I know the light levels are getting stronger and it is getting lighter and staying lighter for much longer now, which I love!

I am so eager to see how all those plants I transplanted did over the winter. I hope they all survived and will take off growing this apring.

Gale, how was the race? I don't know if u are even back home yet.

Well gotta go.....take care and think spring!!!

Debbie :-)

I am still waiting for 14 geraniums I thought had started to germinate in wet paper towels on the top of the fridge to poke up thru the soil. I have a funny feeling they are gonners. I'm going to try keeping one plant of white geranium, orange appeal, raspberry ripple and pink starburst geraniums in the house and not putting them outside. This way I will have a mother plant to take cuttings from next winter and get a head start on things. Almost all the geraniums I did save from the fall and stored in paper bags have survived. About 7 outta 10 are growing again.

Looks like I have about 3 flower buds coming up on the 10 amaryllis I brought from upstairs, but I still have a lot in the cellar waiting to come up.

I hope everyone is doing ok, we are expecting a lot of snow tomorrow. *ugh* I hope they are wrong. *S*

Take care
Debbie :-)

I am trying my habd at Winter Sowing and have about 11 containers out so far...I am so worried none will germinate, or that I did it wrong....YIKES.

Anyway, nice to "meet" you hope you don't mind me pooping in, since I am technically not from northern Ontario (manitoba now) but I grew up in Northern Ontario, so I am one at heart :)

Julie

If your in Manitoba now u must be zone 3 or 4? I have yet to try the winter sowing thingy, but I know that Marcia is trying it again this year. She could probably help u if u have any questions about it.

Take care and ask questions, we will try to answer them.
Debbie :-)

I've done some more winter sowing myself - 13 more containers on the weekend. Plus, i have impatiens, petunias, godetia, matthiola, and osteospermum growing inside. And all the impatiens cuttings, cuttings from my lantana and cuttings from my little begonia. AND (LOL) all the geraniums from last summer. I don't think the roots i saved have made it over the winter. They seemed awfully dried out, but i planted them anyway. Nothing's happened yet.

I need to plant my peony root, too, and the cannas pretty soon as well. I don't know where i'm going to put all of these things, so the snow better melt pdq! LOL

Hey, guess what! The flooring is all done! :) Now we just need to finish the trim, but dh says he has that all cut (some places never had any trim before)and i just have to varnish it sometime. Anyway, here's what it looks like:

(Pardon the centring - i cropped the picture and there's white space that i can't get rid of).

We're going to Kenora sometime next week to see if we can find something for the kitchen floor. It's March Break next week - woo hoo! I'm going to get as much winter sowing done as possible! People have been giving me containers, so i have quite a few, but i'll have to eat some more strawberries!

That's about it for now. Not much new and exciting - as usual!

Marcia,
who still has the winter blahs

Yes, I do go to the winter sowing formum sometimes...although it can get confusing :)

Your flooring looks great! We did that all through our house. It was addicting! We have a brand new puppy so I am VERY thankful for our flooring!

I will be posting some WS questions soon over in the far north forum so hopefully you and the others might have some thoughts for me.

BTW - I got your seeds you sent me yesterday! Thanks SOOO much :)

Julie

Our dog is finding the flooring a little slick, so he has to walk carefully on it. But i sure like it, and we'll probably put some in the bedrooms now. Now, i say - i should say "someday" because i know how dh works!

Where did you come from in NWO, Julie? Just curious!

I miss Northern Ontario though....very much.

Julie

I'm an ex resident of Northern Ontario now living in Victoria, BC. I get a wet Nov, Dec & Jan instead of seasonal snow. But the gardening is quite diverse. Here's a palm tree on Vancouver Island to warm folks up in Ontario.

Cheers

Julie, you were just up the road from me when you lived in Red Lake! I know where Elliot Lake is, though i've never been there. My first roommate at University was from there. Often wonder where she is now...

Happy Friday! Gotta get to work!
Marcia

My geranium roots looked very dry too when I took them out of the bags, but most of them started to grow, I hope yours will recover. I don't give them too much water when I first plant them at first, I wait until I see leaves popping out on them that way they don't seem to rot as much. It usually takes a few weeks before the leaves start to show.

One of my amaryllis is blooming, it's nice to have some flowers in the house again. *S* I have some more petunias and coleus to transplant too.

Julie, what a cute pic! Looks like those wood floors are going to get a work out. *S* Elliott Lake is now suppose to be a retirement town. I know a few years ago they were trying to get some folks from my mom's building in Guelph to go up there and check out the town, hoping they would move up there.

Hi Den_Vic, nice to meet u, but u have a very cruel sense of humor. *LOL* Nice pics. I did know that Victoria had palm trees, found that out a few years ago watching the Canadian Gardener.

It has been nice here the past few days, a nice balmy -8C! *L* I even got out and went for a walk. B.C. may be nice, but u have poisonous black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders there. I am scared to death of those things, so I'd rather have the snow. *G*

Well I have to go,,,,take care
Debbie :-)

Danni

Sorry I haven't posted since we got back from Florida.....but I tell ya.....life has been crazy!

The vacation was AWESOME....great weather...lots of fun...great time at the racetrack!Everyone had a blast and the townhouse was EXACTLY as it was pictured on their website.....just wonderful!The weekend on Daytona Beach went quickly, but was awesome.

So....after we get back, I need to catch up on bookwork, get T4's & taxes filed , month end stuff, yr.end stuff, etc., etc.,...BUSY.

Then I need to get seeds started.........busy!
Got lots of sprouts now under the lights.

Then Steve gets ill last week and is diagnosed with diabetes and is on insulin at the moment...I tell ya...I've been running hectic here......but I have been keeping up to date on reading everyone's posts.......sounds like everyone is getting prepared for SPRING.....BRING IT ON...lol

Anyhooo.......HELLO again to EVERYONE.

Just a quick post....payday is tomorrow and gotta get the chqs. printed out before the kids want back on the 'puter (as usual)

Enjoy your week off *Marcia*....not a great week for me with kids all over the place....lol

Will post more than once this month...lol

Talk to ya'll later, Gale

I have been busy transplanting and finished getting the last of the coleus done, I have to buy some more plastic pots so I can transplant the geraniums into bigger pots, maybe they might bloom by June *L* I will have to start planting marigolds and tomatoes in a few weeks.

Hi Danni *wave* I sure hope your snow will be gone before June. Most of ours really starts to melt in April and most of it is gone by the end of May. How much snow do u have? We still have 3 ft.

Hi Gale, welcome back! I'm glad u had a good time on your vacation! Was hubby surprised about the side trip to the race track or did he know about it before u left home?

I'm so sorry to hear about Steve, if u have any questions about diabetes I will try to answer them for you. I was put on new meds last week and one of them was to stop my sugar from spiking after I ate something. I have been diabetic for 42 years and have always been on needles, but I'm hoping this pill will help with my sugars.

Claire, I start morning glories in the house about 3-4 weeks before the last frost. I soak them for 24 hrs before I plant them. I plant mine in containers where they get sun from about noon until 4pm. I'm sure if I was able to give them more sun they would do better. Some years I don't seem to get many flowers from them if it is a cool wet summer.

Take care
Debbie :-)

We still have at least 3 feet of snow left but it has been melting the last few days. Maybe it won't last till June!

I finally finished adding the pictures to my garden website. I had forgotten that I had taken quite a few last summer and was planning to add them. I found them again when I was downloading my daughter's pictures from Europe (Yes the little brat visited London, Paris and Nice for the March break while mom, dad, and pets stayed home). Hope you enjoy the pictures...they sure gave me good memories of last summer. I can't wait to see how my garden will look this year.

Danni

If i get to Thunder Bay during the summer, can i come for a tour? :)

Gale, too bad about Steve. This will mean a lot of changes for you guys, i guess. But a lot of people live successfully with diabetes, so it shouldn't be too bad once you get used to it.

Over the March Break, i did a lot of winter sowing. I have over 60 containers outside now! There should be a lot for trading later on, eh? LOL

We've had decent weather, too, and lots of melting going on during the day. Not enough by far, though! There's still a ton of snow out there.

Debbie, the dry-looking geraniums still haven't done anything - think they might be dead? Poor dears. I'll just have to replace them! LOL I just got another large pot for my canna bulbs today. I've no idea where the one i usually put them in has gone to. Probably buried!

Anyway, not much else going on. Just dreamin' of spring!

Marcia,
whose dreams are buried in snow!

The snow is melting, the snow is melting, the snow is melting.... (picture me dancing around and chanting that) I actually saw snow-in-summer peeking out from the four feet of snow that is sitting in the front yard.

The cat planter was made by my hubby as a window box for the kitchen. He found a pattern for the cats, cut it out in wood and then sponged on stencil paint to outline them. I am hoping he will make me a bigger one to go under the living room window.

Marcia, of course you can come over and visit. I would be glad to give you a tour.

Danni

Danni your yard looks amazing! Sure makes me itch to get out there and garden again.
So are any of you TBayers planning on getting together this yr for seed/plant swaps?
Tina

I am envious for sure :)

My yard needs soooo much work. Oh well one thing at a time right? I think I need a ten year plan....lol.

Julie

Oh and the pup is a Border Collie cross with a Blue Heeler :)

I transplanted the rest of the geraniums into bigger pots today and had to do some rearranging cause I'm running out of space. Brought some more amaryllis up from the basement too.

Yesterday I picked up some seeds from Walmart, marigolds, sunflowers and coleus for next year. I didn't like the marigolds I had last year so I wanted some new ones for this year.

Son and his daughter came over today, so that was nice to see her. We had a nice time. *S*

Danni, I have been working on my website lately and I love your garden pics! Very nice and your hostas were lovely! Your August Moon is huge! Wow! Mine is just a wee thing, I hope it puts on some growth this year. It is about 5 years old, but was being smothered by a rose bush. Last summer I moved it into a nice new fluffly bed so I'm hoping iit will put on some nice growth this year. I have Wide Brim and really like it. I have 3 of them in fact. *S* I love your cat planter too!
Sounds like a wonderful trip your daughter took! Lucky girl! i always wanted to go to England.

You must have very tall snow-in-summer to be peeking up from under four ft of
snow. *L*

Marcia 60 containers? Wow! Where are u going to put those plant and what did u plant?
Did u water those poor geraniums yet? LOL

Hi tina, Mexico sounds wonderful! I bet u hated to come back to all the snow.

Could u put the plants in the celler? I
have grown plants in the basement for years. I put some big hooks in the basement under the basement lights so I could raise and lower the shelves. Then I just turn the switch on for so many hours, we have to be careful we don't smack our heads on the shelves though. LOL
Take care
Debbie :-)

What did i plant? Wow, you want a list? LOL Here goes, then:
1. Aquilegia bertolonii
2. Aquilegia Music Pink & White
3. Aquilegia skinneri "Tequila Sunrise"
4. Aquilegia "Tower Pink"
5. Aquilegia (unknown)
6. Allium karataviense "Ivory Queen"
7. Wild lupines
8. Baptista australis
9. Meconopsis grandis
10. Gentiana andrewsii
11. Persicaria polymorpha
12. Cimicifuga dahurica
13. Adlumina fungosa
14. Alcea rosea "Indian Spring"
15. Hollyhock (dk pink single)
16. Clematis tangutica "Helios"
17. Clematis ligusticifolia
18. Alyssum saxatile
19. Dianthus knappi
20. Digitalis grandiflora
21. Achillea "Cerise Queen"
22. Dianthus superbus
23. Dianthus "Sooty"
24. Digitalis (pink)
25. Digitalis (white)
26. Delphinium "Tom Pouce Sky Blue"
27. Epilobium flescheri
28. Gaillardia grandiflora "Burgundy"
29. Gaillardia "Goblin"
30. Guara coccinea
31. Geranium bohemicum "Orchid Blue"
32. Geranium "Visions Light Pink"
33. Dianthus crimsonia
34. Linum perenne
35. Heliopsis "Lorraine Sunshine"
36. Hemerocallis (salmon)
37. Hemerocallis (coral)
38. Hesperis matronalis
39. Centaura montana
40. Leucanthemum x. superbum
41. Lychnis coronaria fuchsia
42. Lobelia cardinalis
43. Malva fastigata
44. Penstemon strictus "Rocky Mountain Blue"
45. Penstemon hirsutus
46. Papavar anomalum "album"
47. Polemonium boreale "Heavenly Habit"
48. Echinacea augustifolia
49. Rudbeckia x. hirta "Chim Chimeree"
50. Stachys lanata
51. Veronica "Darwin's Blue"
52. Verbascum phoeniceum "Rosetta"
53. Verbascum bakerianum
54. Verbascum chaixii "album"
55. Verbascum nigrum
56. Yucca glauca
57. Shirley poppies
58. Salmon poppy
59. Peony poppy (white)
60. Large pink poppy
61. Rudbeckia hirta
62. Rudbeckia hirta "Rustic Colours"

Nuts, eh? If they all germinate, i'm in biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig trouble! :)

Bedtime!

Marcia

I am so happy. I finally have days off and....... ooohhhhhyeeeaaaahhhhhh!
4 in a row! WOW

I have a couple of terrific friends coming over to tomorrow to help.....yes, really help me get a "big" jump on "starting" my WinterSowing.

Dinner @ Dad's on Saturday....Breakfast @ Dad's on Sunday
Settin' up the grow light Monday...holy molly...busy busy

Anyway

An end of April Thunder Bay get-together sounds great, give me a shout whenever you have a chance Gale and we can make a plan.

Julie, that is the cutest puppy ever!

Marcia...send me spring weather please!

Think Spring
Kelly

I would love to get together at the end of April. Keep me posted. There is a dog show on that last weekend but we haven't decided yet if we are entering the dog or not. She needs to coat up some more first.

Marcia, I can't believe you planted all of those... I am amazed!!! Where do you put all those containers and how do they get enough light?

Debbie, the snow has melted along the driveway and it down to bare ground along it. On the lawn is still a 4 foot snow drift...it is at the bottom of that drift that I can see snow-in-summer. It would be pretty funny to see 4 foot tall snow-in-summer peeking out from the top of that drift. LOL.

Danni

Spent much of today transplanting impatiens. So many of them germinated that i'm going to be awash in impatiens this summer - wonderful! There are a bunch of petunias too, but none need transplanting quite yet. When the plastic is on that mini-greenhouse, it stays quite warm, so i'm hoping i can use it for some of these things in a few weeks.

Kelly Rae, the Weather Network says it will be +16 here next Friday. Of course, Friday is April 1st, so what do you think? LOL I'll share what i can, but there needs to be a lot of warmth to melt all this snow. Still looks like winter here! Yuck!

Not much else tonight - getting sleepy here, so i'll be off. Take care!

Marcia

Do you have a Lee Valley in Sudbury? They have these neat window shelves - a little tension rod that fits between the frame and a shelf that attaches to it. I'd really like to get one (or two) (or three)!

I cleaned off the plant shelves in the basement tonight cause I'm quickly running out of space up in the family room under the plant lights. Last night I took some cuttings of petunias and will have to take some more soon.

Marcia, yep I think your geraniums are toast. *S* Though one of mine has just started to get leaves on it,,,I don't think it will do much though. Time for u to go plant shopping. *G* You sure planted a ton of plants. I hope u remembered to label them. *L*

Kelly, what kind of gardening do u do?

Claubill, unless u can heat your deck I'd say it is to early. I don't put plants in my enclosed porch until May and even then I have to sometimes heat it and sometimes cover the plants up at night time.

Take care
Debbie :-)

Oh - just remembered this site. It has the dates for indoor sowing and is geared towards setting plants out on the May long weekend. It's pretty useful!

I usually start my tomatoes and marigolds around April 11th. I find if I start my tomatoes too early they get leggy and the marigolds I just pinch them back if they get leggy.
Good luck!

I'm making an April thread now.
Debbie :-)