Gardening should be zen

I generally enjoy gardening, except the past few years. I don't enjoy it as much. Mostly because I go out on my property to garden and one of three things happen. One of my neighbours decides s/he wants to chat, or my neighbours kids are out on their property and screeching while playing , or lastly, the neighbours dog barks non stop because he feels I'm on his territory. 

So gardening in my own yard loses it's zen. There's also the neighbours mowing their lawn or cutting down a tree, or leaf blowing that could also spoil the mood, because it's loud and obnoxious.

Of course now that I'm inside I'm not hearing the screaming kids anymore, but I'm kinda turned off. I like to start working on weeding or cleaning a flower bed and just getting lost in my mind while I just work. I never get the chance, I keep being assaulted by sounds and stimulation that I desperately do NOT NEED!

I look forward to being in the middle of nowhere so that I can be zen in my own garden. Heck I could be naked in my garden and no one would know or care for that matter!!!

A little bit of escapism

I decided tonight was the night I was saving all this season's CSI: Miami episodes.  I dunno if I can handle David Caruso in all his glory, along with his fancy sunglasses moves [tm], if my stomach is robust enough. On the other hand if it helps me focus on drawing, that would be way cool.

My back is still twitching and twinging and doing all sorts of other things pissed off backs do, so I'm still taking it easy. I hope it doesn't rain all week-end. I have a rhubarb plant that needs deflowering and laundry to do. I really hope my back is better tomorrow.

Nature is full of surprises

Here are a few more photo's from my garden. Love the fact the crocus grew through the snow and flowered :)

Crocus growing through snow!

Front lawn full of crocus

Rockcress

Late Spring, later blooms.

It's been cold and not much of a spring this year, but today felt like spring. At some point it was warm enough that what I have been wearing inside was warm enough outside to work in the garden.

Despite having snow in the back where the primroses grow, I have several patches of giant snowdrops in front and in back. I also have a couple of crocus and as well the arabis which is starting to bloom.

 

I checked and cleaned around the catnip patch and the plant is doing fine. I have 4 pickets and chicken coop wire around the catnip plant otherwise it wouldn't have a chance of growing. This must be the 5th time I plant catnip, and usually by the next day some cat has come along and eaten the entire plant. Now I figure the main plant is protected by chicken coop wire, and if the plant goes beyond it's enclosure whatever does is for the cats who find it. I'm hoping to have a patch big enough eventually that I can remove the wire and no longer worry about the welfare of the plant.

I'm seeing tons of tulip leaves just coming up. I'm hoping this will be my best tulip year :)

Gardening in the cold.

If it went above 0C today it's surprising. I mean for the past week, every other time I look outside it's snowing, and yet there's not much trace of it. Today it was sunny a bit. I got brave, I got dressed warmly and put into my lawn about 80 crocus bulbs. I dunno how many are going to survive, and I'm sure it will take a few years before I see any kind of results. However at least in the soil they have half a chance. Sitting in a bag in my garage, the bulbs would have had no options. I can tell I spent a good hour planting bulbs, as I have pain in my fingers.

I planted bulbs in two sittings. In between my eldest and I went to Loblaws to get groceries. We must have been hungry, spent a fortune there. When I got home, I made curried Eggplant, mashed potatoes, stir fried bean sprouts with sesame seeds and snow peas and some bow tie pasta. Had a bowl of curried eggplant with bow tie pasta and it was awesome. That curried eggplant recipe is a keeper. Probably the first recipe I ever use hot peppers in. Never thought I'd ever cook with hot peppers.

Gardener's porn

I'm sitting on my bed at the moment with eleven seed & plant catalogs. I'm pretty sure I'm getting most of the seed catalogs available from Canadian distributors. My favorite is Vesseys, in PEI. Dunno something about their catalog and the plants they offer incite me to purchase more plants then I intend to. More plants then my current flower beds can fit. I've got all these little tags sticking out of the pages of plants I want to get and I have 11 tags on that catalog. Will have to sit down and go through it again and be more reasonable. It's not the cost. It's where am I going to plant all of it, and who will water it? :P It doesn't help that they send catalogs 4/6 times a year. They have bulbs, tubers, roots, seeds, roses, flowering bushes, trees, berry bushes and all sorts of vegetables.

Then next is the McFayden catalog, that I can't resist. Though I lost the pottentilla Monach Velvet last year, I would still like to have one. But their catalog doesn't seem to have it again. They have roots, bulbs, tubers, flowering bushes and even berry bushes. Got a kiwi vine from them 2 years ago. I wonder if it will finally start to flower and produce fruit this year?

I'm also looking through my OSC seeds, William Dam Seeds, and stokes seeds catalogs, to find cool annuals for spots in my garden I just like throwing seeds and see what happens. Sometimes it works well, sometimes I get a bare stretch of land, depends on my dedication and choice of seed.

I'm also browsing at my Richters herbs. What I love about it, is that they offer herbs and medicinal plants. I'd say half or 2/3 of my garden is either edible as food, or used medicinally. Somehow I feel more connected to mother earth if I grow and cherish plants I also use to heal myself or keep myself healthy.

There's my botanus catalog, they offer more plants that you buy as bulbs, tubers or roots. And of course roses... I have a few roses and I'm not doing so well with them. Have to find a suitable way to not have them eaten by worms that is also environmentally friendly. I mean I have found a way to deal with the red bugs that eat my lilies and friterella. I hand pick em and crush them in the driveway. THe worms, I have to prevent them from completely eating my roses. Don't get it. When the roses were in the back where there is no sun, they did not get eaten by worms. Might be proximity to apple tree. Have to find plants that worms don't like and plant between rose bushes.

Besides I already bought a bag of 15 begonias and a bag of 12 Tiger lilies at Costco for bargain basement prices. Still want to plant about 100 crocus I didnt' get around to plant last fall. Want to scatter them in my lawn, under and around trees. They usually bloom before I cut the lawn in spring, Would be sweet. Might do it in the next few days if it could warm up. It's -2 today. A little too cold for gardening.

Yes.. seed catalogs are the gardener's porn.

Rock Cress in bloom

My Arabis or rock cress is in bloom. I did not realize it bloomed this soon after the snow disappears. It's a tiny little pinkish white flower, not too showy on the right side, a strand alone. But in a few years, the entire plant will disappear in tons of those tiny little blooms.