Tulips Love Organic Nutrients


Well, we have four more years of Harper, but at least the Green Party got a seat in Parliament, so the interests of gardeners everywhere will be voiced frequently, we hope. Spring is my favorite time of year, when the life force of Nature surges forth in every bud and bloom.

I also have a fondness for Jack Layton and I am glad that he did really, really well in the election. I am tired of shouldering the costs of social programs while huge corporations are not only given tax reducti0ns but in many cases, subsidies as well.

The crocuses are gone, but some beautiful daffodils are still in bloom and the newcomers, the exquisite tulip varieties are bursting forth everywhere. At one time, these flowers were worth their weight in gold! During the tulip mania in 17th century Europe, a single bulb would fetch as much as a tradesman made in ten years of hard work. The bubble burst, and prices plummeted.

Some blue hyacinths still remain in Sara's garden and some different perennial flowers are beginning to make their appearance. The roses have all sprouted fresh leaves and the poppies are going through their vegetative growth. Everything seems to be a month behind last year, when we had a very warm spring.

We continue to feed our plants 100% organic Iguana Juice, as well as some supplements, such as Humic Acid and Fulvic Acid. These ingredients create a very fertile soil which will guarantee a bountiful supply of flowers, as well as vegetables in the back of the house.

I hope you enjoy my photographs of Sara's magnificent blooms and that you'll come back to this blog again and again to check out the progress of our organic Gabriola Garden.

Organic Gardening
Results in Bigger Blooms

Our Delphiniums have reached eight-feet in height, and they’re still growing! They’ve never been so tall, or so full where the blooms are concerned. Several years of organic gardening have helped to establish an extremely fertile soil base in Sara’s flower beds, and using Iguana Juice Grow and Bloom every Spring also adds to the nutritious mix.

Our Pink Roses developed a touch of Black Spot on account of the rainy weather we’ve been having, but they still produced the biggest cluster of flowers ever! I must confess, we ran out of Scorpion Juice, thus we didn’t augment the plant’s resistance to pests and pathogens, like we normally do. I just ordered some Bud Factor X, as well as Rhino Skin, from Advanced Nutrients, in order to avoid the chance of infestations in the future.

Another pair of AN products that we’ll try is Humic Acid and Fulvic Acid. These two organic super additives will help ensure that our growing soil will stay fertile and productive for many more years to come. Derived from an organic layer, called Leonardite, mined from the top of coal fields, Humic and Fulvic Acids have magical powers associated with them. Just check out the YouTube videos praising their attributes!

Hedgehog and Jim are both upset about the British Petroleum oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. They’re writing letters to politicians and the media, asking Canadians to rush to the aid of the victims, both human and animal. Hedgehog was especially happy to hear on the news that the Canadian government is sending scientists to the Gulf to help the BP salvage team with the clean up operation.

We hope the Poppy thieves will stay away from Sara’s garden this year (trying to get high on the pods of backyard variety poppies is like smoking hemp for kicks—it just doesn’t work!). The Blue Girl rose offered us a perfect bloom again this year, and my Mother is looking down from the great beyond with a smile of her face, seeing her favourite Yellow Rose producing such lovely blooms with a subtle fragrance. A more powerful fragrance can be had by bringing your nose close to the Peony flower, from a late blooming variety that Sara especially loves.

Sara takes the art of organic gardening to the next level. She composts all her kitchen parings in the Fall and Winter, so by the Spring she can put a layer of rich composted soil on top of her flower beds to rejuvenate their ability to produce bigger yields. She also covered her garden with a layer of fallen leaves at the end of last Summer, and that organic mulch has served her organic garden well. Augmented by the addition of her base nutrients, Iguana Grow and Bloom, she is instrumental in creating the best organic growing environment for her plants, resulting in the outstanding blooms you see in these photographs.

Upside Down Tomatoes Thriving--Garden Glorious!

Those readers of this blog who are curious about how our upside down tomatoes are doing will be glad to know that they are flourishing! Some of them have tiny tomatoes and most of them are in flower! We've had some glorious days of sunshine and the plants are just soaking it all up!

The rest of Sara's garden is also magnificent! She gets so many compliments from neighbors and people just walking by that she asked me to print out some information about Iguana Juice, which is the miracle fertilizer responsible for the huge increase in yield this year! The Delphiniums, Foxgloves, and Campanula are towering over the Rose bushes and Daisies. "I've never seen Foxglove that's eight feet tall," said a passer-by. "Well now you have," chuckled Hedgehog.

Instead of filling this post with words, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Our garden is so popular that someone came while we were elsewhere and snipped all the pods off our huge red poppy plants. Sara left the pods on the stems in order to let them dry. Ah well, I guess they thought they could get high--but they'll soon discover that these are not Opium Poppies (those are illegal) they're just a cousin of the opium variety--grown strictly for ornamental purposes.

Hedgehog and Jim made handmade signs and posted them on the edges of the garden. "Please do not steal these flowers or seeds. These plants were grown with love and nourished by our family. Learn to grow your own!"

Gone are the days when people used to leave their doors open all over the island.

Six-Foot High, Saucer-Sized Poppies

Sara’s poppies have outdone themselves this year, due no doubt to the huge containers of compost and composted horse manure that she trucked in during the winter months, prior to spring planting season. These poppies are the cousins of the opium poppies of the Middle East, but the seeds are not narcotic. This year she has blood red, bright orange, and pinkish cream colored flowers and being that they are so high and huge, many of our neighbors have come to admire them.

Due credit should be paid to the 100% organic Iguana Juice Grow and Bloom that we use to feed all of our flowers and vegetables. It is truly the magic ingredient in our super sized blooms and veggies. Advanced Nutrients mixes the finest organic ingredients (fish based, alfalfa, krill, yucca extract, kelp meal, and earthworm castings) that not only cause lush, vegetative growth, but also promote prolific flower and fruit development.

Our first rose of the season has opened! In spite of the rainy weather, we do get occasional glimpses of the sun, which is as much appreciated by the flowers as by us. Walking our Golden Retriever Max through the neighbourhood every morning, I am amazed at the variety and resurgence of the flora all around us. This is truly an amazing season and no matter what the weather, it should inspire us to value Nature and all of its bounty.