Oh Canada

"Canadians are generally indistinguishable from Americans, and the surest way of telling the two apart is to make the observation to a Canadian." by Richard Staines

Happy Birthday Canada
This is a negative version of the Canadian flag flown at the viewpoint above the Beach Trail here in Powell River.  I am a proud Canadian (although I do not own a pair of red mittens nor do I drink beer). 

As the main garden is 'in', for the last two days we have been feverishly pruning, weeding, sweeping, and generally trying to clean up the very mature 'hedge' that surrounds the front of the house.  Barry has been trying to tame the 'hedge'  armed with electric hedge trimmers, a power vac, and ladder.  As you can imagine, his back is suffering.  I just cannot imagine life without Epsom salts and the infrared sauna. 

I must admit I used to frown at those people using power vacs...but I can see their value.  Barry uses the power vac to suck up the trimmed leaves.  The machine then chomps the leaves up, ready for the compost pile.  It has been invaluable on the 'hedge' job. 

I have been busy hand-sifting the compost into buckets and then I discovered how efficient the wheelbarrow and big sifter could be in compost distribution.   I generally do not use the wheelbarrow because of the arthritis in my hands.  My grip is very limited.  If I intend to use the wheelbarrow I must rest the handles on my arms.  This is manageable on flat surfaces but our yard is not flat and the wheelbarrow sometimes gets away from me going down hill.  Probably amusing for the neighbours though. 

Talking about neighbours...our neighbours to the south invited us to check out their tomatoes growing in their greenhouse so over the fence we went.  Sergio was kind enough to provide a ladder to scramble down on their side of the fence.  I was amazed.  Their garden is a great example of how much food can be produced on a city lot.  I was particularly interested in hearing about how Sergio has grafted various varieties of pear onto his pear tree.  This is a propagation method I have not tried...yet. 

Fig trees are very popular here in Powell River.  I did not know this when I ordered my Hardy Chicago Fig from Richters Herbs in Ontario.  I could have purchased a popular Brown Turkey Fig at the Powell River Garden Club's Plant Sale.  Oh, well, now I know.  I prefer to buy locally when at all possible. 

Some of Barry's photos of the garden this week.