The messy table

Shoe shoe taking advantage of my messy table to curl up and have a rest.  She has 2 nicknames now:  Madam and Mrs. Big Tail.  As you can see, she is an expert at finding a comfortable spot for a quick cat nap.

Driftwood on the beach.

Driftwood that washes up on the beach in front of our home.  Love this ever changing landscape that arrives with the tide, and provides endless opportunities for artistic expression.  Best of all it's free - the only cost being the energy required to gather your supply while taking in the beautiful views.

Blooming February Flowers!

Heather in various shades of purple, pink, cream, and white add splashes of colour to the garden.

...while these colourful beauties have been sitting out in a planter all winter!

More Blooming February Flowers!

Although the nights are still cool here on the west coast, the woodland garden is already showing that it is ready to awaken in just a few weeks time. I thought I'd use this opportunity to photograph a few of the emerging flowers. Snowdrops of course are everywhere, providing hopeful signs of things to come as well as their own special patches of light and brightness. The hellebore is still looking good, although it has taken quite a battering by the rain as of late. There are more blooms to come, as well as another (greenish colour) hellebore located elsewhere which was a surprise discovery last week.

Happy 25th birthday Jeff!

A quick break from the gardening entries to note the birthday celebration of cactus-kid extraordinaire (aka Jump) - Mr. Jeff P. who turned 25 on January 28th. Congratulations!

January - end of the month view

Loved the idea of participating in the end of the month review as suggested by a couple of other gardening blogs that I follow. So here is my contribution - a rather barren January view of the newly expanded front border located under the bay window at the entrance to our house. The shrub roses are bonica, and there are also plantings of heather (in bloom!), sea thrift, and an old fashioned climbing rose (light pink bloom) which is unidentified as to type and species. Just out of view on the left, is an English lavender bush. There are some spring bulbs beginning to show, but overall the border leaves plenty of room for interpretation (and inspiration!) at the commencement of the 2011 garden season

I was thinking that this border would be a great place to grow annuals such as cosmos, alyssum, petunia, and salvia. The colour choices are already established in this border (shades of pink/mauve/white) and I'm thinking that these additions would complement the already existing plants (as well as look nice against the pink brick of the house and pavers). The border is drenched in sunshine for most of the summer, and I suppose I'm looking for a cottage garden effect - that wouldn't clash with the woodland and old growth forest surrounding the house.

Koi pond & woodland garden - early February

I photographed this view of the koi pond, looking west into the woodland garden earlier today. Although the snowdrops are out and the other bulbs are beginning to show, it is still remarkably bare compared to later in the season. This is primarily a spring and fall garden, although this time around I hope to plant a variety of annuals in the sunny border directly in front of the house (see the next post!) The ground surrounding the pond was unavoidably disturbed last year due to the construction work (pergola, paving, and pond) that took place. Now that several months have passed, we hope to see the benefit of all the hard work that went on - especially the effort put into restoring the original planting as much as possible. I am looking forward to watching the seasons unfold, and observing the natural beauty of the woodland as the bare soil gives way to bluebells, daffodils, and tulips. - heralding the arrival of spring.