Finally, the relentless rain has come to an end. For the time being. This has been an extraordinary rainy season, this spring, breaking all previous records in April, and now for May. Our gardening has been put back, although the gardens themselves, the perennials and the ornamental trees haven't seemed to mind that much, though they too have been late.

The garden pots have been brought out of storage and placed where deemed aesthetically appropriate for another gardening season. They are to be filled with the usual mixture of aged sheep manure, peat moss and bagged garden soil. Bone meal will be added when I begin filling them with the flowers and ornamental fillers.

And to begin that process we hauled ourselves off to the local nursery that we favour for their splendid begonias. Those begonia corms that I usually save to overwinter in our basement have already begun sprouting, and they are destined for planting in the backyard garden pots and beds, while those we bought fresh will be used for the front gardens and garden pots.

In Ottawa, traditionally the May 24th long week-end signals that it's usually safe from night-time frosts, to venture into serious planting for annuals. And that is precisely what we plan for this week-end.