Spring in the Peace Country

Today feels like spring and I feel inspired. I went for a walk today and didn’t even feel the need to don a jacket. There were many people out enjoying the sunshine, one of which, a bird watcher that I stopped to chat with. Going out of my way to talk to a perfect stranger is not normal for me but the warm breeze and the fact that he was standing next to the bench I had planned to rest on prompted me to ask him about what he was seeing. He told me that today was the first day he noticed that the ducks had returned. The skies have been full of geese for a week or two now but I guess the ducks were later to the party. Now we watch and wait for Mr. Red Robin to return. 

Pussy Willows in the Park

What a joy to watch the Peace County wake up after the long, especially snowy winter. Earlier this week I noticed tulips coming up in my yard, woken up by their south facing position against the house. I can see hollyhocks peeking through the grass as well. Pussy willows puffed to life last week and patches of grass in sunny areas are turning green. Of course I still have knee deep snow in the shaded parts of my yard but when I put my bare feet on the ground in the sun under my apple tree I could feel that the earth is warming up. 

Tulips Peeking Up Through Last Years Leaves

On December 1, 2024, a very snowy day after a record breaking month of snow preceding, my husband and I moved all our belongings into our first non-rental home. We had made the offer on this house a few months prior, on our fifth wedding anniversary but because of seller conditions and a month of renovations we weren’t able to move in until winter was very much upon us. This also means that I have only seen our new yard for a cumulative total of less than an hour in its summertime glory. But the time I did get to observe it filled my heart and mind with excitement over the possibilities. Already there was two crabapples (the seller assured me that the fruit of these trees makes the lovelies pink applesauce), haskaps, saskatoons, raspberries, rhubarb, Nanking cherries, a stunning mountain ash and a lot of maple trees growing on this piece of earth that I am eager to steward. Unfortunately, although the seller was an avid gardener in her prime she had been very sick for the last ten years and so the yard is in desperate need of some tender love and care. 

Deep In Kitchen Renovations

While my head may be singing with ideas and plans on how to turn this yard into an oasis I am willing myself to heed the advice of many great gardeners before me, to observe the space for a year before making any major decisions. Well, at least I will try. I can’t sit around all summer and do nothing, especially with the overgrown state of everything, but I am not going to form any major design plans until next winter, how can I when I don’t even know what all I have here. 

Freshly Pruned Apple Tree

That being said, there are a few jobs I am looking forward to tackling this year. First, some major pruning and tree removal. Already I have given the apple tree a heavy prune as it was growing into the roof of our home. There are also an abundance of female maple trees that will make weeding a nightmare and are blocking a lot of sunlight from reaching the yard - this is why I still have knee deep snow in one spot. There is also a much larger maple that has branches growing at the oddest angles that is an eyesore and a hazard that is going to be a big job to remove. Next, I noticed an infestation of creeping bellflower in the front and back yards during our first few visits to the home. Since I was a weed inspector during college, and will be again this summer, and since these purple flowers are considered a noxious weed, they have to go. Third, there are a variety of things scattered around the yard - bottomless birdhouses, broken solar lights, dog chew toys and the like - that once cleaned up will significantly improve the appearance of the space. And finally, because I can’t have all this space and not plant something I am planning to put in four 4x4 foot raised garden beds to get my vegetable growing fix. These will be constructed out of raw lumber, milled by my dad on the family farm. 

Wonky Maple Branches

I am sure we will find other jobs to do around the yard once the snow melts but for now, this is my list. And I am motivated to get the heavy lifting done early because come late September we will have another little gardener joining the family. Lord willing the baby bump will not impede my work too much but I guess that is why God gave me such a strong and able partner.