Spring 2012, DAY2

We are enjoying these few days of beautiful warm weather, even though the long range forecast is for below average temperatures for most of the next two weeks.
The first crocus made their appearance today. They are a little group of C. tricolor that are in the bed just beside the house.

This group of snowdrops have popped up in the middle of the lawn.

All this warmth stimulated me to do a bit of reorganizing and cleaning up of the rather messy sun porch. Our overwintered plants really think spring has come with new growth and swelling buds the norm.
I did quite a serious cutback of some Buddleia that spent the winter inside. Perhaps Bill will persuade some of the cuttings to grow. There is a branch from a lanky young Bay Tree , as well. They can join those that are downstairs under lights.

I seem to have one large Rosemary plant that has survived for several years. Getting newer plants to survive being brought indoors to the sun porch has been an exercise in futility.
This is one of our "cloned" Blue Heaven rhodies, which did not get planted in the garden last season. Guess a bit of repotting and a later planting is in order. The new growth will emerge long before it is safe to put this outside. No telling if we can persuade two bursts of growth.

We also have several tissue culture plants that have been with us for a couple of years. There are two lovely little Pieris compacta, which will inevitably put forth their new growth while still indoors.

There are several pots of seedling Hellebores which we need to transplant. These have been having an identity crisis, since they look very different from most hellebores. They were from the ARHS Seed Exchange last year #089 H. argutifolius . We have also determined they may not be the hardiest of the genus either.

There are a couple of other pots that have some sprouts from another seed lot ARHS2011#90 H. foetidus ex 'Wester Flisk' , which have been pretty slow to germinate. 
We received a package from Lindenberg Seeds today with a bag of three nice Begonia tubers.(Double Pink). We have other things on order which will be along in due course. 

The seeds arrived several weeks ago. I expect it is just about time to get some of those started, as well.
The cats have been enjoying the sunshine and are getting into their in & out routine.
This is Ringo relaxing.

All in all, a pleasant day with not much snow in sight!

Spring 2012, day one.

Spring is here with a vengence, the temperatures are in the high teens and snow is retreating about as fast as it could. 

The fresh snowfall we had last Thursday is nicely disappearing.

Going for a walk all the way to the back garden still requires a bit of caution.

I took the less steep route, not really wanting to slither downhill in an undignified fashion. 

 

The little Witch Hazel bushes are in bloom. They are seedlings of H. mollis, and while not overly flambuoyant are pleasantly fragrant.

 Snowdrops are in bloom, but no crocus color just yet. It is always interesting to see just how quickly they pop up after the snow retreats.

Our purple Hellebores will be quite awhile and the other groups are still snowy. 

The pond is usually full at this time of year, still lots of ice.

The sun was bright and the rhododendron leaves were very shiny. It doesn't appear there was any amount of winter damage, although I spotted some leaf tip burn on a new plant near the pine trees. 
The "Bear Cubs" are looking quite happy in spite of their snowy surroundings.

This is a small R. dauricum seedling which will among the first to bloom. They will gradually lose their dark purply winter color. 

A Late Start to 2012

This winter of 2012 has progressed in quite a speedy and rather benign fashion.... not too cold, not too snowy. We now have a modest bit of snow cover, so hopefully a few plants will enjoy a bit of insulation.
We have been busy with very utilitarian things for most of the time. Bill's rental unit in Antigonish was the recipient of a lot of restitution prior to getting new tenants. It was a bit like going back to work. Fortunately it only had to be for a month or so.


On a more casual note, we have the Atlantic Rhododendron & Horticultural Soc. Seed Exchange on the go. Orders have started to arrive, so very soon the packaging will start.
The online list has quite a few seed lots that were not submitted early enough for the Newsletter version of the list.
There have been a few requests for our own Saved Seeds, so those have gone out.


I have also spent a bit of time each day perusing and contributing where possible to Jodi DeLong's new gardening forum Bloominganswers. There is also a link to the site just to the right of these posts.
All our gardening community were very saddened by the sudden death of Jodi's husband Lowell. She has been in our thoughts often as she goes through this difficult time.


We have pretty much done a bit of seed inventory, so are ready to make up our annual order for veggies and a few other things to Lindenberg Seed. We are always quite satisfied with the seeds and plants we receive from them.
Haven't spent much time "shopping" elsewhere, so maybe we won't get too sucked in to new things.
Restraint really would be a good thing. I have told myself that perhaps we could get a few new things, since we have part of the gulley bed to renovate after last fall's power pole fiasco.


Another of our avid Nova Scotia gardeners Niki Jabbour, has just had her new book published. The Year Round Vegetable Gardener is now available at a variety of locations. Her enthusiasm and skill at feeding her family from their garden all year is quite inspiring.

2011 is coming to an end

Each year seems to go by faster than the last. We have had a mixed bag as we head into winter here in Antigonish. Bill prefers to think of it as heading towards spring, since the days are now officially getting longer. We had a white Christmas(as if that really matters!), but now have no snow to speak of. 

The same scene as above taken on this sunny, cold day.

There have been a couple of very chilly days with the rhododendrons doing their barometric rise and fall to indicate their way of dealing with cold. 

The pond has gradually filled up through out the fall. It is also just about frozen over.

I fear we have had the last of the parsley harvest. It was looking quite crispy this morning. It might rebound when temperatures rise. Parsley has been so lovely this year it is a shame to see it go.

2011 was more or less a typical gardening year. The possible exception being the challenge of getting vegetables to grow properly . Perhaps the most disappointing being the potato blight which totally wiped out the potatoes for the year.
There were plenty of storms, but apart from the Halloween electrical fiasco, not much damage. As usual, there were lots of jobs that didn't get done.
Bill's baby rhodies and azaleas are spending the winter in the sun porch where they will hopefully survive and get a dormant period of sorts. They get to keep company with the bay trees, rosemary. a few buddleia and assorted other little plants that were not situated in the garden. Voodie pretends she is outside.

The next major item on the agenda will be dealing with the Atlantic Rhododendron & Horticultural Society's Seed Exchange. The seed list is off to the Newsletter, so an online copy now needs to be prepared and posted towards the end of January. There have been a few late contributions which will only appear on the online version. Deadlines don't appeal to all, it seems.
I have been mulling over getting a new computer, but haven't found a convenient window of opportunity just yet. I always worry I might not be quite as functional as needed. I should likely just do it!
Best Wishes to all for a Happy 2012.

Christmas Wreath

December has arrived in a very gentle fashion for the most part although we seem to have a "weather bomb" in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
We had a nice Christmas meeting with the ARHS folks in Halifax. Last week was busy "fudging" with The Jingle Bell Frolic held at St. Martha's Hospital. on Friday past.
There are a few Christmasy outings in the next few days which will seemingly require baking.
our festive wreath is courtesy of Beverley & Erin MacLellan.