Summer is the time when the flowers are in full bloom. The seeds that I sowed earlier this year have now blossomed, filling the flower bed with color and life. Each morning, I am excited to step outside to see what new blooms have appeared overnight.
My cutting garden is tightly packed with plants, and overgrown. I had so many seedlings and didn’t have the heart to thin them so I planted them all. Planting them tight was not a good idea because as each plant grows, they compete for space, water and nutrients. They are thriving though.
Below are the dahlia plants that I grew from seeds. What’s fascinating about them is that unlike growing them from tubers or cuttings, which produce an exact replica of the plant they come from, dahlias grown from seed produces new varieties that have never existed before. This is because every single seed has different genes.
And some more plants in the garden…
Heliotrope, echinacea, rudbeckias, malvas, zinnias, gomphrenas, celosias
Moving to the deck, tending the potted plants that are more manageable…
The petunias on the windowsill… flourishing and spilling over in abundance. Yes, I do fertilize them. These plants are hungry for nutrients to power all their bright blooms.
One of my favourite parts of gardening is bringing in some of those beauties indoors.
I love cutting flowers and arranging them in vases to brighten up the house.
Beyond the garden, summer means more family time as the children are on break. We’ve had plenty of opportunities to head out for brunches.
Even taking our routine blood test had become a family affair… and treating them to a meal after fasting. I brought them to Pigeon Cafe, a spot I visited with my friends last month.
It was a nice way to unwind and enjoy some quality time together over good food, good ambience and good coffee.
Summer also brought its share of storms. One time it was raining all day and Riel noticed that the sump pump was working nonstop. We checked it and the water level was quickly rising. We had to bring the manual pump to help drain the water faster. As I ran the hose outside, I saw that our street was already flooding, but thankfully, our home stayed dry.
I later learned that post-tropical storm Debby recorded 154mm of rain in that single day, bringing the total amount of rainfall for the month to 229.3m, setting new records across the entire data history. It represented double the typical amount of rain we get for the month. There were thousands of homes that were flooded across the province. Unfortunately, two of our close family friends had flooded basements.
Meantime, the children have kept busy in their own summer activities. Raf landed a work-from-home job, coding for a start-up. He likes this set up and he finds this job more challenging than his previous work. Marco is preparing a paper for school as he applied for honours at the University, although he did find time to reconnect with his high school friends for a picnic at a park not far from here.
He prepared a charcuterie board and gourmet sandwiches, thanks to the skills he picked up working at the University cafe. We’ve enjoyed his creations at home too.
Gabby, on the other hand, has been consistent with his gym routine and staying fit. Riel has found plenty of time for golf, playing twice a week. As for me, I’ve been enjoying bread baking, especially Asian breads. I couldn’t get the calories off!
This weekend, Riel and I will be going to Vancouver to welcome his his niece in Canada and bring her to Victoria, BC where she will go to school for two years. I will report back after that.