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British Columbia

First cut

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We really must be heading into spring, because it is time already to give our lawns their first cut of the year.

This always seems to come as bit of a rude shock (to me, anyway) particularly if the weather is not being at all spring-like. Yes – I am a very fair-weather gardener. I know that there are many others (no doubt gardening betters) who treat the whole business in the same manner that some people do fitness… the tougher and more hideous the conditions the more they seem to relish it.

”Let me at it!” they cry, as late winter storms sweep in. “I can’t wait to hit the wall!”

Peculiar behaviour if you ask me (and I am well aware that you did not!)

Anyway – where was I?

Ah – yes… The thing is that each day during the week I am obliged to trot up the road to our community postbox. This, naturally, entails passing by the gardens of our neighbours and – whereas the English have a fondness for hiding their gardens away behind high walls – here in Canada they like everyone to be able to gaze upon their efforts. It is as a result quite clear who has done the deed (in the lawn mowing sense) and who has not. I can let the early adopters get away with it but there comes a point at which weight of numbers makes clear the democratic will. The verdict? Time to cut the mustard (and the grass)…

Anyway – ‘tis done.

Now, of course, other and tougher questions arise. Should I lime the lawns again (yes!)? Should I fertilise (also yes) and if so with what combination of chemicals? Should I start to bag my clippings or let it mulch the lawn (not sure)? Should I take on the moss (noooooo!) or learn to love it and live with it (nods head furiously)? Should I be focusing so much on the grass when everything else in the garden is also wide awake and demanding attention (whistles a jaunty tune and pretends not to have heard the question)?

Oh well – at least it helps me to stay fit(ish)…

Roll on the summer – say I!

Out(r)age…

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Yesterday saw one of the first big wind storms of the year here at the southern end of Vancouver Island. As so often happens at this time of the year many trees lost branches as a result (in the case of deciduous trees because they have not yet shed their leaves) and our electricity provider –  BC Hydro – were kept fully employed with investigating and repairing damaged power lines (regular readers will know that here in BC most power supplies are carried on poles rather than buried underground as they are in the south east of the UK).

Somewhat annoyingly we lost power here for about three and a half hours during the afternoon, at a point at which I was hoping to prepare for my class today. As the light faded in the early evening I cooked dinner on the gas barbecue outside and we had just started to dine by candle light when the power was eventually restored.

The reason that this was particularly annoying was because BC Hydro had already been in touch with us a week or so back to inform us of a scheduled outage today (for ‘system upgrades’) at a time that clashed with the start of my class. The relevance is – of course – that because I now teach exclusively from my studio at home, the loss of power prevents me completely from so doing. I had arranged with my students for a later start for the class but when I awoke this morning it did occur to me that BC Hydro might have rescheduled the outage as a result of their engineers having worked such long shifts yesterday. I called them to check. After a lengthy rumination by the call-centre chappie (who clearly had no real idea what was going on) I was told categorically that the outage would indeed take place.

Somehow inevitably – it did not do so!

I even went out on my bicycle at one point looking for a BC Hydro crew, but none was to be found.

In the end I started my class late and they had to put up with my grumbling about how – wherever one lives in the world – it is impossible to find efficient service industries that do what they say they are going to do – when they say they are going to do it.

I am fully prepared now for the power to go out suddenly and without warning in the middle of my next class…

 

Fall Breeze & Autumn Leaves

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A few autumnal images from recent fall walks here on fabulous Vancouver Island.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidIt is no secret that autumn is not my favourite time of year, but one cannot deny that the season brings many beautiful things and if one wants variety – then fill your boots! Sometimes it looks like this:

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid…but at others it looks like this:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

And so to bed…

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Several posts back in what is in serious danger of becoming a blog about gardening (a subject on which I am completely unqualified to write but which seems to be one of the few activities still open to one in these strange days) I spun a tale about the conversion of the redundant raised pond in our front garden into a new bed for plants. All that remained – I reported breathlessly – was to choose that which should be planted therein.

To give the gentle reader some broader physical context – this is what the bed looks like in situ:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidAs may be observed the bed is backed – and overhung – by a screen of five medium sized fir trees and surrounded by a cluster of evergreen shrubs. This whole acts as a handy barrier between our property and the road and gives the garden an agreeable degree of privacy. There is – however – a fair bit of ‘green’ going on.

What to plant there? The firs raise the acid level of the soil beneath them which limits the choice somewhat. We considered azaleas or rhododendrons (both of which we already have in fair number) or something with bright coloured flowers. The problem with the latter is that the contrast obtained thereby would last but a limited period each year.

We chose instead to offset the greenery with some burgundy/red which would provide a nearly year round contrast – and went looking for suitable low-habit Japanese maples (or acers should you prefer). Here is what we found:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidThe larger one is a Gloucester Red Select and the smaller one is a Red Dragon. Why did we not purchase two bushes the of similar size? Have you seen the price of these things? They will end up of similar stature and this way we get to see them grow and fill out over time whilst ensuring that they take on the shape that we want.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidThey both cascade nicely and will give us a pretty mound of burgundy – fading to crimson red in the autumn (fall)  – to offset all of that greenery.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidNow we just have to wait and enjoy the show from our kitchen window!

 

Let’s party

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“Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”

Robin Williams

I was thinking just how lucky we are to have a spring garden. This is my favourite time of year and having a spring garden may well be a large part of that.

Then it occurred to me that I have been fortunate enough to have had – or have had access to – more than one spring garden over the years. “Mayhap” – I pondered to myself – “all gardens are spring gardens… or at least, coming hard on the heels of winter, that is the way they feel”.

Actually it matters not a jot and I thought that you – the gentle reader – might like to peruse some more images of nature’s bounty as it currently pertains in this neck of the woods.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

Lock-down living

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I have to admit to feeling somewhat guilty. Living in (semi) lock-down is tough – but it is clearly a lot tougher for some folk than for others. Some countries have much tighter restrictions than others to start with – and for those who live in urban environments with little room and limited opportunities to get outside – or for those who live alone in very rural areas and are keenly feeling the isolation… I can offer only my sympathies and support.

Here on the southernmost tip of Vancouver island we have good reason to feel fortunate. BC has done as well as anywhere to keep people safe during the crisis and our caring professionals are – as elsewhere – doing a fantastic job. Up here on the peninsula we live in a very beautiful place and have an abundance of space. We also have each other – which is the ultimate blessing.

I thought I would post some pictures from this neck of the woods. I hope that they give pleasure to some of you. Double-click for the full effect.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidThis little chap was outside my bathroom window for a couple of days. With the afternoon sun behind him he threw this silhouette on the frosted glass. I thought I should take his picture. No – I didn’t have a camera with me in the shower. That would just be weird! I fetched one afterwards…

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid

Socked in

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The first thing that came into most people’s minds (of those to whom I divulged our impending move to Canada some five years ago) was the thought of the Canadian winter – as though that somehow defined the country. Further, it was reasonably clear that their preconceptions ran primarily to winter sports. Maybe in the back of their minds they conjured up this sort of image:

image via <a href="http://www.peakpx.com">Peakpx</a>Now – of course – Canadians don’t exactly always go out of their way to discourage this sort of stereotype and it does have to be said that in parts of the land there is a fair bit of winter to be had.

But not so here on the Wet… pardon me… West coast. Our winters tend to look more like this:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidNice weather for the ducks – though the cormorants don’t look so impressed. These photos were taken today in Sidney by the Sea on the umpteenth (seemingly) day of apocalyptic gloom and ceaseless and torrential rain.

With us right through Christmas apparently!

Still – a good excuse to stay indoors and snuggle up…

Wild and woolly

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Down in Sidney-by-the-Sea today was a somewhat blustery day. As may be deduced from a quick look at the accompanying map:

…the Saanich peninsula (on which Sidney occupies a small but growing area near the top and to the eastern side) is fairly well protected from any of the worst of the wild winter winds that might wreak havoc out in the Georgia Strait by the archipelago that comprises the Gulf Islands (Canada) to the north and the San Juan Islands (USA) to the south. As a result the seas in the Haro Strait and particularly in Bazan Bay tend to be placid and even millpond-like on balmy summer days.

There are days however – in winter – when the wind comes directly off the water and the clouds scud in from the open sea. Then – even in the early afternoon – it looks more like this:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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