10 days of showers! Every day between two to 10mm. The temp is lovely – doors and windows wide open again.

The cornus venus have lost their leaves and adding about a foot of growth. Naturally they are loving all this rain.

Patio tomato has lots of blossoms, no fruit. First tomatoes are forming in the garden, a bit pitifully, but started. The peppers are the same. The cukes are starting to take off. The cilantro is bolting, need to be more religious with the successions planting, out of arugula.

everything on the patio is looking great. The power of Miracle Gro.

Julie’s cherry tree is well ripe, Virginia’s is just loaded heavy with fruit. Odd, Mother Nature has not sent anyone round to raid it.

What a wickedly cold and wet spring. A bit of sun today, but only in the 60s.

Pruned like crazy today. The sycamore maple got a big haircut. Took a couple of large branches off the biggest columnar apple. The apples are starting to get leaf curl, in part from ants farming aphids. Stuck a couple of cut pieces of applewood into the ground. No loss if they don’t take.

The crab apples fruit is looking good: at least 12 fruit. Four fruit on the green apple. Purple clematis is starting to open. About a dozen blooms, most on the other side of the fence! Dragon weeded the back parking pad – scorched rather than poison the earth. Feel much better about that, but do question the carbon impact of the propane and tank.

The crocosmia have returned in two places. Very happy.

Tomatoes all have first blooms, but the plants are scraggly looking. Have been fertilizer crazy. Two kg of 10 10 10 in the garden. Tomato fertilizer on the raspberries between the fence. They are in flower. Blueberries are forming. A squirrel tasted a strawberry and dropped it. Might need a fruit fence. How funny. Mowed and about to call it a day. Took a naproxen about 2 hours ago – gonna to be pissed if this back doesn’t straighten out.

Seriously, hail today. Not much but what fell was almost pea size. Needless to say the basil transplants are looking the worse for wear. Moved them to the deck yesterday. Oh well. Overnight temperature to be one or two degrees.

Planted potatoes yesterday, red, white and blue. Put in some new bean and pea seeds. The self-seeded cilantro is coming up. The first fan shaped true leaves are forming.

The radishes and arugula are showing good germination.

Too exciting, got my citrus plants today. Home Depot: from Duarte trees and vines – two Meyer lemons – one a standard, the other a bush and one calamondin orange plant and of course six bags of soil $110. Have to plant the rest of the top deck.

Some great info on growing citrus

A nice and easy Mother’s Day.

Threw my back out

Turned the compost and got one good dig on the westerly veg bed. Picked up bagged soil from home depot for about $20. Put the first girls in. One pot self seeded from last year. Now that’s a lot of seeds. The starters are ready to be put out.

Back from a week in London. New magazines! Just driving to and from the airport the gardens are obvious.

Did it all today. Cleaned up In the front; raked the lawn and dead leaves from winter. Overseeded the lawn and watered it in well. Hosed down the sidewlk and path. First year on a water meter.

In the garden, dug the western bed over once. Not in shape from winter. The soil needs a good mix up. Raked the north path and moved all the brambles from the honeysuckle to the parking pad. Would love to have a burn barrel for all this little wood.

Horticultural oil. If a little is good a lot must be better. Painted the columnar apples trees with a 50-50 mix of horticultural oil and water. Used a spray bottle – labeled as such – and a short paint brush. Yes and a ladder. Gave up on what the neighbours think long ago. Love them just that much.

Planted Pansies today.

Half a flat from East End Garden Center. Picked up acid lovers fertilizer and a couple of bunches of yellow cut tulips $36.

Transplanted a head of garlic that had overwintered into two rows next to the figs.

Gave a light sprinkle of hen manure pellets on the front bed, the two urns with Pansy’s and on the transplanted garlic.

Top soil is pretty dry. Lots of still frozen soil around the asparagus.

Also the first trip to Canadian Tire. $45. Got a new cover for the BBQ, a square foot of peat moss and some moisture enhanced soil. Will have to look into what that is exactly. Trying it in the black bucket urns for now.

Cleaned up a bit here and there. Took the straw off the garlic, it’s up about an inch. Dusted a little hen manure pellets around; the artichoke, daffodils, garlic. Torched the edge of the beds next door. Like to see if that just kills it or makes it thrive. Grrr. Tree onions up. The high bush blueberries look really good. Nice buds. Lots of ice under the leaves. Should be able to test plant in April. A little tidy in Astrid’s as well. Four bags of debris on the front porch.

On to the boxwoods! Have of do a yard check on all the boxwoods and use then more intentionally.

Did put one cup of hen manure around Pine nuts.

Unwrapped the figs yesterday. The ground is still frozen underneath. It was a gorgeous spring day.

The seedlings are doing very well. The arugula is loving it.