Seasonal Gardening Guide

To me, the garden is a doorway to other worlds;
one of them, of course, is the world of birds.
The garden is their dinner table bursting with
bugs and worms and succulent berries.

~ Ann Raver

The sweet song of birds is one of the great harbingers of spring. Key among them is the red-winged blackbird. I know that spring has truly arrived when I begin to hear the call of the male blackbirds as they balance on the stems of cattails and other plants. We pay tribute to the red-winged blackbird in our feature creature as our way of welcoming spring.

The first colourful blossoms of spring are another joy to behold. Pasque flower is one of the early ones, blooming soon after the snow is gone. These diminutive plants with their large purple and yellow blooms are not only a welcome sight for winter-weary eyes, but also a treasured food source for early bees. You can read more about them in our feature plant section.

Canada is a large and diverse country, with spring arriving at different times depending where you live. In some areas, such as Victoria, B.C., inhabitants are already busy counting their blooms while others, such as those in Ottawa, Ont., may still be shoveling snow. Parts of Newfoundland may have to wait even longer for those much anticipated first blooms. But Newfoundland is home to some beautiful alpine flowers. Peruse our guest column this season to discover some of the colourful flowers that adorn the coastal areas of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula.

We are always amazed at the wonderful efforts Canadians take to create habitat for wildlife on their properties and in their neighbourhoods. This spring we look at the work of one family to expand this effort to the land around their place of work. We hope that it will serve as an inspiration to other concerned Canadians to follow their example.

Site visitors from the Shuswap area of B.C. might be interested in checking out our featured native plant nursery. Natural Habitat Gardens is an inspiration, and the owner generously provides some gardening tips that are useful to all.
And this season we’ve added the attractive golden currant to our growing selection of native plant wallpaper, designed to brighten your desktop.
Enjoy, Maria

Enjoy,