Dedication to Mom

Maybe some of the fellow gardeners who follow my blog have been wondering where I have been. As the previous message told you I was visiting family.

Since my return sadness has visited me as my Mom passed away two weeks ago. She was the first gardener I knew in my life. For 63 years she lived in the North End of Winnipeg where all yards had large gardens, and hers was no exception. Although she was born in Winnipeg, this area was largely composed of immigrants and of course they brought their gardening knowledge and traits of sustaining themselves with them. Mom's garden flourished with tomatoes, peas, yellow and green beans, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, rhubarb, garlic, green onion and annually was seasoned with self- seeded dill. Being Ukrainian flowers abounded. Sprinkled from saved seed zinnias and marigolds coloured the summer. Batchelor buttons, bells of Ireland and poppies annually scattered their colour with only the aid of the wind. Along her house one always found snapdragons to play with by opening and closing their 'mouths'.

She moved into an apartment two years ago and I planted two containers for her on her balcony....one with flowers dominated by red ones, her favourite colour and the other planted with green onions. Guess which one she favoured? She loved her green onion sandwiches. Maybe we can all learn from this, she died 3 days after she turned 93 and very good her entire path. She will always be missed and loved.

Chihuly in Phoenix Arizona

A month ago I returned from a vacation to Scottsdale, AZ where my son, daughter in law and grandson live. Always a wonderful time! This is like a second home to us now as we visit them twice a year. They are building a house and I have been helping them with their landscape plan. Wow! what a change for my plant knowledge from my Zone 3 garden. Love exercising the brain! We all came away with an extreme amount of knowledge. Have you ever seen an Ironwood tree, a native to the Sonoran desert? Unbelievable thorns covering all parts of it and to think that it was recommended for the yard with a toddler. Not to mention this said gardener who helps them with the gardening while I am visiting. Bougainvillea thorns are nothing compared to this tree.

To see some of these native desert plants we toured the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix....my second visit to it. But this time we were treated to 'Chihuly: The Nature of Glass'. Dale Chihuly is a glass artist and very influential within the Studio Glass movement. He is continually revolutionizing the art of handblown glass. A spectacular exhibit! Don't miss it if you are in the area.

Bunnies and Bran

What do rabbits eat in the dead of winter when there is lots of snow cover? There my 'pet' neighbourhood rabbit was munching on the dead crisp frozen leaves of my 'winter interest' plant.....Eupatorium! Now these plants grew ginormous this summer, close to 7 feet. Bunnie would have lots of food if only he was taller. And there I was having my breakfast watching this while munching on my bran buds.....hmmmmm similar crunchy dry food......except mine lasts all year! Lucky rabbit when the new shoots of grass.....who am I kidding?!....noses of tulips is more likely......begin to sprout for his change of diet.

Spring rain in February.

Unbelievable weather we are experiencing! Rain in February occurs approximately once every 20 years and this is one of them. Not so good for us humans as the rain has now frozen and the sidewalks, driveways and streets are skating rinks. But the beaver in our creek must have known spring was arriving. He/she was out of its hut....which is in the creek bank unlike a mounded up hut.....and walking about trimming branches and carrying them back in for its dinner. Something I have never seen. I went for a walk today along the creek and it is now filled with street drainage water on top of the ice. I am hoping the beaver is alright and has built its 'living room' high enough to withstand this very unusual occurence.

Gardens of Australia

Yesterday was a perfect evening to give a presentation on the Gardens of Australia to the Friends of the Conservatory here in Winnipeg. Going to the event my car temperature was -23c! It was a wonderful 'escape' for all the hardy souls who attended. My pictures included ones from community, private, Royal Botanical and my ultimate favourite one Cloudehill Gardens. It is in the Arts and Crafts style as those gardens of Sissinghurst or Hidcote in England. This style of garden has been also influenced by the Italian Renaissance gardens. Cloudehill is on 5 acres and comprised of 22 garden rooms. Wherever one walks or turns there is another beautiful vista to embrace. Any gardener who visits Melbourne should definitely put this one on their to do list. It compares with if not better than those gardens of England and Europe.

Strong Winds

Very strong winds ...up to 100km/hr yesterday so lots of oak branches and twigs waiting to be cleaned up in the spring....maybe two more months?! What I was really hoping for was that a few of the large squirrel nests would be blown down....oops did I say that? .....the nature lover I am! Truly I like to watch their antics but I could do with less of them to eat my Christmas lights....have to buy new ones every year....or to dig out and fling the soil out of my large patio containers. Mesh on top of the soil just does not add to the beauty. Although I found I do rather like the look of large flat stones on top too heavy for said critters to disturb.

Northern Prairie Gardener

Hopefully, I can become as dedicated a blogger as I am gardener. Recently, I have been reading some gardener blogs and they are truly amazing and wonderful. As this title says, I garden in the prairies of Canada. While it is challenging, I know that there are always challenges for gardeners wherever we garden. We, in the north always want to 'push the envelope' and try growing plants in warmer zones. But, then those gardeners in hot regions cannot grow what we can....amazing peonies, lilacs, etc. Our snow covering is a blessing for us at this time of year. Right now my perennials are snuggled down under a foot and a half of this insulation. It is a quiet time of the year where we look out at the winter garden in its beauty with snow artistically piled on the tops of the obelisks or the snow falling like a ribbon on the tree branches or fences....truly a beautiful sight!