Here, in Ontario, Canada, this upcoming weekend, known officially as the Victory Day Weekend, but also as FirecrackerDay or just the May 24th Weekend, is a 3-day long weekend. Some of us open our cottages, if we’re lucky enough to own one. Some of us set off fireworks, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday, but now I think we do it mainly as a celebration of the warm weather. For many of us it is the official start of the gardening season after our long winter of hibernation. Hurray!
This is the time of the last frost. The time when we can safely plant. Next weekend we will descend like crazed flower-hungry hoards on our local garden nurseries.
Taking Stock
Today, in preparation for next weekend, I’ve been working at preparing my garden canvas. I picked up some soil this morning. I used to buy separate bags of peat moss, manure and compost and mix it myself. Now, though, I just buy bags of ready mixed triple mix. How about you?
In addition, I bought a bag of sheep manure and top soil. The sheep manure will go in my vegetable patch.
Next, garden tools. I confess, I’ve not taken care of my tools. My pruners are very dull and rusted. So I’ve invested in a new pair of pruners. I never realized how many types of pruners there are! There are anvil pruners, Bypass pruners, grass pruners and the long handled pruners, which are actually called loppers. I settled on the Bypass pruners.
Now I have to get out there. Time to turn the earth and spread the new soil around. Hopefully the heavy labour will help me loose some of this winter fat!
Things seem to be growing slowly this Spring. Though the perennials are sprouting, there are not many blooms! But, I have to say that the anticipation of what and when a perennial will start peeking through the earth, and then watching its progress is what makes Spring blooms so special.
Today, I used Keynote on my new computer to make a slide show movie, which I've posted to YouTube, to show the blooms of my garden. You can see it below. Not very happpy with the quality as it appears on YouTube. Maybe because it was set for Mobile? It's certainly a learning curve!
For those of us living in Canada, we celebrated Canada Day on July 1. This is our Country's official birthday. We Canadians don't display our flag as much as Americans, but on this day, you can see many a flag adorned with the Maple Leaf. The flag was introduced in 1965. The Maple Tree has been our national arboreal emblem since 1996.
Did you know there are 150 known species of Maple Tree? 13 of these are native to North America and 10 types grow in Canada. In fact, in Ontario, it is hard escape the Maple Tree. It is quite an amazing site to see Maples turning colour in the fall. Those which grow most abundantly in Canada are Sugar Maples. You can see a Maple Tree almost everywhere, particulary in Ontario and Quebec.
A Love - Hate Relationship Our neighbour has a huge tree. It must be 30' tall. I've read that they can grow to 100' high. At certain times of the year we see, what must be, 100s of maple keys floating down from the tree. The keys blow in the wind reminding you of helicoper propellers, which is why we sometimes call them "helicopters".
Quite a few of them take root and start to grow saplings, which are hard to control! This is something I'm not fond of when it comes to Maple Trees. I have a couple of Maples Tree saplings which I did not pull in time and now it is almost impossible to pull them out. It is almost impossible to not be able to grow a maple tree in Ontario. They have absolutely no problem with the frigid cold of our winters and require little if any tending.
How Sweet It Is On the other hand, something I love about the Maple Tree is Canadian Maple Syrup. It's a wonderful taste experience. If you've never tried pancakes topped with Canadian maple syrup, you are missing a sweet treat.
Here's my vegetable patch. You may be able to see some fennel fronds finally sprouting. Also planted some leek seeds, and I believe the spindly things may be the leeks. Have never planted either so it is a wonder to me as to what they look like as they grow. It's been very cold and wet, and I must say, I'm underwhelmed by the slow growth. Kind of a lunch bag let down so far. I wasn't sure if the slowness was due to my ineptitude as a vegetable gardener or the weather. The weather channel reported that farmers are a week behind, so maybe it's not just me.
What is shocking me is the size of the zucchini! I planted those seeds long after the fennel and leeks. I believe they are going to overtake my entire small plot. I read somewhere that one to two zucchini plants is more than enough for a small family. I've got three. Must look up several zucchini recipes soon.
The Peonies are Bloomin'! At last the peonies in my garden are in full bloom. I planted mine a few years ago. The plant has never failed to flower. The loveliness of its rose-like scented blossoms brings a sense of dreamy pleasure. The beauty of the flower's delicate layered petals is a sight I love to see. Yet, despite the graceful look of peonies, they are very hardy, drought tolerant and require little maintenance. What a gardener's dream!
They can take anywhere from one to three years to first bloom. But once they do flower, you'll be able to enjoy them, often for more than 50 years.
Peony - Not Just Another Pretty Flower Some say the name is in memory of Greek physician Paeon, physician to the gods. Peonies were evidently first used for medicinal purposes in the far East and Europe. Traditional Chinese texts describe several medicinal preparations using the roots, seeds and flowers. Herbalists use peonies to treat nervous disorders, chorea, epilepsy, Rheumatism and dropsy. Modern medical researchers are finding that there may be truth to the peony's medical wonders and soon may be using this beauty to treat various diseases.
For my part, and I'm sure many of you, the sheer pleasure of gazing at this romantic looking flower and the scent of its dazzling fragrance is medicine enough.
Peony Growing Facts
Best planted in the early fall.
If separating plants be very careful with the roots
Peonies enjoy sunny locations, with well drained soil and lots of room
They prefer cooler climates
Plant herbaceous and intersectional peony roots so that the highest crown bud is not more than 5 cm (2") deep. Planting too deep may prevent the plant from blooming
Tree peonies, on the other hand, require deep planting
If you are planning to separate your peony plants, you may want to keep in mind, that according to "American Regional Folklore" by Terry Ann Mood, you should always dig a peony up at night as, "Anyone observed by woodpeckers while digging up peonies, it was believed, would become blind." I leave it to you to decide if this is true.
I have recently been using a lot of fennel in my cooking (see recipe below). I love the taste. I also read that it is good for PMS and menopause symptoms.
So I decided to plant some seeds. This was done about 3 weeks ago, along with some leek seeds. The leeks are sprouting, but not the fennel! Not sure if this is usual or not, having not grown fennel before.
I highly suspect there is a pest in my vegetable garden, as not only is the fennel not appearing, but the heads of two of my red pepper plants have been lopped off. We, in Ontario, Canada, have had unusually heavy rain for this time of year, so I'm not sure if the rain battered the pepper plants, or if some unknown pest has been at them.
Sauteed Fennel
1 Fennel bulb 1 - 2 tbl. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Salt & Pepper to taste Serves 2
Slice end from fennel and remove outer leaves. Remove core.
Slice length-wise 1/4" thick
Heat olive oil in frying pan
Sprinkle Fennel slices with salt and pepper
Place fennel slices in pan, and brown on one side.
Turn over and brown on the other
Lower heat to minimum, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until soft
Next, garden tools. I confess, I’ve not taken care of my tools. My pruners are very dull and rusted. So I’ve invested in a new pair of pruners. I never realized how many types of pruners there are! There are anvil pruners, Bypass pruners, grass pruners and the long handled pruners, which are actually called loppers. I settled on the Bypass pruners.
