Posts tagged ‘Gardening’
Spring garden
Here are a few photos of my garden as it welcomes the spring. I love living on the West Coast all times of year, but early spring is when I appreciate it most. Nothing made me more crazy living in Calgary than seeing spring on the calendar and snow on the ground, and each year spent in Vancouver (this is my fourth spring) reminds me how glad I am to be here.
I know many of you are still struggling with the dregs of winter, so I hope these images feel encouraging and hopeful – something to tide you over until things warm up all over the country. I promise I don’t mean to gloat!
Flowers from the garden
All winter long I’ve been buying cut flowers from the store. No longer. Now I just need scissors. My container garden is full of spring blooms: tulips are opening up, pale daffodils that came up late are just starting to fade away alongside the long, variegated leaves of the crocuses, which are quite beautiful all on their own even though the flowers are long gone. My hanging baskets are filled with a mix of primulas and the pink and orange ranunculus and purple periwinkles you see here. All are plentiful enough that I’ve filled a little vase with them.
For those of you who are counting, there are 25 flowers and leaves in this little vase, picked in honour of a sad but special day. Life is a strange place, and hard to deal with at times. Somehow everything feels a bit lighter with flowers brightening a space, especially when you’ve been outside carefully plucking them from your own garden. It’s easier to find a sense of meaning and calm when you’re surrounded by beauty. It’s a simple thing, maybe silly, but there’s a little voice in things like flowers from the garden that calls at you and pushes you to try to make the rest of your world just as right – whether it’s indoors, outdoors, or like these flowers on a windowsill, somewhere in between.
Island time
We spent the Easter long weekend enjoying four days of beautiful weather in East Sooke. It was the first break I’ve had from work and school since January and it was so nice to be away from the routines of life for a few days. Early spring is an idyllic time to be on Vancouver Island, as you can see from the photos here. We did a whole lot of nothing while we were there …
… went for walks on quiet country roads
… sat on the deck and stared out at the ocean
… checked out the creatures on the beach
… puttered around the garden
… imagined apples growing on summer trees
… visited the Sooke Harbour House for Easter lunch (and remembered getting married there almost seven years ago!)
It was bliss. I can’t wait to go back.
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.
