Spring has Sprung

Spring is officially here as of Sunday past, but it has been a very cool few days and nights. The snow is slowly receding. 

The snowdrops have fulfilled their role as the first harbingers of spring, with some crocus in a snow-free bed not far behind.

James has decided to tap a few maple trees and make a little maple syrup. The theory being that Ava should know from whence the syrup for pancakes comes.

The sap flow hasn't been too speedy with all the cold days, but enough for one "boiling down" session.

An old metal barrel was found to house the fire, a metal grate for the top, and lots of wood to keep it going.
We are finishing the first syrup in the house. 
We strained the boiled down sap through a rinsed J-cloth before finishing the boil.

Here is some of the finished product, ready for Ava's pancakes.

I expect it is almost time to pay a spring visit to the Sugar Moon Maple Farm up in Earltown. Their procedures are a bit more refined than ours!

"Plants for Atlantic Gardens"

“Plants for Atlantic Gardens”

                    Jodi DeLong

We were privileged to receive an advance copy of Jodi's lovely new book to peruse and enjoy.

Bill and I have read the entire book.

We both agree it is exceedingly well done. Jodi should be very proud of her effort. 

Being fairly experienced gardeners, for us it was a bit like meeting many old friends.

The layout of the book is very pleasing. The design gives very consistent information for each plant category. We personally appreciate putting each plant “in its place”, botanically speaking.

Each entry has one or more images attached, so the visual aspect is very nice.

The plants chosen in both the Shrubs and Trees and the Perennial sections include both very familiar plants and quite a few uncommon ones.Choosing the "candidates" must have been quite a daunting task.

The Appendices give good bits of information in addition to that included with each plant.

If we were to use one word to describe the book overall it would be “personable”. We think Jodi’s personal style comes across quite effectively. Her appreciation of the people who have shaped her as a gardener is very apparent from beginning to end.

We chuckled to think Jodi actually remembered and took to heart the fact that we consider azaleas to be "idiot proof".

I expect my favourite page is the Lavandula one. To quote a snippet...." lavender, pure and wholesome and soothing, quells the turmoil of our souls at all kinds of levels"....just the thing to beat back the ravishes of winter.

There are a variety of book launches and signings on Jodi's schedule in the coming weeks. More information can be found on her blog or from Nimbus Publishing

We hope that it gets into the hands of all gardeners, not just those from Atlantic Canada.

A mid winter break

I have been rearranging pictures at Photobucket. I thought this slideshow of Daylilies might brighten the day.

Gone to Seed, Again

This is the time of year we seem to be heavily into "seediness".
We have just finished getting all the seed lots for the ARHS Seed Exchange cleaned, labelled and generally organized. The Exchange will be open in a couple of weeks and this years' list will be posted on our website.

Our "home" seeds were also in need of some updating. One task which always pains me is actually throwing out old seeds! My waste basket is full of seeds from our various collections that were deemed expendable.
Every year after the Rhododendron Seed Exchange, I try to get somebody to adopt some of the leftovers, but it never seems to be enough.
One thing about azalea and rhododendron seed is that they have quite a good shelf life , as long as they are cool and dry. Bill has sown seed that was several years old with good results.
Many types of perennial seed seem to have a shorter life span regardless of the storage conditions. Some, like Digitalis, seem to last quite a while.
Lilies, alliums and the like really need to be sown quite fresh.
We have a few seed requests from people across the province and country, so I really should get those packaged up and sent out in the next day or two.
This has been the coldest day of the winter( -17C), but of course that will change in the next few hours.

A Welcome to 2011

The New Year has come in with a mixture of benign and wintry weather. As usual, Monday gave us a mixed bag of rain and eventually quite a lot of snow. The mild temperatures lowered considerably, so this snow will likely be with us for a few more days. These views are towards the back arbor and out the front door.

                                


















We have been contemplating "de-Christmasing" the house, but haven't done so yet. Our tree has been very pretty and has held its needles very well. It seems so dull after its demise.
Laziness seems to be the order of these days after Christmas. I did finally bake my Linzer cookies yesterday. They turned out quite nicely. A double chocolate cookie with a raspberry/ chocolate filling. 

Another unscheduled job turned into a bit of a purge and reorganization of our pantry cupboard. Awful lurkings can sometimes happen. Ian and Gina had given us a wonderful culinary selection of goodies, so in order to find space something needed to happen.
Bill seemed to have the seed starting spirit and started a few rhododendron seed selections. 
There isn't much gardening going on these days. We do have a lovely Amaryllis which is pushing forth two flower stalks. It is to be an interesting dark burgundy color.


















Our Christmas centre piece has lasted remarkably well....almost to the point where I am getting a bit tired of it!