Gardening

This weekend we had some rainy days but still had a little patch of time out in our yard. It was lovely doing a little bit of tidying up in the garden, trimming back some plants, mowing our little patch of grass and raking up the leaves. The big trees at the very back of our yard, behind the shed, lost their leaves very quickly. The picture above is a little lilac tree that I planted a few weeks ago. I thought it had died - it was much taller than this - and I cut it back and left it. But then I noticed these little leaves growing. That made me happy.

After living in apartments and then a condo for so many years it is so nice to have a yard again. We also started a little compost pile in the corner which is great because we just throw everything from the yard in there. And now and then some bits of food from the kitchen - eggshells, banana skins, vegetable bits. It really decomposes down very quickly and I just turn it over now and then with a bow rake. (I just figured out what it's called from google - basically just a short sturdy rake). Later on I may add a little bit of fencing around it or something but right now it seems be working - not very elegant but simple and effective. And maybe it's all the fresh air but there doesn't seem to be any bad smell at all. In fact when I turned it over it had a nice earthy smell - like forest undergrowth after a rain.In the back we have a great shed - it's really big and already has an "L" shaped work table in it. Someday we'd like to finish the walls and fix it up a bit. I imagine a summer studio but it's been pretty practical having a place to put the garden tools, our bicycles and pots and things.The best part is my potted plants now have a chance at a decent life with some real sunshine. This begonia has been flowering since we moved in at the end of July (thank you Jaimie!). I found the green ceramic planter at the Sunday market at St. Lawrence for $5. It's so nice, the base is shaped like big petals. I love ceramic planters.