We might get " Weather Rage"

It is a rather chilly day here on this Saturday, and the outlook is not nice . The weather forecasts ....

"From Saturday Afternoon to Sunday Morning we expect 5-10 cm of snow and 25-30 mm of rain."

Not the words we like to hear.

Looks like tomorrow will be the day that gets devoted to some indoor transplanting.

The tomatoes need some attention. There are also a lot of little Four O'Clock seedlings that I hope will be OK in their cell packs. This is the first time I have grown them. It seemed every seed sprouted. They were a kind gift from a lady in Ottawa who frequents the Canadian Gardening Forum.

I have a bunch of Impatiens, but think they may need a few more days until they are ready for transplant. I try not to have them ready too soon, since our cool late May weather never lets them see the outdoors until the first week of June.

I think the poor indoor plants may have fallen prey to slight neglect in the last week or so.

We have had a busy few days getting plant together for our Plant Sale next weekend. I expect we are about 75% done, but each miserable day doesn't help the process.

The only positive thing about coolness is that the spring bulbs last a bit longer. We currently have Scilla siberica having their spring romp....they spend as much time out of bed as "in bed". They populate one end of the "gulley" bed area, and Puschkinia populate the other, plus wander down over the bank.

The Star Magnolias are just bursting....

There are loads of narcissus, and the types seem to change daily. This is 'Orangery'.

This is a little species tulip 'Persian Pearl', I think.

I especially enjoy these clumps of Praestans unicum....good bright spots.

Corydalis nobilis is a favourite spring plant. These , I have had for many years. They moved with me almost ten years ago. They give us a few seedling here and there each year.

I haven't tried to purposely get seed. Perhaps I am too busy with other things to notice seed on the early bloomers.

We were quite intrigued to see some Barred Owls in the front yard yesterday. We hear them "hooting" all the time, but rarely see them. There were two that flew into the yard, and perched on the willow tree. One had left before I had presence of mind to try a pic. We were inside, and 150 Ft. away. Of course, the Owl had his head turned.

May Day....May Day

Here we are at the first of May, rushing in with a cold rain that chills to the bone.

We have barely crept above 5C today, and the drizzle is continuing.

Our Days have been, and will be, spent getting ready for our Plant Sale that happens on May17th and 18th. Prior to that we are participating in a Member Sale for the Rhododendron Soc. in Halifax this coming Tuesday.

The Member Sale for us is very much dependent upon fitting a given number of plants in the car. This year and last we "invited" the members to pre-order plants from a given list. This worked very well for both them and us. The unnecessary lugging of plants was eliminated from our jaunt.

Bill has most of the "ordered" plants all dug and potted. It is quite amazing to us that one of the most popular plants is the humble, but fragrant February Daphne (Daphne mezureum).

We did have a quick walk around the yard today, but everything is looking quite droopy with the rain.

The narcissus are just getting underway, so there will be lots to welcome there.

This little Jetfire is among the first.

This other group was pleasantly surrounded by Chionodoxa...all of which were quite floppy after all the rain.I was surprised to see Fidelity showing some colour, as are the Hyacinths. I am always pleasantly surprised when they make a good reappearance.Most of the earliest are the yellow trumpet daffodils, and a lot of Ice Follies.

The only tulip showing colour is Prastans unicum.The Crown Imperial Fritillaria are growing quite rapidly. I do hope there is not a nasty frost in the next week to damage the emerging flower buds.

As usual, the Lady's Mantle look fabulous after a rain.

Spring busyness, and potatoes

The last week or two has had us in very busy "spring-mode", so there hasn't been much blogging going on.

Each year in April sometime we dig out the potatoes we had stored in a pit overwinter. Bill starts by lifting off the Tarp that has kept the insulating layer of leaves nice & dry. Layer by layer the leaves, a bit of soil, the metal cover, and the final boards get removed to reveal the stored potatoes... We were really surprised to find a pot of fingerlings(Pink Fir Apple) that we had forgotten were there.....we had kind of rationed the ones we had, but now we can have a little potato feast! We also filled a basket with red potatoes, and left part in the pit until a bit later. It was only partly recovered. If you want to see the sequence of events...check the link and click slideshow

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0903/willowgarden/08_APRIL/Spring%20Potatoes_08/

This week has started off quite nicely with the carpet of Chionodoxa finally doing their thing....I never seem to be able to get a really good pic! These little bulbs naturalize beautifully, and we find them anywhere & everywhere.The February Daphne are in bloom in many places, so the aroma is great today(warm & calm)...most of this patch is destined to be potted up for our plant sale. There are patches of dark purple crocus popping up, seemingly at will! They seem to get scattered about as the years go by. I found a little patch of white Scilla siberica a couple of days ago. Even the garlic has grown a lot in a few days.... These seedling peonies are a species type, and unfurl their leaves before any of the others. Spring has to be the most inspiring, as well as the most tiring, time. The frogs are in full song, so soon the pond will be well populated with tadpoles.

A Week's Work

This last week has enabled us to get a fair number of early spring chores undertaken. Winter came very early last November, so there were some things that might have been done then that weren't.

Bill has judiciously finished cleaning up all of the back garden areas, and trucked many loads of debris to the refuse pile behind the deer fence.

My introduction to work in the spring is usually an undertaking of pruning. The various Hydrangeas, always need a cut back, and this year the roses were in dire need of a renewal prune.

There was not a lot of winter damage per se.

The biggest job was cutting back the "thicket" of shrub roses along the driveway. They had pretty much gone their own way for a few years. We now have a series of "sticks", which I hope will regrow reasonably well.

The roses there are tough guys like 'Jens Munk'

'Dart's Dash', 'Blanc Double de Coubert'

a couple of Grootendorsts, the prickliest of all the roses, it seems.

the hybrid perpetual 'Jacques Cartier'

This is 'Agnes'.....

There were a couple of Magnolias that came under severe prunings, as well. I don't have a pic of the "before". This is our yellow Magnolia 'Butterflies', a huge piece was taken off the base.

Our pitiful excuse for grapes also had a trim, but they also need some extensive "training". All this clean-up serves as a good reacquainting procedure. One get to see the emergence of new growth, such as the "noses" of the Foxtail lilies. The rhubarb is barely out of the ground.

There are a few spring blooming heathers on the go.

Semblance of spring

We have been enjoying several nice days this week, and the crocus took full advantage....popping up in many places...this early Crocus ancyrensis is among the most vivid. Without them things would be very dull. Various other patches were also doing their thing. It was the first day that I saw bees among the crocus. These paler yellow ones are called 'Romance' I wish the Snowdrops wouldn't always have such droopy heads.....Our pond is approaching an "ice-free" state. The many Glory of the Snow are just poking their little noses above ground.....can't wait for them to appear enmasse.

April may be past the "FOOL" stage

We have been blessed by two days of rather pleasant, if not overly warm, April weather.

The wander about the garden has given some cause for optimism.

Crocuses are in bloom here and there. This nice patch is usually ahead of the others.

There are signs of noses in the Hellebore patch. It is still quite cold where these particular ones are.

There would also appear to be a lot of work to do, but that is not exactly unusual for any spring. Lots of places are still quite wet, but our sandy soil dries up very quickly.

My usual first pursuit each spring is to do a bit of pruning....the PeeGee hydrangeas, the Annabelles, Buddleias, and miscellaneous roses all fall "under the ax".

Each year I wonder if I am doing the correct thing, but it doesn't seem to matter too much. It is likely I err on the "too little" direction, rather than "too much".

Bright Sunshine - a Stimulant

We were blessed with a bright, if cold, day today. It is quite deceptive to have the warm sun, and then be presented with very cold air.

The ground is still very firm, and temperatures are low enough that most of the Rhododendrons are still in "droop" mode.

The first hint of crocus were apparent(slightly) in the little bed next to the house. They pop up here first each year, making their way through the remains of the Nepeta.

Other than that there was not much in the way of spring activity. Some shoots of narcissus, and tulips are showing up here and there.

There are a few little flowers on some seedling Witch Hazel plants....these were a bit of a surprise. It has been too cold for must advancement.

I did plant a few seeds while in "stimulant" mode.