June 18, 2006

Gardening Reflections,

Where to begin with our news? Of course, Joe and I have been spending most of our
available time and energy working away on a variety of gardening projects.

Recently, Joe reflected on the following analogy: Joe is to Gardening and Flowers like
I am to Photography – a deeply spiritual, meaningful, and rewarding experience!
Man, am I ever lucky to have crossed paths with Joe (and to have taken notice)!
When we first got together Joe quipped that our (aka my) Plants needed a
lifeguard on duty whenever he was around – as they died one by one! Yes, there has
been incredible improvement and growth on his part and he does more of the
watering and fertilizing maintenance than I do now.

       

Our Bulb Garden is in yet another stage of evolution. The Tulips and Daffodils are
finished; the greens dying back on their own. The Miniature Irises are just starting,
as are the various Alliums; the Lilies have buds developing and the Dahlias are just
growing their Greenery! Joe tilled an expansion strip on each length of the Garden: on
one side we have a Wildflower Meadow just starting to come up and on the other side
we have a row of display Sunflowers, a row of a variety of Tomatoes and Peppers
and a row of Mesclun, Arugula and Asparagus Peas, interspersed with a variety of
Decorative Grasses! How’s that for an interesting mish-mash? In between the
Dahlias I plunked in some medium height Sunflowers and in between the bulbs I
planted a couple of varieties of Calendulas and unusual Marigolds. We are very
much enjoying the evolution of this particular Garden! We know that local Deer
have taken notice as we see hoofprints – I wonder what they will fancy!?

The strip of a Wildflowers Meadow is Joe’s idea and request. We had several
differently shaped Meadows cut out from our lawn when we lived in Thunder Bay
some years ago. Joe really enjoyed the looseness and surprise of the Meadows and
wanted to recreate one! We are looking forward to seeing what this one is going to
look like!? Hopefully it will do some reseeding next year!

     

Our Shade Garden, a large oval around and underneath an Apple and a Plum tree
will be less shady this year than last – in a Summer storm last year we lost half
of the Plum Tree. We expanded the size of the oval and it is an incredible splash
of colour, texture, height and shape! We are very pleased with how it is unfolding.
Hummingbirds are frequent visitors, especially to the Comfrey which towers in
the centre. We have found fairly flat and small rocks to stick vertically in to the
edge of the bed to go almost halfway around the oval. It makes for a lovely effect
as well as a barrier to keeping the Grass out – so, we will be hunting for enough
rocks to finish the oval.

Lately Joe and I have been tackling the Vegetable Garden. As the soil is very hard,
and until today (with a delicious rain) dry, tilling has been a challenge. Finding
rocks everywhere is to be expected here on the Island – I’m the squatter and
gatherer! We were in the Garden today for about an hour when a beautiful
Summer rain began. By the time we were in the house we were both quite wet!
Hopefully, we will get back in there tomorrow. I have a mission that reveals some
of my personal philosophy about life. We added some Compost into our Shade
Garden, and we have one section that is full of volunteer Tomatoes and Sunflowers
(thanks to our feathered friends). I cannot just pull them and toss them into the
compost – I figure that they have gotten this far in their cycle and it is ‘right’ to
let them carry on – so tomorrow I hope to move them up into a section of the
Vegetable Garden. Maybe I’m a nutbar! We have more potential room in the
Garden than we’ll use, even with this section.

                           
                                                  Rose Bouquet ~ Detail, Manitoulin Island
                                                          © 2008  by SLaF,  Cricket Hill ~ The Digital Darkroom,
                                                               Original Digital Photography, All Rights Reserved    

It looks as if our Garlic crop will be very successful this year – with lots to set
aside for replanting for next year! We have taken the Skapes from the Garlic in
the Vegetable Garden and have eaten most of them already – hope to get into the
Garlic bed behind our house tomorrow and take those Skapes while they are still
small too!

It seems as if this year will also be a bumper crop of insects and challenges. I’ve
seen a lot of green aphids and cutworms. I saw some kind of a bug on our small
emerging Potatoes. And, something yet to be identified is devouring one
Columbine – leaving stems and Flowers only! I have no idea what it is but hope
to figure out the Mystery!

I did something embarrassing recently. I pulled the Leaves and part of the Bulb
out of the ground of a “Mouse Plant” – part of a collection of unusual Bulbs that
we had ordered and planted. We did write down a description of where what was
planted and whether it was hardy to our zone or not. But, our wooden markers
arrived after things began to emerge and my weeding urge got the better of me –
I am afraid that I’ve done this plant in! If so, I’ll have to reorder it next
springtime!

Live and learn and learn and learn …

Happy gardening,

Until next time ...

SLaf >

    

May 28, 2006

Where to start … need I say that so much time has elapsed because I have been
outside doing a variety of yard work and gardening? Likely not; however I was
away in Nanaimo, British Columbia at the beginning of May.

I have no idea how many days Joe and I have been puttering about outside. My
mind is more on my list of things yet-to-be-done than on what we have already
accomplished; however, I will lend a quick overview. Our Shade Garden is fully
planted with a variety of textures, colours, Flowers and we are watching the two types
of Comfrey grow before our very eyes! The bed has been enlarged this Spring and is
currently half-lined with small flat rocks placed vertically into the bed – we are on
the search for enough rocks to complete the oval. The Perennials in our L-shaped
Flower Garden against our house have been interplanted with Begonias and
Impatiens. The Begonias were started indoors and the Impatiens were “volunteers”
from a planter that flowered and seeded profusely.

Our Tulip season has been prolonged by both a cool Spring and by having a mix of
early, mid and late Tulips. What amazing beauty – the joyful work of last fall! I
will soon get to doing a good weeding amidst the Tulips (tiptoeing carefully) and
then I will plant some annual Flower seeds in and amongst the Tulips – ones that
won’t interfere with the bulbs, but will bring their own glory as the Tulip leaves are
coming to their natural end. The bulbs are at either third of a rectangular bed –
the centre has been filled with Dahlias, the tubers of which were far too huge to start
indoors this winter – so we are patiently watching for the signs of their emergence!
Our Lilies and Alliums are all growing well and promise a wondrous show. We
will be using our Mantis Tiller once again in this bed to expand each length –
one side will have a Mixed Meadow, and the other will have a Display Garden of
the varieties of our Vast Sunflower Collection, and some Tomatoes, Peppers and,
of course, Basils.

     

We also have five additional beds around the house; all but one we have also been
working hard in. The one behind our living room is full of gorgeous Garlic, some
wandering Onions, Chives and a few Herbs, and several kinds of Mint – so far, it
looks like a great Garlic Season. We have oodles of Lemon Balm [Melissa
Officinalis] coming up from seed, so I will soon be looking for 'adoptive' homes.

I have been up-the-hill to the Vegetable Garden to look at it, but we have done
nothing there as of yet. I have been moving our remaining firewood from by the
house to new log holders, alongside the driveway. And, we have been purging [in]
our big porch – sorting through too many boxes that have moved too many times
and haven’t been looked in for years! Amazing how things accumulate! We need
to make room to convert half of the porch to a woodworking shop – for me, the
'newby-woodworker' with a myriad of ideas (most of which are related to my
photography work).

As the Spring has been quite cool [and Wet!!]– you know it’s cool when the weather
in Nanaimo (a very temperate place) is warmer than on Manitoulin Island at the
beginning of May – who knows what lies ahead for the Summer?! Personally, I am
hoping for a repeat of last Summer (the heat, but maybe with some rain mixed in)
– I have many varieties of Hot Peppers and Tomatoes and of course, my Basil field
all counting on a deliciously hot Summer!

An ever optimistic gardener!

Until next time ...

SLaf >

Spring Gardening is well under way here on Manitoulin Island. The Geraniums
that had been hanging upside down in the basement are blooming beautifully in
the windows. Our Begonias are planted in milk cartons and some baskets, all
marked by either colour or type (eg. hanging) with one "mystery" - a __ ?.
Most of them have sprouted and I expect that nearly all will. Our volunteer
Impatiens plants are starting to flower. The Begonias and Impatiens will be inter-
planted (amongst some Perennials) into a reclaimed flower garden alongside our
house. This bed will be very lovely this year; the rest of the beds will continue to be
"works in progress" and that's okay. A true Gardener at heart is always looking
for new and evolving projects to develop.

I think that it is time to start to harden up some of these characters - gradually
having them spend time outside, initially in full shade and moving towards full
sunshine. I am starting to get itchy feet to have a larger house once again, when
all plants are enjoying a season living outside! It's amazing how much larger
the house can get simply by clearing some things out!

We also have a variety of Seedlings (Flowers and Vegetables) in various stages of
growth - squatting in the sunniest windows and being lovingly tended on a daily
basis by Joe, my dear Gardening co-conspirator and love of my life. I can't
imagine being married to someone who doesn't love gardening. I am very grateful
that he is a happy convert (not just to gardening, either). Initially, he killed
almost half of my luxurious Houseplants (over-watering, the worst); but, he has
learned a great deal over the years and his thumb is happily Green!

I will soon check the fridge to review our Seed supplies and in particular, take
note of our Basil's supply. Soon, we will start a couple of Basil Nurseries. We use
window boxes and madly sprinkle Seeds. The boxes will go outside right away
and come inside only if the nights are too cool (or if we are still to get some
heavy Spring rains). Mmm! Basils - one of my very favourite flavours!

Our new Bulb Garden is surprising us on a daily basis. We created this bed in
the Fall and planted hundreds of bulbs that are just starting to reveal them-
selves to us! We will interplant with some Tomatoes and Hot Peppers, some
Dahlias, of course some Basils and maybe a display of some of our many
(haven't actually counted how many varieties) Sunflowers!

         
        Sunflowers Are Our Friends! Sheguiandah, Manitoulin Island
                   © 2006  by SLaF,  Cricket Hill ~ The Digital Darkroom,
                        Original Digital Photography, All Rights Reserved

You could say that Joe and I are cuckoo about Sunflowers! We will be plant-
ing a large section of our Garden with many different varieties of Sunflowers.
We had quite a few last year and the birds enjoyed them as much as we did!
We also heard that neighbours came and visited to admire the beautiful
'cacophony of colour'! Well, just wait until this Summer -I am also a crazed,
cuckoo photographer and already have quite a number of Sunflower photo-
graphs (across the life cycle) - and I too cannot wait for the magic to begin.

It is at this time of year, when my energy level and spirits surge like a strong
and urgent tide that I am reminded that Depression has been lingering in
the corners (with the dust bunnies and dog hair) for a while. Not SADS,
just a growing sense of loss and sadness that I think comes with increasing
age, the loss of loved ones, and general life disappointments. For now, I will
surf this tide as fully as possible. When we ebb into another winter, I will
continue my fitness programme and healthy eating habits, and resume
sticking my nose into seed catalogues (always with a paper and pen), and
dreaming of this magical time of year, Spring!

An ever optimistic gardener!

Until next time ...

SLaf >