Signs of Spring

I was inspired by Gayla Trail's latest post "Green Things Watch" to make a trip out to the local community gardens to see if there were some signs of spring. Gayla was encouraging her readers to help her make a collective picture of spring via #greenthingswatch, but as I don't have Instagram, I decided to make a blog post instead. Yesterday was hopefully the last snowfall and tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be 18 degrees Celsius! Its hard to believe. I guess Spring is finally here.

Even though it's so early in the season, there was lots to see at the local community gardens. My walk served to uplift my spirits a bit. Some milkweed is late in opening and starting to take flight again. Beautiful golden winter aconite and snowdrops are blooming amongst the grey, decaying leaves. Crocus, daffodils and tulips are just making their way out of the soil. The birds are rejoicing in the longer days. And the birds weren't the only ones pecking about! I saw a few gardeners inspecting the ground, waiting for the soil to drain and  be workable again. Guess I am not the only impatient one.

Our Gardens, Ourselves

 What does your garden say about you?

When strangers and neighbours have walked through my past vegetable gardens they have made certain assumptions. Some true, some not so true. Usually they think I must really like beans, especially after that year when I grew three beds of broad beans and spent far too much time tending to the blackfly. Following the broad beans were multiple varieties of heirloom bush beans, pole beans, and runners. However, I am not very fond of beans. I don’t eat them often and thrust them into the hands of any willing takers. I am simply enamored by their beautiful colours when dried, the names and history of heirloom varieties, and the delicate flowers. The scent and structure of broad bean flowers fills me with joy in Spring.

The scarlet runners attract so many bumblebees and hummingbirds no matter where my garden lands. My garden says that I am a compassionate person who strives to support wildlife and not hinder it. I leave some hollow sticks and leafy debris for solitary bee nesting sites. I let some plants go to the bugs and be sacrificial offerings so other plants can grow to maturity. I plant some flowers and food just for the insects and birds. My fascination with insects and worms started when I played in my parents garden as a child and discovering interesting looking critters is one of the reasons I garden. My garden will never drown slugs in beer and my gloves will never be stained with the lifeblood of another. Just because some of the creatures of the world are small and can do our efforts harm, does not mean they have less of a right to live than us. I have always been fond of the saying: “That’s one for the birds, one for the bugs, and one for me…” Sharing the land is of utmost importance.

Although some of my choices, like the never-ending beans, may be misleading, you can tell a lot about me from flipping through my seed stores or surveying what I grow. You would see that I value old, unique varieties of useful and edible plants. I appreciate colour and my choices cover the rainbow. I stray far from what is available in the grocery store. I am highly unlikely to buy a red tomato and favour a multi-coloured striped slicer. A vegetable garden is just not right without flowers. Although my childhood vegetable gardens only included marigolds, now there is calendula, borage, nasturtiums, feverfew, alyssum, and many other flowers tucked amongst the veggies. 

 

My garden says I like to be creative and experiment. This is displayed through my interest in trying out unique containers and growing methods. For example, this abandoned shopping cart garden I made a few years back. Or when I grew veggies in old wine boxes and wash tubs.

When I asked my partner what my garden says about me he replied “CHAOS”, but after a few moments he followed with “organized chaos”. In my life, I have a lot of passions and dreams I could follow. I have a hard time deciding which ones I should devote my time to. My garden follows my many interests as well. A love of unique edibles, mixed with a passion for herbal medicine and teas, a desire to be able to grow the best cutting flowers, followed by an interest in wild flowers and native plants for pollinators. Somehow everything finds a space, although it can become quite crowded. Not much is in neat rows and companion planting is key. 

My partner says my garden shows a kind a balance, but personally, I don’t think I’ve reached that yet, in my life or in my garden. But I think I am in the process of finding it. I am slowly learning how to build a patchwork of my interests and passions that allows me to thrive. In the same way, I am learning how to fit the flowers, herbs and vegetables together so that each part supports the other and makes a sustainable ecosystem. 

This year the garden will be different again and may communicate something new. I'll be growing plants on a 12th floor city balcony--a new challenge. I may have a community garden plot. I am impatiently waiting to hear if that will be a possibility this season. 

This post was inspired by Gayla Trail's Grow Write Guild series prompt. Grow Write Guild is a creative club for those who love to garden.

Seedy Saturday

My partner and I have attended four Seedy Saturdays to date and came home with some great trades and purchases. Some of our finds that I am looking forward to growing the most are:

• Zinger Hibiscus from Rene's Garden Seed--to use to make hibiscus tea
• Zinna Burpee Rose Giant Cactus from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed-giant blooms with pointed petals in shades rose to bubble gum pink
• Udumalapet Eggplant from Matchbox Garden & Seed Co--an Indian hierloom that is variegated purple and gold
• Snowcap Pole Beans from the seed trading table--such beautiful dried beans that are brown and beige spotted with what looks like a white cap of snow.
• Blue Jay Bush Bean from Urban Harvest--a productive green bean, which seeds are navy blue with beige markings. I can never resist a cute name!

We've also been busy sowing seeds. I love garden bloggers who keep an up to date list of what they have sown. I get to compare their sowing times to mine and often learn about new varieties I want to try via other bloggers.

Here is a list of what my partner and I have sown to date. All of these seeds are growing under lights, with the exception of the poppies, broad beans, johnny jump ups and corn salad. Those are in pots on the chilly balcony.

 

Vegetables:

Eggplant, leek and bunching onion seedlings.

Broad Beans, Windsor
Broccoli, Di Cicco
Celery,  Red Stalk
Collards, Georgia Southern
Eggplant, Udumalapet
Greens, Corn Salad
Kale, Rainbow dinosaur
Leeks
Lettuce, Farmer's Market Blend: Sweet Reds & Greens

Pepper Seedlings

Pepper (hot), Aleppo
Pepper (hot), Banana
Pepper (sweet), Doe Hill
Pepper (hot), Jamaican Red
Pepper (sweet), Marconi Sweet Red Italian










Tomato, Black Prince
Tomato, Black Krim
Tomato (cherry), Blueberries
Tomato, Garden Peach
Tomato, Japanese Black Trifele
Tomato, Malakhitovaya
Tomato, Moonglow
Tomato, Pineapple
Tomato, Purple Calabash
Tomato, Rose
Tomato, Speckled Roman
Tomato (cherry), White Cherry
Tomato (cherry), Violet Jasper

Onion, Evergreen bunching

Herbs and Flowers:

Anise Hyssop Seedlings

Herb/Flower, Anise Hyssop
Herb/Flower, Catmint
Herb/Flower, German Chamomile
Herb/Flower, Roman Chamomile
Herb/Flower, Marshmallow
Herb/Flower, Lavender Hidcote
Herb/Flower, Lemon Bee Balm
Herb/Flower, St. John's Wort
Herb/Flower, Yarrow





Herb, Common Sage
Herb, Moss Curled Parsley
Herb, Thyme
Herb, White Sage

Flower, Black Peony Poppy
Flower, Horned Poppy
Flower, Johnny Jump Ups
Flower, Rudbeckia Gloriosa
Flower, Verbena Bonariensis

Beginning Again

Spring is a time for renewal. As the new growth pushes itself through the snow, I am left wondering what my new growth will be this year. How can I better myself? What needs to change so that I can thrive this season?

At this time of year we also tidy the gardens, divide growth, and cut back what has decayed or failed to flourish so we can see the true beauty and potential of what is to come. I am also looking to prune and cut back what is not working in my life, so I can see what's important: the whole picture. I've had past interests and projects that never took off, are too stressful or are not contributing to my well-being.

One project that needed some tidying to grow again is this blog. Place for Pollinators has been in the background of my mind often, but sorely neglected. It was time for a spring cleaning. I was never happy with the past progress of the blog and its appearance. Past content has been deleted, but photos and stories from my past gardens will find their place again. Place for Pollinators has been reborn and I hope you will join me this growing season.