April showers and other nastiness

It has been a dreary past couple of days, and it's really hard to see the natural beauty in the city when all you see out your window is frozen dog-walkers and puffed-up fluff-ball birdies trying to stay warm.

So here is a gratuitous shot of spring to give you a fix of hopefulness until the sun decides to come back out.  This one is from a sunnier day; a dutch elm doing its best to bud.  Hopefully, the trees in your neighborhood are doing the same.

Winter is over for real this time.  Probably.

My Container Garden, Part I.

Today is one of those days.  Not one of THOSE days (although depending on the election results, it very well might be), but one of "those" days.  By which I mean one of those days where the temperature suddenly and magnificently rises to what regular human beings would probably consider tepid, and what Albertans consider to be positively balmy.  It's like 18 above.  This gives us permission to wear shorts or skirts, and frolic merrily home from work without wearing our jackets.  And for some of us, it gives the implied consent that we've been craving for months... we get to think about gardening.

Now if you are like myself and so many other Edmontonians who lack a backyard, gardening can seem like an impossibility or a nuisance.  You have a few options if you are interested in getting involved.  One option if you know what you are doing is to join a community garden.  If like me you are a relative newbie, I recommend trying out container gardening.

The bounty of the balcony. :)

 
This will be my third summer container gardening on my balcony.  The nice thing about getting started is that you need very little in the way of tools and supplies compared to something more large-scale.  I recommend to start off with that you invest in the following:

• a small watering can
• a little garden spade (an old spoon works well too!)
• some containers, no less than about 20cm deep (these don't have to be fancy flower pots from the greenhouse, most of my containers are five-gallon pails that would otherwise have been thrown out.  Reused buckets and such make great containers)
• some rocks (to put in the bottom of your pots)
• a bag or two of potting soil
• a couple packets of seeds you'd like to grow 
• a trellis or other support (OPTIONAL, but you'll need one if you want to grow peas or another type of vine-like plant that requires support)

Don't go crazy and try to grow a million things the first year.  I'd keep it to about 3 different things if you are a beginner when it comes to gardening.  Keep in mind as well that the general rule of thumb for the Edmonton area is NOT TO PLANT UNTIL AFTER MAY-LONG!  This is because you can't guarantee that frost won't come around and wipe out your garden until after the long weekend in May.

When picking out what type of plants to grow, it is very important to keep in mind that Edmonton is practically sub-arctic, so you need to make sure you are picking plants that have enough time to actually grow to their full potential.  Something like broccoli, for example, actually has to be sprouted indoors ahead of planting outside because our growing season is so short.  It is also a good idea to keep in mind what direction your balcony/patio/scrap of yard faces.  Some plants need a full afternoon of sunshine, whereas others can grow in a more shaded atmosphere.  If you aren't sure which plants are suitable on either of these accounts, take time to read the packages as you browse the seed selection at the store.  Usually the package will indicate how long it takes a plant to grow as well as how much sun exposure they will need.  You could also buy pre-started plants, but they are much more expensive than seeds.

Last year's "crops": peas, parsley, chives, beans.

For example, my first year of container gardening I tried to grow tomatoes, peppers and oregano on my east-facing balcony.  Because I only get the morning sun (less hot than afternoon sun) until about noon, my plants did very poorly.  Plants that require a large amount of sun like these will do best in a south or west facing environment.  If like me you have an eastern exposure, or a northern one, try to grow things like lettuce, green beans, spinach and pea pods, which do fine with minimal sun.

Spinach grows well in on a less-sunny balcony.

The really nice part of container gardening is that compared to what I guess you could call "regular gardening" (as in gardening in the actual ground), container gardening is a bit easier.  Things like weeds are less likely to get wildly out of hand, and some insects will have difficultly eating your greens when you are several floors up on a balcony.  That being said, a garden cannot grow by itself and you will need to do regular maintenance and watering if you want your plants to be healthy and large.

The best part?  Connecting with the Earth and eating veggies you grew all by yourself!

Because we are still a month away from being able to plant, I'm going to leave it there for now.  For container gardening part 2, I will talk about the actual set-up and planting process.  Watch for the post on May long weekend!

Return of the terrorist squirrel

He's baaaack.

Cute scheming little jerk

It is important to note, before I tell this story, that we live on the third floor of an apartment building.  And that squirrels can climb brick walls.
I container garden a little bit.  Our balcony has an east exposure so I don't get a ton of sun and usually just grow some greens and flowers and whatnot.  Last summer we became acquainted with the furry little jerk whom my fiance has nicknamed "the terrorist squirrel".  This squirrel goes out of his way to climb three floors straight up, or launch himself out of a nearby spruce tree, to visit my container garden and torment my cats.  Now I don't mind the kitties getting a little wound up, even if my curtains end up a little worse for wear as a result.  What really bothered me about the chirpy little blighter is that he simply would not leave my container garden alone!  First thing in the spring he dug up my tulip bulbs and ate them!  Then he would return on a regular basis to hide his stash in my containers.  He would make his presence obvious by dumping half the dirt out of the pots and leaving pine cones behind.  I'm a vegan and really a compassionate person at heart, but after half a dozen visits I really wanted to punt the little bastard.
And then he stopped coming, about halfway through the summer.  We had no idea where he had gone.  We didn't know if he had found someone else to torture, or if a car had got him, or whatever.  And we proceeded to forget about the terrorist squirrel.
Until last week... when I was arriving home after work. I looked up and saw the little monster climbing straight up the brick wall, chittering away to himself.  And not knowing what else to do, I said "hi", and welcomed back the terrorist squirrel.  

Urban Birdwatching

With spring in the air, Edmonton is quickly becoming the northern home for many different varieties of migratory birds.  Because of the great variety found in these transient residents as well as our year-long avian friends, Edmonton is a great place to be a birdwatcher.
Now I am by no means an expert when it comes to birdwatching, but I don't think that anyone really has to be an expert to appreciate the colours, personalities and whimsical actions of Edmonton's birds.  What sort of birds you may see is somewhat determined by the part of the city in which you live.  If like me you are a downtown resident without a yard, you can hang up a bird feeder on your balcony and be visited by sparrows, chickadees, warblers, nuthatches and maybe even the occasional grosbeak.  If on the other hand you live in one of Edmonton's more residential areas, you will probably get a variety of larger birds visiting your yard.  If you provide decent foliage, you could see robins, blue jays and maybe even grey jays.  Of course you will see magpies, crows and seagulls absolutely everywhere, but they have a great whimsy and can be really fun to watch if you have an open heart to them.

A sparrow at our bird feeder

And I know if  you're new to birdwatching you're probably wondering how to tell one type of bird from another.  While some you know because of their very common nature, others might be a complete mystery to you.  I am always completely delighted when I see a new bird in my neighbourhood and am able to find out what it is.  Just the other day I saw a dark-eyed junco for the very first time!  To help you I.D. your birds, I recommend the fantastic little handbook Birds of Alberta by Chris Fisher and John Acorn.  The full-colour illustrations are excellent in this book, and I have used it very often to quickly identify unknown species.  The book is available to borrow through the Edmonton Public Library too.  You can also identify species by using a website such as What Bird, which allows you to enter a description of the bird and then provides you with possible I.D.'s.
It isn't necessary to know every species of bird to enjoy watching them.  Birdwatching with even the most mundane species can be relaxing, humourous and even exciting.  And Edmonton is a great place to do it.

The Bohemian Waxwings Arrive

There are a few ways to tell that it is spring in Edmonton.  We boldly trade our parkas for shorts and blind passersby with legs so pale they practically shine.  The door to the shed has defrosted enough for us to put away the shovel.  We daringly put the block heater extension cord away and take the snow tires off our cars.  We drink slurpees, we cry about not making the playoffs (again), and we take back the great outdoors.

And when we go outdoors, we notice the birds.

Several species of birds overwinter in Edmonton.  Sparrows and chickadees, as well as the occasional hearty (or possibly insane) nuthatch stick around and will eat from your birdfeeder with voracious appetites when food is harder to come by and covered in snow.  Magpies and ravens are also a common sight year-round.  Spring truly arrives in Edmonton when the large compliment of summer residents return to the city. Within the last two weeks we have seen the arrival of bright-red breasted robins, geese, ducks, and seagulls.

But truly a spectacular sight was the arrival of the bohemian waxwings.  You have probably seen these birds around Edmonton.  They travel in massive clouds, descending upon mountain ash and other berry-filled trees and pick them clean before continuing.  Bohemian waxwings look very similar to cedar waxwings, and the birds usually move so quick that it is hard to get a good look at them in order to tell who’s who.  The bohemian waxwings are darker in the front, whereas the cedar waxwings are more red/orange.  Both birds are commonly seen in the Edmonton area, if you want an excellent up-close look at them, I recommend taking a trip out to the Devonian Botanic Gardens.  I have seen flocks of cedar waxwings in the Japanese garden there on several occasions.  

A bohemian waxwing

A cedar waxwing

 While the vocalizations of a single bohemian waxwing are quite soft, when you pack them into a flock of hundreds it can drown out the sound of afternoon traffic with birdsong.

I took this video of the bohemian waxwings during their brief stop at Kitchener Park, and it captures the volume of both the birds and their song.  They are quite a sight to behold; I hope that they pass through your neighborhood too!  Enjoy.

Look Up

EDMONTON.  What’s the first thing that pops into your mind? 

A big mall?  The Legislature building? Frigid winters? A lackluster hockey team?  Whyte Avenue?  Fat Franks?  

What about astonishing natural beauty teeming with greenery and wildlife?

A resident rabbit

Edmonton has been called an unattractive city.  As a passionate nearly life-long resident of the Edmonton area, I am going to respectfully disagree.  And I’m going to blog about it.

Appreciate the little things, like sparrows.

It has been noted that people don’t spend enough time looking up.  I’d like to treat this one both literally and metaphorically.  Edmontonians spend too much time looking at the sidewalk when they walk (and their cellphones when they drive, but that’s another issue…).  We crouch against spring winds and winter snows, lost in our own minds wrestling with our own lives.  And we rarely look up and outside of ourselves to admire our surroundings.  Edmonton is not an ugly city; it is actually a natural beauty.  And this goes beyond the picturesque scenes of the River Valley.  We have neighborhoods replete with towering umbrella canopies of Dutch Elms, casting shade and cleaning our air.  We have community gardens lovingly tended to grow the fruits (and vegetables) of the earth.  We have abundant wildlife, even in the downtown a birdfeeder brings a delightful assortment of species to our windowsills.  We have the unending Alberta horizon, which gives breathtaking sunrises and sunsets.  We have potted blooms, grown both by the City and by residents, to brighten up our landscape.  And even in the winter, we have a frosty, perfectly white landscape which beckons us outdoors (despite plunging temperatures).

We have all of these things and more, and we don’t see them.  Maybe it’s modesty, or maybe we’ve been taking it for granted, but our city is a natural beauty.  Edmontonians, be proud, and look up.

A downtown sunset