Todays' Garden

So, whats' happened to August? It's gone fleeting by as far as I'm concerned. Started out sunny and warm, progressed to way too hot for me, and now I'm wearing a long sleeved shirt and a vest for warmth. Hard to keep up.

Quite the Dahlia show this week, everything seems to be coming on very well. I heard from a girlfriend that a Dahlia 'grower' that sells to the stores was commenting on how late they are this year. The next picture is of "Cafe au Lait", a Dahlia that I searched all over for (Canada that is) and here's her first bloom with me.

I thought she'd be less pink and more parchment. Tomato/ tomato,... difficult to show pronunciation.. I love her just the same.

This is the blue double clematis that puts on a show for most of the summer, year after year, and in the background is the lily bed with some gigantic sweet smelling stargazers.

These are new to me, like a Casablanca lily, only peachy. This is their first year with me, and they seem happy.  Perhaps there will be some for cutting and having bouquets next year.

Cottage Garden Flowers

Very quick post tonight. Just a couple of pics of the bouquets I've gathered from the garden today, and will take to Honeymoon Bays' Market tomorrow.

I've never grown Glads before, and these are just beautiful. Beginners luck. Also, the lavender and sweet peas in the foreground are pretty much sensory overload!
Hope tomorrows' market is successful.

Gabriola Island Saturday Market

Last week we took a trip to Gabriola Island, just off Nanaimo B.C. A perfect sunny Saturday to explore somewhere new, and take in, what turned out to be a really great market. As 'they' say, a picture is worth ....... so here are a lot of pictures of Gabriola Islands' Saturday Market.

Everyone was shopping, selling, and just generally enjoying the day.
These guys from Slow Rise Organic Bakery had forty feet of tables set up at opening time.

I thought I'd go back, near the end of the Market for some beets that I'd been thinking of. You snooze, you lose, no produce, and the bread guys were packed up and gone, no bread, no tables, no evidence that they'd ever been there. But I know they were, as we'd enjoyed a scone at the beach and brought home a couple of loaves of heavenly bread. Apparently it is sold in Nanaimo on certain Market days. I feel a road trip in the near future. Yum.

Tonights' Dinner

Lots to offer from the garden these days. Beautiful bouquets ... the lilies are really taking off, photos soon. What has made me pause at this dinner preparing hour, is the simple pleasure of good honest food from our garden.

A salad, the first of the broad beans, new potatoes, that have me remembering digging them last year with a Granddaughter, and jewel like raspberries, our (almost) first taste. In all honesty, I did sample a few yesterday!

Honeymoon Bay Outdoor Market

Once again our little community put on a fun filled weekend known as "Bay Days". There was a talent show, parade, kids' activities, fireworks and more to occupy a family. My focus was the Outdoor Market, which is in its' sixth year of operation.

 This was the 'shack' showing a couple of the bouquets, and some patio tomatoes for sale.

More "Flowers For Sale" in another corner of the booth.

These peonys' are spectacular. I don't know a lot about them, just notice that there are two distinct flowers on the same plant. One all double ruffles, and the other almost a single with a pronounced yellow centre. The limey green in the background is Alchemia mollis, or Ladys' Mantle.

 Climbing hydrangea, and Constance Spry roses.

This West coast rainforest weather we've been having certainly agrees with the garden. I didn't think much was going on out there, and came in with an armload of bouquet material. Abundance.
Here's a link to another Blog with more Market pictures. Enjoy.

Garden Pics

This old pale yellow, "Own root " rose has only been in place four years. It must be very happy, as it's taking over the porch. I give it a drink of fish fert twice before it blooms, then I try to keep up with dead heading, but that's nearly impossible!. In the foreground is my potted gardens. We have very little soil, so I grow most everything in raised beds, or pots. These are 15 - 20 gal size from a nursery that sells trees.
I was checking out Erin Benzakeins' flower farm blog this morning, and she inspired me to get out and snap a few pics. It has been so cold here ... 'How cold was it?' ... well under seasonal averages, and everything seems to be shivering.
However, I do have a few nice vignettes in the yard.

Fairies must live here, don't you think?

There are loads of places for the wee folk. My Granddaughters and I discover special hiding places, and try to make good Fairies welcome.

So, even in the cold, dreary June we've had, there is an abundance of beauty around. You just have to get out and have a look. Thanks Erin from Floret.

Short 'n sweet

Our computer has been acting up, perhaps a case of the flu? So it makes it difficult to post, however, there are a few pics' worth sharing.

These are Pink Fawn Lilies, from the Honeymoon Bay Wild Flower Reserve . They bloom in early Spring, and carpet the forest floor for a couple of weeks, but if you miss them, you have to wait another year to see them. Fleeting and beautiful.

This is lovely old "Vulcan" rhododendron at our front porch. Quite a show, it almost glows.
I'm at a lul between late Spring flowers, and some summer blooms. June is proving to be unseasonably cool and wet, so things are taking some time. However, our 12'-14' temperature is promising to heat up next week! Peonys are on the horizon.

Wool Dyeing

Such a day! A group of us gathered at Val Galvins' Renditions in Rags for a Studio Day. Wool had been soaking overnight, and Vals' passion for what she does so well soon had us all caught up in the excitement of hand dyeing wool.

We had a lesson in the colour wheel and intensity, dyeing recipes, and two techniques.

The 'Casserole' dye results were very reminiscent of our old Hippie, Tie-Dye days. Yes, you scrunch up the wool to be dyed, and put it in a casserole dish, add dye, vinegar and salt. Yum! Cover, and bake.

The other method, was probably more 'Traditional'. You know, "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble". This way each dye pot had one colour and several pieces of wool. If the wool was re-cycled, and had already been coloured, there were surprises to be had there too.

This is all the dyed wool in the sink, there were four batches (four pots on the stove). As you can see, the pink/red has a little plaid piece, that when cut for hooking will make an interresting texture, without having to think about it.

The piece you see to the left of the yellows is a casserole dye piece.
What a beautiful sight! I really do remember hanging diapers out to dry, and how that pleased me. Just the sense of accomplishment I guess. But now this! This truly is my pleasure.

Girlfriends And Gardens

The past couple of weeks, I've had the pleasure of visiting long-time girlfriends. Needless to say, it's been a busy time, involving the pleasure of company, and just getting 'out there' experiencing nature. And tea. And bakeries...
We went to Milner Gardens at Qualicum Beach as they were having a plant sale. And the Tea room was open for lunch. Inside the house was a lot of memorabilia of the current "Royals". Charles and Diana were there when they attended Expo '86 in Vancouver. Her handwriting was very innocent looking, all loopy with a little happy face. Sweet girl. Other Royals, too. Such a beautiful private setting.


I also had the pleasure of peeking into a couple of girlfriends gardens a little closer to home. This one is a perfect example of a Spring garden in Ladysmith.

And the next one is of a summer houses' very old, beautiful garden in Honeymoon Bay.

And now, out to my garden!  Enjoy your day.

Other peoples Blogs!

Here are a few blogs I've been following lately. One day, I'll figure out how to feature blogs on my 'sidebar', but for now, this was the best I could come up with.

Deanne Fitzpatrick's  newsletters are full of info on one of my recent addictions, rug hooking. Her article on "Create Beauty Everyday" sure makes me think I'm frittering my time away.
I go to Val Galvins' rug hooking workshops in Chemainus every month. I featured her studio Renditions in Rags in a previous post. She has lots of pics and info on her facebook page.
 This Blog is inspirational. Get out there, and create a beautiful flag, that means something to you, and hang it outdoors to spread your message. We have a ton of Tibetan Prayer Flags hanging off our porches, spreading Peace as they shred in the wind. I love the idea of them, and the look of their shreds.