Garden Gnome's 2007 Garden Adventures

2 May '07 4:57 pm

. . . the village garden gnome stands!! Wow, Christopher, you ARE a talented person!! Just think (as if you aren't) of the wonderful things you could make! And here I'm fretting about making 3 or 4 legs for a ring to put around my bamboo to keep it from flopping after the rain!

I just KNEW gnomes were good guys!!

-gordonf

"Stay calm, be brave, wait for the signs!"

6 May '07 9:13 pm

Greetings, my friends. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get some pix posted, but I have been working myself stiff! I can hardly move!

Took me 15 minets to wright that. d'oh!

Still raking leaves. Brick wall

The wind has been awful last couple of days with gusts up to 100 k. Blew half the roof off the greenhouse!! Eh?

Ma was shocked! She took me to the Co-op and bought us some clear vinyl corrugated roof panels, and now it's my job to put the new and stronger roof on as soon as there is a break in the weather. Roof is still hanging on the greenhouse but it looks as though it will shred off if the wind comes up again, all loose and hanging. Wind blew over some plants too, but they are okay I think.

Last night was a lull in the wind and it wasn't a bad night really so Deb and I had our first burn barrel.

Threatened rain all day and finally did just as the sun went down tonight. All in all, a good time to sit around and wince. Confused

Arrgh! There is just too much to do around here! I hate not feeling fine. The "to do" lists seem bigger, but don't listen to me moan, okay.

A good thing happened today. Our neighbours gave me their old railing off the front of their house. It is made from iron and has lots and lots of raw material for a new blacksmith. He said they are replacing the stairs and I can have the railings off the back of the house too. Must be a few hundred dollars in iron if I was to buy it. I think I will make them a weather vain for being so kind. The lord does work in mysterious ways.

I got a job on Friday for a client who is spreading the word about seat belt safety. They go around to schools and give talks to the wee kiddies about the evils of not buckling up. They think that puppets would help reach the kids in a way that would be engaging so they tracked me down. Out of the blue this came this phone call. They got my name by word of mouth from the Life Saving Society whom I had made a puppet show for teaching kids to stay off thin ice a couple of years ago.

It's not a big job. Just to make 2 puppets and a prop car for them to inter act in, but it's a few extra clams just when there happens to be a red tide.(if you know what I mean Wink

)

So now I'm real busy ..... busy-er? ..... I got a full plate? ..... I don't know if I'm coming or going. Anxious

Just paint me yellow and call me a banana.

Enjoy the pix. Wink

Christopher

7 May '07 12:50 pm

Hi, Christopher!

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the weather! I just heard about the American tornados south of you and I'm glad that at least you didn't have to put up with THEM! It sounds as if your zest for life has caused you to bite off too much to chew, but that happens to everyone from time to time. Just remember to pace yourself! Smile

I'll have to scroll back to where you mentioned those hollyhocks last year (before I discovered Moosey's) and see what they looked like. I, too, have some hollyhock seedlings from seed that I bought 3 years ago. I'm hoping that this batch will be the ones that I ordered, since none of the others were! I want yellow ones!! Very Happy

Other than the wind, how's it been there lately? Are things beginning to bloom? And what about flooding? Are you in any danger of that as spring progresses?

Cheers!

gordonf

"Stay calm, be brave, wait for the signs!"

7 May '07 11:49 pm

Hi, Chris!! I loved reading again your news! The new puppet job sounds great!

Concerning the roof of the glasshouse, I would do the same your Mom did..Here we have been having strong winds for the last ten days, PLUS the horrible drought... I am already disgusted of watering ...my million babies and their thirsty lawn...

But today, guess what!! It has been raining since this morning!! After a whole month , or more !!Not violently, sweetly enough... But the winds are still there...

I feel you are a little nervous waiting for the dear Springtime to function properly... It is already there, I'm telling you, and very soon you will start posting adorable, colourful photos like last year!!

8 May '07 5:30 am

I am fascinated by all the photos -I don't think I have ever seen a glasshouse with a clock before -we certainly lose all sense of time when absorbed so fully !
The hollyhocks are amazing. I wonder if they will be the same as the parent plant.I am not very good at raising plants from seed ,so I admire your skill.
Dixie.

8 May '07 10:42 am

Off topic: I wander off for a few days and I miss all the fun!!!

8 May '07 10:53 am

Garden Gnome, your metal working abilities must open up whole worlds of projects you can do at home. I feel pretty comfortable working with lumber, but I can think of things I would do if I were able to work metal. That is quite a going business you have going in seedlings. I'm sure I've never had that many going at once. Will they all go in your garden or will you sell or trade some too?

Anna, I noticed you changed woofers on your avatar. Is this a new pup of yours? Cute.

10 May '07 6:43 pm

Hi Mark. I don't sell plants. These are all for our gardens and planters. I would encourage you to try forging. It is a lot of fun and you can make some useful things. I am going to make some garden tools for sure.

Well, the new greenhouse roof is on and all the little ones are tucked in tonight. This is good because it's supposed to go down to 2C. Tonight Deb and I gave all the wee ones a nice feeding of Miracle Grow. We try and do this at least once a week. There has been some attrition and we lost about 8 cups.

I am so soar today, it's pathetic! Where is my gnome magic when I need it?

Yesterday was a splendid day. Mom came over and the whole bunch of us were outside, it was a wonderful warm afternoon. I was doing the roof and Deb was cleaning out planters and screening the soil, while mom was buzzing about the place, watering, moving plants around, helping Deb and me and playing with the dog and cats.

Mom left around 4 pm and I kept at the roof until it was done. By the time the roof was installed and all the mess cleaned up then plants put back inside, it was 11 pm by the time we came in the house for supper. Rolling Eyes

A few pix for you.

Christopher

10 May '07 7:37 pm

Hi, Christopher;

That looks like a pretty skookum roof that you put on - you sure can be proud of that!! Very Happy

And I know what you mean about having the babies all tucked in for the night because here it's supposed to dip to 4 degrees and that's close enough to freezing that I closed up my cold frame all the way, too. I sure hope that the cannas that I planted outside today will be all right. they've been hardening off outside (but not at night) for about a week now, so with luck they'll be all right.

Also today I transplanted a bunch of dwarf Iceland poppy seedlings so they won't be quite so crowded, but they really don't like transplanting, so I bunched them up rather than separating them all, as I did with the couple dozen Echinaceas (is that spelled right? doesn't look right to me, but I'm tired) that I also put into their 4" pots. Did a bunch of weeding in the strawberry and raspberry patches as well. It was a lovely day today. I think the warmer weather is here for at least the rest of the week, so I really must make hay while the sun shines, as one never knows for how long it will last in this part of the world!

Tomorrow I must go to one of the local garden centres (a real hardship Rolling Eyes

) and pick up a gift certificate for my neighbour, who kindly mows the tiny bit of front lawn that I have left. It's next to hers, so she mows it for me every time she does hers, so I get her a couple of gift certificates each year (spring and fall) in exchange. Makes me feel better about it.

That's about all the news from BC for today, so don't work too hard, and congrats. on the new roof!

Cheers!

gordonf

"Stay calm, be brave, wait for the signs!"

11 May '07 5:47 am

Good job on the new roof Christopher. I know you feel good about accomplishing that task. All your seedlings are probably really happy with their secure new quarters as well. How are all the puppets coming along? I don't know how you find time for all your activities.

Garden Gnome's 2007 Garden Adventures

Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree . . .

Argy-Bargy!

Bad Luck with the Weather, eh?

Winds..

Quite a story

Pretty darn cool, at least from a safe distance.

Update for all you Gnome Watchers

Nice Roof!!

New roof