Now is the time to reap the rewards for the back breaking work we did in the pouring rain last year to plant our spring flowering bulbs. I very nearly missed the boat altogether, only planting my bulbs in January before they all succumbed to the developing mold and rot. Call it an experiment in getting away with procrastinating. I think I am getting away with it as they are all sprouting fine - just a bit behind the bulbs that have already been in the ground a couple of years.

Yeah - I know it is still winter but it sure feels like spring. The birds are singing the grass is growing and the sun is shining. O.K., the sun is only coming out briefly between periods of cloud and rain but when it does shine it is just the drug I need right now.

Well it is still a while until we can call the season Spring but the title "late winter" never seems to apply to February in Vancouver. January has been an unusually mild one and I have hardly had a chance to use my new snow tires that were so essential last winter. I can't say that I mind this mild winter at all as I look forward to the advancing gardening year.

Well the last of the summer veggies have all been picked. Some thick skinned cucumbers, a few red tomatoes and lots of green tomatoes. So what to do with the green tomatoes? I've tried the fried thing before and wasn't really delighted so I searched online for a more appetizing solution.

My digital search soon uncovered a recipe for Green Tomato Chutney. I had hoped to make Green Tomato Chutney before but that was the year I left the decision of what to do with my green bounty so long that they had all rotted. Compost to compost.

This 9 acre perennial garden is in Kaledon, just a 15 minute drive from Penticton BC. For nearly one hundred years the Hayter family maintained an orchard on the land where the garden now grows. Needing a change the Hayters let their gardening hobby take over the family farm and officially opened the Linden Gardens in the spring of 2006. Now you can enjoy this beautiful garden and nourish all of your senses with the fresh food at the Frog City Cafe.

A recent trip to Mayne Island, B.C. opened my eyes to the wealth of colour we can include in a truly westcoast palette. Knowing our geographical colours allows us to create spaces that fit perfectly within the natural world. This is really important in a natural environment where we want to introduce our living spaces but want to maintain the beauty by working with it not against it. Colour selection is one simple way to integrate new elements into an existing environment that will fit in visually.

Like a Molly Ringwald cashmere sweater, blossoms are now dressing all the cherry trees "Pretty in Pink". I love staring up through their pretty little flowers to the blue sky beyond. Such spring colours of robin's egg blue of the sky against the cotton candy pink of the blossoms. My favorite time is when the show is over and the trees cast the petals off in a final hurrah and drape the world in soft confetti. This spring party may be over but just wait as the fireworks of summer haven't even started!

Easter on Mayne island is showing the vibrant green of the first flush of spring. The cultivated fruit trees are displaying their 'pretty in pink' outfits of blossoms that look very Barbie in this island of gumboots. The wild plants seem more in keeping with the westcoast spirit, displaying true beauty along with some unusual features.

Well planted containers are essential to a creating a beautiful garden. In some cases growing plants in pots is the only way to have a garden especially on balconies and rooftops.