At this time every year, I'm restless to begin seed starting. I've done it for way more years than I can count on my fingers. My enthusiasm knows no bounds as I dream about the seeds transforming into healthy, beautiful blooms. Each spring finds me contentedly preparing my six or seven seed-starting trays. Miraculously, or…

The first day of spring always makes me happy. Today it seems even more so. After a few days of below-freezing weather, I woke to a beautiful sight. Not only was the sun shining, but the trees were covered in hoarfrost. In late morning, I sat out in the garden and watched the hoarfrost drift…

  Ants in my basement usually lead to irritation and a lot of grumbling on my part. It was surprising then, that while taking some pictures, I watched an ant casually saunter the length of a tulip bloom and was filled with excitement. The weather had dramatically improved from the day before and I had…

There's something wonderful about having tulips on the dining room table. I love looking at them ~ before I cart them away to be photographed. For the past few days, the temperature has been slightly above freezing and the scent of spring was in the air. Sadly, a winter storm has moved in. Back to…

  What a year it has been for Amaryllis. I haven't done anything differently this year, but maybe I just picked out better bulbs than I have in the past. Each of them had multiple stalks and lots of blooms. At the moment, the Amaryllis 'Sydney' (pictured above) is in full bloom. I'm trying to…

… when I am sitting outside in my favourite chair, bundled up in a down blanket. The weather has warmed up … still way below 0 celsius, but a wonderful break nonetheless.  Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky, How beautiful it is?  All its branches are outlined, and in its…

  We've had some beautiful weather here. I was relieved to have finally planted the many bulbs impatiently waiting to be covered by soil. I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to get them in because of the cold weather that wouldn't go away. While planting the bulbs on Thursday and Saturday, I…

Every autumn, I look forward to seeing the gorgeous seedheads of the Clematis tangutica vine. They are a wonderful sight through the winter and into the early spring. Whenever I look at them, I am reminded of a poem by William Butler Yeats entitled, 'The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water'. Ever since I…

What I love so much about growing flowers is the way that they constantly surprise us. I've never had much luck growing annual Sweet Peas, although that hasn't stopped me from trying. A few days ago, I wandered out in the back garden to see if anything was still alive after the 17 cm (7…

  It's Canadian Thanksgiving here today, although it feels more like a winter holiday. Yesterday we had a big snowstorm and woke this morning to 17 cm of snow. My son's papa is here this weekend and so I am staying at my parent's place. I took this photograph of the playhouse we had as…