Heather's Urban Garden

#supersowsunday

2012-02-05T19:10:00.002-08:00

Well #supersowsunday has come and I'm ready, I've finally got the greenhouse all set up with the bottom heat, the right lighting and min night and day temperature schedules.

Hydrofarm 400Watt convertible ballast grow light

After much research on which lighting system to get I ordered my grow light and temperature controller from ACF Greenhouses online.

There were many things to consider. I currently have a 8X8 greenhouse, I had to think about how I'm going to use my greenhouse not only now, but in the future. I'm just getting started with greenhouse growing, and the first thing on my to do list is starting some seeds. I debated getting just some T5 high output florescent lights to get me started, it was limiting me to just that, seed starting. What if in the future I would like to grow a wider variety of plants that require greater light levels. So I thought of an HID light, (the difference in price between the 4 tube 4 foot T5 high output light system and the HID light was only $5 if you can believe it) but then there was the question of what type, Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium, both serve different purposes. So I decided on both, with a convertible ballast. Then was the question of what wattage. On the ACF website it gave a helpful chart on optimal light outputs on all their lights. After going over that I decided on the 400 Watt as the optimal growing area is 5X5 and secondary is 8X8 which covers the entire area of the greenhouse. Well this should take care of my needs for now and years to come. I think this initial investment will be well worth it in years to come

Sentinel Temperature Controller

Also from ACF Greenhouses online, there were many thermometers to choose from, some were static, maintaining a constant minimum temperature, but I didn't want to go that route. Again I wanted something that would suite my needs now and for a long time in the future. I opted for the Sentinel Digital Day and Night Controller with a built in photo sensor. It has a button for the min/max temperature for the last 24 hours, it also works for heating and cooling (not at the same time)

The all important heater, I opted for the oil filled space heater purely because it was something I already had and wasn't currently using, and it has been working out great.

The current set up with a bottom heat/propagation box.

When I bought the greenhouse they gave me an unused 3m heating cable with a built in thermostat, I built a box, layed out the cable on a piece of hardware cloth, fasten it with zip straps and buried it in between 2 layers of sand, which I keep moist. This should warm my seed trays, or anything I place on top of it, to about 20'c.

Some seeds that I am going to plant in one of the trays today.

I'm new to this, but I have sorted through my seeds and picked out these ones to start today, Snap Peas, Sweet Peas, Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, Spinach and Green Onions.

The lights are on and are flooding the greenhouse.

My seed tray is filled and labeled, along with the yogurt containers with some Strawberry seeds I planted last week. You can see in the back ground my rooted Geranium cutting I potted up today.

It looks kinda empty right now but I'm sure it's not going to take long to fill.

Surprise Bloom In The Greenhouse

2012-02-04T21:50:00.001-08:00

On my daily visit to the greenhouse (I was checking on my Geranium and Fuchsia cuttings) I walked in and noticed this:

I'm glad I didn't step on it. Even with a layer of landscape fabric and about an inch or two of gravel, this crocus still managed to push it's way through. What a tough little flower.

The Greenhouse Dream

2012-01-15T11:55:00.001-08:00

For as long as I can remember, and as long as I have been passionate about gardening, I have always dreamt that one day, I would have my very own greenhouse.

It was 1997, and my future husband and I were attending the annual BC home and Garden Show. One of the exhibitors was BC Greenhouse Builders, they had on display one of their Twin Wall Polycarbonate Greenhouses. I recall so clearly, walking in and saying "Some day I want a greenhouse just like this". Being just 21, I didn't know exactly when this was going to happen, I just knew it was something to dream about.

Fast forward 15 years, now having established myself in a house with the space to accommodate such a dream, my only limitation was budget.

Having lived in my new house for 6 months and with the warm days of spring calling to me. My thoughts of gardening at the forefront, an article in the local paper caught my eye "Garden Room No Longer A Pipe Dream". Oh the excitement that article and pictures brought to me, it renewed my longing for a greenhouse. I showed my Husband and told him "Here it is, this is the greenhouse I was dreaming about" It was an article that featured a BC Greenhouse Builder greenhouse. The same one I saw 15 years earlier at the Garden Show.

I decided to clip out the article and mount it nicely on some card stock and display it in prominent place in my kitchen. I had recently watched an Oprah show on vision boards, where you put a collection of things be it pictures, words and such that represent your hopes and your vision for your life and serve as a daily reminder of your aspirations and what you want your life to be.

The article printed May 2oth, it was framed and put up in the kitchen as a daily reminder.

Being a believer in the power of positive thinking, I put it out there in the universe that I was looking for a greenhouse, hoping to attracted one to me.

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/The-Law-of-Attraction-Real-Life-Stories_1

Doing one of my usual craigslist searches for greenhouses, I came upon this posting. When I saw this I thought OMG this is it, this is the greenhouse I had been dreaming about. I have been looking on craigslist for years, even before I had the space for a greenhouse, and I can honestly say I have never seen a posting for this type of greenhouse. This is the exact one that I wanted, the one that only 6 days earlier I had put it out there is the universe to bring to me. Not only that but the $850 price tag was an attainable figure for me. A new one would probably run me about $3000 including taxes and shipping, and that wouldn't have been happening for at least a few more years.

I immediately e-mailed the seller, this add was posted on the 23rd of May and it was now the 26th. I thought that for sure it was going to be gone by then but it was worth a try. I didn't get a response and getting really antsy I sent another e-mail saying I was reeeeeeally interested in it and gave my phone # so as to avoid any delays. That night at about 7:30 I received a phone call from the seller, she said it was still available but she had someone who said they were coming the next day to look at it. Well, I didn't like the sound of that, being that it was only located about a 15 minute drive from me I asked if I could come tonight and take a look. She agreed and I was off, the sun was going down but there was still going to be enough light to take a good look. I arrived and said right away yes, and gave her $100 and said I would be back the next day with the rest and to start to dismantle it. It came with benches which was a bonus, and that was that, I now own a greenhouse!!

Choosing the site

Choosing the right site was important. I already knew when we purchased the home what area would make the perfect spot for a greenhouse. A place that gets the most light, with the longest wall facing south.

This was it, but first I needed to remove the tree and existing plant material that was in the way. I advertised the Plum tree on craigslist and had someone come and dig it up and take it away. The other plants were tired and just went into the green bag.

Next was to install the electrical, I dug the trench and my husband took care of the rest. Roughly placing the metal base to get an idea of where to run the electrical, where to remove the grass and where to dig for the base.

Next digging the trench, and leveling the ground.

Once the trenches were dug, I layed landscape fabric down not to prevent weeds but to keep the gravel and dirt separate. Adding the gravel to the trenches took some patience, stopping to make sure everything was level.

The one trick to this install, was the fact that the back yard isn't flat, there is a slight hill, right were the greenhouse was going to be sitting. You can see by this picture the west side is just above the level of the grass with the east side about a foot below.

Next, installing the metal flashing around the edge of the ceder posts.

Laying out and securing the front and back frame. Getting ready for installation.

And up she goes, with the frame up and secured, next is to clean and reinstall the panels. I must tell you, it took a long time to get to this point. Weeks to clean all the framing of old caulking and washing and scrubbing the panels, a little sweat equity, but I was enjoying the process.

And here we have it, the final product, re-assembled and ready to grow. I started the process in May, I gave myself a time line of having it finished by the end of the summer and this was the September long weekend and it's done and I'm so happy.

It has two automatic vents.

To me a greenhouse represents endless possibilities.

Fast forward to January 2012, and with just a few things overwintering in the greenhouse, the fun is just beginning. With the seed catalogs arriving, I can now look at them with new eyes, so much more is now possible.

One thing I would have to say about this greenhouse, it is a BC Greenhouse Builder, the Sun Garden style greenhouse.

http://www.bcgreenhouses.com/hobby_greenhouse_kits/special_offer.php

When I phoned up a said I needed to reinstall my sun garden greenhouse they were more than helpful. When ordered the new foam tape they were able to tell me exactly how much I needed and had the special sealant and caulking needed also, to top it all off they sent me the installation manual and DVD. What service. I would highly recommend them if you are looking to buy a greenhouse. These are well build, I can vouch for that, considering this was the second time my greenhouse had been moved.

Front Garden Renovation Spring/Summer 2011

2012-01-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

Front yard before the renovation

This yard has a lot of grass, which makes it look like a really large yard, however it doesn't take you on a journey. You can see it all from any angle, boring. I feel like the circle bed around the tree trunk is way to small for the canopy, it needs to be larger to balance out the tree.

Front yard before the renovation

The plantings around the tree are planted way to close, and upon closer inspection, the soil has been piled up around the base by a few inches, a no no. You always want to plant a tree at the same level as for which it was grown in the pot, or at the level from the first roots protruding out of the trunk.

Front yard before the renovation

Boring, your eye just goes right to the street, and the 20 year old junipers hide the front of the house. Even thought the front of the house doesn't get a whole lot of light, there are a lot more interesting plant material that can liven up the space.

After the removal of the junipers from the front of the house

After the removal of the junipers you can now see the brick underneath the windows. After breaking up and the turning the soil, I had some volunteer pumpkin seeds sprout. I wasn't planning on putting in any plant material till next year, so what better way to fill the space and for the kids to have the experience of growing their own pumpkins. I also planted some of the plants I brought over from the townhouse garden, my Stargazer Lily's and Red Azalea. I also moved the boxwood's from other area's of the yard.

A simple Red Geranium and Bacopa display was created in some terracotta pots. I have always loved the look of Geraniums in those pots, it has such a Old English kinda feel, the patina it develops over time is beautiful.

This picture was taken early in the morning, in the summer. You can see that this area does get a little direct sun, which is good to keep in mind when deciding on what to plant.

My little helpers are assisting in the creation of the larger circular bed around the tree trunk.

Now your eye doesn't go to the street, it is stopped by the new beds

I have created a new bed by the base of the street lamp and moved one of the existing mature azalea's, it was originally planted in front of the window between the junipers. Also planted there is a collections of found Iris's, Clematis Montana, being trained up the lamp post and a California Lilac, the bees will love. A new small bed was created by the Hedge that is now planted with a Hydrangea.

The new larger bed around the tree really shows off the beauty of the trunk. I will be filling it with naturalizing bulbs like Snow Drops, Grape Hyacinth, Daffodils, and some Lady's Mantle that I grew from seeds that volunteered themselves.

When renovating the garden, I didn't want to jump in and fill the space right away with plant material. Taking the time to study the soil conditions and light levels of each area of the yard is important. Leaving the garden beds prepared and ready for plants is a great thing to do. I'm really enjoying shopping for new plants, wandering the nursery's and knowing if I find something I love, there will be a spot available right away to plant it.

It's Been A While, But I'm Still Here.

2012-01-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

Spring 2011, front yard

Like the title says It's been a while but I'm still here. After moving from Richmond to Ladner in October of 2010, I was fortunate to purchase this beautiful 2 story 2500sq home with my Husband. As you can see from the picture above, this house has definite curb appeal, and a front yard that holds so many possibilities. It is on a lot about 45ft wide by 95ft deep, not sprawling by any means but, being a corner lot, we gain about 10 or so feet of city right of way, that is maintained as part of the property. North facing front with a south facing backyard, It was perfect for my green thumb.

Side front yard, with the "bonus" space.

As you can see from the photo above, the "bonus space" right of way really adds to the yard. Before the previous owners replaced the fence with an Emerald Green hedge, the fence went from the street side of the gate down the remaining length of the property.

Facing north, side "bonus" space.

Facing south, side "bonus" space.

As you can see there is a lot of grass at this point, but I have other plans. When I first looked at the back yard. I knew right away, where I was going to put my Greenhouse. I have always dreamt of having a greenhouse, that was defiantly on my list of must haves for a property.

South east corner facing north.

Back yard facing west.

As you can see from the picture, the back yard isn't very deep. Although it is south facing, it does hold some challenges in that the fence, and the side of the neighbours house, shade the yard to varying degrees depending of the time of day and season.

Back yard, facing east.

You can see from the shadow on the lawn, the challenge I was talking about. I will definitely have to do some research on shade loving plants for that portion.

South east corner

Back yard west corner facing east

South corner facing north down the fence.

Well that' the tour, sorry that it took me so long to get it posted. I was thinking last night as to why I haven't gotten around to posting an entry for a while. I really do like keeping an online diary of my gardening experiences, then it came to me. Since we moved, I no longer keep my laptop next to my comfy rocker recliner on the living room. It's been in the kitchen telephone nook, duh, why didn't I realize this before. So I have now moved the laptop to it's more comfortable location next to my chair. Just that simple. I will most certainly be keeping my online gardening diary more up to date from now on.

Oh and here is a picture of things to come. It has been over a year since we moved in and I have done a lot in that time so stay tuned.

A peak at inside the greenhouse, January 1, 2012

I've Moved, Good Bye Richmond Hello Ladner

2011-03-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

So the last 6+ months have been busy, last July we bought a house in Ladner. The months that followed were spent packing up, fixing up, moving around and unpacking, and there are still boxes that haven't found a home. This also means that I haven't done really any gardening in that time, except for cutting my new lawn, boring. Well my new house on a modest lot will provide plenty to post about. Lots to do and plan with this place. Stay tuned for more posts.

Thanks,
Heather

The Townhouse Garden - June Update, Back Garden

2010-07-11T09:48:00.001-07:00

Well, it's a little bit delayed, but, here is the rest of my June update.

On one of only a handful of sunny day's I was able to snap some pic's.

The cushions are on the chairs, and the garden for the most part is planted.

Things have greened up and the roses are setting there buds.
The tomatoes "Bonny Best" have been planted, grown from seed I saved last year. Cages in place and ice cream buckets (bottom removed) are buried about 1 1/2" into the soil. Tomatoes like alot of water and with my soil, the water just seems to roll away when I water. With these additions, the water fills the buckets and slowly seeps down to the roots of the plant.
I have a total of 7 tomatoes here. A few volunteer Mullen, The two grapes are showing some growth. I have a New York Musket and the one in the back ground reaching for the Tomato cage is a Concord, a cutting started from an original plant located in Cougar Annies Garden http://www.boatbasin.org/history.htm

I didn't plant much in the veggie patch this year just a bit of this and that. Along the an abundance of volunteer Parsley and Mullen.

Some Onion sets, yellow and red, really easy to grow.

Another view of the Tomatoes, Concord Grape and Mullen.

The large stand of Hollyhocks I grew from seed last year, a biennial, they will flower this year. It looks like a forest of them. As seedlings they were small, so I planted them close together, never having grown Hollyhocks before. Last year they stayed small, but this year they are huge, I will have to re-think where I plant them in the future. Maybe only one here and there, not grouped as I have done here, I can barely get into the garden.Lots of new Raspberry canes have popped up this year.

The First rose bloom of the season, "Black Magic" a Jackson & Perkins rose.

And the Hydrangea, lots of flowers this year. They are just starting to turn colour.

The Townhouse Garden - June Update, Front Garden

2010-06-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Finally, the sun has come out after what seems like an eternity if rain. I grabbed my camera and took a walk through the garden to see what was growing, and here is what I saw.

The Ferns are lush and green and the Rhodo I transplanted last year is in full bloom.

I don't know the name if this one, but I do like the blush coloured flowers. This shady location, I think, is perfect. If it were in a sunny spot, the delicate colour in the flowers would have been washed out by now. The Japanese Maple "Bloodgood" is looking great, the deep purple leaves is a nice contrast to the green of the garden. The feathery white flower stalks of the Astilbe with the green of the Christmas Fern are a nice combination
Lavender "Fred Boutin" has sent out it's long flower stalks, given a few weeks, this will be a beautiful display of purple lavender wands, swaying in the wind, buzzing with bee's
The red Azalea (bottom left) has finished blooming, the Lady's Mantel (center) has put out a lot of green growth, and the flower stalks are developing. The yellow Alyssum "basket of gold" is on it's second bloom and the Dianthus"pinks" are just starting to bloom. I really like the grey evergreen foliage of this plant. It makes a great border plant, allowed to cascade over bricks or rocks. It spreads slowly, and is easily kept in check.The window boxes filled with seed Geraniums are well on there way to something fantastic. I have already seen a few flowers forming. This plant purchased as a small seed Geranium was a great deal, if you are willing to wait for it to grow. I really thing these plants do better planted young rather that at a flowering mature state. The mature ones tend to get leggy as they grow and finish before the even get started. With the seed Geraniums I will get a full season of interest and flowers from them. I'm also going to try taking cuttings in August to keep them going over the winter. We will see how that goes, that will be a future post. The Dahlia's (left) are growing slowly, the newly planted Echinacea "purple coneflowers"(center) are settling well into their new home. Pieris Japonica (right) has also put on a lot of growth this spring.

While the Iris has finished blooming (front), the Rose of Sharon "red heart" has put on a lot of growth, once flowering, in July, this plant will continue till frost.Sedum "autum joy" (front) has spread and filled in the void quite nicely.

Lonicera Periclymenum (late dutch honeysuckle) vine is flowering, but not as much as last year. I don't know if that is because of the weather this year or my lack of pruning last year. I was lucky enough to find a rooted branch of this vine years ago. The parent plant being at my parents house. I have fond memories of warm spring nights, where this scent of this highly fragrant vine, would fill the air around the house. I can remember riding my bike home in the evening and having it's intoxicating scent greet me as I rode into the drive way.

One of my favorite things to do with this honeysuckle is to cut a few sprigs, put them in a bud vase and place them on the headboard beside my pillow. That way I can smell it all night long. The funny thing is that come morning, the scent isn't as strong as it is at night.

These fall mums were planted a few years ago, and are still doing well. Some have even started to bloom already.

My rose "abraham darby" hasn't liked all the rain that we have been getting. Most of the first wave of blooms were lost to the rain, and the shrub is looking a little flat. This being a rambler rose, I really should have it trained and supported along the fence. Another thing to add to my to do list.

The rhubarb has put out some good growth this season, I should harvest a few stalked before it gets to late.

The Lilac tree needs to be dead headed, the blooms were so beautiful this year. All the Lavender is doing really well this season.

The Wisteria has been putting on a lot of growth, I have added another wire guide to the front fence.The blue grass is looking really blue and has a few flower stalks emerging, not bad for a free craigslist plant. I have also planted some sunflower transplants and marigolds along the front of the fence. The Ginkgo Biloba trees has put out a lot of leaves in it's third year at this location.

Finding a will and a way to go green

2010-06-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

Recently, The City of Richmond introduce a new Food Scraps Composting Program for which all homeowners could participate, with some exceptions.

I wrote into our local newspaper in response to a letter on the topic, which was published, it is as follows:

Finding a will and a way to go green

Editor:

In a follow up to Carrie Sproviero’s letter in the May 22 paper (“Why can’t townhomes be part of composting program?”), I too was an eager Richmondite wanting to participate in the new Food Scraps Composting Program.

Unfortunately, I also live in a townhouse complex, which at this time, only has the basic blue box program which I’m an avid use of.

After reading the reasons for apartment and townhouse complexes being excluded from the program, I can understand why, but that doesn’t diminish my desire to what to do the right thing for our environment.

So, it was time to think outside the box, and use the guide lines set out for individual home owners “You are welcome to set out multiple green cans and unlimited paper yard trimmings bags” to my advantage.

I went out and purchased my nifty green wheeled can with locking lid (Rona) and proceeded to fill it up with all things accepted.

When garbage/recycle day came I happily rolled my green can all the way to the individual homeowner across the street and set my can with theirs.

Now feeling quite satisfied, I to “can” participate in the program. I’ve made it work for me now and I encourage other excluded individuals to do the same.

Where there is a will, there is a way!

Heather
Richmond

Wordless Wednesday - Just Hangin Out

2010-06-02T07:43:00.001-07:00

The Townhouse Garden - New Life For Old Red

2010-05-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

It was and early Saturday morning, a few weekends ago, when I went to dig up two mature Rhododendrons that I found for sale on Craigslist. This is a great place to find and get a deal on established plants.

Here is old red, this 20+ year old Rhododendron was no longer valued by this homeowner in its current location. So rather that chop it down, like so many other people would, this homeowner posted it on Craigslist. Now, this benefits not only the seller but also the buyer, where else could I get mature plants at a reasonable cost, and where else would this homeowner pocket a few dollars and not have to dig up or dispose of this valuable plant material. What a beautiful arrangement

Rhododendrons are a relatively shallow rooted plant, so they are perfectly suited to being moved around at a mature age. Now there are varying degrees of maturity, one look at the trunk of this one and I new that I could dig it out by hand and haul it off. If it had been a really thick truck then some mechanical intervention would have been necessary. With two shovels, one hand pick, a pair of loppers and some sweat equity, my neighbour and I got busy digging up this gem.

45 minutes later, some pulling and tugging revealed this baby was ready to release it's self from it's current home.

There we go, with the root ball now free, two brawny women could now hoist this plant up out of its hole.

We also dug up another mature Rhodo, this one still had the original tag on it, meet "Alice" very pretty.

With both Rhodo's loaded and strapped into the utility trailer, off we leave Tsawwassen for Richmond.

2009, as our fence was being replaced,

Summer 2009, planting annual Dahlia tubers was something to fill the empty space until something more substantial could be acquired.

2010, something more substantial, with the newly acquired Rhododendron, I needed to find the perfect spot and angle to plant the bush.

In it's original location this plant was leaning a little to the right with one of it's branches rooting itself in the soil. When re-planting , I needed to tilt it a little to the left to balance out the over all look.

Viola, an instant mature look to the area.

Next up, planting Alice, the root ball on this one was a lot smaller and easier to dig up.

An empty spot just crying out for something mature to be planted there, "pick me, pick me" can you hear it?

It looks like it has always been there, don't you think. Now this bush really needs to be pruned back hard, I really had to tilt this one to get the main branches to look proper. Rhodo's are really resilient plants, they will generate new growth on old wood, it's really quite an amazing thing to watch, you just have to have a little patience and forgo some blooms for a year or two.

Back to old Red, with my pruners is hand, I needed to be brutal. I needed to really open up the plant, getting rid of the crossing, and the weak branches. Balancing up the bush, and allowing the light to shine on the remaining, exposed wood. This will stimulate the new growth.

Let the light shine in.

Brutal right, well not as drastic a pruning job as I have done to a Rhodo in the past. Years ago, I pruned back my mom mature Rhodo hard, I mean there was only a few green leaves left, but it had just finished blooming so the new growth was just coming out. I remember she was devastated, thinking that I had done irreparable damage, and surely killed her plant. Well, it's been a few years now and the bush has never look as good or blooms so profusely. Really, these are hardy plants people!

The Townhouse Garden 2010 - Wonderful Wisteria

2010-05-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

So flash back to last year, February, our townhouse complex was getting a new fence. I had a small brick planter at the base of the brick post, which was, along with the rest of the fence, up for demolition. I removed the bricks and any plants that would be damaged.

February 2009

March 2010

2009, this area was left unfinished for all of last year. Waiting for the right inspiration to finish off the spot.

Fast forward to 2010, now was the time to get this area finished.
After sorting through the bricks I had on hand from the previous planter, this new area is slightly larger from the last one. After purchasing some more bricks, I laid them out in the general area of the new planter.

Using the same method of instillation as the other brick work around the Townhouse, the planter was now ready for some soil.

Lots of fresh compost will be mixed in with the existing soil.

Unfortunately, when I began to dig down I only got so far as a spades depth before running into a cement pad which runs the length, plus, of the planter. Before this townhouse complex was built, there was a house in this location and they must have had a retaining wall of some sort right were I want to dig, arrg. It's a good thing that the new planter will raise the growing area up 3 or 4 inches. There is also, as I discovered, a 2 inches gap where the cement pad ends and the edge of the planter is where roots could go down deeper into the soil in search of moisture.

Ah, all done, and planted with my newly purchased Wisteria "Texas Purple" an early to flower variety. I've read somewhere, when purchasing a Wisteria, you should find one that is or has bloomed, if not, you could be waiting a few years to see flowers. Of course, I've also been told that once a Wisteria has become established, watch out, and have your pruners handy. It will need to be pruned a few times during the growing season to keep it in check or it might take over, destroying fence panels, ripping siding off housing, grabbing small children as they walk by, (kidding) ;)
I have secured some eye hooks into the fencing with wire running between them so the vines could attach themselves to that, and not my new fence.

Wire running the length of the top of the fence.

I really love the look of the flowers of Wisteria, like clusters of grapes, and the smell, like sweet peas. Once this vine is established and trailing along the top of the fence, it should be breath taking when in bloom.

I finished the planter off with some perennials, Geranium cinereum "Sateene" Grayleaf Geranium, Dianthus barbatus "Sooty" Sooty Sweet William, and Gaillardia "Scarlet Halo" Blanket flower. Now all I have to do is add water and watch it grow.

The Townhouse Garden 2010 - Iris Came Back For Mothers Day

2010-05-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a few years now but Iris is back, looking more beautiful that ever.

Iris on Mothers Day 2010

It was in the summer of 2007, when Iris, having been ripped from the only home she'd known and kicked to the curb, found her way to me. I welcomed her in, cleaned her up, and gave her some fresh soil. I didn't have a permanent spot for her to stay at the time, as her arrival was quite sudden.

In 2008, Iris was showing some recovery,with some new, healthy growth. Still in her temporary accommodation, news was that a more permanent home was just around the corner.

2009 brought some setbacks for Iris, a recent renovation left her a little worse for wear, being walked all over and garbage thrown at her.

Early Spring 2010, Iris is looking strong and healthy, in her 3rd year here, she's getting settled and really putting down her roots.

Mothers Day weekend, and Iris is back, a real star in my garden, and just to think only a few years ago she was unloved and unwanted, well I love you Iris, and you can stay as long as you want.

Time to make some Mothers Day flower arrangements, I went around the garden and cut some of the best flowers that were available today.

Lily of the Valley

Rhododendron "Jean Marie de Montague"

Forget-me-not

"Basket of Gold" Alyssum

Variegated Euonymus

Purple Columbine

Lilac "Mme Lemoine"

Curly Parsley

Arrangement for my Mother In Law

Arrangement for my Mom.

Richmond Garden Club Members Only Garden Tour 2009

2010-05-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

Every year the Richmond Garden Club puts on it's Members Only Garden Tour. I always look forward to this event. Usually this is in July, my garden was is full bloom so I got a little creative and fashioned a flower hat for the occasion.

Here is my flower hat, a simple wicker hat with water spikes wired into the had, there are 3 types of roses, Abraham Darby (2 peach coloured ones on either side), Black Magic (3 to the centre, 2 to the upper, dark red) Double Delight (pink & white centre, what a wonderful scent) there is also Lady's Mantle (yellow flowers on green), lavender stems and Rhododendron. I kept the hat in the fridge to keep it fresh.

Here I am with my flower hat, taking the time to smell the roses. If any group of people would appreciate such a hat, it would be amongst my fellow gardeners.
A really neat potting shed. What a great use of doors and windows. If only I were that handy.
A little art in the garden. How every day items, new and old can be put on display and add a little cents of whimsy.
A nice place to sit a relax in the garden, but as any gardener will attest, it is a rare scene to see one resting in the garden, the moment you sit down to admire your efforts, you see something else that needs fussing with, and off you go again.
I really like the natural look of this fence around the vegetable garden.
Beautiful combination.
Poppies.
This was a neat little piece of garden art, a stone frog in the bird bath.
Enough said.
This goes to show you that container gardening can still offer up a lot of texture and colour to your outdoor space.

I really like the look of Geraniums in clay pots. It leaves me with an old English, glasshouse kind of feeling.

A sunny south facing wall is a perfect spot for tomatoes, they just need a big enough pot and lots of water.

To end the tour we visited a more natural garden, I saw so many dragon flies flying about. It was easy to capture a great shot of one, they are so pretty.

I like to visit as many gardens as I can, they are always filled with great idea's and such inspiration.

The Townhouse Garden 2009 - Flower Power, Pictures From The Season

2010-04-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

Every season, it's important to make time to take some pictures when things are at their best, you wait all year for this moment, it would be a shame to let it go by without that memory to look back on. Especially when the weathers the shits and you wonder why you live on the wet coast.

A little harvest of onions, carrots and beans.

Stargazer Lily's bought from http://www.botanus.com/

Dahlia's "Rip City", they put on a real show.

My window boxes overflowing with Geraniums and Marigolds I started from seed. No that's not a new kind of grey foliage plant, that's my Dahlia's under stress in late August with powdery mildew.

Sweet Pea's one of my favorite garden flowers.

Gay Feather

I inherited this Daffodil from this garden, it has the most wonderful scent.

Peek-a-boo

This Sunflower "Russian Giant" grew to about 14 feet, a real skyscraper!

The harvested seed heads, great to leave out for the birds to pick at.

20" across in size.

Rhododendron

Sometimes you have to have your camera out at just the right moment, this butterfly stayed just long enough to get this shot. I guess I've created a space for the birds, the bee's and butterflies! I don't use any chemicals or pesticides on my garden.

Rhododendron "Horizon Monarch" I love the blousey flower trusses, a real show stopper.

Azalea "Crimson Red", English Daisy's and Gold Basket Allysum, I love the honey scent of the blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Tree, Kwansan also one of my favorites, a late bloomer.

Forget-me-not, a volunteer that comes back year after year

I really love the look of the dark green leaves and bright orange flowers of this marigold. Especially against the granite rocks.

Marigold "Sparky Mix"I started these from seed and transplanted them close together and they grew into a lovely mat of flowers that didn't need a lot of care and put on an real show till frost.

The Townhouse Garden 2009 - Summers Bounty

2010-04-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

Now that the new beds have been created and amended, I planted my seeds.

Along with some Dahlia's, and Sunflower Seeds

Tomato's I started from seed,"Bonny Best"

The Garden is it's full glory, there's some radishes, carrots, onions, marigolds, sweet peas, pole beens, corn, a few Dahlia's and some weeds thrown in for good measure.

Those sunflowers are sure getting really tall.

I wanted to create a garden with rooms.
This is one of them, with some onions drying on the table.
Doesn't that look cozy.

Another perspective.

I'm quite happy with the way the backyard makeover turned out, but with all gardens it's continues to evolve.

The Townhouse Garden 2009 - Grass Be Gone

2010-04-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

With the fence project behind me, I am left with a muddy backyard as shown below.

Yuck! This was the state of the grass in late March.

As the spring progressed, other garden project took my time, but I can no longer ignore the state of the grass. I had always planned on removing it, as it's just not practical in this little backyard. The fence shades most of it for half of the year and if that doesn't kill it, then my small dog does a good job at it to, as seen by the brown patches. So with a lot of elbow grease and many trips to the dump, I removed all the grass, put 2 layers of landscape fabric down, and put down 3/4 inch crushed granite and some stepping stones.

What a difference it has made to the backyard. It really looks great against the nicely stained cedar fence and the granite boarder fits perfectly. No longer are you distracted from the garden with shabby looking grass.

The view from the other side of the yard.
Another total benefit to this new ground cover is that it still leaves room for the dog to do his business, and when he comes back inside his paws are no longer dirty although he does miss his grass, but hey, that's what walks are for. So the garden continues to grow, oh yes I will be dealing with the 2X4's they are the cross pieces for the arbour. A project for 2010.

The Townhouse Garden 2009 - Backyard Makeover

2010-03-26T13:51:00.001-07:00

It's March 29, 2009, and the fence project is finally finished. It's the first weekend of nice weather and I'm now embarking on my next major garden project. I am going to totally renovate the back garden, nothing will stay the same. I have big plans, what's new.

Looking through the side gate, I can envision where my new arbours will be, along with the new veggie garden and rose bed.
In this view, I see I need to move the rhodo and reposition the rocks to create a smoother transition from one side of the yard to the next.

This is were the new arbour and veggie garden are going to be.

The new path from the patio to the gravel walkway will be straight ahead.

I like the natural element the granite rocks adds to the garden. I didn't want any hard edges, so the rocks have been re-worked with lots of graceful curves and positioned to flow from one rock to the next. It was not as easy as it may seem to match up the rocks, I sure got a workout that day.

Time to call out the troops and start on those 2 simple arbours. One will be bordering the veggie garden.

The other arbour will be framing the doorway.

In go the posts. When the fence was installed I observed how they set the post, they used a product called Stake-rite, a quick setting cement. They dug the wholes, positioned the post, poured in the dry Stake-rite cement, put the cross pieces in and then soaked around the base of the posts with water. No need to premix and pour, this worked great.

Ahh the sight of the new arbours are a beautiful thing.

I picked up a free load of composted horse manure which I'm going to incorporate into the soil by rototilling the garden. The soil that was under the grass was clay and quite compact and I couldn't have broken it up without some mechanical assistance.

Can't you just picture all the things that can grow in this new space!

The additional garden beds here will be planted with roses and other perennials.

The roses have been transplanted, the next project will be to plant up the garden and remove the rest of the grass, to be replaced with 3/4 inch crushed granite. In a perfect world I would kept the grass as it looks great against the granite rocks but the continued damage done by my dog is just to much for this little strip to handle.

The Townhouse Garden 2009 - The Fence Project

2010-03-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since my last post, a year actually, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been a busy little bee in my garden. There has been some major changes to the backyard landscape, okay it was a total overhaul.

Here is where it all started

After a unusually cold and snowy winter, it was March, and the time had finally come to start the fence replacement project for the complex. Yeah, I have been waiting for that for 3 years.

Here is a refresher on how the Fence looked.

That ugly fence, with the gate that would always stick.

Another thing I really didn't like about the fence is that it went up 4 ft and the top 1 ft was a see through lattice portion. Living on a main street with people always walking by, I didn't like that anyone and their dog could see was I was doing in my backyard. Even though I knew that fence would be replaced, last season I put up plywood to cover the lattice portion and painted the whole fence on the inside of the backyard, only then was able to live with it for one more year.

Going.....

Going....

Gone, goodbye and good riddance, is all I can say!

Our new fence is being constructed by Premium Fence.

In go the new posts, our old fence zigzagged in and out and had brick pillars on the ends of each of the corners. One reason the fence was so ugly, is that overtime the brick pillars settled and pulled the fence along in either direction, it looked like it was falling over and was coming away in spots.

The new fence is going to be perfectly straight.

The now open division between mine and my Neighbours yard

It's going to be so nice with new fence, because the zigzags have now been eliminated, I will gain an extra 2 feet depth as you can kind of see by were the grass ends and the new posts are.

The fence boards ready to be installed.

My yard seems to go on for ever, if only that were the case.

Alekazam ,Tada, new fence

The bricks where the BBQ was, I had re-used them from the west side of the house.

All that extra space, 2feet, I think I will put the compost bin there, it's full shade, good spot for it.

I will have to move the Rhodo to fit the space properly.

The Granite rocks will have to be moved to accommodate the new gate, it was moved over slightly from its former position.

This area will be the new veggie garden, it gets full sun for most of the day. Before the fence was replace I had to move any plants and equipment that I wanted to keep away from the old fence, the yard is a mess, but things can finally find a home.

I have a lot of cleaning up to do, plants have been trampled and wood pieces and concrete are littered throughout the garden. I'll salvage what plants I can. As you can see above the herb garden doesn't look so happy.

Lots to clean up.

Another thing I am going to do is rip up all the grass and replace it with 3/4" crushed gravel. The grass is half dead and full of mud. It has never really grown very well, and having a medium sized dog doing damage to the grass doesn't help.

The Tyee Good to Grow: A Series Funded by Tyee Readers

2009-08-21T09:23:00.001-07:00

Here is part one of a six part series title "Good To Grow: Raising Food in BC'S Cities" it's interesting check it out.

The Tyee Ã¢Â€Â” Good to Grow: A Series Funded by Tyee Readers

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Richmond's First Seedy Saturday at Terra Nova Rural Park

2009-03-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

It was a crisp Saturday morning at the Terra Nova Rural Park. I was excited about attending Richmond's First Seedy Saturday. In years past I've been to the Vandusen event, but I was so pleased that we now have one of our own.

I had just been to the Terra Nova Barn last week when I attended the Backyard Chickens information session.

As I approached the familiar red barn, I found myself walking a little faster, wondering what kind of seed's I would find.

The barn was buzzing with activity already, it was 10:15 and things were just getting started.
There was so many things to see. The Richmond Garden Club http://www.richmondgardenclub.com/index.html had a table, they were selling seeds that they saved from the Paulik Gardens, and also some seeds that they had found in old mason jars, saved from the original property owner and caretaker.
There were mason bee houses for sale, honey, Heritage seeds from Harold Steves, as well as the Richmond Pesticide Awareness Coalition.

Then in the middle of the room there it was, the sharing table. This was for anyone who wishes to put down seeds that they had saved from their garden, or just extra seeds that they were willing to share. I placed my contribution on table and then jumped in to begin sorting through the seeds, seeing if there was anything that I could use for this years garden. I must have spent 20 minutes just going over everything. I pocketed a half dozen packets of seeds and then I proceeded outside.

There set up just outside the barn was Laurelle Oldford-Dawn from The Urban Fruitery selling a bunch of varieties of Blueberry bushes. I couldn't walk away without buying one, the variety I chose was Reki, a heavy producer of big blue berries, I can't wait.

Next I made my way over to get my pruners sharped by donation. After a few minutes they were good as new.

I finished off the morning with a walk through the community gardens. The fresh air, quite surroundings and sunshine made for a enjoyable walk.

The seeds I selected from the table, looking forward to growing and eating those.

Some of the other seeds I dug up from years past. I almost forgot I had them. Some seeds are anywhere from 2 to 6 years old. I hope that they will still grow, there is one way to tell.

To test seed germination, I sprayed down some paper towel strips, placed some seeds from each packet between the moist paper towels, my daughter helped me count out the big ones. I placed each strip in a small snack sized zipper bag and wrote the name and date on it.

I placed the bags next to a bright window, and waited to any signs of activity.

After a week, I checked the seeds and to my surprise, the majority of the seeds had germinated, the few that didn't might just need a little more time. My daughter was happy to see the little seed she had helped me with last week now looks so different. I'm sure she will have lots of fun with me in the Garden this year.

The Townhouse Garden 2008 - Flowers From The Garden

2009-03-07T21:04:00.000-08:00

Over the season I like to take pictures of the plants when they are looking their best, having a digital camera really makes that job of capturing great shots easy. You can see right away if you've got the "Money Shot" and you can snap away to your hearts content and it doesn't cost you anything, but the beauty of the flowers will last forever.

Some Hydrangea's, the soil that they are planted in is new and on the alkaline side of things, it is slowly turn acidic now that it's had a few years of rain on it. It's neat to see the transition of the flowers from pink (alkaline) to blue (acidic).

I really like the structure of this variety of Hydrangea. The flowers are a little thicker that other Hydrangea's I have. That makes them a good cut flower.

The "Fred Boutin" Lavender is in full bloom. I love the extra long stems of this variety, they reach 2 feet long, an excellent cut flower.

Close up of "Fred Boutin" Lavender

The bees love the Lavender.

"Double Delight" Rose, I purchased this year from Southlands Nursery.

"Black Magic" a Jackson and Perkins Rose also purchase this year from Southlands Nursery. I was trying to go for an artistic shot. I love the dark red colour of this rose.

The flower off of "Klem's Hardy Gardenia" ordered through Southlands Nursery, I had heard that there was a hardy Zone 8 Gardenia out there that could be grown year round here. I purchased one for my mom for Mothers Day and one for my self. The smell is close to the more commonly know indoor double flowered Gardenia. It's a real treat to be sitting out on the patio and catch a wif of this beautiful flower.

A Clematis that was here when I moved in.

I like all the pretty purple stripping, name unknown.

"Jackmanii" Clematis, the dark purple flowers have an almost fuzzy appearance in the sun.

The purple flowers of the new Rhododendron "tree" planted this year.

Crocus's in the spring time.

Fall Aster, a gift from a neighbour. This needs to be staked or it will end up toppling over under the weight of all those blooms. An easy, reliable garden perennial.

One of my favorite Dahlia's "Rip City" it'll stop you in your path.

A bouquet of all my dark coloured Dahlia's

A bouquet of all my yellow and orange hued Dahlia's.

The Townhouse Garden 2008 - The Backyard Evolution

2009-03-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

With the major front garden renovations completed, it's time to turn my efforts to the backyard.

There's a lot of things I want to do to this blank slate of a backyard. There were a few plants and some garden beds in place but nothing that I was going to keep. The ugly fence is going to be replaced in 2009, so I can't do to much with the backyard, just enough to make it pretty for this year.

The existing hard edged combination of brick and plastic edging are going to be replaced with something more natural and flowing.

My sister saved some Iris's from some one's garbage, I potted them, I plan to give them a nice sunny spot in the new garden.

One of the first things I bought for the garden this year was an ornamental cherry tree "Kwanzaa" is the variety. After seeing all the flowering cherry's lining the streets I just knew I had to get one. I like the full flowers and late blooming of this variety, this tree will grow large in 15 to 20 years, but by carefully pruning the branches, I hope to keep a open airy feel about it. I would like some shade but not all shade.

The garden needed some height, one way I tried to achieve this is the addition of these free Rhododendron "trees". I totally scored with these beauties, I can often be found trolling the Craigslist's, Farm and Garden or Free listings, I've found it's a good way to acquire cheap or free mature plants and I lucked out one day when some one had posted free Rhodo's. Knowing how shallow rooted Rhodo's are I went with my utility trailer and shovel to dig them up. When I arrived they were exactly what I was looking for, 6 to 7 feet tall, and the lower branches had already been removed years earlier. It took a little digging and two people to lift it out of the hole but up they came and I've never looked back. One is red as shown and the other is purple. They bloom at different times so there is some colour for almost a month and a half strait.

The purple Rhodo in bloom.

After each of the tree's finished blooming, and before the new growth really started to grow I removed all the old leaves by carefully snapping them backwards. The old leaves were not in good shape and by removing them, it enabled me to clean up the spent flower blossoms from this and previous years and I could see the "bones" of the trees. I cut out any crossing branches and opened up the tree for good light and air movement. I find you can prune them hard and they are very forgiving.

Another total score, courtesy of Craigslist, were the granite rocks I was looking for. They weren't free but who can argue with $20 and a case of beer. They look terrific as the new boarder for the back garden beds. They add more of that natural element I'm trying to going for.

The granite rocks go all along the backyard, curving here and there. One thing I would like to add sometime would be the addition of a small shed to store the wheelbarrow and all my gardening tools, perhaps on the shady side of the fence once the fence is replaced next year.

I painted the ugly fence this year and I also attached some painted plywood to the upper portion of the fence to cover the lattice. Our backyard faces the street and I didn't like the fact that anyone walking by could look through the lattice and see into the yard and into the living room at night.

The combination of the shade from the fence and the dog, does a number on the health of the grass in the backyard, I'm constantly watering a patching up the doggie damage it really is a losing battle. I'm considering removing the grass and replacing it with some crushed stone next year. That will be a no maintenance, water saving option, not to mention it will keep the mud off the dog's paws in the winter when the grass seems to turn to a muddy mess.

A different perspective

The back fence isn't strait across, it juts in about 2 feet from the property line half way across. Next year when the fence gets replace, the fence will all be the same depth, running on the property line. This should give me and extra 20 square feet to garden in. Right now nothing can be planted along the fence by the gate, but next year the gate will stil be in the same place, but I will have all that extra room. The granite rocks will have to be re-worked to accommodate the extra bed.

The Townhouse Garden 2007 - The Front Garden Grows

2009-03-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

2007 wasn't a busy gardening year, with no big projects ahead, I can take time to watch the front garden grow.

The Crocus's are the first flower to bloom in my garden. I've planted them in front of the Lavender bushes, the Daffodils are planted just behind and are just starting to bloom. Later in the season the Lavender hides both the Crocus and the Daffodil leaves, as they can be kind of ugly at that stage.

Spring time and the Daffodils are in full bloom and the Japanese Maple is just starting the leaf out. The "Basket of Gold" Aurinia saxatilis is also just starting to bloom, I love how this plant will cascade over the rocks.

The "Basket of Gold" is starting to cascade over the rock border and the small yellow Rhododendron is blooming.

I don't know the name of this pale yellow Rhododendron, but is looks like it can be kept small. I transplanted it from the back garden last year and it seems to be doing much better in this location.

Closer to the house is mostly a shade garden, the small cedar hedge make sure of that. It's the perfect spot for some Ferns and a Hosta. I've also planted a Hydrangea, Astilbe and a "Nelly Moser" Clematis growing up a trellis on the down spout.

I added interest to the entrance way by removing some of the agrigate bricks and plastic edging that were there when we moved in and replacing it with some flagstone and re-worked the planting area with some more of the bricks. This to is shaded 80% of the day, I've planted some Bleeding Hearts, Ferns and more Hosta's. I tried growing some moss between the flagstone but this area was just to shaded. I'll have to rethink what I should use to replace the moss.

The red Rhododendron in the distance is a well know variety, Jean De'Montague. I've always loved the Rhodo's that have big clusters of red blooms and dark green leathery leaves, and now I have one of my own. The Dahlia's are just starting to come up. Shasta Daisy's are planted just below the living room window and a Rosemary and Bay Leaf bush are planted below the kitchen window. A Late Dutch Honeysuckle is climbing up a trellis attached to the downspout. I started this plant from a cutting off a 30 year old Honeysuckle that's at my parents house.

The west facing side of the townhouse is a tough area to grown plant's in. It needs watering every day in the summer, to solve this problem I installed a drip irrigation systems to water all of the front garden. Sherri from Lee Valley Tools was a speaker at a recent Richmond Garden Club meeting, she talked all about installing a drip irrigation system, using the products offered by Lee Valley. I looked really simple, so I gave it a shot, and I'd have to say it was money well spent. What use to take me at least 30 minutes to do, now takes me about 2 minutes, to hook up the hose and turn it on, and if I get really lazy I could always hook up a automatic timer.

The Townhouse Garden 2006, Armed And Dangerous

2009-02-20T22:28:00.000-08:00

It was early one morning in April 2006, I was 6 months pregnant at the time and there was an itch I needed to scratch. I just had to start gardening. I got my shovel, and my large pruners and I was ready to rumble. Times run out on that Peries Japonica, that plastic edging, some sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.

The start of the remodel, gone are the over grown, sad looking bushes, it's off to the city recycle yard for you.

The Japanese Maple "Bloodgood" I've had growing in a half barrel container, on the balcony at the apartment finally gets planted in the ground, It as I, can now spread it's roots.

I dug up all the sandy soil that was out front and piled it up. It was in serious need of some amendment.

Some examples of the brick I was thinking of using to border the new improved garden bed.

I know that your garden is as only as good and the soil it's grown in. I pain stakingly screen out all of the existing soil and got rid of all the rocks, roots, pieces of concrete and other building material that mysteriously appeared in the soil.

I got a load of compost from the Vancouver Landfill, really economical, $5 for a utility trailer full. I used this to amend the existing soil. 5 parts compost to 2 parts existing sandy soil. Mixed by hand in my wheelbarrow, and dumped into place. Anything was better than what was there before.

Recycling what I had, I used the red bricks from the side of the townhouse to use as a base for the brick edging. I picked this up at the Home Depot for .89 per brick not to bad, looks great. When I needed to make a few cuts on the bricks to fill in the odd spot I marked it, and took it the BC Brick on #5 Rd. and Bridgeport. and for a reasonable fee, they were happy to help me. I'm not an expert in masonry, I cheated on leveling the edging. I put half of the brick on the red brick base and half of the brick on the sidewalk. Looks nice and level, I'm sure I'll need to adjust the brick in a few years as it begins to settle, but I'll deal with that later.

Starting to show some promise.

The front entrance is getting a makeover as well.

Bye bye brick, hello prime growing real estate.

The first year had some challenges, one of which was then we had the roof replaced in July, I thought that all my hard work was going to be ruined, plant's broken by roofing material, but that wasn't the case. The roofers were very good about not destroying my plant material. As you can see the Dahlia's were just starting to grow along the west side of the townhouse. The Japanese Maple has leaved out and I added a little weight to the garden in the form of a concrete bird bath. It adds that little something that was missing.

As you can see, the Dahlia's are in bloom and the side of the townhouse is now bursting with colour and interest. Everyone who drives or walks down the sidewalk into the complex is greeted with my colourful garden improvements.

The edging wasn't quite completed this year, the ornamental cherry is slated for removal the next year, and the root will be ground down. It will be finished then.

I planted some giant sunflower seeds for fun, and boy they didn't disappoint. I'm sure they brought a smile to many faces.

And that was that, with a now newborn to take care of my gardening for this year is done.

The Townhouse Garden 2005, A Blank Slate.

2009-02-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

It was 2005 when we moved from the apartment to the townhouse. Filled with excitement, I was, at the thought of starting another garden from scratch. Only this time, I'd have some real earth to play around with. The days of forced container gardening, for me, are over.

These pictures were taken just as we were putting pen to paper and signing off on our new life, in the townhouse.

It's not that clear, but the front of the townhouse has an established emerald green cedar hedge, and some peiris japonica out front, bordered with some plastic edging, yuck. The west side of the townhouse is completely covered with bricks. I guess gardening wasn't the the favorite past time of the previous owner. I remember the first thing I said to myself when I saw that brick was I'm going to rip it up and grow something there, and that's exactly what I did.

To the front of the townhouse there was a old ornamental cherry tree, that wasn't very healthy, and some other yellow flowered plant. Oh and a yucca, can we say yuck, I've been digging that up for years.

The backyard was such a blank slate, just what I like, room for my vision to materialize.

Future site of many things to come.

Not much happening with the greenery. But the south facing backyard has some real potential!

2005 not only showed change in my address but also change in my family, we moved into the townhouse in October and by the end of November I was pregnant with my first. But that didn't put a damper on my gardening aspirations.

The Apartment Garden 1999 - 2005

2009-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

In the apartment is were I had my container garden.

The Geraniums in the clays pots look great but dried out way to fast.

Our balcony was a hot, southwest exposure. It was always a challenge to water all the containers and keep the plants from wilting during the day while I was at work. Especially the Japanese Maple that I had growing in a big half barrel pot.

I love plants that are both beautiful and that smell great. Due to the limited space on the balcony, and to maximize the growing potential, I grew as much as I could vertically. Here is a picture of some Late Dutch Honeysuckle, grown from a cutting taken from my childhood home, up one of trellis's I made. When in bloom, and after a nice hot summers day, the Honeysuckles fragrance would drift in the door and into the living room. I always like to take a few springs of fresh flowers and put it in a small bud vase next to the bed.

After a long day, it was always nice to come out and sit on the balcony amongst all the greenery, my sanctuary. The cat always had her favorite chair to.

This was a great view to look out to from the living room.

The years past and the garden is always changing.

One of my favorite roses, Abraham Darby it has a wonderful smell and is a full old fashioned looking flower. As you can see it's a climber.

Even in the winter, there's always a garden to tend. If there's any available space with good lite I'll have plants growing there.

Where It All Began

2009-02-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

My love for gardening, goes back as far as I can remember.

As a little girl, I have fond memories of always having a garden, whether that be my own or not. My mother, for a handful of years, kept a vegetable garden in our backyard. It wasn't to big, just a few rows of this or that, mostly tomatoes, squash, beans and peas. I would always eat the peas just as they were ready, or before, for that matter. I don't think my mom ever really had a chance to eat them.

My Mom's backyard Garden, Richmond 1976

My earliest memories always go back to when my Grandma Elsie would come over for visits, I could always find her, ice cream bucket in hand, out picking the raspberries. She would make raspberry jelly, I loved her raspberry jelly. God, what I wouldn't give to be side by side picking raspberries with her again. Come harvest time, Grandma would be at the kitchen table, cutting up the beans and bagging the beans for the freezer. Mom told be a story of when Grandma was in the hospital, having just given birth to her. It was in August, and someone had given her a beautiful bunch of fresh sweet pea's, another of her favorites. I guess that's why we always had them growing in the garden. Even to this day, in her memory I always plant some in the garden.

We had other things growing in the garden to like, roses, sweet William's, a rhodo, 2 lilac's a purple and a double white one, late dutch honeysuckle, yellow allysim, and a big blue hydrangea to name a few.

One year when I was old enough, or perhaps after I begged enough I was given my own small garden plot, along the back of the house. It wasn't that big, maybe 2ft by 10ft, but that was enough to get this green thumb going. Even in that space, I grew potato's, radishes, sage, catnip and other things I can't quite remember.

In my teen years, I can remember I would spend countless hours outside in the garden, which by now I had, for the most part, taken over from my mom. Although it wasn't just the vegetable garden, I had my hand in, but I also enjoyed cutting the grass. We had a old reel mower that I got working again, I loved the way the grass looked after I cut it with the reel mower.

After moving out when I was 18, I was always longing to have my own garden again. Every place I have lived since then I have always tried to garden, successfully or not. Riping up grass and making plots at rental properties, I've had a community garden plot or two over the years. Balcony gardens, light gardens, any garden. I have the uncontrollable passion to grow things. I can't live without gardening. I get so excited about it. Going to garden shows, garden club meeting, talking to other people about their garden, going through seed catalogue's, reading local gardening magazines, watching home and garden TV. I got to have it.

For the past three years, I've been living in a townhouse that has some ground to work, a space to create my next garden, and this time it's right out side, no travel time evolved. With hoses at arms reach, and a place to store all my gardening tools. I've started my next urban garden, the journey continues.....