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Working in the garden – Spring cleaning

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Well I managed to finally get out into the Garden on Sunday. It was a lovely day and it was high time that I got out there to tidy up my garden and begin pruning the roses.

Last Autumn I didn’t even manage to put my garden to bed. By this I mean I didn’t do the usual winter protection. I was just too ill. So I’d have to say that I really haven’t done much in my garden at all since perhaps last September and at that time it was mainly only watering the garden.

That’s 7 months of not doing any garden work. Do you know how my body is feeling right now?

I was outside for about five hours. Once I got started I couldn’t make myself stop. Surprisingly I felt pretty good while I was working away. However once I got back inside I began to notice that my back was stiffening up. Now the bottom of my left foot is numb. I guess I must have a pinched nerve in my back! Oh the damage I do to myself when I garden. I tell you – it’s an extreme sport for me.

There are so many plants growing it’s unbelievable! Some are way ahead of themselves. For instance, my daffodils rarely make an appearance before mid-May, yet I have two that are up and blooming and more to come. Some of my supposedly later blooming Tulips are also up and about to bloom. What else was growing well? Strawberry plants, raspberry canes, several clematis, helebores, columbine, monkshood, toad lilies, regular lilies, oriental lilies, several types of tulip, hyacinth, muscari, lavender, Chionodoxa, snow drops, sedum, astilbe, geranium, new york asters, phlox, hostas, trilliums, peonies, rudbeckia, honeysuckle vines and on and on. I’m sure I’ve missed some of the perennials that I saw out there.

I believe that most of the roses will end up surviving. There’s a lot of dead branches but there’s life in the lower areas. Some are quite hardy and are already leaving out at the tips and upper branches. I didn’t survey each rose because I was trying to systematically work my way through the garden one area at a time.

I think I managed to tidy up half of the back garden beds. If my body cooperates I’ll go back outside later today and try to finish up the back. Then I’ll have to do the side of the house, the front garden and boulevard. Oh my … it’s a lot of work!






It’ll be a crime …

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It’ll be a crime if I don’t get outside sometime this weekend. The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous! Mid 20’s Celsius (70’s F) … I’d be crazy not to get outside after the cool weather we’ve had so far this month wouldn’t I?

I haven’t even begun to do any work in my garden. I haven’t planted any seeds in indoor containers, and I haven’t planted any seeds outdoors either. I have bulbs in the cool basement that I didn’t get around to planting last fall either. I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Problem is – I’ve been really sick the last couple of weeks. I want to get outside, especially since the weather is going to be perfect for working outdoors, but I don’t know if I’ll be up to it.

Wish me luck!

Anyone else planning on getting some gardening done this weekend?

First Flower

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I’ve just watched a program on television that we taped. It was on Nova, on PBS, and the episode was called “First Flower”. I didn’t realize this but the origin of the flower has always been in question. It was one of the lingering mysteries that plagued Darwin.

In this program, botanists explore an area in Northern China where one paleobotanist believes the first flower originated. In this program they find a fossil that is believed to be the oldest flower fossil ever found.

You can read more about this program Nova/First Flower on the PBS.org site. There’s quite a bit of information about paleobotanists – scientists who study ancient plants and their fossils, and areas of China where todays modern flowers are believed to have evolved. They refer to China as the mother of gardens.

The program was filmed in high definition, the scenery, the mountains, the gorgeous colorful flowers – all are just spectacular to view as you watch this program. If you get a chance to watch this program you should. It’s just wonderful to look at all of the flora that’s discussed and of course to view the scenery of the Hengduan Mountains of southwestern China and other scenic places.

In this program, one paleobotanist states that flowers evolved rather late in the fossil record, but they came to dominate the earth. if it weren’t for the evolution of flowers it’s said that humans might not have evolved because without flowers we would not have the products of flowering plants to eat.

Isn’t that an amazing theory? Are we, modern gardeners, worshiping the plants that allowed us to live and evolve in the first place?

I never really thought of visiting China before, because when I thought of China I’d always think of over crowded cities, but now, after seeing this program I have a different view of China and you never know, I just might visit the country one day.

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