Variable Weather

Today the weather was certainly variable, starting off clear and cool, which quickly became clear and hot, and then just as quickly became cool and rainy. Thankfully, I got up early and did all the gardening chores before the rain came. It's actually raining now, as I sit on my porch, write, and drink coffee with goat's milk. This afternoon I'll turn the rest of the goat's milk into a sweet, fresh cheese. We'll likely have the cheese spread on the last slices of rosemary-garlic bread that I baked the other day. 

The pair of Sea Buckthorn were moved into their permanent homes today. The spot went from this: Holly lying on the ground, Euonymous still there with some of its roots exposed:  

 To this: Holes, compost and occupants ready:

To this:  Two Sea Buckthorn trees, snug in their new home. Male on the right, female on the left).

I only lost one set of leaves from one bean plant last night. Who/what would have been so selective? I replenished the collar of coffee grounds. This is coffee protecting my cucumbers:

I'll have to make another run to Starbucks soon. This time I'll give them one of my buckets to fill, and I'll come back with the car!


The Flowering Crab Apple tree I have in front of the house has just broken into full bloom. I can smell it's fabulous perfume every time the breeze blows towards me from the direction of the tree. I love how the blossoms are so thick that you can't see any leaves, and can barely see any branches. The branches remind me of the flowers we used to make in first grade, when we glued little balled up bunches of coloured tissue paper to popsicle sticks, and call them Hyacinths.

What I now call my Flowering Crab Apple tree has an interesting history. The actual tree that grew there, a lovely specimen with one trunk, fell over about 10 years ago. We cut it up for firewood. Unfortunately we turned our back on the pile of wood - for less then five minutes, I swear to you - and it was gone. Soon the tree sent up some water sprouts from the roots. I kept five, and trimmed all the others back. Four of the sprouts were from what was left underground of the grafted Crab Apple tree. Its leaves have a pink tinge to them, its new branches have young, red bark, and it blooms in spectacular, little pink blossoms. As it turned out, the other sprout was from the rootstock, and has green leaves, its young bark is brown, and it has beautiful white blossoms that some years give me the sweetest yellow apples I have ever tasted! I love my chimera apple tree, just the way it is.


Forget-Me-Nots have once again filled in my rock garden. What a nonsensical name for a flower that you can't possibly forget, since it behaves with with such fecundity, reseeding itself, and spreading further afield, year by year.


I harvested a bit of Sweet Cecily this morning, too. It has already started to flower! I just took the leaves that were overhanging their raised bed, and starting to get in the sway. 

I don't mind brushing by their soft, feathery leaves, but I'm not the only one to use the walkway, so a trimming job it was.


A big chore around here is pulling out the Garlic Mustard before it sets seed. Its an invasive plant here in Ontario, and often it seems like a loosing battle to keep it off my property, especially when I see the wild edges of the public parks thick with it, but I keep yanking them out, any time I see one. They seem to have a preponderance for growing where it is "dangerous" to pull them out, such as right beside my rose branches, or inside my bramble patch. Yeow.


I'm looking forward to a good garden season. Now I'm off to pick some asparagus for lunch. A omelet, perhaps. Maybe I'll make that goat cheese first...