Well, as the saying goes, ❄️April snow-ers bring May flow-ers 🌼, so now that it's May we should check in on the #YEGgarden, yes?
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Well, as the saying goes,
️April snow-ers bring May flow-ers 
, so now that it's May we should check in on the #YEGgarden, yes?The striped squill are as usual the first to full blossom. There's a house down the block with a huge patch of these in their front garden; they were up a couple weeks ago & seem to have survived the last snowstorm. But mine are in areas that take a little longer to thaw out, so they're just starting to open.
On my warm west-facing flower plot, however, things are much farther along. The checkered lilies are starting to show their fancy colours even if they're not fully open yet, and the full-sized tulips are racing the dwarf ones for who will open first. Even daffodils aren't far behind. The alternating warmth & freezes are really going to condense the bulb-blooming season in gardens that thawed out early!
And in the flower boxes, a couple of the pansies I started indoors in early February (a couple weeks later than usual for me) are starting to open up.
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R relay@relay.mycrowd.ca shared this topic
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Well, as the saying goes,
️April snow-ers bring May flow-ers , so now that it's May we should check in on the #YEGgarden, yes?The striped squill are as usual the first to full blossom. There's a house down the block with a huge patch of these in their front garden; they were up a couple weeks ago & seem to have survived the last snowstorm. But mine are in areas that take a little longer to thaw out, so they're just starting to open.
On my warm west-facing flower plot, however, things are much farther along. The checkered lilies are starting to show their fancy colours even if they're not fully open yet, and the full-sized tulips are racing the dwarf ones for who will open first. Even daffodils aren't far behind. The alternating warmth & freezes are really going to condense the bulb-blooming season in gardens that thawed out early!
And in the flower boxes, a couple of the pansies I started indoors in early February (a couple weeks later than usual for me) are starting to open up.
@AmeliasBrain Those striped squill are so cool
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Well, as the saying goes,
️April snow-ers bring May flow-ers , so now that it's May we should check in on the #YEGgarden, yes?The striped squill are as usual the first to full blossom. There's a house down the block with a huge patch of these in their front garden; they were up a couple weeks ago & seem to have survived the last snowstorm. But mine are in areas that take a little longer to thaw out, so they're just starting to open.
On my warm west-facing flower plot, however, things are much farther along. The checkered lilies are starting to show their fancy colours even if they're not fully open yet, and the full-sized tulips are racing the dwarf ones for who will open first. Even daffodils aren't far behind. The alternating warmth & freezes are really going to condense the bulb-blooming season in gardens that thawed out early!
And in the flower boxes, a couple of the pansies I started indoors in early February (a couple weeks later than usual for me) are starting to open up.
Over in the veggie patch, the radishes I planted 3 weeks ago are finally up, as are the peas I put in one snowstorm later, after they'd fully sprouted indoors (the plan had only to be to soak the seeds for a couple days, but then snow). The spinach I might need to replant.
I still need to clean up the front-yard veggie patch, get some more peas in, carrot & kale seeds, as well as the onion & broccoli transplants I have waiting on the porch.
And as I mentioned elsewhere, I have tomato transplants waiting. Lots of tomatoes. More than I have room for really. I was planting old seed & did so generously thinking they wouldn't all sprout, but they did! If any local mutuals are interested in a 6-pack, let me know. They're all from saved seeds selected for early harvest, separated into plum vs round/beefy, but beyond that no guarantees on what you'll get.
I could also part with one 6-pack of coleus & begonias if you need some colour for shady garden or planters (those are also not at all frost hardy).
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@AmeliasBrain Those striped squill are so cool
@stephanie They are! Squill plants come up with the flower buds almost ready to open, protected as they poke through the earth by those two long leaves on either side.
There's also dark-blue Siberian squill (which only get a couple small flowers per plant) and multi-coloured, star-shaped glory-of-the-snow (which are always a couple weeks later, despite their name), but I like the big clusters with the striped flowers best.
(Sadly, none would past the test for your native-plants-only garden. The Siberian squill are so good at naturalizing in people's lawns that they're apparently becoming invasive in southern Ontario. I don't think they're regulated yet, but maybe that's one reason the bulbs are hard to find. Or maybe they just don't grow as well in the Netherlands, where most spring-flowering bulbs are commercially grown?)
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Over in the veggie patch, the radishes I planted 3 weeks ago are finally up, as are the peas I put in one snowstorm later, after they'd fully sprouted indoors (the plan had only to be to soak the seeds for a couple days, but then snow). The spinach I might need to replant.
I still need to clean up the front-yard veggie patch, get some more peas in, carrot & kale seeds, as well as the onion & broccoli transplants I have waiting on the porch.
And as I mentioned elsewhere, I have tomato transplants waiting. Lots of tomatoes. More than I have room for really. I was planting old seed & did so generously thinking they wouldn't all sprout, but they did! If any local mutuals are interested in a 6-pack, let me know. They're all from saved seeds selected for early harvest, separated into plum vs round/beefy, but beyond that no guarantees on what you'll get.
I could also part with one 6-pack of coleus & begonias if you need some colour for shady garden or planters (those are also not at all frost hardy).
-
Well, as the saying goes,
️April snow-ers bring May flow-ers , so now that it's May we should check in on the #YEGgarden, yes?The striped squill are as usual the first to full blossom. There's a house down the block with a huge patch of these in their front garden; they were up a couple weeks ago & seem to have survived the last snowstorm. But mine are in areas that take a little longer to thaw out, so they're just starting to open.
On my warm west-facing flower plot, however, things are much farther along. The checkered lilies are starting to show their fancy colours even if they're not fully open yet, and the full-sized tulips are racing the dwarf ones for who will open first. Even daffodils aren't far behind. The alternating warmth & freezes are really going to condense the bulb-blooming season in gardens that thawed out early!
And in the flower boxes, a couple of the pansies I started indoors in early February (a couple weeks later than usual for me) are starting to open up.
@AmeliasBrain When did you start your tomatos? -
@AmeliasBrain When did you start your tomatos?
@fionag11 I start tomatoes in early March. Can't remember exact date this year. Second week, maybe? That'd make these 8 weeks old, maybe 9.
With 3-4 weeks to go before it's safe to plant them, I might have to upgrade some to larger pots, but I think I've done a decent job of keeping them from getting too "leggy". Although they did get knocked over & tangled a bit in the wind outside this past weekend.
