...afternoon in the garden

I spent the afternoon working here in my garden at my mom and dad's home. It was a perfect day to be outside, slightly overcast, cool, with a nice breeze. I've always enjoyed gardening, thanks to my Grandmother and Mom, both had extremely green thumbs, which I've seemed to inherit. The added bonus of having huge gardens are the immense photo opportunities within.



Weeds were easy to pull today, the ground is still very wet from all the rain we have been having, especially the past few days. About 5 years ago, I dug out all the perennial plants from the bed shown here, and laid down the "no weed" landscapers fabric, and recycled mulch. It doesn't seem like a very interesting story, however it has made these gardens almost maintenance free. Also the mulch holds the water and keeps the plants well hydrated during the long hot summer days.



Over the years my mom and I have collected different cuttings, clippings and bulbs from various friends and relatives, not to mention some of my grandmothers, and great grandmothers original plants.


One of my favourite flowers in the garden is the "Purple Flag" as my Grandmother called it. Its a variation of a Iris; and flowers in the late spring, early summer. My Grams had them planted all around her farm house. She brought me a shovel full 10 years ago, and we planted them over by the pond... They didn't do well there, the location was too wet, and didn't get enough sun so I moved them into the central garden where they have been growing like wild ever since!






Another generational plant that I have are from my Great Grandmother and are over 100 years old. Lilly of the Valley were her favourite Flowers These Lillys flower in the early spring and are extremely fragrant.





Again, the peonies were a flower of my Grandmothers, and bloom in the late spring. They are one of my favourites and are easy to divide and share.





The gardens are something I really miss living in my Downtown Niagara Falls apartment, its made me think about finding another place, maybe outside the city, something with a bit of land where I can still get my hands dirty and relax in nature. Maybe I should be making a list of pro's and con's about life in the city... As for my apartment itself, its coming along. They have had a restoration company into spray it down with some sort of paint to seal in the smoke odour, it workd, because when I walked in I couldn't smell anything. The apartment has also been totally rewired. I have started collecting things again, when I see something I like, or onsale, things to replace lost or damaged items.... My sister when moving out of her house even gave me a few cans of Ralph Lauren paint for my bedroom! I can't wait to redesign my space!

Until then,
Embrace the Journey.
Bret

(Some Pictures from my Garden)