In the Garden

It was a good weekend for weather, so we managed to do a bit of tidying in the garden. Our autumn was so wet that a lot of the cleanup that I would normally do at that time just didn't get done.

We also had a lot of windy weather that blew all sorts of things into the garden, including shingles from the neighbour's shed. So there was lots to pick up. The first of the unwelcome jobs was taken care of, too. The lovely trumpet vine was cut back to the roots. It had to be done. The lattice needs to be replaced on the west side of the arbour bench. Here is a photo from better days:

We've Cut Back the Trumpet Vine



I can now safely say that a few plants didn't make it this year. The 'Ankums Pride' hardy geranium I transplanted last fall from another garden hasn't come back. I also lost a beautiful heuchera that I was hoping might return this spring. But things are coming back, too. My 'Doppelganger' echinacea is just starting to grow, and the columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) on the east fence is going strong, as is the Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium) I got from the same garden as the 'Ankums Pride'.

Of course only the bulbs are blooming, along with vinca and icicle pansies -- oh and, for the first time in my garden, the Pachysandra is flowering.

Pachysandra (Japanese Spurge)



I am still trying to figure out all of my daffodils. I'm pretty sure the 'Rip Van Winkle' came up where I planted what were supposed to be masses of mixed pink daffodils. I guess that's the last time I ever buy a box of bulbs from a warehouse superstore. I should have known not to buy bulbs from the same store where people buy TV sets.

But I also have a lot of nice daffodils coming up now.

Daffodils Are Blooming








Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.

Yay! Spring!

Now that spring has finally arrived, there are things growing in my garden. It's quite gratifying to look out and see some colour, as well as branches sprouting new buds. I finally have things worth taking photos of.

There are some little surprises in my garden. I planted a lot of daffodil bulbs, but what is growing looks nothing like what I expected. I have some daffodils that look like yellow dandelions. I know I did not buy any bulbs that looked like that. Because... I wouldn't. Spend money. On flowers that look like dandelions. You know?

Anyway, here are the photos of how spring looks in my garden.

Some Daffodils Waiting to Bloom



Strange Daffodils I Don't Remember Buying



'Pink Charm' Daffodil



Hybrid Daffodil Under Elm



Pretty Vinca (Periwinkle)



Purple Hyacinth



This Tulip Will Flower Soon



I've also spent some money already on my favourite ruffled pansies. They are called "Flamenco" and they have a delicate scent, which makes me love them all the more. I have to figure out where I will put them, though. Probably in a planter at the front of the house.

Flamenco Ruffled Pansies


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without attribution.

Finally!

This year's first daffodil has finally bloomed. Like last year, it is an 'Easter Bonnet'. In fact, I think it is the exact same daffodil as the one that bloomed first in 2006. However, we are a full week later than last year's first bloom, and many of the flowers seem like they might be even later than that.

First Daffodil ('Easter Bonnet')



A Closer View

A Proper Spring

The weather is getting warmer but the garden is still so far behind where it was last year. Take a look at last year's post for the 20th of April.

It's depressing really, because other than the same old pansies, vinca, and crocuses, I still have no blooms in my garden, though I am hoping for some daffodils soon -- possibly this weekend or at least early next week.

And even though the weather is finally getting to be sunny and warm during the day, we are still plagued by nasty frost at night.

I suppose this year we finally get the spring weather of my childhood memories. Over the past few years, it has been a case of winter ending one day, then a few days of wet weather near the beginning of April, and then it's warm and sunny until November.

Not this year. We still have a long way to go before it feels like summer.



And since I can't do a post without a photo, and since I know that many gardeners are "cat people", here is a photo of my rambunctious kitty. She is good at climbing ladders and thought the window blinds would be good to climb. She got herself stuck near the top though, because she was too scared to climb down. (I rescued her, of course, but I had to take this photo first.)

Blackbirds and Bluebirds

Because of unseasonably cold weather conditions, there are as yet no blooms to brag of in my backyard, or in my front yard for that matter. What I have instead are birds. Blackbirds. Several varieties, including Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoenicus), Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater), and European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

Several Varieties of Blackbirds



A Starling With Suet



Starlings are not native to North America. Although there are approximately 200 million starlings in North America, they are all descendants of approximately 60 birds released in Central Park, New York, by people who wanted every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to be introduced to North America.

The European Starling is a hole-nesting species and will nest in just about any cavity it finds. Native species such as the bluebird have been adversely affected by this introduced species, which multiplied rapidly and can now be found throughout North America to the point of overpopulation.

It is a common practice where possible to set up nest boxes in backyards and wooded areas for native species to give them a chance, and to destroy Starling nests. In some cities birds of prey such as the Peregrine Falcon have been introduced or allowed to nest in built-up areas to help control the starling population. (Note: most of the information in the previous paragraphs is adapted from this Wikipedia article.)

Building a Bluebird House



The Finished House



A few weeks ago, we participated in a project to build a bluebird house. These houses are specially designed to be specific to the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis). The hole is exactly 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) which discourages larger birds such as the European Starling. As well, instead of a perch there are small indentations, as the Eastern Bluebird can cling to them. This prevents smaller, more aggressive birds such as the House Sparrow from using the nesting box as they cannot feed their young without using a perch to rest on.

It's very unlikely that we'd get bluebirds nesting here, even if we hung the birdhouse. However, it was fun for my son to build, and we certainly learned a lot about the plight of native birds who have been negatively affected by introduced species.

Snow!

Yes, it's April 5. Spring by all accounts. And we've got...



Snow!

That's right. Daffodils, daylilies, and...



Snow!

Hello to you from my snowy backyard.

April Showers

“April showers bring May flowers.” Which sort of means I don’t have any outdoor photos to show you. I am getting actual flower buds on some of my daffodils, though, so I’m hoping it won’t be long before there is something worth seeing. The little honeysuckle I planted in front of the porch last year is getting some green buds, too.

Tomato Plants



For photos I will have to stick to my indoor garden. I’ve been concentrating the news on the daylilies recently, because there are always new sprouts to count. (Current number as of this morning is an even 50.)

Two Daylily Sprouts Among the Sunflowers



However, my tomato plants are going strong, and the sunflowers are getting tall enough to topple over. The recycler in me has found a use for the wooden take-out chopsticks my husband and I would normally just throw away after using: they have become miniature plant stakes. They don't always work, but they help a bit.

Used Wooden Chopsticks Recycled as Plant Stakes



The petunias have all sprouted, too, and will soon need thinning. The expensive ones that came in a plastic vial (similar to a perfume sample container) I placed painstakingly using the saucer and toothpick method.

Petunia Sprouts



But the cheap ones that came in a foil packet I sprinkled liberally over the top of the peat pellets, resulting in a miniature forest of petunia sprouts. Luckily these don’t need staking. I don’t think my husband and I can eat that much Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food in such a short time—though it might be fun to try.

Sunflowers and Petunias: The Big Picture



And finally, this is for Dana in New Mexico: the hesperaloe (Pink Texas Yucca) sprouts are healthy. They reached a height of about 3 inches (8 cm) and seemed to stop growing—at least compared to the rate of growth I see with the daylily sprouts, the earliest of which are about 8 inches (20 cm) tall now.

Hesperaloe (Pink Texas Yucca)



And speaking of daylilies sprouting from seed...

Dana's second-year daylily seedlings (grown from seed I sent her in Fall 2005) were planted outdoors in Spring 2006. They have returned this year and are growing, but they seem to have turned yellow despite getting adequate water. I've said to check for insects (I've had problems with thrips before). Does anyone else have any ideas of what to look for with second-year daylily seedlings that have leaves turning yellow?

Purple Flowers

Today is the day I said I would open this blog again officially. It turns out I have had a few posts in March, too, which I did not anticipate. We'll just call that my little "April Fools" joke.

Another thing I did not anticipate was that I would have some flowers in my garden to show you. It seems the purple ones are doing well, like these pretty pansies. These are what we call Icicle Pansies, meaning that you plant them in the fall and they will bloom until the ground freezes. Then, as soon as the ground thaws, they start blooming again. (I even had some flowers in January, since we had some warm weather at that time.)

Icicle Pansies



I also have some flowers coming up that I have never planted before. But last fall when I was buying my tulip and daffodil bulbs, I got a FREE package of purple crocuses. The funny thing about these is that the package called them "Ruby Giant". These are really the smallest crocuses I have ever seen! They are less than 5 cm (2 inches) tall.

My "Giant" Crocuses



Lastly, there is some vinca blooming. Vinca has a few different names. It is also called periwinkle, and myrtle. There are different varieties. I also have some with white flowers. The leaves can be variegated as well.

Vinca (also Called "Periwinkle" or "Myrtle")



It's a nice groundcover, but it spreads uncontrollably and does not always co-exist well with other plants. For example, my daylilies that have been surrounded by vinca end up not blooming. So I am really of two minds about it. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I want to rip it all out. I'm sure most gardeners have a plant like that in their garden at some time, whether it's vinca or something else.

Oh, and by the way, I now have 46 viable daylily sprouts and my mother is very pleased that I will be planting some in her back yard.