More Garden

Now to continue the garden tour. 

There are about three different vines on the side of the shed and we are hoping one will be a grape.  Then we have either gooseberry or current; they might be just too old to retain.  Our one rose this year, which now doesn't have any petals left after Richard knocked them all off throwing the lilac branches over the fence.  I have been discovering all these different plants as I cut back the over grown catoni- aster (sorry about the spelling) hedge.  I will be cutting the hedge back more because there are parts that are dead and need to be removed to allow the healthy parts to grow up.

The pyramid planter we appear to have inherited the previous owners wanted it back but have not come to get it so if we still have it next year then we will fill it with plants.  You can see a part of the hedge that is cut right back.  To the left of this picture is another large maple.

Yes that is a wet dry vacuum, I used it to clean out the rest of the crud from the second water feature.  This one is a lot larger and has waterfall and a fountain but I need to cut the hedge back and clean all the old decomposed leaves from amongst the rocks and also pull out all the young trees.  I missed taking a picture of the 2nd maple but the last picture is a beautiful honeysuckle, but it has been allowed to become leggy I'm not sure how much pruning it will handle but I am going to try and cut it back.

This lilac has become so wild and was obscuring the water feature so I was slowly cutting out branches, it is going to be completely removed as it is not a pretty shrub.

A saskatoon bush that is a bit overgrown and has a lot of old wood that will need to come out this fall.  We should have lots of berries as the blossoms were absolutely lovely.

Two piles of brush which is mainly lilac bush and a bit of the hedging that I have been busy cutting down.

Now I am back in the front of the house.  We hate to cut the lawn because we have these blooming in it and it is such a shame to cut them off especially when we don't have very much in the garden yet.

This mess is in front, maybe next year it will have a whole new look.  Daisy's that have gone wild, yarrow that grows like a weed, there are some delphiniums in the back and some red flowers.  Earlier in the spring there were some primula, pansies and flowering chives.  Central of this mess is a rotten tree trunk that.  Richard will hack out with his axe.

So the half dead low growing cedars will be removed.  There are three spruce or is it four, one will be coming down to give some of the other spruces a chance to grow back in and allow the elm and maples on the boulevard to grow back.  What can I say about that final picture.  In there are the two maples that I showed the tops of earlier two young, but very high, ceder trees and a dead mountain ash.  Most if not all these will be coming down soon.  We have a dog run back there too, this is the other side of the back deck.  If we keep the dog run Ian will not have to worry about bringing his dog with him when he visits us.

So there you have it, all the uncared for trees, shrubs, flower beds and water features.  Lots of work so any volunteers?  Help especially trips to the dump with all the wood that is being cut down would be very much appreciated.  What has Richard been doing while I've been working on the yard?  Tomorrow I will show you just some of what he has worked on.











All New Flower Beds

As most of my family know I love flower gardens, if I had my way the whole yard would be nothing but flowerbeds. That being said this is what I managed to accomplish this spring and early summer. Even though our spring was very late or non-existent on the nice days you could find me outside digging flower beds. In case you have forgotten what the back of the house looked like when we purchased it I've added a picture.

The back of the house faces South with the back of the shed facing East.

These beds are on the east and north side of the shed. We had to raise the east bed, while digging out the driveway, to make room for the motor home, we moved topsoil to areas that needed to be raised, the east side of the shed was one of those areas. Some of the plants have finished blooming, they are all new most are transplanted from parishioners gardens, divided perennials do not have many flowers the first year. The delphiniums are finished as are the tiger lilies, most of the colour comes from the few annuals that I purchased or members of the congregation gave me.


A closer view of the north side of the shed, the ornamental grass will probably be moved as I am thinking of adding a small water feature on that corner. I love adding rocks to the garden to give interest.
This is a small bed that I made by the steps, the bed is east of the deck and south of the house. You will notice I brought my old runners that were in the garden at Nipigon and Gram ma Emma's purse, my frog garden ornament is also there. The tall delphiniums are just about finished. I have lots of hens and chicks in both the shoes and the purse and the ground with a few other plants to fill in and a couple of annuals to add colour. My only flower box is on the deck to appear part of this garden.
On the east side of the house I found peonies, lots of peonies, which I dug up and once all the weeds were clear I replanted many of the roots, they never bloom the first year after transplanting. I plan to mainly have interesting greenery in this bed with hostas, elephant ears, Bergenia's, for flowers: columbines. Next spring I shall take advantage of the early sales on hostas to add here and I might just dig up most of the peonies as there are just too many.


The concrete patio has a small flowerbed against the south side of the house but the few plants I put here will be moved and will be replaced with planters to cut down on the amount of water that is sprayed against the house. As you see we love to encourage the birds to the garden, our cats TV. I find it hard always winding and unwinding the hose so it usually sits on the concrete as you see it in this picture, it doesn't look very tidy we will have to try something else to make watering easier for me.

This flower bed is on the west side of the house against the chainlink fence of the school playing field. I had two big cauliflowers in this small space which have been cut and eaten. The tall plants at the back, I have no idea what they are called, but they are a late blooming flower to add interest in the fall. I have various types of day lilies, a white veronica and a purple veronica (which isn't in the picture), the other flowers are annuals with of course my rabbit garden ornament.

I just had to take a picture of a cauliflower that is in the garden. This is the third one that was big enough to harvest, as you can see from the leaves this is truly organic no powder was used to keep the cabbage butterflies away so the heads have to be cleaned really really well to get rid of all the green caterpillars.

So there you are, my gardens that I worked on this year. Hopefully next year I can work on the front of the home to add colour and interest. Of course that will all depend on if we get the porch repaired or replaced. I hope you enjoyed walking with me through my garden.

BLACK FLY COUNTRY

A BLACK-FLY (from NABFA website)

This picture is of a black-fly, obviously a lot larger than reality, being no more than 1/4 inch if that in size. If you have ever been to Northern Ontario you will know all about these pesky insects.

When we moved to Nipigon, Ontario I never realised, until the first time I was bitten what Richard meant when he said, "Just wait until you see the black-flies; I only hope you don't react to them like you do mosquitoes."

A mosquito will send me indoors for the bug spray, black-flies keep me indoors. They don't just sting, they bite and leave a bloody mess. They love to bite around your face, behind your ears; on your neck; at your hairline; before you know what has gotten to you, you are bleeding. They will bite anywhere that isn't covered. They swarm you just for being outside.

Anyway getting back to the first time I was bitten. Three bites; one very near my bottom lip; one at the corner of my eye; and the other one towards my ear, all on the left side of my face. Before I knew what had gotten to me my eye had swollen shut, my lip was so big I could barely talk and the whole side of my face was one swollen mess. Only three bites, within minutes of each other. Needless to say I headed for the Doctor's office. His verdict; "black-fly bites"; the remedy; antihistamines and don't go outside without a bug jacket on during black-fly season. I've heard so many times "they are gone by the end of July". I'm sorry folks but they are not all gone by the end of July.

I've tried to do as the Doctor instructed; wear a bug jacket, have you ever worn one of those things to work in the garden? They are hot and if you don't ensure it doesn't cling to your skin the black-flies still get to you. So unless there is a strong breeze outside I do not go out to work in the garden.

So why do I bring this pest up now? I've lived here for over five years, surely I've learned? Well no! Tonight there was a nice breeze and no heat and I thought it would be a great opportunity to be outside doing some weeding. I did not put on the bug jacket, there did not appear to be any of the pests about. Little did I know.

I had been out for maybe 10, 15 minutes at tops and I knew; just above my forehead in my hair one of those pesky flies had scored. That was it, in I go; straight to the bathroom to view the damage. Sure enough, before my very eyes the patch of red appears, then the rosy hue of my skin begins at the hairline slowly spreading down towards my eyebrows.

I've taken an antihistamine, to cut down the reaction; found the ''After Bite" and the ice pack; none of these truly work as the surrounding area will swell and stay that way for several days no matter what I do. Every so often I put the cold pack to the area just to cool things down. The itch won't start until sometime tomorrow, it will just pulsate, but it will come and last for a good week. The swelling will ease in a couple of days; but the lump at the actual bite site will stay for a good week with the itch and weeping sore.

So can you blame me for saying I don't want to live here anymore. I love to garden, to go for walks, to sit outside in the sun; non of which I am able to do here in Nipigon. So does anyone know of a good Lutheran Church that would love a strong confessional Pastor; and isn't in Northern Ontario in black-fly country; because I know a Pastor's wife who would love to have her husband move. Five years with black-flies is quite enough for me!.

Garden Challenge

On Saturday I was invited by Janet to go and visit the six local gardens chosen for this years week-end garden tour. I was amazed at the amount of work that has gone into each of the gardens I visited. I had planned on taking some pictures and adding them to this blog but I forgot to take my camera with me. I think of how long it has taken me to get just my front garden looking fairly nice and it is nothing in comparison to the gardens I saw.

Each year our local horticultural club choices six different gardens for this week-end tour, for a community of less than 2000 residents there are a fair number of wonderful gardens. When you consider the well laid out beds so neatly trimmed and weeded you know that the owners of these gardens love working in them. The use of raised beds and water features made each garden unique.

I would love to have the energy, and not be allergic to the small black flies that bite so viciously here, in order to be able to spend more hours working in my front garden. I have three basic areas of garden, if you count my pot display on the steps it would be four areas. Each flower bed has it's own challenge.

The very first garden is under the kitchen area and is basically clay, I've added peat moss, black dirt, manure and this year compost from our own compost bin and still the clay takes control. If you know anything about clay, you will know that thistles love it and I have spent the last four years trying to eradicate these thistles to no avail. This year a dug this flower bed up trying to get at the root of the problem, but I did not succeed, I found a product called Total and sprayed the offending weeds. Yes the thistles are gone but so are some of my perennials which will have to be replaced next year.

The next garden is separated by the width of a small path in front of the clay one. This one is all rock and gravel, so obviously it is my rock garden. The biggest challenge to this garden is the clover, I wouldn't mind if the clover was pretty but it isn't and every year I try to weed it out, every year it is back again. This is going to be an ongoing battle.

The third garden is across the steps from the first and under the living room window. This one is very very sandy. It originally had two large lilacs but now only has one after I requested the other one be removed two years ago. The biggest problem with this garden has been the suckers from the lilac and the daisies that like to take over.

I love these gardens each having their own challenge, I can't spend as much time as I would like working in them. They would be amazing displays of flowers if I could devote the time to them. With all that said and done they give a lovely display of flowers for all the passers by to enjoy. and I'm happy to be able to devote a small portion of my time to these gardens.

Of course none of these pictures were taken when the garden was at its best this year. That would have been when we arrived home from holidays at the end of June. The rock garden had a carpet of yellow with purple Johny jump-ups in the midst. As usual I procrastinated too long before taking pictures. From these pictures the garden looks overgrown this is a misconception many of the flowers are finished and only the greenery remains. Each year I look for new perennials and move plants around for their best advantage and growing needs. I find this small area a lot of work I can only imagine the amount of work that went into the gardens I saw on Saturday.

What's in a name?

I've just been sitting here this evening pondering once more what to call my blog. I feel this name has to be me or at least represent me. It was suggested I play on my nick name... Ronnie... Ron Ron Ron but I'm not sure. Tonight I feel it should be something on the lines Ronnies Rumblings or Ronnies Ramblings and Rumblings... but I wonder if that would end up sounding more like Ronnies Grumblings and we don't do much in the way of rambling. I could on the other hand use my full name and call it Veronica's questions and answers... but no I think I still have to ponder on this more.

As of yet I haven't told too many people about my blog. I'm not sure that I'm really ready to have everyone see my thoughts of the moment. Doing a general blog about where we've been and what I've been up to would be fairly boring, interesting for those who know us but that's about all. My life is not that exciting. I work full time which takes most of my energy leaving me little left for the things I really want to do.

What do I truly like to do? I like to garden but the tiny black flies that bite so viciously here, and from which I swell up, make this impossible for me for any length of time without the need of protection from a full upper body bug jacket, which is basically a fine net which completely covers my head, face, arms, well my whole upper body. These jackets are so hot and then I over heat and suffer the rest of the day. I've been told that the black flies are at their worst in June but I have found that they bite me all summer long.

I also like to do cross stitch and petit point, and I have loads and loads of projects to do, but once home I just want to sit and veg-out not start concentrating on intricate patterns. My third love and probably my biggest passion is my BOXALL One Name Study. It seems though as soon as I get deep into researching a family and tracking down the lineage and trying to get my facts straight it's time to turn in for the night and the momentum is once again lost.

The need to work is not am option at the moment but the day will come when I can retire and put my mind and hands to the activities I really enjoy and want to do. For now I sit here and ponder... What do I call my blog?