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Friday 25 April 2014

The love of lavender .. and other addictions ?

It is still "cold" and gray in Kingston ... rain is coming and I don't mind that at all.
Great way to see how new rain barrel preforms right ? ... so what if there is a little dripping around the hose connection .. just needs a little more plumber's tape, right ?

So, I have been up to actually been buying some herbs at our local Home Depot.
The garden centers are slowly putting things out as the girls wear "parkas" ... yup ... Canadian Spring in full swing as usual.

It takes vision of sorts, to imagine the hot, humid summer infusing the air with the scent of herbs that is to come.
I expect it will happen with a bang .... again as it usually does ... we hardly ever have a decent Spring to acclimate ourselves slowly.
The promise of hot weather brings out the rosemary and lavender in me ... especially when there is a sale going on for fair sized starter pots with healthy looking babies.

This is what I am talking about !
Sorry about the lighting ... it is early evening and my camera savy ? if I ever had it, is not quite spot on.
But for identification purposes ...
Back plant is Campanula portenschlagiana (muralis) or Dalmation Bellflower ... OR ?
Cute little campanula plant ... they can live through just about anything and keep coming back .. you have to love that kind of stubbornness in a garden plant !  "That was an "impulse" buy I have to admit !

Essentials in the garden ... from left to right ... "parsley" Triple Curled .. first time I have bumped into that description or name for a curly parsley .. butterflies please take notice ? I bought three of them !

Then my ever loving lavender ... I usually but a boat load of "Provence" from WalMart as  "Bonnie Plants"
but ... the price was right on "Ellagance" lavender at HD under the "Burpee" brand, so I indulged in nine to do a mass planting of sorts.
You can never have too much lavender ... and I do have some different varieties ... did I also say you can never have too many white roses ? ... my dream bouquet , white roses with amazing purple lavender.
You just can't top that !

Last on the right is rosemary ... their identification is just plain "herb rosemary" so I have no idea what cultivar it is .. but it is healthy and strong looking so six of them came home with me ...
I really missed harvesting rosemary last Autumn ... I don't know what happened ... wait a minute ... it was the chaos of the renovations from hell ! that did me in ... but this year ? I am on top of it all .. I hope !
They are huddled on the deck where I can keep an eye on them.


You might have noticed my coasters on the table are of a lavender "nature" ? wink wink
So ... I am almost getting into the insanity I go through when it comes to garden season ..
I still have to figure out where I am squeezing the new mail order plants in ... some have arrived already in the form of bulbs and roots ... the pressure is on ... I think I need to lay down and think about it all ?

8 comments:

Country Gal said...

Still way to early for us here in Southwestern Ontario , We don't get our plants or even think about planting them till the May 24 weekend ! I am soo wanting to get into my garden dirt and plant lol ! Thanks for sharing . Have a good weekend !

Lona said...

Hi Joy. Those are some wonderful looking plants. I know you will enjoy them. I cannot grow lavender here it always dies for me so I gave up. I guess I do not have good draining soil that they like. You are adding so many pretties to your garden this year.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

We get the Bonnie plants here through Home Depot, just planted some today. The triple curled parsley I saw at Ball Gardens a couple of years ago and just planted some from seed. My back grass looks terrible and I am not sure what to do, put down seed, topsoil, we'll see.

Eileen

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Elaine girl : )
I know you are more north than I am so I would be cautious too .. I am actually cautious now not having planted anything yet. Yes the drive to garden is overwhelming after this horrible long winter!

Lona girl how are you ? I enjoyed that tour with the water falls but forgot to comment, sorry ;-)
Lavender can be so picky and you are right about drainage .. it has to be excellent and the sun exposure too .. so I have a "hell strip" for lavender ..LOL !
Thanks for dropping by girl : )

Eileen I love your many gorgeous Spring bulbs flowering : )
Bonnie usually supplies HD but these Burpee plants are really great ! There are so many mixtures you can fix your grass with now a days .. but I leave that to husband .. I get rid of as much grass as I can usually ! haha

Carrie said...

Oh yes, lavender and roses on mass! That's the way to go xx

GRACE PETERSON said...

Hi Joy Dear,

I'm so glad to see you're actually able to garden--purchasing new plants is gardening too, right? I lost several lavenders and my one rosemary this past winter but that Campanula just keeps on keeping on. You're so right. Nothing phases it. I hope you get some sunshine soon and a really nice spring for a change. Would you believe the forecasters are predicting 85 on Wednesday and Thursday this week? Crazy!

Rose said...

Spring is finally here, but still too early to plant most annuals yet. My back porch is already filling up with plants that have arrived in the mail, though. I hope the rain stops soon so I can plant them before the serious plant shopping begins:) I love lavender, too, though I haven't found a place it's really happy with. I've read that it likes some gravel or sand in the soil--is that what you use?

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Carrie sweetie !
I am totally obsessed by this combination this year .. I must have a good bouquet of them to fill the addiction up ! LOL

Gracie girl I have managed to buy plants even though I haven't actually planted them yet .. I am working on a plan! smell the smoke? LOL .. Yes I love campanula especially the smaller ones that tumble all over the place.
Today I am waiting for the rain .. I got the fertilizer down all over the gardens and the rain is an essential element that I can't wait for .. it will make the gardens so happy and me too!LOL

Rose girl I haven't even thought of annuals yet .. none really out because we are still a little too cool. Ahhh ! serious plants shopping eh ? What are you looking for ?
Lavender ... as sunny a spot you can find and yes some sand really helps to keep things drained and lean .. it likes to be tortured a little ! haha