

Morden Ruby Rose is blooming again for the 3rd time this summer. :)

Debating about my tall hibiscus tree... I re-potted it yesterday to bring it in the house eventually. It still has mega buds on it, but no one will appreciate its blooms. Do I put it up close to the house under the deck roof where it will be safe from potential frost, but run the risk of drying out? Or leave it on the deck where it may get a sprinkle or two next Tuesday but Jack Frost could have his way with it? What a choice! :(

The Mountain ash trees are full of fat red berries and the leaves on the other shrubs and trees are starting to turn colour. Flocks of geese fly overhead each dawn and dusk practicing their V formations in preparation for a long migratory flight south.  I hope that we will still have some beautiful fall weather to enjoy when we get home again in 2 weeks.

The day lilies outdid them selves this summer with the size and number of blossoms

Late Summer Gardening

Oh, man! I have been neglecting my garden blog this summer! I have been taking photos fairly regularly, but have not always made the time to upload them. I admit, as  well, that my flower beds have not been getting as much attention as they deserve either.

Self seeded sunflowers, tall and stately

Mother Nature has been sporatic in her watering in the last  month and a half. Rainy days have been few which means more work for us keeping the flower beds and vegetable garden watered.

Speaking of vegetable garden, it has been an odd summer veggie-wise. For the first time that I can ever remember, the potatoes did not sprout very reliably. The majority of the potatoe hills did not grow at all in our the first attempt.  Not sure weather the wet weather in May and june caused the potatoes to rot, or if there was an underground rodent at work eating them.  Diligent husband re-planted most of the potato hills and we had a bit better luck with them sprouting, but there don't seem to be a lot of potatoes there under the earth yet.

The carrots, on the other hand have grown the best crop that we have had in years here! The beets are doing well and we enjoyed one feed of small beets so far which I pulled up in order to thin them out. I think we might be ready for another feed of beets now, though.
The swiss chard did well, particularly the 'Bright Lights' bedding plants.

We have harvested 2 small spaghetti squashes so far. There are still a few acorn squashes trying to grow but they seem to be quite slow. Not enough fertilizer maybe...

The tomatoes are doing okay in the veg garden, but not nearly as well as the huge monsters growing in the pots OUTSIDE the greenhouse. The 4 tomato plants inside the greenhouse are starting to ripen some fruit as well, but they are not as large.  The 4 5 pots of tomatoes on the deck are doing very poorly. I think the trees around the deck have grown so much in the last year or two that there is not a lot of direct sunshine on the deck anymore. The Tumbler tomato plant has done really well on the deck, though. We have been harvesting little mini tomatoes for 3 months now. It is a sweet treat to be able to  pick a few tiny red tomatoes to pop into your mouth as you walk by the Tumbler


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