Signs, signs, everywhere are signs...

We have double-digit days and nights above zero on the way according to the weather station. We are at least two weeks ahead of last year so I feel like this is a real treat. The crows landed in our 'hood yesterday and the robins are already here. A crocus even opened on our front lawn this morning!

Gardening in the Great White North is an exercise in patience and fortitude. Luckily, I did get to cheat these last days of winter with a trip to Victoria, BC. (OF COURSE I went almost directly to the Butchart Gardens to find my bliss!)

And, yes, Victoria was blissful....

We were outside all day, every day, and soaked up all the good sea air. We travelled up to Tofino for a few days of nothing but surf and seafood. Our lodge was right on the Pacific with gorgeous views.

Our little son (well, eight now and almost to my shoulder!) was thrilled when a local guide took us out in a boat to the pristine wilderness of Clayoquot Sound where we saw wolves, sea lions, eagles and a pod of grey whales feeding on spawning herring. It was actually quite moving to be in what felt their territory.

The nine days of spring break flew by, and now we are back awaiting our own spring.

In the meantime, this lone crocus, the bravest of the bunch, is getting a lot of love. :)

Let's all virtually hold hands and chant for spring to hurry up!!

I am where Spring lives

Spring break finally arrived & we packed up our little family and flew west to where Spring lives. I know you understand why I had to touch green, even for a little while, before I go back to our "SPRinter" season.

Wish me soft days.

And then there was life...

After the longest winter I can remember there is life emerging in the garden.

We went on a flurry of bulb planting last fall and our efforts have been rewarded with these tiny jewels, galanthus.

I'm sure I looked like a mad woman on my stomach, in my slippers, wiggling through the wet mulch, but so worth getting close up to these beauties.

At least I didn't start singing Hallelujah...! :)

Into the Greening...

Spring is here in the GWN! Never mind that it has snowed ONCE A WEEK this month. No matter, it doesn't stay, and besides, my garden just ignores the snow and grows anyway. If it can be so calm and single-minded, so can I. I consider this my version of out-staring old man winter -- he'll flinch first.

My greatest champion in staring down winter is my rhubarb. This was here when we moved here; a lone sign of life in a sea of ugly gravel. Despite what the experts say, we've moved it three times and it just keeps coming back brighter than ever. I made rhubarb crisp with it last year and it was divine. So, I'm sure you can imagine how happy I was to see my old friend return. (My son holds my hand and drags me each day to "check on the rhubarb!" I love this!)

 

This striped squill is my very first flower of the year -- and it is not even mine! Really. It is a volunteer that made its way to the side of our house. I think this is the third year it has shown up, much to my delight. I think it is absolutely charming.

 

The next brave soul is the columbine, aquilegia 'Beidermeier.' As I had secretly hoped, it has begun self seeding. I simply cannot get enough of the cool pastels of this intricate and elegant plant. It lines the path leading into the garden and lends a lovely woodland feel to the path. Welcome back, lovely lady!

 

The next eager starter is the clematis, macropetala 'Lagoon.' It is a sweet blue clematis that is practically maintenance-free. It grows on old growth and likes to get out there early and let the world know that there is a reason to stop and stare. Deceptively delicate looking, it is proving once again - now in its third year - that it is one tough cookie. My kinda vine.

 

Don't these peppery looking little flowers delight? They are not ones that we normally get to see close-up because they are usually so far above us. They are the flower of the tree, Ulmus Americana 'Brandon.' Generally referred to as the American elm, it is a stately vase-shaped tree found on boulevards across North America. Sadly, it has been decimated in many regions by Dutch Elm Disease, carried by a small beetle. Here in Alberta, we claim to be Dutch Elm Disease-free. I think there have been one or two cases reported; however, the province has a rigorous program in place to stop the disease, that so far seems to be working. I am taking it on faith that they will continue to be diligent, and so added this very favourite tree to my garden. I have the room for it and absolutely love them. In a few years these tiny, frothy flowers will be too high for me to see so I'll enjoy their proximity now.

  

Looking down, I see the patches of Lamium Maculatum 'White Nancy' are springing back to life. I put several of these in last year late in the season. I had this particular lamium in my previous garden and love the way it glows with a silvery light in the shade and in the evenings. The small white flowers look like pearls to me. I understand that some lamiums are thugs in certain conditions; however, White Nancy is a tidy and well-behaved ground cover here and blends beautifully with other shade-loving foliage. Welcome back, silver sister!

 

Another hardworking and under-appreciated beauty of the dappled light garden is Lady's Mantle, Alchemilla mollis. This beauty is one of the first to show up for the party and keeps her good looks all summer. You can't beat the silver beads of dew that grace her foliage in the morning and add sparkle to the garden. I put in several of these last year as well, and plan to add more this year as an edging plant.

  

An evergreen shrub I've always coveted is the Taunton's Yew, Taxus x media 'Tauntonii.' It has a graceful low form and soft, arching branches. I was delighted to see it came through its first winter without any burn or dieback. Most impressive. I may be adding more of these pretties as well.

 

And finally (I could go on as there is more coming up!), I will end with the Rosa rugosa 'Schneezwerg.' The snow dwarf is a sweet, simple white rose that blooms and blooms. I was very impressed with it last summer as the three of them were never without blooms. As a rugosa, it is a tough rose, but small, tidy and shapely. I look foward to seeing them fill in a little more this year.

  

I know this is my longest post in ages, but think of it as me exhaling after a long winter. Ahhhhh....I have plants growing! These are the days when you just can't wait to get out to the garden as soon as you race home to see what has grown while you were out. Um, can you tell I am thrilled? :)

I hope you are all enjoying the magic of spring, wherever your gardens may be. I'll be visiting your blogs as I can this week to check out spring as she is making her magic across the continents. Yay!

What is your wish?

Is it for the first sweet flowers? To see the leaves unfurl? Or, like me, for the snow to be really, truly, finally gone? (Yes, I know, that will never happen in the GWN!)

We are all dreaming this time of year, living just a little bit ahead of ourselves, in hope, in expectation, and with a creeping joy.

As you may have surmised, by my last post, I was in a place where spring presided, the capital of flowers in Canada, Victoria, British Columbia. While it was still early days there, the cherry trees were blooming, the bulbs were opening and the leaves were unfurling. Outside our window, we awoke to the chorus of birds in the mornings. I soaked up every second of it.

I took this photo on a rainy day in the Japanese garden at the Butchart Gardens. (Glorious day!) I think the very soul of spring has a green and gold home in that garden that anchors all that is soft breezes and dappled light to our continent.

Just a side note: I took this photo on the day the government announced they were ending production of the penny. I didn't hear the news until later that day. While that was probably a very practical decision, I, for one, will miss the penny. So, go ahead, come to this photo and make a wish whenever you like. Wishing and dreaming are always welcome here. :)

Oh, and here is my new favourite quote about wishing:

“When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.”
~ Elizabeth Bowen

May all your wishes come true!! 

And It Was a Good, Good Friday

What a week! First there was the joyous descent of the robins into our neighbourhood on Monday. I went for a walk at sunset, rabbits scampered, birds sang and darted from tree to tree visiting each other, the great owl hooted, the deer ran across the field, coyote howls rose up from the ravine, the rabbits nibbled the newly exposed grass. (Re-reading this paragraph, it sounds a little 'Snow White'. Can spring make one giddy? It must.)

This entire week was glorious leading up to Easter weekend. Yesterday we shoveled a foot or so of snow off the patio. Then we came back at noon and scraped and chipped the last few inches of ice off.

We even dug out the baby spruce my dad grew and gave to us to commemorate the birth of our son. After a long winter completely buried under the snow I'm sure the photosynthesis was like a jolt of pure joy.

I didn't tackle the north facing side where my bird bath peeked out as well for the first time in months (And I won't even mention the Christmas decorations that re-emerged in the front!)

Then I had my brilliant idea - yeah, it happens - to have an impromptu picnic. It's amazing how festive sandwiches can be when eaten outside for the first time in many months. I suspect I could have served dryer lint for lunch and we would still have eaten it and grinned at each other.

After our meal my little son went up to nap and I curled up on a lounger in the sun with a carafe of tea to read my new book, Grayling Cross, while the birds and squirrels chirped and chattered in the trees. Really, does anything beat the first day in the garden? I fink nottle.

I even bared my 'sole' to the sun (couldn't resist doing it - or this bad pun :) )

Of course, I had to poke around a little where the snow was melted and look for signs of life. This blurry photo is the columbine (Aquilegia "Biedermeirer") I planted last year showing new growth. Yay!

Today was a family visit to the country to my sister's where the kids all played outside in the sun and ran around in their new rubber boots while the dogs barked and tried to join in. Have I mentioned how I love Spring?

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Easter weekend with lots of sunshine, family fun and garden dreams!

What's all the Ruckus!

All the honking of late should have warned me...the party was on!

I went out to the garden for some peace, but the festive signs were even evident there. Something is stirring things up!



Some residents even had a "glow" on. Now what could they be up to?

I think everyone is getting just a little flighty these days!

And, I am sure I have even heard a robin singing just out of sight. Could it be? Has Spring, with her giddy entourage, finally taken command of the season? Well then, let's get this party started!

The New Spirit

There is a certain wistfulness to the season right now. Spring is nudging her shoulder against the trees and and beaming down on the soil. Easter, no matter how your recognize it, really encompasses that spirit of renewal and hope for a new season, better and brighter than the last. That's why we plan, we plant and we delight in seeing our gardens come to life once again.

Hope your Easter was wonderful!

A Paper Garden...

Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.
~ Napoleon Hill

Well, we have come up with a plan! Our mature yard, unloved for so many years, decades even, is coming to life!

The plan below represents two winters of dreaming out the window and one summer of evening meanderings. Last summer we got the old stumps that were along the borders all ground out and we got a fence up. Why so slow, you ask? Well, with a toddler to enjoy and home renovations underway, it's all we could manage.

This year so far, we have settled on a landscaper to do the excavation work of taking out all the gravel and concrete pavers and about six inches of clay. He will bring in topsoil and lay the sod and prep the beds with bark mulch. That will be our foundation for gardening. I know all the experts say to do your hardscaping first, but we haven’t decided on exactly what we want for hardscaping yet and I simply can’t wait another year before I garden!

Although we know we want either a patio or deck out there and have a vague notion of the shape, I am happy to sit out on the grass until we do decide.



As you can see in the plan, there will be lots of areas to plant. Everything marked “mulch” is prime planting space! I will have an almost 10 ft deep semi-rounded bed for shade plants, some shrub areas around my spruce in the back and lots of sunny areas for some hardy roses and other flowering shrubs and perennials.

Along the north side (right side of image) I want to put a privacy screen of a variety of columnar trees and some high shrubs. I want a mix of deciduous and evergreen so that there is winter interest. These have to been quite narrow or standard-shaped as I only have about eight feet of bed there between the fence and the area where we will have a patio or deck.

On the south side (left) I want to put one deciduous tree with a high and rounded, but not too dense, canopy to screen out the view of the side of the neighbour’s house. I would also like this tree to have some winter interest so I am thinking of something with an interesting bark, such as Prunus maackii ‘Jefree’ (Goldrush® Amur Cherry). Around this tree will be shrubs and perennials for shade. (Maybe even a water feature someday. One must continue to dream!)

So many decisions to make! I am working on a list of plants, shrubs and trees I like and what might be suitable to the particular locations in my garden.

Right now, we have to pot up what I do have planted out there already (treasures I couldn’t resist even though I knew we were going to have a major upheaval!) and pick out the stepping stones.

Oh, did I mention the landscaper said they should have it done in May? Cross your fingers with me, dear gardeners, and think positive thoughts that they stay on schedule!

Edit: I have tried to post this so that the picture of the plan will enlarge as you click on it- to no avail, I'm afraid. It seems to be random in that some do and some don't. If anyone knows the secret, please share!

Egads!

So. We woke up to this familiar white stuff this morning. In late April. *cough*

I thought snow had left us for more arctic climes, but it appears that life was just so good here that it doesn't really want to leave.
It lightly dusted everything and warned the weatherman it may be back for more mischief.

I rushed out to see how my little plants were doing that I covered in plastic the night before.

Not so good, it seems. A little floppy and worse for the night.

So I did what I should have done earlier. I put them up in the garage window where it is insulated but not heated. (Never really gets below zero in there)

Aren't they sad? I really, really hope they make it back to their perky selves.

In brighter news: We have a landscaper coming tomorrow morning to talk to us about our plans for the yard. Wish us luck!

Just a teensy weensy bit of shopping...

Did I shop while I visited the display garden at a local garden centre over the past weekend? Yes, yes, I did. Not until the end, though! Can I possibly blame my friend for my weakness? I can try. She did tell me that the special items tend to go quickly and might not be there when I am ready to garden. Oh, and being Easter weekend and all, there was a great sale on Easter items! I would have been foolish to pass it by. I tell myself with stern conviction.

So of course I was very practical. I bought an Easter serving tray and bowls that were on sale for half price. Who could blame me at $12.50? It would have been foolish to walk by. Um, really.

And then: Three very adorable plants

I got this lovely hosta, ‘Touch of Class’. While we were there, I was describing to my friend a beautiful hosta that I had seen once and thought gorgeous. I think this is it. The centre is a soft lime green with blue and green margins that look like they were painted on by a water colourist. My great aunt was a water colourist, and one time she painted all the wild flowers of her home province in one painting. This hosta looks like something she would have painted.

Next was a lovely and finely drawn Adiantum pedatum ‘American Maidenhair Fern’.

I am smitten with this plant. I had one in my first garden and loved its shy beauty. If I were a fairy, I think I would make a long skirt of layers of maidenhair fern lace. It adds such texture to a garden and makes other plants around it shine. The kind of plant you want on your team.

Finally, I bought this Heuchera 'Plum Royale'. Quite frankly, it dazzled me as soon as I entered the garden centre. There was a guy leaving with a trolley that had the bottom shelf of it filled with these. I found myself saying “wooooo” as they wheeled by me. The silvery sheen laid over the plum colour is like an evening dress with silvery tissue over a plum satin. Every girl should have one once in her life.

So now I have to keep them all alive until it gets warmer. If the garden is going to be in upheaval this summer for any amount of time, (as I suspect it may well be) then I think I may put them in the ground right in their pots until things settle down and I can find them a permanent spot. I hope that will work.

But really, I must hold off on buying plants until the ground is ready for them. I must. Really.

Except for annuals. For the pots. I can’t ignore my pots. Now that would just be rude.

"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments." -Janet Kilburn Phillips

Inspiration feeds the dream...

A friend and I slipped away to a local garden centre this past weekend for a little inspiration.

This was my second visit, as I had been to see this year’s display garden a few weeks ago. It stayed in my mind and I knew I really liked it. I wanted to go back to look at it more analytically and find out why I liked it so much.

The first thing that jumps to mind is the garden’s focus on foliage and texture. The array of hostas is amazing, as it the variety of textures in all the plant materials. My first garden (two oh-so-short summers!) was mostly a shade garden and I fell in love with textures and foliage. I like green, I really, really like green, in all its shades.

I also find I like structure. The bones of a garden are important to me. I like the variety of heights and shapes in this garden. I think the cedars in the background and the standards in the beds create a sense of enclosure and intimacy in the garden. They also bring the garden up to eye level so that everything isn’t below you. It all seems a little more lush as you feel you are moving through the garden, not just stepping over it.

I have to say I like the colours of the large man-made structures as well: they really let the plant material take centre stage and allow you to accent with whatever colours and blooms you choose, without competition. So while they provide a frame for the garden, they really do step back and let the garden itself be the star.

Now, mind you, this garden is something of a blank slate to me as well. It is crying out for blooms and accents. It is like a gorgeous room waiting for rugs and curtains and art and sparkle. I think in that sense it provides me with inspiration as a starting point.

This pot of perennials I spotted there would be a perfect addition to that garden. I thought it was absolutely sublime. The colours are subtle and the shapes are very architectural.

So, as I dream and plan my first real I’m-not-going-anywhere-for-a-while-garden, my lessons learned from this display garden are this:

1. Form matters – I must give my garden some good bones.
2. Don’t forget texture – it adds great depth and interest.
3. Bring some of it up to eye level – it connects you to your garden and makes you feel in it.
4. I want a water feature. There were several in this garden and they were mostly understated, but the sound was somehow joyful.

Next up: Did I leave the garden centre empty-handed as per my intentions? Of course not!

When your garden is finished I hope it will be more beautiful than you anticipated, require less care than you expected,and have cost only a little more than you had planned. - Thomas D. Church

Spring lives here!

We are still working on a plan for the back yard. In the meantime, the real spring found us; slipping softly into our yard with an early morning shimmer of gold that the snow simply couldn’t resist, so it melted at spring’s feet.

It couldn’t have happened at a better time – the beginning of the Easter long weekend. Time to finally go into the yard and listen to the sound of the returning birds.

I took this photo from the second storey of the house to show you the big picture.




Here is the south facing side of the yard. Pretty empty, hmm?



And here is the north…

Here is a small sampling of the caragana runners that had taken over under the spruce along the west of the yard.
Before we put the fence in last summer there was a chain link fence that ran under the spruce to divide us from the back lane. Along this fence was a 40-something year old caragana hedge gone rampant. We cut it down and had the stump man grind it out; however the runners remained.

While the toddler napped yesterday afternoon we hacked and clipped and loped. Hubby even cut down a dead tree and tore down a long-dead shrub with his bare hands and a few tools.

The best part for me, though, was when I pushed on a dead spruce and it started to wobble! I gave it a few pushes and…

Voila!! I winked at hubby and told him he could just call me Wonderwoman.

*hee hee*

Oh, and as I poked around the garden, I even found a sign of life

The Lamium maculatum 'White Nancy' I planted on the side of the house peeping out from under some well-established Convallaria majalis (Lily of the Valley).

Because our soil is such hard compacted clay (water pools on it), I didn’t have to worry about compressing it as I walked on it (or the gravel), so to top this luxuriously warm day off, we pulled out the wee toddler’s new play set and when we woke him from his nap he squinted at the sun and seemed hesitant to step out the door. (At just-turned-two, he is probably too young to remember anything but winter!) Once he tapped his way across the gravel and made his way to the play set, he too found the joy that is Spring.

"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall." ~ Nadine Stair

Next up: After all my hard work yesterday, today I slipped off with a friend to one of my favourite garden centres to be inspired…not, ahem, to actually buy anything...