Urban Wilderness

Beans Grow on Trees. Really.

2011-09-01T11:55:00.000-04:00

I planted some climbing beans this spring and provided a trellis for them -- 5 feet of vertical climbing room should be enough, right? Apparently not, as I discovered. The bean plants decided that the nearby lilac tree was a much more appealing place to grow and now there are beans around 14 feet (or more!) above the ground. Note to the neighbourhood birds, squirrels and raccoons: These beans are yours if you want them.

The first black raspberry harvest!!!

2011-07-21T15:53:00.002-04:00

OK, so there are barely enough berries to add to a bowl of ice cream. Nevertheless, given that I didn't have to plant them or fuss over them in any way and I still got delicious berries in my bowl, I'm a very happy gardener. Three cheers for urban wilderness and a nod of thanks to the birds who I suspect were responsible for "planting the seeds" as it were.

This Squirrel is Nuts!

2011-07-19T17:46:00.000-04:00

It keeps returning to this old school desk that's on the back porch and licking it and gnawing on it. We have to keep chasing it away. It seems young so perhaps it hasn't yet figured out that the desk isn't an exotic kind of nut. Either that, or it's a student-wanna-be, in which case its first lesson will be that a chair is not food.

Fruit Flies like Apple Cider Vinegar

2011-07-15T13:34:00.001-04:00

Our kitchen was invaded by fruit flies a few weeks ago. Even after removing all fruits and vegetables from the counter and storing them (yes, even the tomatoes!) in the fridge, there were still clouds of them on the counter, cupboard doors, etc. just waiting for the lid of the compost bucket to lift.

I tried putting some apple cider vinegar in a bottle to see if that would lure them in but that wasn't particularly effective it seemed. I tried a large flat dish but that was even less effective. What finally did the trick was covering the mouth of the bottle with a double layer of plastic wrap (from some grocery store produce), securing it with an elastic band, and poking a small hole in it with a bamboo skewer. Within 24 hours the majority of the fruit flies were trapped in the bottle.

I'm considering living dangerously and putting the tomatoes back on the counter.

Good Dog, Schnoodle! You were a very, very Good Dog.

2011-06-23T11:04:00.000-04:00

January, 1998 - June 23, 2011

"...(sort of) straight rows of veggies!"

2011-06-21T12:42:00.001-04:00

I wrote an entry entitled The Best Mother's Day Gift Ever! just after, you guessed it, Mother's Day and stated my intention of growing "...(sort of) straight rows of veggies!". Well, I guess some of the rows are "sort of" straight even though the overall look is somewhat chaotic: at the very least, a salad for dinner is an absolute necessity tonight in order to make room for the radishes planted next to the lettuces. You can, of course, see the row of radishes next to the lettuce, right?

Despite that fact that some of the veggies are clearly thriving, the beets, spinach, swiss chard, and possibly the carrots (the jury is still out on that one), all planted from seed, are a disappointment. The sprout rates on the spinach and beets were low and the rate of growth of all the seedlings unimpressive. The radishes, which were also planted from seed on the same day, are progressing more satisfactorily despite the crowding from the onion and lettuce.

The big decision is whether to officially give up on the spinach, beets and carrots and try to find some other vegetable seedlings to plant instead or whether to just leave that space for the other plants to take over. I think I'm leaning in favour of the latter strategy.

The zucchini plants seem to be very happy in their pot -- I'm even starting to hope that there will be a zucchini harvest in the near future. And, to my credit, the zucchinis (all two of them) are planted in a perfectly straight row.

Lesson Learned -- The Hard Way

2011-06-06T16:00:00.002-04:00

Well, I just learned a painful lesson: always wear gloves when weeding, especially in dense foliage! I was trying to get weeds out of a large patch of ground cover and decided to take my right glove off to give me more dexterity. I put my hand into the leaves in order to feel down to the base of the weed to yank it out -- and felt instant burning pain. A bit of careful investigation revealed not nettle (which had been my first theory) but a wasp or bee stuck in a spider's web and not feeling too happy about its plight. I'm not feeling too happy about my plight either -- my hand is swollen and discoloured and hurts! Hmmmm -- hold on -- there is a silver lining! I couldn't possibly cook dinner & do the dishes in my pathetic state, now could I?

(NB: The photo above is from my files and not depict the insect responsible for my misery).

Swamp Serenade

2011-05-23T22:08:00.007-04:00

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend the weekend in the Laurentians (Les Laurentides) just under 2 hours north of Montreal. True, it was next to a swamp complete with beaver dams and black flies, and the local nurseries didn't even have lettuce plants to offer yet, but the 24/7 sound effects were spectacular (the audio just doesn't do the frogs justice and the video is there just to make the audio possible -- the recording was made in pitch darkness).

For those of you who might have noticed a black to white change in the blog's appearance, the only thing I can say is that it was time. There will be tweaks and adjustments to "The Look" over the next couple of days -- any feedback is, of course, most welcome.

Garden Visitor in Sl-o-o-o-w Motion

2011-05-20T20:03:00.003-04:00

So here's the garden -- lots of densely packed fresh green growth with a lot of flowers, although that's certainly not visible in this photo. The ground ivy, forget-me-nots, brunera, Virginia blue bells to name a few are all contributing splashes of colour in addition to the tulips and bouganvillea.

While slowly wandering through it this afternoon, pulling a weed here, dead-heading a tulip there, I came across one of the garden denizens who was wandering through it way more slowly than I was:

The Best Mother's Day Gift Ever!

2011-05-08T17:57:00.004-04:00

A small part of Urban Wilderness is going to be experiencing some structure, namely (sort of) straight rows of veggies!

My kids prepared this small patch for me to plant vegetables in today. They worked the soil to a depth of close to a foot, I think, removing tons of roots and stones and adding some fresh topsoil and compost. It had started out looking like the ground towards the top of the photo.

I'm not sure if there will be enough sun for vegetables to grow well, but I'm really looking forward to trying.

Thanks N & N!!!

Hellebore update

2011-05-01T15:18:00.003-04:00

This is the most flowers that this hellebore has ever had! I'll have to look around for more hellebores to plant elesewhere in the garden.
The red trilliums (nursery-grown from seed) are also thriving and the clump appears to be getting larger. I'm looking forward to seeing whether the single white-flowered trillium plant will have grown as much as well.
Seeing the bloodroot open its delicate flowers in the morning and then close them every evening is always a joy. It has started to spread in the garden -- there are two new tiny flowering plants several meters away from the parent clump this spring! The foliage will be a welcome addition to the texture of the garden as spring changes into summer.

A reminder not to make assumptions...

2011-04-14T12:59:00.003-04:00

... that everything remotely purple (especially when viewing from a distance) is a crocus. Much to my regret, I only noticed this little "iris" after it had been knocked down.

On a positive note, however, the hellebore is soon going to be in its full glory.

Spring is definitely here!

2011-04-08T13:04:00.004-04:00

Evidence of the squirrels' passage along the fence-top is no longer easily discernible by casual observation although I can easily imagine finding lots of muddy paw-prints there should I look closely. The crocuses are providing vivid splashes of colour on the ground and distracting the eye of the debris & detritus left on the ground when the snow melted. (Could there be rakes and compostable paper garden refuse bags in my very near future?).

The one other notable early-sprouter is the hellebore. It's always a joy to watch its buds slowly unfurl and open into pale greenish-white blooms. I can't wait!

Squirrel highway

2011-02-16T15:10:00.002-05:00

The fence is their preferred path to the back of the garden, particularly in winter when there are no succulent tulip bulbs to dig up or shoots to nibble. It's interesting to note that after all the neighbourhood squirrels have passed multiple times along the same stretch of fence, they have nevertheless kept to the path made by the first one.

Oleander Revisited

2010-05-11T12:02:00.002-04:00

In September of 2008, I was unsure of how to prepare my potted oleander for the winter (Oleander Help Urgently Needed). I ended up trimming all of the branches, bringing the plant into the vestibule for the winter, and hoping for the best.

It survived that winter, although flowering was not high on its agenda last summer and it survived this past winter too (without another pruning). It's back outside for another summer and is showing buds on the ends of several branches!

Mossy Dreams

2010-05-04T18:11:00.003-04:00

While walking in the forest late last fall, I found some moss that I thought would be good for Christmas decoration. It didn't get used for that purpose, but instead spent the winter on the balcony in a plastic bag. I decided to try planting it today in hopes that, eventually, I'll have areas of bare earth covered in that lovely, mossy green. I loosened the earth, pressed the moss in, watered it thoroughly, and pressed it some more. It looks like it will rain this evening so it will get a second watering. Tomorrow, I'll mix up a solution of one part buttermilk to two parts water and spray it on the planted patches and keep repeating the process for a while (2 or 3 weeks?).

Temptation

2010-05-01T09:16:00.001-04:00

While weeding in the garden the other day, I lost count of how many maple and European buckthorn seedlings were happily sprouting throughout the garden. I started to wonder what the garden would look like if I let them all grow. I could imagine myself walking down the cool shady path through a grove of young trees. Then practicality reared its ugly head: what would happen when the trees grew large enough that there was serious competition for nutrients and space? How much damage would the large root systems do to the foundation, the driveway, the retaining walls? How many bags of leaves would I have to rake and carry to the front of the house every fall? And the list of potential future woes just continued to grow nightmarishly long.

A garden filled with maple bonsai anyone?

Garden Blues

2010-04-28T15:12:00.001-04:00

A day or two Before the Snow, I was admiring the blueness of my garden, and was yet again reminded of how similar the flowers of the forget-me-not and brunera appear. These photos really don't do the similarity justice. It's really pretty interesting seeing these plants flowering side by side.

Looking at the photos after having uploaded them, I guess I'm perhaps stretching the definition of blueness just a bit.

Garden on Ice

2010-04-27T11:35:00.002-04:00

Snow was falling lightly at around 8am this morning and has since grown heavier. What still looked like my sunny garden this morning now has a coating of white on it.

It is sort of beautiful, I guess -- the delicate ice crystals covering the leaves and flowers. I just wonder what today's snowfall and the one predicted for tomorrow will do to the garden before more seasonal temperatures return on Thursday.
What a different image of the Virginia bluebells than the one I posted a few days ago...

Monday's Mysteries

2010-04-26T14:05:00.000-04:00

I noticed something growing next to the path at the back of the other garden the other day. The leaves were familiar and I quickly realized that they were the same as those of another plant 10 or 15 feet away. I happen to like this plant -- its buds are the first part of it to come up in the spring. The white flowers open in the morning and then close at night. I don't recall seeing seed pods of any sort and although I'm somewhat puzzled about how I got two new plants so far away from the original, the fact remains that I just wish I knew what it was to begin with.

The other mysterious sproutings can be found in a number of patches such as the one in the photo below. My best guess is that one of the spring bulbs have seeded themselves. I can't wait to find out which...

One of This Garden Blogger's Favourite Gadgets

2010-04-25T17:44:00.003-04:00

On a recent gift-giving occasion, my husband gave me an Eye-Fi card for my camera. It's a memory card that has WiFi built in and the thing that I really love about it is that by the time I get in from the garden, my photos are already uploaded to my laptop or the upload is well on its way to being done. It's such a treat not to have to fiddle with the cable (and by "fiddle" I mostly mean "find"). Now if only I could find an easy way to make iPhoto to send its photos to Blogger directly...

Spring 2010 in the Urban Wilderness

2010-04-23T10:15:00.003-04:00

Well, it's another year and another spring. The wide range of shades of green all over the garden look incredibly fresh, particularly in the morning sun.

The trout lilies and the Virginia blue bells share a space quite happily.
The red trillium, purchased grown-from-seed from a reputable nursery a few years ago has started to thrive. Its white relative is lagging this year and is nowhere near ready to flower yet.

As diligent as the squirrels were last fall in feasting on the newly-buried tulip bulbs, they luckily (for me) missed a few.
And, finally, the biggest thrill so far? The rhododendron has its first flower in perhaps a decade. I guess it appreciated the compost it was given last summer. Or perhaps it was the extra sunlight it received after the elm was pruned rather drastically the fall before last?
All of which reminds me that the lilac blossoms are next to come out! I can't wait.

Rant: Google AdSense Account Suspended

2009-08-17T17:30:00.007-04:00

So just before leaving on holiday at the beginning of August, I get an email from the folks at Google AdSense informing me in no uncertain terms that my AdSense account is suspended:

"Hello,

While going through our records recently, we found that your AdSense
account has posed a significant risk to our AdWords advertisers. Since
keeping your account in our publisher network may financially damage our
advertisers in the future, we've decided to disable your account.

Please understand that we consider this a necessary step to protect the
interests of both our advertisers and our other AdSense publishers. We
realize the inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you in advance
for your understanding and cooperation.

If you have any questions about your account or the actions we've taken,
please do not reply to this email. You can find more information byvisiting
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=57153.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team
"

Huh??? It would seem that the Google machinery had charged, tried, and convicted me for some unknown transgression. From my perspective, the only thing I have to feel guilty about is neglecting my blog this summer so, of course, I appealed their unilateral decision, answering the general questions as best I could about traffic patterns, etc. and invited them (if their corporate policies allowed) to check out the relevant stats and assorted technical details for my blog on Blogger and Google Analytics. I logged in from the cottage (dial-up!) to check my mail a few days ago and found the following:

"Hello,

Thanks for providing us with additional information. However, after
thoroughly reviewing your account data and taking your feedback into
consideration, we've re-confirmed that your account poses a significant
risk to our advertisers. For this reason, we're unable to reinstate your
account. Thank you for your understanding.

As a reminder, if you have any questions about your account or the actions
we've taken, please do not reply to this email. You can find more
information by visiting
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=57153 .

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team"

OK, it appears that I am guilty of something, who knows what. With the hordes of people visiting my blog recently (1 or 2 per day on a *good* day) and the huge earnings ($0.00) that I've received in the 14 or so months of having the blog, I'm sure I'm making Google's advertisers quake in their boots with whatever it is that they claim I've done wrong.

I did a bit of Googling (oh, the irony!) and at this time figure that my account *might* have been suspended because the Amazon ad that appears right under where the Google ads used to appear probably did not distinguish itself sufficiently from the Amazon ad -- the colours were the same. If this was, indeed, the case, a simple sentence in the original email asking to correct that particular problem would have ensured that the problem was corrected and that I could continue to live with the eternal hope that one day, in the far distant future, I might get a cheque.

As it is, I'm just really annoyed and disgusted with Google's way of dealing with its users. I no longer think of Google as a company with a high concentration of brilliant Computer Science PhDs doing research on a wide variety of problems for the sheer love of coming up with something new. No. In my mind, Google is now an impersonal machine that has possibly acquired way too much power and sense of self. It's time for me to look at what Microsoft, Yahoo, et al. have to offer.

On a garden note: The garden has been cared for as well as the blog this summer and I am pleased to report that it is thriving. My access to it has not been suspended...

The Intentions Were Good...

2009-06-23T20:52:00.005-04:00

I went to the local garden centre with A Plan (for a change) and actually stuck to it (I think there must be something wrong!). I came back home, unloaded the car, and..... got distracted. That was well over two weeks ago. One of these days, hopefully soon, I'll get back on track with The Plan.

In the meantime, various spring and early-summer perennials have bloomed and gone to seed, and now I look out over the garden and think "The trollius is blooming already???? My, how time flies!".
While I was wandering through the garden areas around the house, wondering how the garden had advanced so much without my noticing how time was passing, my eye caught on a few splashes of magenta and white where a colour other than green was definitely not expected. I wonder what these pretty flowers are and, more importantly, where they came from? Hopefully, they'll become a regular fixture in the garden.

Invasion!

2009-05-18T11:25:00.005-04:00

It's such a pretty addition to a spring garden -- brilliantly green leaves, delicate, lacy, white flowers -- and it's a menace. Introduced by European settlers, garlic mustard is considered to be an invasive species across North America. It aggressively competes with native species, often reducing their numbers. This in turn reduces the food supply for a variety of insects and wildlife and affects those populations in turn. So, despite its attractive appearance, it is essential to prevent the plant from reseeding by pulling the plants, chopping, or burning them.

What a Difference a Month Makes!

2009-05-17T21:58:00.002-04:00

My last blog entry was just around a month ago -- the ground was still pretty much bare. Today,
there are blooms galore: tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, forget me nots, brunera,
trillium, virginia blue bells, wild garlic, ground ivy, trout lilies, columbines, etc.

A number of plants which appeared to thrive last summer have mysteriously disappeared over the course of the winter. A few bleeding hearts are no longer. A particularly lush clump of violets has disappeared. A large clump of brunera has been reduced to a few puny leaves and the patch of toad lilies which had the bizarre blooming times last year haven't come back. I wonder if it's always like this or if having been super aware of the contents of the garden last year because of the blogging has simply made the absences more notable.

April Showers Bring...... Butterflies?!?

2009-04-19T16:58:00.004-04:00

I was looking out into the garden this afternoon, enjoying the sunshine and admiring the various blooms that were starting to appear when I noticed a movement on the path. The motion reminded me of that of a butterfly's wings and I wondered about the breeze that was making a leaf move in a similar way. Except the "leaf" really didn't look right for a leaf. I grabbed my
camera and headed outside only to find that it really was a butterfly sunning itself on the bricks in the path... in Montreal... in April.

Wordless Wednesday: An Eggplant With Heart

2009-04-08T06:00:00.001-04:00

Grrr..... Yaaaawwwwnnnn..... Streeeeetttcccchhhhh.....

2009-04-02T22:40:00.005-04:00

Well. I managed to remember how to log in to my blog. What a relief after 3 months of blogging-hibernation.

My last post featured a photo of my family's annual gingerbread house. I won't post a current photo (yes, it's still in our dining room -- sort of) because its current state is....well...."accessibly delicious" (Yeah, that's it! The reality is that it's in the form of bite-sized rubble!).

The gingerbread house is not the only thing to change in appearance. The garden has gone through a range of degrees of snow cover over the last few months. The snow-covered wonderland of February (pictured above) has melted (partly into our basement :( !!! ) and is
showing the beginnings of new life foretold by last fall's seed, bulbs, roots, etc. The snowdrops
are usually the first to bloom:

The crocuses follow. I think that there's a patch of them missing this year -- perhaps the
squirrels?

Oh and speaking of mischief in the garden, the raccoons have declared war again. Our municipality started a curbside kitchen compost pickup in November and we all received green bins in which to put out the kitchen scraps. It was outside all winter without any problems until last week. The raccoons have figured out how to undo the latch. So it's back to the drawing board to figure out how to turn the compost bin into a bandit-proof Fort Knox.

And Visions of Sugar Gardens Dance Through My Head...

2008-12-24T17:25:00.003-05:00

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and may your 2009 be filled with peace, love, and happiness!

Silent, Dark, Snowy, Sunday Night

2008-11-30T22:20:00.004-05:00

'Nuf said.

It Had To Be Done :(

2008-11-24T13:35:00.002-05:00

The Elm in the yard was pruned back by around 25% the other day. While the crown had grown, perhaps even enthusiastically, over recent years, it was also prone to losing that growth: not only lots of small branches and twigs whenever the wind picked up, but, two winters ago a huge 20-30ft branch fell under the weight of the snow onto the power lines below. Luckily, the wires were able to withstand the weight and there was no interruption of service. Nevertheless, looking up at a branch which had grown to overhang the back of the house (and the power lines), we knew it was time to take some preventative measures by calling in the tree professionals. Although the arrangements were made last spring, the actual pruning only took place last week after the tree had had a chance to go dormant. The idea was that this would minimize the risk of disease.
This elm did provide a significant amount of shade to the yard. I really wonder how large an impact this pruning will have on the garden next spring. Will I have improved growth in the plants which tolerate (partial) shade but really love the sun? Will there be a shift in the balance of power between the various species vying for supremacy? Will there be enough of an increase in sunlight to really make a difference? Will I be able to show incredible restraint next spring when all the sun-loving perennials make their appearance at local garden centres, or will impulse win out?

"Hey Mom! I found the garden!!!"

2008-10-29T10:11:00.003-04:00

Six days ago, the yard had a golden glow to it -- a combination of the sunlight and the warm-toned yellow and green leaves. Two days ago, it was a beautiful afternoon and I reluctantly decided to take the opportunity and clean up the yard for winter. Ten huge paper garden composting bags later, and it looked like a different yard. My son, coming in the gate after school, exclaimed "Hey Mom! I found the garden!!!".

I was sort of sorry to have to clean up because I had been enjoying the natural look, but the back tar spot on the maple leaves made it necessary. I didn't want to risk having them stay on the ground all winter. The timing worked out well -- the garden is covered with the first sprinkling of snow and slush today. The air conditioner is out of the window. Our snow tires are on. The winter coats, boots, mitts, and hats are out. Happy Hallowe'en, eh?

Planting Bulbs (Or Is That "Feeding Squirrels"?)

2008-10-26T12:17:00.004-04:00

I've almost finished planting my fall bulbs, more than 300 of them. Tulips, narcissus, hyacinths, anemones, muscari, scilla, etc... I planted a similar number two falls ago and had a very colourful spring garden. Last fall, I planted maybe a hundred bulbs and, although there were lots of blooms this past spring, it did not do justice to the number of bulbs that had been planted over the previous two falls. I'd blame it all on the squirrels except for the fact that their favourite bulbs are tulips but in my garden, the numbers of all the bulb flowers were affected. Nevertheless, I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes up next spring and I can't help but wonder if I've planted a sufficient number of new bulbs this year...

In previous years, I'd be groaning at the thought of planting still more bulbs. Fighting through roots and vines with the trowel in order to dig the holes was a nuisance and took forever! This year, however, I discovered the bulb auger at Lee Valley Tools. Attached to my 18V cordless drill, it makes "digging" holes for the larger bulbs a breeze.

The claim is that the auger allows one to plant up to 500 bulbs in one hour. I would have to say that I believe that to be completely in the realm of possibility if a) it's in a prepared bed and b) if you're using a corded drill or have numerous backup batteries ready to go. And, best of all,
it's fun to use!

I also got a really thick drill bit at one of the Depot hardware stores as well to use for the small bulbs. It can be seen in the photo above just below the auger. It, too, worked really well, despite the fact that it wasn't designed for this purpose. It meant that I could plant the little bulbs without disturbing too much soil around the existing perennials.

I'm hoping the squirrels won't make to many inroads into the planted bulbs. I can't use the hot pepper deterrent for the simple reason that our dog would not be happy with me if I did. And, because the bulbs are distributed over the whole garden in numerous random groupings, placing screen over each planting becomes impractical. I guess the bulbs will just have to take their chances in the "Urban Wilderness" that is my back yard.

Winding Down

2008-10-23T22:14:00.011-04:00

Well, it appears that that darned elf was a bad influence on the whole garden (the whole region, if I choose to ramp up the silliness). Things are definitely winding down -- some plants have already disappeared without a trace. Others, such as this Solomon's Seal, are looking very "autumnal".Two toad lilies are still preparing to bloom. I don't get it -- one toad lily bloomed through June, July, August & September. I had expected the others to bloom in mid to late September but they seem to have forgotten to mark blooming down on their To Do lists. I planted a few hundred bulbs over the last few weeks: tulips, daffodils, narcissus, etc. as well as sanguinaria canadensis, canada lilies, and a few other native plants. I still have about 100 bulbs to plant, but those I'll stick into some large containers. I did plan on cleaning the garden up for winter today but ended up deciding that it looked to nice to tamper with. Maybe I'll do it next week.

Oh Dear! What Have I Started!?!?!

2008-10-01T20:21:00.003-04:00

I went to Canadian Tire this afternoon -- a straightforward visit to see if they sold the original Silly Putty (they don't). I wandered through the outdoor gardening section. Of course I found some tulip bulbs that were just too strange to pass up (more on this purchase in a few weeks). I picked up a few more products and made my way to the cash register. At the end of the checkout process, it became clear that there was an elf, "un lutin" in local parlance, who was coming home with me. OK. I guess.

The first elf moved in with a hoe in hand and was very discreet in how he lurked in the greenery. This most recent denizen of the garden, however, is making his position clear in no uncertain terms. Hrmph!!! Just come knocking on my back door for Hot Chocolate when it gets chillier, you Elf, you....

Wordless Wednesday: Guardian of the Garden

2008-09-24T03:45:00.001-04:00

He's very discreet -- the other 3 family members have yet to notice him despite his month-long presence in the garden.

The Skeletons in My Garden

2008-09-11T14:00:00.004-04:00

Pumpkin Soup is completely correct -- it is totally disheartening at times to visit a whole slew of gardening blogs all showing picture perfect flowers and impeccably maintained yards with nary a thing out of place. Meanwhile, I cast my eye briefly over my "turf" and see:

Fallen branches (accumulating since May!) that I haven't gotten around to cutting into shorter lengths and bundling up for collection,

Assorted pots left over from the last 2 or 3 visits to the garden centre, and worse yet, dirt on the deck,

And, a path that hasn't been weeded yet this growing season (yup, the season that's ending soon) although I can't say that I'm too, too, ashamed of this particular oversight!

Oleander Help Urgently Needed!

2008-09-11T12:26:00.005-04:00

I have an oleander planted in a huge pot by the front door. I brought it indoors last fall without any maintenance -- just dumped it into a pot with adequate soil.

It would be nice to bring it in again this winter except that I'm not sure about whether I should trim the rootball when transplanting it into a smaller indoor pot or how much (or even if) I should prune the branches so that it will flower next summer. I noticed that it did flower this year although not with the same enthusiasm as it did last year.

Also, where is the best place to keep it? Last winter it stayed in the mud room (cool, probably in the 50F's/10C's) where it had some light but no direct sun. I'm assuming that it wouldn't like to be left outside to take its chances with a Montreal (Zone 5) winter.

What would you do?

Wordless Wednesday -- The Triumph of the Turtlehead

2008-09-10T05:59:00.001-04:00

...a followup to "On How NOT to Get a Bouquet of Flowers"

The Evil Within

2008-09-09T06:00:00.005-04:00

As bulb planting season rapidly approaches, I begin to worry about how to protect the newly planted bulbs from that evil scourge, The Squirrel. I've started seeing them more around the garden, prowling along the fence, watching, assessing, scheming...

I haven't seen many of them in the garden this year. I had suspected that they might not like the plant-cover or, alternatively, that the plants provided such good cover that I just didn't see them. Maybe they only started scavenging for goodies as fall drew nearer, but, the evidence is conclusive. Exhibit A is the tulip bulb (last year's!) lying on top of the ground. Exhibit B appears to be the culprit leaving the scene of the crime.

I am sure that once I start planting those plump and juicy "Squirrel Gourmet" tulip bulbs, the squirrels will drop in for a meal with alarming frequency. Of course, the narcissus bulbs are just plain ole' fun to dig up. And all those other assorted little bulbs? Well, they'd look much better stored (buried!) in someone else's garden. Perhaps I'll try to find a place where I stock up on cayenne and make my garden the neighbourhood "hot" spot. Or, more likely NOT. I don't think our dog would ever forgive me!

The squirrels manage to look furry and cute while frolicking along the fences, tree branches and powerlines, but I was able to take a photo of an unsuspecting squirrel who had let its guard down. The truth about the "inner-squirrel" was revealed! (How many days 'til Hallowe'en is it anyways?)

Happy 18th!

2008-09-07T07:08:00.003-04:00

My daughter turns 18 today. I don't quite know where all the years went or how it is that they passed so quickly. I'm not sure what to think about having reached a "certain age", a "certain stage" in life -- somewhat morose thoughts totally in keeping with the fall season of doom and gloom (OK, it's a matter of perspective -- humour me!). Life has cycled yet another turn -- my mother (whom I thought of as being "old" when she was in her 30's and I was a child) is now in her "golden years", I'm in "middle age" (and considered ancient (think dinosaurs) by my kids -- "Hah! What do they know? When you've reached my age....") and my daughter is a (an amazing, totally to be proud of, in awe of ) young woman (and "Way cool -- duh!?!". Well, duh-uh!?!?). A new vacancy in the pattern of the generations has now appeared which will be filled by a brand new life at some point in the, as yet, undetermined future (when, and if, the time is right). And then, the cycle will carry on, yet again, as it has for millenia gone by.

I hope that my beloved daughter's adult years will be a bountiful garden of delight, weed and pestilence free of course, and filled with beauty, peace, joy, serenity, and above all, happiness.

A Preview of Next Season's Programming

2008-09-05T16:59:00.007-04:00

Next growing season that is. The plot which was put into play in the spring has unfurled in the fullness of summer, ripened as the days started to grow shorter, and is now in its dénouement. Rain, drought, sunshine, flowers, leaves, insects, raccoons, and numerous other characters, have all contributed, with varying degrees of prominence, in its development. But, never fear, all is not over. A sequel, to be released next spring, is already in progress as a new cast of characters is maturing in preparation for development in the spring.

Wordless Wednesday Mystery -- September 3

2008-09-03T09:02:00.002-04:00

What did this turn into? (I have no clue).

The Colours of My Impatience

2008-09-01T12:22:00.003-04:00

Patience is not one of my stellar qualities when it comes to gardening. Waiting for years for the garden to come into its own and provide blooms throughout the summer is just so not happening. To assure splashes of colour throughout the summer, I've planted impatiens of different colours at the beginning of the last two summers. This year, I added a begonia and some petunias, as well as an annual with multicoloured yellow, orange & pink flowers whose name I don't know. And this fall, just as last year, the pots of the jewel-toned mums and asters on sale at the local garden centres proved to be irresistible. So, they too, have been added to the wilderness. Now, I can happily wait for the several varieties of wild asters which have made themselves welcome in the yard to contribute their delicate purples to the mix of colour which remains in the garden.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-27T10:17:00.001-04:00

'Nuf said.

What do You Think? Has it Been a Strange Summer?

2008-08-24T12:13:00.005-04:00

As I think back on the summer, I can't help but wonder at some of the strange occurrences. It was exceptionally rainy here in Montréal -- almost as if the near-record-breaking snowfall of last winter had continued on as rain during the summer. There was a water spout on the St. Lawrence river in the city -- something that nobody I spoke to recalls ever having happened before. I had a toad lily start to bloom in June and which is still blooming -- usually they only start blooming in mid-September. There was also a ligularia which decided to bloom in June, when, as many of you no doubt know, their usual blooming period is in mid-August.

In reading many of your blogs recently, I've noticed similar comments: unusual weather, plants blooming at unusual times, insects and wildlife appearing/disappearing, etc. I'd be interested in finding out how many of you have made similar observations. Leave me a comment (with your geographic location) with your opinion. I'm looking forward to reading your experiences. I wonder if any patterns will emerge?

On How NOT to Get a Bouquet of Flowers

2008-08-23T13:29:00.006-04:00

It's a lovely bouquet, I'm telling myself. The green leaves and pink flowers go so nicely with the green cut-crystal vase. I really love having "cut" flowers in the house and I've been envious of people who have gardens which provide them a profusion of blooms for beautiful bouquets. I'm so delighted to have this bouqet in shades reminiscent of the jewel tones of watermelon tourmaline....

Aurggh, no! Darn it! I'm not happy. I'm frustrated. I'm upset. I'd rather share my dinner with a raccoon -- a family of raccoons. I decided to wander into a local garden centre this morning and, needless to say, did not come away empty handed:

Several pots of fall mums and asters, black-eyed susans, another huge-leaved ligularia, and a turtlehead (chelone obliqua) managed to make it back into the car with me. I decided on the perfect spot for the turtlehead and dug the hole. I was really looking forward to seeing the dark green foliage and lovely pink flowers in place. And then I discovered how crispy and fragile the stems were just above ground level. First two snapped off. Unnerved, I resolved to be more careful. A small, gentle, nudge later, ALL the stems were in a heap on the ground and I was holding the rootball of the plant. If it wasn't for the salt content, I'd consider watering it with my tears of regret and frustration.

Finicky Flowers & Other Friday Ramblings

2008-08-22T14:08:00.013-04:00

After an unusually rainy summer, we've finally had a string of beautiful, sunny days. As much as the plants didn't appreciate the surplus of water and lack of sunlight, it seems that some of them (naming no names, of course), aren't particularly pleased with lots of sunlight and not so much rain. Sigh!

It was a pleasure to see the rich, vibrant, yellow of the ligularia's flowers, a sentiment apparently shared by some insects as they took advantage of their bounty. (Of course, it also felt great to be able to take photographs without using the flash!)
The cement lady has finally, after 3 summers, started to acquire that lovely greenish tinge to her complexion.

The impatiens are arriving at the point when, in addition to being pretty, they become "fun". I've always enjoyed making the ripe seed pods burst open.

To end on a somewhat sad note, it seems that the maple trees are affected by a fungal blight (Tar Spot?) for a third year in a row. Because the fungus can overwinter and then spread to the new leaves in the spring, my plan to shred the fallen leaves and use them as winter mulch has had to be deferred yet again.

A Repeat Performance

2008-08-19T12:15:00.011-04:00

It's always a delight to get a second set of flowers from a perennial after deadheading -- it sort of feels like getting something for free or winning the lottery.

The bellflowers, after their recent deadheading have started to send out a few new bloom. (A disclaimer: I really do not make a point of seeking out earwigs and other creepy-crawlies to take photos of -- at least not usually. Today, the first bellflower I happened to focus on just happened to have an earwig in residence.)

The foxglove, sent up a second stalk, albeit a wimpy one incapable of supporting its own weight.
Its funny, there were originally two foxgloves planted. Both bloomed last year. This year, however, despite the fact that there were now 3 or 4 plants, only one bloomed.

Lastly, one of the dame's rockets reflowered. Usually they're quite generous with their secondary blooms but unfortunately not this year.

I can't quite shake the sense that it has been a very strange summer. We've had a ridiculously small number of clear,sunny days and, at least today, it's surprisingly chilly for August -- only 17C (62F). And, if I look at the 14 day trend of predicted daily high temperatures on the Weather Network, more days than not are expected to be below average. The predicted lows get down as far as 7C (45F)!!! I guess it shouldn't have come as a surprise to see quite a few trees already changing colour on the way up north to the Laurentians last weekend.

Who, Precisely, Was Invited for Dinner?

2008-08-15T23:20:00.006-04:00

Well -- it seemed like a clear-cut invitation. My few-weeks-short-of-18 daughter and her already 18 best friend (of 14 years) decided, at 10pm, to have a fancy restaurant-quality dinner in the back yard, candle light, tablecloth, elegant place-settings, multiple salads and all, in lieu of "going out". My husband and I were wallowing in sentiment, recalling with fondness how the two girls used to play together when they were 4 years old, thoroughly enjoying their emerging "adultness", while at the same time attempting to give them their space, when we heard shrieks from the yard: "Mom!?!?!? A raccoon is trying to get our dinner!!!!".

OK -- by now, around here (at least to me), "Raccoon" is the code-word for "Get your camera!". So, I grabbed my camera and raced outside. The girls pointed out the raccoon -- it was on top of the fence which surrounds the garden. I started trying (and here, I emphasize the word "trying") to take photos of the raccoon as it casually sauntered along the top of the fence around the garden. Only when it drew close to the table (and the, by now, shrieking, girls and grinning me) did it decide to jump down off the fence on the neighbours' side (lucky neighbours!) and out of sight (at which point, the dog started going crazy). Of course, I rushed to the computer to download the few photos I had taken but, much to my disgust and dismay, they were all blurry. It was only then that I remembered that I've been storing my camera with the expander ring and the close-up lens both attached -- I had unwittingly taken these photos with the close-up lens attached -- blurriness explained. AURGHHHHH!!!!!

Note to self: Do NOT attach expander ring with close-up lens to camera when storing!

Oh, and "Thanks, Raccoon, for the evening's entertainment & excitement."

After (Yet Another) Downpour

2008-08-13T01:55:00.005-04:00

The rain this summer has just not let up. It seems that the daily deluge has become drearily predictable. Planning a BBQ dinner and actually cooking the food outside don't necessarily go follow any more. The cloudiness, combined with the density of the tree canopy over the garden, has made it commonplace to have to use either flash photography or super long exposure times in order to take the most mundane of photos.

Today, after an extremely heavy downpour (complete with pea-sized hail), a few shafts of sunlight broke through both clouds and canopy. The lighting made it a perfect time to capture a few shots of a soggy garden (although it's not too obviously soggy in the photos).

Both the begonia and the impatiens had a decidedly wet sheen to their leaves, with water droplets clinging to their flowers.
The echinacea, surprisingly enough, looked quite dry. There are, in fact, one or two small droplets of water clinging to the flowers which can be spotted in the full-sized version of the photo.
Northern Shade, I had to take this shot for you. See? The bell-flowers have been dead-headed and are once again standing vertically, and some measure of weeding has also taken place. Thanks for the inspiration/motivation. I have to admit I was toying with the idea of really letting the garden grow wild until it was time to clean up for the winter.
Finally, I think, one of my favourite shots. One of the things I most enjoy about having a shady garden is, on occasion, seeing the sunlight breaking through the leaves to produce a dappled effect.

Two Weeks is a Really Long Time!

2008-08-05T21:24:00.007-04:00

We went to the cottage in the Laurentians two weeks ago thinking that we'd stay for only 6 or 7 days. Our plans ended up changing and with the teenagers' agreement, we stayed for an extra week. An extra week of daily rain, mosquitoes, and chilly (20C, 65-70F) temperatures. Of course, we blame this totally on my husband. He had the unmitigated nerve to bring his telescopes (solar & regular) to the cottage with the expectation of actually making use of them!

The garden changed a lot over the time we were away. Whereas before, it still had the feel of a garden blooming and growing, we returned to a garden which seemed to be on the cusp of the downward slide towards fall. Deadheaded plants which had reached their peak weeks (months?) ago were looking mangy and somewhat forlorn. Plants such as the feverfew, which I'd not gotten around to deadheading were looking decidedly scruffy. The daylily, which had been blooming when we left, was now boasting a swollen, extremely promising, seed pod. The majority of the plants which don't thrive in absolute shade were leaning towards the "east" side of the yard where there's actually a bit of sun and some of those stems were collapsing because the angle of tilt was just too great. Leaves were starting to turn brown. The potted impatience had had a growth spurt and now have the overgrown look that they usually get in September.

And that one aberrantly early toad lily is still blooming...

Rock-a-bye...

2008-07-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

...earwig!? Apparently so. I wandered out first thing this morning to take a photo of the rudbeckia before it fully opened and found that not only had it already changed a lot from yesterday evening, but that one of its petals had been converted into a hammock for an earwig.
Joy. I wonder how long it will take until the flower becomes a meal as well as a comfortable place to hang out?

Getting back to the original reason for going into the garden: there were three plants that I wanted to photograph before their flowers fully opened today. Clearly, I was too late for the rudbeckia. The echinacea, however, still looks quite interesting. I enjoy watching how not only the shape of the flower changes as it opens, but also the colour.

The hydrangea, too, starts off tinged with green before becoming a creamy white.

And some things just never change but stay grayish-brown from start to finish.

And, of course, there's the hydrangea.

Going to Seed

2008-07-23T21:12:00.001-04:00

Many of the plants which had such beautiful blooms just a short while ago are now going to seed. I realize that by writing on this particular topic that I'm confessing to being lazy about dead-heading, but so be it. My excuse is that this is what nature intended.

I find that quite often the seed pods are just as beautiful and interesting as the flowers themselves. The shapes are often complex and very graceful.

The columbine's pod is as curved and spiky as its flowers.

The blue-bells are starting to develop seed pods on the stems which still hold pretty flowers:

The trillium's seed pod looks almost too heavy...
The foxglove's are fuzzy, just like the rest of the plant.
I am reassured that the other plants in the garden are, like these, working to ensure their species' continued existence next summer. Some, admittedly, may have an harder time of it than others. Pass the ice cream, please...

Spidey's Dinner Reservations Confirmed

2008-07-20T20:11:00.008-04:00

I walked out into the yard today indenting to take a few flower photographs but found a spider web, complete with spider, stretching across the stairs down to the deck. Of course, it was necessary to attempt to photograph it before I had to walk through it and break one of the supporting threads.

Then, while looking to photograph a profusion of buckthorn seedlings, I discovered another web with a spider with its prey. Since I was guilty of muttering promises of documenting the life and death dramas (see the description of the blog on the right), I figured I was obligated to document this find as well.

At one point, I inadvertently startled the spider and it "ran" away along one of the strands of its web. Even with the close-up photo, I still don't have a good sense of how an eight-legged spider can run along a single thin silken thread.

And, with thoughts of the food cycle fresh in my mind, I came across one of everyone's favourite garden pests to hate -- the slug. It was happily sliming its way across a creeping buttercup leaf leaving an altered leaf margin in its wake.

Nearly Speechless Friday or Raccoon's Revenge

2008-07-18T12:18:00.005-04:00

To recap the raccoon sagas:
1. Raccoon-proofing the composter (read)
2. Rescue of young raccoon from garbage can (read)
3. Baby-raccoon-proof garbage can & issue challenge (read)

Well, I guess the raccoons weren't impressed with the new garbage can security. We park our car in the shade of their favourite tree, behind the fence at the back of the yard. They left their "comments" on the front hood last night. Mumble, mumble,...... grrrrrr......

Needless to say, I will not share their comments in all their visual and olfactory "glory". I will think happy thoughts instead:

Step Into My Parlour...

2008-07-16T16:35:00.015-04:00

... said the spider to the fly.

Flies and other insect pests, beware! It seems that my garden has a number of parlours, each lovingly tended to by its resident spider.

I can rest assured that the insect population in my yard is under control.

Two different types of spiders caught my eye. One is the traditional web-spinning type, an orb-weaving spider. There was one rather
spectacular web built in the open between a support pillar and a lattice next to the back wall of the house.

Another, smaller, orb-weaver was starting to build its web in the bellflowers.

The other type of spider built a completely different type of web. It resembled a sheet and was positioned in a sheltered space under some violet leaves. I think that this might have been a grass spider but am not a hundred percent sure.

And what might be on the menu for these web-spinners today? I was able to get photos of several self-delivering meals. My particular favourite is the green bottle fly, although not as a meal, of course.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day -- July 2008

2008-07-15T11:51:00.012-04:00

In my meanderings through the garden blogosphere this morning, I chanced upon a reference to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on the May Dream Gardens blog. What better inspiration or motivation to take the camera outside to take some pretty pictures of all the plants that were blooming in such proliferation. Thanks!

Well. I quickly realized that after the rains of the last few days, a lot of the blossoms that I'd expected to find were no longer there! And, in fact, today was the day to really be glad that I'd had the foresight to plant impatiens throughout the garden to provide splashes of colour on days just like today.
Of course, the bell-flowers were still blooming, although many stalks had fallen over.

Two more blooms had opened on the daylily, a fact that seemed to be appreciated by a couple of ants and another unidentified flying insect.

A few plants were still valiantly flowering. A bleeding heart, which seems to have been flowering for well over a month now still had two bunches of flowers, both looking a little bit
worse for wear. One of the cranesbill geraniums still valiantly boasted a couple of bedraggled blooms, the margins of which had been redefined by a hungry insect. And the toad lily still had a few blooms and was still in league with the winds so that whenever I would try to take its photo, a gust of wind would come by and make it sway like crazy.

I resorted to checking out what was growing at the front of the house -- also a very shady area. Some orange daylilies, the kinds on the very tall stems, were still blooming. A clump of monarda boasted brilliant crimson blooms.
And finally, a hosta took advantage of a spurious patch of sunlight which appeared when a gust of wind moved the branches of the tree which typically keeps it in the shade.

Let Me Lead You Down the Garden Path...

2008-07-13T10:37:00.012-04:00

So this is our garden path, which we all make use of regularly. The arch in the foreground is made of two lengths of rebar held together by leaf shaped wire constructs. At the top of the arch is a wire pyramid topped with a elongated tarnished copper ball. The sides are decorated with some large colourful glass beads at four points around two thirds of the way up. Although these features aren't visible now because of the leaf-cover, they provide a bit of visual interest in the fall, winter, and spring. During the summer, a few grape plants climb the arch and provide foliage at the top. They have never bloomed, let alone fruited, no doubt because of the shade. Nevertheless, they do provide a nice amount of foliage. Climbing hydrangeas are planted at the base of each of the sides of the arch and I'm really looking forward to seeing them flower one of these years.

One of our neighbours, an avid gardener herself, figured out the truth behind the not-quite-spherical ornament on the arch. "That isn't what I think it is, is it? A copper toilet bowl float?" "Ummmmmm. Well, to be precise, yes!". It has provided us with much amusement ever since.

There are theoretically two paths that make a circuit through the plantings on each side of the main path. The path through the south half of the garden is reasonably well defined. The main glitch is that a solomon's seal has chosen
to plant itself right in the middle of the access to a small dead end branch which leads to the fence.

The path through the north half of the garden on the other hand was overthrown -- ummm -- overGROWN. Clearly I have three options. I can leave it as is, but despite my claims that I want a "wild" garden, I'd like a path and some minimal amount of order as well. I can decide to see how much foot traffic the plants on the path will take although they already get some amount of paw traffic and it hasn't seemed to have affected them in the least. My third and probably favourite option, is to either pull up everything in the path or take the weed-whacker to it. Decisions, decisions!

And the final confession? The whole reason for taking the photos of the path in the first place was my delight in the 3-4 foot spikes of nettle-leaved bellflowers which have finally come into bloom!

What Characteristics Do You Use to Identify an Unknown Plant?

2008-07-10T09:32:00.004-04:00

Two years ago, I bought and planted 3 plants of the type shown at the left. Being somewhat more interested in growing them than remembering what they were, it appears that I was somewhat(!?) negligent about keeping the little plastic stakes which identified them. So now, these 3 plants have multiplied exponentially and I'm somewhat dreading (in a fascinated sort of way) how many of them there will be next year. I'm reminded of how, many years ago, we decided to get a pet rat for the kids. We went to the pet store and bought one (1) rat, Whiskers. A few weeks later, we found ourselves the proud owners of ten (10), yup-- we did a recount -- ten rats! (For the record, they were adorable!).

So, this leads me to wonder: If you come across a plant you aren't familiar with, what are the main identifying features that you'll use to start your search for an identification? The leaf shape? Flower? Flower shape? Leaf hairiness? Leaf margin? What do you do when, for instance, nothing about the flower is known, not even the colour, shape, or blooming period? Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that there is no friend, relative, fellow blogger, etc. who can instantly provide the identification for you. What resources would you use?

Surprises in the Garden -- the Good Kind

2008-07-09T08:42:00.012-04:00

Many years ago, I planted a jack-in-the-pulpit. I seem to recall that it even flowered once or twice, also many years ago. I was wondering what had happened to it while wandering through the back corner of the garden the other day and was delighted to see that it was still there. I hadn't noticed it in a long time. Of course, it doesn't exactly look like it has been thriving, but I hope that a liberal application of shredded leaf mulch and compost will help it along.

In the meantime, another daylily has started to bloom. It was planted just last year and the lovely light lemon yellow blooms are a pleasant surprise.

The white astilbe was planted in the pot last year after the usually shade-tolerant impatiens refused to bloom there the previous year. I wasn't sure that the astilbe would survive the winter in the container, but it did and is now blooming. I'm thrilled. Perhaps the plant is more frost-resistant than I thought, or perhaps the 6 or 7 feet of snow cover it got this past winter provided the required amount of insulation from the frost.

Another surprise this year is the size of the leaves (and of the plant) of a ligularia also planted last year. They're huge! Their size, shape, and colour provide a nice addition to the assortment of textures in that part of the garden.

An Open Challenge to My Raccoon Neighbours

2008-07-06T13:56:00.004-04:00

You've been getting into my supposedly animal-proof garbage can for years. I thought I'd make it impossible for you to get in by putting a super-duper heavy-duty rubber bungee cord lengthwise across the lid to complement the built-in tab "locking" mechanism on the sides. But no. While it stopped the adult break-and-enter talent, the configuration proved to be child's play (if you forgive the pun) to at least one juvenile raccoon delinquent (blog post here).

No more! I demand the right to put garbage bags containing odiferous fish skins and other stinky "gourmet delicacies" (NOT!) into said waste receptacle without worrying about your offspring getting themselves trapped in my garbage can and then raising a ruckus loud enough to wake the neighbourhood. And, I won't even mention what I think of the mess you guys typically leave inside!

So, my adorably cute, furry, pain-in-the-(ahem!) neck, annoying, cunningly intelligent, nimble, masked friends, I've implemented some not-so-elegant but hopefully effective design changes to the garbage can. Yup! There are now two solid gate hinges along one of the long sides of the lid. And, on the "front" of the lid (you know, the side that you don't have anything to stand on other than the lid itself 'cause you're too short to reach?) there is a gate latch, complete with locking pin. Trivial for a human, but, I trust, impossible for short-stuff like yourself, no matter how nimble your "fingers" are.

Time to find a different eatery/play-room, guys. Muah-ha-ha!!! Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

On the Garden's Orange and Purple Period...

2008-07-03T09:15:00.003-04:00

After many blog entries focusing on leaves, insects, grass, raccoons, etc., I thought I'd indulge in posting photos of the conventionally pretty things growing in the garden. As in previous years, I wasn't surprised to discover that most of the flowers blooming at this time were either orange or purple. This is not by design.

I'll start with the anomalous photo: the flower is yellow and there's an earwig (not usually considered as being even close to "pretty") in the photo. The interesting thing is that there are two trollius (globeflower) plants in the garden ,separated by maybe 12 feet, growing in similar soil and light conditions, and yet, one of them bloomed 4-6 weeks ago, the other just yesterday.

Close to the trollius, the tradescantia (spiderwort) has been blooming for about a week. It's fascinating how quickly its flowers unfurl and then close back up again.

Prunella vulgaris (selfheal) has also started to bloom. Depending on where I look, this plant is classified either as a wildflower or as a weed.
In either case, it's clearly indigenous to the area!

When the red lily beetle and its larvae decimated one of my (two) lilies (of the lilium variety), the other one escaped completely un-chomped. Its unapologetically orange flower opened a few days ago.

Also orange are the hemerocallis (day lilies). They're blooming in the shady spots both in front of and at the back of the house. They're often accompanied by the nettle-leaved bellflowers but those seem to be a little late this year.

A new (as of this spring) variety of toad lily is blooming now. This is quite the surprise because the other toad lilies in the garden are typically the last plants to bloom -- sometime in September and early October.

Of the two foxgloves planted two years ago one is blooming. The other shows no sign of sending up any blossoms. Strange. Both of them bloomed at the same time last year. Time will tell.

Also in the purple range are the cranesbill geraniums. This particular plant is new to the garden this year and somewhat rangy still. I'm looking forward to seeing even more blooms on it next year.

My Bug Collection

2008-07-01T09:42:00.000-04:00

I really don't go out into the garden with my camera intending to photograph bugs and insects. It's just that I find it interesting to see what they look like close up and get caught up in the challenge of getting a good photo.

I also tend to view the garden as not just a place where plants grow but rather as a complete ecosystem, of which bugs are an integral part.
They help in processes including pollination (bees, wasps, flies, etc.), soil aeration (burrowing beetles and ants), control of insect populations of different species (in the case of beneficial insects such as ladybugs and the praying mantis), and decomposition (flies). They are also a source of food for birds and various small mammals.

For the record, the little green bug sitting on the side of my laptop screen is a pale green weevil. I wasn't able to identify the other little green insect using "Les Insectes du Québec" by Yves Dubuc. I guess it could still be in its larval form.

Green Leaves Rule!

2008-06-30T00:43:00.016-04:00

They're one of my favourite things to photograph! Thanks to Emma Townshend of Indyblogs: A Nice Green Leaf for suggesting the exercise.

Is the Lawn Really Green?

2008-06-28T10:53:00.005-04:00

Well, in the conventional sense: "Probably." but in the environmental sense: "Quite possibly not."

This train of thought began when I saw an ad place by the City of Montreal in a local community newspaper which encouraged residents to leave grass clippings on the lawn because it is environmentally friendly, and saves time and energy. The ad went on to say that over 75 tonnes of grass clippings were produced by the City of Montreal every summer and that, if sent to the landfill, they would produce as much greenhouse gas as 3,500 cars. Ouch!

A little bit of further research with Google (searching for "lawn" and "environment") yielded numerous links with information about various aspects of lawn maintenance which definitely did not do our environment any favours. Perhaps the most shocking statistic that I found was on a Purdue University website on the environmental impacts of home lawn care with reference to Redesigning the American Lawn by F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T. Geballe, Yale University Press, 1993:

"30 to 60 per cent of all urban fresh water is used for watering lawns. More than half this amount is wasted, because of inappropriate timing or dosage. Nearly all the water used could be save by appropriate use of native landscaping that does not require any watering beyond natural rainfall."

Considering the frequent dire warnings about fresh water shortages worldwide, this statistic is truly staggering.

Then, of course, one has to consider the effects of the common use of pesticides and fertilizer which contribute to the pollution of the fresh water supplies and the use of gas-powered mowers which consume untold gallons of fossil-fuels every summer and pollute the atmosphere.

I didn't eliminate the lawn in the back yard for environmental reasons, but given what I've just been reading, I have to admit to being very happy (and, admittedly, somewhat proud) not to have one. And for those of you who caught the reference to the back-yard, there is a "lawn" in the front of the house. It's a not particularly guilt-inducing strip perhaps 2 feet wide which relies on rainfall for its water and which, as a result, needs mowing (with an electric weed-whacker) only every couple of weeks during the summer. The rest of the front yard is a mix of plants which are happy to grow without any TLC from me.

What's this plant?

2008-06-27T20:37:00.003-04:00

I took this photo the other day and was really pleased with the way it had turned out but hesitated to post it because I had no clue what the plant was and even less clue about what the insect might be. As it happens, I still don't have a clue but today, at least, I have hope of tracking this information down for myself.

Completely by accident, I stumbled upon a website called ZipcodeZoo. It appears to be a huge online, high-quality, geo-coded database of plant and animal life which users such as myself can use to try to identify a life-form of interest (sorry, couldn't resist a Trekkie-type comment here). It appears to work on a principle similar to Wikipedia in that anyone can contribute to and/or benefit from the body of knowledge contained within the site. It is a truly impressive endeavour both in terms of its scope and execution.

Raccoon Rescue

2008-06-25T21:54:00.006-04:00

I was downstairs working on my computer at around 9:30 this evening when I became aware of a lot of squeaking and squealing going on outside. It seemed to go on for a long time and, after a while, I decided that I should go investigate. The noise was coming from the bushes somewhere around the garbage can at the side of the house (the garbage can with the heavy-duty rubber bungee cord holding its lid in place, to be precise). By this time, my son had come down as well to see what was happening.

We caught a glimpse of a raccoon on top of the garbage can and I concentrated on trying to set my camera up to take a picture of the raccoon the next time it appeared. I thought I felt the brush of something soft against my foot but didn't pay much attention. A few seconds later, I definitely felt something soft brush against my foot. A loud shriek and a jump later, I saw that a young raccoon was quite fascinated by my shoe. He was quite the fearless and curious little creature.

Meanwhile, the noise from around the garbage can continued. A second raccoon, probably the mother, was circling the garbage can and, on occasion, trying to get in. My son suggested that perhaps the noise was being made by a raccoon trapped inside the garbage can. Sure enough, when I took the lid off (very, very, carefully!!!), a second youngster appeared to be finished ripping the garbage bag to shreds and wanting out. I gently tipped the garbage can on its side and, after pausing at the edge to look around, it hopped out and rejoined its mother and sibling.

My son was most amused to see the mother raccoon "put the young one in a headlock", as he phrased it, and to scold it very loudly and very thoroughly as they made their way into the darkness of the back yard.

Weeding Day

2008-06-24T17:51:00.009-04:00

I'd been putting today's tasks off for a long time -- procrastinating, in other words. The front yard, which is also minimally maintained, got its fair share of minimal maintenance today -- perhaps 15 minutes max. And, the path that runs along the side of the house got cleared -- something that happens once every year or two (or three). This task took a little longer -- maybe 20 minutes. At the end, I had a large paper garden recycling bag filled to overflowing with greenery which I was unable to compost myself. Luckily, the municipality is really great about picking up all sorts of yard waste. I'm really looking forward to February 2009 when our part of the city will start having curbside compost pickup. While keeping the backyard composter going in the summer and reaping its rewards is, well, rewarding, continuing on during the winter months is a challenge. Not only is yet more snow shoveling involved, but because the material freezes and doesn't decompose, a family of four enthusiastic fruit and vegetable consumers quickly fills it up. The other benefit of the curb-side compost pickup is that all organic matter is going to be picked up, including the type of stuff (leftovers, bones, fats, meats, cheeses, etc.) which shouldn't be put into a garden compost heap.

What I was delighted to see in the front, along the side, and in the back was that various members of the blackberry/raspberry families had seeded themselves. The plant in front, if I recall correctly from last year (first fruiting), is going to have fruits which resemble black raspberries. I planted some everbearing raspberries along the side of the house many years ago, but the yield has been pathetically low in recent years, possibly as the result of shade. I did notice that a new bush (which I'm assuming to be in the berry family) has included itself in the mix. It has a few flowers so we'll know what kind of berries it produces in a month or two. And, of course, I'm really eager to see what kind of berries have found themselves at home in the back yard, although that's still a few years away. My assumption is that if they feel happy enough to plant themselves there and thrive, I'll do anything I can to keep them happy. After all, who can resist a raspberry or blackberry picked straight from the bush?

The Good, the Bad, and the Really, Really Ugly

2008-06-23T12:50:00.009-04:00

My morning visit to the garden started out well. The air smelled fresh after the rain overnight, and was combined with the lovely scent of some flowers (somewhere) that had just started to bloom. The birds were singing, dogs were barking, and the sounds of traffic provided a quiet, underlying hum. A totally idyllic setting in a city garden.

Unfortunately, my pleasure rapidly diminished when I spotted some very busy ants. Now don't get me wrong -- it is Monday morning and it's good to see everyone working hard. It's just that in this case they were busy taking care of "their" colony of aphids on the stem of a feverfew plant. From my perspective, a slightly higher ant unemployment rate would be good. I'll be mixing up a soap solution later today.

If I thought seeing the ants and aphids was bad, what followed was much, much worse. I was totally grossed out when I glanced at the oriental lily plant that I mentioned in the last post. Karen, from An Artist's Garden was kind enough to identify the pretty red beetle as being a red lily beetle and definitely not good news. There were no beetles on the lily today. Instead a number of revolting, black globs of varying sizes, strongly resembling excrement, were distributed all over the plant. And, worse yet, they seemed have tiny legs sticking out from them. A Google image search soon identified these blobs as the larvae of the red lily beetle. They're apparently literally covered in their own excrement at this stage of development in order to protect themselves from hungry predators. It certainly works for me -- I'm not feeling quite so hungry after all...

Lazy Days, Imagination Run Wild, and New Friends

2008-06-20T12:25:00.013-04:00

It's finally sunny today and feels like summer. At least one inhabitant of the garden is taking full advantage of the sunshine. A garden snail has climbed up into the topmost flower on the stem and is cozied up comfortably in a campanula blossom.

Meanwhile, on an oriental lily leaf, a bright spash of colour turns out to be "a bug" of the flying beetle variety (please feel free to identify this guy if you can). Somebody has been eating the edges of the leaves of this lily and I wonder if it's this bug. Although, in all fairness to it, over the 20 minutes or more that I watched it on the leaf, it did not take a single bite. I tried to take a close up of its face but wasn't successful in getting a sharp image. Nevertheless, imagine something like this looming over you, in the early morning, in a misty remote garden... Ah, the stuff horror B-movies are made of.

On an indoor note, I just signed up for Blotanical.com, a compendium of garden blogs from all over the world. What a thrill. Not only have I been able to indulge in e-prowling through gardens galore, but I've done so with the gardeners' own comments and thoughts to supplement the visual experience.

Blotanical.com has created a very welcoming community in which garden enthusiasts can share their successes, amusing anecdotes, challenges, and even their disasters (although hopefully not too many of those). No more peeking through holes in the fence! No more wondering "What's it like to have a garden in ... ".

In my view, using Blotanical.com has only one serious drawback: its readers risk succumbing to garden-envy. In my case, blog entries chronicling vegetable gardening adventures and gardening where there's full sun just make me turn leaf-green with jealousy. Despite this, I'm looking forward to spending many enjoyable hours in the future (especially in those cold, dark, winter months) visiting all the gardens which have opened their gates to me through this site and meeting their keepers.

The Gardener as Judge and Jury...

2008-06-19T19:48:00.005-04:00

... or, at the very least, as referee. Most visits involve being witness to at least one turf war where the plants are battling for supremacy. In one area, feverfew seedlings compete with ground ivy for space. I figure that as gardener, judge, and jury I have the choice of either making an arbitrary decision in favour of one or the other, or, I can sit back, let nature sort the problem out, and enjoy the process. In this case, as it happens, I have a rather strong opinion: I like the way the mix of leaf shapes and colours looks. (Hold on a minute while I make this photo my desktop background!) And who knows, when the feverfew grows to its full height, the ground ivy might be very content to take on the role of ground cover. What will be interesting to see is how the feverfew seedlings will deal with each other given their proximity.

There's another nearby conflict area. A thistle, a violet, and what I assume is a blackberry seedling are practically growing one on top of the other. Again, despite the fact that this might not make my garden look like something that would be featured on the cover of a gardening magazine, I am inclined to simply sit back and observe nature taking its course.

I don't mean to give the impression that I always take the easy way out -- I will weed, even (gulp!) brutally, if it appears that an area is going to be completely annihilated by an aggressive over-grow. Luckily this doesn't happen too often, so I guess it comes as no surprise that, at least from one vantage point, the garden looks completely, dare I say, "wild". I can only hope that our neighbours prefer looking at rampant greenery to staring at packed earth with patchy grass and plantains (the small plant, not the banana-like fruit).

Rain. Again.

2008-06-19T19:00:00.008-04:00

Yet another rainy day today. Not the greatest day to be out in the garden with a camera, except for the fact that it appeared that the tiny inhabitants were out as well. I spent some time watching the ladybug explore the bruneria. It was as intent on investigating the tops of the leaves as it was the undersides.

Looking down at the brick path beside me, I happened to spot an ant struggling with a splinter of wood much larger than it. It appeared too heavy for the ant to carry comfortably and its path was definitely erratic, influenced no doubt by the motion of the splinter as it fell to its new location each time the ant heaved it up. The ant soon tired of this endeavour and left the splinter at the edge of the path.

As I continued along my usual path through the yard, I noticed a mosquito taking refuge on the underside of a leaf of solomon's seal. What a dilemma -- do I shoot or slap? In the end, I opted for "shooting" the photo. At least I now have a better image of what was biting me the whole time I was exploring, and, for what it's worth, I know my garden enemy a little bit better.

Weed or Wildflower?

2008-06-18T13:04:00.011-04:00

Soon after digging up the "lawn", seedlings of what was later identified as greater celandine started to sprout up. The leaves were an interesting shape and colour, and the plants filled in the bare spots. When the yellow flowers appeared, adding some colour contrast to the already delicately textured foliage, these plants became much welcomed additions to the landscape. I was delighted that "wildflowers" had established themselves in my garden so quickly.

It soon became apparent, however, that greater celandine was very good at self-propagating. Seedlings began appearing in huge numbers all through the yard and the four-letter "w"-word ("weed") began coming to mind. Luckily, they're not too difficult to pull. I started dead-heading the plants. Not only did this reduce the number of seeds which were given the chance to sprout, as with other seed-producing plants, it encouraged further flowering -- a total bonus! Last summer, there were flowers well into September.
Several years after establishing themselves, there are now a few plants which have reliably appeared in the same spots each year.

The one thing to watch out for when dead-heading (or pulling) this plant is the bright orange sap that oozes from the stems. It is apparently toxic and an irritant.

A Furry Observer

2008-06-16T10:12:00.016-04:00

Humans are not the only creatures keeping an interested eye on what's happening in the yard. A young raccoon cautiously watches my movements from a safe vantage point in an old maple tree.

Unfortunately, this young raccoon and his family often choose to get a little bit more "paws on" in their involvement with the yard than I would like. The compost bin has had to be fortified against all marauders who would gnaw through the vent holes, climb in, and scatter the fresh peelings all around. Squares of 1/4" screen have been placed over all the vent holes and a clip was used to secure the door of the bin. I nevertheless fully expect to go into the garden one morning and discover that some furry, four-footed genius has figured out how to get the lid off.