Outside the Bedroom - Before & After

My parents just finished having their house renovated and I just finished working on the garden outside their new bedroom.  Here is the before and after shot.  I think it turned quite pretty and in another year or two it will be stunning!  I will take another picture later in the year when the impatiens are in full bloom and the maidenhair fern is out and about.

A Terrible Metaphor

I found myself downtown today on a break from my palliative care training at St. Paul's.

Wandering through the community garden at the corner of Davie and Burrard, I saw this bizarre planting of tulips and it struck me as a terrible metaphor.

Dripping with gorgeous, genetically engineered tulips need a hideous cage to prevent their collapse under the weight of the rain.

But one pokes its head free.

A Tiny, Propagated Maidenhair Fern

This little darling is about an inch and a half across.  Some friends of mine from Cottonwood Community Garden propagated some spores about two years ago and last fall we replanted the tiny, tiny baby ferns.  I was at the garden yesterday working on the native plant garden and they showed me how the little babies have grown.

What a slow process but they are adorable beyond belief and what a sense of accomplishment to grow a fern from spores!

They even let me take home one little cutie and I can't wait to see how it grows!

Sedum Water Cups

Early spring in Vancouver.  I love these easy succulents popping their buds up in late February/early March.  The petals cupping water is the perfect symbol of spring in Vancouver.  Shot at the roof top garden at Yaletown House for my Horticultural Therapy class field trip.

River of Tears Beans from Seed

Such a beautiful name.  I got these from a local seed collecting group.  The beans are green with purple specks.  I started them in cardboard egg cartons indoors.  A great project for kids!

Orchids of Ecuador

A selection of gorgeous orchids found in the botanical garden in Quito.

My favorite orchid...

Flowers the size of my pinky fingernail

Reminds me of a lions head

Cactus in a Tea Cup

I inherited tea cups from my Grandma.  The set was missing so many cups and saucers that I really had no use for it.  I decided to keep three for momentos and fill them with cacti.

And now the rest go off to the thrift store...

Pretty right?