Christmas in November?

My Christmas cactus is, once again, a little ahead of schedule. It has done this ever since we moved to Manitoba. I believe I understand why: a zycocactus is triggered to bloom by short days and cool temperatures. Here in the North, in Canada, our days get short early in the fall so there is one trigger. Second, I keep this little cactus in the sun room, which is not very well insulated. We had some very cool, frosty nights early in September and the sun room is always cooler than the rest of the house. So, voila! Full bloom by the middle of November. I'm not really complaining - it's gorgeous any time of year. And if I was really uptight about it I could move the plant into the main house and keep it a little warmer a little longer. As is, we carry on and enjoy it whenever it does it's thing. And we know, we'll probably be able to enjoy a second set of blooms sometime in March!

Finally......Sweet Peas

I can't explain it, can't rationalize it no matter how hard my little horticultural brain tries. Finally, at the middle of October, my sweet peas have started to bloom. Around us, all the signs of fall are very evident! The garden renters have largely cleaned their plots and no longer come. The leaves are falling off the trees, we've had at least a few frosts - but my sweet peas are starting to bloom. The seeds were planted at the usual time - first week of June. They were planted in three spots: an arbor in the front border, a trellis for tromboncino squash in the garden and in a pot at the front door. None have bloomed until now, all have buds! The pot at the front door probably had the most attention, and everything else in the pot, including a tomato, herbs and nasturtium have done quite well. The tromboncino squash did okay, probably planted a little too close to the willow windbreak. And the arbor in the front border got quite a bit of attention because my 'Blue Moon' wisteria is planted on the same side of the arbor and I've remembered to baby it a bit all summer. We had consistent rain, good but not too hot temperatures. There's just no explaining what Mother Nature does, some times! But, I'm certainly enjoying my little bouquet!