Friday, April 17, 2009

Spinach Lover`s Garden in mid-March

A cloche is still covering the two rows of spinach, if it is indeed spinach, but rows of something in the onion family were added in early March, perhaps transplanted.

On the other side of the sidewalk, a leafy vegetable has made it successfully through the winter.

Now for a little garden philosophy--

(For more views of this garden, check the tag "Spinach Lover's Garden".)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Newly Dug Boulevard Gardens


Much effort has been taken in digging these two new boulevard gardens, one on 36th Ave. and one on 11th Ave. The one being constructed as three raised beds will probably be for vegetables. The other one may be for pumpkins! Turning over the sod is no easy task. Photos taken April 5, 2009.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Crocus Creep


Crocuses are so spectacular right now that I have to break the rules for this blog and include them even though they are not edible. (Saffron does come from a type of crocus however.) The early mauve variety naturalizes readily, both by seeding and becoming clumps. The later more colorful varieties do not seed as often, but their clumps become larger. Over the years, the one bulb that was planted turns into dozens. Sometimes gardeners plant bulbs in their lawn in a scattered fashion, but often there is "crocus creep" from seeds. The next three photos are from my back yard:


Evidence here points to crocus creep, of both mauve and white colored crocuses:

My hunch is that the gardener here purposely scattered crocus bulbs in the lawn:

Although the following front yard in Kitsilano is a bit derelict these days, long ago there must have been a keen gardener looking after it, who planted a few crocuses, not this many though!