karynthegarden's Blog

Sunny Skies
Feb 21, 2008 | 6:47 PM PST
Sun was a nice pick me up today  it was a beautiful day for the middle of February sometimes all you need is a bit of sun.  Potting shed was  warm as toast when I stepped in to check my poppies again the power of the sun  I hung out in there for a bit  and organized a few  things  I have tried and tried to post some photos with my blog but no luck followed instructions given buy helpful friends but for some reason my pc will not let me apply the photos so I will just have to use my albums.  Seedlings grow a little everyday my geraniums are doing well. It will be great to have so many to use this season for all my planters and window boxes  and all for or pennies.   I will post a photo in my album as well as a photo of the inside of garage which is looking wonderful.  Good news in the spare bedroom  we pulled back the carpet to find no plywood subfloor to pull up and  no brown paint to remove  this should save us so much time  and the pine looks to be in great condition ready for sanding  can't wait to get at it ! I am looking forward to bringing Boo home for the weekend to hang out with her Nana and opa might even play outside in the snow. I will swing by after work and pick her up then we will stop by great gramma's for a visit before we head home.  So my weekend belongs to Hailee as she will keep me busy!!!  Feeling sleepy so better go make lunches then call it a night.

Just Another Day
Feb 19, 2008 | 10:30 AM PST

Just another day of being couped up inside  looking out the window at my garden buried deep in snow wishing for spring wanting to get started at all the plans for my garden I have dreamt up over the winter We are headed for another deep freeze weather channel called it an icy  blast  boy I  cant wait  for that  just what I  need!!!   Seedlings are doing as they should be growing a little each  day geraniums have tiny baby true leaves so cute :-)  but all I can do is make sure they stay moist and get the light they need   I have been toying with they idea of getting out the wood stripper and working on finishing  stripping the stairs and maybe working on the banister it needs to be done and I need to keep busy, but first its lunch time  so a bowl of soup on this cold winters day is in order and and then who knows .

.Family Day
Feb 18, 2008 | 7:21 PM PST

Today is the 1st ever family day a new paid paid holiday here in Ontario Canada.  The powers that be felt we needed a paid holiday in Febuary...... gott'a love it eh!   So Febuary 18th was proclaimed to be Family Day  and in fact I love the concepted and I hope people will use this day to connect with their loved ones as Rudy and I did.  I found some time to play with my camera today and was able to  add a few pics, some winter photos and a few shots of the interiour of my shed showing the shelves I put up to hold some of my clay pots and a few pics of Boo!.   My seedlings are doing well I am pleased with the high germination rate I recieved on both the impatiens and the gerainiums   The true leaves of the gerainiums are beginning to show poppies are frozen in the shed and will come inside in a few weeks I will start my petunias and the end of the month and my zinnas at the end of March  We had plenty of rain on Sunday which helped to wash away some of the snow but made for slippery conditions later in the day as the temperture dropped The garage is about 90% done we will be so pleased to not have that to deal with and to move on and get back to other things its been a challenge and a long road. 

Enough Already!!!!!
Feb 13, 2008 | 6:35 AM PST
We have been hit again with yet another winter storm and are buried knee deep in snow. I think I have a bit of cabin fever a bad case of hurry up and wait for the season to change . I am trying to keep busy inside with daily chores and such but really I am bored!... ok enough whining.......... woe is me I live in Canada and winters are long and cold  deal with it!!! :-)  The little bright spot is that most of my geraniums have begun to sprout so soon I will have my seedlings to fuss over and care for, a bit of green in a sea of white :-) . Impatiens seem slower to sprout but should happen soon.  I am  thinking I could have sown even more impatiens as I do have many shady spots in the garden and they fill in those bare spots amongst the perennials & shrubs so nicely  I may end up purchasing a flat or two we shall see . Petunias will be sown at the end of the month and at the end of march my Zinnia's. Poppies are in the shed in a deep freeze once I bring them in under the grow lights the fun begins. I have plans to dress up the shed a bit and a few other hardscaping jobs I want to tackle this season but have to wait until weather permits but for now I will just keep dreaming of spring.

Down & Out
Feb 7, 2008 | 1:10 PM PST

I have been under the weather the last few days picked up a cold first one this season and its set me back a day or two and I didn't have the energy to do much so I let nature take its course and got plenty of rest and today I am beginning to feel better.  Unfortunately my seeds are still needing to be sowed I felt I didn't want to attempt it when not feeling well I wanted to take my time and enjoy it and I knew the way I felt it would have just been a task . So perhaps after supper  I may do some winter sowing but no later than this weekend as both geraniums and impatiens take longer than most .  We were hit again with another nasty winter storm yesterday and even had lightning& thunderstorms Tuesd
ay night wild weather. I am pleased that I received my new PC today I am liking it a lot and best of all now I can use my new digital camera Rudy gave me for Christmas to  record my garden and post the pictures  later I will download the program for the camera and then I should be in business .  Last check on the poppies the soil was frozen but they need the cooler temps to aid germination so I have read. Time to make some dinner then after I will come back and catch up on some of the blogs.

My Mothers Garden
Feb 3, 2008 | 5:52 PM PST

My mother kept a garden, a garden of the heart. She planted all the good things that gave my life its start. She turned me to the sunshine and encouraged me to dream, Fostering and nurturing the seeds of  self -esteem. And when the winds and rains came, she protect me enough- but not too much -she knew Id need to stand up strong and tough. Her constant good excample always taught me right from wrong, markers for my pathway that will last a lifetime long. I am my mothers garden. I am her legacy and I hope  today she feels the love reflected back from me .

Well puttering in my shed I found this birthday card Jennifer gave me a few years back ,it warms my heart and makes me smile  when ever I read it  I keep it in the garden shed   and I will cherish it always.  I tidied up the potting shed this afternoon and poppys are sown and will stay in the shed till March  9th then inside under the grow lights  Grow stand is  cleared off  keeping it down in the basement it seems to become a catch all when its not being used.  My trays are set up and ready for planting but I will need to pick up 5or 6 more trays and some pots for the trays as some are just too worn out .  Talk about worn out Rudys passed out on the sofa  today we dry  walled  part of the ceiling in the garage Rudy made a t -bar and he hoisted  the 10' sheets up the ladder and I held the other end up with the t-bar untill he could fasten the sheet securly to the studs. It was a back breaking job but we managed to finish a section and tommorrow he will work on the walls.  Saturday was a great day hanging out with my girls and Cathy shopping for wedding and bridesmaid dresses  Jennifer found her dress and the bridesmaid dresses as well everyones happy  I am glad weather did not prevent me from keeping our shopping date. :-)   Work tommorrow expect my seeds by Friday at the latest once I have them sown then I will get back to working on the house  starting in the spare bedroom    Lunches are made time to go relax for a few minutes then call it a night

Snow Day
Feb 1, 2008 | 6:46 AM PST
Well seems like I have an unexpected day at home. Winter has returned and we are being dumped on. There is a winter storm warning in effect freezing rain expected later this afternoon and we felt it was best I not make the 45 minute commute to work.   So its warm and cozy in here and I will make the most the day by getting after a couple of odd jobs  that need to be done. Ist up I would like to get everything  ready for my  seeds so that when they arrive I will be ready for sowing I should have them by middle of next week if not sooner.  I need to get the spare bedroom ready so I can paint  and then  we can take up the carpet and get after restoring the pine floors as they turned out so well in the master bedroom I would like the spare room finish before spring .   I am going to sow my blue poppy seeds later today and put them in the potting shed just remembering to keep them moist but no worries about protecting them from frost because its beneficial and this will be a reason  to be in the potting shed every other day as I truly enjoy spending time in there.   After 5 weeks I will bring them in and put them under the warmth of the grow lights.  This should be a fun  challenge to see if I can produce at least 1 strong and healthy plant anything after that will be a bonus. I have not had success with the blue poppy in the past but according to the  package  they are guaranteed to germinate so I will  expect  nothing less.  I would love to  to give one to  oma & opa  for their garden .  One thing I want to check online is  a site for a gardening show in Toronto " The Successful  Gardening Show " I have  never been to this show in fact never even heard of it and its in its 20th year  interesting. I noticed the add in the Canadian Gardening  Magazine  looks interesting but  its on March 6th-9th   the week before Canada Blooms which I  would like attend this year.   If I lived in Toronto I would attend them both :-).     Sounds like the  freezing rain has arrived  I can hear  it hitting the windows and sitting here is not getting much done  time to go .