Michelle1's Inbox

Bunchberrrries, hmm never heard of it. I'll have to look it up, thanks for the info.

Coreopsis?

Looks like a Trillium.

This native ranges all the way to Mexico and is one of the prettiest I think!

Really lovely, wonder what the Red Indian name is?

Are they like cream coloured fat maggots if so it could be Vine Weevil which attacks the roots

nice pic buddy...I wish I could get one in my bird's bath!

They are too quick for my camera : ( . Nice picture!!

lovely michelle

Good for you. I've never been able to get a photo of one.

Lovely

feed the birds in winter and they stay and eat your bugs in summer.

Francois... I'm surprised that you haven't seen this bird in Quebec. They are abundant in the North East of the US and I have also seen them in many parts of Canada.

Crystaltips... I'm totally with you with the birds. Filling three birdbaths is always the first thing done in the mornings.

Love it when they feel comfortable enough to venture into your garden. I love all visitors.But I can't have anything encouraging, like bird tables etc because I have a cat and feel it would be alluring birds into the 'lions den'.

I adore watching the antics of the various birds in my garden, especially when they take a bath. Every morning I wake up to the delightful chitterchatter of various birds, which is a remarkable, rare and welcoming sound considering I live in inner city North Birmingham, and a stonesthrow from the motorway.

You were lucky to get so close.

x

shell...this bird is very awesome...never saw one like this here!

When I read about and see photos of the winters that you have in Canada I always remind myself that I shouldn't complain about the winters that I get here in the North East US. Your winters seem to be soooooo long. Enjoy your planting and your garden ( both of you :) )

Boy, you have had quite a winter. Glad it is finally over for you. We are still pretty wet and cold. I went out this morning to water and it was so windy and cold 11 degrees C. so decided to wait until the sun came out, it is now 3 o'clock and no sign of it yet. It sure holds things up. The only veggies that are doing well right now are my cukes (in the hanging baskets) and the "Tumbler" tomatoes - sprouting broccoli and Egyptian onions - everything else is at a standstill. Barb

What a great time of year for you - I'm glad the snow finally went - now you can enjoy planting and growing again.

Any size will do really.You can grow vegetables in a window box!!!! What really matters is to have a size which you feel you can handle. Planting potatoes will help to decrease the amount of weeding you will have to do, as their leaves block out light preventing weed growth. You do need a reasonable size so that you can crop rotate if you are going to grow vegetables year on year as they will not do very well if you grow them in the same place all the time. I have an allotment which I leave every summer unattended for about two months while I am away and I always come back to lots of lovely vegetables which last me all year.I grow vegetables for home made soups and some stand in the ground all year. You will need to have everything weed free and in order before you leave though!! Hope this has been a help and inspiration for you.

eh up michelle when I frist started growing my own it was mostly in big planters so I read up on square foot gardening, some of his ideas will be ok for you but he does focus on fast crops that might bolt while you are away. Why not think more about root crops that would be ready when you pack the camping stuff away at least until you get head round what your doind and it will get the ground worked as well.
hope this helps a little steve

Hi Michelle - I started wtih a patch of 10ft x 10ft, which was ample for a starter - you'll be surprised at just how much you can shoe-horn into a plot this size! The only problem I found with a small patch like this, is that you can't rotate the crop. Different veggies utilise different nutrients in the soil, and it is recommended that you manure, say, a quarter of the patch each year and rotate the crops so that each group of veggies (lugums, brassicas, etc) get just the right amount of goodness from the soil. Having said that, my patch did well for about 10 years while veggy sizes gradually deceased (the first year I got the MOST impressively sized stuff - monsterous parsnips and carrots the size of your arm!!).

I have to say I avoided large veggy plants like potatoes, that would have taken up just too much room, and also runner beans could only be planted on one side of the patch as they would have shaded the other plants otherwise.

The only thing I would add is, think about access to the middle of the patch - I didn't and constantly had problems getting at the middle for weeding and watering - a path about 1 ft wide would have been extremely useful!

Hope this helps - keep us informed of your progress! Sid.

Hi Michelle like some of the other guys and girls I find soft cuttings seem to work really well at least on the English ones the French ones are always just a little harder to get going. Stick with it girl I'm sure you will get there in the end.Hel.xxx.

I take softwood heel cuttings in late spring/summer. I do use a bit of rooting powder (but VERY little). They are rather prone to grey mould, but the way to get around that is to handle the cuttings very gently, as any bruising, however slight, will result in grey mould. Put them somewhere fairly cool and put on a propager lid. Keep an eye on them and if any collapse with mould, remove them immediately so that it does not spread. Hope this helps.

The propagation method I've heard of is by division and/or cuttings made in spring or early summer. Likes a light well draining soil with pH of 7.1 and full sun. Not usually subject to serious pests or diseases.. root rot, leaf spot, root knot nematodes. The seeds require vernalization...just a cold period...sew them and cover and put in the fridge for awhile.

I always take soft wood cuttings. Six or so dibbed around the edge of a pot. Initially put in the greenhouse.Generally all of them strike and and are potted up individually to get planted out the following year. However, I agree with Majeekahead French Lavender (Lavedula Stoeches) is more problematic. Only one cutting struck for me last year.

Sounds like the beginning of an adventure...will look forward to seeing your progress... Happy Gardening.
Like your attitude to deer, by-the-way.

to be honest i think it depends on the type, i was given some lavender seeds a couple of years ago, just the common violet/lilac colour ones and i sowed some in my unheated greenhouse and some i just threw into the bed, and you know i got more or less 100% out of the ones that i threw down, and hardly anything atall from the ones i did in the green house! but i think if you are growing french lavender are a little bit harder, but i have never grown them myself so not sure what is best

It's the best time to plan. We started from scratch 3 years ago and the winter was spent making plans, consulting experts, and in our case hiring a firm to come and clear the land and put in a framework of a path and patio, which started as soon as the weather warmed up in March. We did the rest, creating beds and planting. Mind you they took ages to finish so we were not able to start on the real garden until July of that year.
All the best with your new venture.

So Dark:O