Some Random Facts About Me Tag

I have been tagged by The Sun is Killing Me (Texas, USA), on this lovely Canada Day! I hope all the Canadians out there are having BBQ and fireworks and getting the day off work. We woke at 4:30 am to close all our windows because the forest fires were blowing thick smoke in our direction. Cough, cough...

The rules of this tag are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

A photo from Lac La Ronge, the lake across the street from us (photo taken last night).

6 Random things about me:

1) I once lost my bike at the bottom of a river on a wild mountain bike adventure.
2) I don't eat beef, but I'm not vegetarian. As I like to say, I'm a "flexitarian".
3) I got married in a conservatory, full of orchids, bananas, and other tropicals. Was I a bride-gardener-zilla, perhaps?
4) One of my favourite movies of the past few years is "Hot Fuzz", a ridiculous comedy about a UK policeman, who incidentally is dedicated to the care of his peace lily. In my opinion, one of the best lines of the movie involves the fate of the peace lily.
5) I once camped in the Serengeti, amid the eerie rumbling sounds of elephants and lions. I learned not to use the outhouse at night, having met a group of hyenas, eyes reflecting the light from my flashlight.
6) I hate biting insects. Totally revile them. I don't know why I still live here. The summer months are bringing crises of bug-hate.

I am in turn tagging:
1) My sister blog: Quu in Finland. I feel a garden-affinity with this northern gardener.
2) 1-2-3 Go Garden. This Canadian blogger grows the most daylilies I've ever seen.
3) Gardening Adventures from the North, a northern BC gardener. I hope to see how their season is going with more pictures soon!
4) My Roots Run Deep, one of the urban (Toronto) garden blogs I like to visit.
5) Greenforks, a UK garden blogger with some great garden photos and mouthwatering ideas for eating your garden produce.
6) Caribou BC gardener at High and Dry, very motivated despite a recent knee injury and surgery. Good luck over there!

Update on Bonsai Baobab

There must be a shortage of web articles on baobab trees trained as bonsais, because my blog comes up just behind the South African Bonsai Society on a google search on "bonsai baobab". Quite funny that I'm here in northern Canada, a fair distance away from South Africa!

Here's my little baobab, having just started this year's growth a few weeks ago. It is a deciduous tree and it is critically important that it receive no water during the dormant season. That starts in the fall when the leaves start to yellow and fall off. Don't think your tree is dying when that happens, because that is normal. I think it's dead every winter and then it starts growing again every spring. I never cease to be amazed. At some point in October or November, I put the tree in the basement and completely neglect it. It's fine to put it on a shelf (does not need any light) and let it sit in dry dormancy for the winter; when you see green shoots in the spring, bring it back to a sunny place and water it regularly. One winter, it was stored under the pool table in the basement while we did renovations!

I started this tree from seed 4 years ago. Germination is not hard. You should soak the seed for 24 hours before sowing it, to help germination.

I cut the main stem last year to promote new growth, which worked very well. It triggered new shoots from the stem below the cut and around the circumference of the cut itself. I sealed the cut with Japanese cut paste, which can be purchased from bonsai dealers. I don't know what my plan is for future shaping of my tree, but I will figure that out as I go. It will probably be with me for many years!

Please leave a comment (and link, if you have one) if you have a baobab bonsai. There's not too many of them out there and I'd like to see what other ones look like.

For updates on the baobab, see July 9/09.

The Season between Tulips and Delphiniums

The flower beds are not as colorful as they were at the height of tulip season, but they look a lot more full and lush now. The slow-to-start perennials, such as lavender and blanketflowers (Gaillardia) have now leafed-out.
Allium "Gladiator" in raised bed (with shorter Allium "Purple Sensation" just behind them):

Delosperma nubigenum in the rock garden. These are the first blooms I have seen from this suprisingly hardy little succulent. I fully recommend this plant. It looks fantastic from the time the snow melts right up until the snow falls on it again.

This photos was taken yesterday at lunch time, just before a huge thunderstorm rolled in and our power went out (again).

The rock garden is looking well-grown now. The blue fescues and pulsatillas are going to seed right now, making things look a bit messy near the bottom.

For my mother: A picture of my rhubarb. Mom's always asking if my rhubarb is the "red kind". It looks reddish at the bases anyhow. How much redder does rhubarb gets?

My very rustic barrels of rambling flowers. There's nothing fancy about these driveway adornments. The Dimorphotheca African sun (orange) open up only in sunshine and are quite happy-looking in this picture.