Smells of spring

I can smell those lily-of-the-valley. At the height of spring, the bird sanctuary path is full of them, blooming all along the walk to the feeders. They smell sweet and always make me think of rain. Judy's June table had Iris as well - the burgundy kind. They smelled like licorice. We are not sure where they came from or what they are, other than stunning! There are places in our yard that have at least 3 feet of snow and the firepit is completely buried. Along with its chairs. But my mind has already turned to the garden. Just one more hurdle to get through. The season of mud and molt. Wish me luck and if I don't drown in hair or break my leg in the mud, I should have the start of a garden plan to share this weekend. Who said I wasn't optimistic??


THAT isn't on sale! a.k.a. Memories of Last Summer

Isn't he pretty??

 

At the end of perennial planting season, all of the temporary greenhouses here that set up in the spring, start to close up. One in particular puts all of their remaining perennials on sale for $4/each. Judy and I always go check. What remains is typically the very common but every once in awhile, we find a gem.

 

We were shopping for Judy's backyard shade garden and maybe looking for anything exciting that might have been hiding behind something taller when early season shoppers went through. I move quickly at this sale. Judy likes to linger. So it was no surprise when I hit the back rack before she even got half way down the row. What I spied from the door was really what I thought it was. A variegated Jacob's Ladder. There was a single one and he was full, healthy and gorgeous!

 

I hovered over him until Judy arrived and I said... you think he's on sale? We laughed. We are familiar with perennial sales. You get a lot of common plants, a lot of spreading plants, a lot of invasive plants for $4/each but you never get the knock-me-out-with-a-feather-I-can't-BELIEVE-we-found-that! plants for $4.

 

Up to the counter I go... where the very nice hippie-ish dude that runs the place always has a smile for us... and asked how much the variegated Jacob's Ladder was. He tells me he doesn't have a variegated Jacob's Ladder but all his perennials are $4. I tell him I am pretty sure he has the Jacob's Ladder so how much would it be if he had one? He laughed and said if I have one, you can have it for $4. Score!

 

That is when I discovered that I heart hippie dudes!! 

Valley of Fog

I rarely share photos taken with my phone but I came upon these today and wanted to share. The Valley full of fog on August 21, 2012.

 

 

Pristine

This is the trail to my compost. Beautiful, white, pristine and well over the top of my boots. In Saskatchewan, for gardeners who start them, seeds are the priority right now. I don't start seeds. I only talk about it. Some years more than others. The few years I have tried, they all died a miserable death. Usually dry and crispy. Plants have a lot of trouble getting my attention inside the house and seeds even more so. Seed starts are also a lot of work. Work I find I am usually unwilling to do. So, this year again, I will be starting seeds, but only the ones that I can start outside in the ground. The rest will have to come from the market. Its always good to have a reason to go to the market anyway.

Winter Weather in Nova Scotia

They say that if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes. Well, these pictures were taken a few days apart but still a dramatic difference.

February 1, 2013

February 10, 2013