The garden on 9 May 2026

It was a long and cold winter, a nightmare of a winter, and now spring weather is still cool. Usually by this time I have installed our air conditioner and it is hot outside, that's how the seasons work here, one day it's winter, the next day it's summer, but this year I am still putting on the furnace when I get up (it's only +5 C and overcast on 13 May 2026).The other day I looked out of the dining room window and there was the rabbit that visited us this winter, he was sitting in the garden and having a nice quiet time. Then a cardinal flew by and landed a few feet away from him, it scared the rabbit who ran away. There is a lot of life out there but you have to make your garden a place where birds, insects, and animals want to visit. As a Canadian writer said, "if you build it they will come." That was W.P. Kinsella. The crows are often flying overhead, sometimes they are eyeing squirrels that would make a nice meal for them. A few days ago I went out to put clean water in the bird bath--birds don't like dirty water--and everyday I leave a few unshelled peanuts in the bird bath for the crows--but this day I found something else in the bird bath, it was a squirrel's paw. Well, that's life around here, last year I saw a crow fly away carrying a dead squirrel. I am no friend of squirrels, they made life hell for a few years, there is no bird feeder here because the squirrels ate the bird food I would leave, and then the squirrels entered the attic and wanted to live there; squirrels can be squatters. The noise they made was terrible. At great expense I had their entrances closed up and that was the end of squirrels in the attic, although for a few years they would return to try to enter what had been their home, but without luck.

Squirrel paw found in the bird bath

 

 

At the garden centre, 6 May 2025

Vincelli’s Garden Centre is long gone but we still have,  locally, the Reno-Depot Garden Centre on rue St-Jacques, and this is where I was on Tuesday, 6 May 2025. A good selection of flowers but nothing extraordinary. I bought three hanging baskets at a reasonable price (each $14.99 plus tax) and I plan to return for two or three more; I could plant hanging baskets myself but then there is waiting for them to be as mature as these baskets already planted and purchased by me. There isn’t a lot of gardening time in this climate. 

"In the Month of May" by Robert Bly

 

23 May 2013

In the month of May when all leaves open,
I see when I walk how well all things
lean on each other, how the bees work,
the fish make their living the first day.
Monarchs fly high; then I understand
I love you with what in me is unfinished.

I love you with what in me is still
changing, what has no head or arms
or legs, what has not found its body.
And why shouldn’t the miraculous,
caught on this earth, visit
the old man alone in his hut?

And why shouldn’t Gabriel, who loves honey,
be fed with our own radishes and walnuts?
And lovers, tough ones, how many there are
whose holy bodies are not yet born.
Along the roads, I see so many places
I would like us to spend the night.

"Song on a May Morning" by John Milton

 

18 May 2014

Now the bright morning star, day’s harbinger,
Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her
The flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose.
Hail, bounteous May, that doth inspire
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire;
Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing,
Thus we salute thee with our early song,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.

Fire at the Village Shopping Plaza

A fire at the Village Shopping Plaza (corner of Robert Burns Avenue and Cote St-Luc Road), on 5 May 2024, has gutted the interior of the building. Arson is suspected. The building was destined to be demolished but this kept being postponed; maybe this pushes up the date for demolition and new construction.  

A Canadian Cottage Garden

 On May 5, 2024: rain all day; +10 C. this afternoon.

It’s taken over ten years for this lilac bush to recover from being cut down to the ground,
but here it is with many blooms; now 15 feet tall.

Day lilies, hydrangeas, and hostas.

Hostas coming up…

It was a mild winter but lots of rain, muddy and the grass has died here.

Hosta

The sumac on the left self seeded about three years ago.

Watching birds on a spring day

The main thing with a bird bath is to put in clean water everyday, no one (including birds) wants to sit in dirty or shallow water, or drink dirty water. Changing the water will take you all of three or four minutes and is worth the effort. The birds will thank you, too.

Gardens in this area

Here is someone's garden about a ten minute walk from where I live. This is not a large garden, it's located on the corner of a major street, but garden like this is still a certain amount of work (nothing is free in this life). The owners love their garden, it's one of the nicest gardens around here.

Flowering Trees in May 2021

Perhaps it has something to do with a fairly mild winter, but this is one of the best years for flowering trees.

 

Busy Days at Vincelli's Garden Centre

Even during a pandemic people need bedding plants, trees, bushes, hanging plants, annuals and perennials for their gardens. My garden is doing well this year with almost all perennials and a few pots on the patio planted with annuals. I never throw out any plants, I just move them to a different location when needed and expand my garden. We've just had several days of  +30 C weather (one day was an all-time record at +36.5 C), the garden centers are now open and many people are out buying plants for their gardens.