Volunteer

Our front deck was set on top of what was once a garden. Virginia Creeper pokes through and I am always pulling it up and out. Every year, a single columbine pops up from under the deck at the top corner. The first year, I left it so I could discover that it bloomed a clear yellow that went perfectly with the yellow and purple that I already had. Each year since, I have moved the yellow columbine out into the bird sanctuary when it pops up. Last year, I was convinced I had gotten all of the root, despite the fact that digging under a deck that is ground level is not easy!

So I was surprised to see it pop up again this year. I was also slow to deal with it. Which meant it bloomed. Bigger surprise was that it isn't yellow! It is a columbine I have not seen before, blooming white with a very faint hint of purple. I love it and it makes me want to lift up the deck to see if anything else is surviving under there.

Front Garden

The front garden is small and it is the newest garden.
Because of this, it is also the garden that is the most overgrown.

Weeds overtake some of the plants and I never see them again. Others struggle through until I manage to get over there and weed.

The bit that is closest to the front deck is getting more and more under control this year. I see it more, walk by it more, bend down and pull weeds up more.

It is actually getting quite pretty.

 

 

 

Oh, the weather!

 

There are days when I wonder how I became a gardener in Zone 3. How can I love something so much that is so dependent on the weather when I live where it is winter forever, it seems? I have been busy reading about how to diversify my greens in the kitchen garden, advancements in urban gardening and now, most importantly, how to protect my early flowers from frost. I have been doing all of this reading in preparation for the coming garden season and in anticipation of spring. Little did I know that winter is just arriving! We have had the most wonderful, mild winter in Saskatchewan this year. Last week the snow finally arrived and has not stopped since. The temperature is beautiful though so we have been in a cycle of melt, freeze, melt, freeze, melt, freeze.... which is great for ice photos of the trees but not so great for the spring flowers. I think they are likely getting confused. I hope I don't lose too many of them. The freeze/thaw cycle here can wipe out whole gardens if the temperature drops at just the right time. I am ready though. All of my sheets are steps away from the garden if I need them after the first buds pop out. This is a year when the Boy Scout motto is well advised - be prepared!

First Frost

Our first frost arrived this week. The early forecast was for -5 overnight but then updated to -2 later in the day. By our thermometer, we hit the -5 mark. Yet, when I left in the morning for the city, I took a quick look around and the garden looked great. When I got back home in the afternoon, I was greeted by this rhubarb and virginia creeper at the front door. About half the hosta were frosted off as well, including Sun Power.

It is supposed to warm up for a few weeks yet and today we had great gardening weather. The kind where you step outside and feel a tiny bit chilly but once you start digging, the chill goes away and it is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right. If we can get another week or two of that, my garden will be ready for the winter. Today it is not. I still have roses, iris and tulip to get in the ground. Tomorrow, however, is reserved for the chain-saw.

First Flower 2011

Our back field is still a lake that the dogs patrol and water wildlife is starting to move in. I spent a good part of the morning standing at the roadside listening to the frogs sing. The water level has been slowly going down the last few days though and the beautiful weather drove me out into the garden today. That is where I found this little guy. The first flower in my garden for 2011. Of course it would be a viola... smiling up at me and reminding me why they are one of my favourite plants. First to bloom, last to bloom and the only flower that will stay in my garden through the whole season. From now until snow, not a day will pass that I can't find blooming viola. This year though, I hope to be gone long before the snow arrives.

New Gardens

When we moved here, there was not much of a garden. There were the Boardwalk Garden beds which were shade gardens jam packed with full sun plants. It was pretty and built on minimal space because a gardener did not live here then. The first year, we didn't make many changes. I put in the Nursery for all my plants brought from my city garden and we built the firepit which is a 25' circular patio of pavers with a 42" firepit in the centre. Our continued work the next year was all in the back yard where we started. Last year, I managed to get enough done in the back that I felt I could start the front. This garden is new at the front of the house. It is my orange garden. I can tell it is new because I have to weed it constantly which is something that goes away after I have been gardening a bed for awhile. My friends can tell it is new because it has gravel mulch which I would never use and will, eventually, remove. Although this garden is not finished yet, I was very happy many times this season that I managed to get it half done so far. The addition of flowers in my dining room window view and out the sunroom window has been well worth the effort. The number of times that flower view has made me pause to appreciate it as I moved through the house made me decide to deal with the view out that same window in the other direction. I have taken down the bushline along the sidewalk and we are considering moving the chiminea seating area closer to the deck before I start to build the garden there. The only plants left are 3 or 4 Juniper that were inside the bush. I will very likely move them out further because I want flowers up at the house and I can't stand the smell of Juniper, which to me, smells like ammonia. The first time I noticed that, I spent 2 weeks trying to find where in my garden my cat had decided was a litter box until I realized it was the Juniper off the front step I was smelling! I love the excitement of a new garden. I already know which Dahlia will be planted in these two beds next year and which of my perennials will be divided to plant here. The only question left is can I find an orange rose I love.