karynthegarden's Blog

Lesson Learned
Mar 27, 2008 | 6:21 AM PST

Sun is playing hide and seek today when it shines it calls me to come outdoors . You can definitely feel that spring has arrived  I  spotted robins in the yard  yesterday  although there are still some big mounds of snow around  left over from the big storm we had a few weeks back.   My rock garden in front is totally visible and it temps me to start a clean up but  I think I will be patient just a little longer.   After my short lived excitement Monday over discovering that I had some success with my blue poppies ( the count is now 5)  I was  in a panic when I went for my camera  to take some pics and it was not in the case I am usually  very cautious with my camera and always return it to the case as I had thought I'd done after our trail walk on Sunday but  I must have gotten side tracked or I would have realized it wasn't in my coat pocket when we returned home . Rudy and I figure it must have slipped out while we were navigated our way off trail which was impassable because the river had risen over the banks some so we went around the flooded area by cutting through the bush climbing up and over jumping from one spot to another and it was then that my camera  must have fallen out. Monday in the blinding snow we made an attempt to back track our steps but no luck  it  was snowing fairly hard and had been snowing most of the day and was  just too difficult to see ,so I posted notes and offered a reward but was so sick about it, how could I have let this  happen I am usually so careful with it.  One day later  its a  beautiful day lots of sunshine and very mild temps" a lovely spring day "and  Rudy suggest we go have another look he must have been reading my mind,  this time we could see our tacks from Sunday and where we had cut through and sure enough there it was it had been lying there since Sunday and was no worse for wear amazing.  I am thankful and lessons learned when out and about it comes in the case no more slipping  it in my coat pocket I should have know better!   I am off today and since I cannot be in the garden I am  going to work on the stairs get them ready to be varithaned.

Blue Poppies!!! Yee!!! Haw!!!! :-)
Mar 25, 2008 | 6:10 AM PST

 Wow! what a surprise!   so small you . almost need to put your glasses on to see them, but there they are 3 tiny green shoots more than I  had even hoped for. After  trying several times before with no success finally I have done it . I  have to say I am pretty excited about it really its a big deal for me and why I love gardening. I cant wait to tell Rudy  I know after seeing me try several times before  he will be thrilled for me .   I had put the poppies in the potting shed for 5 weeks and then they came in under the grow lights March 9th and for days and days nothing seemed to be happening,  at one point I thought perhaps they were too soggy so I placed them on the upper shelf of my stand which seems to be the warmest spot, but  while doing some research I realized that too much warmth would  not be good either so I moved them once again to the lower shelf  and each day as I tend to my other  trays of seeds and seedlings  there are no signs of blue poppy life. I thought perhaps I had either rotted them away with too much moisture or cooked them with to much warmth  but then I began to noticed the soil didn't seem so damp and I began to mist them daily along with my other  trays thinking they were probably not going to amount to much but what the heck I would give it a few more days although thinking I would  just pick up some more seeds and try again.  So this morning as I am tending to my indoor garden checking on my danish flag poppies( which took awhile to  germinate  and made me wonder if all poppies are difficult to grow from seed) but  did eventually began to grow to where I now have 10 tiny seedlings, as I moved on to check my no show blue poppies tray ,surprise! are my eyes deceiving me? where are my glasses?.... low and behold green!!! could it be? oh my ! yes it is!!!! so far the count is 3 but this is  just step one  the challenge now will be to keep them growing strong and healthy,and what a thrill it would be to one day  plant them out in my garden so they must get my undivided attention.   All other seedlings are doing really well and I am pleased.      This is fun ! I love it !  :-).

Easter Sunday
Mar 23, 2008 | 4:00 PM PST
Rudy and I spent a quite day at home as we had a great family day at Sheldons yesterday Today  was sunny and bright so we decided to go for a afternoon walk on the trails where we came upon not one but several robins my first sighting this spring a good sign .  The trails are beautiful even with all the snow some of the pathways were flooded over slightly so we had some fun  navigating through the bush until the trail was passable. I manage to do a little indoor gardening  petunias and jasmine tobacco are all  separated and into their own pots where they will remain until time to be planted out  next up will be my browallia and phlox  and  around the middle of April I will sow my zinnias and who knows maybe  (and this is a big maybe since they are saying were in for another snow storm) I can  sow my sweet peas  right in the ground ,we shall see. So all is well with my little indoor garden  I have 14 flats on the go and I am enjoying caring for them as the grow its better than nothing :-) . Well work tomorrow so time to make lunches and then hubby and I will watch a movie we rented then call it a night   .   I hope all had a Pleasant Easter  Weekend.

Still waiting :-(
Mar 22, 2008 | 6:45 AM PST

Still on the inside looking out longing to get my hands in the dirt and to do some of the projects I am excited to get at  we are still covered in snow ,  were having more days of sunshine but were still wearing our winter gloves instead of gardening gloves. Seedlings doing just fine, I  planted 2 flats of browallia and 1 flat of phlox and they are just starting to germinate.  Impatiens doing better since I put them in separate pots  and petunias are ready to be separated that will be a job for tomorrow.  .Mmmmm......... hams cooking and hubby says is smellin goood!  We are off to London today to my  brothers and his family to celebrate Easter as well as  birthdays  Crystal my youngest was 24 Thursday me I am  blank blank  :-) today and mom God Bless her who is 40 years older than me  will be 91 a week from today, then April 7 Jennifer will be 26 and finally April 24 Haliee boo  the grandbaby will be 2 so we have much to celebrate and I look forward to spending the day with all.  Eric my oldest will not be there as hes in Italy near the end of a year long backpacking tour of Europe  we have all missed him very much over the past year at our gatherings but we  are pleased hes had the opportunity to see and experience so many amazing things .   So I wish everyone has a wonderful Easter with their family and friends and those of you who can be in your gardens enjoy!

Keeping Busy
Mar 15, 2008 | 7:39 AM PST
Still waiting for spring thaw after last weekends major snow storm but the sun has been shinning and we put the clocks ahead last weekend so the days seem longer and the birds are a chirpin  and you can just feel it in the air so it really wont be long. So to keep my sanity I have been busying myself with projects around the house I finished stripping the old brown paint off the stairs to reveal the lovely old oak it is such an improvement  I still need to go over them with a few touch ups then some sanding and they will be ready to varathane and the spare bedroom is primed and ready for painting.Most seedlings are doing well  the geraniums especially but I do find the impatiens are finicky my jasmine tobacco has germinated  as well as my petunias,  but those darn poppies  of the danish flag variety I have only 2 which have germinated and the blue poppies nothing.  Its time to put the impatiens into separate pots they might do better although they are not crowded at all and I have heard the doubles are more difficult to grow reason why they cost more to buy. I picked up some browallia seeds another plant I like to use often and you don't find everywhere ,a new variety call sky blue   and  a  new  scented phIox I have not grown either of these before so will be interesting to see how the do.  So much for keeping it simple this year I will be running out of room for trays  soon :-)

Finally Something to blog About
Mar 1, 2008 | 10:57 AM PST
I haven't felt like blogging lately guess I have been  been suffering from cabin fever and needed to turn my attentions away from thoughts of gardening or go crazy with impatience. We had  beautiful sunny days last weekend but still sooooooooo much snow seems like spring will never come,   hubby and the grand baby and I decided to get out in it and we were glad we did. We headed across the street to the hiking trails something we don't take advantage of nearly as much as we should such beautiful trails right on our door step shame on us !!!!  We took Hailee in her sled and boy did she  have fun. Rudy and I would love teach her about the beauty of  nature hiking camping  ect. something we enjoy and would love to pass on to Boo. My seedlings are doing as they should and coming along nicely I find the impatiens grow much slower then the geraniums .  Finally today something I could enjoy about gardening and not just read about ,  we went to a garden show in the next  town over THE STRATFORD GARDEN FESTIVAL  about a 30 minute drive from home much closer than driving to Toronto for the annual Canada Blooms, although its much smaller it was still quite good with several garden displays speakers and  of course markets with plenty to  spend your money on.  I picked up some interesting and unusual seeds a really cool looking  annual red and white poppy called Danish Flag it sports a white center surrounded by red ruffled petals caught my eye  immediately also a highly fragrant light blue sweet pea I do love my true blue flowers and had never seen a sweet pea of this shade also speaking of fragrance a jasmine tobacco  package says, all summer long the 3", flowers pour forth their lavish jasmine scent and can be smelled from 10' away  well  you have got to love that :-). As well I picked up a English daisy  for Rudy he seems to always point them out so I  figure must be a plant he takes a shine to.  and of course had to pick up some toys for the garden as well  a wind chime a combination of copper and glass prisms  and a plant stake very Victorian looking which suits me just fine  so it was a good afternoon and something I really needed. I will try to get my petunias  jasmine tobacco and poppies sown this weekend and in another week my blue poppies will be ready to come in from the potting shed and under the grow lights and the sweet peas will be sown directly outside as soon as I can work the ground and when frost is still possible as the planting directions state . I shall post a few pictures then off to spend some time with hubby.  feels good to be blogging  again