Whoa! Happy New Year! Where have I been?

Well the month of December went by like a prairie clipper (fast moving storm -  rain, snow, wind) and here it is the New Year 2012! It is not that I did not have things to post but due to a sore right shoulder I have been keeping it to a minimum and there are posts over on my lily blog.

So I have had seeds of Vaccinium myrtilloides - Canadian Blueberry to cold stratify a little better than 3 months ago and took them out today to plant. The seed was collected in the area around the Shuswap Lakes in British Columbia so I hope I have the species right.

As indicated on the lily blog seeds were planted and have now begun to produce true leaves on a few plants. There are also some bulbils growing which were collected last fall as well. So nice to see these true leaves. There are several groups of martagon and I am waiting for them to show up and then they will go into the refrigerator for 3 months to continue to grow.

We had one of the best displays of lights thanks to my wife Marg. She likes to put them up and so we have them on the windmill, spruce trees, and some decorated posts by our back step. Here are a couple!

The little posts by the step have solar lights on top but there has been so little sun that I have been taking the batteries in and charging them up on a rotating basis.

There are also some Edible Blue Honeysuckle seeds in the refrigerator crisper drawer getting stratified as well. My first try at this since I have always just planted the seed and had reasonable success. However last year was a blow out so I am taking the advice of Ark Gardens in Alberta and Gardens North - Seeds for the World in Nova Scotia to see if I can improve my germination count. Also of note here while we are on this subject is that I received a query from a major propagator of Edible Blue Honeysuckle asking if I had plants which might be ready for distribution on a wider basis. Nice but when you grow from open pollinated seeds the chance of winners is slim. On the other hand I do like a couple of my plants in terms of a high producer and a neat garden selection. Time will tell. There are some very interesting plants coming if they don't die from the too warm winter and no snow! The winter is definitely easy on the power bill and the snow blower but many plants are going to die or be really set back as they are totally exposed and the warm winds are sucking the moisture out of the ground.

This is my best lily patch and it does not look green these days but it is as clear of snow as this or more!










This poor old Manitoba Maple from the early 1910's or 20's did not make the summer and it took out the old swing besides. I hope to get it cut up before spring. Firewood anyone!! You can see there was little snow back in mid December and today the water was running here from melting and some rain.
We had gone to get pictures of some old school house site cairns and 40 miles north there was a rain and snow storm I thought we might have to get a motel room and wait for morning. By the time we had coffee and desert in the Station Arts Centre in Rosthern the snow had quit and the road was slushy and wet till about 15 miles from home. If you are ever in the Rosthern, Saskatchewan area, drop by the Tea Room in the Art Centre for a very good coffee or tea and desert or a full meal!
Well I hope to do better in the following months. There are Lupines to germinate and the Blue Honeysuckles to take out and start and we are off to Cuba with a Mission Team to meet some of our Cuban church partners.

Until next time stay well and keep smiling. Clayton