in the yard

Or as I've been calling it, the domain. Cleo spends 15 minutes or so a day taking a tour of her domain and making sure everything is in order. I water plants, drink coffee and take pictures. Here are a few...

The toad who lives under the stairs.

Cleo on the prowl.

Garden consists of 1 mint, 1 tomato and 2 beans.
All growing like crazy!

Eddie the rain barrel goldfish, stalking a bug.

swallowtails

Look what I have in my garden! Swallowtail caterpillars munching like crazy on the dill. Which is awesome in so many ways. First, I have a ton of self seeded dill that I've been pulling out, so they're saving me all that time weeding. Second, they're beautiful! And going to get even more beautiful. Third, they're super cool. I hope they decide to turn into butterflies in my yard. Oh please, oh please...

Started out with four but have lost track of three of them. They are getting a lot greener and more difficult to find so need to do a thorough search. And then hopefully I will soon be posting pictures of the chrysalides.

baby

getting bigger

and yellower

and then greener and even bigger

purple

sangria peppers

eggplant flowers 

and ready to eat

creeping thyme

my very first blueberry!

"spring" has sprung-ish

Since I've been bitching so much about the weather lately, I thought I'd post a few pics to show that all is not horrible (even if it isn't as awesome as it could be)...

Garlic I planted last fall is coming up!

Ditto the fancy heirloom rhubarb.

The kitchen window is open for business.

Oh ya.... and Cleo has shed about half her body weight in fur, so it must be spring!

roasted tomatoes

About a month ago, I brought in my green tomatoes. I cut the plants, leaving the tomatoes on the vine and I hang them in the basement. (Can't remember where I learned this... I think Martha Stewart, but can't find it on her website) I've had tomatoes as late as January this way, which is amazing! This year they are all going ripe at once so tonight I made roasted tomatoes for dinner.

My mom sent me a really easy recipe. Heat oven to 425 F. Depending on the size, halve or quarter the tomatoes and core them. Lay on a baking sheet with a rim (very important unless you particularly like cleaning the oven). Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

The recipe says to roast for 15 to 25 minutes but I think this depends on the kind of tomato. This time is probably right for paste tomatoes such as Romas but I had to roast them for about 45 minutes. Tossed them with basil (thanks Marilee!) and topped with goat cheese. 

They made a great side dish with scrambled eggs and toast. Breakfast for dinner is the best! Especially on a cold, raining night when we're both home late and don't feel like cooking. Yum! Yum!

in the garden

ladybug release

first harvest

cute cukes

nothing like garden tomatoes!

Soba Noodle Salad

O and I do not have air conditioning but we find all kinds of ways to beat the heat. And this is one of my favourites. A really refreshing salad with just a bite of heat. This week the culinary stars aligned. The basil and mint were begging to be picked, O's dad gave us some gorgeous mangoes and the temperature spiked to the 30s. I don't really have a recipe but this is close:

• Soba noodles (or in this case red curry and cilantro vermicelli), cooked and cooled
• Two perfectly ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 to 3/4 c. edamame, steamed and cooled
• 10 or 12 mint leaves, chopped
• 10 or 12 basil leaves, chopped

Dressing:

• Juice of one lime, plus a bit of zest (or you can swap some of the lime juice for cider or rice vinegar)
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Red chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Small drizzle of sesame oil (don't go overboard or this is all you'll taste!)

Toss first set of ingredients. Mix the dressing and pour over salad. Mix again. Chill for 1/2 hour or more and enjoy!

the queen of my garden

I've long been a lily lover but thanks to the red lily leaf beetle (pictures are unfortunately from my garden), irises have taken top spot in my heart. And this native iris is by far my favourite. Swoon!

Yesterday morning was beautiful. The forecast for the evening was showers with a chance of lightning. I thought "beautiful morning, showers this evening..... I'll plant my garden!" Put in everything. Herbs, annuals, tomatoes, plus there are lots of delicate little seedlings popping up. And then...

torrential rain, hurricane-force winds, hail

Put pots over the basil and hoped the rest were hardy. You can't tell in the picture but the water between the beds was like a river, gushing out into the back lane (which is much better than it gushing towards the house).

Still raining this morning so I haven't gone out to survey the damage. Some of the lettuce looks like it is covered in mud. Pretty sure the beans and peas will be toast but it's still early enough to replant. Fortunately, I'm a pragmatic gardener. It's just not fun if you're stressed out about it.

working weekend

The weather here has been astonishingly beautiful. Feels more like July than May. So we took advantage of the sunny days and got the yard ship shape. Mowed the lawn, weeded and mulched the front garden. O fixed the back gate and adjusted some of the stone path between the back garden beds. I made two frames for my cukes and peas to climb up and wrapped our laundry pole in chicken wire for the beans. O made a small window box for the garage and I painted it. Planted all the veggies.

Then we had beer and tacos on the patio. Followed by much needed showers. And woke up this morning feeling very much like we had worked all weekend. Next weekend.... cleaning the garage.

Took some photos of the yard. Pretty amazing compared to what we started with!

may 2012

may 2008

may 2012

may 2008

sure sign of spring

We are officially out of garden carrots.
Missing summer already.

fifth lily

Got caught in a torrential rain on the ride home, coupled with 100km/h winds (seriously) and lightning. It hit when I was about half way home and ended about 10 minutes after I got in the door. Ahhhh...

Was feeling pretty exhausted by the time I dried off. And mentally exhausted as well, since it was just a bit of a stressful ride. But when I went out the check the mailbox and saw that the last of my lilies had bloomed, my whole day brightened.

garden update

Sunflowers are gone. And by gone, I don't mean dead (though I suppose they probably are). I mean, there is no sign that 5 sunflowers were ever planted. And one of the himalayan impatiens died. Stem snapped in the latest torrential rain.

But the good news is that I got 9 free rudbeckia that were leftovers at the community garden. May also be able to snag some salvia and possibly some peppers and tomatoes. So things are still coming along nicely.

No rain today. No rain predicted until Thursday. Just sun and warmth. Grow, plants, grow!

semi-guerrilla gardening

The large planter outside my workplace was seriously pathetic. There are quite a few ferns that seem to be thriving, but the rest of it was filled with weeds, cigarette butts, pop cans and other assorted garbage. My co-workers and I decided that we were sick of walking past this eyesore everyday, and have adopted this potentially beautiful garden.

It is only semi-guerrilla gardening because I did call property management to find out if by chance they might be planting it this year. They answered in the negative and told me that if I wanted to plant it, I could "knock myself out." This was all the permission we needed.

Below are the before pictures. Will post updates. So far we have weeded and cleaned, then planted old fashioned lilies, day lilies, wolfsbane, sun flowers, big bluestem, lily of the valley and himalayan impatiens. Daisies are coming this week. Our poor plants have suffered through a wind storm and two major deluges in the two short weeks since they moved into their new home. They are a bit battered, but still standing strong.

(Side note... my workplace may not care much about flowers, but they provide lots of bike racks!)

And This Is My Garden

coming up...

February 13      Seedy Saturday 

With co-hosts Seeds of Diversity, Winnipeg  Community Gardening Network, Rare Breeds Canada, The Friends of the Assiniboine Park Conservatory and 

Fort Whyte Centre

Free Admission     

Location:  Fort Whyte Alive 

Winnipeg's Seedy Saturday has a new home! On February 13, 2010, 10 am to 4 pm, the 10^th annual mid-winter gathering of gardeners takes root at Fort Whyte Alive on McCreary Road. Celebrate prairie biodiversity with a full day of workshops, displays, vendors and visiting. Bring your seeds and join the fun of the seed swap. This grassroots garden show offers inspiration and information on heritage seeds, organic gardening, native plants, and urban agriculture. Admission to Fort Whyte is free for this special event.

Enjoy a tour of Fort Whyte Farms winter greenhouse project, crafts for kids, and outdoor activities for the whole family. Meet some heritage poultry breeds, live and in full feather, thanks to the Anola Cluck and Quack Poultry Club and Rare Breeds Canada.

10:00 am          Seed Swap Begins
11:00 am          Pollinator Friendly Gardens … Susan Leblanc
12:00 pm          Growing Heirloom Vegetables … Mandy Botincan
 1:00 pm           Community Compost Projects … Compost Action Project
 2:00 pm           Poultry Raising for Beginners … Wian Prinsloo

Participants include:  Devil's Creek Herb and Berry Farm, Herb Society of Manitoba, Heritage Harvest Seeds, Living Prairie Museum, Mandy's Greenhouse, Prairie Flora, Sage Garden Herbs and more.

Fort Whyte Alive is beyond the city bus routes – if you have a vehicle please offer a ride to your friends and fellow gardeners. Limited shuttle service will be available between the Assiniboine Park Conservatory and Fort Whyte.

Thanks to Food Matters Manitoba and Heifer International. Brought to you by volunteers from Seeds of Diversity Canada, the Friends of the Assiniboine Park Conservatory, and the Winnipeg Community Garden Network; hosted by Fort Whyte's Naturescape program.  Contact: winnipegcgnetwork@gmail.com

why weeding the garden is good

I discovered this...

Which turned into this:

And left behind this:

Three weeks of patient waiting this past August paid off in the best way. Didn't get to see the butterfly emerge, but spent three hours protectively watching while it dried its wings and blended into the sidewalk. Prior to this, I only knew the name of one butterfly. Monarch, obviously. But now I know two. This one is the Eastern Comma.

In love with the new Ron Hawkins album. Looking at these pictures again, in the middle of a bracing prairie winter, I keep thinking of a line from one of his songs: mighty as a sparrow, fragile like a whale. Wonder if my fragile, mighty cocoon will still be tucked under its leaf once the snow is gone?

not peat

Trying something new in my planters this year. Coco Earth, made from coconut husks. Trying to avoid peat moss as much as possible. Coco Earth is a renewable resource, but don't know anything about how it is made. Will look into that further for next year. In the meantime, it's super cool stuff!

Before - a 5 lb block



After - 2 blocks worth