In the Garden

I am slowly making improvements to the gardens around the house. 

 

When we first moved in, we pulled out many scraggly, struggling shrubs from the front, and so were left with lots of empty space, punctuated with clusters of trilliums and lily-of-the-valley amongst other shade loving woodland plants.  I am slowly filling those spaces primarily with hostas and ferns, with some foxgloves (if they decide to grow) and bleeding hearts. 

 

 

 

One of the side gardens is essentially wild, and will remain so for another year or two.  I like it, though.  The grassy areas surrounding it are filled with forget-me-nots at this time of year and my husband leaves the grass uncut for me.  I love looking out my kitchen window at the cloud of blue.

 

 

 

I am okay with some of the gardens going a little wild- my favourite type of garden is what I would describe as controlled naturalization. I want plants that will grow well in the conditions that exist, and I want to see very little bare ground. I decide what will go where and plan for the height and spread of different plants, but after that I want them to just do their thing. Organized chaos. I've never been a fan of overly manicured gardens, and I especially think they look strange out in the woods.

 

We are lucky to have some well-established peonies and lilacs in every shade around the other side of the house.  The peonies are in part shade right now, though, and would likely do much better if we moved them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sun garden farther up the lawn had been kept tidy, as has the smaller side garden.  That's as far as I will get this year.

There is still so much work to be done outside, but a little bit at a time is going to have to do for now.

Garden Update - Artichokes and Corn

We have corn!  My mom is here for the weekend, and she pointed out that some corn is ready to pick.  Can't wait to try it!

The Garden

The garden is (almost) planted!

I am so very lucky to have had my grandparents come out again yesterday to help me plant the rest.  I am being taught by the best.

In the garden we have - carrots, parsnips, radishes, onions, beans, artichoke, dill, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet peppers, corn, cucumbers, melon and of course, peas.  I have one spot left to put in some tomato plants.

Perhaps it's ambitious, but I have the space, so why not?

Still Here

We've been busy outside and in.

The days of exploring are over for now, with the onset of bug season.  The mosquitoes are fierce today.

I will have garden stories coming up soon.

Hope you had a fantastic long weekend!

Learning

With the help of my wonderful grandparents, I now have carrots and parsnips planted.  I also have more knowledge about HOW to go about planting a large garden.  I know now how I've wronged the poor peas.  Live and learn.

The soil is primarily clay, which is challenging to work with.  Hopefully as the years go on, the soil will slowly improve, with the addition of additives such as peat moss and compost.  The garden lay barren all last season, so it's not prime ground for planting right now. 

I am looking forward to more planting next week.

A Million and One



Newly transplanted hostas

There is so much to do outside! 

I have no idea how to do it all! 

Bugs! 

Baby!

Right now I am working on transplanting hostas from the side to the front.  The side garden will then become my herb garden.  I managed to move exactly two plants today while the boy napped.  I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I think I need to...breathe.

It will all get done, I'm sure.

Let Go

If you know me personally, you know that I am very organized, bordering on controlling.  I can frustrate easily, and deal with a fair amount of anxiety when things don't happen my way, or in the timeline I prefer.

Parenting a young child both aggravates that, and is a cure.  I find the more expectations I place on a day, the more disappointed I am when I don't accomplish what I've set out to do.  I've come to realize that if I plan to just be a good mom, anything else that happens is just a bonus.  I am much more patient and calm.  I can deal with upsets and stress with a mind toward the big picture.

It's not easy for me to think this way, and I need to keep reminding myself of my long-term goals - raise a happy kid, have a calm house.

So, my peas aren't in the ground yet, I haven't done anything with the front garden beyond raking and general tidying, and the garden shed is a mess.

That's all okay.  It can wait. 

And now I'm going outside to figure out how to plant peas with a kid strapped to my back.

Time to Garden

Well, it's tilled.  Now it's time to turn my talk into action.  Stay tuned.

From the Weather Book

April 4
- calm lake all day

April 7
- sunny, warm
- pruned honeysuckle and clematis (thanks, granddad!)

April 8
- Happy Easter!
- cold morning
- sunny, warm, breezy afternoon
- windy, cold evening and night

Baby Steps

I like gardening, but I don't consider myself a gardener...yet.  I enjoy the results and I think I know a decent amount about plants and they way they grow, but I haven't had enough experience to claim the title of gardener.
Truth be told, I'm rather intimidated by my expanse of land on which I have to plant things.  I had gardens back in Tottenham - a small vegetable patch and a few perennial beds.  In comparison, my beds here are massive, and I certainly have the space to grow pretty much anything my heart desires.

The neglected vegatable garden

Last year we did nothing, and I mean nothing with the garden.  I was still feeling somewhat shell-shocked and with the baby it was difficult to get out and work in the yard.  It was also a brutal  year for bugs. This year my focus is the vegetable garden.  I will let the ornamental beds do what they want, and will keep them tidy and maybe plant a thing or two, but I have no real plans for them this season.

I have to take it one step at a time, and seeing as the vegetable garden will be the most productive, I'm starting there first.  This year will bring it's own trials, I'm sure, but I can't make excuses anymore.  Henry is older now, but he is also just learning to walk, and while amazing to watch, gives us a whole new set of challenges.  I embrace them though, because how else can I move forward?

And so, just as my young son is learning how to walk on his own two small feet, so will I tackle the vegetable garden.  I believe what I will yield will go far beyond simple tomatoes, carrots and peas.  I hope to find something of myself out there among the plants and soil that will sustain us through many seasons to come.

It's a Mad, Mad World

It's shaping up to be another absolutely gorgeous early spring day here on Maple Lake.  The birds are singing, the sun is burning off the mist over the lake, and the breezes are fresh and warm.

Let me put this in perspective for you.  Normal highs this time of year are 3C.  Today's high is forecasted to be 17C.  Madness!

The weather is doing wonderful things for the human spirit.  People are happy, laughing, thrilled with the warmth.  You can't help but want to get out and about and busy when the days are like this.  How great it is to throw off winter's oppression and fling open all the windows and doors.  To wear shorts.  In March.

That's all well and good for us humans, but what about the natural world?  What about those chipmunks that are drawn out of hibernation from the warmth of the sun?  The daffodils being coaxed from the cold earth?  The fat, red, almost bursting maple buds?  Unlike us, these natural phenomena don't rely on man-made calenders, they depend on the seasons behaving as they ought to!  I'm certainly not packing away my winter gear yet, but who is going to tell the chipmunks that?

My fear is that the next hard frost (and don't doubt that there won't be one!) will negatively impact the new, too early growth.  If the trees start to leaf out and we get a hard frost, we can expect that delicate new foliage to die off.  Likewise, if some early plants such as garlic get a head start, and then are killed off by the returning cold,  farmers can lose an entire crop.

Here's hoping the return to cold before true spring emerges is an easy one.

Composting

This is what my compost pile looks like -

Pretty, isn't it?

I'm not entirely sure what went on here compost wise before we arrived, but this is the pile I'm using for now.  Last spring I wasn't really in any frame of mind to get anything else up and running.

My husband was hesitant to have a compost pile here because he was (wrongly) afraid of attracting wildlife.  A well maintained compost pile might attract some animal interest (especially if it's open), but it won't smell. 

Where we moved from we had a Green Bin program.  I only composted garden waste in our backyard.  All food waste went into the green bin - it was awesome.  Here, though, only veggie and fruit scraps go in the compost.  At least it's something.

I have big plans for the compost come spring.

The whole compost/garden shed area needs a major clean up.  I want to rip down the existing compost structure (because it's terrible) and build a new open three bin system.  I prefer open pile composting because I find it easier to maintain.  I don't have to worry about the amount of waste I am adding, and there are no ridiculous little doors or lids to fight with.