Can you believe we are already thinking about, and seriously planning,
the 2012 growing season? When I say "we", I refer to us crazy Canadian
gardeners... well, at least this crazy gardener is. I have some very finicky seeds which need
special treatment and they have to be started pretty soon otherwise they won't
have long enough to get their roots established well enough to be transplanted
outside come May. Here in zone 4b-5a, there are just not enough growing
weeks for some of those slower starting plants like Lavender, which needs about
6-8 weeks head start. But alas, the things we
gardeners will do to get the plants we covet. I did come across a handy
dandy little helper I can use with those seeds...
I went looking for one of these things locally but living in rural New Brunswick
it is all but impossible to find them in this area... alas the Internet is a
wonderful world and I can get as many of them as I want or need... and at a
pretty good price too... which is always a bonus!
This coming spring should be fairly interesting for Maritime gardeners. We
haven't actually had much of a winter. We've only had two serious storms
which is quite unusual... 6 or 7 is more the norm. On Feb 22/2012 we
had +5C... spring seems to be making an early appearance... or so we hope!
Don't get me wrong... it IS Canada, we've had some fairly cold days. The freezing and thawing cycles is bound to cause havoc in
flower beds, especially those that were planted late in the fall. If
plants did not get their roots down well enough, then there are bound to be a
few that are heaved out of the ground once any frost comes out. We may not
have to worry though because it really hasn't been cold enough for the frost to
go very deep.
I will be watching with interest....
æ
♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ æ
2011 had been a tremendously
challenging gardening year for much of North America... Extreme heat in
the West, cold wet rain in the East, Tornados galore in the South and the North,
well warmer temperatures more and more often. Many of the old
weather tells are not as reliable as they once were...
The Old Farmer's Almanac 2012
is having a hard
time with it's tried and true weather predictors... Much of what it forecast for
2011 was correct, and some was not. Oh well, even the most up-to-date
weather forecasters are having a hard time telling us what the next week will
be, let alone the next year!
So here in Canada being the
fabulous armchair gardeners that most Canadians are, we dig out our favourite
gardening books and magazines and Plan, plan, plan after the Holiday decorations
have all been stowed for another year. We wait out the winter months
patiently and dream of the warm sun on our backs in April...
These handy little rigs would be just the ticket for
anyone who has to dig up and divide any overgrown flower beds! They would
be the perfect thing to
haul all the debris away with... my wheel barrow is just not living up to the task
lately, so this is on my wish list for the spring.
If what we've dreamed about isn't in existing books or
magazines, then we go online in search of more... More gardening ideas, more
plants, more designs... just more. And when we find what suits our fancy,
we are happy campers indeed. I've included lots of resources to indulge
your Garden dreaming/browsing/shopping wishes. Most of the sites encourage your orders be put in early in the fall to
ensure stock is available for you... <- little blurb
...So have fun, and if there is anything you want to
see here, Let Me Know!!
"Geum, Red Dragon 1 Pkt. (25 seeds)"
- I love the picture of this Geum... it's probably why I've left it up on the
page for so long. I ordered the seeds last year but did not get them
planted so, this spring I will definitely get them started and hopefully have
some beautiful results to photograph for you all to see. Here is the
description from the ordering company...
A superb selection of the old-fashioned geum. Blooms quite early and displays
larger, fully-double blooms in intense, bright scarlet red. Grows quickly to 20
inches tall in moisture rich, but quickly draining, soils.
================
Most of the gardening merchants I shop at and feature here on my site have % off built right into the link. I embed the code so that when you click on the picture or link, the discount is automatically calculated no matter what you buy from that site. I learned a long time ago, that there's no sense buying online unless #1 - I can't get it around my home and #2 - I can get it for less online.
If I can get you a really sweet deal on whatever you need for your garden, then My job is done!! Happy hunting.
================
This site covers planning, design, planting and maintaining your flower garden, with a few stories thrown in for good measure.
Fall is the time to be planning your bulb garden for next year, keeping in mind that most bulbs are perennials and will flower year after year, which means you're getting good value for the dollars you spend. For a well rounded bulb garden (spring, summer & fall) and additional value, be sure to check out bulb collections (of which the tulip collections are the most popular).
Beginner's Landscapes
Where do you start??? Planning your landscape design can be overwhelming when you're just starting out with a bare landscape to tackle, or if you want to radically redesign your whole property! Find simplified landscape designs to build on, bit by bit. More...
Butterfly Gardens Love butterflies? Encourage more butterfly visitors to liven your landscape. Consider a Butterfly Kit to help you establish a new butterfly habitat or expand an existing one. Just click on the Birds & Butterflies link when you get there.
Because I DO live in Canada, forgive me if you find this site and it's the opposite season where you are... maybe the following gardening archive will have some info that you can use.
Four superb varieties with extra-large, 5-6" flowers in
extraordinary colors. Most of them have spotted
foliage, which is the perfect foil for the bright
blooms. Well-suited to growing in garden beds or
containers, each variety is packed separately and
labeled with planting instructions
This collection includes one each of
Captain Prado,
Pretty Woman,
Selina,and
Gabrielle
A guide to creating container gardens that
bring color and fragrance to every season. Includes a directory of almost 200
plants, organized by color and season, plus a month-to-month guide to keep
plants thriving - while keeping maintenance and expenses to a minimum.
Ships within 2 business days
=======================
I just can't help it... a good gardening book to read
during the cold weather here in Canada... well, it's a must have! Here is my recommendation
for this winter and it's a Canadian author!
Master Gardener is the story of Mary, who chooses plants for her herb garden by
their growth habits and their folklore, believing that what happens in the herb
plot mirrors life. In tending her garden, Mary is almost sure she controls
people’s lives. When lily of the valley with its sweetly-scented, delicate and
frilly bell flowers spreads its fleshy albino roots underground threatening herb
borage, whose blue flower matches the colour of her dead son’s eyes, Mary
eradicates the thug. Her mother-in-law takes to her bed and shortly, is dead....
Garden Quote
"I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden." ~Abraham Cowley, The Garden, 1666
While you're browsing for gardening items, don't forget the little gardeners who like to poke around in the garden. They would be absolutely Thrilled to get their own pint-sized gardening tools for Christmas!
* Profit from Online Shopping -
I wanted to find out how I could earn an income from my first love - flower gardening, and if I could do it via the internet. Let me explain how I did this and show you how you can indulge YOUR passion and make some money at it too! more...
Gardman R687 4-Tier Mini Greenhouse
Small greenhouse with 4 shelves for deck, patio, or balcony. Ideal for seed propagation and plant growing and display. Sturdy shelves for pots and seed trays; plastic cover with full length roll up zipper. Dimensions when built: 62 by 27 by 19 inches (h x l x w); each tier is 12-1/2 inches high.
Growing flowering plants for sale is a relatively easy way to earn money. If you
have a basic knowledge of gardening then this is an ideal way to generate a
substantial turnover in a short period of time and with low start-up costs.
Bloom Time in late spring - early summer, zones 4-9. Grows 18 - 24" tall in Full
sun to part shade. Lavender is a wonderfully fragrant herb whose dried leaves
and flowers are often used in floral arrangements, sachets, and potpourris.
Lavender is used in baked goods and other deserts and the flowers are even used
as decorations on cakes. The flowers are also popularly used in teas to give a
relaxing scent and flavor. Lavender also boasts countless medicinal properties.
The birds, bees, and butterflies also recognize this as a nectar rich favorite!
This 52"L Screw-On Swing-Arm Hanger provides an
easy way to keep bird feeders, birdbaths and birdhouses away from the deck so
they don't make a mess. When it's time to refill or clean feeders and more,
simply swing the feeder in toward you, fill or clean, then swing it back
out—easy!
is having a hard
time with it's tried and true weather predictors... Much of what it forecast for
2011 was correct, and some was not. Oh well, even the most up-to-date
weather forecasters are having a hard time telling us what the next week will
be, let alone the next year!
