Posts tagged ‘Gardening’
Spring bulbs already sprouting!
It’s hard to believe, but the first shoots of snowdrops and crocuses are peeking up in gardens around the neighbourhood, including mine. This photo was taken yesterday afternoon, which you can see was lovely and sunny compared to today’s drizzle and grey. (more…)
Other people’s gardens
Although I am enjoying new forays into container gardening since moving to Vancouver, downsizing from yard gardening has increased my interest in planted spaces outside my wee concrete plot. Perhaps it’s also because great gardening is much easier in this temperate climate than it was in good ol’ zone 3. West coast gardens are amazing and they’re everywhere! The long growing season, perpetual moisture and lack of bone-chilling winter cold all make it possible to create truly beautiful outdoor spaces.
As I walk around inspired and inspired again, I’ve decided to start a series of posts on other people’s gardens. I’ll continue to write about the progress and delights of my own garden, but you can also expect pictures and thoughts as I troll through gardens near and far admiring the handiwork of green-thumbed kindred spirits.
The photo above is from the charming Goats on the Roof Old Country Market in Coombs on Vancouver Island. We spent a few days over on the island when we first arrived from Calgary while we waited for our furniture to catch up. Seeing the whimsical planting on this green roof was the antidote that instantly calmed my frazzled moving nerves.
Small space gardens
I’m starting to feel very excited about my forthcoming foray into small space gardening. Look at this beautiful little planter box we spotted outside of Go Fish! in Vancouver. What more can you ask for? Tiny daffodils and narcissus, pansies, creeping something and spring time annuals. Even a little rock. Beautiful!
Goodbye garden
Here begins the slow goodbye as we trade our current in Calgary’s frigid Zone 3 for a patio full of pots in Vancouver’s lovely Zone 8. When we arrived in our current home almost three years ago the gardens were a blank slate. And now, just when things are finally settling in and filling out, it’s time to move cities.
I love gardening. There are few things I would rather do than spend my days planting, digging and tending to a garden: nothing is more peaceful, calming and real to me than cultivating a little plot of land and watching it grow.
What’s pictured above and below here – the pots and the six inches of dirt are similar to what’s available in our new place. I guess in some ways things won’t change at all. In Calgary I can see the first chives and my pretty violets starting to poke through the earth. I think if I can take a few of them along with me to Vancouver that will be enough.
Welcome to fall
Calgary’s fall has been less than idyllic so far. We spent 10 days vacationing on Vancouver Island in mid-September, and when we came back the weather was hot and balmy, as if it was still summer. A few days after that it turned cold with the first frosts of the season. Since then, we’ve experienced chilly rains and more than a few days of snow, most recently paired with blustering winds and temperatures dipping to -10C.
Aside from braving the cold for a few brief moments today to hang this beautiful sunflower head from Eagle Creek Flowers for our backyard birds to snack on, I’ve felt mostly deprived of the usual joys of experiencing the fall season outdoors. At its best, fall is one of my favourite seasons. It is soothing and peaceful to watch the plant life in our garden reach its full life cycle and prepare to rest for the winter months. And while I miss the warmth of the summer months, enjoying more time nesting in our cozy house is a welcome shift as the seasons change.
We’re spending this weekend, Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, visiting Lake Louise for a couple of days and after that we’ll enjoy a family dinner to celebrate the holiday. With luck we might also squeeze in the Harvest Country Drive, which is happening between Calgary and Red Deer – a seasonal, farm-friendly activity in our region that I’ve never experienced. My hope is that the whole weekend will provide a thorough dose of fall and some much-needed time outdoors, walking, taking photographs and experiencing nature before the long winter settles in.
