Lilystone…

17 Friday Jun 2022

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what a delightful day… got up, dressed, put out all the cushions and had breakfast on the back deck, admiring the ten or so poppies waving their lovely heads in the flower bed…

Hilda the Gardener arrived and started weeding and tidying everywhere…

a friend picked me up and we drove to Rosenort to eat and do a little shopping…

we had a delicious lunch at Lilystone Cafe, where we both picked up a few treats to bring home for later… I was happy to see them making great use of technology to take orders and prepare the bills… staff were friendly and treated us like family…

then we headed over to Lilystone Gardens, where we engaged in a bit of retail therapy, including a Christmas present… they are just now recovering from flooded fields and roads…

after an enjoyable return drive to the city we stopped at her house to check out some recent work and her very lush garden…

home, a wander around the garden to admire how tidy it is, and a sit down on the deck with a cup of tea and my book…

;-)…

gusts…

16 Thursday Jun 2022

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yesterday the wind came up late in the afternoon and I decided to protect a few spots…

put chairs around the obelisk on the deck so it wouldn’t fall over…

then I took a chair and propped it against the hibiscus… not only didn’t I want it to fall over, I didn’t want it to fall into the pond…

I didn’t feel that the mandevilla needed any protection so left it alone…

everything made it through fine although I have left the chair by the hibiscus as there are supposed to be strong wind gusts tonight…

baskets…

15 Wednesday Jun 2022

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the baskets and planters are doing well and filling out nicely… I had planned on purple and white, but there are pops of yellow and even red…

the poor mandevilla has a bad sunburn and has been covered with a purple umbrella to protect it from further sun damage… I have begun to let it sit with no covering on overcast days and hope it will recover…

the hibiscus spent a number of days in the shade of one of the cedars and has finally moved into a spot along the edge of the pond… I hope it likes it there as most summers it has lived on the deck…

it is fun to look at photos from previous years and see how the garden has changed…

tease…

14 Tuesday Jun 2022

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I have been enjoying the garden everyday and particularly my walks around to see what might be breaking through the ground or blooming…

the poppies continue to tease me in their slow process of blooming… each morning I check them out to see if any of them have opened, but not just yet, lol…

the vegetable garden is doing well… peas, beans and a few cucumbers have poked their heads through the soil and are keeping the three tomatoes company;-)…

I have also taken to weeding, which is rather new for me…

I have cleaned up a number of spots in the side garden and am excited to see the painted fern has come back and multiplied…

the wild columbine has popped up in about three spots and I am watching them carefully to ensure they don’t get pulled…

nature is amazing;-)…

thumb…

13 Monday Jun 2022

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Saturday, I had an injured thumb…

Friday’s project had been to get the little irrigation system I purchased last year installed…

I read through all the instructions, watched a video, and gave it a shot…

a number of weeks ago we had attached the main hose and run it about halfway, so I finished laying it out so that the newly planted ferns will also get water on a more regular basis…

then I started fastening the feeder hoses… I started with the hanging baskets and then moved on to the perennials in the bed…

connecting the feeder hose to the main hose involves punching a hole, with a very handy tool, and then pushing the connector into the main hose…

this was the difficult part and my thumb took a beating… eventually I stopped because it was becoming painful…

for sure I won’t be working on it for a few days, lol…

lilacs…

12 Sunday Jun 2022

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Friday I went shopping for lilacs… at my neighbour’s… with permission, lol…

they were heading away for the weekend and she texted me to offer them up… she knows how I love lilacs… and I think theirs are so pretty with the white around the edges…

I had just come home from an appointment and noticed that the bushes on the next street over were blooming and I was contemplating asking if I might cut some…

I got a pailful and filled two vases… one has been outside with me and the other has perfumed the main floor;-)…

happy days;-)…

bike…

11 Saturday Jun 2022

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a few days ago my grandson came by to return the car before he headed to work…

a piece for his bicycle had arrived and he worked on getting it installed but ran out of time, so he ended up taking the car…

while he was here I made lunch and we ate in the garden…

then the bike sat in the dining room, waiting for his return…

when he came to pick it up, he brought an ice cream cone;-)…

yum…

intentional…

10 Friday Jun 2022

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I am being intentional about spending as much time as possible in the garden…

it feels important to enjoy every minute when the weather is good…

I’ve also been doing a bit of weeding whenever I feel so inclined, lol…

although weeding hasn’t been one of my favourite pastimes, I am beginning to enjoy it… the satisfaction of a tidy area that I cleared is rather nice… although I am also thrilled after Hilda the Gardener has been by and tidied the beds and paths…

now that the front beds are complete, I am thinking of using some of the landscaping fabric around the Inukshuk… just have to get more mulch before that can happen…

here are a few spots I recently cleaned up…

the garden is definitely my happy place;-)…

stability…

09 Thursday Jun 2022

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today’s project was getting the bathtub pond emptied, cleaned, filled, and the pump going…

I used the wet vac and it took a while, but eventually the tub was empty…

I brought out the pump and filter from the basement and put a large rock in it for stability… last year it kept falling over as the water rose… looks like a great fix…

sprayed it down and filled it with water… turned on the pump, and away it went…

I found a large round piece of Tyndall stone and set a basket with some pond grasses into the pond…

it looks good and sound excellent…

after it was all done and I was reading, a bunny friend had snacks and then stretched out for a rest under one of the chairs…

another beautiful day to enjoy…

reminded…

08 Wednesday Jun 2022

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as I enjoy time in the garden I am reminded of how blessed I am…

yesterday I worked on hooking up the pump to the waterfall… the rocks that go around and over the pump were very heavy…

all of the cushions went out and looked good, although those darn elm seeds seem to be neverending and cover everything, lol…

had a meeting in the garden and was pleased with how well it went…

spent the rest of the day reading and maybe having a little nap…

the squirrels have been chatting a lot but there haven’t been many birds around… I did spot a neighbourhood cat having a sleep on the bench in the side garden, lol…

how blessed am I to have this beautiful space and the opportunity to sit and enjoy the serenity it provides;-)…