The Garden Wakes Up

The chipmunks left me a few crocuses. I like the way the pattern of the tulip leaf behind it mimics the pattern of the crocus petals.

 Sky-blue scillas are popping up all over the place. So pretty.

 Unless you flip them up, you don't get to see the beautiful turquoise stamens and the pale yellow center.

 Several wild mullein have shown up.  I will let them grow as they are in empty spots and I like the tall stalks with bright yellow flowers that will bloom later.

 Sometimes the daffodils get stuck in the leaves and need a hand getting free.
 I emptied out a gallon pot that had soil in it from last summer, and out flew a sleepy bumblebee. I looked it up online and found it is a tri-coloured bumblebee. It has a bright orange band around its middle. It was probably a queen , the only survivor from last year's colony. She will start a new colony soon which will have about 200 bees when it's mature. The pulmonaria is starting to bloom so there will be lots of pollen .

 Cheerful little clump of chionodoxia.

The weather has been on the cool side so the snowdrops have lasted for a few weeks. I planted a new patch last fall but no sign of it this spring so I guess my little furry friends ate them.  I didn't think they would. This patch has quite a bit of ornamental onion around it so maybe that has been discouraging the chipmunks.

I notice this plant a couple of days ago and can't remember what it is! It almost looks like baby lilies but from the soil it seems to be one plant. Hum...

In spite of our cool spring, there has been a lot of flooding around the various rivers in Ontario and Quebec. A significant bridge going in to Montreal is closed, and another one in Ottawa is also closed.
We had a good amount of snow but not an extraordinary amount, but we never had a real meltdown in January like we usually get so there is lots of snow melting now. We've also had several rainy days which, of course, doesn't help. We are fine because our property is well away from rivers and our bush absorbs lots of water, but many people in flooded areas are displaced. A small century old hydro dam in rural Quebec about an hour from here is at risk of failing and the authorities have evacuated all the people downstream.

Mealy bugs and ladybugs, and some flowers.

 I haven't posted for a long time.  We had a challenging winter with my mom being in the hospital for 2 1/2 months (she is in long-term care now). But spring is coming and I feel like taking some photos again. I thought I'd start with the cyclamen that was in my last post.  It has been blooming non-stop since November although it is a bit slower right now.

 The bougainvillae made it through the winter and had a lovely show of flowers on a different stem. Suddenly now though it has dropped all its leaves. I'm guessing I over watered it in spite of trying to be careful. I will give it a dry spell and hope it will revive. I don't know if this spray of flowers will open properly or not.

 This orchid has bloomed for the third time. It has 14 flowers and buds. I bought some special orchid foliar fertilizer in a cute little spray bottle and give the leaves a spritz about once a week as well as watering the pot with distilled water.

 The ladybug is on a leaf of a new orchid that unfortunately brought mealy bugs with it. I was preoccupied and didn't notice the infestation until it was pretty bad.  I gave the orchids a total bath in soapy water and that helped a lot but I have killed quite a few bugs by hand as they hatch out. Some ladybugs woke up from their winter sleep and we have been putting them on the buggy plants. It really helps.

The white fluffy thing is a mealy bug. They like to be in the fork of a stem. This is celery I started from seed last fall. The celery plants got damaged by the mealy bugs but they are still growing and I think once I plant them outside, they will be OK.

I started some lettuce a couple of weeks ago. I keep it well away from the mealy bugs! Nice to have something new growing.
I hope you are all enjoying some spring weather.