Happy May 1st.  I know this may sound cliché but I really don’t know where April went.  Towards the beginning of the month everything seemed to be on hold in the garden.  We went down to the coast for Easter and when we returned my husband and I were amazed how the garden had just burst open.  

I had not been for my Fintry walk for a while and with camera in hand captured significant changes in the park too.  Just love seeing the fresh new leaves and blossoms, a mixture of vibrant green and white.  Even the mahonia (oregon grape) is putting on a good show at the moment.  There is a good flow in Shorts Creek but it does not seem as bad as last year.  Keeping fingers crossed that the water levels will not go as high.  The new campsite area and washroom are almost complete.   Some of them are quite private particularly ones near the old home site where you can discover the remains of a garden, somewhat overgrown.  I like to wander through this section and see the odd daffodil bloom and the apple blossom.

It has been a little chilly in the garden this week but thankfully it has not had a significant impact.  At least there is no morning frost now just dew.  I put the hanging baskets out for a while but have since returned them to the greenhouse.  Safe to say they will be better off there for a few more weeks.  Rule of thumb for me is not bringing tender annuals out until at least mid May.  In the same way I have held off doing too much in the vegetable garden and have only planted out some lettuce plus my husband kindly put in potatoes.  In the greenhouse though using a heater cable I have started tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs and a few perennials.

With continuous planting over the years we have attracted more and more birdlife.  Just this past week we saw some yellow finches and I believe a Canadian Tanager with a bright red head and yellow breast.  Sadly I didn’t get my camera out in time.  We have blue jays nesting nearby and the hummingbirds have returned.  I did at least get some photos of quail and a black capped chickadee.  

Last but not least my husband made a small improvement in our garden seat area putting blocks underneath.  We love to sit here towards the end of the day and watch the sun go down.

Until next time…Happy Gardening!