Last April I posted about my new mini-greenhouse that we purchased to use as a cold frame to extend the harvest as far into winter as we could. While we planted some lettuce in the greenhouse this past spring, I wouldn’t really consider that pushing the harvest envelope as April is not that early to… Read more »
Oh dear, deer!
We have seen an increase in deer damage along our back gardens over the last few weeks. Deer move most often and for the greatest distances during spring and fall. In late spring, does travel in search of fawning sites, yearlings explore their territory often with less fear than adult deer. Travel increases in fall… Read more »
Growing Pulses aka Soup Beans
Anyone following this blog knows I always have something new on the go. This year we are experimenting with growing pulses or soup beans. Unfortunately, our bean garden has had a tough go of it. A late start this spring (due to an unusually cold and wet spring) followed by stunted growth as a result… Read more »
Wild Turkey Anyone?
The feathered kind, not the drinking kind. Now that our landscape is maturing, we are seeing an increase in the amount and variety of wild life directly in our back yard. While we could often hear Wild Turkey calls, this has been the first year we have seen them wondering our lawn. The turkey is… Read more »
Slight Relief In August
While August was still slightly warmer than normal there was a little relief from the intense heat and dry weather of July. Our average high in August was 26.5C just slightly above normal (25.1C). Rains in late July and early August helped bring back lawns and sustained the gardens. We averaged 77.8mm of rain in… Read more »
How To Grow Longer Beans
It has been a tough year for us green beans wise. We had a very cold and wet spring and our new second garden was not quite ready, delaying our first planting. And, since our new garden was not fenced in like our first garden, the rabbits and deer decided to eat our young sprouts… Read more »
A Hot Dry July
It was certainly a great summer to enjoy a backyard pool – hot, dry and sunny. July started out warm and just kept getting warmer. Temperatures were mostly above normal the entire month with little reprieve in the evenings. We experienced an unbelievable 13 days with temperatures over 30C, and that was before factoring in… Read more »
Harvesting, Drying and Storing Garlic
Look out all you vampires it’s garlic season! I harvested our garlic crop on July 27 this year. When to harvest garlic is a judgment call. Pick your garlic too early and the the bulbs will be too small and the cloves will be unformed. Too late and there will not be enough protective layers… Read more »
Best June Blooms
I think June has to be my favourite month in the garden for blooms. While the early spring bloomers are a sight for sore eyes, June blooms just pop with amazing size and colour. The dramatic effect of Beauty Bush, the deep colours of peonies and weigela and of course the scent of lilacs and… Read more »
Accidental Colour Combination
I’m not very good at planning plant colour combinations. I’m more of a shape and structure person. I can visualize the beds shapes, pathways and plant shapes that I want but often have more difficulty when it comes to combining colours. Maybe that is why I do not have a lot of perennials in my… Read more »