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"
Robin in Maple TreeMarch 23, 2011
I posted earlier about spotting the first robin of the season. For those who don't know, here in beautiful Ontario, Canada where we experience winter complete with cold temperatures, ice and snow the robins migrate to warmer locations for the winter. I can't say as I blame them which is one reason we have joined the snowbird crowd with our vacation home in the sunny south. Unlike the robins who are gone for about 5 months, we only go for a month at longest but still it is a break from the cold. The return of the robins signifies the onset of spring. Unfortunately, no one has informed Mother Nature of that yet so the poor robins are still dealing with unseasonably cold weather conditions.
The robins are not being as co-operative for their photoshoots likely due to the cold. I hear their cheery chips in the bushes but they are staying tucked in out of the weather. This little guy braved the cold just long enough for me to get a couple of pictures. His red chest is just a cheery sign of spring to come!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
It is officially spring here but no one told Mother Nature. We still have snow on the ground, icicles hanging from the eves and despite the beautiful sunshine the temperatures remain quite cold. Winter is refusing to release it's chilly grip in our little corner of the world. I'm sitting here sipping a lovely cup of hot tea pondering whether to start a couple of trays of seeds today. My husband already booked our spring vacation so that is weighing heavily on my decision to start seeds. Last year I lost some of my seedlings during our vacation because they accidently dried out when the kids were housesitting. During the spring vacation our house only needs checking on a couple of times a week but seedlings need watering daily. What I may do is start the seeds then take the trays into the kids to look after at their house. Since they will be home daily there is less chance of the seedlings drying out than if I leave them here.
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
I started using the square foot gardening method two houses ago when we lived in an urban setting. Out last house was on the edge of a small village where I had the largest square foot garden complete with greenhouse. This house is technically rural but the street is more like semi-rural. Since the house has not sold yet, I'm moving ahead with my plans to add at least one more large raised bed (4' x 8') and do a bit of landscaping at the front of the house. Yesterday it dawned on me that my plans would be a little more challenging this year.
Up to this point and for my previous two large square foot gardens, I had a pick-up truck at my disposable. The truck had a colourful history as well. We used to have a gorgeous conversion van perfect for family outings. All of our kids learned to drive with that van. When the motor went we popped a new motor in it. About 2 months after we had just had the van repainted our youngest totaled it. We stripped what we could including the motor that went into a truck my husband found that had no motor. We got the truck dirt cheap! It was nothing to look at, the radio didn't work and was a hog on gas but it was dependable. Well it was dependable until one of our kids, the same one who totaled the van was taking a load of brush from our house to the burn pile on the farm. The truck quit on the side of the road and refused to start. We had it towed, got it fixed and a couple of weeks later it did the same thing. We had it limped back to our buddy's garage where the poor sat looking rather rejected half of the winter until my husband put it out of it's misery. Anything savagable was stripped which wasn't much then the remainder sold for scrap metal. In the meantime another of our kids was selling their second vehicle so we bought it. It's a nice, fuel efficient, manual transmission hatchback.
Without the truck I have no convenient way to get lumber, soil, mulch, compost and other gardening necessities home. The seats fold down in the hatchback so I might be able to get lumber home but not soil bought by the yard or compost from the municipal yard. It looks like I am going to have to find a truck to borrow or pay delivery charges. Ah well, it won't be as convenient but the garden is slated for expansion this spring if we don't move.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Bald Headed Eagle Visit
February 9, 2011
There is a family of Bald Headed Eagles nesting not too far from us. They have been taking advantage of the ice floats but it is only by luck to get a picture as they don't stay long. I took this picture from the kitchen patio doors. Looking closer the eagle was interested in the carrion on the ice but within seconds of the second photo the eagle took flight. They certainly are impressive birds!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Horror Frost
February 23, 2011
Last we had a very heavy frost, termed
horror frost. This happens during the winter when the temperature suddenly rises causing heavy fog then the temperature drops causing the fog to form heavy ice crystals over everything. It usually only happens a couple of times during the winter. It really is quite pretty to wake to. The gardens were a mystical delight!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
The first two days of March have been rather pleasant, bright and sunny but a little colder. We have experienced a good amount of snow accumulation this year. Overall the temperatures haven't been too cold. I don't think we have even had a bitterly cold spell this year which is nice given the rising home heating costs. It will soon be time to turn my attention to this year's gardens,
Our house is still on the market but if we sell shortly with a closing date anytime before the end of May there will still be plenty of time to get a garden in where ever we move to. That is one of the nice things about using raised beds. They can be constructed, filled, grid laid out and planted all in the same day. With a little help it is quite easy to get five or six beds ready for planting in a morning. So I'm not concerned about the potential move. Goodness, looking back on things it has been almost a year since we listed out house so this will be the second season of gardening uncertainty. I'm sure things will work out fine though.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
The last couple of days have been on the mild side very much welcomed from the previous week of cold temperatures and blizzard conditions. My husband was at Home Hardware to pick up more salt for the driveway. He brought home the spring edition of Home at Home, an idea magazine put out by Home Hardware. There's always great ideas in the magazine as well as instructions on how to complete the projects.
One of the projects is a plant cage meant to keep rabbits, groundhogs, deer and cats out of the garden or at least away from susceptible plants. The box is constructed like my square foot beds but has supports and a top rail that rises about a foot making the overall height about 18 - inches tall. Carpenter's cloth is stapled securely around the base, supports and rails. Then a hinged top is added that consists of 2 x 2 with carpenter's cloth fastened underneath. The end result when closed the plants are well protected from common garden pests.
This is an excellent way to turn a raised bed into a protected bed. As they did it a 4' x 4' bed could easily be protected from rabbits, squirrels and sometimes the nuisance birds. I'm thinking a refined version would help prevent squash borer in my zucchini plants as well. There are so many ways this design could be customized to deal with a few common garden pests.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
Here I was concerned over the lack of snowfall but earlier this week we ended up with about 35 cm of fresh snow total over two days. They were calling for 10 cm on the second day but we only got about 5 cm. A couple of hours ago it started snowing again. I haven't heard how much we are supposed to get. The cell isn't very big so should be finished here in an hour or so. We've had about 3 cm of fresh snowfall so far. If it keeps up this way we will likely have another 5 cm total. Gotta love winter!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
The Crow
January 31, 2011
Crows are large nuisance birds that cost local farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. In urban settings they are such a nuisance that some folks have taken to shooting them with pellet guns. Home gardeners can also have problems with crows. Regardless where you live, crows can be a huge problem with getting into garbage bags set out for collection. They can make quite the mess!
We are rural on waterfront property so luckily the crows tend to be more of a nuisance for the farmland across from rather than bother us much. Recently a flock of crows have been visiting our large maple trees where they forage around the base of the trees. The snow isn't quite as deep there. They fly between the open water back to the trees, down to forage then repeat. While crows don't land on the water they can get water by standing on the ice. The crows are rather aggressive towards the smaller waterfowl but tend to behave themselves when the swans are around.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Snow and More Snow
February 2, 2011
We heard warnings of an impending snowstorm to hit our area almost a week before it hit. Monday evening the local cancellations started being announced with more Tuesday morning since the storm was to hit Tuesday evening. Grocery stores were a bit busier than usual but that's the norm anytime a snowstorm is announced. The snow started about dinner time Tuesday night. My husband had put a sign that the office would be closed on Wednesday due to the weather so this morning was a little disappointed to see asphalt in the driveway. Then he realized our driveway had been plowed out. Throughout the night we had about 30 cm of fresh snow accumulation with another 10 cm predicted during the day. Once the winds died down visibility improved and drifting lessened so he headed into the office for half the day. It continued to snow thoughout the day by evening it was clear. And here I was worried about what the lack of snowfall would mean for the upcoming growing season.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Winter on the Homefront
January 29, 2011
This is a brief break in our vacation gardening photos just to let you know that life continues in the garden even during the winter. Last year we did not get the snowfall we needed during the winter and as expected the growing season was not as good as it could have been. This year has been a bit different. While we were away during most of the month of December we had a couple of snowstorms with good accumulation. We arrived home the end of the first week in January. Since then we have had a few more snowstorms with good accumulation. This is very promising as to a good growing season to come!
My gosh, we woke to the most beautiful winter wonderland this morning! We received about 11 cm over night coating the grounds in sparkling white and glistening diamonds. It continued with a fine, misty snow most of the day. It looks like it will be a very good growing season if this keeps up!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Waterfall at Busch Gardens
Tampa, Florida
December 22, 2010
Theme parks are full of ideas that can be scaled down for use in the home garden. A waterfall is always a welcomed addition to any home garden water feature. Pictured is a larger waterfall at Busch Gardens that could easily be scaled down for the home garden. It's it lovely?
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Gator Pond at Busch Gardens
December 16, 2010
When we first visited the resort where we ended up buying a vacation home I thought the cutesy warning signs about not feeding or antagonizing the alligators were meant to add a bit of humour. By the end of that first trip in 2009 I realized the alligators were very much real. We bought in March of 2010 but didn't see our new vacation home until May that year. During that time period we had a lot of opportunities to see alligators in and around our resort. Gators for the most part will ignore humans providing they haven't been feed and aren't provoked. My husband has been rather close to a few gators on the golf course and since our resort is filled with numerous good sized ponds, gators are a very common sight. I've managed to get a lot of great photos and videos of gators from the safety of the golf cart and car. Those in our community with houses backing onto these ponds have been told they should not feed the gators. This of course brings in a whole new element to gardening especially for those homes on the ponds. As you can see from this photo taken at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida alligators are rather large beasts. The largest in our resort is about 8 feet long so that's a good sized gator. They can out run a human running a straight line but I'm not about to test that theory out.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Powder Puff Plant
(Calliandra haematocephala)
December 16, 2010
As we were wandering through Busch Gardens I couldn't help but notice the
Powder Puff Plant (
Calliandra haematocephala). The leaves reminded me of Mimosa (sensitive fern) so I just had to touch them. They don't fold up like Mimosa does but they were still quite pretty. The Powder Puff Plant was planted to form a barrier between the walking paths and inner workings of the park so used as camouflage or privacy screening. The plant is grown for its flower heads that are long red stamens blooming in winter. The plant is drought and somewhat cold tolerant making it another plant to consider for our new gardens if we move.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Bamboo Fence at Busch Gardens
December 16, 2010
During our visit to
Busch Gardens
in Tampa, Florida I noticed the effective use of bamboo as a living screen and bamboo sticks as camouflage screening. Bamboo grows quickly and rather tall making it ideal for use as a living privacy screening not only from side views but also views from taller adjacent buildings. It can help as a sound barrier as well. There are even cold hardy bamboo varieties that will withstand harsher winter conditions. Bamboo grows from rhizomes so has a spreading tendency that can become invasive so it is best to use some type of containment to keep the plant from spreading too much.
Bamboo sticks can be used to camouflage an ugly chain-link fence or even the side of a building to give a more natural look in the garden. Pictured is a camouflaged tall chain-link fence surrounding a construction site at Busch Gardens. I thought it was a nice solution that gave a nice feel while hiding the mess of the construction from visitors. If you look closely between the bamboo sticks and the chain-link fence you can see a thin mesh material that was used to reduce visibility through any gaps left by the bamboo sticks. I really liked the overall effect! In the home garden this type of screening would be easy to duplicate. It could be softened further by using the screen to support flowering vines.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Giraffe Topiary at Busch Gardens
December 16, 2010
I was totally amazed at the intricate topiaries at Busch Gardens. They were massive! This giraffe topiary was true to life size. It must take a lot of work to keep these topiaries looking as nice as they do. Aren't they impressive?
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Cactus at Busch Gardens
December 16, 2010
The one thing I've noticed is cacti seem to be a plant of choice in home gardens where our vacation home is located. We have an
agave catus with several babies in our front garden there. I've been looking for other cacti that will do well there. This impressive cactus caught my attention at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. I will have to find out the name of it.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Tiger Topiary at Busch Gardens
December 16, 2010
I was amazed at the details that the arborists were able to create on the many large topiaries at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. All of the detail comes from the effective use of the placement of the plants used followed by the meticulous maintenance to keep the topiaries at their prime. The topiaries are just so impressive, don't your think?
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Walkway Arbor at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
December 16, 2010
Arbors are a traditional way of providing support for climbing plants while providing a shady spot to sit or walk. In urban settings they are often used as part of the entrance to the garden complete with a small gate. Home gardeners use them grow grapes or other vining plants while landscapers and homeowners often use arbors to create natural shading on patios and decks.
We walked under an impressive arbor covering a good stretch of pathway at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. The arbor was a simple series of arched supports with wood slats attached. Unfortunately it was not as shady as it would be during the summer months as it was winter when we visited. This arbor would be extremely easy to duplicate on a smaller scale in the home garden using a series of pvc supports similar to building a garden hoop house.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
