A Great Gardening Year

Huge hostas grace my garden this summer.

Wow! What a great gardening year this is. People are constantly telling me how wonderful their gardens are growing. The weather experts predicted a hot, dry summer but so far we haven't experienced much of that. Instead we have alternated between cool wet weather and a few hot dry days which has resulted in the gardens growing large and lush. The hostas are huge, the berries bountious (strawberries that is!), the grapes glorious and the weeds wicked! The gardens seem to have exploded. I haven't seen a garden season like this for a few years.

We picked strawberries at Brooklands Farm in Milford Bay a few times and the berries were large and delicious. My son Jeremy baked and decorated a cake with berries to represent the Canadian flag in celebration of Canada Day. We gorged on fresh berries and whipped cream, made jam and froze a great quantity to enjoy during the winter. Yum! Yum!

The grape arbour is covered with grape bunches and it looks like we will have a great grape harvest this fall that is if we can keep the birds and squirrels away as the grapes ripen. We're looking forward to making grape jelly to enjoy on our toast when winter sets in providing a reminder of the summer that was.

My roses were ravishing this summer. Many summers I have lost leaves and buds to caterpillars before the buds could bloom but this summer everything bloomed with fragrant aroma. The peonies were perfect too - fragrant large blooms that awakened the olfactory senses as you wandered through the garden.

But along with the burgeoning beauty are the wicked weeds and ferocious ferns that seem to have taken over too. Last year I was not able to give the garden much attention due to dealing with family health issues and now with a great garden season I am forced to tackle the weed and fern problems. So with vigour I am digging out the ferns and eliminating the weeds and putting down lots and lots of mulch. (I should have shares in the mulch companies). I have also been reworking some parts of the front garden. After spending some time on a garden tour with Frank Kershaw, I am starting to lift some of my smaller plants up to display them better as I saw on that tour. Garden tours are great for getting new ideas and summer is the time when horticultural societies across the province and country are showcasing local members gardens. Take time out from your own garden chores to check out some of these tours.

Today is cool and overcast but a perfect day for getting out in the garden to continue with my garden tasks. Enjoy your day but remember always to take time out to smell the roses and celebrate the beauty of your private sanctuary.