That's too bad. Felt like home. I'll be posting again soon. Here, I guess.

Peter

Hi there. Is Dry Summer Gardens gone?

Just starting spring cleanup and pruning. Only blooms are from Winter Jasmine.

For some reason, reminds me of Kermit the Frog.

Ha. So, spring is just around the corner.

We've had some warm spells but mostly below freezing. With any luck we won't have premature budding killed by a cold snap between now and early March. Two winters back, up to 90% decimation of vineyards and tree fruits. 5C to -20C. Not much snow at our elevation as southern BC drought continues.

Damn mice. My Toyota FJ Cruiser is in the dealership shop with $6000 of deer mice damage. Fortunately, covered by comprehensive insurance with $300 deductible. Good to see your post. We're just starting spring garden cleanup.

What's playing sounds great, Randy. New song of my own starts with

I'd rather be forgetting
the things I've been regretting
that pop up in my mind
out of the blue

The lament of the aging baby boomer. Ha. Good to see you around. Haven't been posting due to a consipicuous absence of flowers.

That comment was supposed to be about someone's Papaver nudicaule/Iceland poppies.

Nothing beats Sumacs for fall color. We've got lots of two Okanagan species -- R. typhina and R.glabra.

"...so life in the garden is good." Truer words were never spoken. Glad you're doing well.

Love your food forest. Glad to get a hand with some jobs. My 'boys' are 40 and 43. If not for the younger one, I wouldn't have gotten our raspbery patch under control this year. Just 3 inch posts and runs of clothesline wire. Plus Jenny can see if there's a black bear on the other side. Or not.

What a beauty!

We're getting our winter stuff done early. Two cords of pine moved into the woodshed done in an hour or so. Check! The usual race between pot plants and first hard frost. Fortunately, they're still fine down to -3 or or -4C.

I've never seen an aster with a head like that. Big year for asters in our yard. Added about half a dozen new ones for way more fall color.

I've had about 20 toasted bacon, tomato (Brandywine), mayo, with pepper sandwiches in a row. It's a balanced meal.

Sounds like a good addition for our own garden.

Ours is still recovering. Some flowers this spring. No fruit. Squirrels and bears are very happy about the walnut crop.

Rampant, ferocious self seeders. You've got to be poised to cut them back. I let some stand 'for the birds' one winter and had hundreds sprouting Echinops seeds. Right now, we've got a few volunteers on the far edge of the garden.

When does it start flowering?

It was devastating to local vineyards and tree fruits. Not too bad at home. Had to replace a 15 year old hibiscus. Lost half an apricot tree. A few Caryopteris. But the whopping majority of perennials and shrubs did just fine. Bumper crops of berries this year -- pretty skimpy last summer.

One of my favorites. We've got three Caryopteris in full bloom. Interesting to see how well they do in different spots. Part sun/shade has been most successful in our garden. Lost a couple to -30C winter before last.

Dutch on my dad's side. English on the other. Canadian!

Always enjoy your newsletter.

Quite an after/before comparison. Water is kind of a touchy topic around here. Our Regional District wants us to vote Yes to borrowing $33 million to renew our water system. Ten fold increase in annual bills--from $1200 to $12000 a year. AND each household to pay $261000 over 30 years. Hell,NO.

"de Caen", a city in Normandy, France. It also refers to the Anemone de Caen, a vibrant mix of brightly colored, cup-shaped windflowers.

As for Mr Fokker, one who forks hay in Dutch. Nicer than Mother Fokker. Fokker is a Dutch word meaning "breeder," derived from verb "fokken" (to breed animals).

We're in our last heat wave of the summer. Garden is still looking pretty good. Cool side last night. First thick forest fire smoke of the year but fire is far from home. Hoping for a no hitter in our area for 2025. We've had as many as 7 fires in one season in the past decade. None would be nice.

Now that you mention it, same thing here. Salvia yangii Blue Jeans were several weeks later than the Russkies. Have them heeled over for next spring planting. My Blue Jeans and Elijah Blue fescue planting will have to wait a bit.

Love sagebrush. We've got two native species in the Okanagan. Plus rabbitbrush and antelopebrush.

Ours just have a few flowers so far but then this is when they're supposed to bloom for fall color up here in BC.