Signs of spring

Wych hazel, or witch hazel if you prefer.  Brilliantly sunny demeanour on an early spring day.

We had a lovely weekend in Toronto - blue skies, plenty of sunshine, and temperatures a few degrees above freezing. The snow is finally melting, and since we had snow on the ground for several weeks this year, it actually does feel like spring is arriving quite properly.  In the last couple of years, we've had rather sparse snow cover, so the bite of winter was less harsh, and consequently, the joy of spring, whilst welcome, was somewhat diminished.

We had a quick visit to the Toronto Botanical Gardens this weekend, more just to stretch the legs rather than in anticipation of any flowers to see, but there were some nice drifts of snowdrops (too far through the bushes to photograph clearly), lots of bulbs poking their noses out of the soil, and some very cheerful wych hazel.  Naturally, a quick scout around the shop resulted in some impulse purchases, in the form of seeds and summer bulbs/corms.  The seeds are all "Renee's Garden" - not a brand I've tried before, but the very pretty watercolour designs on the packages reeled me in, and I snagged Painted Lady sweet peas (apparently dating back to 1737 and heavily fragrant), lacinato Kale (which I've had my eyes on for a couple of years, but never found seeds in Toronto), lemon cucumbers (no idea where I'll find space), a type of Italian salad leaf called "garden ferns" and mesclun mix named "Paris Market Mix".  On the tender bulb side of things, I got some classic "Lucifer" crocosmias (very common and popular in my hometown of Aberdeen, where they seem to grow like weeds despite being too tender to withstand a Toronto winter), two types of gladioli (Prince Claus and Byzantinus), some scented and exotic looking acidenthera, and another fragrant bulb, Polianthes tuberosa "The Pearl".  I haven't grown any of these before, but since I've had reasonable success in the last couple of years with tender bulbs in pots, and they are easy to bring down to the basement for overwintering, it seemed like a good idea!

The brook that runs through the Toronto Botanical Garden was in spate with melting snow .

These dogwoods were absolutely glowing in the sunshine.

Talking of overwintering in the basement, I started looking at what has been lurking down there since the fall.  The pelargoniums that I just dumped down there, still in the window boxes in which they were planted are springing up, and so it's time to get them properly into life.  See below for the method I've used in the last couple of years, which is very little work.  Cannas were also excavated from their pots and inspected.  They are all looking nice and healthly, and I've cut up the huge tubers into smaller pieces, each with several strong, fat buds and some good roots.  Will leave the cuts to dry off for a day and then should get them planted up.  Haven't got to the dahlias yet, but did see at least one good shoot poking up, so they will also need attention this week.  So much going on....fingers crossed for no more snow (good luck with that!).

overwintered pelargoniums in my basement (excuse the mess!).  Not much to look at, but signs of life are there.  A couple of years ago, when I didn't have time to mess around in the autumn, I just grabbed the window boxes, still full of geraniums and stuck them in a chilly (but not below freezing) and perfectly dark spot in my unfinished basement, with no further ceremony.  They sat there, looking dead all winter and I quite literally did nothing to ease their suffering (not even a drop of water).  As soon as the earliest signs of spring came, they started sending out new shoots.

Pots waiting to receive the awakening pelargoniums

Once I've got the poor things out of the soil, I soak the roots in water for half an hour or so.

After soaking, they are potted up in 6 inch pots.  I don't do any pruning at this stage, as in some of the plants it seems to be the final straw and they perish.  After a week or two on a sunny window, there are usually plenty of robust and healthy shoots, and then I do some pruning to shape the mother plants, and to supply cuttings for new plants.

These were the plants I overwintered, which in turn had been overwintered the previous season, to good effect.

Cannas, awakening after their winter dormancy.

A sturdy, if chlorotic leaf is emerging from this tuber.  I sliced the large parent into 4 good sized pieces, and will let the cuts dry out for a day or so before planting them up in pots. 

More Cannas - not sure where these are all going to go!

First cardinal sighting of 2013

Although it's most definitely still winter here, and I awoke to see huge fluffy snowflakes slowly drifting downwards, I have a sort of "the end is in sight" feeling, and a sense that spring is not too, too far away.  Last year, spring arrived in early March, but it was highly atypical and I shouldn't really expect a repeat performance this year.

Yesterday, whilst chomping down my toast and marmalade at breakfast time, I had my first cardinal sighting of the year.  A lovely bright red, cheery looking little fellow was rummaging around in the garden, flitting here and there, and generally having a good scout of the area.  For the last few years, there has been a nesting pair in the neighbour's shrubbery, adjacent to my garden, and I always enjoy watching them busily working to feed and raise their chicks.

With thoughts of spring in mind, I did some winter sowing yesterday.  Have been meaning to try this for a few years, but never seem to be organized.  This year, I had saved up suitable containers, and had seeds at the ready (some self-collected, some purchased).  I've sown spinach, beets, swiss chard, thyme, tomatoes, platycodon & echinacea.  The last two will likely produce plants for my friend's new country house.

Here are a few spring photos from last year, as a reminder of what we have to look forward to soon.

Daffodils in my garden.  They have been in the wrong location for 3 years, so this year I really must move them after flowering.

These muscari have formed nice big clumps after a couple of years.

This combination of rich burgundy tall tulips with shorter bicolour ones between comes from the display at the Toronto Botanical Garden.

Anemone blanda - I loved these when I saw them at the Botanical garden, and had meant to get some in the fall for my own garden, but it was forgotten.  Next year!

In a white scheme, some lovely, clean looking anemones formed a carpet under later blooming white irises.  I love the upturned habit of these particular anemones....the ones in my garden are lovely, but tend to have their heads cast downwards.

Stunning peony at Toronto Botanical Garden

Like the anemone blanda, I was really excited about these camasias when I saw them last spring.  Must remember to look for the bulbs this year.

Lovely blossoms!

What's in bloom - April 22, 2012

We're expecting snow showers in the next couple of days, which is a bit of a downer, but overall, the weekend has had it's excitements.   Most notably, arriving at a party last night to find out that it was the wedding reception of two dear friends who decided to tie the knot in a low key ceremony attended by only themselves, two witnesses and the officiant, earlier in the day.  I was amongst the first of the guests to arrive, so it was lovely to see everyone's reactions as they discovered the good news!  Please join me in wishing the Dollhouse Girls many happy years of wedded bliss ahead!
Here's what's going on in the garden this weekend:

I bought this Pink Frost hellebore just a couple of weeks ago, and really love it.  Haven't grown hellebores before, so I'm hoping it settles in and establishes itself.

Although I lost some of the buds on my Japanese quinces at the end of the year, they are still blooming fairly reasonably.

lovely red peony shoots

These pink hyacinths were planted in the fall.  They're quite pretty, but have too lax a habit for my liking.

Pink rock cress if very cheery.

Pincushion spurge has started to colour up.

I've been house-sitting this foxtail rosemary over the winter for a friend.....it looks spectacular with all it's spring flowers, so I may have to take a trip to Richters herbs to get one for myself this year.

Pansies distracting the eye from the fact that I need a new front door, or at minimum, a fresh paint job.

My Arabian Night dahlias are coming up with vigour in the mudroom.

I overwintered these geraniums from last year's window boxes in a dormant state in the basement (i.e. I just pulled the window boxes down, set them in the basement and forgot about them!).    I potted them up a few weeks back, and they've come along beautifully, and have even started to flower already.

April Fools day

April Fools day proved to be cool and wet, and it was hard to pull myself away from the hearth to go outside and get some fresh air.  I was bitterly disappointed to see so many of the magnolias in Mimico have been hit by frost and won't bloom this year, the result of being too far advanced by the unseasonable warm weather we experienced in early March.   I've seen quite a number of fruit trees in bloom too, which typically wouldn't be the case here until early May....hope they aren't damaged by the frost.

Here are a few spots of colour that broke through the gloom of the day.

scarlet berberis berries

cheerful forsythia blossoms

A blue sea of scillas

In reality, these were a very delicate pale pink, not visible in this photo

This new build is about 8 houses down from  mine, but is clearly in a different league to my modest home!   It's nice to rub shoulders with the well healed!

Winter Gardening and Voices of Spring

It was very odd to be gardening today....whilst it is still winter!  Well, maybe not so much gardening as clearing out the decay of last year, but none the less, in a normal winter I would still have been spending the afternoon by the fire, drinking hot tea and eating toasted crumpets.  After a misty, murky start to the day, I spent almost all of it outside, clearing out, cleaning up, and generally starting to get things ready for the new season.  Things are budding out all over, which I still can't quite wrap my head around - last year nothing moved in my garden until May.  The clematis is shooting out, the roses are pruned and sprayed and  the boxwoods are starting to show new buds.  I was delighted to find that after years of bronze fennel envy (mine never made it through the winter and were always quite spindly), my experiment of mulching heavily with spent compost in the fall has taken them through what little winter we've had, and there are some very robust new shoots popping out.  All of my red kale and tomato seeds have germinated, and I'm planning to start some chard and white cosmos tonight.  We look set for a slight cooling trend towards next weekend, but then the long range forecast suggests it will go back to being well above normal, so I'm optimistic that we're out of the woods for this winter. Hurrah!

lovely red shoots are bursting on my tree peony, and the New Dawn roses were pruned, sprayed with dormant oil and sulphur and fed with vermicompost today.

tasty chive shoots - perfect in mashed potatoes!

I re-layed the brick patio a couple of years ago in a herringbone pattern.  I gave it a good hard sweep today, and it looks better, but I need to weed thoroughly and add some more polymeric sand to keep it looking pristine.

Lots of brush to send to the curb!  Luckily yard waste collection starts this week.

This clematis jackmanii is bursting out far earlier than normal.  I gave all of the plants with a love of alkaline soil a handful of ashes from my wood burning fireplace today, including clematis, peonies and lavender.

On another note, my friend, The Diva is singing with the Saskatoon Symphony tonight, in the Brahms German requiem.  Wish we could hear her somewhere a little closer to Toronto soon.....but in her honour, here is a clip of Elizabeth Schwartzkopf in a particularly beautiful section of the requiem, which I know the Diva will perform beautifully.