weaving fences

I love magazines with cottage, country decorating ideas and themes. A year ago I found a great one, the British edition of Country Living. I love it! :) Something I noticed was the super cute weaved willow fencing. Yesterday and today I've been working on my own version, using the pruned branches of the apple trees that are laying in the orchard right now. I finished this little fence today, adding a green layer made with the sucker branches off the peach trees. I've been raking and pulling weeds and grass from some of the flower beds as not all of them are completely frost free. I'm trying to decided what to do with the rose bush in the front flower bed. Do I dig it up or just prune it? My youngest thought that we should have a picture of me with my fence.












This is how the space looked when we first moved here, basically nothing it. I have a few ideas to what I want to put behind the little fence but haven't quite decided. Nice tall poppies, the bee balm and the pampas grass I think..

I've heard from my friend and they still aren't sure what all is wrong with their baby but it sounds like the Dr's original thought tested negative so maybe just maybe her chances of survival are better.

bulbs

I was outside taking a few pictures this morning but I had to use my cellphone as my love has the camera with him at work. They are fixing a bridge and he shows me what they are doing through the pictures.

Today and yesterday I started pink pampas grass, bee balm, white and red sunflowers. The cats seem to have eaten my sprouted chives so I'm trying again and I also started some oat grass for the cats. I have love lies bleeding seeds on their way and a friend at the greenhouse I love has some of the pink poppy seeds like the ones I lost so she is going to bring some to share with me. (thank you Donna!)

This is the one bench that I have out in the sun porch. I have added more seedling pots since I took the picture.








The little red spikes of the peonies have started to come up :)






We had some sad news yesterday.. a friend has had her baby girl at 33 weeks and there is more wrong than just being early. Something chromosomal and they fear she may not live. Unfortunately they live 10 hours away so I can't go and be of any help to her and her family.

Building benches

I was on the Canadian Gardening Magazine website surfing along and found some easy building directions for a 4 ft bench so I wandered off the Home Hardware and bought some wood and screws. As wood tends to come in 8ft lengths at the shortest, I decided if I was going to make one, I might as well make 2. So I put one bench out in the sun porch to put my starts on and the other is at the kitchen table for the kids to use. I haven't stained either of them yet as it isn't warm enough outside to do it out there just yet.

My youngest son and I hung out the bird house we made together, this afternoon. Hopefully we will soon notice that we have little new neighbors :)

dig dig dig

It was very nice this afternoon so I went out and trimmed down (aka hacked down) the one bush that was out of control. Underneath/beside it is a flower bed so I cleaned that out as well. It was overgrown with lemon balm. I found some crocus, something that may be tulips and the peony I knew was there but was obscured by the bush. I didn't measure it properly but I'm guessing the flower bed to be 6x8 feet and it's a funny shape. I prefer perennials for their coming back year after year but there are lots of beautiful plants that don't make it through our winter. Affording a large amount of plants is another thing. One I'd love to have is Love Lies Bleeding. I think it's neat to look at and it has a great name. :) Japanese maples with the lacy leaves.. My mom would like to have blue poppies so I need to find more seeds. We had some last year but the seeds got drowned. I had some seeds of some very pretty pink poppies but the seeds got spilled in a place I couldn't rescue them from. I got those from the neighbor so I can get more later in the year. I think someone has a plant exchange.. the greenhouse at the college I think so I'll have to check. I have some yellow lilies I could share and I'm growing extra basil. I could trade some of my starts.. I'm really hoping to plant snowdrops in the fall and lots of crocus in the lawn :)

mid february weather

It was a cool and dreary day today and I'm really looking forward to some sun and the ground to dry out. We haven't had any proper snow in weeks and I am so not complaining. I know this is messing with Olympic scheduling though.
I had my little dog out this afternoon and took several pictures of the orchard. It's a very sad place in the winter. I'm on watch for any leafy buds that start to emerge. :) I love in the summer when the branches are heavy with fruit and every leaf is brilliant dark green!

Blazin' Lazer

Blazin' Lazer

some young friends of mine need views for their doritos video.. please check them out!

Dilly

My friend Kate shared her dill bun recipe with me and I finally made it. I used dill that was from last years garden that was in the freezer. They are so yummy! We like to spread herb cream cheese on, nice and thick!


The weather has been so nice. I found a single daffodil peeking up in the flower bed. One of the things I hope to fix is the single bulb here.... and there.... There is a clump of narcissus hidden behind the forsythia bush. I have a mind to prune (AKA hack down) all the bushes.

starts

They are growing!! yah!
the zucchini and the pumpkin are reaching though so... hmm... I guess I should put them right in the window? Maybe the sun porch..
I had to replant the blushing susie and the nicotiana. They didn't come up the first time.
I planted white pumpkins this afternoon.
This is only the second time I've started plants so I'm still learning.. it's nice to see them getting their second set of leaves. :)

herb bed

In the spring of the first year we moved to this house, I took it upon myself to start clearing and reinventing the flower beds. In every house I've lived in the last 5 years, I've made some kind of an herb bed. The first time it was just a big pot.

Here I have a bigger space

Cleaning out the space. It was overgrown with irises. Huge clumps came out, all attached together..
All the big rocks were in or around so I reused them..

My grandma's garden gnomes stand guard.. :)

By summers end it had gone nuts! I didn't realize the silver mound would get so big so it took over the whole end of the bed. I will be moving it as soon as it's warm enough to make room for new parsley, basil and chive plants..

lovely weather

I was out in the yard today, listing mentally all the things that need to be done. The one stretch of flowerbed got completely ignored last year and the rose bush on the south end of it had what I'm sure is powdery mildew. The bearded irises are trapped in between overgrown oregano. Not sure what all is in there. We have only lived here 2 summers so I feel like I'm still getting to know the yard. I have found stray feverfew, an odd little rose.. the viola and lemon balm are everywhere. The one back flowerbed is all lemon balm and behind it, a hidden pink peony.