Springin' Up

 A bright little patch of miniature daffodils.

 The trilliums bloom without fail the first week of May. It doesn't matter what the weather, their internal clocks have them opening up at the same time every year. We are gradually getting more red trilliums , while the number of white trilliums stays about the same. The white trilliums are happy to pop up in the flower beds where the soil is a little richer.

The dog-tooth violets are also becoming more numerous which is nice. Our patches of wild garlic keep expanding as we don't pick it. Many wild patches are picked bare by people who sell it at markets so I'm happy to nurture our patches.

 The pulmonaria is so happy on our property. I started with a couple of plants from my mother's garden which originally came from my grandmother's garden, and now I have hundreds of plants growing with no care at all. I love the pretty colours and spotty leaves. It's also a very, very good plant for the bees, both honeybees and bumblebees.

 Who is this? One of the clan of Rascally Rodents. I think their latest snack is nasturtium seeds as I saw some empty hulls where I had planted nasturtiums.

The robins are nesting in the horse shed and I saw a pair of flycatchers a couple of times so I guess they will build a nest on the property.  I see and hear a cardinal pair regularly just across the road so they are undoubtedly nesting over there. So nice to have the birds around.

Making Lemonade

 I like crocuses. They are  cheery announcers of spring.  Alas, our squirrels and/or chipmunks have developed a taste for them and I am left with just the odd one they missed. So now I am planting more chindoxia (glory-of-the-snow) which they don't like.

 The critters also don't like scillas which freely self-sow on our property. I'm happy for that because they give the bees and other pollinators something to feed on early in the season. I saw a bumblebee this afternoon feeding on the chindoxia , but the honeybees liked the scillas more.

And they are very pretty.

 My trusty yellow primulas always come through the winter unscathed.
The weather has been warm the last few days so suddenly the plants are coming awake.
It was a long winter so hooray for spring!!

We All Need Gardens

 Here are some cherry tomatoes reminding me that, in spite of the wintry weather outside, spring will come and gardens will grow.
At church this morning, a fellow was sharing about a trip he recently made to Guatemala with his brother. He grew up on a dairy farm so he is a practical sort of guy and knows about growing things. The soil in the area he visited  is heavy clay. The locals primarily eat corn which will grow well in that kind of soil, but the people are malnourished because they lack variety in their diet. So this man showed them how to make raised beds and how to lighten the soil with compost and sand. Now they can grow root vegetables like carrots, beets, onions, etc.
 He and his brother also built a cement washing area away from the river so that the river wouldn't get polluted with soap and dirt. The washing area drains into a big pit which is filled with leaves and loose dirt. Around the perimeter of the pit, banana trees are planted that will soak up the water and nutrients in the grey water. Simple, practical solutions that will be helpful for years to come.

Here's a pot of globe amaranth I am starting. I like this flower because it has red stems and  a branching habit. The round flowers in pink, magenta or white, dry very easily and keep their colour for months. We all need colour and light in our lives.
The fellow who visited Guatemala also helped with installing some lighting in the school's classroom as they only had one light bulb which wasn't adequate at all. Now, in the rainy season, the students will have some brightness in their classroom and will be able to learn better and feel happier. There are so many ways to help each other.

Fresh from the Indoor Garden

 I pulled two radishes from their pots this morning.  I planted them in mid-Februay and they have grown just fine on the windowsill. I put 5 seeds in a 4" pot and that gave them enough room. I fertilized them once a few weeks after planting and made sure I kept the soil damp which usually meant watering every day. Although they look small on the large plate, they are about 1" across so average radish size.
Also on the plate is celery from the plants I brought in from the outside garden last fall. It has been growing well albeit a bit leggy.  The flavour is mild - almost a bit sweet.
At the front of the plate, is a piece of basil. I started that at the same time as the radishes. It is easy to grow on a windowsill. It adds some zing to a salad or sandwich.

This is the view outside my window. Spring is slow to come this year. We had some nasty, extremely windy weather a couple of days ago . On the plus side, I read the cold might be hard on the deer ticks. April is often the month when the dog and/or I pick up a tick but I don't have to worry with snow still on the ground.

Happy Easter

Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.

The Lord has made his salvation known
 and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Psalm 98: 1,2,4  NIV

Magenta in March

 Although we are getting nice sunny days, the air is still chilly and we have a fair bit of snow on the ground.  No gardening any time soon. So I went to the Home and Garden Show in Ottawa to see if there was anything good in the garden part. I was seriously underwhelmed. One (!) small booth selling plants, and  a few pathetic hard-scaping designs with the odd plant stuck in for a little greenery was it for the garden part.Anyway I bought this pretty bougainvillae to cheer me up. It is only hardy to zone 10 so I will have to bring it inside for the winter, but the vendor said that they are fine with neglect in the dormant period and will perk up again in the spring.  Worth a try anyway. I've never had a bougainvillae.

The orchid's blooms popped open yesterday. It will keep blooming for several weeks. I'm still watering it with distilled water and giving it a light feeding of liquid fertilizer.

Azalea and Inktense

 A ladybug found the celery plant on the windowsill. For a lot of people around here, the ladybugs can be a real pest in the house - landing on your face, biting, and being very stinky if you squash them. However, we don't get very many, and it felt very springlike to have a little critter cruising my plant so I was happy to see it.

My husband got me a very pretty azalea plant for my birthday. Certainly cheers up a room.

It has quite a few buds so it should bloom for a while yet. Unfortunately, it won't be hardy outside so it is strictly a house plant and I'm not that successful with keeping azaleas going long term. But for now I am certainly enjoying it.

Also on the birthday front is a new box of 24 Derwent Inktense pencils (conveniently on sale). I did a quick trial last evening and I really like them.  They are an ink/acrylic blend so when they dry you can't rewet them like regular watercolours. The colours are more vibrant than regular watercolour pencils. This photo is not doing justice to the bright colours. It's going to be fun to experiment with using both the Inktense pencils and either regular watercolours or watercolour pencils together.  Apparently Derwent is the only company making an Inktense type pencil.

Spring is just around the corner.  Can't wait.