May 2-4 Weekend - Saturday

     At last, the long weekend.  I took Friday off to have an extra long weekend, and CC and I drove to Belgian Nurseries to buy all the bedding plants for the patio containers, garden beds and a hanging basket for the front porch.  It was busy, but the not the zoo we expected, and even though we came away $230 poorer, we were very pleased with our purchases.

     We dropped $70 on the hanging basket for the front porch, but it was massive and full of many different colours and textures and we decided we didn't want to have to buy all of the plants separately and make up our own.  It has Coleus, Ivy, Begonias, and a couple of other plants and it is already close to touching the ground.  It provides some privacy now that summer drinks on the porch season has begun.

     The first three pots I made up were ones for the bright sun. The top pot contains a favourite combination of mine, Donkey-Tail Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) and Portulaca. The Spurge gives architectural interest while the Portulaca provides colour.  In addition, the Spurge is a perennial, so once the summer is over, I can pop it into the garden.  The middle pot contains more Portulaca and some other sun-loving perennials which we haven't used before: Lewisia "Sunset" strain, Ice Plant (Delosperma Fire Spinner) and Lavender Ice Plant (Delosperma cooperi Lavender Ice). These two are positioned on the patio, while the bottom, rectangular pot is on the back deck and contains yet more Portulaca and Browallia, which have deep blue flowers amidst dark green foliage.

     On the front lip of the porch there is just enough room for three rectangular pots, which I filled with different combinations of Coleus (Wizard Pastel), Browallia, "Lemon" Helichrysum, and Tradescantia. They all look a bit sparse right now, but will soon fill out and provide lots of colourful contrast.

     In the two antique urns on the patio, CC put Jasmine, a plant we keep inside for the winter, Browallia and Tradescantia cuttings that we had rooted over the winter.  The deep purple leaves of the Tradescantia provide good contrast with the shiny, dark green leaves of the Jasmine.  It will soon be in flower and the scent is heavenly.

     CC got a whole bunch of English Lavender from a site he was working on as his client wanted French Lavender.  There were thirty-plus plants and we put them in the boulevard out front and the west-facing wall of the house, both which provide full sun and much-needed drainage.

     We then put together some pots of annuals: Browallia, Coleus, Helichrysum and potted up some succulents from the greenhouse, Margeurite Daisies, Begonias, miniature roses and brought out pots of Fuschias for the summer.  We also put Impatiens (Accent White), Begonias (Bada Boom White), Coleus and Browallias in the garden beds. It was a lot of work but fortunately, it wasn't too hot and sunny, and now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labour for the rest of the summer.

Brrrrrrr!

Okay, so it's Sunday night and it's SNOWING outside!  WTF?!  It has been cloudy then sunny, raining then snowing then sleeting but the one constant is that it has been unseasonably cold.  A week ago I was in shorts and a t-shirt, and now I'm in long pants, long-sleeved shirt and am wearing a jacket.  The heat is back on in the homestead and all the windows are sealed once again to keep the @#$%@^ing cold out.  Now, don't get me wrong, I AM more of a cold weather person than a hot climate kinda guy, but really it's May for god's sake!  Looking on the bright side of things, it's great weather for sleeping but I can't do that ALL the time.  I did manage to get out into the garden yesterday and aerate the back lawn with a pitchfork and dig up all the dandelions I could find and at least I didn't get too warm but I WAS kind of hoping to sit out and quaff a beer and catch some rays.  Instead, I sat inside, drank tea and worked on my very Victorian pasty white, skin-cancer-free complexion.  I just know that look is going to come back in style one of these days.  Anyway, as CC pointed out, another advantage to this cold and wet weather is that it keeps the flowers from coming and going too quickly and keeps the moisture in the ground longer.  Instead of sharing depressing photos of what it looked like outside today, I'm going to post some more lovely, colourful, sunny pictures of the garden from the past week, so sit back and imagine that's what it's like outside right now...

Magnolia

Marsh Marigolds

Redbud

Azalea

Rhododendron

Viburnum

Aberfoyle Antique Market

     Yesterday was the first day that the Aberfoyle Antique Market opened up and CC and I arose early, picked up B Lovely, and headed down to see what was on offer.  It was quite packed out and people were already leaving even though we arrived about an hour after the opening!  We did the whole circuit, but there weren't as many vendors as I thought there would be - they will probably all be there for the Spring Special Sale on Saturday May 12.

     The first thing that caught my eye was the above.  I thought it was some freakish, taxidermy, badger-purse, so I took a picture and sent it off to Mrs. Mop Philospher knowing her great taste in all things fashionable.  Of course, she was horrified and informed me that she would now be having nightmares.  It turns out it's a sporran AND costs $450 - crazy Scottish @#$#@$s!

     In another stall, I espied the above Aboriginal Diorama (no the record is not part of it), and memories of my childhood flooded back to me.  I had the exact same piece in my bedroom that my parents bought for me from god-knows-where.  In fact, I'm pretty sure this one was mine, and it was sold from under my nose.  Spooky, no?

Tres modernes lamps

     CC found a large Imari charger that was quite the deal for $375, but I talked him out of it as we don't really need another big piece of potentially-breakable china in an already-cramped space.  He did find a mixing bowl to replace a cracked one, a rice ware bowl (that I spotted hiding behind some bric-a-brac) and yet another rug - this one has ended up in the kitchen and looks great and is very comfortable underfoot.  B Lovely was Jonesing for some Fiesta Ware and we managed to find a few pieces for her - a cream-coloured Ewer and two Chartreuse Cereal Bowls.  Good work BL, but next time try and work down the price a little - Do You Mind?  I came away empty-handed, but did find another purse for Mrs. Mop Philosopher, one that would be guaranteed to NOT give her nightmares...

Henned Bag?

Sprung!

     It's hard to believe that just over a week ago the back yard looked like this!  Fortunately, it was a flash in the pan, and the snow had all melted by day's end.  Also fortunately, it didn't get too cold so the buds were safe.

     What a difference a week makes!  I can't believe how quickly everything is turning green and how quickly the buds, bulbs and leaves are popping out all over...

Scilla and Anemones

Species Tulips

Hellebore

Blood Root

     Stay tuned for more surprises coming up in the garden....

Sunny Monday

Crocus

     I took the day off, so it was a much-appreciated long weekend.  I got up early though, cycled to the gym, swam and cycled home wanting to enjoy every minute of sunshine that I could.  A friend who lives over in Waterloo, but who I don't nearly see enough of came over for a visit and we went out for a leisurely lunch for her belated birthday and got caught up on all of the gossip.  We had a nice walk back here, sat in the garden for a bit and then she headed back home.

Aconite

     In just a few days, a lot has popped up in the garden.  I even saw bees buzzing around the flowers and small swarms of tiny, flying insects, no doubt newly hatched from the soil.  The birds are also coming back and busily visiting the bird feeder and pond and the squirrels are fanatically trying to figure out where they planted last year's nuts. It's still quite dull out there but colour and warmth are definitely on their way!

Irises

Ice Day - The Day After

     So, the day after the Ice Day, I ventured out to see what sort of damage had been inflicted on the trees - quite a bit as it turns out.  Branches were down everywhere and the City crews were busy clearing the debris and loading it into the chippers.

     Especially badly hit was the Royal City Park. One entire tree (see above) fell over and there were many large branches down all along the river.  In some instances, you could see where the rot was in the trees, but there were also many healthy-looking branches that just couldn't deal with the weight of the previous day's ice.  A lot of creatures are going to be looking for new homes.

Ice Day

Darling Buds of April?

     Woke up at my usual ungodly hour of five this morning only to discover that there was no power in the house, nor in the neighbourhood AND everything was coated with a thick sheath of ice!  Well, no shower, no work, especially as the bathroom was pitch black and I probably would have killed myself. I also didn't know what the road conditions were like and couldn't listen to a radio to find out, so it was stay-at-home-and-chill day!  I informed CC and then it was back to bed to keep warm and get some more sleep.

Icy Chicken Wire

     Once we got up, and realized there was still no power, emergency measures needed to be taken - yep, we put on some clothes and went out in search of coffee and breakfast.  Luckilly, there were a few places downtown that were open and functioning, so we warmed up with coffee and food.  The sidewalks were treacherous, but at least everything looked shiny even if it had started to rain and the sky was grey.

     By the time we got home, the power was back on, so I had a long, hot shower and got dressed.  CC followed suit and then we headed back downtown to do some banking now that we were "connected" once more.

Heath

     I went out a few more times to take some pictures, hoping that the sun would come out which would have made for a great photo-op, but it stayed dull, grey and miserable and continued to rain most of the day.  As the day progressed, the ice finally fell from the branches and rained down on the ground.  I was firmly ensconced on the couch watching TV shows on my laptop and drinking herbal tea so was safe and sound from the elements.