Soft Showers bring Beautiful Flowers

"It was the sixth of May,

And May had painted with her soft showers

A garden full of leaves and flowers.

And man's hand had arrayed it with such craft

There never was a garden of such price

But if it were the very Paradise."

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) from The Canterbury Tales

Today was one of those special spring days - overcast but with a light gentle rain that persisted throughout the day nourishing the earth. I love these kinds of days, the rain falls softly, not a hard pounding rain that bounces off the ground and runs quickly away but rather soft and gentle soaking into the turf and gardens. You can almost see the plants absorbing the moisture, standing taller, looking stronger.

Even though the sky is darker, the colours of the plants are more luminous. The many shades of the emerging leaves become brighter, more saturated in colour. One is amazed at how many different shades of green there really are in the colour palette. One of my favourite things to do after a rain, is to grab my camera and head outside to photograph raindrops still clinging to the blooms. Lady's Mantle is a great plant for it collects rain and dewdrops in the centre of the leaf. And any flower that drips with raindrops catches my eye for they are like jewels adorning the blooms.

And not to mention the fresh, clean smell that lingers in the air, the earth refreshed, nourished and ready to shine in the next day's sunshine. It's a good thing I was able to plant my veggie seeds yesterday in anticipation of today's rain. I look forward with anticipation to the fresh produce soon to come and be enjoyed in my culinary creations. So embrace the rain and the renewed life force it brings.

The Mistress of Mulch

"Here remember, that you never take in hand or begin the weeding of your beds, before the earth be made soft, through the store of rain, falling a day or two before."

Thomad Hyll, ("The Gardener's Labyrinth 1590)

My husband fondly refers to me in his articles as "the resident gardener" but this week I've renamed myself "The Mistress of Mulch". It's a pretty descriptive name and I think you get the picture. After two years of being away for most of the summer touring other people's gardens and judging for Communities in Bloom my gardens have suffered from neglect and the proliferation of goutweed is the telling tale.

So with an upcoming 90th birthday party for my mother-in-law and her sisters this month and then the invitation to be included in the garden tour in July, I've been out in the garden every sunny day, busily weeding, weeding and doing more weeding. At first I felt overwhelmed but I began to tackle one small bed or area after another and the goutweed is slowly disappearing (only temporarily I fear) and as I complete each little area, I cover the freshly weeded soil with a layer of natural cedar mulch. There is something very satisfying about seeing the hostas surrounded by a skirt of mulch.

But with so many garden beds, I have only just begun and already I've gone through 9 bags of mulch. But I just keeping reminding myself how nice it will all look once I'm finished and my spirits are already lifting when I look out from the bedroom window to see the completed beds. It has just started to rain and they predict more tomorrow, so I will get a day's rest to recharge for more weeding. So this summer I shall happily wear the crown "The Mistress of Mulch".

But I'll go now and put my morning glory and peas seeds to soak so I can pot them up tomorrow. A gardener's work is never done!

Spring Showers bring May Flowers

"On Early Morning
Peach blossom after rain
Is deeper red;
The willow fresher green;
Twittering overhead;
And fallen petals lie wind-blown
Unswept upon the courtyard stone."

Translated from the Chinese by Helen Waddell

This Chinese poem resonated with me yesterday as it rained constantly the entire day. Not that I was unhappy as I love the sound of the rain as it falls upon the earth. I also love, as the poem states, the willow fresher green, for all the world seems greener after a spring shower and there is a certain clean aroma to the earth following a rain. You can almost see the flowers perk up with the added moisture.

Yesterday I also heard a cardinal sing and when I looked up there it was, red and regal in our cedar tree. I felt even more joyful when the female cardinal swooped in to meet its mate. I really hope they set up house in one of the nearby trees for we don't get many cardinals in our neck of the woods, lots of blue jays but cardinals are a rare sighting. I was also surprised to walk out of the garden gate and see a bird's nest in a maple sapling. I haven't seen any birds actually building the nest but it wasn't there a couple of days ago. I'll just have to keep my eyes open.

But not all is rosy at Rosewood (the name we call our house) for Friday our daughter Martha exclaimed that a weird creature had taken up residence under our front porch. We kept watching and yesterday afternoon out popped a groundhog, an unusual critter for a town garden. As much as I love wildlife in the garden, this creature will need to find a new home. He's already dug a few holes in our lawn, so tomorrow Peter will make a trip to the rental store to see if he can get a live trap so we can catch the critter and relocate him to a new home in the country. I really don't want to have him munching on all the tasty delights my garden might offer. The chippies and squirrels are wildlife enough.

I love spring - the tulips and daffodils are in bloom, the hellebores are in flower along with the pulmonaria and the trees and shrubs are beginning to bud and leaf out. As the new tree leaves are forming the sky seems to be bright with lime green colour and the returning birds are twittering overhead. Everything seems alive.

So I leave you with this thought by Margaret Cropper

"Far beyond hope the Spring is kind again,
Lovely beyond the longing of my eyes."

5 Tips for a Spring Garden Tune-up

"With tumbled hair of swarms of bees,
And flower-robes dancing in the breeze,
With sweet, unsteady lotus-glances,
Intoxicated, Spring advances."

from a Sanskrit poem


It's cool, damp, dark and drizzly today (what my husband likes to call a 'Winnie-the-Pooh blustery day') and a friend even mentioned we might be receiving the "S" word ( snow!!!). This rain at least should eliminate the few pockets of snow we still have remaining, so it's time to tune-up the garden for the season ahead.

1. Clean up all winter's debris. We had lots of wind storms over the winter so have to deal with lots of downed branches.

2. Cut back and clean up any vegetative matter you left standing last fall. If the matter is healthy put it in the compost, if diseased dispose of in the garbage.

3. Prune any shrubs and flowering plants like roses and grapes that suffered winter kill and also require a new hairdo (a little shaping for looks and control).

4. Check your compost bin - give it a turn to reactivate it if your fall compost isn't quite finished.

5. Get bang for your buck by planting seeds - now's the time to start planting outdoors your cool weather crops like lettuce and greens, peas and sweet peas.

Remember not to work in the garden until its dry or you risk compacting the soil structure preventing oxygen from reaching the plant's roots.

A pleasant surprise for me the other day as I worked doing garden clean-up was seeing the flash of gold in one of our ponds. The goldfish we put in the pond last summer had survived the winter and are ready to provide us with wildlife pleasures again this summer. It was a meditative day and I was happy for the return of birdsong and the lengthening days - more time to spend in the garden. The daffodils are up now and just about to burst forth in bloom - when they do, it will bring to cheer to these necessary April shower days that promise May flowers. Spring truly is here!

World of White - What Happened!

"All beaut-iful the march of days
as seasons come and go;
The hand that shaped the rose
hath wrought the crystal of the snow;
Hath sent the hoary frost of heaven,
the flowing waters sealed,
And laid a silent loveliness
on hill and wood and field."

Frances W. Wile (1878-1939)
from "All Beautiful the March of Days"

Well, last Thursday I said that spring had finally arrived, the snow was melting and the tulips pushing through the damp soil. But I think I was a little premature. Because over the past two days, winter has not wanted to lose its grip on us. Constant snow and the gardens are once again covered, not truly ready to accept spring's warmth, they have pulled the covers back over their heads. Having packed away the winter boots, I had to pull them out once again to wander through the 6 inches of snow.

Outside my window the birds huddle in the trees to keep warm against the howling winds, shaping the snow into architectural drifts. Nature does have a way of keeping us in suspense. So to bring some warmth into the spirit, I turned to my photos of my recent trip to Florida's Polk County. My new friends, Gorgia Turner and Katy Martin of the Polk County Visitors Bureau warmly showed us the beauty that abounds in central Florida. For me one the the highlights was our visit to Historic Bok Sanctuary, a stunning estate complete with bell tower and natural parklike gardens. For me one of the most interesting items was the beautiful neo-Gothic and art deco Singing carillon bell tower pictured above. As a member of a handbell choir, I was thrilled when we were allowed special consideration to see the inside of the tower. Travelling up in a very tiny elevator, we reached the level of the 60 carillon bells and the view out over the surrounding orange groves was magnificent, as was our guides description of how the carillon bells were played. Handbells are a simpler version of the ancient tradition of changing ringing in church steeples, that then was replaced by carillon bells. A camera in the bell tower, allows visitors to the gardens to watch the carillonneur play during concert times.

Designated as a National Historic Landmark, Bok Tower Gardens provides a continuous array of musical and artistic events throughout the year. Located on Iron Mountain, the highest point on the Florida penninsula the Tower stands as a sentinel. On the ground, visitors can enjoy strolling through the 128 acres of gardens designed by the renowned Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. The gardens were a gift to the Americvan people by the Dutch immigrant and humanitarian Edward W. Bok in the 1920's. Mr. Bok was a world peace advocate, Pulitizer-Prizewinning author and editor of Ladies Home Journal. The gardens bear his grandmother's motto "Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it." Mr. Bok did just that in offering this natural site to the world. Next time you are in Florida take time to visit one of America's finest historic gardens, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

For more information on events, concerts, art exhibits and seasonal bloom times check out their website at http://www.boktowergardens.org/.

Spring is Finally Here!

"Those who look at sea or sky or wood see beauty that no art can show; but among the things made by man nothing is prettier than an English cottage garden."
Willaim Robinson, 'The English Flower Garden'

William Robinson was the great English garden designer known as the originator of the herbaceous border and this photo brought to mind the season soon to come. The sunshine today, that is to be followed by April showers tonight, will certainly be bringing these summer flowers. Already I have hope for the beauty soon to come as I noticed my neighbours crocus blooming just the other day and I see my tulips pushing through the still cool soil. We still have pockets of snow here in the shady corners of the yard but soil is being exposed to the warming rays of the sun.

And inside my tiny tomato seeds are beginning to germinate and I can hardly wait to bite into a vine-ripened red tomato bursting with delicious flavour. I love to eat seasonally so I savour each fruit and vegetable as it comes into maturity, gorging for the weeks when it is at its best and most flavourful and then waiting for its return next season. Tonight I think I'll start some more seeds to get a jump on the planting season and hopefully when they have germinated my new greenhouse will be completed. My husband started it last fall using recycled windows from a local business but winter's early arrival forced him to curtail its completion. But upcoming holidays mean it will be finished just in time for me to start more plants indoors and then move them to the greenhouse prior to our plant out date of June 1st. If only it would get a few degrees warmer!

Winters Grip

It's mid March, a week ago we had a couple of warm days evocative of spring - the birds were singing, the snow was melting, dripping off the roofs, puddling on the sidewalks and then wham! Overnight the temperature dropped causing flash freezing, the roads became as slick as a skating rink and the next day we were back in winter's grip with blowing snow causing whiteouts and temperatures so cold one dared not venture out of doors.

It has been a long and cold winter here in central Ontario and I for one will be glad when spring finally decides to come. Until then I will have to continue to dream of spring and nature's re-emergence. Just looking at floral photos like this fuchsia give me hope that spring truly is just around the corner.

"Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;
Every clod feels a stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;
The flush of life may well be seen
Thrilling back over hills and valleys."

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)
from "The Vision of Sir Launfal"