My Brother's Pushy Big Sister

Woo hoo the sun is out!

For those of you in this area, in case you haven't been counting, it rained for 12 days straight. And it was cold, but you knew that already. What that means for us gardeners is that May two four weekend, (Victoria Day weekend) was a total wash-out, as that is traditionally peak gardening time.

Yesterday I came home from work a bit early, and we managed to pack a ton of yard work in before dinner. DH mowed the lawn, and removed all of the coverings that I'd put on my little annuals and veggie seedlings two nights before. I made up my hanging baskets. This year, I bought 4 of those black-metal-with-coir-insert hangers for $4.15 each (a steal!) and then bought 5 hanging baskets of flowers. I split the baskets up and re-assembled them into my metal ones, so that I now have 4 mixed baskets. I will take pictures so you can see what I mean. However I think I did some major damage to the plants chopping them into pieces and reconstituting them. We'll see. But they look fabulous!

Tonight I'm going over to my brother's house to perform a wee favour. My baby brother is a new homeowner, and as a 24-year-old bachelor, he'd much rather be fishing and tooting around on his ATV than gardening. But he's started a bunch of vegetables and fully intends to have a veggie garden, the foundation of which is already in place from the previous owners. He just hasn't gotten around to cleaning it out and flipping the dirt, etc. and doesn't even really know what he's already got in there. So I have volunteered to put in a couple of hours of weeding because I love it so. Yes I said it - I love weeding. I will don my best bug hat and yank all of those little suckers out, and perhaps label the plants that he should keep so he knows what he's got.

Then i will put my seedlings outside for their first night out. I'll put them under an overhang of my house, so they are in the shade. I haven't hardened them off properly, and I want to plant them all this coming weekend, so I had better do something. Last night I compulsively stuck my cathedral bell vines into the garden, and this morning they looked a teensy bit shocked. I think they'll be ok though.

Tomorrow I'm going to wander down to the Byward Market at lunchtime and buy a whack of herbs. 3 for $5 - I'll get basil, a few thai basils, rosemary, more chives, and maybe just maybe I'll get some for my brother as well, just to kick-start him. I am a pushy big sister.

Ironically, his girlfriend works at a major garden centre here in town (thank YOU brother!). She loves to garden. But because he stubbornly won't give her a key to his house, I think she wisely refrains from putting too much investment into his yard. Plus she works crazy hours and goes to school on the side, so she's probably too pooped to manage two gardens (she has one at her place too). I feel it's OK to step in, to a point. He's taking DH fishing this evening, so I will fix up his garden. Mmm I can't wait - the first sunny day in two weeks and I will be out until dark!