Pumpkin Chasing in Niagara

This is Pumpkin Patch weekend for Canadians:   all things pumpkin for Thanksgiving. Yesterday, I went on the pumpkin trail - to places where Thanksgiving is in full swing. I started at Hildreth's,  This farm has a large farm market stand close to my home.   It is much bigger than just a 'stand'  - it is a large parking area in front of the house with large canopies covering tables and shelves of local fruit and vegetables.  In fact, it is a mini-store with all kinds of local produce besides their own. One of the biggest attractions is the home-made pies - home-made by Hildreth's.  The fruit is typically is from their orchards or fields, and the pies taste like a home-made pie because they are. I wanted to catch the pumpkin display before it got bought out.  People were parked everywhere and it wasn't 10:00 on a Saturday morning.  I drove past later in the day on my way back home and there were more cars. I expect there were a lot fewer pumpkins. This year I bought a bushel of squash.  A bushel seemed too large last year, but this year, I bet that when it is available easily, the squash are used up quickly.  I started yesterday - one down. After a visit to the St. Catharines market and Lakeland Meats where Dezi and I checked out the chickens in their chicken run, I drove along St. Paul Street and made a stop at Calamus Winery in Vineland.  At the winery, I found a piece of the Rusty Shed on the ground, and they let me take it home.  They are close to Balls Falls and the Vineland Art Festival - such a large festival that there is $5.00 parking in the middle of orchards. Next I dropped into Beamsville's bakery 'The Post' and saw the pumpkin pies moving quickly.  I wondered if there is a busier day of the year, but didn't want to hold up the line to ask. Finally, I checked out my favourite garden centre, Cole's.  Harry, the owner, celebrated 30 years of ownership this past week. He showed me the slide show of the garden centre - including pictures when it was owned by the Cole's 125 years ago.  Lex sent this link of Benchscape - which is for sale.  This is the residence where I garden the raised beds of herbs and edible flowers, along with the decorative pots.  You can see them right at the beginning.

Benchscape Tour Today

Gardens On Tour  It is a garden tour today for Benchscape, the Beamsville Bench house and garden that Lex Parker designed. I plant and maintain the raised beds of herbs and flowers and the pots located around the house.  The pictures today show just this area. This is the house with the lovely meadow garden this year. I posted pictures of it a week ago or so.

Meadow Made

From the cultivated wisteria of yesterday, we move to the cultivation of a wildflower meadow at Benchscape.  What a delightful vista of wild flowers at the lower portion of the property.  The flowers seemed to float above the vertical stems of green - annual bachelor buttons in blues, pinks, and whites, punctuated by the occasional red poppy.   A great success for our friend, the designer, Lex Parker!

Stormy Weather

Wake Up on the Bright Side There was an ice storm in Southern Ontario yesterday that affected the areas west of us and around the lake to Toronto.  One could see how the escarpment plays a major role in our weather.  Towards the top of the escarpment, there was ice on the trees. At the bottom, it was raining.  Anywhere over the escarpment (which is south of us) the roads were icy and the trees encased in ice.  At the bottom of the escarpment there was rain. This was the scene at Benchscape where I garden the raised beds of herbs and flowers. Benchscape sits on the escarpment in Beamsville looking out over Lake Ontario to the north.  In the top picture, you can see the ice on the trees with the view out over Lake Ontario.   Everything was lightly coated in ice.