Spring Blooms

    I'm a little late with posting some of my April photos so I'm adding them now, better late than never. I'm also sharing a few pictures of my poor, poor black-lace elderberry. I first noticed some dying branches on it late last summer, but I thought it was related to the drought and my poor watering skills. Then this Spring after the leaves started to grow, I noticed that almost all of them started to wilt. So I started to investigate only to discover holes in the trunk, and holes in the stems probably made by elderberry borers. I was told that if I cut it way back, it would likely re-grow from the roots, so I am really hoping that will happen. On the brighter side, I found a cute little spirea for one of my containers, and I have been working on a brand new border by my back fence. Happy gardening!

Angelique Tulips

Tulips Angelique

Foxtrot Tulip

Tulip Copex

Chinodoxa

Anemone Blanda

Dicentra Luxurient (bleeding heart)

Iris

More Anemones with Ivy and allium greens

Phlox

Iris and hardy gladiolas

Leucojum 

Spiraea japonica 'Walbuma'

Elderberry

Most of the branches looked like this

Poor Elderberry

What it looked like a couple of years ago

Ladybugs on driftwood

A rugosa rose called Hansa

Many rose petals just from one day of deadheading two rugosa rose bushes

Tulip Festival!

     I went to my very first tulip festival this week and I was in tulip heaven! It was hard to narrow down the over 100 photos I took to these but here they are. They also have a you-pick field where you can pick your own tulips to take home with you, for a price of course. The festival is on until May 1st 2016 at Abbotsford tulip festival

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