Jules in the Garden

A collage of seedlings of various ages, all of which are developing true leaves Clockwise from top left: an extreme close-up of what is a very tiny midnight blue lobelia seedling; the distinctive leaves of a strawberry plant are becoming more apparent on the Regina strawberry seedlings; after being rather slow to sprout, a sage seedling is quickly developing fuzz and new growth; a yarrow seedling quickly went from sprouting to developing multiple true leaves; a lavender seedling is very slowly developing its telltale leaves; and Italian parsley is beginning to grow its first set of true leaves

13 days until spring 🌱

Again, I say:

✨ Nature is magical ✨

#plantsky
#sixonsaturday

Garden center. My kingdom for an edit button

An overtop view of two potted plants: a small but bushy pineapple sage plant with vivid green leaves (bottom) and a pineapple mint whose leaves are both very textured and green and buttery yellow in colour

Does my favourite garden already have some potted #herbs available?

Yes, yes it does

#teagarden
#canadiangardening

A close up of a dwarf munstead lavender seedling. The first set of true leaves have slowly been developing in the almost two weeks since the seeds sprouted I've had 10/20 prepped seeds germinate. I didn't realize germination rates for lavender typically fall between 20-50%, so, in this instance especially, being average is a very good thing!

Two weeks until spring 🌱

✌️

#lavender
#flowerreport
#herbgardening

An image of vivid green seedlings that have sprouted within the last week or so On the left, a number of dark green Italian parsley will need to be thinned as I had better (and quicker) germination than expected On the right is recently sprouted sage. The second from the top is darker because it sprouted first while the other three did so a couple of days later

Future companions for vegetables and resources for pollinators

#herbs
#gardening

An image of a yellow and blue hydrant in the midst of a garden on a corner lot. Someone with a sense of humour has added large googly eyes, making the hydrant look like a cartoon character. Photo taken last summer

15 days until spring 🌱

Last year I took my toddler for many walks around the neighbourhood, just to look at flowers and insects

On one particular occasion, something looked back

#yellowthursday
#canadiangardening

Good for you and your willpower! I'm starting to get some back-in-stock emails from various plant and seed companies that I requested. I'm trying to be good, but it's hard

An image of bright red branches in the foreground with a pair of turtles on a rock in the middle of the picture. I had stopped to take a picture of the bright coloured branches and some asters (not in frame). I was alerted to the turtles by my spouse, who had assumed I was already taking a picture of the animals and not the flowers. Photo taken last October

16 days until spring 🌱

Just like yesterday, another time when I was looking for flora (dogwood and asters) only to discover fauna (turtles)

It pays to pay attention

#redwed
#nativeplants

So true, one of the plants was still in a pot on my porch

That's a good point, I'm trying to experiment more this year and just accept the results without judgement. Or counting my chickens (plants) before they hatch (seeds)

For example, I'm trying to grow some sweet violets for my tea garden. It sounds like it's going to be a VERY humbling experience 😂

A recently hatched monarch caterpillar chews on the leaf of a milkweed plant. Photo taken last August

I planted butterfly weed and swamp milkweed last year from seed so there was foliage but no bloom (I'm excited to see flowers this year). The monarchs laid at least five eggs on my young plants all the same

I'm glad you have a plan since I know you've already encountered some setbacks 🐕

I'm not sure what to do with mine. Maybe I'll move everything to the deepest shade I can find and shovel as much snow over top as I can?

I'm starting to regret being overly ambitious my first year doing this 🫤

A view of a weathered deck with a long line of various containers with different seeds. Several containers are still partly buried by a large drift of ice and snow

Starting tomorrow, we'll have about a week of temperatures above zero degrees, accompanied by a lot of rain

Then long range forecasts suggest that cold temperatures and snow will return by mid-March

These poor little winter sowing jugs are in for a bumpy few weeks

#nativeplants
#wintersowing

A great blue heron wading in sheltered water, nearly blending in with the tree branches. I was near the bird for several minutes before I realized how close we were to each other. Photo taken last summer

17 days until spring 🌱

Today I'm remembering the time that I started taking pictures of some shaded #nativeplants before I realized that a great blue #heron was wading in a lagoon a few feet away

#bluetue

Thanks

A bee crawls across the bubblegum pink bloom of a speedwell (which happens to also have spikes of bluish purple flowers in the same plant). Photo taken last summer.

18 days until spring 🌱

PINK!!!

#bees
#pinkmon
#flowerreport

I had no idea you could do this! Can you tell me more?

An image three types of flowers with bright yellow ray florets: sunflower (top right), false sunflower (bottom center), and black-eyed Susan (middle left). Photo taken last summer.

19 days until spring 🌱

While it's bright and sunny today, it's also -19°C with the windchill, which is preserving last night's snowfall

But much of the snow will gone by the end of the week when it's 17°

Soon we'll be seeing grass, dirt, and, eventually, plants like these:

#stunday
#nativeplants

That gif demonstrates the correct reaction. I mean, wow, I have no words for what I've just seen

A close-up shot of two yarrow seedlings growing under bright grow lights (These summer pastel mix seeds were planted 02/19, sprouted 02/22, with first set of true leaves noticeably emerging 02/25-02/26)

20 days until spring 🌱

(Spring is now close enough for me to realize I made a countdown error ages ago)

Baby's first set of true leaves

#greensat
#flowerreport

A large black fly with white markings on its body and transparent wings with black patterning rests on a weathered fence board (Though it may look intimidating, the fly doesn't bite/sting and is a beneficial garden insect: it pollinates native plants like asters and coneflowers while its larvae feed on carpenter bee larvae, controlling those populations) Photo taken last August

3 weeks until spring 🌱

Looks like a foe
Acts like a friend

#bwfriday
#pollinators
#nativeplants

Oh dear, that sounds unfortunate for your neighbours. I wanted to direct sow but my dog only cares about scaring away bunnies, not squirrels. And the bunnies have been eating away at my shrubs during the night anyway. So hopefully the jugs yield something 🤞

I taped up #57 and #58 of this year's winter sowing this morning and I'm running out of safe places, so 100+ is absolutely incredible! I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your garden this season 🤩

Agreed, my front yard is 3-4 feet of snow and we keep getting more 🫤

Several small bugs swarm over a blooming clump of intensely yellow goldenrod. Photo taken last October

23 days until spring 🌱

"I love gooooold!"
- these bugs, probably

#nativeplants
#yellowthursday

An image of a container filled with sifted potting soil. Several small pairs of bright green leaves have emerged from a thin layer of vermiculite in the past few days (I count 10, maybe 11?) (Planted on 02/16 after the seed packet sat in my fridge for 3 1/2 weeks. Including a container not pictured, 14 seeds have germinated so far)

24 days until spring 🌱

Who needs a flashback when I have future #redwed (in the form of baby Regina alpine strawberry plants) growing in my basement?

#gardensky
#growyourown

I have a similar problem but with yarrow. I read they take 7-21 days to germinate with 120-130 days to maturity

I'm up to almost four dozen seedlings between two varieties and it's only been three days 🫤

Love it!

A clump of light bluish purple asters grows in the shade of a wooded trail. The centers are reddish and the rays are starting to curl with the colder weather of fall. Photo taken last October.

25 days until spring 🌱

At the intersection of #bluetue and #tinyflowertuesday

#nativeplants

A bee stands on hind legs to gain access to a cluster of dusky pink Joe pye weed flowers. Photo taken last August

26 days until spring 🌱

Still my favourite bee snapshot

#bees
#pinkmon
#nativeplants