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"
Back in March, I posted about a sure sign of spring, the common housefly. Aside of a couple of robins and spring bulbs braving the cold, wet spring that has been it. We are still wearing winter jackets here and the furnace is still on. We've had substantial rainfall with heavy rains warranting warnings from Environment Canada. A couple of days ago, we woke to light snow on the roofs, yesterday it rained all day along with a wet snow and today, rain is threatening to start any moment. It really hasn't been dry enough or nice enough to get much of anything done outside! The sun has gone into permanent hiding with the days taken over by dull grey skies full of precipitation. Even the transient nursery stands that set up each year are not out yet. So it is definitely a slow start to the 2013 growing season.
My start is going to be delayed pretty much until the end of May then there are going to be a lot of disruptions as we begin work on the backyard decks. I am not impressed with the PVC raised beds we installed last year. The pressure from the soil freezing over the winter has pushed out a couple of the sides. Basically, these beds while they looked nice will have to be dismantled despite their hefty price tag. That means I will have to move the strawberries and asparagus. Depending on how far we get on the decks, the beds would have to be moved anyway. The nice thing is we did all of the front yard rip out last fall so this spring it is starting pretty much with a bare slate. I have a few ideas for the front and side gardens landscaping so hope to have that all back in place during June. Now, if only the weather would cooperate!
We live in beautiful Ontario, Canada where the winters have not been as bad in the past. This one brought a bit more snow in our area but temperature wise it was a rather good winter. We are now into March, the fickle weather month. One day we get gorgeous sunshine the next snow flurries mixed with freezing rain. Today, we have a rain warning as the ground is not thawed but we are getting a lot of heavy rainfall. We went to Daylight Savings Time this past Sunday.
A sure sign of spring here is houseflies. Yesterday, I spotted two between the screens and window panes so not actually in the house but a good sign that winter will soon be loosing it's frosty grip. So, I spent the day starting a few seeds, planting a pineapple and doing a bit of garden planning. We have a lot of outdoor plans this year which will make a lot of changes to the appearance of the exterior of our house. Landscaping is weighing heavily into that equation.
I'm really looking forward to gardening in 2013. There wasn't as much rip out as we have had at other houses so I think we are going to make a lot of progress this year!
'Tis the time of year that many have decked their homes with Christmas trees. A few years (2008) ago I wrote a blog post on real verses artificial Christmas trees. There are pros and cons to both but the conclusion was from an environmental perspective, real Christmas trees are superior to artificial Christmas trees. All of the original points are still relevant however I decided to revisit the issue to see if anything has changed.
In common:
- Both real and artificial trees can be on the pricey side.
- Both have a cost of acquisition in terms of transporting to point of purchase then to your home.
Real Chrismas Trees:
- Pro - One of the major changes in favour of using a real Christmas tree is many communities are now offering curbside collection with the tree destined to be turned into mulch. This mulch is then available to be used in the community as well as any resident of the community. Some communities charge a small fee for the mulch while others don't charge if you bring your own containers and load the mulch yourself.
- Con - Curbside collection is costly in terms of property taxes and associated collection costs (eg. fuel, truck maintenance) even though the actual cost may not be apparent to the resident. Carbon dioxide and other emissions from the trucks used to collect the trees leave a rather large carbon footprint, contributing to air pollution and reduced air quality.
- Con - One thing not mentioned in the original post was real Christmas trees need regular watering to prevent them from drying and becoming a fire hazard. This fact hasn't changed just it wasn't discussed in the original post.
- Con - Real Christmas trees usually need to be trimmed to fit the space, to create clearance for gifts underneath and balance the tree. While this not difficult, it is messy and can be tedious.
- Con - Another thing not mentioned in the original post, real Christmas trees can introduce insects into your home.
Artificial Christmas Trees:
- Pro - They do not require any maintenance during use making them ideal for those who want to decorate their home for the holidays and will be spending periods of time away from home.
- Pro - One of the biggest pros for artificial Christmas trees is the simplicity. Simply pull the tree out of storage and set it up. Some trees are all one piece so set-up is minimal, involving little more than plugging the tree in.
- Con - Storage space is required and if you think about it, the tree is in storage for a considerably longer period of time than it is in use. This is something to consider for those living in smaller homes or apartments.
It is cold out today, a typical grey and overcast November day here in beautiful Ontario, Canada. The forecast is for clouds breaking for some sun but there hasn't been much in the way of sun for the past few days. Our front yard and garden bed look so bare as we did a major rip out, getting rid of a couple of umbrella trees, a small maple tree and a foo foo tree. I don't know the name of the foo foo tree but you cut it right back to where it looks like a giant bone sticking out of the ground during the winter. The silver birch we planted is doing good although most of the leaves are off of it. I didn't get around to starting my naturalized crocus idea yet but there might be time before the snow flies.
One of my neighbours is out cutting his grass. In my opinion, many cut their grass too short for winter. I think it is best to leave it a bit longer even if it looks scraggly as this helps the grass over winter better. Our backyard does need cutting but I think the front yard is fine. He also trimmed up his bushes. I'm only going to do a raking over where the original front garden bed was then leave it until spring while we decide what to plant there. If the weather turns nice enough, I'll pull the plants from the west side of the house garden bed. We are ripping that out as well, starting from fresh in the spring.
It is the first gardening season in our new home and to say the least, it has been a very odd year at best. When we moved here last September, I was quite excited to discover we had two peach trees and a pear tree. Needless to say, I had a lot of plans but the weather simply did not cooperate. Within a very short period of time, my gardening plans turned into a comedy of errors!
Our new house is in an urban subdivision setting with the back of the property bordering on farmland. A good portion of the backyard is taken up by a 27' above ground pool and decking so the gardens are restricted to the perimeter. What we thought were mature perimeter beds when we first viewed the house turned out to be a hodge podge of plantings with a very liberal dose of weeds, especially thistle and stinging nettle. We discovered a few small treasures like garlic, mint, chives and a gooseberry bush but immediately knew we would be in rip-out mode.
I carefully started seedlings ready to be planted in the new raised garden beds when we arrived home from our spring vacation the end of May. We left on May 5 so the hardier seedlings had been out on the deck for over a week with the more tender seedlings left indoors. One of our kids did the plant care while we were away for three weeks. Well, the temperatures heated up and the sun hit that deck with full force so I ended up losing about half of my outdoor seedlings. The sun turned the window I had several herbs and indoor seedlings into death ray so I lost all the seedings and a couple of the herbs.
When we arrived home we quickly put together two raised PVC beds for asparagus and strawberries along with the larger raised wood bed for vegetables. Then the weather turned unbearably hot with drought conditions. As a result of the unseasonably hot weather in March followed by a couple of hard frosts neither peach tree had fruit and the pear tree only had a couple of damaged fruit. The gooseberry bush gave enough berries for me to make a batch of gooseberry jam. The mint and chives were enough for garnishes and I dried a bit. The raised beds were discouraging. Only now can I see that some of the asparagus and strawberries survived but compared to what I planted, it is a bit discerning. Surprisingly, the tomatoes did fairly well but definitely not what I'm used to. The yield and size of the tomatoes was considerably lower than normal. The peppers jalapeño, super chili, and habanero peppers put on a stunning performance which made up for the lack of performance in the Hungarian banana peppers and nothing from the sweet bell pepper plants. The dill did not survive being attacked by what I suspect was a rabbit. The weather was so hot that the lettuce bolted almost immediately upon emergence. I did end up with four small heads of cabbage so that was a bit encouraging.
What was funny about this growing season was everything was a good two weeks early. Cucumbers for pickling were still going when peaches started and I was canning peaches struggling to get the corn done that was early then tomatoes hit in mid-August. I was just into canning tomatoes when my husband was hospitalized for five days so that took my time away from canning and the garden. After that it was catch-up time until we left for our fall vacation on October 2 not returning until October 23. The weather was mild except for the effects of Hurricane Sandy. I managed to do a clean pick a couple of days ago as the forecast was lows of below freezing but aside of a bit of frost on the rooftops, the vegetable bed is still producing although I suspect that will end within the next day or two.
We've done a lot of ripping out this year so I am looking forward to the 2013 growing season here in beautiful Ontario, Canada. In the meantime, I will enjoy the gardens at our vacation home in sunny Florida when we are there next for our winter vacation.
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day so I decided to get a bit of work done outdoors. It took several attempts to start the lawn mower after its winter hiatus but finally it started. After cutting the lawns I hauled out the pressure washer to clean some of the winter grim from the windows and doors. The maple trees are dropping seeds so I pulled a few of the tiny maple seedlings from a couple of the garden beds. As I worked my mind wandered thinking how I will miss this place a lot if or when we move.
It has been a very wet spring to the point local farmers have had to delay planting. I noticed how wet the ground was as I was mowing. A few times the mower left ruts as I was turning it! In fact the spring has been so wet only the ducks are happy. Speaking of ducks, the mallards are back with a nest under our bushes. I'm not sure how many eggs are in the nest as I try not to disturb them. As a sign of appreciation the parents always bring the little ones back to visit us.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Yesterday afternoon I spotted the first robin of the season! I quickly grabbed the camera just in time to see him take flight so didn't get a picture. This is a good sign that spring is almost here!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Gardening seems so far away with winter setting in and the holiday season upon us. That brings me to the never ending question of real verses artificial Christmas trees. Hands down I am on the real Christmas tree even though we have used an artificial Christmas tree for the past 5 years. Now here my reasoning.
When we moved to our last house we bought an eco-friendly fiber optic artificial tree that lit up using one halogen light. At that time my allergies were running amuck and my asthma was far from being under control. That is precisely the time to not introduce allergens from a real Christmas tree. This year we are not putting up the artificial Christmas tree other than the ceramic one using a CFL but we do have plans for a real Christmas tree.
Real Christmas trees are grown on farms as a cash crop. Until harvest the trees add oxygen to the air while filtering the air making it cleaner. The trees can be used for home heating in a wood stove or wood fireplace by removing the branches while the branches can be composted. Those are a few eco-friendly reasons to use a real Chrismas trees. At the same time buying a real Christmas tree is supporting local growers making for a stronger community economically.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Once the final lawn cut for the season has been done it is time to winterize the lawnmower. This is not a difficult task but neglecting to do so may cause starting problems in the spring and premature rusting of the lawnmower bed. Here's what we do:
- remove any grass build-up under the bed
- hose down the bed and under the bed well
- allow to fully dry in a sunny location
- rub a bit of oil onto the blade to prevent rusting
- pour gas stabilizer into the gas tank
- place the lawnmower in corner of garage ready for the following season
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Cleaned Out Garden Beds
November 13, 2010
We cleaned out the two smaller and one larger garden bed on Saturday. While a good portion of the leaves were mowed over with the mulching lawnmower to provide mulch for the lawn another good portion were vacuumed up. Rather than waste the leaves collected by the leaf blower/vacuum my husband dumped them onto the two smaller beds and the garden paths where they will break down over the winter enriching the soil. In the spring any remaining will be worked into the soil to continue providing nutrients as they break down. We also ended up bagging some of the leaves. Despite all leaf raking and gathering there is still a lot more to come as one of our maples still has a fair number of leaves to fall.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Now that we've had our first hard frost followed by rather cool nights but pleasant days, my thoughts have turned to winterizing the garden. Here's my to do list for winterizing the gardens this year keeping in mind the house is on the market so I may be setting up a new garden at new home next year. As you can see there is still a bit more to do.
bring in plantsshut off water to the gardensdrain self-watering system - bring in hoses
- bring in garden ornaments
- final mulch cutting
- final bed clean-out
- gather an herbs that can still be harvested
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
The grey days of November have arrived. I dread these days because they are so dull and dreary lasting most of the month. Quite often we wake to a blanket of fog that slowly dissipates throughout the day but never really fully goes away. The sky turns a bleak, mono-toned grey broken occasionally only by ominous looking storm clouds. Most days will see a bit of misty rain as well although some days are just a complete all day rain. Even the garden beds take on a dreary, rather sad appearance when viewed from indoors. Soon the beds will be covered with a blanket of snow but for now I have my memories and pictures of a rather productive gardening season.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
The weather has turned surprisingly mild so I managed to get a bit more painting done outdoors. The main thing we did in the garden was drain the hoses and put them away for winter storage. We also drained the water lines shutting off the valves as well so there is no water in the lines. It does freeze here over winter so this is a necessary part of fall garden clean-up. It was nice to do a bit of puttering in the garden even though it was pretty much cleaning out. Tomorrow is predicted to be warm and mild as well so it will be another raking the leaves day!
Happy Gardening! Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Fallen Leaves
October 28, 2010
A sure sign of winter approaching is the falling leaves. We get a lot of leaves because we have 3 large maple trees in our back yard and the neighbours on both sides of us each have a large maple tree. Across the road in front of our house there are more trees that drop leaves, neighbouring properties with lots of trees and our huge, old willow tree. Most of our neighbours rake the leaves up and burn them. One of our neighbours is out almost daily raking or using a leaf blower then bagging the leaves for municipal collection. They pick up leaves and other yard waste for the community compost centre. With the large number of leaves we experience it is almost impossible for us to rely solely on composting though.
We tend to leave the leaves until after the first frost which is really late this year. We still haven't had a frost but I'm not complaining. My husband sets the lawn mower on mulch to take care of a large portion of the leaves. He also uses a leaf vacuum to collect what can't be mulched. We compost what we can and put the rest out for the municipal collection.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
When frost threatens the garden, bringing in potted plants and tender plants is an ideal way to keep plants for the next spring. There are a couple of problems with bring in plants with the main one introducing insects indoors. I kid you not, I brought in an asparagus fern that hid a spider almost the size of a quarter! Other common insects in potted plants are ants, earwings and pill bugs. Outdoor potted plants can also introduce plant diseases that may spread throughout other houseplants. There are a few ways to avoid these problems.
- tap the pot several times before and after moving which will knock off some insects especially earwings and pill bugs
- brush the pot well to make sure there are no spider nests
- check the plant itself for any spiders, caterpillars or other insects
- spray plants with Safer's soap or a homemade soap solution
- isolate plants from other house plants to ensure insects and/or disease do not spread
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
I spent the morning bringing in plants and doing a bit of picking in the garden. The weather is still quite nice but it's easy to see it is turning. The weather forecast for today is a low of 0ºC and a low of -3ºC tomorrow making the possibility of a frost all that much closer. I decided it would be prudent to make a clean pick of the remaining vegetables. That way if we get a frost they won't be lost. We are in a slight pocket where the warming effects of the water is felt so it will likely still be a few more days before we get a frost.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
My gosh! Coming up with something garden related to write about in January is difficult. There is little going on besides garden planning and browsing through the seed catalogues. I usually let the indoor garden dwindle as we take a 7 to 10 day vacation each January so like to reduce the indoor temperature as low as possible while gone. Any cold hardy indoor plants are fine as one of the kids stop by to check the house and water the plants. By the time we leave for vacation I've already ordered seeds and have started getting everything ready to start plants shortly after arriving home. Within a week or so of getting home the first of the seeds start arriving. It won't be long now that I will be able to start reporting on seeds, seedlings and this year's garden plans.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Garden VisitorNovember 7, 2009This little guy visited us earlier in the month. He was a bit sluggish so I moved him off the path. Autumn has been rather mild and for the most part drier than the spring and summer. There isn't much left to do in the garden and yard other than the last minute tidying. We've cleaned the beds from debris and most of the leaves have been raked up from the yard. One tree is still dropping leaves so it will be awhile yet before we can clear up all the leaves. At any rate we are getting things ready for the cold weather that will hit any time now. It's time to get on the seed catalogue lists for 2010.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2009
