top of page

Sniffing spring at the farmette


It's a gorgeous day at the farmette. Already 20C and sunny. While last weekend, we were full-contact with the veggie garden, yesterday, I was planting flowers - snapdragons, nasturtiums and glads, among others. All of these will give us a real eyeful of colour later in the summer, but right now, we're getting a nose full of gorgeous perfume.

My lily-of-the-valley are out in bloom, bringing their heady, sweet smells all through the east side yard. They're tough little invasive competitors and have completely taken over the bed under the big maple that shades the house. I don't mind. One less bed for me to fuss with. Plus, honestly, the aromatic atmosphere on the deck as a result is quite amazing. They can be quite toxic, so we keep a close eye on the feline boys when they're out and about so they don't chomp on the big broad green leaves. The myth around the wee white beauties is that they came out of the ground where the tears of Eve fell when she was cast out of the Garden of Eden. She must have done a heck of a lot of sobbing, because these little gems are everywhere right now.

The lilacs are also in full flight right now - at least the traditional, tall ones. We have a dwarf on the west side that is REALLY pungent, but she's not quite ready for prime time yet.

I'm going out in a bit to bring some of that wonderful pong into the house. The lilac's myth is kind of cool - Syringa (lilac's botanical name) was a Greek nymph who, on being frightened and chased through the forest by Pan, turned herself into the gorgeous purple bush we all know and love.

I also have heard that, in the old days, people would plant lilacs to ease the odor emanating from outhouses. Even today, you can see little lilac groves clumped around the outskirts of older rural homesteads - a living testament to harsher, less convenient times.

Even the crabapple blossoms have a subtle, tangy scent. I'm so glad we planted these beauties last year. The idea was to have a bit of colour on the front lawn in the spring - and they've produced like ninety. The saplings came through the winter like troopers, and they'll be pumping out dozens of little apples in short order. I know the resident birds and bees really appreciate their nectar, and I'll be looking forward to the wee fruit that will appear in a month or so.

The sun is beckoning me and I still have some pots to plant and a few weeding chores to do. Maybe take a quick toodle through the lovely, flowering, pongy countryside of Grey County in the Miata with the top down this afternoon. Until next week - cheers!

  • Grey Google+ Icon
  • Grey Twitter Icon
  • Grey LinkedIn Icon
  • Grey Facebook Icon

© 2023 by Talking Business.  Proudly created with Wix.com

​

bottom of page