Hellebores

Lovely Spring!

Here are some Hellebore's from wild acre blog Her photos capture these beauties so well, and her garden is so interesting, ... worth a visit! 

Road Trip Continues

Dunster, just a short drive through beautiful countryside from McBride, has its' own flavour. Not vanilla. Look at this Flower Bridge! Someone(s) have taken the time to create art on the 'no posts' and bridge rails. Difficult to photograph, but a delight to see.

Anyway, back in McBride , my daughter and son-in-law took my little girls and I up "McBride Peak". It was a fab, 4-wheel ride up the mountain, and half way up was a primitive shelter. The 'Mighty Fraser River' is just beginning here, and is very serpentine in its' track. Not at all like Hells' Gate in the Fraser canyon.

Later in my visit we went to the farm where my son-in-law grew up, and his parents let the kids grow a garden. The cabbages, although beautiful just as they were in the garden, were even more delicious as cabbage rolls!

I had a wonderful time exploring a part of the province I don't know very well. Not to mention spending some time with my family. All too soon, I was off to Blind Bay, via Valemount and Kamloops. Funny how I don't want to leave one place, and at the same time I'm excited to press on to new adventures.

Grow a bowl of Strawberries

I love good food. I like planning a menu, shopping for it (mainly around the perimeter of the store, or farm gates, or a local market) and preparing it. I especially like checking my garden to see what's available, and planning my food choices around that.
An article in the local paper caught my eye today, http://www2.canada.com/cowichanvalleycitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=2a6e87e9-613a-4134-92f9-b81cf771de04. Plant yourself a bowl of strawberries!

Now is the time we need to get out and dig in the earth, and feel really alive.
This is what happens to something that looks like a possible 'raised bed' around our house. You plant squash and nasturtiums and beautiful food happens! This was part of last years' crop, and this week the earth gets rejuvenated and ready for a new garden.
Happy planting.

Garden Planning

I couldn't resist trying to capture these extra large snowflakes this morning. This is a goddess with a pitcher standing in front of our hedge, pretty much obscured by snow, and the next

 view is of birdhouses on the fence.
Seems like a perfect day to order those few unique seeds from catalogues. There are of course garden centres close by, and at this time of the year there is an ever increasing assortment of seeds to chose from. I have a few on my wish list that aren't at the store, plus it's fun for me to just pore over the catalogues.
 Here's the kitchen table with my list making supplies. Several catalogues, last years' seeds and a new garden planning kit (that was a gift from a girlfriend), with tags, and boxes and string, a journal, and fine copper plant tags. She knows me very well.

My lists grow and change, and plans for 'just one more' garden bed are in the works. And if I have a few more square feet to garden in, maybe I could try a couple of new sunflower varieties?   ... and on it goes. It must be time for tea!

Sunday Dinner

Sunday Dinner is a wonderful thing. So often weeks whizz by with no beginning and no end. Being retired, we no longer plan events around our 'days off', but frequently plan around friends and family availability. And so it was, having Sunday dinner with our neighbours. One couple had recently arrived home from two weeks away in Mexico, and the other couple were winging away to Hawaii the very next day. We had such a lovely time together, enjoyed a chicken dinner and a few glasses of wine. Did I take a picture? No. 

Talking about the Mexican beaches and fun time that was had, and the anticipation of a week in Hawaii made me happy to simply share in their holidays.

 It was my pleasure today to check out my Community Garden plot. Growing and ready to eat, even in February, are beautiful kale plants, made sweeter by the cold. Leeks, standing like soldiers in a row, waiting to hop into the soup pot with some potatoes and maybe a little sausage. Mmmmm. Here's a simple recipe for

 Potato Leek Soup that serves 4-6.

3 med. potatoes, chopped, 3 cups cleaned chopped leeks, 1 stalk celery and 1 carrot, chopped, 1 Tablespoon butter, 1 cup stock, 2 1/2 cups milk, opt; snippets herbs thyme, marjoram, parsley. I like to add about half a cup of chopped kale. To make this a meal, add some sauteed sausages and serve with crusty bread and a side salad.

Sautee veggies in butter, gently for 10 minutes. Put into soup pot with liquid, cook 'til tender, 20-30 minutes, then mash or puree. The 'chunky' level is your choice. Add herbs of choice and possibly sauteed sausage and kale. (Cooking the kale with the meat gives a richer flavour.) Add salt & pepper to taste. Heat gently, until just hot, don't boil. Serve right away.

Get Growing!

We've had a few cold, clear, sunny days and nights lately, but today we're back to our "wet coast" weather, warmer, overcast and rainy.
As the days get longer, my gardening gene is calling me to get out into the dirt. This week we're stepping over a threshold, and we will have ten hours of daylight, which means I can plant something! I had some soil in the coldframe, and couldn't resist planting two little pots of leeks and one of buttercrunch lettuce. I put a plastic cloche over them, and left them sitting on a bench. My coldframe is a walk-in deal, and I often call it a greenhouse, but it's not because it isn't heated.

 This weekend I'm off to Qualicum Beach to visit their Seedy Saturday. Report and pictures to follow.
Ta ta for now.