I really love tulips. I especially like it when they start to droop over. This fall I am definitely going to plant some bulbs for next year. Please hold me to it.
Archive for the 'gardening' Category
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Hi. Firstly, things are back to normal around here. Literally. After all that I had to leave this blog on my original server since I now realize I am not half as tech-savvy as I imagined. I will have to get a third party involved to do all the heavy lifting. Apparently this is a fragile little site that requires some care in transport.
As I look out my window now, I see sprouting buds on trees that weren’t there a few days ago. Spring is coming on full force. After realizing last year that the workroom’s window is a perfect spot to grow things, we’ve brought back a little greenery to that sunny spot.
I’ve been wanting to buy this little potmaker from Lee Valley for ages. You use it to make little paper pots from recycled newspaper for your seedlings. Later on you can directly plant the pots into the ground and they will just decompose.
I spotted some clever recycled seedling pots at You Grow Girl the other day and was quite taken with them.
The seeds are just a variety of flowers and herbs that I had in my seed collection, plus a packet of morning glory vines. I have fallen in love with flowery vines over the last few years and love the idea of them growing up and over everything. Once the weather is warm enough they will all be planted outside in the workroom’s backyard, which is about to undergo a transformation that will make it the scene for lots of outdoor fun this summer.
Jerisse put the whole window installation together. Using stacks of our empty cardboard bolts from fabric to create different levels to place the seedlings on.
The seedlings finally started to sprout on the weekend after about week. I was starting to worry, but Mother Nature is pretty reliable.
Just a quick update on the terrarium. When I was hiking in Halton, I picked up two little plants. One is a fern and I’m not sure what the other one is. I’ve planted them both and they seem to be doing well. At the very least there’s a bit more action in there. The moss is still mossy and green. Yeah! The mini birch log and acorn cap are still providing some woodland cuteness.
What a gorgeous fall/birthday weekend! Saturday night Andrew took me to Le Select Bistro for my favourite meal, steak frites. Everything was incredible; the wine, the crispy fries, the perfectly cooked steak and the yummy creme brule. I LOVE french bistro and this was everything I love about french bistro. Delicious and luxurious!
On Sunday we drove out to the Halton region to hike on the Niagara Escarpment with Maisy. It’s one of our favourite excursions, no matter what the season. With the changing leaves right now, the landscape is especially brilliant. The woodland scenery is filled with mossy rocks, ferns, chipmunks and large mushrooms, so I was endlessly mesmerized by it all. I lifted two tiny little plants for my terrarium and wished that I could have taken home a few mossy logs and rocks.
Sunday night I finished dress 13, which has a bit of a woodland theme. I wore it last night at the workroom’s birthday party, so I’ll be posting it tomorrow. This was definitely the best birthday I’ve had yet!
Sadly, the cute mushroom turned black and died a couple days after I started the terrarium. Everything else – the moss and little fern – seem to be doing okay.
I added the little birch twig yesterday, to add some visual interest. I feel like my terrarium could use a stylist.
The acorn cap is still there.
What a thrilling update. I guess no news is good news in terrarium world.
I’m crazy for moss. I don’t know why, but I love it. If I could, I would live in a house carpeted in moss. More than likely this obsession stems from my fascination with fairies. I never said, but fairies are my favourite mythical creature. Everybody knows how much fairies love moss, right?
Over the years, I’ve tried to bring more moss into my life. The trouble is that moss requires very specific growing conditions and neither my backyard nor my house resembles a shady, moist forest. I’ve tried decorative bowls filled with moss, moss lining my planters and moss edging for the patio. Unfortunately, I’ve killed lots of moss in the process.
This is why I’m so excited about my new terrarium. This enclosed glass mini eco-system should be perfect for keeping moss alive… theoretically.
On Monday, I started gathering together all the essentials for this project. Almost everything I used for the terrarium were found materials, the only thing I purchased was some activated carbon from an aquarium shop. The activated carbon or charcoal is used to filter the water in the terrarium and keep things clean. I used this vintage cracker jar that I had found a few months ago. On my walk with Maisy, I scooped up a small section of moss from the woods, complete with a cute mushroom. My local lumberyard let me grab a handful of gravel and sand for free! When I got home, I divided a small fern we have growing in our front yard.
Into my cleaned out glass jar, I put a layer of gravel with a bit of sand. The gravel provides drainage for the water. On top of that I put a layer of activated carbon. Then a layer of dried moss or sphagnum moss. I have a good collection of dried out/dead moss already. This keeps the soil from getting down into water below. My section of live moss had a nice layer of soil attached to it, so i just cut it to size and evened out the bottom. Once the moss was in the jar, I made a little hole to plant my mini fern. I tried to tamp down the moss and all the layers below to compact it all together. I even put in the acorn cap that was sitting on the moss when I harvested it. A little bit of water was added to get the roots wet and then I put the lid on.
The idea with a closed terrarium is that it is it’s own eco-system. The plants produce oxygen and the water condensates and runs down the glass and waters the plants. If it gets too misty, you can open the lid and let it dry out a bit. After a few weeks, apparently things get sorted out and it just takes cares of itself.
I’m mentally planning more terrariums, but I’ll see how this one progresses. It’s pretty amazing though. It’s like a little green mossy world on my bedside table.
These terrariums by Paula Hayes are a whole other level. {via unruly things}
The elusive frog in our pond finally let me get close enough to take his photo. Meet Mr. Frog!
I’m just so proud that our tiny plastic pond in the ground has become home to such a cute creature.
Monday = My day off, so I’m planning on making some things. (starting with french toast with pear jam for breakfast & french onion soup for dinner – oh, i didn’t even realize i was feeling so french today!)
Just look at that beautiful tropical flower. One might think I was showing you photographs from a recent trip to Hawaii, but I’ve never been there. Nope, I took this photo in my backyard and it represents a major gardening triumph for me.
The flower is called ‘Plumeria’, also known as ‘Frangipani’. It is a tree or shrub that can be found in almost all tropical places of the world from Central America to the Philippines or India. I grew my Plumeria from a seed. Seriously, a little tiny seed. Nature never ceases to amaze me.
This story starts out about two years ago. I bought a bunch of seeds off ebay. Yes, I know that’s weird, but clearly you can buy anything off ebay. I bought a whole variety of poppy seeds. I really love poppies and I had envisioned a lovely field of poppies in my backyard. None of those seeds ever grew. Not one! So sad. I have had no luck growing poppies and it hurts. Does anyone have any tips for me?
Since I was already buying poppy seeds, I thought it would be fun to buy some more obscure flowering plants to try growing. Besides the Plumeria, I also bought Ylang Ylang since that is my favourite scent. I didn’t have any luck with the Ylang Ylang, but I’m encouraged now to try these seeds again.
I planted a few Plumeria seeds. Two of them grew into seedlings and then into little plants. Already I was thrilled, but the question was, would they ever flower? I gave one of the plants to my dad, who is the ultimate gardener. If anyone could get it to flower, I was sure at least he could. I planted mine into a larger pot and it just kept growing taller and taller. My tree is now about six feet tall. My dad kept his in a very small pot and his is about three feet tall. That is a very good lesson in controlling the size of your plants. My tree grew straight up with no branches and as the tree grows, the lower leaves just drop away. My dad’s has grown a few branches. We both keep the trees outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter (obviously). We periodically compare notes on each other’s trees anticipating who’s would flower first, if ever. I figured that his was doing better, since I had essentially let mine grow a bit wild and quickly.
A couple weeks ago a strange new cluster of red buds appeared at the top of my tree. I really hoped they might end up being flowers. I bet all the rain we’ve been having this year has been a factor. My little tree must have thought it vacationing in the tropics. There are seven more buds to bloom and the scent of the flower is incredible. If you recognize it, it might be because it is traditionally used in leis.
Frangipani is also something that I’ve had in baked goods, but I can’t seem to find out exactly what it is. I seem to remember that it might have to do with almonds? Does anyone know for sure?
Happy Long Weekend!
I’ve been meaning to cut some Hydrangea flowers from the garden and put them in my room. I finally cut a tiny bloom off this morning. I did a bit of research to find out the best way to make them last longer. I used the hot water method. I’m curious to see how long I can make the bloom last by repeating this on a daily basis. I’ll let you know.
This particular Hydrangea blooms either pink or blue depending on the pH of your soil. My soil is obviously alkaline. I’m thinking about adding some coffee grounds or peat moss to try to get some blue blooms next year.
I do have a real soft spot for pink though. Did you know that a specific shade of pink, Baker Miller Pink, has been found to lower your heart rate and is used in prison holding cells to calm down prisoners?
I’m in love with this planter posted on You Grow Girl. {via whip up}
Over the long weekend, I got to go to out of the city to visit a few plant nurseries. I wanted to go to Richter’s in Goodwood to pick up some different varieties of perennial herbs. Since it is already mid-summer, they didn’t have their full selection, but they still have many things I haven’t seen here in the city. I was able to pick up some Pineapple mint (it actually smells like pineapples!), Mojito mint (this one is straight from Cuba and I can’t wait to try it in my personal version of the Mojito), Kent Beauty oregano (mostly because it looks so pretty), Thai basil and various Thymes. The other thing I got that day was a flat of Ontario strawberries. This was the best $12 I had spent. Having fresh berries morning, noon and night is my idea of heaven. Also, I made Strawberry Balsamic Sherbet, which is really yummy.
I’ve been getting the Richters Herbs catalog for a couple years now. I absolutely love pouring through seed & plant catalogs, circling all the many things I want to grow. The Richters catalog is especially fascinating because they carry pretty much every herb you could think of from Banana Mint to Nutmeg Thyme to Valerian and Stevia. They also list all the medicinal features and the plants that can be used for natural dyeing. I’m started to get very interested in natural dyeing, so I’m planning next year’s garden (at home and at the workroom) to have plants that can be harvested for just that purpose.
My other favourite seed catalog is Seed Savers Exchange. They save & share heirloom seeds in an effort to preserve our garden heritage. They sell over 70 types of tomato seeds alone! I’ve grown their Yellow Pear tomatoes and Black Krim tomatoes with delicious success.
Partly gardening-related: If you’re going to New York this summer, definitely make a stop over to P.S.1 in Long Island City on a Saturday. This year is the ten year anniversary of their weekly Warm Up event. Lots of great music, art and incredible people watching in their outdoor courtyard. This year the space is transformed into an urban farmland. I’m intrigued by the idea of gardening in cardboard tubes. (via Cool Hunting) The Warm Up event started the summer before I moved to New York, so their ten year anniversary is making me feel old and a bit nostalgic.
