Neighbours talking over the garden gate has long been a tradition. They share gardening tips, complain about the weather and pests yet are ever eager to discuss their gardens. That is what I had in mind when creating this blog. So stop by my garden gate to find out the latest happenings in my garden.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." ~ Madame Marie Curie"
Stella de Oro Daylily
Spring is just around the corner even though it does not feel that way today. It is cold with freezing rain and snow flurries. Everything was coated with ice this morning thanks to the Colorado Clipper as it made its way northeast. I'm itching to be in the garden again! This week I will be starting a few seeds indoors
Gardens can be so much more than just plants and while that's what most of us aim for, a touch of whimsy is always nice. For years I have used used decorations like turtles, frogs, racoons, miniature scarecrows and of course a garden gnome. One reader emailed me to ask if the garden gnome picture in my profile was a real statue. It is. I've had him for a few years. He is made of resin to withstand the weather. I think he is somewhere around 9 to 12 inches, just guess as he is put away for the winter. My decorations have tended to be whimsical with no real theme. During an online search I discovered
PhenomeGnome.com a wonderful website dedicated to gnome lovers. There is a lot of information as well as a forum. What intrigued me was setting up garden decorations to follow one theme and in this particular case it is called
gnomegardening. They like to show gnomes in their natural environment and use gnome accessories such as doors, tree stumps and other natural elements for a realistic gnome based environment. These items are referred to as
gnomescaping. While the goal of my vegetable garden is production, I am going to try gnomescaping this year. The idea of more earth elements blessing my garden is appealing!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2007
MarigoldThe marigolds were wonderful last summer so I have several close-ups. I'm playing with Adobe Photoshop today. Can you tell I'm bored and itching to get into the garden? I'm learning lots of neat tricks and thought this photo would lend itseld to the technique I wanted to use.
It is getting time to start seeds indoors for us. Some of the seed packs say to start 8 to 12 weeks before transplanting so it won't be long now. I bought rock cress, scarlet runner and lobelia seeds the other day at a dollar store, 3 for $1. Normally I don't do this but I figured even if the germination rate was low, I'd still end up with something. One of my biggest problems is I do not have a lot of indoor space so am hoping the weather starts warming enough to open the greenhouse. Otherwise we will be tripping over seed trays for a couple of weeks. That's ok though because it just means the gardening season is close by!
Happy Gardening
© 2007
Cactus SeedlingsThe cactus seedlings continue to grow. There are now twenty seedlings but they are too small to determine what kind of cactus yet. I think they fairly close to being the same yet some have a tinge of pinkish red while the rest are green. They should be developing tiny spines shortly.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
© 2007
Garden Under SnowThe garden is under snow thanks to the recent snow storm. While it has been blowing quite a bit creating drifts the garden is surviving. The greenhouse is not opened at the moment but if we dig a bit we can get a few fresh herbs. Still the blanket of snow looks rather nice even though there is little growing at the moment.
Garden Gnome
© 2007
I thought I would share this picture taken last spring. I used it for an animation project on one of my Yahoo groups. It is animated but for some reason the animation gets stripped when uploaded to my blog. Aside of the animation, this picture was a bit more challenging as I played with the filters in Photoshop and used several layers.
I find wild violets (family - Viola) delightful! We are blessed to have an abundance of purple wild violets and Johnny Jump-ups (Viola cornuta) so I was surprised when searching for the scientific name to write this entry to find wild violets classified as weeds. I don't see them as weeds and they are welcomed in my garden. They bring back fond childhood memories, brighten my day, brighten shady areas in the garden and attract beneficial insects. Besides since they are wildflowers, they cost nothing and are suited to our area. The best thing is I don't have to nothing more than enjoy them! If violets appear in your dreams it is said that a fortune is in your future. I'm not sure if that holds true but then I don't recall ever dreaming of violets.
Garden Gnome
© 2007
Cactus Seedlings
It took a bit longer but there are now eight cactus seedlings. They are about a quarter of an inch tall. There are a few seeds that haven't germinated yet so perhaps they will before the dome lid needs to be removed. Now the soil needs to be kept just moist to prevent the seedlings from rotting but to give enough moisture to allow the seedlings to survive until the first spines appear. At that time the dome lid is removed and watering will be decreased to about once a month. I'll post another update once the spines form.
Garden Gnome
© 2007
An early spring has been predicted by Wiarton Willy who did not see his shadow this morning. His prediction doesn't quite match The Old Farmer's Almanac (2007) for this area. They predicted the "groundhog peeks, freaks! Six more weeks!". February is predicted to be -11ºC (3º below avg). A snow storm is predicted for February 5 to 8 and more snow throughout the month. March is prediced to be 0ºC (3º above avg) with rain and snow showers. Despite their prediction, The Old Farmer's Almanac (2007) hints at an early spring in the calendar section. Time will tell.
Happy Gardening,
Garden Gnome
© 2007
Cactus Seedlings
I brought home a cute cactus starting kit from Las Vegas on our recent trip. This was an ideal solution since I thought trying to transport cactus plants on the plane or through Canadian customs would be problematic. The kit came with the soil, a seed packet that could contain upto ten varieties of cactus (including saguaro, prickly pear, cholla, fire barrel, fishhook barrel and hedgehog), a small plastic pot, a clear plastic dome lid and instructions. I followed the instructions but planted only about a quarter of the seed packet on the 25th of January. Today I noticed two small sprouts. It has taken longer than the low estimate of 3 days but that's ok. Once the seedlings develop tiny spines the dome top can be removed. I'll report back as they grow.
Happy Gardening
Garden Gnome
© 2007
Cactus Seedlings
