Year In Review 2021

As we near the end of 2021 I once again reflect on the past year which always begins with a snowy scene in my front yard. The snow sticks around for a while until at least early March although my witch hazel flowers in February. It is at this time I start to look for signs of spring bulbs shooting through. First up of course are the snow drops which are always a welcome sight to see. I have become increasingly fond of wallflowers that come in a variety of colors. It will be interesting to see if I have managed to save some for the year ahead as they are a biennial.

As temperatures warm up the garden quickly turns into a tapestry of color from the variety of spring bulbs to early flowering perennials plus trees and shrubs starting to leaf out.

By mid to late March I also start work in my greenhouse which includes moving the more tender plants from the garage. I do have to put on a little heat as temperatures can still drop below zero unexpectedly. I mainly start sowing herb, tomato and cucumber seeds, then slowly introduce some perennial and annual seeds. I like to look for different varieties each year and make note on those seeds that have done well in previous years. Once the retail nurseries bring in annuals I also start work on my hanging baskets using the stock plants of geranium and fuchsia which I overwintered. Busy times….

By May all the work in the greenhouse pays off when I have an explosion of color in my hanging baskets and containers.

On our land which we purchased in the Shuswaps last year I also started a garden using some of the plants from my Fintry garden as well as purchasing some bargains. We were very grateful to Bob’s Country Bobcat for initially clearing the land as it was a densely forested area. As the land is sloping I had to create more of a terraced garden and my husband put in a pond area. It is still in its early stages so I am looking forward to this year when the plants will be more established. We were fortunate to escape here and stay in our RV until the smoky skies arrived and intense heat (40 degrees) in early July. This was quickly followed by our Fintry area being affected by wildfires and we were pretty much evacuated for the whole month of August. Needless to say both our home and gardens survived which I am very grateful for.

We were finally able to return to our home and fortunately I did not have to do too much pruning and deadheading.

We were also very fortunate to escape to Vancouver Island for a few days. We had a delightful Air BnB in the Courtenay/Comox area. We had great hosts and enjoyed exploring the area ending up staying with close friends in Qualicum.

We continued too to stay on our Shuswap land until it was time to remove our RV before the snow arrived. We will not be able to get back up there again until late April, early May. The garden continued to thrive right through to the early frosts. It always amazes me how long some of the late flowering perennials bloom including rudbeckia, cosmos, Sedum Autumn Joy, aster and chrysanthemum.

I also enjoy the abundance of fall colors at this time of the year not only in my garden but in Fintry Provincial Park (Fintry Provincial Park – BC Parks)

The year has had many ups and downs from forest fires to flooding in the Southern Interior and coastal areas. Now too we are dealing with increased cases of Covid. We were lucky to spend Christmas up at Silver Star with our close family respecting the health restrictions. We return to winter scenes again in my Fintry garden and Fintry Provincial Park. I don’t really have any New Year resolutions. My only wish is that 2022 be a far better year for everyone.