Category: Gardening

My garden so far

Posted on by boj Posted in Gardening, General

Existing in the garden:

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Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) OG
Smooth Oxeye (Heliopsis helianthoides) OG
Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis) OG
Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) OG

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Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) OG 

June 2020 Ontario Plants
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) OP20
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) OP20
Smooth Rose (Rosa blanda) OP20
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) OP20
Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) OP20

September 2021 Ontario Plants
Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) OP21
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) OP21
Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba) OP21
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) OP21 +
Smooth Rose (Rosa blanda) OP21 +

June 2022 Agnieszka’s garden

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Lanceleaf Coreopsis(Coreopsis lanceolata) AG22

August 2022 A Cultivated Art
Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) CA22

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American alumroot (Heuchera americana) CA22
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) CA22 +
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) CA22 +
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) CA22 +
Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) CA22 +
Heart Leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) CA22

May 2023 Fletcher

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Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) FL23
Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) FL23
Downy Wood Mint (Blephilia ciliata) FL23
Field Pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta) FL23
Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) FL23

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Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum) FL23
Lance-leaved coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) FL23+
Lance-leaved Figwort (Scrophularia lanceolata) FL23
Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana) FL23

May 2023 A Cultivated Art
Button Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) CA23
Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) CA23
Wild Blue Flax (Linum lewisii) CA23
White Rattlesnakeroot (Nabalus albus) CA23
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Peritoma serrulata) CA23
Hairy Mountain-Mint (Pycnanthemum verticillatum) CA23
Grey-headed Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) CA23
Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa) CA23

May 2023 Beaux Arbres 

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American Spikenard (Aralia racemosa) BA23
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadensis) BA23
Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadensis) BA23
Foamflower (Tiarella stolonifera) BA23

June 2023 Ontario Plants

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Narrow-leaved Vervain (Verbena simplex) OP23
Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) OP23 +

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Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) OP23

June 2023 Beaux Arbres

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Allegheny Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens) BA23

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Dwarf Arctic Iris (Iris setosa var. arctica) BA23
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) BA23
Water Avens (Geum rivale)  BA23
Bog Aster (Oclemena nemoralis) BA23
Wild Mint (Mentha arvensis) BA23
Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) BA23A
Prairie Sagewort (artemisia frigida) BA23

June 2023 Plant exchange
Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) EX23
Purple Giant Hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia) EX23
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) EX23
Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) EX23 +
Tall Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea) EX23
Silver Wormwood (Artemisia ludoviciana) EX23
Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus)  EX23
Bowman’s Root ? ()  EX23
Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) EX23
Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus) EX23
Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum pubescens) EX23
Water Avens (Geum rivale)  EX23 +
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) EX23 +
White Vervain (Verbena urticifolia) EX23 
Figwort (Scrophularia marilandica ?) EX23
Blue stem gr ??? EX23
Tall wood beauty (Drymocallis arguta) EX23
Downy Wood Mint (Blephilia ciliata) EX23
Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) EX23
Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) EX23
Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) EX23 

Film: Only lovers left alive

Posted on by boj Posted in Film, Gardening

I am going to declare the 30×30 challenge a success. Sure, you can nitpick my definition of nature, but I counted any outdoors time that did not involve a parking lot or March Road. I counted March Road if it rained.

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Some days getting the 30 minutes was a struggle. Chris and I dealt with it by making it a habit to go into the yard to sit for a few minutes before going to bed. I hope to keep this habit now that the challenge is over.

Even though our garden is a weedy neglected mess, it always surprises me how beautiful plants can be.

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Irises and Heucheras are some of my favourites. I look forward to their beautiful flowers every year,.

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Film: Snowpiercer

Posted on by boj Posted in Bike, Film, Gardening

My previous spring challenges include “May – Bike to Work Month” and “April – 30 Days of Biking”. Since I started biking daily in mid March this year, neither of these appealed. But here comes David Suzuki with the 30×30 Challenge.

Can I be in nature for thirty minutes every day for thirty consecutive days? Let’s find out!

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Resolutions for 2015

Posted on by boj Posted in Baby, Film, Gardening3 Comments

Though usually stoic on the subject, this year I am bubbling with New Year’s resolutions. This is not surprising, birthing and taking care of small children was exhausting and somehow I feel 2014 was the bridge year for us. I think I am ready to stop merely making do. The kids are now big enough for me to be thoughtfully proactive in most aspects of life.

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Vacations
Over the last few years I heavily relied on “sanity days”. These are the vacation days that I set aside about once a month to catch up on sleep, chores and appointments. These were also a great time for Chris and me to go out for lunch in lieu of hiring babysitter and going out on dinner dates. Alas, this meant that I was not able to use those vacation days during the school holidays or PD days. Markus will no longer be in full time daycare as of next Septmber so the cost of Chris or me working on days the kids are not in school is adding up. For 2015 I have not set aside any sanity days and will stay home during the school holidays instead.

Diet
I am quite enamoured with our CSA and will continue to get veggies and meat from the farm in the next year. The downside is that once the CSA season is over we fall into a dietary slump. There are only so many pasta/meat/veggie disshes I can eat. When I was a kid I used to love stews, particularly bean and/or barley stews but I have no idea how to make them! Whenver I’ve make a bean stew it inevitably ends up in the freezer to be thrown out a year or two later. This has got to change as I will endeavour to perfect at least one good bean recipe. I am also going to look into stocking up on root vegetables at the end of season and finding a good way to keep us in good supply over the winter.

Gardening
While I don’t keep track of how much money we spend on fruit, I am convinced that at least 1/3 of our grocery bills cover berries. I am not the least bit interested in removing or reducing berries form our table, but I would like to find a more economical way to do so. We have planted our first berry shrub in the back yard last year and are hoping to expand the berry farm and make good harvests within a few years. The challenge will come with finding an approproate way to store the berries for the winter (freeze or dry???) and to incorperate them in our diet in this form.

Movies
I really miss seeing movies at the Bytowne. Particularly at this time of year when newspapers publish lists of noteable movies of the year, I am sad to have missed some films that I might have enjoyed. However, going to Bytowne on a regular baisis I did half a decade ago is just not an option for me. For a number of Good Reasons, on weekdays from 5:45AM to 5:45PM I am on strict work/designated patent duty. To maintain this lifestyle I really need to call day a day by 10PM. Weekends are likewise booked. While there is not much I can do to support lovely establishements like Bytowne, I can at least see some movies that are out on iTunes or Netflix. My goal this year is to select a film each month and set some time aside to watch it.