Saturday morning arrived and with it a real spring day! The sun was out in full force and there was only a whisper of chill in the air. It would have been a perfect day in the garden but because we were meeting with clients right after lunch I couldn’t really dig in to the work that needs doing in our garden, so I decided to head off to one of our local nurseries. I’m so glad I did, there was so much colour to see, several people I knew to chat with and of course a selection of new plants & bulbs to bring home. Spring excitement was definitely in the air!
Ken-Dor Garden Centre just recently moved the retail portion of their business to it’s farm location on Qualicum Road. This location is in an idyllic rural area of Qualicum Beach, just moments from town and with a dahlia grower right beside it and Mindi’s Farm Market right beside that, it makes for a great flower, fruit and vegetable shopping spot. The new buildings are so spacious, bright and welcoming. Even with the season just beginning, the flower benches were filled with plants, baskets & bulbs ~ the bare root fruit trees were in their raised beds and the rows of shrubs, trees, soils & pots were all organized and looking fantastic.
The selection of photos I have ready for this blog post is long but I had taken so many that it is hard to whittle the number of good ones down. I hope that you enjoy them…..
The upper portion of the main building
Quite a full parking lot - everyone is eager to get the growing season underway!
A row of rock daphne, lavender, heathers & blueberries
Heathers in full spring bloom
New flower benches with fresh wet paint
English daisies
Pots of pansies
Like pretty maids all in a row!
Primroses in every hue
An anemone
Cool season veggie packs
Locally grown herbs
Field grown trees and shrubs
Bare root fruit trees
Rows of pots
Pallets of soils, peat moss and fertilizers
New stock ready to be uncrated - an interesting use of small stones
Just a taste of what lies ahead for us all through the gardening season! As our days grow longer and are more reliable in their warmth, we can really begin to plant in earnest. As you can see this nursery is ready for us!
Dear, Linda, I must admit that lately, every time I think of returning to the grey skies B.C., I kind of shudder because I am surroured by bright, uplifting colours the entire six months that I’m here.
But after looking at your blog and seeing all the gorgeous colours found in spring bouguets and flowers back home, I feel much better about leaving here. I especially loved seeing the picture of the colourful pots of mixed blooms.
You’ve got me looking forward to returning to the vast colourful palate of beautiful, long lasting blooms that are seen in our spring gardens all over Vancouver Island.
I’m also anxious to see how my shade garden survived all the digging and moving of plants last fall. Within just a few short weeks, after arriving home, I will be rewarded with the renewal of the multitude of plants that I’ve chosen for this garden over the years. There’s something very soothing and restful about a garden of plants that have been chosen solely for their varied shades of green and the unusual shapes & textures of their foliage. Each new day will be a surprise this spring as I get to see where each of my plants pokes through the ground.
And I also look forward to being greeted home by the sensational spring display of the hundreds of thousands of brand new leaves that will be just starting to burst forth from the branches of all the deciduous trees found in our yards and forests.
You’ve made my day, Linda! It will now be much easier to pack up and leave all the colour of Mexico behind. You’ve also succeeded in making me anxious to get back and spend some of our Canadian dollars on new plants for the pots I bought just before we left and for the new beds Ron created.
You make my day, knowing that I made your day! I can sure appreciate your feelings about leaving your colourful and sunny world there – ours will be sunnier and more colourful very soon though. Actually, so many of the flowering trees just seemed to have burst out in the last couple of days – they look so fantastic to our colour starved eyes!
It will be so fun for you to watch your shade garden unfurl again this spring and just think of the next 6 months that you will be enjoying your new waterside patios and gardens! Beach fire season begins!