Sometimes Springtime in Alberta, as Ian Tyson says, chills me to the bone.
And for this reason, few gardeners in Calgary are brave enough to plant before the Victoria Day Weekend.
Victoria Day falls on Monday May 24, or the first Monday before May 24. As usual, it’s another early “May Long” since the first warm weekend is over and it’s not even May 24th yet.
It was a good long weekend, as far as weather goes. It snowed last Thursday. But Friday started with good weather and a mass exodus from the city to the campgrounds—west to the mountains and east to the prairie rivers. Rolf was among the canoeists paddling down the Red Deer River north of Drumheller.
I took advantage of the quiet, wrote all weekend, and have almost finished my novella. Now that I’m assured of good weather, I’ll slowly start to put some bedding plants in the ground. I do have some containers planted. They can be brought inside if there’s frost. And I have some dry cleaner film to put over the three new perennials I did plant.
Most of the garden is perennials: daisies, lily of the valley, snow on the mountain, hostas, phlox, honeysuckle, poppies, columbine, thyme. There are now buds on the lilacs and the shrubby cinquefoil. But, alas, I don’t think the Nanking cherries made it through the long winter.
For annuals, I always plant marigolds to keep away the bugs, and pansies, lobelia and petunias because I like the colours.
Are you a gardener? Do you have a garden to enjoy? What are your favourite flowers?
How does your garden grow?
photo from photos.com #121168246
I haven’t bought my flowers yet but I like pansy’s because I love all the colours they come in, and I’m not a great gardener and these can take some abuse. I need to build a rock flower bed this spring and once I do I’ll put in tiger lilies-they are my favourite though I wish they’d bloom all summer long and not just in the spring.
Glad your novella is almost done!
Hey Michelle – be careful how big a garden you start out there! You could get overwhelmed.
I have tiger lilies in the alley. Not a lot of space in the city so I’ve put things in the alley too, including raspberry bushes, which are popular with the kids by late summer.
That’s exciting about your novella! Congrats! 🙂
I love buying annuals to put in my flower beds amid the perennials. I have a “date” with a friend to go shopping on Sunday. I love geraniums, pansies, portulaca, and dusty miller. And, I always look for something weird to make me smile.
Hi Lorraine! I forgot about the geraniums – bright and beautiful. I always have containers with geraniums and lobelia.
For some reason, Tuesday Cafe makes its way to my mailbox on Wednesday LOL. I am not a gardener. i’ll put out some potted flowers but that’s it. and i never do that before June 1 – simply because of May weather. You are braver than I.
Completely understandable, Louise. Portable gardens are a necessity in Calgary!
I love flower gardens, Suzanne. And every year, I buy way too many flowers, then have to find places to tuck them in between other flowers. But the end result is a wild array of color and flowers blooming all season long. I just added azela and rohdendon (spelling?). And yesterday I bought hydrengea, which I’ve nevere had either. It finally stopped raining here, so in a couple of days, I’m hoping to get out the to plant the annuals and hydrengea. 🙂
Sheila – your garden sounds beautiful. That’s what I’m trying for: tons of blooms. I often start the season with big plans, then get distracted, then the chickweed starts to take over.
I just bought some nasturtiums, but I’m keeping them in the kitchen for now, since it’s going down to 2 degrees C on the weekend.