Garden

Amaryllis

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Here is the  Amaryllis for this year (2017) – now fully in bloom (with a fifth flower still to come, it looks like). I picked up this bulb mid-November at the Superstore where I do most of my grocery shopping. I decided on a pale one for a change (I have mostly bought red ones). I love watching the flower stalk appear and grow so quickly and then the flowers begin opening – one by one.

Amaryillis (2017)

No second flower stalk from this bulb, it seems. Oh well, this one has lovely, happy blooms. I’ll enjoy them for the next week before they begin fading and then out it will go. I’ve never had any luck getting flowers for a second year.

And then I opened my Christmas bag of stuff from a friend yesterday and guess what – another amaryllis – this one a red/white blend. I can see the stalk already peeping out just the tiniest bit – another thing to look forward to.

It Is Spring Here After All!

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OK, so I was wrong. Last year the coltsfoot didn’t appear, at least I didn’t see any, until April 27. On the way back from Peggy’s Cove, I saw a small stretch of coltsfoot along the highway. Must have been a spot sheltered from the wind and the ground had warmed enough to encourage the growth.

Coltsfoot

I saw a lone coltsfoot flower near the fence in my former neighbour’s back yard area this afternoon.

The crocuses I planted 20 years ago were peeking through the dead hosta debris – also much earlier than last year.

Crocus

So I guess you could say it’s spring in Nova Scotia after all.

The Truth About Spring in Nova Scotia

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I’ve heard nothing but griping about winter for the past week. I’m not among the gripers. That’s because I’ve been keeping records for 30+ years on the first appearance of Forsythia and Coltsfoot in Halifax.

We’re still in the grips of winter – two snow storms in the past ten days. Strong winds, freezing rain. I understand that the time has changed and the calendar has passed March 21 but guess what — we can expect at least another month of “winter” here!

First Coltsfoot – April 27 2016

When I started keeping track more than 30 years ago, the first Forsythia – those bright yellow shrub flowers, the first we see in spring in Halifax didn’t show up until close to the 20 of May – the earliest I recorded Forsythia up to 1992 was May 16. From 1997 to last year that date slowly shifted – from May 12 to around May 2. In 2015 I recorded some Coltsfoot and Forsythia on May 2. Last year I actually saw some Coltsfoot and Forsythia on April 27. That’s still a month to go.

First Dandelions – May 31 2016

We can’t expect to see Dandelions in bloom until around May 24 in Nova Scotia.

So there’s no point in griping – enjoy what sunshine we’re getting. Be sure to put on a warm jacket. The calendar may say “spring” but Spring won’t arrive in Nova Scotia until the very END of April – even with the changing climate.

Amaryllis

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My amaryllis last year was a serious disappointment – one flower stalk which began fading before it was full opened. I look forward to a couple of weeks pleasure from this one (2016) – two sturdy stalks, each with four blooms. A bit of spring in the midst of winter!

Dogwood

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My friend’s dogwood is in full bloom. I love the hint of pink in the petals. By the time I took the photo the sky had clouded over. Just imagine the glow with a bit of sunlight hitting the blooms.

“Victoria” Blue Salvia!

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It turns out what I planted the other day isn’t Lavender but Victoria Blue Salvia.

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Blue Salvia

Some friends came up with suggestions such as Indigo but the leaves were all wrong for Indigo. I finally searched for “purple flower spikes” and found the plant. That explains the lack of scent. There are auxiliary shoots in the leaf axils which will also produce flowers ending up with lots of purple spikes as the season advances.

The plants are looking happy in their new container homes. So the plant was a good choice.

Lavender?

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I haven’t put a lot of effort into my container garden this year because I’m moving out July 12 and leaving it for the new owners. So in the spring to fill the pots I dug up sprouting plants from nearby garden beds and stuck them in the containers which would normally hold showy annuals. 

Two pots held forget-me-nots which bloomed early, then they were attacked by mildew, so yesterday I pulled them out but wanted to replace them with something. I found some inexpensive New Guinea impatiens, four seedlings in a basket, and another which has purple flower on a stalk – looks like it might be lavender but I’m not detecting any lavender scent yet, maybe the flowers aren’t far enough along. In any case they fit the bill and look good in the pots.

The Siberian iris has started blooming – in another day or two there will be several fully open. The single small petunia seedlings I stuck in the hanging pots has filled out and looks great. Their purple colour complements the iris.

The rhododendron flowers are also now opening.


And the two hibiscus which I am taking with me look like they will have a couple of new flowers each day:


I am going to miss watching everything grow. However I will still have my indoor garden with me (most of it, anyway):


A house without plants just isn’t a home, as far as I’m concerned!

Container Gardening

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door viewMy blog entry a couple of days ago, Back garden cleanup, caught the attention of Bren Haas who had questions about how I do container gardening. So this morning I added a bunch of pages with information on how I began and what has worked for me.

Here are the pages I created:

If there’s anything else you want to know, ask.

Don’t forget you can entice bird visitors with an interesting bird bath – mine is a hollowed rock sitting on some driftwood (which shades a couple of Tillandsia). I came across the bird bath many years ago – it shelters in the shed during the winter to keep the driftwood from deteriorating.

Bird Bath

More Spring

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My local supermarket has a rather good plant section with phaelanopsis, an assortment of tropical plants and occasionally something unusual.


Last week I spotted this container with osteospermum and purple campanula. Had my name on it – it’s happy in my sunny living room window!

Back Garden Cleanup

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This morning, on my way into town to have my snow tires removed and my summer tires put on my car I saw a forsythia in full bloom – today is April 27 –  the earliest I’ve seen forsythia in bloom in past years is May 3. A bit further along the road was a long splash of coltsfoot at the base of a fence.

So it’s officially spring here in Halifax (in spite of a snowfall yesterday afternoon/evening)!

When I got home from the car dealership I took a look at my back deck garden. It was warm enough in that sheltered corner to be outside and working. So I donned my garden gloves, picked up my loppers and Japanese knife, my garden waste bin and got to work.

I cleaned out last fall’s dead stuff, pulled out unwanted grass and other volunteers from the pots. Then I swept the deck clear of dead leaves.

It took me about an hour – but now you can see what’s coming along: I’m going to have about 20 blooms on the rhododendron (that’s close to a record), lots of flowers on the PJM rhododendron (that’s the small leaved one), the hosta is very visible, my peony survived and has shoots starting, the chives are well on their way, and lots of coral bells made it through the winter (in a week or two I’ll dig out all the stray coral bells from pots where they’ve started themselves and move them elsewhere). The echinacea lived through the winter (at least 4 of the plants are showing shoots!) so I won’t have to replant it (that’s a first). I love having those large pink daisy flowers in the late summer/fall.
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Nearer the house, the clematis has lots of leaf buds growing, the yellow birch, the nine-bark, and maple are all looking happy with buds swollen almost ready to burst if the warm weather persists. My Siberian iris is back, as is the dusty miller, and the red sedum and the small yellow day lilies will do fine.IMG_7504

As you can tell, my container garden is predominantly a perennial garden. I’m always amazed at how these plants make it through the winter in pots just fine. Most were volunteers (the maple, the yellow birch, the nine-bark). I noticed a couple of maple seeds had sprouted in some pots – I’ve left one to see how it will do.

Mid-May, I’ll add the annuals to fill in some colour: peach coloured wax begonias, lobelia (dark purple), pansies (purple), some golden canna lilies and for sure some mandevilla – both the red and pink were glorious last summer.

This time of year makes me happy – I just love it when the garden begins to return.