A splash of colour....

This year, more than any other since we have lived here, has proved to be a year of colour in our yard.   I've mapped out the various garden spaces and have identified 10 different corners. A bit hard to see here but there really are at least 10 areas - a few corners I've rolled into one.... you might be able to make out the letters on the map and identify them with the list and pictures with the same letter.

Because friends have spoken of their love of lilies and said, "wow" when I mentioned that I had counted 19 different ones in our yard I thought I would gather them here - it will also be important come fall or next spring when I plan to make the needed changes to our 'yardscape' due to the loss of our two giant weeping willows this past year.

So here goes - they range from white to black!  well, almost black.

  our only two 'day lilies'

 

another 'peach' coloured lily - lovely!

burgundy - and somewhat fragile

a very 'fragile' peach coloured lily

  

 double petals

Garden inspirations...

Green is my favourite colour! But it is made more special by splashes of colour. Without the green the flowers would 'overwhelm' me, but together they naturally complement the other - without both the garden would be less... 

 

A few lines from John O’Donohue’s “In Praise of the Earth”

Let us bless

The imagination of the Earth.

That knew early the patience

To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,

Ready to welcome the emergence

Of things dreaming of voyaging

Among the stillness of land.

And how light knew to nurse

The growth until the face of the Earth

Brightened beneath a vision of color...

 

Let us thank the Earth

That offers ground for home

And holds our feet firm

To walk in space open

To infinite galaxies…

The wonder of a garden

Trusting the first warmth of spring

Until its black infinity of cells

Becomes charged with dream;

Then the silent, slow nurture

Of the seed’s self, coaxing it

To trust the act of death…

I am amazed by what the Earth brings forth in the summer garden.  After long months of snow and cold I long to soak in as much greenery and splashes of colour as I can – the feel, the scents, the visual beauty – to hold it close and carry it with me for future reference.

 

This summer I mean to document the flowers and plants of the garden as, due to the loss of two huge willows this winter, our yard of shade has been transformed into a yard of light.  This means a few changes in garden structure and plant locations are in the works for this coming fall. 

The following then documents some of our flowers so far:

 

my favourite daylily!

A new Red Rose - specific names escape me!! But this is the first bloom which opened today.

Dahlia - a new flower for us this summer but we love it!

one of our first flowers out, this iris always impresses and is a promise of more to come

 

our first hydrangea - growing beautifully 

the Daisies bloom unabashedly by the front sidewalk!

in a sheltered hidden place in the front garden

Mock Orange - one of my favourite scents!

first flowers out - Nanking Cherry

Scented Spring

The dampness from the morning dew seeped through my felt clogs and socks to cool my toes as I wandered the grass carpets amongst the trees of Patterson Garden early this morning.  The beauty and stillness overtakes you and somehow drowns out the noise of cars just beyond the entrance.   The garden is a place where nature shelters you from the everyday, where robins freely dance and a hawk suns itself on a stump. 

There are many trees - large and small, young and old and in between - to catch your eye. But it was the blossoms which assaulted my senses - eyes glued to their beauty and smell absorbing their various and mingled scents. 

The apple blossoms are majestic in their abundance, the plum blossoms are now few, the mayday not yet profuse, the chokecherry beautiful in it's simplicity and, as has been their place for a hundred years now on prairies farms and village fences, the yellow honeysuckle to guard the entrance.  Meanwhile, in spite of it's youth, a small lilac blooms and adds to the mixture of scent and beauty.

As I left I joined the long queue of vehicles transporting us to our work places - but in my spirit was a pleasantness which I carried through the work day and later as I walked the halls of St Paul's hospital, wandered through a stuffy book store and as my husband insisted on a renovation scouting trip to the "north end" which ensnared us in rush hour traffic for an hour.  

I've downloaded my photos now and share the beauty of the blossoms, now, as I sit by an open window glancing often at the tops of the trees waving in the breeze and the clouds passing by - but still relishing in the scented spring and hoping it will continue on for some days to come.

The "May Long-Weekend" is here!

The May Long-Weekend:

The four days we 'long' for during the thaws and freezings of April.

Hoping that this weekend will bring sunshine and warm days which will linger for the next 4 months.

Hoping that our trips to the garden markets will not be in vain - that no late frost will touch our precious seedlings, cool our seed so they will not germinate,  and that  the already glorious blooms we have purchased in an effort to bring colour to our yards will continue to bloom all summer long.

Today started with a pleasant trip on our vespas to the farmer's market where we sat in the sun and had breakfast - coffee and muffin. Then we were off to purchase our usual supplies - bread, muffins,  tomatoes, and cucumbers. We meandered home stopping to sit by the river, then visiting the art supply shop to pick up a watercolour painting pad - very handy for sketches such as this one which I did before work one morning this week.  I love to sit by the river and I thought it might be good to sketch the Victoria or Traffic Bridge as they recently named it, before it is dismantled.

A rather rough sketch of the bridge and far shore while sitting above the walkways at river landing.

The rest of the day was spent in the garden raking, digging, planting and planning. Thankfully our niece came by to help with the last of the raking and Doug loaded it all up and took it to the city compost site.

Now, as I sit here a cool air is coming through the window, my face and lips still feel the effects of sun and wind, and I feel like it has been a day well spent. I did not need to plan, I did not need to 'think', I did not read or figure things out - quite simply, my mind rested and for that I was grateful.  Sometimes my mind says, "Enough!" and an unease settles in until I can find that place where silence reigns and where I find myself at home in nature.

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life" 
~ Rachel Carson

“To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.”

~ Simone Weil

Canada Geese in a flooded slough.

Where the prairie changes to the rolling parklands...just north of Turtleford

A Quote I read earlier this week and am including, just because it is one of the many quotes which say things which I 'think' but don't know how to 'say' and because it causes me to ponder and pondering, like relaxing in nature, is good for the soul.

“I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway, as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that just accepts is a child's faith and all right for children, but eventually you have to grow religiously as every other way, though some never do.

What people don't realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can't believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God. ”

The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor, Flannery O'Connor

Birds of paradise...

"The Birds of the Bloedel"



While in Vancouver we went to the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park.  It was a good place to visit on an otherwise rainy day!!

But first we stopped for lunch at the VanDusen Gardens - rainy weather meant colourful umbrellas instead of wandering around the gardens!

There was a wonderful variety of intriguing and colourful plants at the conservatory but here I've included a parade of birds.  Fascinating in their calmness, fierce in their 'shrieks' [who knows what makes them do this!] and beautifully exquisite in their colours - yes, even the grey bird with the incredibly wrinkly feather pattern...

It is better to light a candle...

We are planning to escape for a few days to Vancouver, where green plants and flowers grow! And where the rain falls frequently - although I'm sure it will let up while we are there:)



Who would think the snow would still be so high, the icicles so long, and the ruts so deep mid-March...where is the bluster of March?

Will April showers be pushed into May?

Like many others I simply sigh and say, "We take what the weather brings."

I am thankful that we have such contrasts in weather because we really do get a huge range of nature's beauty.

I love how the setting sun reaching over our roof touches the top of the evergreens down the street.

This photo was taken February 24th, about 6pm, south of the city, and facing east. It was still amazingly light.  One could easily be confused, thinking it a sunset, but actually it is the reflection of the sun setting in the west as the moon rises in the east.

I read an ancient Celtic quote today that cheered me. While it may have originally applied to the hope the Celts longed for during their long experience of living under physical threat I think it also could apply to our long dreary winter....

"It is better to light a candle

Than to curse the darkness."

And so the strong force of culture and personality [Celtic grit, Norwegian ingenuity, & English fortitude - and, I suppose, Canadian 'resignation'] encourages me to once again open the door to the whiteness of yet another snowfall, start up a cold car, and drive over the ruts and ice to another day's work.... 

I know that while I complain now of the snow, come late summer I will complain of the heat.  And through it all I hope I will continue to learn to look for the beauty each day brings because in its coming it pushes back the darkness.