Beyond the balcony

False Creek's sky and water, as evening and winter approach:

I've already mentioned my love for long walks around the seawall. And I think I love them at this quiet time of day and year most of all.

Saturday's destination

The Hope Slough (in Chilliwack, B.C.), fish habitat restoration area
photographed on the bridge, October 30th, 2010

And now you know why I was so impatient to leave the city last Saturday morning.

Today I've also written about  A Sense of Place on the Hedge Society.

Sunshine, bright colour...

... & other gardening delights from the past week. I'm skipping over the overcast, dull grey features that showed up & stayed far too long nearly every day.

Friday, June 18th: Harvested a few 'Sea of Red' lettuce leaves but left most to capture the sun's rays & make more anthocyanins.

Saturday morning: Indulged in a few moments of simply "being" in the lavender, followed by a serious work session in the beet rows....

... thinning the crowded sections & filling the open spaces with a second sowing to ensure plenty of plump, golden roots in a few more weeks.

Sunday afternoon: Contemplated -- but only briefly -- what to make with the 'Lacinato' kale. Decided quickly & easily: An Honest Kitchen recipe with lentils, tomatoes & plenty of spices.

Monday evening, June 21st: Realized the day was nearly done & I hadn't celebrated the summer solstice in a meaningful way nor taken my "365" photo.  So a little after 8 pm, searched for the best light. Found it on the north side of our condo, illuminating my new-favourite hydrangea colouration.

Tuesday evening: Encountered the unexpected while taking a round-about way home from Pilates. This single, pink poppy in a Green Streets garden stopped me in my tracks. But only for a moment. Then I quickly ran home, grabbed my camera, raced back...well, you know how I spent the next 15 minutes ;-).

Wednesday morning, before work: Closely observed the water droplets on the Calibrachoa.

 

Thursday, mid-day: Soaked up a double dose of sunshine, one from the sky, and one from the pots along the balcony railing. Sent telepathic thanks (again) to my gardening mentor Gayla for inspiring me to appreciate and acquire bold, bright yellow flowers and not feel guilty about adding a few more inedible plants to the garden.

 

Friday, late afternoon: I never drink while gardening & don't usually plant wine with the flowers but I couldn't resist placing this "innocent bystander" among the Calibrachoa. Its colour blended beautifully with the 'Compact Yellow' and 'Apricot Red Eye'. But now the bottle is back on the shelf, some day to be shared, I hope, with my blogging buddies from far-away places. (You know who you are ;-) XO. )

Happy weekend gardening, everyone.

Back to the blog...when I'd rather be in a warm, sunny garden

The flowers & foliage collected raindrops all day yesterday...

& sunlight has touched the green on & beyond the balcony only a times this morning...

Now it's overcast and my feet are cold. In socks! In late May! So no better time to come indoors and complete this post. I started writing it yesterday but have been working with the topic for the past month.

Before the seeds, the greens, the flowers, even before the new gardening books I love, I'm going to feature, appreciate and celebrate soil. Because, as Jeff Nield reminds us, "soil [is] the real black gold":

Farmers realize that the real goal is to grow and strengthen their soil. Along the way, they grow food for themselves and for the rest of us eaters. The by-products of their labour (manure and composted plant material) create a robust and resilient section of earth.

While doing research for my organic agriculture project, I stumbled across this article which evoked in me several "Aha" moments and a stronger commitment to and appreciation of this Good Earth. Please, if you have 5 minutes, go read Jeff Nield's essay now. Even if it means you won't have time to come back here. I think it's required reading for anyone who gardens. Well, anyone who eats. If you do read it, I think you'll understand why I'm putting even more effort into what goes into my pots before the seeds or transplants.

Everytime we eat, we owe a nod of gratitude to the soil for supplying us with nutrients that keep us alive...if we don't learn to protect what lies beneath our feet, all our talk about local food will be moot as we munch on dirt cookies.
~Jeff Nield, Soil: The Real Black Gold

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The soil & amendment (vermicompost) in my balcony garden:

This organic soil mixture has been nourishing the young plants that soon will nourish me:

My system for retaining organic matter:

 

Usually I just collect garden trimmings in this pail & then transfer partly decomposed material to my Mom's compost bin. This season, though, I've been adding fresh material to the pail daily, turning its contents regularly, and placing it in warm sunshine so it "cooks". And I think I may soon have some finished compost. Hurrah. I'm as pleased and proud of this as I am of any thriving plant in my garden.

While I've been writing this last paragraph during the noon hour, I've been aware of something bright to my left side. Yes, sunshine. I wonder how long it will last? Hopefully long enough to warm the soil. I'm off now to inoculate and sow some bean seeds.

Pink petals catching their light

A line in W.S. Merwin's poem, The Furrow, inspired this post's title.

.....as the thin clouds
of that season slipped past gray branches on which the early
      white petals were catching their light......

Trillium ovatum

Sakura (cherry blossoms)

Flowering crabapple (Malus)

Sakura (cherry blossoms)

Clematis montana

Clematis montana