Crocus

Welcome Spring! I went a little crazy buying crocus at Vesseys half price sale last fall, and they are blooming now. There's also a picture of my Camellia, a little early tulip, and my very first plum blossom. I espaliered a sucker from my neighbor's plum tree that was coming up on my side of the fence, and this is the first time it has flowered. I was so excited when I noticed this yesterday! I wasn't sure if it would ever blossom, being a sucker and all. There's also a photo of Chester, my new garden inspector in training. My first garden inspector has officially retired, and is soaking up the sunshine wherever she can find it and taking life easy.    

Blue Pearl

King of Striped

Pickwick

Camellia

Prince Clause

Plum blossom 

Chester

Tulip Violacea

February Happenings

Spring! Okay, it's not spring yet but it's been quite mild all winter long, and things are starting to grow so it feels like spring in my neck of the woods. Some of my perennials didn't even die down completely, like the hollyhocks, and the Nigella started to grow in the fall and stayed green all winter. The early crocus are blooming again, and the later ones I bought last fall should be blooming in a week or two. I can hardly wait. 

      I planted my first seeds of 2016 today, which is always fun. I planted some dahlia seed for the first time, and I also planted two varieties of cherry tomatoes. One from my own seed and one called Tumbler. I grew Tumbler last year and wasn't very impressed but I'll give it another try this year. I also bought a new shrub, Sarcococca ruscifolia and yes, I bought it for the amazing fragrance. It's supposed to be easy to grow too. I'd love to hear about what new plants or seeds you are growing this year. 

Crocus and Ivy

Crocus

Camellia buds

Hollyhock leaves that stayed green all winter

Nigella seedlings and a tulip coming up

Pink dawn Virburnum

Sarcococca ruscifolia or Sweet Box

Where did the fragrance go?

     Have you ever bent down to sniff a bouquet of roses, only to find that they had very little or no scent at all? What a disappointment. Or maybe you have fond memories of a particular flower grown in your grandmother's garden, and years later decide to grow it in yours, only to find it doesn't smell quite the same.

    One of the things that plant breeders have been focusing on is the longevity of flower blooms, whether they are grown for cut flowers or for how long they bloom on the plant itself. So why would this affect the fragrance of our beloved flowers? For most flowers, aroma production and length of life are linked by a plant hormone called ethylene. More ethylene makes the flower fade sooner, but it also creates more scent. So while plant breeders have been prolonging the life of blooms by tinkering with this hormone, they have also weakened and in some cases removed the scent altogether. 

My grandmother was an avid gardener and every year she grew Sweet Williams (dianthus barbatus)

in her yard. I always liked them, even when I was a child, and l loved their scent. For the last two years I've had them in my own yard, but they don't have nearly as much fragrance. In my opinion it's not worth the trade off, so if  you are like me, find yourself some old-fashioned varieties and enjoy their scent once more.

Sweet Williams

Christmas Poinsettias

I love poinsettias, so I made a spur of the moment stop at my local garden center to look at this year's selections, and of course to take a few photos. I only had my inexpensive phone with me, so I wasn't sure how the photos would turn out, but most of them turned out ok. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and the year ahead full of blessings!

I love this pink one!

 

Another pretty pink

 

Chester

Tiger

Frosty Garden

Here's some frosty photos I took on this cool November morning.

Campanula 

Sweet Woodruff

Geranium

Fleeceflower

Geranium leaf

Spirea

Hollyhock leaf

Skimmia

Autumn Garden

Here it is, October is nearly done and I still haven't blogged! So here are a few quick photos from this month. The star of my October garden is my burning bush, and here you can see the leaves, strewn across the pathway. I had no idea this would look so nice when I planted this shrub here. My only regret is that I can never see this bush from inside my house. Next up is a little chrysanthemum plant that I bought for 99 cents, well worth the price I think. Then there is the chrysanthemum from last year. It really did well this year for some unknown reason. Next is a solitary bloom from a Malva. I think it is a seedling from the Malva I bought last fall, which never overwintered. I'm still picking the grape tomatoes that are growing under cover, and I have two peppers left on my pepper plant. I'll definitely be growing these prolific peppers again next year. Our cat Tiger celebrated her 16th birthday a few weeks ago. That is about 80 in human years, and for the most part, she acts 80 too, ha ha.

Pathway strewn with Burning Bush Leaves

Burning Bush

Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums overwintered from last year

Chrysanthemums

Malva Braveheart

Red Bull's Horn Peppers

Little tomatoes still producing

Tiger on her 16th Birthday

Dew on the grass

September Garden

      We finally had some rain, lots and lots of rain, which was much needed and helped with the forest fire situation in our province. We also had an unusual summer wind storm that knocked our power out for hours. That was probably the most excitement we had all summer, ha ha. We're back to some warm and sunny weather now and the tomatoes and peppers are still going strong, and a few of my flowers are still blooming. I'm covering up my peppers at night with my plastic cold frame, since the nights are noticeably cooler now. I also have a volunteer tomato plant with ripening tomatoes on it! That's a first for me, my volunteer tomato plants usually start too late to ripen.They have a funny shape, so I think they must be a cross between two different types, or a hybrid going back to its roots. I planted some peas, lettuce and corn salad in early August for a fall garden. The peas are growing but the others are just barely starting to sprout now. Here's some photos of what's still blooming in my yard, and my Red Bull's Horn peppers, which I highly recommend for their productivity, and the mystery tomato volunteer. I'm still hoping the peppers will turn red but it's hard to produce a red pepper without a greenhouse in our climate. Last but not least is our cat Chester, napping with one of his toys.

Dahlia 'Crazy Love'

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Rose Hansa

Black-eyed Susan that crept underneath my fence

Red Bull's Horn Pepper

Staying warm under the cold frame at night

Volunteer tomato

Chester napping