Jules in the Garden
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juliwils.bsky.social
Jules in the Garden
@juliwils.bsky.social
550 followers 290 following 530 posts
Cat-less cat-lady 🐾 Alliteration aficionado ✒️ Mother of two littles ❤️ All-round nature lover 🐝🦋🪶 On a journey to grow/plant native species that support the pollinators 🌿🌻
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juliwils.bsky.social
55 days until spring 🌱

This mental exercise of mine is hard today with what's happening in Minnesota

Renee Good and Alex Pretti were two people trying to make things better and safer for people

They showed the best of humanity but were cut down by the worst of it

I'll never find words for this
White flowers from last summer, in honour of the bravery and the loving natures of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
January 25, 2026 at 2:45 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
56 days until spring 🌱

You'll never go in the grass again!

#greenSat
An image of a shrub that has been trimmed to look like a shark coming out of the ground; metal fins and teeth have been used to create this living sculpture. Photo taken outside of Ripley's Aquarium (Toronto, ON) last May
January 24, 2026 at 9:19 AM
juliwils.bsky.social
57 days until spring 🌱

Self-care

#bees
#BWFri
A bee sleeps on the fanned-out petals of a spiky white flower
January 23, 2026 at 12:46 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
58 days until spring 🌱

Two heads are better than one

#nativeplants
#yellowthursday
A close-up of a deep yellow lanceleaf coreopsis. Two flowers grow back-to-back on the tip of one stem. Photo taken last year in early summer
January 22, 2026 at 12:50 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
59 days until spring 🌱

There's no maybe, she's born with it

#redWed
#nativeplants
A picture of a cardinal flower. This native plant has red blossoms, red stems and reddish tinged leaves. Photo taken last summer
January 21, 2026 at 2:29 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
60 days until spring 🌱

There was a out of control hosta bed deep in my backyard

I was just going to rip the everything out to replace it all with #nativeplants when I discovered there were a few already growing

#tinyflowertuesday
#canadiangardening
Tiny flowers of a white vervain plant mingle with the larger yellow heads of rudbeckia. Photo taken mid summer last year A clump of brilliant white trilliums, our provincial flower, grows as the odd man out in a garden of emerging hostas. Photo taken mid spring last year
January 20, 2026 at 12:34 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
61 days until spring 🌱

Sipping a different kind of Joe

#pinkmon
#nativeplants
A close-up of a bee collecting nectar from the pink blossoms of a Joe pye weed. Photo taken last summer
January 19, 2026 at 2:41 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
62 days until spring 🌱

This was one of my favourite flowers last year

It was radiant, even on cloudy days

#flowers
#stunday
A large headed sunflower, with bright yellow curling ray florets, was a huge pollinator magnet last summer
January 18, 2026 at 3:27 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
63 days until spring 🌱

Tunnel vision

#trees
#greensat
A trail through a wooded area. The trees are so full of leaves and vines that they seem to create a tunnel. Photo taken last summer
January 17, 2026 at 3:19 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
After weeks of planning, gathering, and waiting, winter sowing is finally underway

Let the cold stratification begin

#nativeplants
#wintersowing
#canadiangardening
Several recyclable containers sit in a deep bank of snow. They are each filled with potting soil and planted with native plant seeds, including: butterfly weed, boneset, cardinal flower, several types of coneflowers, white wild indigo, bottle gentian, prairie dropseed and swamp milkweed
January 17, 2026 at 2:06 AM
juliwils.bsky.social
64 days until spring 🌱

A bird's eye view of some bird's nest fungi

#fungusfriday
An overtop view of some interesting fungi that resemble nests with shiny black "eggs" Photo taken last summer
January 16, 2026 at 3:23 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
65 days until spring 🌱

On the left, our current weather conditions

On the right, what I'm thinking about instead

#bees
#yellowthursday
A picture from this morning Snow. Everywhere. The mound in the foreground to the left is my compost bin. I opened it yesterday meaning that pile has accumulated in less than 24 hours. A close-up of a bee foraging for pollen on the sunlit face of a sunflower. Photo was taken in July last year
January 15, 2026 at 1:49 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
66 days until spring 🌱

A little bit of glossy perfection for #redwed

#growyourown
#canadiangardening
A close-up of several cherry tomatoes in various stages of ripening
January 14, 2026 at 2:15 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
I'm at the stage of seed collecting where I need alphabetized inventory lists based on plant type to stop myself from buying duplicates

I've added in annual flowers, something I've not done before

And now I'm exploring storage solutions

(This might be my version of a midlife crisis)

#gardensky
January 14, 2026 at 12:39 AM
juliwils.bsky.social
67 days until spring 🌱

Mind your step for #tinyflowertuesday

#bees
#nativeplants
One of the many bees collecting nectar from one of the many self-heal blossoms in the grass of an underused park last summer
January 13, 2026 at 8:59 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
68 days until spring 🌱

A double dose for #pinkmon

#flowers
#Canadiangardening
A close-up of nearly star-shaped blossoms which are a light pink on the edges and a brighter and deeper pink in the center. Several buds are unopened which are also the deeper pink shade
January 12, 2026 at 4:08 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
69 days until spring 🌱

A field on sunshine for #stunday

#flowers
#plantsky
A shot of an expansive field of sunflowers, taken from the side of a country road in SW Ontario last summer
January 11, 2026 at 4:38 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
70 days until spring 🌱

To start a countdown while observing #greensat, here's a surprise* jack-in-the-pulpit I discovered while tidying an overgrown section of my yard last spring

(*2025 marked the fifth spring here and I'd never noticed this plant before)

#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
A hooded flower grows among the shiny leaves and blue-purple flowers of periwinkle. The spathe is bright green topside with maroon stripes on the underside and covers the spike of tiny flowers growing in the center
January 10, 2026 at 1:50 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
I was going to limit myself to growing a few #herbs this year

It turns out I have trouble making decisions so I'm now up to over 20 types (more seeds are en route)

There are many benefits to herb growing: some will be companion plants, some will be hosts, most will attract pollinators

#gardensky
An image of a variety of herb seeds, including sage, lemon balm, borage, dill, catnip, wild bergamot, dotted mint, German chamomile, and pale purple echinacea
January 8, 2026 at 4:36 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
It's a new year so I thought: find a new hobby or just lean harder into a current interest (e.g. #gardening)?

I chose the latter and joined my city's horticultural society

My first meeting is next week and the topic centers on #nativeplants

I think I made the right call

🌱
January 7, 2026 at 1:20 AM
juliwils.bsky.social
A flashback to warmer days

Most kids go to the beach for the swimming

My kids mostly go for the rock hunting

(FYI: #LakeHuron beaches have great rocks)

#beach
#rockintuesday
A close up of the rocky beach in Goderich, Ontario A young boy with downcast eyes in a dinosaur hat holds a flat rock up for the camera A close-up of some grouped rocks left behind by another beach goer
January 6, 2026 at 9:35 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
The one upside to the whole family being sick over the holiday break?

All the jugs of distilled water we need for the humidifiers = eventual containers for winter sowing

Otherwise, the plague upon our house can (insert Simon Pegg gesture here) jog on

#seeds
#nativeplants
#Canadiangardening
January 4, 2026 at 2:59 AM
juliwils.bsky.social
Hello, 2026

The day began with blue skies, sunshine, and a lady cardinal in our front tree

Then the snow squalls started up again (plus it's -19°C with the wind chill)

So I'm ignoring the weather and spending the first day of the year organizing my seed stash

#nativeplants
#canadiangardening
A large collection of mostly native plant seeds with some herbs, grouped based on where in the yard they'll be planted in the spring or by their purpose. The piles to the left will be in a tea garden, the ones in the middle will be host plants (and the pile on the right are seeds I planted last year but will sow more of this year if I gather enough containers for winter sowing 😬)
January 1, 2026 at 4:55 PM
juliwils.bsky.social
2025

I didn't start this year feeling too hopeful

It wasn't until I started gardening again, with the goal of switching over to #nativeplants, that I remembered: small changes have big effects and curiosity isn't just for kids

Thankfully photos remind us of the lessons we learn

🌱
#bestphotos2025
A close-up shot of a resting red dragonfly against a weathered fence post A shot of a male monarch butterfly with crumpled wings, having just emerged from his chrysalis moments before A monarch caterpillar curls around the bright green leaf he is eating, illuminated by the sun A bee stands on back legs to reach into a tiny pink blossom of a sweet baby Joe pye weed plant
January 1, 2026 at 12:24 AM
juliwils.bsky.social
Oof, did we get some snow in SW Ontario

This was supposed to be the flat "sunny" spot for my winter jugs

It seems I have a lot of clearing up to do first (that snow drift is nearly three feet high in places)

#nativeplants
#wintersowing
A huge mound of snow covers a metal chair and the deck it stands on
December 31, 2025 at 5:56 PM