My Garden Right Now

The perennial part of the garden, with paths and things


The vegetable part of the garden with lots of weeds. The ferny looking stuff at the back of the photo is asparagus, and raspberries are behind that.


Some of my volunteer sunflowers

the front of my house, I think I planted the petunias but much of that stuff, the sunflowers, Hawaiian orchid plant and Nicotiana just seeded itself!

I am a garden addict, gardenaholic, crazy woman playing in the dirt. Whatever you want to call it. My thumbs are green and have dirt embedded almost to the knuckle. It was a seriously happy day when I moved from the city out onto an acreage. Pity the growing season is so short up here, but I make the most of it. I grow all sorts of things. I like good things to eat, I like colour and beauty, I like perennials that behave and aren't too much maintenance. I still have a few roses left over from the time before children, but they largely have to fend for themselves. I have a lot of lilies and the delphiniums have tried to take over the garden. Which is probably just as well, the hummingbirds that visit me just love them. It's a wonderful chaotic colourful mess. It drives my meticulous linear friends a bit crazy, but truth be told, I haven't even planted half the stuff in the flower beds. It just happens! Sunflowers magically appear, catnip pops up it's little head, a peony sprouts out of no where! And I haven't the heart to pull anything out, although I will sometimes rearrange things a bit. ;-)

This is a lovely time of year for my tummy. Right now I am eating new potatoes, lettuce, snow peas, green peas, zucchini, raspberries, and saskatoons. The cucumbers are looking promising, but need more heat! Baby pumpkins are starting, corn is not having a good year.

There is nothing like new potatoes. Oh my. Just scrub or scrape the very thin skin off, boil gently until tender (and they cook fast compared to regular potatoes) and serve with butter and salt. Or the way my Ukrainian Baba used to serve them: simmer a half cup of whipping cream with a big chunk of butter over low heat until slightly reduced, throw in a handful of fresh dill and/or chives, and pour over freshly cooked new potatoes. It's hard to stop eating, actually. If you don't have a garden, or gardening friends, get thee to a farmer's market and buy some new potatoes!! Mmmmmmmmm.