Spring Delights

These crocuses are the only one brave enough to show their sunny faces this Spring.

I miss the snow drops that I had in Kitchener. I guess I have to plant more in the Fall.

The tulips from the RBG have peeked and they are about 5 " tall. Ahhh. Anticipation.

Murder & Mayhem in the Basement

I discovered that I love to start plants from seeds indoors when there's still snow covering the ground & I can't get that chill off my bones just yet. It's the nurturing instinct in me, I suppose. But plants are similar to people that the more one knows how to look after them, the better they respond to that treatment. And visa versa.

It is fun to watch them sprout from these dehydrated looking seeds to something green and growing. I have learned that the seed's viability is not 100% guaranteed so when sowing them, one has to keep this in mind. As it happens, there was a 100% viability among the 'Brandywine' heritage tomatoes I sowed & the task of "eliminating" half of them took getting used to. OK, a few seconds, but still...

Here are the tomato seedlings waiting to be "chosen" to live.

Body parts, on their way to the compost bin

As you can see, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this lot. They were as hearty looking as the ones I have transplanted. On the other hand, I did not have room for 20 tomato plants!

So, as the weather warms up, my basement garden will soon overflow and then I have to set up my little portable greenhouse on the deck to harden them off. I can hardly wait.

Rediscovering quilting

A couple of weeks ago, Valerie introduced me to Geta's Quilting Studio, a quilting blog by a self taught quilter with an interesting history. It is easy to be inspired by this passionate quilter! Her quilting projects are just beautiful. Click on the link and see them yourself!



When my finger joints started to protest, I decided to put my quilting on hold. I had planned on teaching myself to machine quilt last winter to the point where I had borrowed the books from the library, made notes and actually made practice blocks ready to be machine quilted. I had forgotten all about it until Valerie gave me the link to this quilting blog.

Here's one of the practice block showing one of the techniques that I did.


Value Village is a good place to find something to quilt for the right price. Here's a cotton table cloth I found with a beautiful design just ideal to practice those techniques I had learned.

There are 4 different kinds of machine quilting technique used here. It turned out to be such a fun and easy project.

So, thanks for pointing me to the right direction, Valerie!

Spring beckons

With Environment Canada forecasting a 12 degree Celsius weather, I decided to venture out in my new rain boots. I put on my gardening duds, dropped a pruner in one pocket, a camera in the other pocket, and grabbed a rake from the garden shed.

Ahh...Clearly spring is just around the corner. Despite that pile of snow (that white stuff in the background), the south-facing part of our backyard is actually dry to walk on. So, patches of the garden & the lawn had a good de-thatching. I hope it felt good for them as it was for me!

These are bulbs that I had planted in the Fall of 2006 when we moved down here. (Are these my scillia?)I labeled them but the following Spring, the letters faded and I am left with these poor things with no name.

I only learned a handful of spring bulbs in my "Plant ID" course so I have to pay close attention & take their pictures when they are in bloom.

One of the benefits of being a volunteer at a Botanical Garden is that we usually get a lot of "handouts" such as "used" tulip bulbs. These are cultivars that are dug up from the public gardens to make room for the annuals. The Auxiliary sell them for $4.00/baker's dozen & what didn't sell are given away. I had inherited a few this way last Fall. I planted some randomly in my front garden so, it was a surprise to see them.

Deer-proof and squirrel-proof, I planted Daffodils in my front garden as well just in case the squirrels run away with all the tulips!

The rest of the week promises more mild temperature. Just like any activity, though, one has to pace oneself to avoid any injury.

Oh, happy days!

I'm ready for Spring!

The sunrise appears earlier and earlier; I know because our bedroom window faces East. Although the blackout curtains are doing their job, the sun rays sneak up around them anyway. This is definitely a good sign and when I say, "Rejoice! This is the day that the Lord has made" there is a definite Oomph.

But what have I done since I posted that hiking adventure in Backus Woods? Well, I went to another hike this morning (somewhere in the Dundas Valley) with the Happy Hikers, the informal group of hikers from Hamilton. The sun was bright and the temperature was almost tropical compared to the previous hikes with this group: less layering, fingers thawed out quicker, and no wind. A blessed day for us!

We've had some friends visit us as well: Marie & Barry from Prince Edward Islands. We were neighbors way back during our 4 year residency in Mississauga. They were on their way to Mexico. Then, our "co-parents" & friends Sharon and Dave from Cannington visited for a day to catch up. (We visited Valerie & Richard with them in the Fall of 2007, so, it has been a while). So, if you haven't seen our "retirement home", come for a visit; we'd love to have you.

My last assignment for my Master Gardener was submitted last week: what a relief! Now, I'm indoor sowing my herbs from Richter's , "Tea Time Collection" and "Aromatic Indulgence Potpourri". I wanted to experiment in making my own herbal teas & potpourri.

Then, there's the RBG volunteer work every Tuesday or Thursday. We are busy potting "bare roots", dividing and/or re-potting last years' inventory. It's the best way to "shorten" the winter because we are under a huge greenhouse where we work with no coats while the sunshine just pours in and we are surrounded with green living things. The spring plants are actually in bloom already. So, all these activities are in preparation for the Annual RBG AuxiliaryPerennial Sale in May.

In the next few weeks, it will be more of the same. By the time I'm finishing up with the Winter Hikes, the Roaming Riders will be on the road again. I am definitely ready for Spring!