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Another gorgeous day

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I just love it when we have beautiful days in the dead of winter. It warmed up to 18 C or 64 F today … that’s almost unheard of here in Toronto!

I had to resist a strong urge to go out and putter in my garden! There’s still a little bit of snow out there – or at least there was some in the shady areas in the afternoon … it’s possible that it melted away by now.

So I was looking out at my garden from the kitchen window .. the leaves on the ground and in the garden beds, the roses that I didn’t prune in the fall, plants that needed to be pulled out after they died down last fall … and that’s when the urge to get out there and tidy up the garden hit me.

Of course it’s the beginning of March. I’m sure we’ll have one or two snow storms and some desperately cold weather before Spring really arrives … so no, I didn’t go out into the garden no matter how much I wanted to. It would have been a wasted effort and if I’d started pruning it might even have hurt the plants one the cold weather returns.

Instead my dog got an extra long walk in the afternoon and a long walk in the evening. She also was given a walk, as usual, in the morning by my husband. So we all got some good exercise and we’re able to enjoy the amazingly warm March weather.

Did it warm up in your area too? If it did, did you get outside to enjoy it too?






Orchid blooms for the new year

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Happy New Year! I hope that everyone is looking forward to 2009.

I’m looking forward to a fresh start. I didn’t make any resolutions other than to hopefully be healthier this year and well … I just have to hope for my Crohn’s to settle for that to happen.

I don’t really have any gardening news … not when it’s freezing cold here and the garden beds are covered in at least a few inches of snow.

My indoor plants are doing well though. One of my Orchids is blooming for the first time in about three years. It has one bloom so far and several other buds, so it looks like I’ll have Orchids blooming all month. The bloom is white.. Somehow I don’t remember it being white in the past. Odd! My other Orchid plant has developed a stem and has a few buds on it, so it will be blooming shortly as well.

I rescued my three Amaryllis from the basement yesterday. I’d forgotten about them! I brought them inside in early November when it started to get cold. I usually keep them outside on the enclosed from porch during the summer. It faces north so they don’t get a lot of bright light, but it’s enough to power them up for winter blooms.

They had survived their stay in the dark basement and were starting to sprout pale green leaves. Now they are on the kitchen table (near south facing window) and hopefully they’ll produce some blooms in February or March.

I love Amaryllis blooms. It’s a pity they only last about a week or so. Hopefully my three plants will stagger their blooms a bit and I’ll get a month of blooms.

How are your gardens and houseplants doing? Any blooms? Any new plans for the garden this year?

Wishing you a Happy New year, health and happiness (and a green thumb) in 2009! Thank you for being loyal readers!

Summer rose

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This is one of my favorite roses. It’s called Breath of Life and it’s a climbing rose.

The plant grows right at the entrance to my garden and when it’s in bloom I can see it’s lovely flowers from my kitchen window, the enclosed back porch and of course as I begin walking out my back door. What a lovely rose to greet me!

It blooms regularly throughout the summer so I almost never see it without roses. In fact this stubborn plant has a perfectly formed dead rose at the tip of one of it’s branches right now … even thought it’s absolutely freezing out! I’m surprised the rose hasn’t fallen off yet.

BTW sorry this post is so late. I’ve been sick all weekend. Sore throat and or swollen gland in my neck, sore ear, stuffy nose, massively bad headache and a grumbley stomach. No, I’m not a happy camper!

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