Finally. Last night was, we fervently believe, the last of the chilly, frost-bitten evenings for a while to come. Once again, the annuals awaiting transplant to our many garden urns and pots were covered for protection against the frost. But that won't happen again tonight. And with luck there'll be no more frost biting at tender shoots for months to come, once summer has passed.  

And because it was so cool even though we're reaching toward the end of May, I decided to make a fish paella for a change for dinner. Apart from the saffron for the rice, I've been using smoked paprika as well to give it a bit of a bite. I'm never entirely certain whether I'm using too much or too little. It can be pretty hot, but done just right, it enhances some dishes perfectly. As it turned out the balance was perfect.

 

Today turned out one of those perfect weather days. After a series of inordinately cool days and cooler nights we enjoyed a 20C-day, with full sun along with a boisterous wind. But the combination turned out extremely well. Irving went out soon after breakfast and began filling the garden urns and pots with the fresh new garden soil we had acquired yesterday. Usually when he does that he mixes peat moss, sheep manure and bone meal in with the soil to make a perfect medium for the  annuals to thrive.

 

This bagged soil, as it turned out, already had compost, bonemeal and peat moss throughout it, so it was a fairly simple matter to fill the pots, although Irving did add some sheep manure. It's a time-consuming process, but once it's done, it leaves me free to begin the planting of the annuals and that's pure joy. We calculate the kind of annuals we want, their colours and forms, and where they're meant to be planted, garden or pots.

 

After I finished puttering about in the kitchen, baking a white-chocolate cheesecake, and putting on a chicken soup to simmer for dinner, the puppies agitated for their ravine hike, so off we went on this lovely day. Our eyes keep wandering everywhere in appreciation of the forest fully filling out with fresh new green, glowing in the sun. There are more Jack-in-the-Pulpits to be seen as the earlier-blooming flowers begin to fade.

 

Last year there were scant few red baneberry in evidence. This year we've seen the exact opposite, and to my surprise, they're already beginning to bloom, sending up their little sprays of white flowers that will, in about two months, be transformed into brilliant red clusters of berries, gorgeous to look at, even if they're not be ingested since they're poisonous.

 

 

There are also strawberries in bloom now. The tiniest of plants with the tiniest of flowers that produce tiny, sweet strawberries in June. They're the first of the soft fruit that can be found in the forest to ripen. And our pups love eating them. 

 

It was a quiet, serene walk through the forest trails. In places where the bare forest floor can be seen it's obvious that the forest awaits irrigation. Cracks are appearing and beginning to widen. Tomorrow is destined to be a rainy day, so that should solve that immediate problem. We could certainly use some rain. And that being the case, it was also an opportune time for me to spend an hour or so out in the garden when we returned from our forest circuit.

 

 

I began pondering the plants and the colours and combinations. First thing to plant, Canna lilies as centrepieces for several of the larger garden pots. We're besotted with begonias, so we plant them liberally and enjoy them all summer long. I chose delicate, pendulous geraniums this time around, and a number of bleeding heart plants beloved of hummingbirds. We love seeing them flitting wildly about the flowers.

I focused on planting the urns and pots and left chrysanthemums and giant dahlias for the garden. The lobelia and million bells and petunias will have to wait for another day, because there simply wasn't time to plant everything and have enough time to devote to preparing dinner on time, too. But I was more than satisfied with the amount of planting that was completed. All the more so that tomorrow's rain will also benefit them.