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May Day

May 1, 2022 in Life in BC | Permalink

Today is the 1st of May.

By rights we should be well into spring by now and heading rapidly towards to the balmy, bosky days of summer.

Here at the southern end of Vancouver Island the weather gods clearly did not get the memo. For the last however many weeks (endlessly, or so it feels) it has been, it is only fair to say, markedly chilly… not to mention damp to boot.

Now – if I were to be strictly fair there have been some quite sunny days and even on (rare!) occasions it has felt just the slightest touch on the warm(ish) side. Such days, however, have simply rendered the disappointment of subsequent, less passable days all the more bitter.

The garden – meantime – has blithely got on and done what gardens do at this time of year – ie. grow prodigiously, regardless of what is happening climate-wise. This is in marked contrast to its response during the winter when parts of it reacted quite negatively to what I thought was not really that bad a fall of snow. Clearly my understanding was based on some of the less appropriate of the fifty words that the Inuits apparently do not have for snow – and this was really quite, quite bad snow. That is certainly the impression given by the number of plants that turned up their toes (interesting metaphor there) and gave up the ghost (alright – stop this now!)…

Anyway – I really should be cutting the grass now instead of writing this…

…well – that’s done – and it didn’t actually rain – though it did think seriously about it!

Where was I?

Ah yes… The winter term at College has finished (there is a theme here!) and the summer term (during which for this year I will not be teaching) does not start for a few days yet. I am off duty until September, so my mind should now be turning to all manner of summer activities… which it sort of is – though a bit of a warm spell would really help things along the way.

Now – I think I have laboured the point quite enough to be getting on with and I do promise that my next post will contain no mention of the weather at all!

What weather?!

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Spring awakening

March 23, 2022 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

‘Tis the time of year that nature ‘springs’ (see what I did there?) back to life following the dread months of winter.

Naturally this means that it is also the time of year that I must reluctantly drag my sorry ar*e back out into the still cold and damp outdoors in order to start to ensure that there is some semblance of order in the garden before everything goes completely berserk.

Not these pretty pieris of course…

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidNor this gorgeous cherry tree. Berserk is definitely not the word.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidNice blossom there. Sad that it only lasts about a week and a half before disappearing…

March means first cut for the lawn – and the usual thoughts about feeding and liming it.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidNotice the rather splendid new garden fence – courtesy of our new(ish) neighbours below. They have done a good job on it, but it does mean we will be looking at new things to plant in front of it.

Another side effect of this tidying up of the boundary between our properties is that I now have a rather splendid – and functional – compost area. I have of late been spreading the products thereof over the beds in the front garden.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidMuch yet to do, of course!

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Final cut…

November 10, 2021 in Life in BC | Permalink

…of the year?

It is quite a responsibility – owning an expanse of lawn – and I am not at all sure that I am qualified for the job. Certainly I have discovered that I am far better at growing moss and mushrooms than I am at tending grass… and I am not sure that that is anything about which to brag.

This is a crucial time of the year for us lawn owners in the Pacific North West. If the grass is to get its best chance for next year then it must be tended correctly now. Nervous lawn guardians who lack the necessary knowledge (that would be me) naturally turn to the InterwebNet for advice and guidance.

The InterWebNet is agreed upon the following. Winter preparation involves a final close cut, clearance of leaves and other detritus, the addition of lime (almost always necessary here in the damp northwest where the firs and pines do their level best to swing the soil balance to the acid end of the spectrum) and then some slow-release fertilization to ensure that the grass has something on which to chew when it reawakens in the spring.

Most helpful – except that as soon as one tries to dig a little deeper – to get into the details – the advice becomes less certain.

When should one carry out the final cut? Some give vague guidance derived from the phases of the moon. The more down to earth say: “When the grass stops growing”. That’s all well and good in theory, but ascertaining that something is not happening is considerably more difficult than that it is. “What do you think? Has it stopped?” – “Dunno – looks like it might be about to have another spurt“.

Then there is the question of sequencing. Does one cut and clear before applying treatments? Should the liming occur before the fertilizing – or is it the other way around? Or can they be done at the same time? And if not, how long should one wait between treatments?

Apparently (according to the InterWebNet) the answer to all of these question is “Yes“… or “No“… or even “Maybe!“…  Or – most helpfully of all – “It depends!“…

None of this would matter too much except that this is wet season on the west coast of Canada. It is also ‘First storms of the winter‘ season. It is also ‘The sun’s shining – better get out in the garden – what shall we do first – oh no! too late – here comes the next downpour!‘ season.

It is little wonder that some years some of this stuff simply doesn’t get done. I’m not doing too badly this year. The lawn has had two final cuts already (“I hadn’t finished!“) and been limed. Autumn fertilizer awaits – as do other important garden tasks (clearing the gutters – cleaning up the last bunch of crap that was blown out of the trees) but at the moment the rain is mounting a major offensive. Who knows when next I will get the chance to venture forth onto the estate.

I will probably keep you posted…

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