November Stuff

Winter is here in Merritt but so far it's mild- just a little dusting of snow now and again. Some of my flowers are still blooming- the ones that weren't yanked out of the ground to make way for a new garden design for next year.

I've decided that perennials are the way to go. I had quite a few started this year and transplanted them to the front- mostly poppies and columbines. Over 100 actually and they seem to have taken quite well to their new location. Today it was with some sadness I chopped the raspberries down. The bushes were still carrying a lot of fruit but it was sour tasting due to the hot/cold temperatures.

An interesting thing I learned this month: periwinkle (a type of violet) does o.k. in this climate and I didn't think so because I never saw mine bloom. I kept finding new plants in the 4 years that I've lived here and figured it was spreading by runners in it's original location and doing the same in the rock garden but never saw flowers till this year. They had been hidden under the mass of leaves the plant put out. I was shocked at how many seeds I found in the dried pods of the old flowers. This is a rather tough plant- scraggly but tough roots and the seeds themselves were practically germinating in front of my eyes. In the future I will have to pay more attention to those plants that look like they're failing.

And then sometimes there's not much to say. On the other hand, sometimes I wonder if I should say what's on my mind. Or just do the easy thing and put up a graphic :)