Tuesday, June 7, 2011

It's Spring!

And in Calgary that means a rainy June and cool nights.  But I am very proud that I got all of my seeding done before the rains set in.  We usually have a few nice days at the end of May and I took advantage of them this year and got most of my annuals potted and most of the seeding done.  This year I planted carrots, beans, celery, peas, corn, beets and pumpkin in the backyard vegetable beds and cucumber, squash and dill at the community garden.  This is the first year that I've tried cucumber.  I sprouted the seeds in a moist paper towel inside a ziploc bag and then planted them.  We'll see if it gets warm enough this summer.  This is also the first year that I've tried direct planting the corn, pumpkin and squash.  Usually I start the seeds inside to get a head start, but due to a lack of space (due to the kitchen renovation) I decided to give the direct seeding a shot.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Spring is definitely my favorite season and I love all spring flowering plants - maybe because our winters are so long - it is so nice to see some colour!  So here is what blooming in my garden...
the crabapples are blooming - this isn't my tree..too bad!

violas transplanted into a pot (they are everywhere!) with some lettuce

 tulips (Calgary?) with lamium and iris foliage
 bergenia - started these from seed last year!
 so many tulips!  I can't remember the types and my scrap of paper with all the names seems to have been "filed" incorrectly - I'll keep trying to find it
 tulips - Cosmopolitan?
 muscari
 more violas - self-seeded in the garden
 strawberry flowers

 lamium with goatsbeard


 Nanking cherry bushes - yummy cherries
 bleedign hearts about to bloom

 alliums about to bloom
The kids are home from school, so that's it for now!

8 comments:

Northern Shade said...

Violas are such sweet little plants to have seeding around the garden. They don't bother any other plants, and look cute now matter where they pop up. Plus, you have to love the cheery yellow faces.

Your Bergenia are a good size for only having been seeded last year.

I appreciate all those spring bulbs and flowers, too. It's fun to go out everyday to see what's new and blooming.

Nicole said...

Hooray for blooming things! My clematis is FINALLY up. It's only three inches tall but still. It's up!

Kim said...

Thanks for the comments!
Northern Shade - I know! I couldn't believ the bergenia was even flowering, especially considering I kept it in a pot all winter.
Nicole - my clematis is up too! No sign from my hostas yet though.

Sara said...

Looks like you are about three weeks behind us here. We will get our first 80 degree F. today!

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Hi Garden Girl, I'm glad I found your blog! I'm about 2 hours south of you, and also a stay at home mom of 3 young ones. We seem to share quite a few plants, I'll add you to my blogroll so I can keep up with your posts. :)

Kim said...

Sara - I know! Our spring is always a bit slow to start, but it seems like it makes us appreciate it more.
Rebecca - So excited to meet another Alberta gardener and blogger! I will definitely keep up with your posts. I'd love to hear if you have any advice on how to garden with kids' "help"!

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

Everything looks so lovely in your Calgary garden! Lovely photos. I'll check out more of your blog.

Cheers from Ontario.

Carolyn ♥ said...

Love those little violas. We call them Johnny Jump-ups, as they seem to delightfully appear in so many corners of the garden.