Awards: Double-edged petals

I was thrilled on waking this morning to learn that my hosta photo had won Gold, amid stiff competition, in the Gardening Gone Wild Picture This photo contest for November 2009!

This, on top of Best Blog awards last week, conferred by Deborah of Kilbourne Grove/Green Theatre and The Violet Fern, for which we are grateful.

Awards seem to have become the Stella d'Oro of the garden blogging world lately; a little overplanted. So much so that Charlotte of the wonderful Galloping Gardener – coincidentally, the blogger who tagged us for our very first meme award – has declared an R.I.P.

We want to honour the kind intention of those who have recognized us, without burdening anyone else with an obligation.

Therefore, we simply want to suggest this. Read our post on Toronto Garden Bloggers from earlier this month. Or expand our blog roll and have a look. Or follow the links back from a tweet that you like. Check back often for additions.

Do the same when you visit other blogs. You're bound to stumble upon someone new you aren't following... yet. Chances are, if they're on the blog roll (think of it as an honour roll) of a blog you admire, they belong on yours, too. We all win by sharing that way.

It has been fun learning 10 honest things or 7 things we didn't know about our fellow bloggers. Perhaps we can find a way to hybridize this way of cultivating knowledge about our blogging community. I hope so.

Worth Repeating: Going Squirrelly

It's squirrel feeder bird feeder time again. So (as Sarah has been at a seminar all day, and I have been tending to family things) we thought you might enjoy re-reading this post of Sarah's from the spring. It's called: A Bit of a Chat with a Squirrel at my Bird Feeder




Me: Oh, it's you again.

Squirrel: Oh, hey, hi! If it isn't Lady Bountiful! Thanks for putting out this amaaazing spread! I LOVE what you're doing here! (Nom nom nom-like scarfing noises)

Me: Yeah. Really, um, about that. The spread. I actually.... how do I put this....the spread, It's really meant for...you know...the birds. The cardinal, the goldfinches...

Squirrel: THOSE deadbeats??? The ones who can't bother to fly over here - what is it - too far from the nest? Ohhhh, my arms - I mean my wings - my little helpless wings are getting toooo tired to make it allll the way over to this feeding station. Think I'll just hang out in this shrub a little longer...those guys???

Me: Yeah, those guys. All the birds. I've been trying to get them over here. I got the suet feeder, the special seed...

Squirrel: Oh, yeah, that crap. NOBODY likes that stuff, not even those deadbeat birds. You might as well hang up a sign that says: WILDLIFE: fly on by! THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF SEED YOU LIKE, NO MATTER WHAT IT SAYS ON THE PACKAGE!

ME: Well, it seemed like the cardinal was coming by. After you finished all the sunflower seeds, they came by for those white seed thingies. You know who I mean right? The bright red guy? The really pretty one. I LOVE that guy! He comes over once in a while, and brings his wife. So couldn't you...kind of....leave most of this food for them? They were the ones I actually invited to the platform feeder. Where you currently are. If you don't mind me saying.

Squirrel: Well, Ms. Bountiful, I got my invitation too. And I take the trouble to get here early, and every day. And, you know I always bring the guys too.

Me: Yeah, you've got rather a lot of guys. There's usually 4 or 5 of you running around out here...um...kind of....don't get me wrong, I'm happy to supply you with food, but you're kind of....trashing the place?

Squirrel: Hey, Ms. Bount, that's not MY guys, must be some other squirrels. A couple of trees over. Can't speak for them.

Me: Well, I do always put some stuff out for you. In the special Squirrel Feeder, remember?

Squirrel: Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that special Squirrel Feeder. We appreciate the thought, Ms. Bount, we really do. You are TOO generous, God love you, but I gotta tell you, Mike still has head wounds from that hinged lid falling on top of him. He's not too happy about it. Plus he still didn't manage to get the peanut outta there! Do you think you could adjust the hydraulics or something?

Me: Well, maybe Mike needs to build up his arms, because I haven't seen any one else have any trouble with it. Tell him I'm sorry about his head, and I'll look into it. Maybe a notice that says: "lift carefully, then dive in".

Squirrel: It could help. Maybe not. There's definitely a technique you gotta perfect for that thing. I've got it down, but here's the thing you gotta know about us squirrels, we believe in doing something the most efficient way. You got seed here all spread out on a buffet, we're gonna go for that, we're not gonna mess around with that other contraption you got there where muscle power is involved. Get it?

Me: I've seen some interesting gyrations with some of your gang. That hanging upside down technique for my cylinder feeders. Pretty interesting.

Squirrel: Yeah, the hotshots get into that stuff. Can be a little dangerous. Well, Bount, it's been nice chatting to you, but if you don't mind, I've got a lot of munching to do. You might want to put some more peanuts on the list. I don't want to seem demanding, but, I've got a little lady back at the tree who could use a few. Time of year and all.

Me: Hey, I've been meaning to ask you. Don't you spend pretty much all fall, gathering nuts and acorns, just for that purpose, to get you through the winter and all?

Squirrel: Do we? That's ALL we frickin' do!! But can we remember where we put the frickin' things? I don't know how many times I'm walking under a tree, and I'm forgetting why I even came there! "Oh, yeah", I go: "nuts!" Then for the life of me, I can't remember where I put them. That's why people like you are so great. Really, you do a real service to us squirrels out here.

Me: Well, as I said before, it's really mostly for the birds.

Squirrel: Those fly by nights, who needs em? Squirrels - we're the dependable ones. You gotta admit, we show up every day. We frolic, we scamper, we eat with TWO hands, Come on, you gotta admit THAT'S ADORABLE!!! We've got the fluffy tails. Damn cute! Come on, you know you love us!

Me: Well, I do appear to be stuck with you. I mean, yeah, you have your own....personal charm I guess.

Squirrel: That's more like it.

TGI Friday Flowers: Spicing up the urn

A quick post to show off my fall urn, in a rather crummy photo, shot between raindrops, with frosted edges to disguise my neighbour's recycling bin. I hope you'll believe me: this looks better in real life.

The inspiration to get cracking and fill the negative space left by the retreating annuals came from fellow Toronto blogger Irena of My Roots Run Deep. Take a look, and I'm sure you'll be as impressed by her handiwork as I was. I even cadged her idea of using prunings from the euonymus as foliage. Thanks!

You'll also note a few 'Annabelle' hydrangea heads and a spray or two of my pyracantha berries. Free floral material always makes the skinflint in me happy.

The ever-greenery came from East End Garden Centre. As soon as I came away, I regretted not buying an $11.99 bunch of brown-backed magnolia leaves. But, other than twigs to create vertical line, the budget says that this will have to do.

A longer post soon, as Toronto Gardens has just received a Best Blog Award from both Deborah of Kilbourne Grove/Green Theatre and also from The Violet Fern. Sarah and I are honoured. The hardest part, as I'm sure all who have received one of these knows, is passing this chain along in a meaningful way. We are percolating on that topic.

Orchid Bloom: Patience Pays Off

My original plant. The offshoot came from a Keiki that grew on its old flower stalk.

2009 hasn't been my most stellar gardening year. I've been distracted and neglectful of my garden, both indoors and out, especially since P-Day: August 30th - The Day Izi, The Puppy, Entered My Life. Garden wise, sad to say, it's been all downhill since then. I'm amazed I still have a few plants that are alive.

Since P-Day I should dub myself the Intermittent Gardener, since I only notice my plants every now and then, while being dragged around by said puppy. I notice that they are thirsty. I notice that they are falling over. I notice they have strange bugs and holes in their leaves. I make a mental note to Do Something About It At The First Available Opportunity. Then I forget all about it, till the next time I pass by. And the cycle repeats. Sad, really.

"Forget the plants. You've got ME now, " says Puppy Izi.

But, happily, plants are tough, even orchids. My two orchids, the original, and offshoot, sat outdoors till quite late in the fall and suffered a few pretty cold nights. Eventually I noticed them giving me pathetic looks. "You aren't planning on leaving us out here for the winter, are you?" looks. By then they had been liberally chewed by snails and looked really quite miserable. On plant dating attractiveness scale, not even "average" would cover it. Not good looking plants. But they were still alive, so I scooped them up, found a spot to place them inside, after which, of course, I got right on the task of neglecting them in the warmth of my overheated apartment.
They were huddled together on a cold windowsill, and my sister, bless her eyes, noticed that the baby one, the one I wrote about here, actually had a flower bud on it! I'd been waiting for that flower bud for ages. Thought it was never going to happen. But happen it did! Yippee! I roared into action and got out the watering can and drainage pots. Now I could actually water them (yes, it's something plants actually like, apparently) And the misting bottle got dusted off. They are in a perfect spot right now, close to the south facing window, but not freezing on the windowsill. They are on top of my TV. Warm and sunny.

I await the growth of the flower bud with interest.

Out with old, in with new: Geranium 'Biokovo'

As someone who has grown bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorhizzum) for many years, I've long admired one of its daintier hybrid offspring. While similar in frilled leaf form, Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo' makes tidier mats of foliage, and its flowers poke up their heads without the long, scrawny necks of my bigrooted friend.

Then yesterday as I escaped outdoors for a brief, rainy camera safari, I was arrested by the scene above and below. Wow. That leaf colour sure puts my bigroots to shame.

Coincidentally, I came across an almost identical shot and excellent article at the blog of The Casual Gardener. Scoot over there and have a read. This leads me to think that the colour I spotted is not an isolated incident, and that 'Karmina' -- as the carminey name suggests -- might be a colourful variety to hunt for.

Much as I hate to rip out a plant that is performing reasonably well, it makes total sense to ensure that each square foot of ground is working its darnedest for effect. In fact, in my shady, dry, sandy garden, G. macrorhizzum reliably makes tons of leaves, but flowers only sparingly. Perhaps G. 'Biokovo' would do (or not do) the same. Yet who would care, with this paintbox of foliage to wrap up the season!

Anyone need some hardworking bigroots as ground cover for an impossible spot? Come knocking.