Out Like a Lion

My mother always says that March is somewhat predictable. The saying goes like this when referring to March weather. "In like a lamb, out like a lion." Or maybe it's the opposite. In any case, this year, March 1st was nice and mild.
Now this is not quite the end of March, but it is now officially spring, and it's not supposed to warm up anytime over the next few days. So maybe, today's snow storm is the "Lion."

The lawn looks peaceful and quiet here, under a covering of wintery, spring snow.

Johnny come Lately

The leaves of the birches and maples have been slowly drifting to the lawn for days now. The burning bush is showing its flaming red leaves and the climbing bean vine has shrivelled in the latest assault from Jack Frost. Then came a few snow flakes falling today. Is winter about to terrorize the warmth into hiding?

But amidst all the doom and gloom of autumn's nippy temperatures, there are still a few bright spots in the garden. If you look for them you will find a few late comers still gallantly holding fall at bay.
The potentilla's masses of blooms have closed up shop for now, but there are still some hardy golden petals to brighten a corner or two. Even though it has been a constant bloomer, the potentilla is not about to give up. Here are a couple of yellow flowers; not too far away are some pink blossoms as well.

The Shasta daisy usually blooms with a riot of colour in the summer. After that it takes a break. A bloom or 2 may manage to show that the battle is not over. Here's a lonely soldier daisy that has not given up yet.

Lawns keep growing in spite of the cool weather. Maybe because the soil holds the warmth longer than the air and the lawn has a closer relationship to the earth.

Where There's Smoke

This winter the purple smoke bush died back. Sometimes we used to call them smoke trees and sometimes we called them smoke bushes. They can get to be up to 15 ft tall. For sure this one is reduced to being a bush. (At least for now.) The new growth is certainly coming out strongly. Maybe this was for the better in the long run.

Updated July 25- here's the row of reds.

July the Fourth -09

July the Fourth this year was the date of the Okimi annual summer picnic. My winter bouquet has been lanquishing for a few months. How to perk it up?
How about a little red white and blue spray paint to celebrate the day.

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Made of the Mist at Niagara Falls

Margot, Jackie's cousin was visiting from Panama. We caught up to them at Niagara Falls.
This tree was covered in ice. A pretty picture with the falls in the background. (oh and the icy tree is nice, too)



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Rustic Russnells

Went to Oshawa on the GO train to pick up our Lease Busters vehicle. (was that our first time on that train- reminded me of our trip into London last summer)
Went to visit Margaret and Dave at their new home outside of Oshawa. Great country location. Quiet, peaceful, serene. Went for a Sabbath afternoon walk. Someone got a "soaker." But it was great to enjoy the scenery, fresh air and snow. Thanks for the loan of your boots, Dave.

Winter Snowfall

It snowed a few inches last week, then yesterday it warmed up to 6 degrees Celsius with lot of rain. So all the snow melted.

This morning there was a light snowfall. Just enough to rest lightly on the branches in the garden. I makes the world seem like a fairyland.

This first picture shows (l-r): a dwarf Alberta Spruce, a Blue Fescue grass, and a dwarf Hemlock.

The second photo shows the painted tree (see the post of The August Garden)

As we drove to work, it seemed that the snow on the bigger trees along the road had started to come off. So it seemed that the snowiness was best at home.

Also saw a flock of crows in the field just over the hill. There were probably 40 crows that dispersed as we drove by. What was that all about? Don't think I've ever seen that many crows in one spot all at once.

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Cactus should wear Sandals!

I have had these hardy Alberta prickly pear cactus have been growing in the garden for the past 17 years. A couple of years ago, I put some into some old shoes. When we had the garden centre, on of the greenhouse growers would bring old shoes with hens and chickens (Sempervivum spp.) Well why not grow cactus in some old shoes? Especially since I had some old shoes. And the cactus root easily. This variety has yellow flowers.

I suppose since these cactus can survive the Canadian winters, they are quite comfortable in shoes. Just watch the thorns on these guys. They can be a pain.

Found a blog with only winter hardy cactus.

Winter is coming?

A little touch of snow flurries this weekend. The weather was cool this Sunday, but had to do some more work outside. Put the rest of the furniture and pool stuff away, tidy up some things that needed trimming, dug a few carrots, beets and leeks.

Made up 3 winter greenery pots- trimmed evergreens from around the pool- Hetz blue juniper, Mint Julep juniper, Japanese garden juniper. Added pieces from other parts of the garden. Hydrangea Annabelle, Miscanthus grass, Sedum spectablis, Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium), Asparagus fern, Hibiscus stems, Silver dogwood stem, Himalayan Birch, Corkscrew Hazel, Green Barberrry, Viburnum berries.

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The King of Green is Cold

Winter has descended with a white blanket over the lawns in Hamilton and the cold is numbing at times.

The warm weather in December and January was unusual. I drove by a lawn in December after a few days of sunshine and saw a few dandelion plants with seed heads blooming. I swear I had driven by that way a few days earlier. Yet, I could not remember seeing any yellow flowers. I wondered if the dandelion seed heads had been sitting encased in their post-flower stage just waiting for some warm weather. If the weather hadn't been warm in December, would they have bided their time until the spring. Was this an effect of the "El Nino" winter that we are supposed to be getting? Will the dandelion puffs that dispersed their seeds in December result in more weeds or fewer weeds next spring.