Resuming Ordinary Life

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A favourite rose of mine, name lost in the mists of time
A favourite rose of mine, name lost in the mists of time

I’m back in Montreal, getting into the groove of life.  Cleaning up the house, laundry, the usual.  Part of it is assessing what needs to be done in the garden of course.  After 11 days, there’s much to do.  When I was walking around James’s garden, which he and Jeremy christened Fiachre’s Glebe (look up Fiachre, he’s interesting!) , on Gambier Island (I talked about it in my last post), he bemoaned the irony that we gardeners spend the first month or two of spring madly planting and transplanting, and the rest of the summer madly cutting back what we’ve planted in other years.  I’m sure that holds true times two in BC, but even here the overgrowth and weed situation is alarming and a little dispiriting.  I wanted to get right into digging the new bed for my rose(s) but got side tracked by things like the new ground cover in the front yard in the form of a million maple seedlings. My dear friend and neighbour, Maureen, helped me clear them out in pretty quick time, though.  I also noticed a few newcomers to the Tranquil Garden I don’t recognize.  Did I plant them?  Did they self-sow?  Move in by underground tentacles?  Here’s a picture of one.

Unknown plant
Unknown plant

As you can see, the leaves are quite large, and they’re similar to bee balm in the way they sprout the leaves from the stem, which is hexagonal instead of round.  Maybe I’ll figure it out, but in the meantime, anyone recognize it? I heard an item on CBC about a particularly obnoxious invasive weed called “Japanese knotweed“.  I’m keeping my eye out for it, because it’s supposed to be impossible to get rid of.  Now that I’m looking at the photos, I’m wondering whether it might be what I have! Yikes, I hope not!  It’s no relation to goutweed, one of my least favourite plants in the world, and also invasive and hard to clear.

Close up of unknown plant
Close up of unknown plant

On a brighter note, I’m pleased to see the roses starting to bloom and the last few peonies have held on for me. They will keep me happy while I mow the lawn and clean the edges to the garden beds. Tons of garden chores to do,  so tomorrow I’ve got my work cut out for me!

To keep my mind off the knotweed problem, here’s some music!   The wonderful Tom Jobim and Elis Regina with “Aguas de Março”.

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