My sister guessed that the camellia shown above would be pink and she was correct! I like the fact that it is more than a double but not a ruffly one. The petals are shaped like a waterlily. We are getting a long show from this large shrub since we haven’t had any hard rain lately. We will be pruning to keep this plant below the gutter line. I am glad to see that the huge blocks of snow and ice that fell onto the top of this plant didn’t do much damage.
I just love these miniature daffodils (below). There are only a couple in the garden and these photos will help me remember where they are so I can plant more in the same spot.
Woo hoo – a new wheelbarrow! Our old wheelbarrow was 10 years old and really on its last legs (or wheel). We chose this two wheeled Yardworks wheelbarrow from Canadian Tire. Its heavy and I am having a hard time getting used to the different balance of two wheels, but it is very sturdy and will do its job for a long time.
We had 5 yards of Happy Soil delivered from MacNutt Enterprises last Friday. We spent all day Saturday top dressing all the beds around the house and in the front gardens. Keith filled up the tractor bucket and I shovelled and sprinkled the soil all over and around all the plants. We also filled the new bed so now I can finish planting the remaining perennials from the old garden.
There is something blooming and emerging every day when I go for a morning stroll in the garden. New clumps of tulips and perennials waking up. These pulmonaria are by the driveway. Amazing to have pink and blue flowers on the same plant.
Veggies are popping up in the garden. Here are two different kinds of radishes – Rudi and French Breakfast. We direct seeded arugula, spinach, lettuce, kohlrabi, turnips and peas.
Here are the cabbage and spinach transplants that were started in March.
I am pretty thrilled that these cardoon seeds sprouted since they have been in storage for 3 years. They are a big and bold statement in the garden and I will be careful where I plant them.
When I topped the monster fig tree that is on the east side of house, I took a huge pile of cuttings. I stuck them in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks and finally got around to potting them up two weeks ago. I ended up with 10 pots with 4 cuttings in each so I am hoping that a decent percentage of these will take. They seem pretty happy in the humid greenhouse and I can already see that some of the buds are swelling and the tops are showing new growth. I gave a couple pots away to friends and will check in with them to see how their cuttings are doing too. None of us are babying these so we will see if they make it or not.
Now the scheduled mowing, edging and weeding start. The slope that the veggie garden is on is a bitch to mow so we will be cutting some paths around it to mitigate damage to the grass. Pulling a lawnmower up a hill or across a hill is a good workout but I think the rhubarb bed is going to get expanded all the way along the slope. I would rather grow more lettuce than wrestle with the weedeater, thank you very much.
We do need some rain, so everyone do a little dance, please. Hope you all are enjoy the wonderful smells and sights of spring in your yard.