We finally got some rain here on the "rainy" Pacific coast, and everything is getting lush with Spring growth - including my garden. Have a look around my little part of Northwestern BC Canada, where I am growing plants for food, flowers, and medicine.

![aaf.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/2d44293a3feeffc1654c24e3d6137dee4f285d14.JPG) These are my pumpkin seedlings which I sprouted in my indoor washing machine grow area. I saved the seeds from my 2020 Halloween jack-o-lantern, at the start of Covid lockdowns. They seem eager to grow! So out into the garden they go. ![a15.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/3f16d83fba463547c6ccfc593aa87bcc95df01d6.JPG) The roots are pretty substantial already. I'm putting them in the sunflower patch... we'll see if they get along this Summer. ![a16.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/39f44a78560949c502e0e87855faf9a06a07b13f.JPG) All tucked in! If they take root here, it's likely they will get quite large, and cover this section of the lawn. The signs of Spring are all around, now that the rains have arrived. We finally got the first real downfall of the year, a few days of it in fact. April was hot... well over 20 Celsius many times, and that's not normal. It was too cold at night to start the garden, but also too hot in the day to start the garden. Too early to plant, but at the same time, too late. Not a good situation for gardeners or farmers! And not a drop of rain. Very odd. So now, with cooler temperatures and rain, it feels like Spring is really here. ![a18.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/734caa0dc57b949f3c2ab56451de5e032dd04ad7.JPG) Not very impressive (yet)... this will be a red star dahlia bush in a couple months. ![a19.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/d54acbc25121472426e0796ef721d8ca1e4977e9.JPG) The lilacs are in full bloom right now, very pretty smell and appearance. ![a20.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/599f87eb69f599f4fd7ceb3ea1033adb82762bba.JPG) In my vegetable patch, the carrots are off to a slow start. I've heard from neighbors they're having the same issue. Maybe they'll start taking off soon. As for the apple tree I've been photographing regularly, here are a few more shots: ![20.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/23d5b8fd31a5a8cec9ed2543aaddaf15aa1ab38d.JPG) ![21.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/3f00bd355e378a751b85e156a5015c83926d87fd.JPG) ![22.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/379799e2fc0d1a60498eef3150b9625f2fc84d9d.JPG) It really seems to be taking off. A couple months ago, it was a bare little twig sticking out of the ground. Now it's thriving and has doubled in height. And now the yard update shots: ![g039.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/d1d0dedfc08588a8eb41d455a3b0a1fc25713105.JPG) ![g040.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/94e5e1ecca941724c519a3ee1a3cb70040f8b77d.JPG) ![g041.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/c56116aa4347a89864760e885080a012a8a5448e.JPG) The astute viewer will have noticed that I spent today redoing the edges of the main garden beds. I added about 6 inches to each side, where grass and weeds have been slowly encroaching on my growing space. This increased the total area from 26.5 m² to 31.5 m², a gain of 5 m² (+19%). You'll also notice the potatoes showing up near the back of the garden. ![a23.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/cd57a0ef399c1eba3e5e603ea69db60e5d88eca7.JPG) I've got 3 or 4 varieties in the ground at the moment, these being the first to come up. They're the small pink finger potatoes, that are pink all the way through, great for boiling, steaming, or mashing. ![a21.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/df79326b0a1e14070cf0ff4c6435cf839619994e.JPG) I'll be eating lettuce in a week, and it looks tasty. I intend to eat this crop as long as it produces, and then let it go to seed, which I'll collect for future years. ![a22.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/6e14813d1fe3f661e2ea743020b469f0ecd1a8db.JPG) The snow peas are flourishing and will soon need a trellis to continue their upward climb. It won't be long before they start to flower, and the peas come quickly and continuously from then on. These are the kind where you eat the whole pod while it's still tender and sweet. Yum!

Indoor medicine patch

Inside, I have a small grow area on my spare washing machine, which currently only has my medicinal seedlings: ![a25.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/0e9c90b2478fa5ca1cdfe1ffb13e76f002a18c2b.JPG) All 8 continue to do well. ![a26.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/fc8c94fcf7b1d497bc71aaff074c11263c8a52e3.JPG) They're putting out nodes with 5-fingered leaves now, meaning they've got a decent supply of nutrients. That's pretty good considering they haven't had anything but dirt and water. I'll have to transplant them soon to continue the steady growth. ![a27.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/f83fe924c0059216aea357aff54218c850263a8f.JPG) That's the biggest one so far, which has already been topped. It's got 4 new tops starting to grow. They'll go outside in a few more weeks, closer to Summer Solstice. If you're interested in seeing more of my garden, you could check out my mid Spring update. https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/82583c08b0ad0efe059d40cc77a976cba48fca4e.JPG

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your stroll through the garden. Until next time!

![a14.JPG](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/9e1514dc84a6fc8e1e888c6686779a875e6005a5.JPG) Grow in peace. DRutter ![banner2024.jpg](https://img.blurt.world/blurtimage/drutter/e52003e0afc3db0100f7ab7b0c069bd3818cc3d1.jpg)

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