My January garden

It's been tough lately. Lots of grey skies, and if the wind isn't so cold and blustery that Shadow and I don't feel like walking, it's sunny and icy. I've been leaving him behind a lot just to get my exercise. He turns 9 next week, and is less and less interested in walks and more and more interested in cozy naps. Some days, I feel the same.

What makes everything even tougher is this darn constant low-grade covid depression, all the folks I know who are down with the virus, and the incessant news about how it's messing up everybody's lives. We know, media, we know! Plus, my dear L'Arche friend, Debbie, a sweet, sometimes stubborn, and "empowered woman," as another friend put it, died too soon last week and broke my heart in places I didn't expect. It's been two years now since I saw her, and covid means attending a funeral is impossible...

So when the Vesey's spring bulb catalog arrived last week, you'd think it would make me happy, but it only added to my depression. Most of what's in it only grows in Zones 4-8, and Edmonton is barely a Zone 3, so all those bright flowers won't make it in my perennial beds, which, to be fair, are pretty full already anyway. So the catalog went straight into our recycling bag... until I decided this morning that I need a January garden.

Nope, not this one.

This one!

I got to work with my scissors and tape, and it took me about a half hour to make a long ribbon of flowers cut straight out of Vesey's. These flowers won't grow in my yard very well, but they have definitely brightened my office. And if you don't look too closely, the woman standing in the heather with the wineglass could be me! 

My January garden is something of a reminder that these grey days, covid, and all my other sorrows will ease into something better, I hope.

A bright spot in the winter

Last Christmas, I sent a teleflora Christmas planter with a bright red amaryllis to my friend Gaby in Belgium. Red for Christmas, of course, but red also because of a wonderful red sweater that Gaby wore as he showed me around Flanders when I was there the previous October. When he comes to mind, he's always wearing that poppy- or amaryllis-red sweater. In his New Year's letter last year, Gaby reported that a beautiful flower was reminding him of our family, and he hoped that maybe he could make her bloom again next Christmas.

When I was placing my annual spring bulb order in September, I noticed that amaryllises of different colours were being offered, and a Red Lion amaryllis bulb immediately joined the tulips on my order form. One amaryllis is twice as pricey as a pack of ten tulip bulbs, but I didn't think twice. I wanted a flower like Gaby's, to remind me of Gaby, and to make our house more Christmassy.

And let me tell you, she didn't disappoint -- she's still going strong!

In these dark winter days with extreme cold warnings, it's wonderful to have a flower bloom indoors, and this one seems to be intent on blooming three different times. Her colour is gorgeous, and I could look at her all day. When she first came out, she was a brash, shiny satin, but now she's deepened into a full, deep red, the colour of the sweater that looks so good on 90-year-old Gaby, who is one of the loves of my life, if you haven't already guessed.

I'm not at all versed in keeping amaryllis, but you can bet that I'll be doing my research to try to keep this one going. Her breathtaking beauty pretty much guarantees that -- pictures don't do her justice. Maybe I'll call her Gabriella.

Oh, what a beautiful day!

The weather for this Environment Week has been gorgeous, with just enough breeze to keep the mosquitoes down during the day. I should be out in the garden, but I had to share a few pictures... I've always been fascinated by back lighting, especially on flowers, and how the sun shines through them...

And the light coming through the sprinkler caught my fancy, too...

There's a fair fluttering at our birdhouse these days... Mom and Dad Sparrow have a wee brood in there, and we are keeping an eye on them -- and they on us -- in a mostly peaceful co-existence (though I get scolded a lot for encroaching on their territory as I weed the garden). It's been fun to track their growth through the volume of sound that comes out of the birdhouse -- at first it was the tiniest noise, but now it's a loud chirping!

Here's Mom going in...

And checking if the coast is clear...

Even Shadow pup agrees that it's a perfect kind of day.

Have a good one yourself!

Here we go again

This morning, Shadow and I walked along the bike path near the river where the little aspens are leafing out, and the fragrance of those new leaves was heavenly! When we got back to the residential streets, there were lots of budding and blooming things to see, not least in our own yard. Here's what's already happening...

These ones (Canadian Liberators, I think?)

appeared last week, immediately after I watered the front yard

for an hour. We've had a bit of rain since, so they're holding up...

The anemones are just beginning to bloom...

I set the camera on the sidewalk to snap this one. 

I like the skewed perspective -- giant purple flowers

 in front of our house...

The white daffs always appear before the golden ones...

I love how lupin leaves hold dewdrops...

I love this time of year for its potential... things are growing again, and there are lots of growing things to observe, even in the cracks in the sidewalk. Why not take a stroll around your own neighbourhood and delight your senses? Fresh air and greenery do the soul good.

Early spring time in January

Back in December, I was feeling pretty crummy. By that I mean that I was miserable, snappish, cranky, and probably kind of hard to live with. Fortunately, my spiritual director was able to make some time for me, and when I told him how I was feeling, he listened patiently and finally suggested that I might need something to look forward to -- a retreat, or at the very least, a bit of break from being a mom.

See the deer?

The minute the words left his mouth, I knew exactly where I would go and what I would do. I called my dearest, longest-standing friend and asked if I could come for a visit. It had been well over a year since we had been together, and a visit was long overdue. So we set a date for the end of January, and I booked my trip.

Looking out the window of the plane as we touched down in Nanaimo, BC, I remarked to my seat mate that Vancouver Island has to be Canada's closest thing to paradise. I walked onto the tarmac carrying my winter coat, and into 5 days of heaven.

I call it heaven because I recently read something somewhere that said, in effect, that any moment that your heart feels like it will burst with happiness is a little bit of heaven here and now. And the weekend was a necklace of joyful moments strung close together like beads. Singing Kookaburra as we poured tea. Walking in the rain and sun. Marvelling at beauty. Cooking wonderful meals and drinking home made wine. Enjoying good music. And talking about all the things that never make it into our phone calls, letters, emails or texts.

Friend time was what I needed the most. The bonus was that it is very early Spring on Vancouver Island, and we visited my favourite garden on earth in the one season I hadn't seen it.

It was a cool and rainy day,

but we had dressed for the weather, 

and seeing palm trees made it seem much warmer!

We ducked out of the rain for High Tea

in the Butchart home -- as you can see, it was delicious!

The Butcharts' beautiful home houses an historical display

from January 15th to March 15th, so we enjoyed seeing

the lifestyles of the rich and famous from the early 1900s. 

Below, my friend is standing in front of an orchestrion 

(the early twentieth century version of a synthesizer)

and we are enjoying the sounds of a Swiss music box 

that plays eight different tunes.

When we headed out to walk the garden paths,

it had stopped raining.

The garden looks very different in dormancy...

but that's the wrong word -- there are buds everywhere.

This is the first time I really noticed the terraced landscaping.

The heather's starting to bloom, 

and who knew there were so many berries on the shrubs?

Faint bits of colour appear on the budding trees, even in the reflecting pool.

I  never noticed the tree trunks before,

but even they are pretty!

And the moss on the trees and rocks 

in the Japanese garden is incredible!

Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do justice 

to the colour of green. It's more like this:

The Blue Poppy Cafe had signs declaring a Spring Prelude,

and when we went in, we discovered that the cafe had been transformed

into an indoor garden complete with a large fish pond... 

Things were much more colourful inside!

I have seen spring at Butchart Gardens before

(see my featured post on the sidebar)

but I must admit that I also enjoyed winter there,

mainly because the company I kept 

was just as enthralled with everything as I was.

Sunset on the ferry home was pretty amazing, too.

It was a perfect weekend, except that I missed a pretty important funeral back home. Life is bitter sweet, but when we really get to heaven to stay, it will be one long diamond necklace of joy!

Garden days

It was too hot last week to spend a lot of time out in our gardens, but we had a nice rain on Sunday, and things have cooled down. So today and tomorrow I'll be tackling weeds, turning compost, and finding the rock garden rocks that have sunk into the soil. Lots to do. Wonder if I can convince my teenager to help me? Could be tricky as she has a slew of new library books to read.

Anyway, here are a few pics:

Here's the funky sea holly that didn't do anything last summer,

but is making up for it now. Maybe it prefers dry weather?

Gaillardia, zinnias, delphiniums 

and our birdbath hanging in the Russian Olive tree.

The yellow lilies are so showy!

And the orange ones are holding their own, too.

There are smatterings of colour all over the front yard,

at least until the lilies finish.

Sweet peas are my absolute favourite.

In the vegetable garden, things are taking off, too.

Here are Landon and Christina's 2000-year-old squash. 

Still no idea what the fruit will be like.

And the three sisters (beans, corn and squash) 

are starting to overflow their box, too.

The garden is at its lushest, weeds included. 

I've got my work cut out for me!

Enjoy summer while it lasts!

August garden report

It strikes me today that I haven't given a single garden report this summer for faraway family and friends. I'm almost afraid to because so many people I know have been hailed out, and it could happen here just as easily with global climate change creating these mega storms all over the place. But I braved the crazy mosquitoes to get these shots, so I won't be superstitious that this moodling will bring on bad weather. Here's what's going on in my yard, pictures in the order they were taken because I'm too hot to fuss about the order they're in...

Red peppers are still green...

Zinnias add a little colour...

My new favourite heirloom tomato, a Black Prince
(definitely a fruit, it's so sweet!)

Time to make some kale chips, yum!

Cukes are coming on fast and furious...

Strawberries are bigger than ever...

Squash and pumpkins are trying to take over the world...

I've never grown purple peas before (thanks for the seed, Darcy!)...

Carrots are doing well...

As are kohlrabi and beets...

Between Suzanna's herbs and Julia's tomatoes,
I think we might have some tasty bruschetta for supper tonight.

Already picked 4 gallons of beans, and there are more to come...

My favourite zinnias...

Cheerful heliopsis (false sunflower) near the front door...

Love those little monk's hoods...

And finally, the view from our "sitting stone." Unfortunately, if you sit very long, you have too many unwanted companions (mosquitoes). But I did sit and watch the bee balm's visitors (it's not named that for nothing!) until I got bitten. 

I guess that's the thing about organic gardens -- all creatures, great and small, are welcome! You included. Come visit, anytime!