Plans and lists

Plans and lists
While waiting for yesterday's snow to melt, I re-did our yard plans and added lists so that I can see the palette that is developing and what we have. I've started so many flowers from seed this year that I started losing track...is that an annual, perennial, how big does it get, when does it bloom?
And then we have the veg to contend with. I have to make sure that I leave sufficient space or I will be on the receiving end of dirty looks and a lot of head shaking.
We have cut out a significant amount of lawn...7 feet at the back, 4 on each side and another 4 in front of the soon-to-be constructed deck.
Plenty of room for the dandelions. I will again be attempting the chemical-free battle on those cheery little buggars! Promise not to swear too much....really.

April 22

I will admit it. I am feeling a bit nervous today.
The weather man says that starting on Thursday, a cool system will be moving into our area. With the predicted rain and daily highs of only 11 or 12 this could mean that our friend, snow, will make one last appearance.
Now this wouldn't normally bother me but I am a gardener now! I am tilling the soil, nursing the seedlings, dutifully using my compost bin and dreaming of a pretty rain barrel! My tulips are reaching skyward and sending out blooms. There are lemon yellow pansies popping up here and there. The irises, poppies and delphiniums are all happily growing away.
I am sure that generations of Calgary gardeners have soldiered through spring's unpredictable skies but until I see my beauties survive, my stiff upper lip will remain slightly pouty.

DayLilies

It appears that spring may finally be making an appearance here in Calgary. The weather network is promising a week of glorious sunshine!
I've tried to restrain myself and not do too much in the garden but my daylilies needed dividing as they were trying to come up through the cracks in the sidewalk. So, I just did it. Fingers crossed that they are not too shocked. My rationale is that they were still dormant and shouldn't notice...hahahaha.

P.S.
I also moved two bleeding hearts after work. I googled it after and apparently early spring is the best time to move them. Yay!
I also dug up a really gnarly, possible dogwood something from in front of the chimney. J made a face but I am still glad I did it. It was really terrible and it couldn't have been that healthy because it only took a couple shovel digs and a good yank. I am also waiting to see if the two Astilbe I planted last year on either side of said dogwood-something will come up this year. I vow to protect them from the damn bunnies!

Sowing the seeds

Sowing the seeds

Today, I thinned out all the new seedlings for our vegetable garden. We have started 3 types of tomatoes, peppers and broccoli. Most of the rest, we can sow directly in May. It is so hard to stop ourselves from buying more seeds but the allure of homegrown produce is too much!
oldladybird's garden...nice.

This year featuring:
Bonny Best tomato
Cherry mix tomato (orange, yellow & red)
Sweet Delight mixed peppers
Big Beef Hybrid tomato
Bonanza Broccoli
Canadian Early Supersweet corn
Zucchini Dark Green
Detroit Dark Red Beets
Tenderlong Imperator carrots
Grand Rapids lettuce
Sugar Snap peas
Sweet White Spanish onion
Summer Bunching Scallions
Teton Hybrid Spinach

I'll list out the flowers soon and then report back at the end of the season on what did well.

Ah, spring in Calgary is a cruel mistress. After weeks of warm weather, even the tulips were fooled by the spring storm that rolled in last night. I am not sure why it always comes as a surprise. Maybe because we are already getting our gardening suntans or it could be that it just seems unbelievable that after days of +10 and higher that snow could even be possible.
Nevertheless, my tulips and daylilies are buried under a couple inches of slushy snow that should melt within a couple days. I am curious to see how they fare in the long run. Stand by.

Peony
 

Everything is starting to peak out from the soil...even the peonies although they are just testing the air with a pinkie.
J and I went to the garden centre again this weekend and started two more trays of flowers and veg. Mojito Salvia, Chinese Lanterns and some gorgeous white columbines called Aquilegia Lime Sorbet for the flowers and more tomatoes, broccoli and zucchini. I dread that I will be that lady who is trying to pawn off pounds and pounds of zucchini!
I am definitely going to need a deep freeze before fall.

We also have a new visitor to the yard...or maybe he's not new at all. Either way, there is a very irritated Robin who is hanging out in the yard giving us some serious stink eye. It could be due to the fact that we have chopped down the shrub that he nested in last year...
He comes around when we are outside and sits on the roof or the fence and stares at J. Weirder still...over the weekend when we were digging, Mister Robin decides to check out what I am up to and lands on the ground about 2 feet from me and just casually checks me out. I say hi, grab a worm and throw it over. Without even a flinch, he hops over to the worm, grabs it and takes off.
J thinks I am some sort of animal whisperer.

Weekend destruction

Yesterday, I noticed that the chickadees had returned. A pair swooping systematically back and forth into the rotten hollowed out deck boards...presumably starting to build a nest. We knew it was time to pull down the deck.
We have a plan in mind for the style but after reading the building code rules and regs are not sure that we can move forward as planned. It will require a bit more thought but I am sure we can come up with something pleasing and within the law.

Diggin'
 

Good Friday has been good for gardening! J and I started digging up the new beds. Since it is much to early to do anything other than destroy and kill, digging up turf seemed like a perfect way to scratch the gardening itch. We spent the afternoon jumping on the edger and shaking all the excess dirt (along with a few earthworms) back into the bed. J fought a valiant battle against a very old shrub that used to reside between fence and deck and that will be the new home for a rain barrel. Now I get to figure out what lovely things to plant in these generous 4ft beds.                                        

We did have a small bed there last year. It came with a lilac (colour to be seen), a pale pink peony & one pink bleeding heart. Last summer I added some coral bells, blue fescue, poppies and white Galahad Delphiniums. If you sense a colour theme you are correct. This house came with all pink walls inside and all pink flowers outside with the exception of some brilliant orange daylilies. My only choice has been to embrace the pink while trying to minimize it with a palette of pink, orange and white. We'll see how it starts coming together this year.