Into the Wild – Musings on our Yard’s Transformation | September 15th – End of 2024

As summer faded into autumn, I found myself falling behind on weekly updates. The yard moves at its own pace, and as the season wound down, so did the flurry of changes worth documenting. With most of the major re-landscaping projects now complete, the transformations in our backyard will be more gradual moving forward. With that in mind, I have decided to shift to monthly yard recaps heading into 2025.

To close out the year, this post will cover the latter half of September through the final quiet days of 2024.

Yardwork:

• Levelling the last flower bed felt like it took forever, but once that ones done, the pond construction moved along rather quickly. Granted, I was racing against time to get most of it finished before the cold set in, and while it is still a work in progress, it is coming together. I did manage to plant a few plugs of Alberta native flowers, which should help establish a more natural look around the pond, but I still need to gather more rocks to finish the edges and add more plants. One concern that we need to keep an eye on is the water level. It had dropped quickly once we filled the pond, though I do not suspect a leak (the liner is very tough – I put a small piece to the test, and it took considerable effort to cause any damage). As I have been looking into it, this seems to be a common occurrence with new ponds – often due to wicking, evaporation, or the liner settling. I will not know for sure until the snow melts and the ground thaws, but figuring it out will be a project for next year.
• Cleaning out the garden at the end of the season was a bittersweet task. While it felt satisfying to tidy up and prepare for the winter ahead, I will surely miss the warm summer nights and those long, sun-drenched days. At the same time, I am looking forward to slowing down and embracing the quieter pace of the colder moonths.

Gardening:

• We had a great final garden harvest. Not pictured: our small but satisfying haul of potatoes.
• I picked up some soil for winter sowing a bit late in the season (early December). Note to self: get it before the snow hits next time!

Flora:

• I ordered a few plants and trees to begin establishing this autumn, though I may have been a bit late with the timing – fingers crossed that they will be okay! I got Golden Sedge (for the pond), White Clematis (to add to the side of our house to expand the wildlife corridor), Wild Rose, Blue Clematis and Honeysuckle Vine (along the fence to expand the wildlife corridor), Wood Lily (in our small corner forest), and River Alder, Paper Birch (along the fence on the other side of the house to create a wildlife corridor), I also picked up some seeds for winter sowing.

Fauna:

• I spotted a White-crowned Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow in the yard. I have only seen the White-crowned Sparrow once before, but this was a first for the White-throated Sparrow. What a lovely surprise!
• As soon as we added water to the pond, it quickly began attracting a few feathered visitors, with some stopping by daily. It’s a wonderful reminder of how even the smallest changes in the yard can bring new life to the space. I’m excited to see what it will attract in the coming year.

Miscellaneous:

• I started working on a large planter for the south fence, aiming to fill in the empty space along our wide sidewalk that could be put to better use (unfortunately the sidewalk blocks are too large to remove). The goal is to complete a wildlife corridor by planting trees, shrubs, and flowers. However, I realized that creating a planter this long (18 feet) and transporting it from the garage is not the best idea, so I have decided to use planter blocks instead to provide more stability. I will build it in the spring, right in the spot where I plan to place it.
• The skies were absolutely stunning this Autumn! We were treated to a brilliant full moon, the Harvest Moon eclipse, and caught a glimpse of the aurora borealis a few nights. It is moments like these that make me appreciate the natural beauty all around us.
• I had two strings of solar lights for a small patio space at a duplex we lived in about 12 years ago. When we moved, we did not need them anymore, so we gave them to my parents. They had not used them, so recently returned them to us. At first I was not sure where to place them, but decided to try them on the arch on our patio step. They look great! I cannot wait for the Virginia Creeper we have in these planters to grow up the arch and wrap around the lights, adding even more charm.
• Sticking to a budget this year meant that the Halloween decorations were a bit sparse, so I got creative and made candles using LED tealights, toilet paper rolls, paper mache, hot glue and paint. I am really happy with how they turned out! To add some additional decor, and a natural touch – I decorated them with fallen leaves and sprigs of Mountain Ash berries (I later put near our pond for the birds), and added some glitter pumpkins I found in our seasonal decor. Next year, I plan to make some bases for the candles to keep them more stable.

Thanks for reading! Until next time,
Tracey

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