I cheated...

So, I caved in...I ate one asparagus stem from the garden on my birthday.  It was so tender.  When I snapped it off the plant it was full of water.  I'm used to snapping off the dry woody ends from grocery store asparagus.  I almost overcooked it because it was already so tender.  The flavour was great too!  Can't wait for next season...

Clematis

Clematis is one of plants that I seem to want to collect obsessively.  I don't know why.  I guess because there are so many different kinds, colors, sizes, etc.  I guess it's a good thing that we have a fence in the back yard, because this provides good real estate for the clematis to grow up

I bought several new clematis plants last year:

Elsa Spaeth is planted on the wall of the garage.  It was a vigorous plant when we bought it and it seems to be doing really well this spring. (Pruning group 2B...blooms on last year's and new growth)

Clematis maximowicziana, or 'Sweet Autumn' is also planted on the garage wall. It has small white fragrant flowers. We installed two 8 foot tall panels of trellis that my father made and it's a good thing because this clematis is growing over my head already.

Clematis Kingfisher

This one's on the back fence.  It's never gotten very tall and this winter it died down to the ground.  I have only two little sprouts showing.  It produces huge bluish flowers.

Clematis Pope John Paul II


Pale pinkish white flowers. This plant got completely eaten by insects last summer and almost didn't make it. (Pruning group 2)

Clematis Comtesse de Bouchaud 
Planted next to Pope John Paul, I think...Medium pink flowers.  I can't figure out why the Pope was massacred by insects but the Comtess was hardly touched...(Pruning group 3)

Clematis Ernest Markham
Big red flowers.  It was a tiny plant last summer. It's planted against the south fence. (Pruning group 3)

Clematis Lady Betty Balfour
Lady Betty is next to Mr. Markham.  This was also a tiny plant when I bought it.  We had a cold snap here for one night where the temp went down to -20 celsius.  This was after all my clematis had starting budding.  The buds on Betty seem to have not survived and I don't see a new growth from the base...(Pruning group 3)


Clematis Julia Correvon
Julia just moved to the front south corner of our house.  I finally got around to transplanting it from my old apartment a couple of weeks ago.  It has a red-burgundy flower and the petals are sort of twisted. It appears to have tolerated the move well. (Pruning group 3)


Clematis Tangutica
This is a species clematis with small yellow bell shaped flowers.  It produces interesting seed heads after the flowers also.  It is planted with 'My Angel' on the fence facing towards the street.(Pruning group 3)


Clematis My Angel

A species clematis with bell shaped flowers, outside aspect of the petal is red, and the inside is yellow.  This one also makes great seedheads. (Pruning group 3)

So, I'm looking forward to bigger shows of flowers this year now that most of the plants are better established.  Photos to come as they all come in to bloom.

Peas and Lettuce

I noticed the lettuce had sprouted about 5 days ago.  Today I finally see some signs of life from the peas.  Not all of them have sprouted above the surface yet but about half of them have some tiny pale green noses peeking up.  Next step, build a pea support device...

The asparagus is coming along well, there are a few shoots that are the right size to eat.  I have decided to not eat any this season as this is only the 2nd season for them and gardening wisdom says to wait until the 3rd season to harvest any.  It is very tempting to snap a few off, but I have held back so far...

I sowed a flower mix called "Grandmother's Cut Flower Garden" on one end of the vegetable bed closest to the house.

"A charming, old-fashioned mix of flowers your grandmother might have grown. Twenty-three varieties of annuals, biennials, and perennials will provide flowers for cutting from spring through first frost. A wonderful range of colors, shapes and textures to enliven a whole season's worth of bouquets!" Description from http://www.botan
  at Gardener's Supply in Burlington, VT.
It appears to be sprouting up well, with good coverage to most of the area.  I might have to reseed a bit at the front.

In other spots of the garden we have bulbs starting to flower and almost all the perennials showing signs of life.

The tallest asparagus is starting to get feathery. It's hard to see the shorter stems in this picture, but there are some the size of my ring finger...

Vegetables get under way...

I'm trying to be more organized this year with the way I organize the vegetable beds.  I've decided to try square foot gardening for a couple different reasons.  Mainly because it makes the best use of space, and it should cut down on weeding if everything goes right.  I started staking out my square feet on Monday and it seems to be going well.  We have two raised beds.  The one right next to the house is about 3 feet by 15 feet and the other is 4 feet by 16 feet.  The bed next to the house gets a bit of shade on the east side in the afternoon, while the other bed is in full sun for the whole day.   I seeded peas (4 square feet) and some lettuce (4 square feet) in the house side bed on Monday.  The days and nights have been warm so I decided to try my luck with the lettuce.  The forecast is for the nights to stay above zero also so...fingers crossed.

Sabre Peas

The best performing pea in our trials this year. Sabre was bred especially as a fresh market pea and produces long pods with 8-10 delicious peas in each. Earlier than green arrow, but the pods are just as long. Ideal for market gardeners and home gardeners. 20-24 inches in height with resistance to fusarium wilt, root rot and powdery mildew. Matures in 68 days.

Super Sugar Snap

An improved variation of the famous edible pod Sugar Snap pea. Super Sugar Snap is a sweet snap pea with crunchy texture and sweet flavour. Its 4 inch pods are plump and double pods at each node improve the yield. Height is 5 to 6 feet. Maturity 63-65 days.

Oregon Sugar Pod II

Commonly known by pea lovers as "Snow Peas". Oregon Sugar Pod II will produce an excellent crop of 4 - 4½ inch flat tender pods. Dwarf, vigourous plant growth. The sweet pods are superb for freezing, so be sure to plant an extra row. Sow seed as early as the ground can be worked and pick pods when pea development is just beginning. Maturity 60 days.

Baby Leaf Blend

Developed by Veseys trial staff, our exclusive blend includes various leaf colours, textures and tastes for a truly gourmet appeal. Sow every week or two for a continuous supply of delicious salad greens all season long! Maturity 25-30 days. Approximately 1100 seeds/pkg.

Matina Sweet Lettuce

The perfect extra early baby butterhead! Exceptional quality and very attractive. Light green plants from small heads (4 inches across) of very mild, but sweet lettuce. This variety is great for a home gardener looking for a one meal sized lettuce, or for market gardeners looking for an extra early, premium type lettuce. Matures in 60 days.

Red Salad Bowl Lettuce

An appealing, slow bolting red oakleaf type. Rich deep-red finely divided leaves. Sweet flavoured and tender, a colourful delight for salads. Maturity of 50 days.

Little Gem Pearl Lettuce

An old time novelty romaine. Perfect size for 2 people. Early, compact heads are no more than 6-8 inches high with medium green, glossy semi savoy leaves. Excellent flavour with a good crunchy texture. Maturity is approximately 70 days.

The above descriptions are taken from http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/vegetables/ which is where I bought my seeds from.

 

Here is our asparagus patch on March 25th, 2010.  I am really surprised at the size of some of the shoots.  I was expecting to have tiny little shoots come up as it is only the 2nd season for this patch.

Here is the patch on April 3rd, this past weekend.  Some of the shoots nearest the house are getting really tall and starting to branch off a bit.  They are developing fastest because they are warmest near the foundation of the house.  You can see some rogue tulips which escaped being moved last spring in the middle of all the asparagus. Oh well, I'll move them after they flower...

Bulbs

Here is a list of bulbs that we have in the garden:

Dwarf Rockgarden Iris (planted 25, mix of colors): These flowered quite early. Here is a picture of them on the 25th of March, 2010.



Chionodoxa forbesii (planted 20): A pretty blue flower. One of these is flowering now. Should see quite a few more soon. They remind me of Scilla, I think they are somehow related.

Wind and Tide White Narcissi and Dark Blue Muscari (30 bulbs, planted in the front yard before the steps): The foliage has started to emerge, no flowers yet. According to the package these should flower in mid-spring and are fragrant.

Blue Muscari (20 new bulbs, plus a few plants that were already here when we moved in): Today I see one flowering. It is planted right next to the foundation of the house, so I think it's early because it's warm there. No signs of any other so far. Supposed to flower in May.

Dutch Iris 'White Beauty' (20 bulbs): No sign of these yet. Bag says late spring.

Dutch Iris 'Oriental Beauty' (30 bulbs)

Dutch Iris 'Discovery' (30 bulbs)

Leucojum 'Gravetye Giant' (25 bulbs): I thought these were snowdrops, but after searching the web, it seems that these are called Summer Snowflakes. According to the bag they should flower early, but the info I found on the web says mid-late spring. So I guess we'll see...I've noticed two plants that I think are my Giants so far.

http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/spring/productview/?sku=30-0102

Scilla campanulata (75 bulbs, assorted colors blue pink white)

Scilla mischtschenkoana, Van Tubergen's (a couple plants that were already living here when we moved in): These are already flowering. Same shape as the more common scilla siberica. The flowers are white with a pale blue stripe down the center of each petal.


Scilla siberica (a few original plants in the front yard)


Hyacinth (6-8): I planted a few bulbs (mixed colors) last fall, also put a few in that came from forced pottings that were purchased in the spring.

Crocus Vernus 'Remembrance' (50 bulbs, planted fall 2008)


Crocus Vernus 'Pickwick' (50 bulbs, planted fall 2008)


Crocus 'Yellow Mammoth' (10 bulbs): These are planted under the serviceberry. They are really bright and rich colored. They are in full bloom now and are quite stunning.


Dasystemon Tarda (species tulips,6 bulbs): These are in the shady area under the serviceberry. I see their foliage poking up now. According to the package they should flower in mid-spring.

Hyacinthoides 'Bluebells' (10 bulbs): I can't remember where these were planted and I see no sign of them yet...
Allium roseum (5-10 bulbs): These are late spring/early summer bulbs, known as "Rosy Garlic".
Narcissus 'Salome' (50 bulbs, planted fall 2008): These are large cup narcissus with white petals and a trumpet that opens in yellow but changes to a peachy color. They flower mid/late spring.

Triumph Tulip 'Purple Prince' (15 bulbs, 1st planted fall 2008): I originally received these bulbs as a housewarming gift from my colleagues at work. They were so beautiful during our first spring that I bought some more bulbs to plant last fall. They produce huge purple flowers that really last a long time.

Assorted Crocus: Another gift from my housewarming. I have lost the package. These crocus are a mix of purple and pale yellow, small flowers.

Assorted tulips: We were pleasantly surprised by several tulips during our first spring season in the house. They are of varied colors. I moved most of them to the little patch under the front bay window, where they are accompanied by Vesey's "Twelve weeks of Tulips" which they sent me for free with my bulb order last fall. We also planted a "Swiss/Canadian" corner of the garden with red and white bulk bin tulips.

Assorted daffodils: There were also some daffodils who lived here already and came up the first spring. Mostly all yellow flowers.

Last Summer

Here is the side garden where we have two raised beds for vegetable gardening.













Summer 2009 Vegetable/Fruit List:

Tomatoes (2 Brandywine, 2 cherry, 1 arctic heirloom): The brandywine tomatoes were very successful producing many large fruits. We did have many green ones left on the vine at the end of the season.

Potatoes (White fleshed): Many small potatoes per plant with 1-2 fist sized potatoes per plant. Tender and very tasty. I planted some behind the Sand Cherry tree, they grew well but were difficult to mound and harvest. I'm thinking of trying potatoes in containers this year.

Bush Beans: Abundant harvest and easy to grow. Must keep on top of harvesting them if they are to produce more beans.

Peas: Did not have much luck with the peas. I think the spot I chose was too sunny and I didn't give them enough extra water. Will try again this year.

Zucchini (2 green, 1 yellow): Extremely copious output. I will probably plant only one of each color this year. We gave away a lot of zucchini. Our friends and neighbours didn't want any more by the end of the season.

Cucumber (3): The right number of plants for us, enough to eat and give a few away.

Cauliflower (2): Takes up a lot of room in the garden, will probably not plant again.

Broccoli (2): Tasted wonderful but also takes up too much space

Brussel Sprouts (3): Really impressive looking plants, but there was a little white butterfly that loved these and they got eaten to bits. Also takes up a lot of room.

Bell peppers: The peppers grew well but didn't seem to ripen. Tasted bitter compared to peppers you buy at the grocery store. Maybe not hot enough for them here?

Asparagus: I planted tiny little seedlings at the beginning of summer 2009.

They looked like this. Over the summer they grew about 2.5 feet high, very bushy at the top. From my research I will be waiting 2 more seasons before picking any asparagus.

Strawberries (2 or 3 ever-bearing): Each plant always had 4-5 fruits on it. Really juicy and sweet. Wonderful for a treat when walking by the garden. Didn't really produce enough at a time to make a dessert or whatnot.

Lettuce (Baby Leaf blend, Parris Island, Sangria): The baby leaf blend was great, always regrowing. It was tender and tasty, not bitter at all. The Parris Island Romaine was good. Sangria (butterhead) did not do as well. It was tough to go back to grocery store lettuce come the autumn. There's nothing quite like a perfectly fresh from the garden lettuce.

Carrots: Will definitely need to plant more...carrots are a slow growing crop, but so worth it. My carrots were so...carroty. I don't know how to explain it.

Herbs (Basil, Chives, Dill, Oregano, Thyme, Tarragon)

The Beginning

So, I've been looking for a way to catalogue and commemorate my garden successes and failures. I've decided to start this blog for myself and anyone else who may be interested. It will be a way to keep track of what's going on in my yard, and hopefully avoid buying duplicates and triplicates of plants I already have (a bad habit that I have...).

This will be my second full summer at our house. Last year was spent landscaping, and arranging garden beds the way we wanted them. We put in a lot of perennials and many, many bulbs. We also installed two raised beds for vegetable gardening. I had great success with vegetables of all kinds, but my pet project was a small asparagus bed (hence the name of this blog). I love asparagus and the thought of someday being able to pluck a few tender shoots from my own garden is priceless.

Spring has sprung early this year and I am really excited as I watch perennials, bulbs, and of course, my asparagus start to show themselves. So far so good...