January 2009
January 16/2009: Most of the snow is gone. Yippee!! It's about bloody time. I'm such a Vancouver wimp.
January 16/2009: This is what our leeks look like after having been buried under a foot of snow. I think they'll straighten up eventually.
January 16/2009: These are baby leeks! (Allium ampeloprasum porrum) I have no clue if they'll make it. They were seeds from the big leek that bloomed last year. The seeds got a touch of mold so I couldn't preserve them - instead I scattered them under the leaf mulch as I weeded in the fall.
January 16/2009: Kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group). This was one given to us by our ex-nextdoor neighbour... he didn't know what they were so he gave a few to us. It looks not bad for having been in a deep-freeze for almost a month.
January 16/2009: I find the squashed rainbow chard to be very aesthetically pleasing! I'm also happy with the healthy baby leaves at the centre - I hope these ones do really well this year. (Beta vulgaris)
January 16/2009: The dead stalks of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) held the snow up, protecting the baby leaves beneath! This is a good example of why a garden shouldn't be "too tidy", especially over the winter.
January 16/2009: Ricola mint. (Mentha piperita var. swiss) Reeeeeeeee-co-laaaaaa! Otherwise known as Our Favourite Mint. There is a crazy ton of this growing under the leaf mulch - as I was weeding last fall I kept running into these huge root masses - I transplanted a number of root pieces elsewhere in the garden, but there's still a massive amount of mint hiding under these leaves. It's going to explode in the summer! I'm worried I might need a second dehydrator.
January 16/2009: I think these are the volunteer hyacinths I found and transplanted last year. I hope so, they were really pretty!
January 16/2009: Our chives! (Allium schoenoprasum) Mmm... exciting.