The first of the poppies

These were planted last year. The first flowers on each (the pink and the orange which was supposed to be a red) are almost the size of sandwich plates. I'm hoping for some seed so their tribes will increase.



This is the first of the day lilies to bloom. It's rather short this year, I don't know why. It could be because I changed fertilizer part way through last summer. I've gone back to my usual and I hope that I'll get better results as the summer wears on.

Its hard to believe that this chive plant was a 99 cent herb just three years ago. It's come a long way since then.

The last of the irises

Well its the second day of summer, and the spring blooms are almost done. The last of the irises are blooming and we won't see anything more of them till next spring. I guess these ones that belonged to Gate's mother will need some separating because they've managed to fill the space where they are. In a week or two I'll move some of them to a sunny spot on the south side of the house at the back where they'll form the start of a new flower bed.



These can stay as they are for a couple of more years. They have plenty of space to fill for now. The little red spots in the background are some dianthus that I put in just this spring. I put in a scarlet, a crimson, a couple of coral and a white. Once they start to spread out a bit they'll look superb against the rocks that hold the soil in this area.

These little yellow ones just started blooming. They're much shorter than most of the others and always bloom a little later. I have two small patches of them (my mother sent them to me from Manitoba), and hope they increase at the same pace as the ones above. It's rained pretty much every day for three weeks (it seems we'll get as much rain as we did snow) and these really perk up the spirits. The old stump behind them is getting pretty tired. In a year or two I'll be able to dig up what's left of it and put in another flower, but for now it offers a good backdrop for these irises.

This peach colored one is the last of the ones I put in last spring to bloom. I had lost the tag for it and had no idea what color it was going to be. I must say was pleasantly surprised. It only put up a single flower stalk, but in a year or two I hope to be able to divide it and spread its elegant beauty around the rest of the yard. I'd like to see a bed of these combined with the bronze and white ones that I posted last week.

A bouquet of pansies

Another truly hardy plant that blooms from the earliest spring days till well past the first killing frosts. I normally gravitate to the red, purple and lilac colored ones, but these orange ones just stood out from the rest of the plants at the hardware store down the street. They looked so bright and cheerful that I bought a flat of them. I'm hoping they'll self seed and I'm curious to see what colors I'll get as they cross with the purple and reddish ones that currently grow in the same areas.




I bought a pack of pansy seeds several years ago, planted them in a poorly chosen spot and waited, and waited, and waited for them to come up. Two years later, after having ameliorated the soil in that area, I notices a couple of sickly specimens growing there and moved them to a healthier place. The current crop of deep purple and reddish ones below are all descendants of those first pansies. The lesson--make sure the soil you drop your seed into is appropriate to the plants you want to get from it.

A bouquet of columbines

Probably the most delicate looking flowers in the garden, they are incredibly hardy. They are the first up after the soil is warm, and bloom till late in the falll Even after a heavy frost they're still producing new buds. They do become invasive if you don't keep after the seed pods and the seedlings, but the fact that they are so prolific means that there's a constant supply to add to new flower beds. These have all been in place for two years. I added some blue ones to another flower bed, and they're just getting started along with a red one that I bought because it reminded me of how they grow wild in the ditches along most of the roads in SE Manitoba.

A bouquet of irises

Irises are among my favorite spring flowers. They're not doing as well this year as they did last year. I think its because the snow stayed on the ground for too long. They normally produce way more buds than they have produced this year, and the flowers are usually alot bigger than they are this year. By this time last year they were nearly finished blooming, and this year they've only started blooming. I'm sure they'll be back to normal next spring. These ones are ones that Gate's mother had planted on the other side of the house. The area they were planted was a little too shady and they had stopped blooming. They appear to have appreciated the move to a sunnier location.





These were bought at Jardin Hamel in 2006, and this is their first year of bloom. They were on sale because they had no identification tag, so I had to wait till this year to see what color they were. Turns out that they are almost exactly the same color as the ones above, but they have a bit of a ruffle to the lower petal.

This German Iris that I put in last year has only a single flower stalk. It was supposed to be pure white, but it has faint blue-purple marking. When it comes into its own it will be spectacular, especially as a cut flower. As you can see in front of the iris the pink lupin is beginning to bloom. It started as a seedling last spring, so I'd say its comming along well. I think its the only one that is not blue.

This bronze one came from my mother. It had quite a few blooms last year even though I had moved it in the early spring. This year its produced only a single flower stalk. I'm already imagining it in a bouquet with the white one above. They will be spectacular together.

catching up in the garden

The Spartan apple tree had a huge number of blooms this year. Its too bad that the Jonahfree had only a few. That means that there wasn't much cross pollination, so there probably won't be much fruit on the Spartan. There weren't many bees either this year so even with full blossoms, there might not have been much fruit anyway. Both sour cherry trees bloomed like mad, but with no bees I don't think there will be much fruit. It appears, however, that the sweet cherry that only had three or four blossoms was pollinated by ants and will have at least three fruits. I'm watching them closely and protecting them from the rest of the insects.


The first columbines are blooming. They are among my summer favorites as they normally bloom till frost even if I don't deadhead them. I got copious amounts of seed last year so I can spread them around in all the flower beds. They come in all colors from the red ones that grow wild in Manitoba through all shades of pink, purple and blue. There don't appear to be any yellow ones, at least I have never seen a yellow one.



I'm quite pleased with the look of this corner of the yard. The periwinkle up at the top is in full bloom, and the dianthus will begin blooming any day now. So will the irises and the true geraniums (pink, blue, and white). That will be followed by the day lillies and the astilbe, and maybe some pumpkin colored cannas (I didn't start them early enough so they may not bloom this year).

The north side of the yard doesn't look like much yet, but the hostas are putting up their first buds. They'll be followed by orange day lilies which will be followed by the rudbekias (aka black eyed susan). I also put in some gladiola bulbs and seeded some cosmos and carnations. Then it rained so hard that I have no idea where the seed might be now. I guess I'll see in a couple of weeks.

The west side of the yard looks like even less than the north side. That will change as the sunflowers come up and eventually bloom in August and September. I also put in some four o'clock roots that I overwintered in the basement. Hope they come up. They usually do and they make such a lovely show of flowers throughout the summer and fall. If they're planted form seed they barely begin blooming before the first frost hits. I'll plant some from seed later so that I'll have some roots to overwinter again. The roots I put in this year will be too big to dig up and keep for next summer.

more catching up in the garden

The first Irises are blooming. This one opened several days ago. The purple ones below came from Bekki in Manitoba. They are the ones I remember from my childhood. I didn't know they came in any other color till I was in my twenties and gardening myself for the first time.




The buds on this short daylily came up with the leaves.



The alpine poppies are new to the garden. They were planted three weeks ago, and appear to be taking to their new home quite well.

These wild strawberries were growing in the lawn. As a consequence they kept getting cut off by th elawnmower before they ever had fruit. I moved them to the vegetable garden and they're growing and blooming like mad. I have to be diligent in cultivating them or the runners get away from me and I find them turning up all over the place. The fruits are tiny little things, but they are ever so sweet.

MONSTER CAT 1995-2008

In loving memory of Monster Cat, aka Big Guy. Killer of pine cones, moths, mosquitoes and spiders. Protector of his humans and his home from mice, squirrels and other four footed invaders. Companion to his fur sister, Babe, and his fur brother, Prince. He was (as cats are wont to do) the Lord and Master of all he surveyed. He returned peacefully to the Mother during the night while lying in his favorite spot in front of the patio door where he could keep watch on the whole back yard. He will be missed.

a cat haiku for monster cat

the rule for today

touch my tail, i shred your hand.

new rule tomorrow.