18 May 2008
Spring Colours
18/05/08 05:48
Happy Victoria Day! That's tomorrow in case you were not sure.
This week gardening shifted into high gear. In front of the house we planted two rhododendrons that will bloom deep red, a pink azalea and a red peony. As we were doing that we also took a big part of our front yard and covered it with newspaper and mulch, a project that will grow over the summer because as far as we're concerned, the less grass to mow the better. It was a surprise though, when we were all done we stepped back to look at our handiwork and suddenly realized that the new mulched area is in the shape of Minnesota. Something subliminal there I guess.
Anyway, once we got that done we weeded the back yard a bit and then started setting up some planters for the peppers, tomatoes and strawberries. We still have to get soil for them so that project will have to continue next week. We have some squash and cucumbers that will go in the ground in the back yard, next week as well. First though we have to finish weeding so the vegetables will have a chance. Grass is a big problem here. It grows so readily that it will choke out nearly anything unless you fight it continuously. Lastly we planted a pretty pink lupin in the back. They grow here without any problem. Actually nearly anything, will grow here without any problem. It's nice not to have to check what 'zone' a particular plant is happiest in. If you see something you like, stick it in the ground it usually it will do OK. The other thing we're going to get next week is a hydranga, but we haven't decided where to put that, as of yet.
The irises in back are starting to bloom. The biggest of the rhododendrons in front is just coming to bloom now in the richest purple/violet color you've ever seen. It is about two weeks later than the white/pink one next to it. The big one is covered with blooms. I guess it likes it that we cut down most of the evergreen shrubs surrounding it. The rhododendrons we just planted are red so it will be a very festive yard. The brown mulch especially makes the green plants stand out.
When we moved in, one of the jobs we knew we'd have to do soon was to repaint the trim. It isn't in bad shape, the paint is just tired. For those of you who have seen the pictures we've sent of the house you know that the siding is a tan/brown and the trim is a grey green. We were trying to decide what color to go with. The old roof was grey so the trim went with that but our new roof is a mixture of shades of browns. We tried a few things but nothing seemed to look right. This week Barbara suggested we look at something in the cinnamon side of the pallet. We picked up chips for a range of brown-to-red-to-orange hues and went through them this weekend and Barbara was right. We found a color that goes well with the siding, the roof and the mulch. It's more of a paprika than a cinnamon, but we had been looking at greens (Doug likes green; the living room at the old house was green, his Mini Cooper is green, the color he turns any time someone offers him a hot-dog, well you get the idea.) The trim is one project that will have to wait until after our trip in a couple of weeks though.
Last Friday we celebrated a bit. Marsha has been putting in a lot of overtime the last few weeks. For every two hours of OT someone puts in they get a ticket put in for a prize drawing. This week Marsha's name came up. She won $75 cash. That was the best part, it wasn't a $75 gift certificate to some store where everything starts at $100. No it was good old green money. OK this is Canada so it was blue, yellow and pink money, but none the less it was cash. We went down to the Longwood Brew Pub. We'd wanted to go there for a while, but hadn't and this seemed like a good excuse for a party. We took Barbara with us and had a great old time. We now have two places to take people when they come to visit. The Longwood Brew Pub and the Blue Ginger, the latter being a wonderful Asian place. Of course, there's also Gina's the very pink Mexican place down town, and the Pub in Lantzville that overlooks the ocean. Oh well, let's just say if anyone comes to visit, you won't starve.
Lupin
Iris
Azalea (I think)
Rhodo just starting to bloom
This week gardening shifted into high gear. In front of the house we planted two rhododendrons that will bloom deep red, a pink azalea and a red peony. As we were doing that we also took a big part of our front yard and covered it with newspaper and mulch, a project that will grow over the summer because as far as we're concerned, the less grass to mow the better. It was a surprise though, when we were all done we stepped back to look at our handiwork and suddenly realized that the new mulched area is in the shape of Minnesota. Something subliminal there I guess.
Anyway, once we got that done we weeded the back yard a bit and then started setting up some planters for the peppers, tomatoes and strawberries. We still have to get soil for them so that project will have to continue next week. We have some squash and cucumbers that will go in the ground in the back yard, next week as well. First though we have to finish weeding so the vegetables will have a chance. Grass is a big problem here. It grows so readily that it will choke out nearly anything unless you fight it continuously. Lastly we planted a pretty pink lupin in the back. They grow here without any problem. Actually nearly anything, will grow here without any problem. It's nice not to have to check what 'zone' a particular plant is happiest in. If you see something you like, stick it in the ground it usually it will do OK. The other thing we're going to get next week is a hydranga, but we haven't decided where to put that, as of yet.
The irises in back are starting to bloom. The biggest of the rhododendrons in front is just coming to bloom now in the richest purple/violet color you've ever seen. It is about two weeks later than the white/pink one next to it. The big one is covered with blooms. I guess it likes it that we cut down most of the evergreen shrubs surrounding it. The rhododendrons we just planted are red so it will be a very festive yard. The brown mulch especially makes the green plants stand out.
When we moved in, one of the jobs we knew we'd have to do soon was to repaint the trim. It isn't in bad shape, the paint is just tired. For those of you who have seen the pictures we've sent of the house you know that the siding is a tan/brown and the trim is a grey green. We were trying to decide what color to go with. The old roof was grey so the trim went with that but our new roof is a mixture of shades of browns. We tried a few things but nothing seemed to look right. This week Barbara suggested we look at something in the cinnamon side of the pallet. We picked up chips for a range of brown-to-red-to-orange hues and went through them this weekend and Barbara was right. We found a color that goes well with the siding, the roof and the mulch. It's more of a paprika than a cinnamon, but we had been looking at greens (Doug likes green; the living room at the old house was green, his Mini Cooper is green, the color he turns any time someone offers him a hot-dog, well you get the idea.) The trim is one project that will have to wait until after our trip in a couple of weeks though.
Last Friday we celebrated a bit. Marsha has been putting in a lot of overtime the last few weeks. For every two hours of OT someone puts in they get a ticket put in for a prize drawing. This week Marsha's name came up. She won $75 cash. That was the best part, it wasn't a $75 gift certificate to some store where everything starts at $100. No it was good old green money. OK this is Canada so it was blue, yellow and pink money, but none the less it was cash. We went down to the Longwood Brew Pub. We'd wanted to go there for a while, but hadn't and this seemed like a good excuse for a party. We took Barbara with us and had a great old time. We now have two places to take people when they come to visit. The Longwood Brew Pub and the Blue Ginger, the latter being a wonderful Asian place. Of course, there's also Gina's the very pink Mexican place down town, and the Pub in Lantzville that overlooks the ocean. Oh well, let's just say if anyone comes to visit, you won't starve.
Lupin
Iris
Azalea (I think)
Rhodo just starting to bloom