gardenthoughts

this year, we are growing onions .. lots of onions .. frank came home from a local nursery a few weeks ago with four different types .. walla walla seedlings ..  plus onions sets .. 100 onions in each bag .. yellow storage onions .. white sweet onions .. stutgart (sp?) onions .. plus i’d already started bunching green onions .. and i’d bought shallots .. we love onions .. you can never have enough, we say ..

we used the long raised bed with the rhurbarb planted at the one end .. frank covered the bed with manure .. let it sit, and then dug it under .. then, he covered the bed with our compost from the bin .. let it sit .. then dug it in .. with the bed prepared this way, we planted .. almost all of the sets .. the leftovers we had we passed on to a friend .. we planted in rows one inch deep, one inch apart .. ten inches between rows .. two rows of each variety .. the thinnings we’ll use for green onions as they grow .. pulling the ‘in between’ ones as we need them .. ideally, there will eventually be four inches between onions .. this gives the remaining onions plenty of room to grow .. the walla wallas seedlings we planted three to four inches apart right from the get go .. there are quite a few rows of them ..

the shallots have one row of their own .. they are planted four inches apart across the row .. in one corner of the bed i planted a group of the green onions i’d started from seed .. it’s a beautiful sight .. all those different kinds of onions filling up the bed .. they started coming up within a week .. tiny green spears rising up out  of the ground .. now, almost three weeks later, the onions are doing a wonderfull job of growing ..

as you can see above, the shallots, in the middle photo, grow differently than onions .. even though they are, essentially, both of the onion family .. at least, i think they are .. (i’ll check if shallots are also an allium, and report back) .. with ‘regular’ types of onions there is one strong stalk that appears .. and grows .. with shallots the spears come in a bunch .. the shallots beneath cling together .. like a garlic bulb which divides into cloves .. green onions also grow in bunches .. at least in this garden this year .. i purposely put them in clumps .. then, as i want one .. or two or more .. i’ll pick them from the clump .. they are, though, each individuals within the clump ..

these hundreds of onions are all planted in the long raised bed that also houses the rhubarb at one end .. the rhubarb grows so fast .. their leaves are so big they hang over the walla wallas .. shading the first row .. so we took the offending stalks off the rhubarb plants .. took them into the house .. and stewed them up .. lovely .. i believe the walla wallas appreciated the gesture .. i know we did .. especially in a dish of yoghurt .. however, even with this gesture the walla wallas are not the strongest onions in the bed .. in fact, frank planted red onions in all the spaces where the walla wallas didn’t take .. this is the second year we’ve tried the walla walla seedlings .. i’m inclined to try again in the fall with seed i plant .. we’ll see if that makes any difference .. for now, we’ll get a few .. they are a deliciously sweet onion ..

in the meantime, though, we have the potential for many, many onions .. soups .. sauces .. salads .. side dishes .. it’s all just a matter of time .. and i can wait .. dreaming dreams of onions ..after all, it wasn’t so long ago that the onion bed was only a thought .. now look at it .. magic .. yet again ..

over the past week i’ve spent time with my eldest sister in hospice .. as she progresses toward the last days of her life on the planet, it is an honour to be with her .. and such an open hearted time for us all .. my sister, our family, friends, nursing staff .. a celebration of a life ..

yesterday afternoon, i planted up the containers on the patio of her home .. cleaned up last year’s pots .. made ‘fresh’ soil with the dirt, manure, and a bit of bonemeal .. refilled the pots .. and stuffed them full with brilliantly coloured petunias, ‘million bells’ and white lobelia .. for me, it was a gesture of love .. for my sister ..

today my other sister joined me in the garden and we finished planting up the pots and cleaning the front garden bed .. we planted begonias and impatiens .. it’s been a few years since we spent any time together as we live hundreds of miles apart .. we dug .. mixed more dirt .. moved plants around .. planted new  plants .. we swept and watered .. we wept .. we laughed .. we talked .. we worked together quietly .. we did it for our sister even though she will never see the garden .. we did it for ourselves ..

whether her husband looks after the garden is irrelevant .. the magic and love is contained in the act of our time together .. thinking of sue ..

last sunday i decided to plant a square foot garden .. i’ve read a bit about growing such a garden .. and i’ve seen square foot gardening in action .. however, i’m a person who needs to do in order to really see how something works .. and i believe that different ways of gardening work differently for different gardeners .. so .. i went out and chose one of the four by four beds that are in the back veggie garden .. brought a tape measure and some foot long stakes .. oh, and a leftover ball of quite a pretty mauve wool to mark out my square feet ..

it was great fun .. a bit of mathematics .. some ‘construction’ materials .. stakes and mauve wool .. tying all the strings good and tight to define the square feet .. when i stand back and check it out, i find it to be quite a lovely site .. like a mini garden .. sixteen squares to fill with a variety of vegetables .. i ran into the house a couple of times to check out ‘square foot gardening’ on the web .. i know there is specific spacing required depending on the type of vegetables i want to plant .. then i sat on the edge of the onion bed .. considering this new space set out in front of me .. thinking about what to plant in which square foot .. but, wait a minute .. what about companion planting .. back i ran to the house to search the web again .. of course, there are hundreds of thousands to millions of sites .. so many people extolling the virtues of this trend in gardening .. which, actually has been going on for quite a few years .. it’s interesting to me to see what becomes popular as years move along .. oh,  here i am, digressing again .. i went back to the garden with all my new found information .. and sat on the edge of the onion bed .. contemplating vegetables .. one thing just leads to another ..

sometimes you don’t want to contemplate too many things .. it’s easy to get bogged down in the details .. knowing my own ability to bog, i got myself up and began planting seeds .. broad beans in two of the four squares closest to the onion bed .. when it warms up a bit more, i’ll put lima beans and purple beans in the remaining two square feet .. my information suggested that i plant 9 bean seeds in a square foot .. (i can’t imagine how this is all going to evolve .. i have visions of he square foot garden bed overflowing its bounds and taking over the rest of the garden) .. however, my curiosity drives me onward .. in front of the beans, i plant four squares of chard and kale .. alternating .. so creative ..  in front of that row, for a bit of variety, i decide to plant four different squares .. from the left .. carrots .. then beets .. then, i had plants that i’d grown from seed .. two of the drunken woman lettuce, and two bunches of green onions went in next .. four plants per square foot was suggested .. the last in that row i plant with more beets .. okay .. twelve done .. four more to go .. so, in go two more lettuce and two more green onions .. next to them, a square foot of spinach .. next, a square foot of carrots .. and the last of the sixteen i plant up with a different kind of lettuce that i’ll use as a cutting lettuce .. then, just because i could, i planted a few radishes between the rows of lettuce .. and a few more between the carrot rows ..

now i’m excited .. the cutting lettuce has come up .. as have the rows of radishes .. and, you can rest assured that i am out there .. at least once a day .. probably more .. peering into each of the sixteen little square feet to see what’s coming up .. it really is the little things ..

we have a new garden bed .. stone .. stacked one upon another .. curving .. with a turret .. where a five foot fir stump stood .. growing ivy .. blackberry .. salal .. all winding in and round .. the stump shape outlined with greenery .. stump and all her finery removed, there now resides a lovely stone bed ..

we both knew this garden bed would materialize one day .. we knew the right time would arrive .. meanwhile,  i’d been growing lilies in the ground around the front of the stump .. in the picture above, you can see the stump on the left .. and, to the right, a tiger lily from a neighbour’s annual spring plant sale .. there are others, too, which aren’t visible in the picture .. stargazer lilies that i received free from a local nursery promotion .. lilies from friends’ gardens .. lilies rescued from compost piles .. somewhere along the line, i acquired a fondness for lilies .. now i have a bed where they can live .. a lily bed ..

once we realized the time had come to build the bed, my part initially, was to dig the lilies out of the ground .. the largest ones i put in big pots .. there were also a myriad of seedlings which i planted in several gallon pots .. those i spread around the island to friends’ gardens .. my mission completed, i stood back and watched the bed rise up out of the rubble .. literally ..

it was frank’s turn .. he’d begun bringing in the stone last autumn .. over time, he gathered enough .. chunky bits of stone .. flat pieces .. all scattered in a ring .. outlining the space that was the potential bed .. then, he needed fill .. and, true to form, pretty soon the source of fill revealed itself .. frank wheeled .. and dumped ..  many wheelbarrows of fill .. and spent hours stacking stone .. then one day ..  voila! .. the bed was finished ..

once he got going, it was only a matter of time .. and manual labour .. and a bit of magic .. at least, that’s what i believe .. ..

next is to plant it .. lilies .. a rhododendron .. ferns .. hostas .. the ideas are endless .. the japanese maple in the turret won’t be the lone plant for long ..

in the meantime, i love to see it there .. just as it is ..

well .. morning is progressing .. i’ve been awake since 5:14 and up at 6 .. done my ablution .. moved quietly through my morning rituals .. and now .. frank’s gone off into his day .. and i’m here .. waiting for my gardening partner .. then we’ll set off to our thursday garden .. to play ..

it’s a little chilly at the moment, although the sun is shining brightly .. no doubt it’s warmer in the sun .. more the breeze that’s bringing a chill .. you can see from this shot, although taken more than a week ago, that spring is just beginning to come forth out of the winter’s decay ..

nonetheless, there is so much going on in gardens everywhere .. so much ‘life burgeoning’ .. nothing can stop it .. in our garden there’s plenty going on .. building projects .. new beds .. veggies coming .. and more and more colour all the time .. i’m just sitting here .. in waiting mode .. taking this time to do a bit of word to screen .. scanning photos .. while the sun warms the earth .. and while i wait for my gardening partner .. i do a bit of both ..

primula ..

hepatica ..

i see joe coming now .. enjoy ..

as well as being graced, on this island, with patches of white fawn lilies .. i, personally, am graced with this sweet pink one .. this little beauty is the first to bloom in our yard .. it, along with four others which won’t bloom this year, came from a nearby botanical garden ..

you can see the dance .. can’t you ..

it’s the little things ..

the vernal equinox has passed .. the island is changing dramatically with the arrival of spring .. brilliant greens unfolding all around .. leaves .. leaves .. leaves .. everywhere .. pushing themselves out of stems .. stalks .. trunks ..  as if overnight the world flora has sprung .. in the midst of the drama of newly opening green-ness, native wildflowers silently reveal themselves .. some, for a few weeks now .. indian plum (first out) .. red flowering currant .. salmon berries (bring rufous hummingbirds) .. and once in a while .. if you are alert .. (and a fellow i once knew said “the world needs more lerts”) .. the whorled spears of brilliant white trilliums shine out at you from the woodlands .. i have stories and and pictures in my mental portfolio of each of these lovely ethereal beings .. however, today, my mind is on fawn lilies .. as i write, they are growing ..

these days, whenever i’m out wandering around the island, i see fawn lilies .. growing in people’s yards .. on empty lots .. on park pathways .. deep in the woods under towering cedars .. under snowberries .. under ocean spray .. softly, greenly striped white skirts flaring up as if in motion .. as if dancing .. such a delight to see ..

the children who come to the community garden painted rocks to mark where some of the wildflowers live in the woods behind the garden .. beautiful image to see .. walking along the path .. glancing down at the lilies ..

to some, fawn lilies are synonymous with dog tooth violets .. or trout lilies .. they are in the family of erythronium .. erythronium oregonum .. perhaps .. i’m not exactly sure which sibling lives here .. regardless .. these little darlings are a favourite around here .. we are exclaiming their virtues these days ..

well, today is the day i have marked on my garden calendar to check the stratifying seeds .. i haven’t even looked at them since i put them in the door of the refrigerator .. there are four plastic bags of different milkweed seeds .. each kind of milkweed seeds are wrapped in moist paper towel .. the idea behind all this is that some seeds need a shot of cold to get them going .. in this case it’s milkweed seeds for stu’s butterfly garden .. milkweed flowers are one of the monarch butterflies favourite food .. we don’t know if monarchs even come to our part of the world .. we’re just here to invite them ..

well, when i opened up the four packets i found mould on some of the seeds in each one .. none of the seeds in any bag had germinated .. many were a bit puffy and looking like i could plant them soon .. that was a promising sight .. the mouldy seeds i put those in the compost .. when i get my barrow full of amended soil i’ll plant the puffy milkweed seeds and see what happens .. and, if even one or two actually develop into plants, won’t stu’s butterfly garden be happy .. filled with the presence of new milkweed flowers .. it just might be enough to entice the monarchs to drop by .. such a delightfull proposition ..

this time of year is so exciting to me .. spring is in the air .. plants are pushing growth in leaps and bounds .. or so it seems .. and certainly, our garlic is one of these vigorous crops .. we planted about 170 cloves at the beginning of november .. then, covered the beds in straw and let them sit .. and grow .. it doesn’t take garlic a very long time, relatively speaking, to let you know it’s there .. growing .. no sign of ‘dormancy’ with garlic .. these wonderful beings just go from the time they hit the earth ..

the shoots started poking  up through the straw before we knew it .. well, with a fair bit of peering going on .. peering is a bit like watching water boil sometimes .. it seems to take forever .. but we have to keep checking .. and once the cloves were planted, they were like a magnet .. pulling us to the garden ..  one, or both of us would gently push the straw aside to see what we could see .. soon, our peering was rewarded with green-ness .. the cool, wet weather of winters here don’t hinder these guys from giving their all .. and once they push up out of the ground and into the light .. there’s no stopping them ..

then the performance begins .. the garlic just grows .. and grows .. and grows .. throughout the winter months .. into spring .. coming up strong and straight .. robust and green .. each one laid out into the lovely grid pattern that defines their space .. and now that spring has arrived the garlic grows inches every day .. lovely, tall, vibrant green spears of leaves .. so large now, that we can stand at the other end of the garden and see them .. clearly .. such great reward for so little work .. more like play, really ..

and, just a pause for the three cloves that didn’t make it .. three out of 170 .. what good fortune .. for just playing around with garlic ..

when i woke up this morning, it was to rain pattering on the skylight above our bed .. i couldn’t see outside to the tops of the firs that lean above the skylight because it was slurred up with raindrops .. by the time i got downstairs, greeted beau, turned the coffee on, and headed for the shower, there were gigantic globs of wet, white snow falling, quite heavily, into the yard .. after showering, i dressed and headed outside to see what things were looking like with the addition of the 1/4 inch of snow .. eventually, i made my way to the veggie garden .. i struck me that it enjoyed the addition of fresh, natural, snowy moisture ..

just this past week frank turned the rye under .. so beautiful .. lush, and green .. full of nutritient .. lots of goodness .. we could have let it grow longer .. until it flowered, even .. frank turned it when he did so there will be time from now until mid april for the rye to nicely break down .. then we’ll start planting veggies ..

here’s a bit of a conscious digression .. when frank was digging in the dirt, i planted seeds of  ‘drunken woman lettuce’ .. of a bunching onion called ‘evergreen’ .. and of various flowers and herbs that i had seed for .. most of which i’d collected from different gardens .. i did up a batch of soil .. it was a mixture from a pile of top soil we had in the back yard, with some of last year’s manure, and the pro mix out of a burst bag .. quite a combination, i thought .. it mixed up light and fluffy, anyway .. so, we’ll see how it works .. i proceeded to fill enough 2″ pots to fit two flats .. one flat for the lettuce .. one flat for the onions .. then i filled a variety of other pots for the flower and herb seeds .. once that was done, i planted .. the soil mix was quite moist, to begin with, so once the seeds where lightly covered, i sprayed them with water .. i tucked them into this plastic covered plant rack i have that sits out in the sun outside the garden shed .. i’ve checked on them every day .. sometimes more than once .. i’ve sprayed them a couple of more times .. i’ve patiently waited .. and two days ago was rewarded by the appearance of the drunken woman .. teeny, brilliant bits of green coming up out of the soil .. it was a delightfull sight to see .. however, back to the soil .. from whence all this will come ..

frank’s a farmer .. bred, raised and lived as a farmer for many years of his life .. it’s just in him to work the soil .. he has this innate knowing of  when it’s time .. for whatever .. he patiently waits .. carrying on .. then, when it’s time to work in the rye, it’s time .. off he goes with shovel in hand .. a man on a mission ..

over the winter the rye grew slowly .. and steadily .. and other than the interference from the deer, it grew strong .. here it is .. or, was .. before being turned under .. lovely plant, rye ..

and here it is now .. quietly working away .. the rye breaking down .. being moved throughout the beds by unseen forces .. feeding the soil .. and .. we’ll just let it do that until it’s time to add some manure .. some compost .. and then we’ll turn it again .. and let it sit quietly, again .. there’s no rushing about in this process, i find .. it’s simply everything in its time  .. even snow .. which, by the way, disappeared a few hours ago when the sun came out .. it’s what we call ‘variable’ weather ..