Just a few photos

We have been quiet here but we haven’t been without work. More on that later. In the meantime here are some photos from this spring and summer.

Fall or summer?

Well I came up today to start prepping for fall but besides a chill in the air it still looks like summer here.

Many of the plants are still untouched by frost and the geraniums are still budding. I  can’t even take any leaves as they are still predominantly green.

   

It looks as though Pat’s grass garden did well over the past few weeks and even the hollyhock is still growing though I have been able to collect some seeds. We will see what the next few weeks have in store when we are both able to get here and start the end of summer shut down.

 

 

 

How to attract wildlife to your garden: An infographic

I found this neat, interactive infographic on bringing wildlife into the garden and I thought I would share it.

http://visual.ly/track.php?q=http://visual.ly/how-attract-wildlife-your-garden-interactive-guide&slug=how-attract-wildlife-your-garden-interactive-guide

Summer is over and so is fall

Well it appears that not only is summer over but so is fall.

Ok so autumn isn’t over for a few weeks but it sure does feel like it. I don’t have any wintry schoolhouse shots yet but the ones from this fall are a reminder that winter is on its way.

It always looks a little lonely at this time of year.

There are so many leaves to rake. I laugh at anyone with a suburban yard!

The yard was still green when we last raked but I doubt I will find it such now.

At least the astilbe looked good this year

Well as usual I haven’t gotten done what I set out to do this year. Stuff and things have gotten in the way again.

But hey the astilbe looked good.

Facing the fall

The hydrangea was white when I took this photo but is now brown and faded.

We will be headed up soon to start the fall yard work. It is time to trim and tidy, rake and store.

Here is a list of some of the more important things to consider.

16 essential fall garden tasks — Canadian Gardening

Last of the summer phlox

Now that cooler weather is here and frost is imminent if not already at the schoolhouse, my summer photos will have to suffice for the winter.

Summer is over

At least that is what my drought-riddled flower bed here is telling me. I know I didn’t go up to the schoolhouse as much as I had hoped this year so I guess that meant my gardens didn’t get the love and attention they needed. The dry summer took its toll and while they all soldiered on as best they could now I fear all is lost.

Well I guess I might as well plant the bulbs for the spring now.

Our country garden in July

Well the garden is in full swing even if I haven’t been.

It’s been a busy summer and we haven’t been able to do as much as we would like. Nature is starting to creep in. While the plants are well established, the weeds and crawling ground cover are starting to encroach on my plans.

However a few things are doing alright. The viburnum is in good shape. I think that is what it is called. We pruned it last year and the new growth is doing well. And it is a nice concealer between us and the road.

I have one lowly lily at this point. More are on their way by the looks. The ditches are full of orange lilies which seems early but this year is a bit of a weird one in terms of heat and weather.

These are looking a little sad this year. Last year’s were bountiful and lovely but they need a little TLC on our vacation I think. I think I will flesh them out a bit with some friends in the coming weeks. And you can surely see the wretched ground cover that I pulled out this year and that returned with a vengeance as it damned well does.

Well that is it for now. More to come soon.

My little urban achievers — May update

Well we are a month in and so far so good.

My little condo balcony herb and vegetable garden sprouts are working their way out of their cozy little dirt beds and up into the sweltering heat of an already roasting growing season. It’s gonna be a hot one so I hope no one gets burned out too soon. They say it is better to burn out than fade away but I would rather just eat a salad.

The catnip, mint, oregano and rosemary are not from seed. They were well established when I put them out. The catnip is a really trooper. Despite getting plucked more than once daily, it just keeps trucking. The cats however are now pretty chronic now and every now and again I come home to stoned cats and Cypress Hill on the iPod.

The peas are just growing like my grade five science project. I am hoping to see more flowers shortly. While I won’t be graded on these ones I will be eating them and I am a much harder grader than my grade five teacher.

You may have noticed I am not finished my little chair painting project. I ran out of paint and time so I plan to finish in the next couple of weeks. Two chairs done and two more and a table to go.

Bless these carrots. They get bashed around in the breeze but they are growing very well. I am sure, just like my goldfish Leroy (#RIP Leroy), they will only grow to the size of their container, I am expecting great things.

The tomatoes are behind due to our little spring starter mishap but they are coming along nicely. I expect great things. I also expect other people to eat them as I only like tomatoes in ketchup, salsa or other forms of sauce.

Now the lettuce is growing but the heat of our west-facing balcony might be a bit much for it. I may re-evaluate and place it indoors somewhere or bring it in for parts of the day. “Lettuce” wait and see shall we?

The herb collection is going squirrely already. I’ve got too much “thyme” on my hands now. But thankfully this week’s Freshly Pressed contribution showed me how to make thyme lemonade so that may be the solution.

That’s the May update for my little Urban Achievers. We will be back in June.