Container Gardening - Demonstration and Workshop

If you happen to be in the Coboconk, ON area tomorrow night, come on over to the Coboconk Horticultural Society meeting. I'll be speaking about and offering a demonstration on Container Gardening!

I'll be touching on the subject of indoor gardening as well, or more specifically, terrariums. They're really hot again! Will date myself with this, but I remember they were pretty fashionable back in the 1970's, too!
Here's one of my cats, Luna, checking out some of the plants I'll be taking for the demo. She's so nosy! But, she does like to stop and smell the flowers once in a while. : )

There's all kinds of container gardening. Some potted Herbs above.
Here are three containers of different sizes tiered together. I really like how these grasses were used for creating the look of a "waterfall".

A simple container. Begonias in a clay pot. They brighten up any shady corner!

And of course, there's succulents, too! Perfect for containers!

Well, I hope everyone has a great week, and if you can make it out to Coboconk, I'll look forward to seeing you there!

Happy (Container) Gardening!

Off to plant the Hellebore - Happy Gardening!

Here's another look at the Hellebore. It almost reminds me of an Orchid. Similar structures and growth. Off to plant it in the garden!

Almost can't wait until next year when I see it blooming and growing up through the snow.

Have a good weekend!

Flowering Friday - Sharing Tulips and Hellebores

Would have to say, T. tarda are my very favourite variety. Species tulips are just so dainty!
However, I've fallen in love with another flower altogether. It was love at first sight. : )
Not only do these fabulous plants bloom early in Spring, almost poking out of the snow, but they'll take a fair amount of shade, and they like the soil to be a little bit on the moist side. Certainly the perfect choice for those with woodland gardens!

This variety is Hellebore x ballardiare "Pink Frost".


Helluva Hellebore! ...Sorry, I couldn't resist!
Have a great weekend & Happy Gardening : )

Earth Day Greetings to all.. Be it Animal, Vegetable or Mineral - We're all connected!

If you look at the planet from this perspective, it can be seen in a different way, as one living body or entity that we're all a part of.

Animal

Vegetable & Mineral!

Feathered Friends & Pollinators

For an engaging & interesting read on the history of Earth Day, & the incredible people who had the forsight to get the ball rolling, please visit Earthday.Org

It's a real eye opener about people who opened their eyes to the damage we've been doing to our planet. It's the only one we've got! Let's start treating her with the respect she deserves!

Happy Earth Day!

Wordless Wednesday - Raindrops on Violets

Blooming Now - Dozens of Daffodils

Well, a little bit of sunshine and milder temps means the Daffs have decided to bloom. I have planted them in the lawn where they can naturalize. Every year each clump seems to have one or two more flowers. I plant a few dozen more each fall, too.

They are such sunny flowers and come in so many lovely shapes and colours.

It's no wonder their botanical name is Narcissus. If I were a flower and I looked like that, I would more than likely want to gaze into my reflection all day, too! ; )

Have a great week!

Buds and Blooms - Spring has Sprung!

Heirloom peas - 'Golden Sweet'

Sedum
Vinca

Honeysuckle

Bee Balm

Clematis alpina 'Constance'

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What a beautiful day it was today in the Haliburton Highlands. The sun was shining, for the most part, so I went outside armed with my camera to take some photos of the garden.

That was all I intended on doing, and 6 hours later, after cleaning up most of the garden, I came inside to make dinner, thinking it was only about 5 pm and was shocked to find out it was past 7.

Happily, I did get a lot done, and all this before the mosquitos and blackflies arrive! The whole garden is raked, watered, weeded and mulched. Composter has been turned, and I even got some seeds planted in the raised beds.

Spring has sprung in our neck of the woods, likely a lot later than many people living south of me, but what a joy it is to see everything coming back to life.

Dinner plates are now away, kitchen is tidy, and I'm looking forward to putting my feet up and reading my book.

Enjoy your weekend!

Gardening Experiments on the Windowsill

Potato from the grocery store, cut in half, sitting in a dish of water.
Clementine Seed Sprouting
Garden experiments can be fun! Sometimes I plant seeds from produce just to see if they will grow. That potato above came from the grocery store. I cut it in half and put it in that dish with a bit of water. Now that it's actually sprouting I think I'll plant it outside in a container just to see if I can produce my own bumper crop!
The picture directly above is a container where I have some Amaryllis seedlings growing. One day, a few weeks ago, I was enjoying the sweetest of Clementines. That delicious fruit had many seeds in it so I (somewhat mindlessly), stuck one of them into the soil. To be honest, I kind of forgot about it. When I looked the other day and saw it actually sprouting, I started envisioning lovely free clementines growing in my own dining room for me to pick and enjoy at will! I mean, you never know if you don't try!
A friend of mine use to take pits from different fruits, especially Avocados, sticking them with toothpicks and suspending them on a glass container with their 'bottom' just barely touching the water below. I was always impressed to see roots & stalks eventually protruding from those pits. Perhaps that was what originally prompted the idea to begin my own little windowsill experiments!
So, now I'm wondering if anyone else does things like this, perhaps just for the fun of it, to see what will happen, and, if you have any success stories to share.
Have a great weekend!

Sharing Some Spring Sprouts and Shoots

Tulip turkestanica 'Tarda' - A dainty species tulip originally from Turkey.
Hollyhock - Alcea rosea. Growing in the cracks between the pavers. Very hardy and a great addition to any cottage garden. This one is hot pink, with pom pom like double flowers. It grows about 6 feet tall!

Sunny Daffodils. You know I like these, especially because the deer do not!

Scilla siberica. This one has a white centre, so I'm not exactly sure of the variety. It's very pretty en masse.

I don't know who was more frightened, me or this turkey. It turns out they can fly, if only up into a tree! Went outside and up he flew, not 10 feet from me. Scared the crap, (for lack of a better word), out of me. ; )

Happy April! Have yourself a sunny week!