Monday, June 13, 2011

The Pretend Gardener

I can't believe its been so long since I posted.

I haven't forgotten my bloggy friends, it's just that spring finally came and I had to play.

Outside.

With my toys.

In the dirt.

By no means can I claim to be a gardener, a novice at the best, but I love trying.

There's something satisfiying about planting a tiny flower or seed, and seeing it grow.  Or moving a sad plant from one area to another

and seeing it suddenly grow and develop beautiful blooms.


I love to take old, chippy, crusty items and incorporate them in the garden.

Sometimes it works better than others, but you can always move it or change it or paint it!!

The best finds are the ones from friends, or buried in the shed that I keep claiming to clean out one of these days!!

Even the kitchen can give you some great planting containers.


When we first moved to this house, the garden was growing old boots, broken hockey sticks, half a tricycle and a lot of doggy holes.

The grass was almost non existent and other than the lovely lilacs, and a gorgeous old crabapple tree, there weren't any flowers.

Gradually we are adding more beds. I don't get enough sun to put in a veggie garden so I have tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, pole beans,

zucchini, carrots, beets, parsley and chives in pots.

It works, and we may add a greenhouse yet. You know, the kind made from old doors and windows, old bricks, a lot of white and

maybe  a weathervane on top.

 

Meanwhile, our growing season is short here. To make the most of the good weather I try to plant as big a speciman as I can find,

either from plant divisions, sales, or friends, or the nursery.

Hopefully, we will have curvy beds all over. The hydrangeas will grow big and lush, and the clematis will climb up the posts.

We will sit on our step and say, remember when we put that  vine in, and thought it would take forever to get this big?



I am trying to figure how to get rid of this horrible little-big-ugly green worm that keeps eating my delphiniums.

I moved some of them this year, in case it had layed eggs in the soil.

I hope it helps, meanwhile I'm looking for a natural pest-ridder (is that a word)



As you can see it is early days yet, more blooms to come but everything is filling in nicely.

If the weather holds I may get the adirondack chairs painted. The fence needs a touch up in spots and there is still the war on

dandelions.  I almost made my colour scheme blue and yellow in the front on account of those bad boys!!


Happy Gardening friends, and enjoy the warmth and sunshine.