March 2015

I've been gone for a long while! I suppose life just caught up to me - I'm working two jobs, and most weeks don't have a day off. This winter was pretty dreary, too, just rain, and weather too cold to grow anything. The hydrangea and roses lost their leaves. Our jasmine and dahlias died. It was a relentless procession of days of going to and from work in the rain.

But Spring is finally here, and I'm starting to feel better.

I've been cooking more - beef and potato stew; buttermilk cinnamon pancakes; homemade pho; lemon sugar scones.

I've started several plants, but cautiously and carefully, in the pots I intend to grow them in. I think that a big part of my failure last year was beginning too early, and starting them in the peat pots, which didn't keep them at the right temperature or dampness. There isn't a lot of sun yet - in fact the entire week so far is supposed to be rain - so I'm hoping the seedlings will be all right.

How about some pictures?

That's a pepper sprout! I planted ten seeds, and so far, four have germinated. The low germination rate might be because the seeds were left over from last year, but they might not be done yet. We'll see. Anyway, I've been keeping the pot covered in plastic wrap, and well-misted with water mixed with a bit of epsom salts. When the seedlings started to come up, I propped the plastic wrap up with little sticks, to keep it from crushing them. I hope I can uncover them soon, but the weather needs to be a bit warmer and sunnier first.

These are all basil. One of Minette, one of Siam Queen (Thai basil), and one of Sweet Genovese. I planted the seeds yesterday, so hopefully there will be sprouts soon.

What's happening outdoors?

The Beloved's hydrangea bush is ALIIIIVE!

The beebalm has started growing between the pathway stones. I love the natural rustic sort of look of that.

I thought that the clematis was dead. I nearly pulled it up! I'm so glad I decided to wait - it's growing like crazy now.

If you look at these last few pictures, you can see the little divider I made of grey wallstone. I plan to do the next side as well, once I can get over my reluctance to carry 42 lb of stone home by hand again.

That's probably enough for one post. Next post: eggs for tomatoes!

Garden Progress: Before and After

It's been a long time since I updated here! Working two jobs (and often working entire weeks without days off) I've been rather lazy about maintaining things online. But, never fear, I'm putting in a bit more effort to be prompt now.

Anyway, I haven't been neglecting my garden! I thought that it might be fun to post some before and after pictures.

April 2014. Nothing. And boring.

July 2014. Much better! The bright red flowers are dahlias. The lawn, however, is slowly dying. I don't have access to a hose or water spigot, so I do all my watering by hand with a watering can. Unfortunately it'd take about a hundred trips to soak the lawn properly, and I just don't care enough about it to do so.

Do you see the dead plant in the middle? That's not mine. The neighbours noticed that my garden was doing well, and brought over a dead plant with a sign on it (you can see it still there) reading 'Help Me!' I've been doing my best, but unfortunately, it was already gone. Also, as you can see, it's a bit cluttered. That's something I still have to fix. The long red container in the center has little tiny pepper plants starting to grow. I started them from seed and for ages, nothing came up at all, until a few weeks ago. I hope that they can fruit before the season ends!

Anyway, here's another few pictures:

Another one, from a distance. You can see the rose bushes on either side and the strawberry basket hanging up by the pillar on the left.

My violas and dahlias are in bloom! That huge plant next to the dahlias is beebalm. It hasn't flowered yet, and I hope it does so soon. The leaves smell so good, though.

Hydrangea and Double Lavender Superbells (Calibrachoa). Again, waiting for flowers from the hydrangea, but there is a tiny cluster of buds, so it might be soon!

One of the June roses. Soon after they began blooming, something killed off the blossoms! With luck they'll go a second round before the summer's through.

Jasmine plant: July 2014

Jasmine plant: May 2014

The rose on the left side. In the background are ginger geranium and a flower I've forgotten the name of, but which has an abundance of gorgeous coral star-shaped flowers. The plant next to the rose bush, on the white lattice, is my cucumber! It's gotten huge, and there are several little cucumbers growing.

It's been awesome planting and watching everything grow. I already have plans for next year, but we'll see how things go.

And yes, the guy in the reflection on the doors is me. If I'd realized I'd show up, I'd have dressed better!