What is this?

Last year I stuck some cut-offs that I found on a couple different jobs I worked on in a pot and left them over the winter.  This is the only one that grew this spring.  I don't remember what it is.  I know its a ground cover but thats it.  Can anyone help me?

Alpine Garden Club of BC Spring Show

What?!  Two Blog posts in one day?  It must be all the free time I found by giving up on Facebook.  Try it, it's very liberating.  Anyway, I'll keep this short.

VanDusen Gardens holds many different events over the calendar year, and this weekend was the Alpine Garden Club of BC's Spring Show.  I went on the second day at about noon and it was not too busy.  I brought Cillian so I had to make it a quick visit, here are some of the highlights that caught my eye in the short time I was there.

Floral Room and VanDusen Gardens

Primula Denticulata

Some ribbon winners

Tulipa Turkestanico

Ribbon winner for best Deciduous Bonsai

Fritilaria Meleagris

Philip MacDougal's 1st place Rhododendron 

Abutelon Suntense Hybrid

I forgot to get the info for this one, but it sure is beautiful.

Happy Easter

What an Easter weekend so far.  My wife Suzanne is an active Raw Foodist and she has spent the weekend at a Seminar put on by Victoria and Velva Boutenko, mother and daughter of the "Raw Family."  Check out more details on Suzanne's Blog.

With her out of the picture that left Cillian and I to set up our first Easter Egg Hunt.  Cillian is over 2 but we haven't done a hunt before.

I started by boiling the Eggs.  There are a couple ways to hard boil an egg, and its been so long since I've done it that I had to look it up.  I put the eggs into a pot and covered them with an inch of cold tap water.  I turned the heat up to full and brought the eggs to a boil.  As soon as they started to boil I removed them from the heat, but left them in the pot.  Worked great. 

I set out four bowl and Cillian added the dye.

We then added the eggs and turned them once and awhile to insure good coverage.

I used eggs we had in the fridge.  Brown, free range, and organic.  In retrospect I should have gone to the store across the alley and picked up some cheapy white eggs, they would have taken the colour better.  Some of these eggs where in the day for more than 4 hours.

This morning I hid the eggs while Cillian got his morning dose of Mama's milk.  We did the hunt before Mama had to take off to her seminar so she could take part in the family fun.  

Some eggs where pretty tricky to find.

But once we got the hang of it, it was easy.

Except for the ones just out of reach.

In the end Cillian found them all.

And then he learnt the best part, how to peal and eat them.

This afternoon we are going to go to VanDusen Gardens for the Alpine Garden Club of BC Spring Show.  I'll share some pictures later.  Then its off to Mission for dinner with my oldest friend and his family.

Happy Easter Everyone!

New Neighbours

This morning while we were sitting around the table getting our day sorted out, still a little cold to do this outside, we saw one of our new neighbours peaking through the fence.  By the time we got out onto the deck deck to greet him, he had already climbed up the cedar tree and was taking a bath on the carport roof.

It's a raccoon! 

 

He is heading up to join the misses.

Now she has a bath while he watches us through the blinds.

After her bath, she climbs down unto the carport, crosses over to the cherry laurel hedge and down to the ground.

He does as he's told and follows.

Takes one last look around...

And they're off.

I love raccoons, but I worry about them and my son getting into an altercation.  Also I'm pretty sure these two have a lot to do with the disarray  my east side fence is in.