Last Fall I received notice that we had to clear out the Community Garden as the city was FINALLY going to decontaminate the soil and we were going to be able to grow some of the those veggies that need more space to grow. Being the dutiful and dedicated gardener that I am, the perennials were dug up and brought home where the lilies survived and thrived and will one day be brought back to the community garden.
Unfortunately we are now almost to the month of July and the work has not been completed, although I am really happy that they have done the expansion of the space and it will now go all the way to the street. I have been in contact with local politicians concerning the work and there has been no consultation or feedback solicited from the garden members and I hope that the new garden will be more accessible to more people (including those with limited mobility) and that next year we can finally get back in and have a truly organic gardening space to work our magic.
Things were quiet in the Urban Jungle over the winter months and with a ton of family commitments things are getting back on line. Here is a bit of a progress report since last Fall.
The weeping crab apple tree was in glorious bloom this spring and was even bigger and more beautiful than any previous year. I think the past couple years of heavy snow have helped with that.
The entire back corner around the blue spruce was reworked and the gazebo covering the Oasis was changed out for something more resistant and permanent. As you can see things are prepped but not planted yet, just the perennials are coming up and some of them were divided and moved around to help fill in the new beds. The vines were fussed with all around the garden and extra support given where needed.
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Life has this strange way of giving you surprises... and the other week we had Spaz arrive in to our lives and it looks like the little beast will be hanging around.It's kind of reminiscent of last year when Romeo arrived, and you might notice that there is a certain resemblance between Spaz and Angelina (very similar markings) and they look like they could be related.
The other kitties are slowly warming up to having another beast around. Romeo has been the easiest (which is no surprise he seems to have one of the temperaments that is more easy going), Houdini is not bad as long as the new guy understand who the boss is, and our little girl is still not happy with the whole thing and will take some more time.
It's been just over a week now and things are slowly starting to come together and there is a tad less hissing going on.
Spaz is a real charmer... and it's almost impossible for me to say no to a baby (he is just over 5 months according to the Vet) and he has been worming his way into our hearts here at home. Like our previous stray that arrived and never left, the new boy has been eating like a pig and sleeping for hours at a time. Yesterday he slept almost the entire day and we chalk it up to the stress of being outside and starting to catch up on some nutrition. The little guy has huge rabbit feet (like Houdini) and we have the definite impression that this is going to be one monster of a kitty as well.
As mentioned, he has had his first visit to the Vet (his follow up for his vaccinations is at the end of the month) and next month he will be going in to get "fixed" so we don't have any male kitty issues at home. I am pretty sure that things will even out over time and that Angelina will come to love and accept him, it took a while but she finally came around to Romeo and he is one of her best friends now. Time will tell.
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Our little love monster has come a long way over the past year and has a great relationship with the other 2 beasts, all while staking out his own territory. 
The community garden plot is still around, it's just that we didn't use it last year due to the contamination issues presented by the Public Health Department. It was decided that we would come back this year to plant flowers (and hopefully have a real garden plot available next year if the city can find a solution) and here is a view of the beginning of the season. You can't believe how much of a disaster the space was after leaving it unattended for one year. It took a huge day of work to clear all the weeds and grass that had taken over and it was no easy chore to try to turn all the soil. Since the composting portion of the garden is not currently in use, I ended up filling almost a dozen huge bags with garden debris to make room for planting.
This is the end result of our work for the Garden this year. We managed to take our space and transform it in to a beautiful garden that was well visited by all the neighbourhood butterflies and bees. There were many times that I would pass by to water and would discover one of the local cats hanging out in the flowers (more than likely after butterflies or humming birds) and there was at least a bit of nature and some pretty flowers to admire.
Angelina taking 5 and relaxing beside the deck as she waits for either one of the pesky squirrels or some hapless Butterfly to come by. She is always dainty and ladylike as she waits. 
Houdini loves "his" Apple Tree and it's a regular spot for sharpening those claws (sorry tree), playing around and climbing the branches. 
This year the Morning Glory has been as big and beautiful as ever, and the beautiful flowers are lighting up the Urban Jungle each morning with their vibrant shades of purple and pink. 
A friend of ours recently moved and we gave him a hand with doing his own little oasis and garden, and in return he gave us feet ! He had 4 lovely stepping stones in the shape of feet that took up too much of his space (we converted it into a small garden) that we brought home and installed as the "Foot path" to the Oasis. It was a lovely exchange and I couldn't be happier with the result. 
Last year was the first try with some Canna plants in the jungle, and this year there was a new variety that I wanted to give a try. Since mid July we have been getting a continual supply of beautiful orange flowers that are a bright shock of color against the pale green. 
I love how the red in the Swiss Chard jumps out with the vibrant red Dahlia beside it. It's just goes to show that even mixed and eclectic gardens can be as much a feast for the eyes as they are for the stomach. 
Here's a look towards the back of the jungle from the inside of the Oasis. As you can see it's great to have the walls of vines that surround the yard, and with the fountains and greenery it's like being elsewhere, truly an Oasis in the city. 
Here's a lovely view of home from inside the new deck area (the oasis). It has been a great pleasure to have the new space (and to better utilise part of the garden area for our benefit). Now if only the weather would cooperate a bit more it would be even better. 
The lovely thing about gardens is how they change and evolve over the season, and as you can see the view just off the kitchen is a feast for the eyes at this time of the year. It's hard to believe how stark and bare it can look in the winter and in the space of a couple of months have so much life. 
The great thing about gardening is getting the fresh herbs and veggies. The climbing zucchini is growing like crazy and there are tons of blooms and babies. The other night I gathered up peppers, eggplant,zucchini, tomatoes and beans (and a ton of fresh herbs) to make dinner. You can't get fresher than that! 
This lovely plant that I tried out this year has been producing some very pretty white flowers. No surprise with the name as the shape of the flowers is exactly that, like the neck of a goose or swan and very elegant. 
From the back of the garden, a lovely view of the deck off the kitchen. On the right is the Rudbeckia, on the left are the magic beans and in the middle is the deck. 
I planted some Rudbeckia this year and it is doing great ( I can't believe how quickly and tall it grew) and the flowers are a very pretty yellow and I see the similarity with other coneflowers such as echinacea. It will be nice to see how it fills in over the upcoming seasons. 
The Echinacea is even fuller this year (it has been a great year for the plants with all the wet weather) and there are a ton of flowers and butterflies around the yard. 
I got a nice shot of the main garden area (and you can see how the vines are everywhere) from up on the 3rd floor of the apartment building. The lower left hand corner is the deck and gazebo off of the kitchen and you can see the new deck area in the middle of the garden. 
I am not sure if this is some kind of Finch or Warbler (if anyone does know, it would be fun to know) but these birds love sunflowers -- and have been zipping around the jungle for the past few days eating the sunflowers and making some pretty music. They have been driving the cats batty! 
This year we had a bumper crop of wild sunflowers (they are the result of feeding the birds and squirrels) and there was a good dozen that popped up around the staircase. The nice thing is seeing them and then watching the birds and squirrels make quick work of them.I thought it would be fun to try to put some perspective in the space and try to give a better view of our little green corner of the universe. It's not the best quality, but an interesting experience and hopefully enjoyable!
