Jack Frost

"Jack Frost is a fairy small; I'm sure he's out today.  He nipped my nose and pinched my toes when I went out to play."

Ever since the sun's arrival last week, we have awakened to a lovely coating of frost.  The temperature is zero or minus one but quickly warms up to 8 to 10 degrees celsius.  Right now I am watching the fog work its way back up the hill to Fernwood. 

Just spotted a rather large bald-headed eagle circling the large trees in Larry Gouthro Park, one block east of us.  He must be in search of breakfast (hopefully not the squirrels).  We noticed many piles of discarded Douglas Fir seed pods at the base of the trees in the park recently.  Now we know why we never see the red squirrel in our yard.  I miss them. 

While living in our Langley home, the red squirrels romped through the forested greenspace bordering the yard and visited regularly.  In this picture, 'mother' squirrel was showing her offspring where the "goods" could be found.  Initially we started feeding the black sunflower seeds to the birds but soon the word was out and we soon had other visitors - raccoons, grey squirrels (of course), pileated woodpeckers, stellar jays, and owls (although these last three were not there for the seeds). 

Here in Powell River, we mostly have nocturnal quests in the yard - mostly deer and raccoon, although they do not limit their visits to night (as you can see in this picture).  On a couple of occasions we had a hawk scout out the yard.  Oh, and there is a mess of pigeons, crows and stellar jays that hang in our neighbourhood. 

Well, I need to get back to work now.  Today, while we were at Springtime Nursery, I realized I had forgotten to allow space in the garden for potatoes so I need to reconfigure my plans.  While there, we purchased our onion sets - got 80 each of the white, yellow, red and spanish.  Hopefully, we will have a better onion harvest this year.  Last year we tried to buy onion sets once we had moved here, but alas all sources had sold out of them and we had none.  Trying to grow onion from seed in June is expecting a miracle.  We are fast learners though and this year we are ready!

From a plant's point of view

'My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes that I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view'...by H. Fred Dale

What a beautiful 14th day of February!  The mighty winds of the last couple of days have blown the clouds and rain away, replacing it with a robin's egg blue sky and a brilliant sun.  Our final high today was 11 degrees celsius.  The sun's rays warmed the earth.  I even shed my hat and vest. 

Barry rolled the new planters outside today.  Thank goodness for the dolly.  Even without the soil, they are heavy.  They are slightly larger than the original two he made for our deck in Langley.  They measure 5 feet by 16 inches.  We have to be patient to plant it up though, as we intend to grow our Purple Haze carrots in them.  We have set aside one of the large beds in the back to grow Royal Chantenay carrots for juicing (and eating if we have a craving for orange carrots).  I created a small bed at the end of the fence.  We haven't decided what will go in this new little bed but it probably with be one of the aromatic herbs.  If I put one of the lemon verbena there, I could brush by it frequently, releasing its awesome smell (best lemon smelling plant!). 

I am so excited.  Barry built a plant light center.  I have always yearned for one and now we have one!  I went a little crazy with the bright coloured paint but I love it. 

He who plants a garden, plants happiness - chinese proverb

Shall we compare our hearts to a garden
with beautiful blooms, straggling weeds,
with swooping birds, sunshine, and rain -
and most importantly, seeds ...Grey Livingston

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching.  Love is in the air...and, if the wind here in Powell River doesn't die down, all that love will be heading over to Texada.  Chinese New Years also falls on February 14th this year.  More reason to celebrate! 

I have a beautiful book by Lillian Too, called The Complete Illustrated Guide to Feng Shui for Gardens.  It states, 'Fuchsias are deemed to be extremely auspicious as they look like red lanterns.  They are not regarded as weeping flowers, but are prized for their precious Yang energy.'

We were fortunate to have a few fushsia magellanica (bush fushsia) in the garden when we purchased the house and I immediately went to work propagating more.  These fushsia can be propagated by softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings.  To take a cutting, select a soft growing tip, 6-10 cm long, from a healthy plant.  Make a clean, sharp cut just below a node.  Remove the lowest leaves, leaving just enough at the top to continue the photosynthesis process.  To achieve maximum results, dip the cut stem into a rooting hormone (you can use a tincture of willow as a rooting stimulator) to assist in the development of roots before placing it into a good starter soil mixture.  Misting frequently is essential or create a miniature greenhouse by covering with a clear, plastic container or bag. 

We have been busy in the garden already.  Barry has added an addition to the 'nursery bed'...it just wasn't big enough.  We have decided to stay with the raised sod bed idea...seems to be working.  He also created a circular bed for growing a heritage pole bean called Brita's.  These bean plants reach a height of at least 6 feet so need plenty of support.  The actual bean is about 1 foot long and can be eaten as a fresh snap bean or dry bean.  I like the little circular bed so much I have put in a request for more.  They would be perfect for growing individual mints.  Mint can be very invasive if not controlled.    Last year I grew our mints (we currently have 4 different kinds) in old washtubs. 

We have established a drowning bucket for weeds, that way we can reclaim the nutrients they sucked out of the soil. 

The mild weather this winter has encouraged early growth.  We were compeled to move a floribunda rose, Livin' Easy, right away before it broke dormancy.  Why have such a lovely rose hidden at the back of the yard?   We have discovered hundreds of crocus growing in the yard.  Nice surprise!  We planted hundreds of bulbs in the fall and are eagerly awaiting their arrival.