Prairies through Glass

We are back from our holiday. We spent a crazy four days driving and three days visiting. The ratio is all wrong, I know. We had initially planned to fly, but because we had to bring some extra stuff we decided to do a road trip. A test run, if you will, for future vacations with the wee one to spots such as our very favourite hidey spot, the enchanting Waterton Lakes.


So we drove across the prairies from Edmonton to Winnipeg (approximately 840 miles or 1350 km each way). We took the “old way” there on the Yellowhead Hwy and I must say, there was very little traffic between Saskatoon and Yorkton. I realized that this must be one of the ‘black areas’ at night that we fly over. At ground level, however, it was verdant, rolling, lush and a summer paradise for ducks and other waterfowl.

The prairie provinces of Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba) are vast. People cluster together in cities that shine at night like oases in the desert. The rest of the land is farmland with boreal forest and muskeg in the northerly areas and some desert to the south. For the most part the land undulates and tilts in wide curves where the rivers run through it.

On the way back we took the TransCanada Hwy, a divided highway that took us from Winnipeg to Regina and up to Saskatoon. The landscape was much drier than the old way to the north. We all learned the words to “I’ve been working on the railroad” as somehow it became my toddler’s favourite song.

I grew up hearing that the prairies were the world’s bread basket and that fields of wheat swayed under the sun. I think that might be changing. The dominant crop that I saw along the roadsides was Canola, used for making vegetable oil.

The other crop I saw, a new one to me, was Flax. I don’t think it was in full bloom yet as it appeared between the windbreaks as a moody flush of blue scattered on top of ever-dancing fields. I was mesmerized by it.

While we were away I did manage to squeeze in a little sightseeing, so next up I will share with you a few pictures of a very special garden I enjoyed one beautiful afternoon with one of my dearest friends from back in my university days.

In the meantime, I am very happy to be back to my own home and garden (even though the weeds settled in nicely while I was gone!)

Good Cheer in the Garden

Well, we are off this coming weekend on holidays for a bit so I wanted to leave you with best wishes for your gardens and a glimpse of my cheeriest plant.

This Dicentra 'Candy Hearts' (Fern-leaf Bleedingheart) is a just a shot of good cheer in my garden. It is another one of my plants that has made it through the upheavals of our landscaping endeavours and yet it is thriving.


I just love its neverending offerings of cheerful, candy-coloured blooms. We tucked it into a woodsy spot by a cedar and, although the spot can be a bit dry, it has rich soil and dappled light, so with a little additional water it may continue to bloom into autumn.


Happy gardening, and here's hoping August brings you the sunshine, rain, heat or cooling breeze that your garden needs to make everything just right!

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky” ~ Buddha

Sweet Reminder

It’s nice to find a plant that brings back childhood memories. My mom used to keep one of these over the winter in our livingroom bay window. In the summer she would put it out on the front step. She called it a “Parlour Maple” and hers was a pinkish-coral colour. I always thought it was so pretty.


So I was delighted to see this Abutilon ‘Chinese Lantern’ White and recognize it as the same plant. This one is grown on a graft, standard style, as a patio plant and so I have it in a pot by my back door.


The bees love it and it gets a lovely hint of blush around the edges. It makes me wish my mom was around to see some of the choices in plants out there today. She would be amazed.


I think she would more amazed to find out how much I have fallen in love with gardening.


Thanks, Mom, for passing that gift on.

It's just a trial friendship, really

It all started eight years ago when I was walking with Hubby in the gorgeous Victoria BC when we were still newlyweds. I spied a silvery lavender rose in someone’s fenced front yard and felt my breathe intake sharply. I was dazzled. Hubby finally pried me away from their gate, but the rose haunted me ever since.


A few weeks ago at the nursery I saw the hybrid tea, the Rosa 'Sterling Silver'. My heart raced, “This might be it!” it cried out. So in a blur I found myself carrying it out to the car.

Of course, we have had the strangest summer, with storms threatening us on a regular basis, but little actual rain (excepting the odd wild storm). That all means that a week after I got this rose, my first ever hybrid tea, and planted it in an urn with some moss and trailing plants - determined I wouldn’t get attached to it and would treat it as an annual!- it got powdery mildew – which I am still battling. But still, it was elegant with long arching canes and clusters of beautifully formed promising buds.

So I babied it, moving it around to find the very sunniest spot in the garden and plucking off any leaves that looked even a little limp.

And now it has gone and bloomed on me. When I was so trying not to like it very much. Darn you Miss Sterling Silver, I already have a two-year-old son and two cats to pamper – nevermind a Hubby who needs care and feeding as well. You will have to earn your keep you know. And I don’t expect to see you next year. That is, unless of course, you want to come back…then, um, maybe we could work something out…

The Two Flowers that said Thank You

A project I have been working on at work came to fruition on Friday. It involved five months of negotiations with six partners with varying agendas.


It took all the professionalism I had to steer this one through. Sometimes, I couldn’t sleep at night, worrying that it would fall apart.

After a few scary bumps late in the road it came together. All the important people were pleased.

I was exhausted in my office yesterday afternoon. Almost in a daze.

My boss slipped out and came back with this floral arrangement to say “thank you”.

It was so thoughtful. And I think the flowers are sweet, too.