A gracious good morning & I hope to catch you up quickly of what is new from the patio. Thank you to everyone for your prayers & thoughts for Fort McMurray in Alberta. Wild fires are becoming a real problem in northern Ontario as well. Such a dry start to the season.
One word - Hellebores. I have mentioned in previous posts my desire to have some in my garden & then discovering the price as a inhabiting factor. Mr Man had been traveling earlier in the week & came across a road side garden centre, which as he says, was perfect timing. He needed a moment out of the car & this seemed a good spot. He, surprisingly, remembered I wanted Hellebore, he asked, they had, he bought & much less than the city garden centres. I am, as my Gran would say, chuffed as little mint balls.
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| Pink Mist Hellebore |
In away from the patio news, we survived another trip to Toronto for Mr Man's eye injection. Although on the Saturday he developed a bleed at the injection sight, which can be a side effect. Cold compresses applied, keeping his eyes closed for most of the weekend, while I quietly celebrated National Scrapbook Day on Saturday. Next Toronto hospital trip is scheduled for June when a scan will be done to verify if the injections are helping.
Sunday was Mother's Day, which for me included a phone chat with my foster Mom, Mary. I love this lady so much & she continues to be such a positive influence in both our lives. She is gracious, kind, a wonderful gardener & she is a great cook. I feel so honoured to be able to call her Mary Mom. I dislike that she lives in another part of the region.
Back to the patio, my Snowdrops are (finally) blooming. I guess in their first year they needed more time to develop & then bloom. SO happy that these pretty white nodding flowers have joined in my patio view. Patience always required in gardening.
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| First Snowdrop Bloom - More To Come |
And on the last happy note from the patio, the Flickers have returned to our garden. I like these birds, which are part of the woodpecker family, because they eat the ants & grubs. I took this photo on Saturday from my craft table window - I was busy scrapping & needed a stretch & what to my wondering eyes did appear ...
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| Northern Flicker |
Happy week ahead to everyone.
a lovely new to me bird - good to hear your snowdrops finally delivered and you found a hellibore - have a great week
ReplyDeleteThanks Helena. Flickers are such fast movers, I must have taken 20 photos before I got a couple that were not blurred.
DeleteI don't believe I've ever seen a pink hellebores; it's beautiful. We're planning to move ours this year from the back of the house to the front since they're done blooming by the time we're out on the patio regularly.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started to research Hellebores I was surprised that they do come in so many colours.
DeleteI'm glad the snowdrops have finally appeared..they're tough little things and it always cheers me to see their tenacity. And fingers crossed for the eye injections. My MIL has been having injections in her eyes and they have worked wonderfully well
ReplyDeleteWishing you a good week
Thanks Sian. Not a lot of the blooms are open, it has been quite chilly the last few days, I counted at least 10 buds on one grouping - yeah!
DeleteMr Man is hoping for the same success as your MIL.
I'm so pleased you have your hellebores at last!
ReplyDeleteInjections in the eye? Oh my goodness, that sounds painful.. I do hope the next tests show promising results.
Thanks Deb. Mr Man says the injections hurt but this last one was particularly painful ... umm & each time it has been a different technician.
DeleteI wish him well, I should think injections in the eye must be a scary idea xx
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear too about your hellebores, I was only looking at ours this weekend
Thank you Sandra. I cannot imagine having to have needles in the eye, the mere thought makes my stomach turn - I think Mr Man is being SO brave.
DeleteOh dear your poor Mr Man. I hope it all works. Your seasons are well behind us if you only just have snow drops. Watch out for slugs with your lovely hellebore.
ReplyDeleteThanks Maggie for the heads up about slugs & the Hellebore. I will spread crush eggshells around the base when I finally pick a spot to plant.
DeleteGood idea. Hubby made a copper collar to go round one of ours.
DeleteOh cooper would not only be a good thing but a pretty one - umm I say out loud so someone hears me ....
DeleteSo pleased to hear all is not lost with the sunflowers! And hope your hellebore brings you much happiness. 'Tis a lovely shade. I have some which came from my grandmother's house - it's not as nice as yours and the leaves look dark and jagged. Scary!
ReplyDeleteEnjoying the look at your N American birdlife.
I cannot believe what joy my snowdrops are bringing to me. In my research on Hellebore I am discovering that there are many varieties & colours. I cannot believe how much the birds entertain me, I have said it before, if you told me at 18 I would be a bird watcher I would have laughed & called you crazy.
DeleteHow sweet that your man found those flowers for you! I've never heard of or seen them - SO pretty! I love seeing the flowers you have in your area, so very different from my own. One advantage I have is that we do not have snails here in the desert, but there are some little bugs and/or caterpillars chomping away at my sunflower leaves. Gr!
ReplyDeleteMy father-in-law gets injections in his eyes for macular degeneration. :o( I hope that's not the case for your man. ♥
Mary-Lou, thanks so much for the lovely comments you leave on my blog. You are always so kind and thoughtful. xo!!!
This is one of the best things about blogging, the sharing of what is growing in our gardens. I am not a fan of insects destroying my plants, but neither am I a fan of chemicals, so I do a lot of hand insect picking. We are plagued with a red lily bug bettle. Mr Man's eye problem is in the left eye, which has always had a strong prescription for glasses - it was several retina tears & a bleed. It was felt that because of the strong prescription it was a weaken eye ...
DeleteLovely flowers, and I gave a little cringe in sympathy for Mr. Man's eye injections - OUCH! Hope it worked magic for him, at least.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susanne. I am hearing lots of positive results from others, although not everyone has the same ailment - fingers crossed, prayers being said :)
DeleteSuch pretty flowers.
ReplyDeleteWith the winter we had, I lost most of my flowering shrubs :(
I see you are also from Ontario, so nice to see a neighbouring blogger :)
Hello Tracy, thanks for visiting. I have read your blog for a few years now - I enjoy all your scrapping tales. I am in southern central Ontario. With spring so late I am still opening that garden losses are minimal.
DeleteWhat a sweet purchase...the Hellebores are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mardi, now to find the perfect place in the garden.
DeleteHow wonderful that he brought home just what you wanted! Praying his eyes will heal & the injections work perfectly!
ReplyDeleteThank you Melissa & your prayers are most appreciated.
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