Archives for February 2021

We have a deck on the north side of our house. Most of it is covered, but the part that is not was in bad shape and had already been replaced a few years ago. It was time again to repaint the wood that is under the roof.

So it was decided in 2019 to just redo the whole deck. First step: clear off the deck and then remove railing and posts.

Then all the boards need to come off.

New supports had to be put in between all the old joists.

Then finally the new decking material was laid on.

We replaced the wood railing with clear plexiglass railings.

It is a composite, not wood. Low maintenance. Turned out really nice!

This deck is a shady shelter from the summer sun, and we enjoy eating out here too.

I had to go through some older photos recently and I came across these from our trip to Hawaii. Truly a flower lover’s paradise.

In that climate, plants can get really big!

We drove through the clouds, up a winding road, to 10,000 feet above sea level. Quite a view from up there.

We also visited a pineapple plantation.

Botanical gardens were like another planet of plants!

And these are the flowers one finds in bouquets! Not a carnation to be seen.

Such a beautiful place to visit.

The back deck had a wee visitor.

It has been a mild winter. The chipmunks and squirrels are out nearly every day.

This squirrel found a new perch, overlooking the garden.

I have ordered my seeds for the 2021 gardening season. This year there isn’t one vegetable seed in the bunch. Slowly, the flowers have taken over the vegetable patch.

I’m trying some new seeds again this year, and giving up on others. No more asters, or ageratum.

There will be lots of dahlias again for sure.

And a good variety of zinnias. For the first time I started them early in flats, and those did really well.

Pinching back the cosmos resulted in great branching of the cosmos, and plenty of blooms to cut. I’ve ordered some new colours this year.

Celosias were amazing!

These were also excellent for fillers in the bouquets. Celosia flamingo feather.

A big patch of pink statice grows on and on, and is a great contrast in a vase.

Last year I had very bad luck with the snapdragons germinating, but I will be trying again. I ordered a package of plain white.

I also want to try more lisianthus. They need to be started very early, so I’m hoping the seeds arrive soon. They are really special, but they are fussy and slow. I did get 3 plants to grow in a pot last year.

I am certainly looking forward to lots of beautiful flowers to enjoy, and bouquets to give away this year!