Progress in plain view...

With each passing day the garden gets more and more lush... the nights are warmer and the days longer and sunnier!

After planning out and executing the majority of the garden work this year, its time sit back and relax and enjoy the growing season... either that or sit and contemplate what to do next... I am sure that there will always be things to expand upon later... that's the beauty of such and organic hobby!

I have decided to transplant and pot the prolific suckers from the staghorn sumacs (Rhus typhina)...

the ants are ever vigilant in protecting the peony flowers...

the buds on the virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) have exploded into lush green leaves... the sugar maples (Acer saccharum) of the forest have done the same...

the flowers of the fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) have blossomed...

apparently the fragrant sumac gets its name from the smell when you crush the the leaves, but the flowers give a very pleasant aroma...

at last, the big blue stem (Andropogon gerardii) has risen from its winter slumber!... all the other grasses have also survived the winter and have begun to shoot towards the sky...

the newly transplanted tall tickseed (Coreopsis tripteris) has taken well to its new home in the full sun... 

the dense blazing star, or gayfeather (Liatris spicata) has also shown its face despite expecting a certain winter death... they were planted in late fall from sickly clearance stock... 

Busy in the garden...

Not that it was a terribly long winter or anything, but it's great to see my garden thriving once again... everything is coming out of it's winter slumber!

here is the "new" garden space that was cleared last fall when I cut back the honeysuckle and weeds... I have also divided and transplanted  at least a half dozen purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) from another part of the garden... I intermingled them in with the Day Lily (Hemerocallis) and foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

transplanted hostas from the revamped front foundation garden...

I have decided to leave the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) sapling that grew in the middle of the garden... If I don't decide to keep it as a nourished tree for the property, at least I can let it grow a little more so that the wood becomes useful for something... 

the same goes for the unkown speicies of oak tree 10ft away... 

another rose bush was removed  from this garden... the buds on the virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) are starting to swell...

the front foundation garden has been gutted of random flowers, and replaced by a hedge row of another Ontario native shrub called fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)... these grow relatively low, flower early and have great fall interest... it may take awhile to fill in this space, but it should be worth waiting for... a single forsythia bush (Forsythia × intermedia 'Nothern Gold) was also planted next to the front door to help give the front yard a little extra colour in the early spring...

the xeriscape garden is looking promising... besides the early weeds, the black eyed susan (Rudbekia fulgida 'Goldsurm'), and purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) have sprouted, but only time will tell if the ornamental and native grasses survived the winter...

both green coneflowers (Rudbeckia nitida  'Herbstonne' or 'Autumn Sun') reemerged from the frosty ground... to fill in the garden, I divided and transplanted most of the tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) from the back garden here so they flourish in the full sun... the new Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) planted in the fall has yet to show itself...

Finally done!

It only took 21 frickin days to finally finish my seedling bench, but its done!
It's kind of fitting to, it being Earth Day and all...

(Please excuse the bad lighting in the photos... 

its in a dark part of the house)

here is the finished product with lights and seedling trays already planted... it has three growing shelves and can accommodate 6 conventional seedling trays...

I used 3/4" douglas fir plywood for the top, bottom and shelves, and used the KREG joinery to attach them to the 2x4 frame...

the lighting on each shelf is made up of two banks of fluorescent shop fixtures, for a total of four 40W T12 Daylight bulbs... connected by a 2x2, each is hanging from hooks and chains that allow one to easily adjust the height... very low cost and very effective...

seedling of an Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana 'White Crown')

seedlings of a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Construction Costs:

2x4s (x 8) @ $20

4x8 sheet 3/4" douglas fir plywood (x 1) @ $30

box of 1 1/4" KREG screws (x 1) @ $5

Shop lights (x 4) @ $60

Daylight bulbs (x 8) @ $36

Small hooks (x 8) @ $3

Small chain @ $2

screw-type leveling legs (x 4) @ $5

Total cost, depending on current supplies: $161

(I only needed to buy the 2x4s, screws and plywood this year, as the rest I had already )

This cost is pretty good when you compare it to similar quality store bought versions such as this one from Lee Valley for $689, plus $200 for the Verilux bulbs...

My design may not look as nice, but is probably a whole lot sturdier... I have had a lot of success with these daylight bulbs (6500k) (at least for seedlings), but I have never used the Verilux bulbs, so I cannot compare results... but at six times the price, for most people this would be cost prohibitive... and for what benefit I am not sure...

It's good to get my seedling bench up and running again, and for as little cost as possible is just a bonus!