Do you hear what I hear?

Happy New Year Gardeners! Are you, like me, turning your thoughts to the coming season? 

Last year was a big one in the garden for us. I realize I went offline as the going got hectic but I did peek in on you all. :) In a nutshell, I'll give you the good news, bad news & more good news. 

First, some very good: We removed all the gravel from our front garden, scraped down the clay and brought in top soil. Some may recall the entire front and back were gravel when we moved in 6 1/2 years ago--sans plantings except one rhubarb and some fine, well-placed, mature spruce and mountain ash. It now looks good. I can see where I will want to add more structure, but the difference between grey, sharp and weedy and green, soft and pretty is heart lifting. We are now entirely gravel free! 

     The parting view of colour in 2013

The bad(ish) news: This is a pretty big bad depending on how you choose to look at it. We are not comfortable with the placement of our stone patio in the back garden. It is too close to our neighbours' property and when our gazebo is up it blocks the sun to our south-facing bed. (My poor roses are flopping!!) It will be a huge job to move it, and undoubtedly will be costly and disruptive. So what's the good news in this scenario? Well, let me tell you (*she grins mischievously*).

We are going to move the patio over so it is more centrally placed and closer in to the house. What we lose in angles of vistas will be compensated for with increased depth of the sunny beds and more privacy. (Of course, those bigger beds will be crying for more plantings...;-))  The other good news is that it won't disturb existing plantings in our beds. Now, this all means more work, but I think we will be happier in the long run if we get the fundamentals down right. 

Oh, and the bonus good news? We loaded up on bulbs last fall and planted madly in anticipation of accelerating spring blooming time here in the great white north. Many of these bulbs I have been coveting so I am so excited. We also added to existing beds with the last of our tree purchases, a few new hydrangeas (love!!), some gorgeous ferns and much anticipated hellebores.

Some 2013 bulb purchases 

So, has the new year brought gardening fever with it? A resounding yes!!

I suspect I am not the only one with this winter fever--so all the best to you in your garden fever dreaming for 2014!!

How a Frozen Ground Gardener Stays Sane - or Mostly So

What do you do when January seems like it has lasted five months already and your garden is under several feet of snow and the city keeps promising the plows will come and the wind chill is straight out of Mordor? You get creative. You play. You get goofy even. (Goofy not being a stretch for me, say some).

I am dancing to salsa music. Actually I should say working out to it because, really, I haven't mastered enough of the steps yet to say I am cha-cha-chaing. No matter. The music makes me want to move my butt and moving my butt I am, even if it hurts. I guess that's why they call the class Salsa Burn. Oh, my favourite move? It's called Washing the Windows. Soooo much better than really washing windows. Trust me.

I am drumming. Yes, I wanna bang on me drum all day! I took a workshop in Japanese drumming in the fall and loved it. So for January I decided to try hand drumming. What fun! It is a rather intimate experience, actually, with a little more 'touchy-feely' focus than I was expecting, but nobody in our little circle has gotten to the point of oversharing yet so I'm good. There is something quite joyful about playing in sync with others and just having hella fun. This week we actually did a little dancing with the drums. My science-minded husband raises his eyebrows and nods with that poker face he has perfected when I tell him what we have been up to. Then he raises the newspaper up over his face again. I think I've heard snorts from behind that paper, but it must be the dry air making his sinuses act up. Right?

For moments of real cabin fever, I have emergency seed catalogue stations around the house. Quick, page 12, the hellebores....ah....that's better...sigh. Breathe.

And I am bringing flowers in for mainline therapy. These blue hyacinth's are my latest fix. They make the house smell heavenly and give me something to stare at besides the white outside. Of course, I have taken a million photographs of them. But that's okay. It does seem to help.

Otherwise, you might hear a bellow across the frozen prairies of "Heeeeeere's Johnny!" And we don't want that now, do we?

Hope all the GWN (Great White North) gardeners out there are finding ways to keep the winter blahs at bay. Just remember, February is shorter. Better be, is all I can say. Where is that axe, anyway?

The light has flattened

[a gift from my Dad to help me start my garden]

There are no soft words for this. I can’t make it easier to say or to hear. My Dad has unexpectedly passed away. In the last few days, we have all received and made those awful phone calls, the ones that come at unusual hours. The constellation that is my large, awkward and jumbled family is gathering from distant points on the map. We are trying to pull ourselves together to honour him and find a way to move through our grief with love and grace.

I hesitated about posting anything here about this. Then I decided that in my little corner of the blogosphere I wanted to recognize his passing and honour him. I hope that doesn't make anyone uncomfortable. Please don't feel you have to say anything.

I offered to write his obituary. I didn’t know how to distill his life down to a few column inches. I couldn’t. So I would like to say some of those things here,

Dad, you are the hero-king of our little clan. Your decency, sense of justice, your defense of the vulnerable, your courage in speaking truth to power, and your quiet kindness are among your many shining attributes. Your love of music and art, your ability to quote poetry, your delight in birds, pets, nature and children; your thoughtful analysis of history and current world events; your ability to weave fascinating tales and speak on any subject have always made you a favourite at any gathering. Your unfailing belief in all your children and your support and encouragement has allowed us to become the adults we know you are proud of. Your pleasure in your grandchildren and ability to coax a giggle out of them has earned you a new generation of loyal fans. We all love you so much and feel blessed to have been loved in return by you. We thought we had so much more time to tell you.


When I was a child I received a little New Testament with a dark blue leather cover embossed with gold writing and gold on the page ends. I thought it a very precious gift. It had a line on the inside cover that somehow has risen over the years to whisper to me on some of the darker days,

Be strong and of good courage

I will do my very best.

Addendum January 16th: Thank you to everybody who commented here. Your kind words and warm wishes were felt and appreciated. We had a service that I believe honoured my father and helped us to come together as a family and express our love for him and for each other.

I am deeply touched that you chose to share your condolences with me during this difficult time. Thank you so much. It really meant a lot.

~Ms. S