Although the temperature was close to freezing all weekend – as evidenced by frost on the windshield and ice on the  ground – the sunshine made it feel like spring.

Stopped in to purchase six more bags of bark mulch at Southlands Nursery.  While I was there I chatted with one of the guys who works there about daphne.  He said not to move the plants because once they are established, they won’t resettle well in another location.  GOOD TO KNOW… I was planning to relocate one of them because it is near the centre of the luge run in our back yard.

While I was looking over the bulbs, I remembered an article I read last year about moon gardens, which are areas planted with pale flowers and foliage that can be seen on moon-lit nights.  So, I bought a few packages of lily of the valley, white freshias, bleeding hearts and an orchid that the package described as “robust”.  My garden friend pointed out that even if these plants only grew one year, it would be worth it.  Anyway, I am thinking that I would plant them in the area between the lilacs (white) and the hydrangea (pale pink) and see how that would work. It is a full-sun area, and near the sitting area planned for the back of the garden.

Finally spread the three bins of compost around the base of the raspberries and then covered the compost with the bark mulch.  The rationale for the compost is to provide nutrients, and the mulch to lock in moisture and prevent weeds from growing.  Our raspberries last year were rather sparse and tasteless – I think that they may have dried out too many times. Already, the canes have started sprouting small, pale leaves.

Finally (and I am going on and on and on today), the garlic has started to sprout.  I think I may have planted them too far apart.  I intend to plant the peas later this month in that same bed. I notice that our yard is a little behind the rest of Vancouver – based on when some of our plants bloom compared to the plants in kitsilano, so I might wait a little longer than usual to plant them.