That Bloomin' Garden

Loving Great Foliage

2012-02-14T10:31:00.000-08:00

There is something about having great foliage that makes a garden stand out. When I look for perennials for my garden I am always on the lookout for ones that have that extra value. Plants that shine even after their flowers are done. As long as your garden has great foliage, the flowers are just an added bonus.

Looking at the photo above that I took at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, imagine those large leaves in your garden. Paired next to the fine needles of the conifer it looks magnificent. I can just see this plant in my garden alongside Hostas, ferns and other evergreens. I just wish I had noted the name of it.

I loved this display garden. The blend of grasses of all different colours with their narrow leaves gave a softness to this garden and made it inviting.

This garden was one of my favourites. For one thing it reminded me so much of the Pacific Northwest. The use of evergreens in various hues is outstanding and I would like this in my own garden. There are just a few pink and mauve flowers in this garden and they compliment the colour of the rock. The addition of the large vertical rock element gives this garden a sign of strength.
So what do you find important in a garden design? Do you go for colour or foliage? We all have different tastes and that's okay. A garden is an expression of oneself, is it not?

Using Heaths in the Garden

2012-02-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

Last week at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show I saw a lot of different plants. Some of the plants used in the display gardens were familiar ones. One of my personal favourites is Heath or Erica.

Flower colours include white, pink, purple and lavender. What I like about using Heaths in the garden is the foliage. Often as cold weather approaches Heath foliage will start to get red tips. The foliage colours come in green, gold, chartreuse and russet. This plant really makes an impact planted in mass.

I loved this formal display garden at the show. Here they used Erica x darleyensis 'Kramers Rote' with spring bulbs. It sure is pretty. The flowers on Heaths bloom from late fall to late spring depending on the variety.

Heaths are easy to grow here in the Pacific Northwest. For the longest time they were overused but they are always a great choice for a foundation planting. They also do well in containers. They require a site in full sun, excellent drainage and careful watering. Never let your plants dry out. I guess that's why they do so well here. We definitely have lots of rain to keep them watered.
To keep your Heaths looking good every year, trim spent flowers back right after flowering. Never cut back to bare wood. Keeping them trimmed each year will prevent the legginess that occurs over the years.

A Breath of Spring!

2012-02-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

I attended the Northwest Flower and Garden show last week. What a show! Here is a peek at what the show had to offer. Today we will check out what I loved best, the flowers.

As we entered the display garden area of the show, I was overcome with fragrance from the Narcissus planted as you walked in. It was heavenly!

I love Hellebores and these were pretty awesome. Unlike a lot of Hellebores they looked up and smiled for me. Just kidding, I had to get down on my knees for this photo.

Then I saw it, a plant like no other. I have to have this one. This is Pleione formosa 'Aunt Trudy'. With my luck it will be a plant that doesn't grow here in the pacific northwest. Isn't it beautiful?

As you walk in to the lobby of the show it is filled with more spring colour. From Primulas to Heathers, they have it all.

What I liked about this entrance planting is that all the flowers were labelled. For new gardeners this is so important.

This is a bed of Cyclamen. This river of pastel colours was my favourite planting.

Of course, what flower show would be without Tulips? Looking at all these beautiful flowers had us coming home and wanting to get outside in the garden. You know what, that's just what we did.

Northwest Flower & Garden Show Fun

2012-02-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

I just arrived back home from the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. It is the largest garden show in America with over 110 speakers and lots of display gardens as well as a marketplace. We arrived in Seattle to be treated to a tweetup by the Garden Show organizers. Many of us travelled from all parts of the United States and Canada to meet each other and reconnect before the show opened for the day.

Here is Brenda from BGgarden in the center who hosts gardenchat on twitter every week. Now don't roll your eyes, gardenchat is a lot of fun and we get together online each week to discuss a different aspect of gardening. Most of the people who had coffee before the show are all regular contributors to gardenchat. It was so nice to connect and meet them in person.

Thanks goes out to Janet for organizing this event for us. Lucky attendees all came home with a swag bag full of goodies. I am now the proud owner of the new Sunset Western Garden Book and a trowel from Corona Tools. The bag was full of seeds from Subaru, moo poo tea from my dear friend Annie at Authentic Haven Brand Manure Tea and some Eco lawn seed.

We had lots of fun over the last couple of days but the friendships made have been the most important. Our short time together that morning was priceless as we all met new and old friends. Next year I hope to get a group shot of everyone. Not sure why we didn't think of doing that in the first place.
It was great fun this last week and I will be sorting through photos hoping to inspire you to think spring.
Until then, happy gardening,
Kristin

Wordless Wednesday- Spring Teaser

2012-02-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

Narcissus will be blooming soon.

Hoping to see my Crocuses soon!

Super Sow Sunday

2012-02-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

I have to tell you all about Super Sow Sunday. Super Sow Sunday is a day where people all over the country get together at the same time to plant seeds and share their knowledge. What fun it was chatting on twitter with gardeners from all over the country about seeds and what they were planting. I had my trays ready, seeds picked out and labels marked. I was set.

It was only about 15 degrees Celsius in the greenhouse yesterday so I had my jacket on. I only use a small heater to keep temperatures around 5 degrees at night. During the day it can reach about 22 degrees on a sunny day.

I like to pour my seed starter mix in to a bucket and add lukewarm water to moisten it. By moistening the soil now, I won't have to water the soil after sowing my seeds until it dries out. It lessens the chance of tiny seeds floating away.

I had my seeds chosen. I decided to plant some herbs as they usually go outside in April which is about seven to eight weeks from now. Its no point starting tomatoes yet as they cannot go outside until almost the end of May here. I will start my tomatoes towards the end of March.

I also like to label my tags before I begin planting. This just makes it easier. I also add the date sown so I can see how long the seeds take to germinate.

I have a flat of Sage, Chives and Thyme planted. I am hoping to give these plants to the Ladner Community Garden so we can start our herb garden. Plus I have a class of twenty three children willing to help.
Super Sow Sunday got me started and now I will send the afternoon getting more herbs planted. It was the push I needed to get started. The bonus on Super Sow Sunday, I won more seeds! I know what you are thinking, I am the last person that needs more seeds. I will probably share them with the community garden as a lot of the members are new gardeners.

I Finally Worked in the Garden!

2012-02-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

It was such a nice day yesterday, I tried my hand at gardening again. The day before had been a dismal failure. I couldn't seem to get in to a good position. I am so used to crouching down in a certain way to weed. This time it didn't work due to my recovery from a broken hip. Well I will not be sitting idle no matter what my body tells me. Yesterday I was successful and spent two hours in the garden cleaning out the beds so hubby could place some compost on the beds. So what did I change about my position? I am now kneeling on both knees to garden. I think I used to scramble around like a crab before. I am ecstatic to say the least that I have overcome this hurdle. For those of you that know me, my passion for gardening has me outside for at least an hour everyday during the growing season.

Of course, I wouldn't be back in the garden without Jim's help. He took care of me, the house and the garden last year while I spent three months in a wheelchair. Yesterday he shovelled soil and the gardens are looking fabulous. We have fifteen yards of compost to spread and get this, it won't be enough! We have a half acre of gardens so only the gardens that really need compost will get some this year.

Hubby is a bit of a practical joker so I wasn't surprised to see his little buddy helping him yesterday.

Hubby also thought this was pretty funny. He had some old Halloween stuff kicking around at work and brought it home. Of course, he didn't tell me about this sign. He wanted me to find it by myself. I am thinking of adding the word "good" to the sign. I will leave it up for a week just so I can see people chuckle.

This is the project of the week. I love succulents and want to make a small rock garden area here to show them off. Its still a work in progress. I have lots of plants to go in. Isn't that how it goes? You start working in the garden and all sorts of new ideas come to mind. For us, our garden is our oasis. We love spending time outside so if we can make it look even better, that's a good thing.

Loving Ladner's Tranquility

2012-02-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

I finally got out for my first walk. I know what that sounds like but since breaking a hip and a wrist last July my walking hasn't been up to par. I can usually walk quite a long distance and hope to get to that point once again. I no longer walk with any aids so it was time to test my endurance. I had to do some errands in town and since I only live four blocks away from where I wanted to go, I set out.

I love walking as you get to see so much more than when you drive. I love crossing the pedestrian bridge to our local mall. This is the Chilukhthan slough which runs behind my house. Those are probably my large trees in the background. This slough was used by Aboriginal people to move between the Fraser River and Boundary Bay in the 1880's. Now we have kayakers and rowboats take the occasional trip down behind us in the summer.

This bridge is a favourite stopping point for families to feed the ducks. I think they are the best fed ducks in town.
I made it in to town and back and my exercise will be the best thing I do for myself this spring. For me, its all about getting in shape for the garden.

Get Your Seeds Ready!

2012-02-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is officially Super Sow Sunday across the country. While everyone else will be watching the football game , gardeners all over will be sowing their first seeds. While we are sowing seeds we will be sharing our pictures and chatting on twitter. Thanks to Bren at BGgarden who got this fun day started. Its always fun to hear what others are planting across the country. And you know, we are all a bit seed crazy so its lots of fun.

Getting ready for this day always gives me the push I need to think about what I want to grow this summer. Tomorrow I will be planting a few different herb and vegetable seeds as they can go outside as plants in April. Hard to believe that's only a couple of months away.

Yesterday I was in the greenhouse getting my supplies ready. I have purchased my favourite seed starter mix. Its very light and the seeds grow well in it. I never use garden soil as it can bring in unwanted pests and disease to the greenhouse.

Last year I used this wonderful seed mat from West Coast Seeds. It has been a godsend. It increases the temperature of the soil making it easy for the seeds to germinate. This four foot heat mat will hold four trays on it. Once the seeds are up I move them to one side to make room for more sowing.

The next step is to drag out my trays. I use no hole seed flats to begin with. Because there is no drainage in these flats I can water them from below. It is best to water from the bottom. If you water on top of the soil the water can push tiny seeds around in the cells. As you can see these trays are a bit dirty from last year. I shake off any excess dirt but use them as is. I used to scrub down all my pots and trays each spring but have found it is not necessary. I have not lost one plant from a dirty pot.

Now I set all my cell packs or pots in to the no hole flats. I am ready to fill them up with soil. Before filling I always moisten the seed starter soil. By wetting the soil I won't have to worry about initial watering after I have planted the seeds.
So join us tomorrow and celebrate Super Sow Sunday. It brings us the promise of new growth and new friendships. Let the game begin!

Fertilizer Friday-Look What's Blooming!

2012-02-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Today I am joining Glenda over at Tootsie Time and flaunting the flowers that are blooming in my garden. I don't have much to show this week but spring is almost here. Yesterday was groundhog day and he didn't see his shadow. Hogwash I say! My daughter came home from the barn yesterday and said the groundhog doesn't know what he is thinking. Her horse, Rose, and all the other horses at the barn are shedding their winter coats so spring is right around the corner.

Lets just see what we have in bloom. The Galanthus or snow drops are in full bloom. I love their tiny flowers, a sure sign of spring. The name Galanthus means milk white and the flowers are just that. My clumps of snowdrops grow under some of the Rhododendrons in the garden. They are best obtained when in the green just after they finish blooming. A clump is easily dug up and can be moved at this time.

My Viburnum bodnantense is still bloom. This is a shrub that really gives you bang for your buck. It has been in bloom since last November and is still going strong. Its flowers bloom on bare branches and finish when the shrub leafs out in the spring.

Now this is a lousy picture but check out the new growth appearing on the roses! I checked with expert Brad Jalbert at Select Roses and he is noticing the same things. He even said its okay to start pruning the more hardy shrub roses and climbers but to leave the hybrid teas until March.
Well that's it for my blooms. Its going to be a busy weekend as we have fifteen yards of compost waiting to be placed on the garden. I have this great hubby who does all the grunt work in the garden. I am so blessed. I must tell you though, the other night I was looking at my seed stash and he started putting some seeds aside for himself. I am thinking what is this? He is showing an interest in growing food? Ah, but he loved eating fresh from the garden last year. Hooray, a convert!

Grab Your Shovels!

2012-02-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

Its been just like spring here on the west coast of British Columbia. The snow drops are in bloom and I can't wait to get my hands dirty in the garden. Last fall we had fifteen yards of compost delivered and the gardens are just waiting for it to go on. Yesterday hubby decided it was time to get some compost on the spring gardens. The tulips are up at least three inches and we want to get the soil on before any more growth happens. You know how fast a garden grows in the spring.

Before we place the compost on the garden, we will do a lot of lasagna gardening. Lasagna gardening is a favourite of mine. You place a layer of wet newspaper on the garden or on sod if you are making a new garden. Then you cover the newspaper with old leaves. We save our leaves each fall just so we can renew our garden each spring. Once you have the leaves on at least six inches thick, you can then add some old soil from containers or some compost or top soil. You can continue with another layer of leaves and then more soil until you have a pile about a foot and half high.

Lasagna gardening is best done in the fall and left to sit over the winter so that it has several months to decompose. In our garden we just applied one layer of newspaper and leaves and topped it off with compost. Since its still winter it will break down in to new soil by summer. Many of the plants in this garden are perennial so they will grow right through all the layers. So will the spring bulbs.

This is what the front garden looks like today. What a fresh new look it has. I cant wait for all the flowers to come up.

I also can't wait to dig in the garden. If this nice weather keeps up, I will be moving some plants around. I would love to move my yellow peony as it is getting too much shade and remove some of the more invasive perennials like Centaurea montana. I love its blue flowers but I only need so many.
Time to get our shovels ready, spring is almost here!

Wordless Wednesday- Look Who's Walking in My Garden

2012-02-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

Jake in stalker mode

Awe, nothing to chase. I will just relax.

January in the Ladner Community Garden

2012-01-31T11:18:00.000-08:00

Its been a busy month for the Ladner Community Garden Society.Getting our first Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo off the ground has had us working and planning for over three months. It was so successful that we will be holding the event again in 2013. That seems so far away right now but our vendors have already expressed an interest to return next year.I have someone bringing heritage apple trees next year.

You can see by this photo that we have had our share of rain and this area of the community garden will need a lot of work this spring.We will be building new wooden composters and moving the existing composters to a new location while we work on the drainage in this area.So for now, wear your boots.

I couldn't believe my eyes and had to do a double take when I saw this flower. Is that a dandelion I see? We have had a mild winter but this weed is a month early. The dandelion is the first source of pollen for bees in the spring. Its just too early for bees yet.

Its that time of year to start planning your vegetable garden again. Don't forget its our AGM meeting on Wednesday, February 1 at the Ladner Library from 7-9pm. I have quite a few seeds left over from the seed swap so I will be sharing them with community garden members. Wednesday, February 1 is also the deadline to renew your memberships. I can't wait to share the success of our Seedy Saturday tomorrow night.
Update- You know you are having a flustered day when you post and don't realize the post was meant for the Ladner Community Garden blog.

Tatiana TOMATObase Seeds

2012-01-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

I have to share a new seed source. Yes, just what I needed was another way to feed my addiction. I didn't feel so bad when I met Tatiana at our local Seed Saturday.Tatiana's mission is to collect heirloom seeds and share them with the gardening public. She has over 4000 varieities of vegetable seeds with a huge focus on tomatoes! She was giving a presentation on growing tomates in containers. Everyone loves tomatoes so she had a great audience.

Tatiana gave a wonderful talk on how to grow tomatoes.

Nothing beats a homegrown tomato for taste.

Ready to Pick!

If you are interested in tomatoes, check out Tatiana's site here at Tatiana's TOMATObase.

Ladner Seedy Saturday

2012-01-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Ladner Seedy Saturday was a great success. There was so much to see that day. You know me ,the seedaholic, I leaned towards the seeds that day. Stellar Seeds was there with an array of seeds for everyone.

They sell certified organic seeds, heirloom and rare varieties grown on small farms. Their mission is to provide you with non GMO and open pollinated seed.Stellar Seeds is located in Kaslo, British Columbia.

Derry came to the Seedy Saturday from Derry's Orchard and Nursery with this great display board showing all the different fruits she grows. Lingonberries were the most popular plant sold at the event.Derry guarantees her plants.If you have a problem with a plant, she will replace it. I cant wait to purchase some of her apple trees and raspberries for my garden.

Apples were for sale as this is a great time to think about planting.

Buds'n Petals was also at the event. I think the pussy willows were a big draw. I saw lots of people leaving with them. They also had lots of seeds for sale. Yes, I came home with more seeds but I also shared my extra seeds at the seed swap. Hubby keeps saying 'more seeds?' So are you wondering what I bought at Seedy Saturday? Absolutely nothing. Yes, I was one of the organizers so I didn't have time. I did get two free packages of seeds.Hubby won a door prize of two mushroom growing kits. Now that's something we have never grown. He is pretty excited to try them out.

Proud of My Community for Promoting Pesticide Ban

2012-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

Its been an unsettling week for many organic gardeners across America.The National Wildlife Federation announced that they had decided to partner with Scott's Miracle Gro, a huge chemical company. When I read the announcement online, I couldn't believe it. What did a company that sells killer chemicals like Roundup of Monsanto fame and other nasty drugs have in common with the National Wildlife Federation? I just didn't get it and neither did a lot of other people. I tuned in to the CEO of NWF as he gave a press conference and tears came to my eyes. It was so obviously all about money and nothing else.

It sure made me appreciate my pesticide free community that I live in. This is what I saw as I stood outside our city hall. These ducks have an easy life by the looks of it.

I love watching this pond near the city hall in Ladner. Its natural grassy edges make great nesting sites for the ducks. As of November of 2010, Delta banned the use of chemical herbicides, insecticides and fungicides on all public and private property. I know we have a long way to go in educating the public but we are headed in the right direction. Please remember, nature intended the birds to do away with our pests in the garden. Lets let them do their job.

The First Sign of Spring

2012-01-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

It felt like spring yesterday with temperatures rising to almost ten degrees Celsius here on the west coast of British Columbia. Its amazing what the sun does to people. I dropped by West Coast Seeds and the store was full of people looking to buy seeds and seed trays and get their summer garden going. I have all my seeds ready to sow but that's a whole other post.

Even thought winter is still here, there are signs of spring approaching in the garden.The first flower to show its tiny head is the snowdrop or Galanthus. Galanthus is the Latin word for milk white flowers, hence the color of the flowers. The blooms are nodding white flowers and are about an inch across. The plant grows to between four to six inches high. Now not everyone has an easy time growing snowdrops. The bulbs you buy in the garden centers in the fall for spring bloom have a tendency to dry out. It is best to receive division of this plant when it is in the green. Have someone dig up a small clump of snowdrops to get you started. Once you get your new clump of snowdrops home you can divide them or plant them as is. If you decide to divide the clump, gently tease the roots apart with your hands being careful not to break the roots. Snowdrops can be planted in almost any well drained soil. A moist soil is best but not too wet. They prefer a semi-shaded site and are best grown in the shade of shrubs or trees or along a woodland path. Once planted snowdrops will last a lifetime in your garden and bring joy to all who see them.

In the front garden I spotted the Hellebores just starting to send new shoots up.I cant wait for the blooms to come. We gardeners are an impatient bunch.Looking back at old posts over the last two years, I found that the blooms I see now are right on time. So interesting to see how mother nature's schedule is exactly on time.

Heritage Harvest Seeds Arrived!

2012-01-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

Its just like Christmas for gardeners at this time of year. The seed catalogues that we pored over during winter are put aside and now we are patiently waiting for seed orders to arrive. I received my first seed order in record time. Through my involvement with the Ladner Seedy Saturday I was put in touch with Heritage Harvest Seed and they sent me a catalogue.I found fun seeds in there like Drunken Woman Lettuce. Now you have to wonder how it got its name. I also ordered Salpiglossis or Painted Tongue, an annual flower that is hard to find at garden centers here. I love old fashioned flowers so I ordered some Larkspur. We will see how successful I will be at growing it this year. Its one of those seeds that really likes to sow itself, kind of like poppies. I am also going to try growing Lavender from seed. I know its easy from cuttings but will try it this way. I hope to grow several varieties of Lavender for a plant sale this summer.
I am still waiting on seeds from Richter's Herbs and Vesey's Seeds. Heritage Harvest Seeds arrived in six days from half way across Canada. I call that good customer service. What are you growing from seed this year?

I am getting ready for Super Sow Sunday on February 5. While everyone else watches football many gardeners across the country will be planting and tweeting about seeds and what they are planting. Having an event like this makes me get started after a winter of lounging around. It brings back the excitement of the first seed germinating and the hopes and dreams we all have for our summer gardens to come. Am I a little crazy? Yep, just a bit, crazy about gardening!

Linnaeus Day - Cornus Nuttalli

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am joining Chris, author of From the Soil in celebrating Linnaeus Day. Each month we will feature a plant from our garden and talk about its history.I have chosen the Pacific Dogwood. I have two different kinds of Cornus or Dogwood in my yard and now I am looking for the species,Cornus nuttali. I picked this plant as the Dogwood has been British Columbia's emblem since 1956. They were a protected species until 2002.
During World War II, dogwood lapel pins were sold to earn money to buy wool and other comforts for British Colombian soldiers.

The native Cornus nutalli is an understory shrub commonly found growing in the heavy shade of tall evergreens. This shrub tolerates heavy shade and is still able to produce beautiful greenish white flowers in late spring. It can flower in low light levels as it only uses one third of full sunlight for photosynthesis. I found this fact amazing. The Dogwood is also found in areas of moist soil such as along river and stream banks.

Looking back on the history of the Dogwood, I read that First Nations people used the dogwood bark in medicine. It was thought that if the bark was boiled it would help with stomach disorders and it was also used as a cure for malaria.The wood from this shrub was commonly used to make implements, knitting needles,furniture and baskets. I love the Dogwood in my garden.It has lovely white flowers in late spring and then red berries in the fall.

I wondered how the Dogwood got its name and found this wonderful page at Dave's Garden. Such wonderful stories that I imagine have been passed down over generations. I love the story about how it was thought that a tiny race of people lived in the forest and looked after the Dogwoods. Being a fairy fan, I will go with this story. It has been said these little people were called the Dogwood people.They taught people how to live in harmony with the land and to do good to others.

This is Cornus kousa in my garden.I love the blooms on this shrub. It is the perfect choice for the small garden as it has topped out at about fifteen feet in height.

It is definitely a show stopper in the garden when it blooms.

Fertilizer Friday- Running Late

2012-01-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

I am a day late getting my Friday post up but thought I would do it today. As they say better late than never. I was checking out Tootsie Time to see the beautiful jade plant she posted. Check it out here. I only have a couple of blooms to share today. It snowed here all week but when I woke up today the snow was pretty well gone.

Despite the bitter cold the Viburnum bodnantense is still blooming.

The Winter Jasmine is also doing well.

This is what my front yard looked like yesterday. You have to love the way the snow looks so perfect, a blanket protecting all the plants with its warmth.

Some of the Rhododendrons didn't like the extreme cold and curled their leaves inwards for protection.

The only sign of spring was this Daffodil shoot poking through the snow.

Looks like we had visitors during the night. Here I thought I was the first to walk upon the snow. It was fun following their trail through the garden and over to the neighbour's yard. The raccoons that walk through our yard walk the same trail every night. I hope they enjoyed the garden.

Wordless Wednesday- Snow Day in Delta

2012-01-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

Willowy Tale from the Children's Garden

2012-01-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

You have to love winter for the bare trees which really show off their natural beauty at this time of year. Last week I was walking the children's garden at Kirkland House and this willow brought back memories. You see it has a story behind it which I will tell today.

About seven years ago my daughter, Julie, had to put in some volunteer hours for school. Here they need thirty hours of volunteer service to graduate. It turned out that the children's garden needed some high school students to help clean up the garden. My daughter went down with a couple of friends. As a reward for their hard work, they were allowed a small two foot wide space to plant a garden of their own. My daughter and her friends were pretty excited as they were given divisions of plants to use in their own special garden. Once the garden was finished my daughter and her friend decided their garden needed a little fence so they broke up twigs and made a little fence around it.

Well fast forward a few years and I started working at the children's garden as a coordinator for the program. We were weeding the garden and the volunteers were cursing a willow tree that always grows over the pathway. They threaten to remove it every year but we don't seem to get around to it.

Was I surprised to find out that this willow tree is the result of the little twigs the girls used for the fence around their garden. One of those twigs is now the beautiful yellow willow you see above.

To this day my daughter still gets a chuckle when she sees the tree at the garden. To think that such a beautiful tree can grow from something so small. It makes her feel proud.

Frosty Day in the Garden

2012-01-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

Its a frosty day here on the lower mainland of British Columbia. I won't complain as the snowfall we received overnight is minimal. This dusting of snow makes it look crisp and clean.

I took a walk and loved the way the snow iced the catkins on my hazelnut tree.

I love that the Viburnum bodnantense is still in full bloom.

This is the view from my backyard looking north. The bare bones of the plants really make the garden interesting at this time of year.

These Primula are trying hard to peek through the snow. They have been in bloom since the beginning of January.

I love this view of the waterway behind us. No ducks in the water this morning. Its below freezing so they are probably cuddled up in the tall grass nearby. This has recently become beaver territory and there are a few gnaw marks on the trees along the bank.

Doesn't the snow look lovely on the Hydrangea blooms? Its hard to believe I will be pruning them next month.

More of one of my favourite winter blooming plants. Who says you cant have flowers in January?

The winter Jasmine is very happy tucked away in a corner. It is shielded from the snow and looks quite happy blooming away outside my kitchen window.The snow fall warnings continue for this week but as I sit here I see the sun melting the snow away. It never lasts here but that's a good thing. One day of snow is all most of us wetcoasters can handle.

Spring Colour on a Winters Day

2012-01-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

I just wrote a winter post but had to share a touch of spring with all my readers out there. I went in to town to shop yesterday and look what I saw. I always say never leave your camera at home.

Hope this brightened your day. I love Primulas. Many people buy them and pop them in a basket or other containers to bring some colour in the home during cold winter days. They are only good for a few days inside as they much prefer cooler temperatures than our homes. For that quick hint of spring pick me up,why not buy some?

Winter in the Children's Garden

2012-01-13T10:17:00.001-08:00

The grade one class doesn't visit the garden in January. Its usually too cold for them. Yesterday I happened to stop by the garden to see how things were doing with the low temperatures we have had. When I say low its only just a few degrees below freezing, never much lower than that. We are pretty lucky living here on the west coast of British Columbia. The breezes off the ocean often protect us from severe winters.

Wasn't I surprised to see how well this Snapdragon was doing in the garden. We will definitely be keeping seed from this plant. It is in a position where it gets lots of sun unlike other parts of the garden.

The north facing part of the garden was very different. Here the frost is evident on the Foxgloves. Looks like we will have lots of flowers this summer. The bees love this plant.

It was frosty out as seen on this leaf. I love the frost patterns the ice crystals make. The mulch pathways crunched as I walked in the garden.

I love this rustic looking gate in the entrance to the children's garden.

Last summer some volunteers built this lovely arbor like structure to go over the gate. On each side it has a little bench, just big enough for two six year olds to sit. The children love sitting here just observing the garden. A roof will be placed on top. From what I have heard it will show all four season on separate quarters of the roof. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.
In February, the children will make their first trip to the garden again. We will do lots of observing and discuss the differences in the seasons.

Its a Seedy Saturday Week

2012-01-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

Its been a busy week as I am one of the volunteers helping out with the first Seedy Saturday in Ladner,BC . Yesterday I received a wonderful surprise in the mail. USC Canada sent me thirty five packages of seeds, some information about what they do and two large seed maps. I cant wait to put a table up to show people what this organization is all about. I have to thank Linda over at Tree and Twig Farm for giving us advice about how to get our Seedy Saturday off the ground.

The last few days I have been trying to get as many seeds packed up for our seed swap table. I now have a great appreciation for seed companies as counting seeds is not an easy job.
If you are wondering what a seed swap is, click here for all the guidelines. I am such a seedaholic, I have lots of leftover seeds to share. I hope others bring seeds to trade as I am always game to try something new.With February so close, its time to think about sowing seeds for the summer garden.
So if you have seeds to share bring them to Ladner Seedy Saturday to the seed swap table where we will make sure they are labeled. If you would like to drop them off ahead of time, contact me @ deltagardener@dccnet.com and we can arrange pickup or drop off.

Cute as a Button-NWFGS 2011 Remembered

2012-01-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

I just came across this post I wrote last year about the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle, Washington. What a fun time I had and I am looking forward to going again. If you want to go the show it is on from February 8-12,2012.

I loved looking at the display gardens at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show last month. One of my favourites was the garden done by Janit Calvo and Christina Salwitz. I loved it. Maybe it was the child in me that loved the miniature garden scene. It was surrounded with beautiful colors and amazing containers of color.

The display was built based on the best selling book Eat, Pray, Love. I love the tiny patio in this display.

This beach scene done in miniature was fabulous. This is a fun way to garden and if you want to get your children interested in gardening, let them create a miniature garden.

This display was surrounded by the work of Christina Salwitz of The Personal Garden Coach. I loved this container. What a wonderful use of foliage and color. It was stunning!

To top off this oasis, just look at this chair. It made me want to curl up with a good book surrounded with beautiful gardens. All I would need is a cup of coffee or glass of wine and I would be so content. Imagine spending time here after a hard day in the garden.

Its Just Like Spring at the Ladner Community Garden

2012-01-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

Its looking a lot like spring out there with record high temperatures being recorded on the west coast of BC. I walked through the Ladner Community Garden today to make sure everything was doing okay. I wasn't surprised to see that the Narcissus bulbs I planted just a few months ago were popping heir heads above ground.

Bulbs are hardy and won't be hurt if the weather tuns cold. They usually won't bloom any earlier than usual. Here the Narcissus tend to bloom from February to April depending on the variety.

I checked out some of the herbs that are still in one of the allotment gardens. This spring we plan to build an herb garden. By the looks of this Oregano we will have lots of divisions this spring. Its starting to invade the nicely behaved Thyme next to it in the garden.

I dream about having an herb garden similar to this one at Kirkland House in Ladner. The purple flowers in this photo are from the Chives. It is also planted up with Sage and lavender. I love the colours used in this garden. Sedum angelina makes an evergreen border with its chartreuse foliage.
Okay, spring, hurry up!

Getting Ready For Ladner Seedy Saturday & Garden Expo

2012-01-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

Its a busy week as we count down the days until the Ladner Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo. I am packing seeds for the seed swap and you all know how many seeds I have collected. Way too many!

I shared my new Heritage Harvest seed catalogue yesterday with a twitter friend and was accused of being an enabler,lol. Fortunately we both know we are addicted to seeds.
Why do I like seeds so much? I think its because they give me a sense of satisfaction. From the initial sowing to the excitement when a tiny plant germinates. Then I watch as it takes off and grows at full speed under my care. I guess just following the whole life cycle of the seed to plant is really such a miracle of life.

Its hard to believe that when you look at a tiny seed of a carrot which is so minute and then look at the end result to wonder how it happened. Mother nature has really done it right. Its like magic.
So as I sit here today counting, packaging and labeling seeds, I hope that they will be shared with as much love as I have had from them. That the thought of sprinkling Nigella seeds will bring hope of a new plant to admire or the planting of a new type of eggplant will be enjoyed at someones table.
So you see, there is a purpose behind my seed collecting. I want to be able to share with others the miracle of life in the garden.

Checking out New Garden Trends for 2012

2012-01-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

The rain is back, well, it doesn't really go away here. Let's just say its a good week for the ducks that swim in the waterway behind my home.
Its also a good day to be spending time poring over all those wonderful seed catalogues that have recently arrived. Have you planned your spring garden yet? Are you planting vegetables or flowers this year? One of the newest trends out there this year is the planting of food anywhere you can find a spot. I know hubby and I have already discussed removing some ornamental plants and building raised beds for more space to grow food. I mean why not? The taste of fresh home grown veggies is so superior to store bought produce. We will also be reducing our carbon footprint.

I like the idea of being able to eat strictly local foods and food that is in season. Being able to walk in to my back yard and pick something for dinner.There is nothing like it!

This is also the year, as Steve Whysall said in his Vancouver sun story yesterday, that we will see more front yard gardens. Now this has been happening all over North America. We are just a bit too conservative here as Canadians to get this idea wrapped around our heads. We still have the love affair with the lawn. Not sure why though, we cant eat lawn. Somehow it just seems a waste of space that could be better used to grow food. I mean why not grow some fruit trees? Remember the days when every yard here in Delta had a few fruit trees if not a mini orchard. Don't give the excuse that your yard is too small. After all they do make dwarf fruit tress and you can espalier many trees against a fence to save space.
Speaking about fences, another new trend is to grow things vertically. Small space gardeners know all about this. Using trellises and arbors, you can grow up to the sky with so many plants. People are even creating vertical gardens using old pallets just like Fern Richardson does here in this post.

So what will your garden look like this year? Now is the time to start thinking about it. The new colours for this year are bold and vivacious. Tangerine Tango is the new colour for gardens this summer. It sounds like we will be dancing in our gardens. Can't you just hear the flamenco music? For me, I am one that looks for peaceful colours such as the pinks and blues so the jury is still out on whether I decide to use this orange in my gardens. Orange will be everywhere from interior design to outdoor living. You just have to google 'tangerine tango' to see whats in vogue for this year. Hmmmm....I wonder if pumpkins fall in to this new colour category? At least I can eat them. That will be as orange as I get in my garden.

My Bulbs are Up!

2012-01-06T09:40:00.002-08:00

I finally got outside today to check out the garden. I have had a week of family emergencies and it has taken up all my time. My mom is home from the hospital now but still feeling not quite herself so if I seem to be AWOL once in awhile you know where I am. I have to take care of the person who taught me about gardening, that's for sure.

Look at this! It seems like I just planted these Narcissus and they are up already. Like many parts of the country, its been pretty mild here with temperatures well above the freezing.

I thought I would share some of the blooms from my garden along with Glenda at Tootsie Time. I was about to toss this bowl of Christmas cactus out when it started to bloom. Isn't that always the way? You threaten a plant and they start behaving.

The Primula continue to bloom as they did last month. I see more new shoots emerging so hopefully different colours will be in bloom soon.

The Viburnum bodnantense is in full bloom. I love looking at this shrub as I work in my office. It reminds me that spring is not so far away.

The winter Jasmine is blooming like crazy. I love the tiny yellow flowers. This one has been blooming all winter on bare stems which will leaf out in the spring.
It should be an interesting winter as I noticed one tiny bloom on my Forsythia this morning. The Forsythia has lots of new buds on it and it would be fun to force a few branches for inside the house.

Happy Gardening,
Kristin

Its Been Declared the Year of the Owl-2011

2011-12-31T09:25:00.000-08:00

It wouldn't be the end of the year if I didn't have a critter story to tell. In November I wrote about a new critter in the neighbourhood. Since early November we have had a barred owl living across the street in the neighbour's trees. That would be okay if he wasn't an attack owl. I mean really, when people have to wear hard hats to come over, its a bit crazy don't you think? Well we don't go to that extreme but lets just say there is no lingering outside to chat in the evening when guests leave and most guests run to our door. Check out my last owl post here and you will understand.

My two daughters and a friend were leaving the house one night and as usual chatting away and all of a sudden the owl flew towards them. They rushed in to their cars. My daughter was patient and determined to get his mug shot so here it is. Its not clear as it was taken from inside the car with a phone. The owl is about 18 inches high but his wing span is almost three feet. In the last week he has tried successfully to grab the hair of a friend of mine while she walked home from work. She ended up with a few scratches and was probably scared to death when it happened as the owl comes from behind and you don't hear him. She was wearing a ponytail and it is said an owl thinks it resembles the bobbing tail of a squirrel. Owls eat squirrels, rodents and small birds. I think it is the motion they are after, not the human. But don't tell that to hubby who walks to work each day with an open umbrella even on dry days. He says he gets weird looks from cars driving by when its not raining. If only they knew.

Hubby has been attacked by this owl a couple of times while going to wiork. Its rough enough getting to work for 5am but to have to worry about an owl would put me over the edge. Our friends came over with a special gift for hubby this week. My friend, Lynn, had received this owl whistle when she was in Brownies. After forty years she felt that my hubby could use it, ha ha.

You blow in to this whistle and it really sounds like our owl. We had lots of laughs over this owl and the whistle. Only problem is I would hate to use the whistle and have the owl think its a mating call. Wouldnt that be a hoot!

Happy New Year,
Kristin

A Year to Remember-2011

2011-12-30T08:45:00.000-08:00

Its fun to look back at how the year has played out. This year, well, lets just say I hope to have a healthier 2012.

In 2011 I started the year by planning a new community garden for our community. Its funny as I read back to an old post here and chuckled when I realized that a community garden was on my mind even then. Little did I know it would take months of paperwork and meetings before we would build the garden. I worked with an amazing group of volunteers this year and have to thank Lynn, Michelle, Sharon and Don for being there and pitching in when I couldn't be there.

The Ladner Community Garden opened in May and we had 46 new gardeners plant allotment beds. In June we had a children's garden built. I was so excited but we still didn't have a class come to the garden until September.

Since then a grade three class has come twice a month to learn in the garden. Its been so much fun working with them.

In February, hubby and I travelled to Seattle for the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. What a fun time we had. I went to my first tweetup and met some amazing gardeners and writers. I cant wait to see them again in 2012! The garden show is amazing and I vow to bring home as much as I can in 2012. My garden needs it after a summer of no gardening.

We also formed a new partnership with West Coast Seeds. They built fourteen beds in our community garden to do some seed trials. I watched Mark Mcdonald carefully plant 24 varieties of squash in June. I am anxious to see what he plants in 2012.

Mark has the amazing ability to plant and grow vegetables and I swear these plants grew by leaps and bounds while mine sat looking sluggish. I still have lots to learn about growing food.

I also continued my work with the grade one class and some amazing volunteers. When we couldn't be in the garden, we took the garden to the classroom. Thanks to Jan, Donna, Gloria, Yvonne and Kathy for supporting me this year.

My luck ran out in July. After a very busy spring I took a nasty fall and broke two bones. My gardening season ended abruptly. I spent three months in a wheelchair recovering and griping about how hard it was to get around. Poor hubby had to take on all the household and garden duties. Someone said back then, that everything happens for a reason. It angered me then as no one breaks a bone for a reason. I humbly have to admit that once I was better I complained about accessibility in our town and people listened. In the new year the business community that I am part of of will be working on this issue. So maybe some good will come from my misfortune.

I went back to working with the students in late September. They watched as I progressed from wheelchair to walker to cane. One child even came up and asked me," Mrs. Crouch, did you get low graded from your walker?" Its moments like those that make my work with kids in the garden so worthwhile. You just ever know what they are going to say.
So what are my resolutions for the new year? I will be presenting in January on the value of school gardens at a conference. I firmly believe every school should have a garden. So that's my plan, just open at least one more school garden in my community.

Look Whats in Bloom in December!

2011-12-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when I took a walk in the garden today. I knew my Viburnum bodnantense was in full bloom but didn't expect to see anything else. The weather here has been very mild for December and we have had hardly any rainfall which is so unusual for the lower mainland of BC. Not that I am wishing for rain, this suits me just fine.

I have these Primulas planted throughout my front garden. I have heavy shade in summer from all the trees and they love the protection in summer from the hot sun. I planted a series of red and white Primulas in 2010 when the Olympics came to Vancouver. I had to show my patriotic pride, now didn't i?

This poor Primula is looking rather ragged. Its almost like its been splattered by mud. It probably got raked over a few times when hubby was cleaning the leaves. What have you got blooming in the garden? Did you plan for winter blooms?

I Dig Gardening

2011-12-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

My family knows me well at Christmas. Although I hinted about a stocking full of seeds, they didn't think I needed more. They all know me too well and know I have a hidden stash of seeds in the garage. I figure it gives me an excuse to order from all the fabulous seed catalogues that have come in the mail. This year I am planning an edible garden so I just have to have a few more seeds, now don't I?

I received this cute tree ornament from my son and his girlfriend along with a pair of new garden gloves. With it being ten degrees above normal this month it is very tempting to get my hands in the dirt.

I was also lucky enough to get this garden book. When I became a master gardener twenty years ago, the Dr. Hessayon Expert series of garden books was recommended. These are great books for beginners. I spotted this new one at the local supermarket and hubby took the hint. This book tells you how to store the vegetables you grow and has lots of great recipes to use with your harvested crops. I loved seeing recipes for gooseberries as they are one of my new favourites. There is also a recipe for parsnip cake. Turns out parsnip is as sweet as carrots so why not? I look forward to using some of the recipes with our school programs. Any way we can take vegetables or fruit from the garden and show children how to cook with it is a great idea.

Wordless Wednesday-Christmas Dessert with Local Berries

2011-12-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas Love

2011-12-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas and all the craziness that comes with it. You know, the hustle and bustle in the last few days before Christmas, the smiles on peoples faces as they greet people they know and the warmth that surrounds us when family drops by. The best part of Christmas is sharing it with family and friends.

I love the evergreens, red berries and all the symbols of Christmas. These symbols bring us hope in the dark days of winter and remind us that there is rebirth in the new year ahead. As I look out my window, the soft fuzzy buds of Magnolia grace the tips of the branches, the Viburnum is in full bloom and my Primula are starting to bloom.

I love the aroma of turkey wafting through the air on Christmas Day.

I love setting the table and trying to figure out where everything will go. Platters of this and that fight for room on the table.

More than anything I love the dessert table. Here our beverages and desserts take the stage. How does one decide what to have?
Today I think I am still full from all the merriment of Christmas Day and its hard to get back in to our normal schedule. The fridge is still full of food and we will be eating leftovers for a few days. Enjoy the moment as it is fleeting. The new year will soon begin and we will be off and running . For now, savour the slow days of Christmas until New Years eve arrives.

Merry Christmas to All!

2011-12-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

To all my readers,Merry Christmas from our home to yours. May all your gardens flourish in the new year ahead. Thanks so much for reading my blog. As of January 1,2012 That Bloomin' Garden will be two years old. I cant believe how much I have learned through this writing process. It started out as a journal of my garden here in the Pacific Northwest but I get so excited sometimes I share not only my garden, but my critter adventures, family events and my love for cooking.

Just in case you haven't met my critter family. This is Ayla, age six. Definitely a one person cat who sits in my lap as I type each day.

Then there is Sophia, commonly known as the monkey and also Ayla's sister. She is always in to my indoor plants giving them a haircut. Right now its hard keeping her away from the ribbons on the Christmas gifts.

Jake is eleven and getting lazier by the day. He is our mouser and loves to bring home dead things and proudly show them off to us at the door.

Sasha is our calico who is almost seventeen. The vet said she is ninety in human years. She has cancer now and we are making her as comfortable as we can. If only they could talk.
I know what you are thinking, four cats. Yep, it doesn't stop there. We also have a horse.
.

Meet my daughter, Julie, working her horse, Rose, before a show. Julie is the only one at home now. My oldest three children have their own homes.

I talk about my hubby, Jim, a lot. As you can see he is the grunt person around the yard. We love being outside working in the garden.
So have a wonderful holiday season. Eat , drink and be merry!

December Harvest -Post Produce Day

2011-12-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

Did I tell you that the weather has been so sunny I had to garden? Yes, I ended up at the Ladner Community Garden to do a bit of cleanup and harvesting. I had lots of carrots in the ground still and want to cook them for Christmas dinner. My family doesn't know this but we are only eating vegetables that are in season for our holiday dinner. I like the fact that what I will be serving is grown locally as well. By doing this I feel a little better about our carbon footprint.
So today I am sharing my harvest and linking with Daniel on his wonderful Your Small Kitchen Garden site. Daniel can cook, grow and can everything! He is amazing so check out his great recipes.

So here are the carrots I harvested. I was also able to pick a small rutabaga. I plan on roasting these vegetables along with some local potatoes. No special recipe for these. I will chop them up, toss them in a little olive oil and bake them in the oven until they are done.
I love living here on the west coast of BC where the warmth off the ocean brings us mild winters. It was just yesterday we were on the road behind a tractor pulling a load of cabbage. I knew that cabbage was going to tables like ours. That brings me to the rest of our holiday dinner. It will be coleslaw this year and local cabbage again. For our dessert I am making a trifle using berries that I put up in the summer. Can you eat what's in season? I figure that the least I could do is try. Our grandparents had to, they didn't have any choice.

Christmas Light Message

2011-12-21T08:35:00.001-08:00

We have a street in Ladner that is my version of Candycane Lane. If you drive down this block at Christmas time, every single home on the block is fully lit up with an array of beautiful lights. I wondered this year how it is to move in to this neighbourhood. Does your purchase of a home come with the lights? I sure hope so. Its absolutely stunning to see these lights. Its the perfect street.

People park their cars to get a good look at the lights down this street. But is life really that perfect? Does life's course always remain constant?

At the end of the Candycane Lane you turn a corner and whammo! You come upon this brightly lit house. What do you think? At first I was shocked. I had to ask myself whether I liked it or not.

Now it brings a smile to my face. I realize now what is trying to say. Life is not a straight line. It has twists and turns in it as we go through its marvelous journey. Is life perfect? No, far from it.

Delta's Christmas Lights are Awesome!

2011-12-20T09:49:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the Christmas Lights in South Delta yet? If not, you are sure missing out. These home owners must have worked for months getting their homes decked out. Last night we got together with friends to check them all out.

This home on Vardon Place in Tsawwassen had a miniature railway running through a lovely miniature village. It was so much fun to check out all the little houses and watch the train go by.

Theses two neighbours both have railways running in their front yards so just park your car and enjoy the show. Its amazing!

I loved this tree. Although you cant tell from the picture, the tree was decked out in pastel coloured lights.

For the child in all of us, Tigger and Winnie the pooh were rocking in this front yard. It was too cute!

Snowmen adorned with lights made this yard fun to look at.

Santa sat in this yard and waved as you went by. I miss my days taking my children to see Santa.

Not only did this house have a waving Santa, they also had gone to lots of work placing figures on the roof lines. Up above was Mr Grinch and the seven dwarfs of storybook fame. If you haven't seen the lights in South Delta, do it soon. Invite a few friends to join you and get that holiday feeling rockin'. You will be so glad you did.

How to Create a Christmas Centerpiece in Five Minutes

2011-12-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

I had seen all sorts of people talking about this quick and easy centerpiece online and had to share it today. My daughter was having a few guests over for a Christmas party but she had to work all day. I placed a Christmas tablecloth on the table and wondered what to do for a centerpiece. I kept thinking I should probably stay out of the planning as it wasn't my party and she is a great hostess. Being a Mom I couldn't resist making these cute centerpieces. I only hoped she would like them.
All you need is a wide mouth mason jar, some evergreens, water, fresh cranberries and a tea light candle.

All you do is take a jar, place a piece of evergreen inside, fill with water to about one inch from the top. Place some fresh cranberries around the sides and a tea light in the center. How simple is that?

These looked lovely and my daughter absolutely loved them. Phew! The only drawback to these is that the wax only melts in the middle so the candle does not last as long. The cold water obviously has an effect on the way the candle burns. It was still fun to make and something you could easily do with your children before Christmas.

Brue, Apple and Walnut Appetizers

2011-12-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

I love the fact that its so easy to make your own appetizers for entertaining. Canadian Living had this great recipe on its website and I had to try it. This has become a family favorite. The sweetness of the apple combined with the brie and the crunch of the walnuts makes this delicious with each bite.
Everyone used to tell me that working with phyllo pastry was finicky but as long as you keep it damp it will be fine. Well, lets get cooking!

Ingredients:
11 sheets of phyllo pastry (The original recipe said 8 sheets but it makes way more than that.)
1/3 cup melted butter

Filling:
1 tbsp butter
2 shallots or one small onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup finely diced unpeeled green apple
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
8 oz brie cheese, diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
In a frying pan melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, apple, salt and pepper and cook for four minutes until softened. Let cool.

In a large bowl, stir together walnuts, brie cheese, and parsley. I was so happy to be able to pick fresh parsley from the garden in December! Add apple/onion mixture to bowl and stir to combine.

Now for the pastry. Remove one sheet of phyllo at a time, using a damp tea towel to cover the rest of the phyllo.

Lay the sheet of phyllo on your work surface. Cut one sheet in to five 2 1/2" strips. Once you get started this gets easier to measure.

Brush each sheet with melted butter using a pastry brush.

Spoon 1 tbsp of the filling about 1/2 inch from the end of each strip.

Fold one corner of phyllo over so bottom edge meets side edge to form a triangle. Continue folding triangle sideways and upwards to the end of the strip. Fold any loose ends under to stick. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling. Brush each triangle with melted butter. Bake in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 375F oven for about 18 minutes or until golden.

You can freeze these triangles in layers between waxed paper in an airtight container for up to two weeks. I like to mark the cooking instructions on the container so its easy to just pop them in the oven. No looking for your original recipe for timing or temperature.
I hope you enjoy these tiny treats.
This recipe made 55 triangles.

Nut Free Bird Cookies

2011-12-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Every year I make cookies for the birds. When the hard frost comes or snow covers the ground it makes it hard for birds to find insects and seeds. The extra food put out for them on the cold days of winter helps to keep them warm. Every November we show the children that take part in our school garden how to make bird cookies.
This year I wanted to make my recipe for bird cookies at a new school but there was one problem. The school is a nut free school. Okay, I had to rethink my recipe and come up with something new. I sure didn't want to bring nuts in to a school and jeopardize anyone's health. Off I went to the grocery store to see what options there were to replace the peanut butter in my original recipe.
I came across the No Nut Butter on the shelf. Its ingredients are listed as brown peas, canola oil and icing sugar, that's it.

Next I shopped for some bird seed. What a surprise that was! Every package but one had peanuts in it. I ended up buying the Finch Feast as shown above. It contained only nyjer seed and chipped black sunflower seeds. I contacted the company to make sure there were no nuts in the mix . They said that's all it was. It was so nice to have them respond so quickly. The rest of the ingredients were items I had on hand at home.

Lets get cooking:
Ingredients:
2 cups of lard
2 cups of No Nut Butter
1/2 cup of Finch Feast bird seed
1/2 cup dried fruit, cranberries or raisins
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 cup flour

Method:
Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners. This certainly minimizes the mess from handling lard. This recipe will yield approximately 26 cookies.

Melt lard and No Nut Butter in a large saucepan over low heat. While the lard/butter is melting, mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Add melted lard/ butter to dry ingredients and stir until well blended.

Ladle batter in to cupcake liners until they are about 2/3 full or about 3/4 inch thick. Place filled cupcake pans in fridge for about five minutes. They will harden quickly. Take cookies out of fridge before they have hardened completely.

Using a chopstick or skewer, poke a hole near the top of the cookie. Remove paper liner.Thread a piece of string or ribbon through the hole. Use string to attach the bird cookie to the tree. Please note, I tried using cookie cutters for this recipe. Only problem was they were very difficult to get out of the cutters once they hardened. Cute idea but not the easiest way to do them, especially with children. I stuck with the cupcake liners when working with children. So, so much easier!

I love hanging these bird cookies outside when the ground is frozen. I usually hang the cookies in a tree near one of my windows. That way I can watch the playful antics of the birds as they feed. It attracted Chickadees and Bushtits to the garden in droves. I was very happy they loved my new nut free bird cookies.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container in the freezer and use as needed. Be sure to label your cookies "for the birds only". Some how I doubt bird seed is that good for human consumption. I wouldn't want you to start tweeting,lol.

Winter Plants for the Pacific Northwest

2011-12-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

Now that the leaves have fallen its a perfect time to take a good look at your garden.Does it still look good after all the perennials and annuals have finished? Is there anything in bloom during the winter? Here in the Pacific Northwest there are many plants you can add to your garden to give it winter interest. I like to think of them as the bones of the garden. These are our evergreens. We often take them for granted until everything else is finished. Evergreens play a huge role in the garden. Not only are they the bones of the garden, during the growing season they act as a backdrop for all the colour we add to our gardens. Lets take a look at a few tough evergreens for the garden.

This is Viburnum davidii above. It grows in zones 4-9 and is tolerant of many soil types. I have an acidic soil and they thrive in my garden. I find that they prefer a little shade from the afternoon sun. I love this useful plant for its deeply veined leaves. Its grows to about three feet high and about four feet wide. It makes a lovely foundation shrub.

Okay, any grass that can look this good in December will have a place in my garden. Some people are turned off by brown grasses but they add a different color aspect into the garden. If you look closely on this plant some blades have almost a reddish tinge.This plant also grows easily in a container. This was given to me by a friend and came without a name. I believe it to be a leather leaf sedge.

This is one of my favourite plants, Senecio. It hasn't flowered for me although it is supposed to have yellow daisy like flowers. I love this shrub for its gray leaves. I have it planted in a south facing location underneath my roses. It loves the heat. This plant is hardy to zones 5-9. Its grayish green leaves are great used in arrangements. In my garden this plant only grows a couple feet high and about three feet wide. A cold winter will kill it back but it successfully recovered from temperatures as low as -10 Celsius.

Would you love to have a Holly tree but don't want a big tree? Why not plant Osmanthus? I love my Osmanthus 'Variegatus' at this time of year. I can clip a few branches for Christmas arrangements. This is a slow growing shrub. Mine is about three feet high after four years. It is a great plant to brighten up a dark corner. Osmanthus can be planted in full sun to partial shade in almost any soil.

Of course, a winter garden would not be complete if I didn't mention Rhododendrons. They grow so well in the pacific northwest. Rhododendrons love acid soil. Selected by bloom time, you can have Rhododendrons blooming from January to July. Their flowers come in all different colours with there being well over 10,000 named varieties. As far as selecting a site for your plant, I have always found that the large leaved Rhododendrons prefer more shade and the small leaved plants will tolerate a full sun location. Give your Rhododendrons a well drained soil. They are susceptible to root rot.

When I moved to this home seven years ago, I looked at the bones of the garden and all I saw was green, the same green everywhere. How boring! That had to change. I added this Aucuba japonica to brighten up the darkness created by the seventy five foot cedar hedge in front of my home. This shrub is happy planted near the cedars. It needs shade from the sun and does well in deep shade. It was a perfect fit. It is often commonly referred to as the gold dust plant or spotted laurel. The gold and green colouring really lightens this corner of the yard.
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I talked about blooms earlier. This is one plant that I highly recommend. Viburnum bodnantense starting blooming in my garden in the first week of December and it will continue until February. The pink flowers are fragrant and such a joy to look at as I sit here looking out the window from my desk. It can grow to be a large shrub to ten feet or more. Mine is probably fifteen feet high but it has been here for a long time.
I hope I have you thinking about your garden and its design. A garden is never finished, it always evolves. Winter is that quiet time when we can sit back and plan new designs. What changes will you be making in 2012?

Wordless Wednesday-Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?

2011-12-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

Butter Tart Squares for Christmas

2011-12-14T09:07:00.001-08:00

This week I am trying got get all my Christmas baking done. I have many family favourites that I make every year. I found this recipe for butter tart squares in an old Canadian Living magazine. I like this recipe as it gives you the taste of a butter tart without having to make pastry. If you would like the recipe, click here.

I mixed up the three base ingredients and pressed it in to a nine inch square cake pan.

While the base was in the oven, I mixed the topping ingredients. I love pecans so I used them instead of walnuts.

I poured the topping over the cooled shortbread base and it was ready to go back in the oven.

This only took 25 minutes to bake and came out a nice golden brown. You have to love the aroma of Christmas baking.

My finished butter tart squares all ready to eat. The shortbread base combined with the creaminess of a butter tart topping, delicious!

Drop, Bake and You're Done Cookies

2011-12-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

I love it when I try a new recipe and have great results. You know what I mean, the kind of recipes that actually yield what they say they will. I came across a recipe in a 1998 special issue of Canadian Living Holiday Baking. It was for a basic dough that makes nine dozen cookies. Okay I was skeptical and didn't really think it would make that many. Was I surprised that it did and they are delicious!

Drop Cookie Dough:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup shortening
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl cream butter and shortening ( I replaced shortening with margarine). Add brown and white sugar gradually blending well. Beat in eggs, one at a time blending well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture in three additions. Divide dough into thirds.
At this point I put one third of each dough into separate bowls. To the first dough I added 1 cup of mint chocolate chips. To the second batch I added 1 1/2 cups of flaked coconut and 1/2 cup of chopped green and red glazed cherries. To the third batch I added 1 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup of slivered almonds. I love it, one dough but three different cookies!

For the coconut cherry drops, I placed a tablespoon of dough an inch apart on greased baking sheets. I baked them for about 12 minutes in a 350F oven.

For the mint chocolate chip dough, I placed a slightly mounded tablespoon of dough on a greased cookie sheet about two inches apart. This was baked for approximately 12 minutes at 350F oven.

For the cranberry almond dough, I placed a rounded tablespoonful on a greased baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake in a 350F oven for about 12 minutes. After these cookies cooled I drizzled three ounces of melted white chocolate over top.
Yield- 9 dozen cookies.

So Excited about Seedy Saturday!

2011-12-08T12:41:00.001-08:00

I know what you are thinking, seeds now? Its only December. No, I am not planting seeds now but I am already planning my garden for next year. After a summer off due to injuries , I am going crazy with flowers and veggies in 2012. Would you expect anything less? Really, you know I have confessed to being a seedaholic. I have so many seeds, but it doesn't matter what I do, once the seed catalogues have arrived, I am obsessed. So when someone mentioned to the Ladner Community Garden Society that we should have a Seedy Saturday, I was all for it.

We have been planning the event for months and its getting exciting as more vendors sign up. Some people have never heard of a Seedy Saturday so if you want to know what we are doing click here. I hope to bring home some heirloom seeds from this event. I love growing flowers from seed. Do you remember the old fashioned flowers like Larkspur, Godetia, Balsam Impatiens and Cosmos? Some plants are so hard to find at local garden centers. With seeds you can grow almost anything.
There will also be people selling plants at Seedy Saturday for those who are unsure of growing seeds. We sure don't want people going home empty handed. Of course, we will have lots of garden accessories as well. Some of our vendors from the local Ladner Village Market will be there.
Our Seedy Saturday wouldn't be complete without presentations. We have three speakers lined up already. The presentations will be on seed starting for beginners, growing tomatoes in containers and bees and seeds.
This is a family event and we will have interactive displays for the children to participate in. The Corporation of Delta's environmental department is bringing a very cool display. I saw it years ago and it left a huge impact on me. I was excited to hear they were coming. I won't tell you all the details or it wouldn't be a surprise.

We have booked our date and venue. Seedy Saturday is on January 28,2012 from 10 am- 2 pm. The venue is the Ladner Baptist Church at 5624 Ladner Trunk Road, Delta ,BC.
If you want more information on this event or if you would like to be a vendor, email me at deltagardener@dccnet.com

Christmas Memories

2011-12-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

Last week I decorated the Christmas tree and doing so brought back lots of memories. Every ornament I hang holds within it some past memory and I like that. No perfect tree for me. Mine is one of those old fashioned trees full of handmade ornaments that the children made in school, decorations that friends gave me or ones that I inherited when my father passed away.

One of my dearest friends, Darlene, makes these adorable ornaments and attaches them to a handmade Christmas card each year. I love this cute Santa, don't you?

I love the detail that has gone in to these. I know her daughter, Linda, has made one of these. Each ornament is signed on the back with the year and who it is from.

This Christmas tree is all sparkly. I like the way it glitters under the tree lights.

Each time I place one of these handmade Christmas ornaments on the tree, I think about the family who gave them to us and it brings a smile to my face. Isn't that what Christmas is all about, bringing happiness in to our homes?

Beavers arrived in our Garden!

2011-12-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

I came home from shopping the other day and hubby was working in the yard. He looked at me and said," There is something I would like to show you."

He said, "We had a visitor in the yard." This is what he had to show me. This poor shrub has had all but one branch gnawed off by beavers.

It almost looked as if someone had taken a saw to the branches. the cuts are so clean. The we saw the scrapings of bark removed as well.

I know, I should expect such visits living along the water's edge. The beavers have been here before back in February of 2010.

Funny how they went to so much work to chew away at the stems of this shrub. Then they left them all on the side of the bank.

Hubby is determined to save the last stem on the shrub. This may be just a wild shrub. I don't even recall what it is. All we know is it gave us a bit of privacy from the walkway beyond. He wrapped the remaining plant with wire and we hope it deters the beavers.

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

2011-12-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I showed you the Christmas trees that the grade three classes had decorated at our Delta city hall. Today I want to share some of the unique ideas for making your own Christmas ornaments with your children. Children love to use glue and paint so lets get going.

This has to be one of my favourites. This wreath is made of jigsaw puzzle pieces. I am sure many of you have done puzzles before and found you were missing a couple of pieces. Isn't this a great way to recycle those puzzles? For instructions on how to make this craft check it out here.

Another great idea, why not use old Cd's for ornaments? This one has been carefully decorated. Just use some Christmas stickers and you have a new decoration for the tree.

This Santa is an old classic. My children made similar ornaments in school. This one was made using Popsicle sticks which are available at most craft and dollar stores. A little bit of painting fun for the children with this project.

As you can see I really like this jigsaw puzzle idea. You can decorate your wreath any way you want. The bows are made from pipe cleaners. There are so many great ideas to keep your children busy during this busy holiday season. I hope you find the time to get creative with your family.

The Story Behind the Name

2011-12-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

For a lot of us who work online or use social media we often choose names to reflect our personality. On twitter I am known as deltagardener and my blog is called That Bloomin' Garden. Way back in 1999, I was asked to start a new garden television show with the local cable company. They wanted me to pick out a name but it was difficult as the ones I liked were already taken. We decided to call the show the Delta Gardener. I live in Delta, British Columbia so it made sense at the time. It took me awhile to really like the name but now my email is deltagardener as well so I guess I am stuck with it. Years went by the and cable company thought we should revamp the show and find a new name. My producer loved That Bloomin' Garden. The show was on for many years and is now gone to video on demand across several provinces in Canada with Eastlink Television. Shortly before I retired I decided to start writing. Not that I am good at it but I wanted some way of journaling what I do in the garden. That was two years ago and I am still writing.
How did you find your name? I know Garden Faeirie shares her story here and its interesting to read. Join in and let us know.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

2011-12-05T08:47:00.001-08:00

I love Christmas trees. Mine is a collection of memories and I cherish each ornament I place on the tree. You can imagine my delight when I walked in to our Delta city hall and saw all these trees in the lobby. I wonder what memories were shaped when these were done.

The grade three classes of Delta have all decorated a tree for the lobby. They are both upstairs and down in each lobby as you walk in the front doors.

I loved looking at all the handmade decorations. Its amazing how beautiful each tree is!

This tree had lots of red decor on it. I loved the Poinsettias that hung from the branches.

You really have to look at the ornaments closely. Some wreaths were made of jigsaw puzzle pieces. What a great idea. I will show some photos of them up close tomorrow.

Okay, this one is my favourite. The paper chains brought back a flood of memories of my children making them for our tree. Then to my surprise I noticed this was a tree decorated by the grade three class I work with at the Ladner community garden. I was even prouder!

If you want to see the trees don't wait too long. They are only there until a few days before Christmas. Try to add a little Christmas to each day as we get closer to the big day.

Winter Care for Dahlias

2011-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

I love Dahlias in the garden. Last spring I bought five new Dahlias from Ferncliff Gardens in Mission, BC. It was money well spent as they bloomed all summer and brought lots of enjoyment.
Now that frost has blackened the stems it is time to bring them inside for winter storage. Its not so much the cold but the wet ground that they need protection from. Last thing I need is for them to rot in the ground. I like to grab the name tags from the Dahlias and twist them on the stems. Having them labelled will make it much easier to plan the garden in the spring.
The first thing to do is lift them out of the ground carefully so as to not break the tuberous root system.

Lay the tubers on a sheet of newspaper in a warm place either in the sun or a garage. Let them dry out so that you are able to brush off most of the soil.

Cut the stems that are attached so that you only have about an inch attached to the tubers.

So how do I store them? First find yourself a cardboard box large enough to store your Dahlia tubers. Lay a couple of inches of peat moss in the bottom of the box.

Proceed to lay each of your Dahlias on the layer of peat moss. I don't let mine touch each other just in case some rot happens. Add another layer of peat moss over the first layer of Dahlias.

Once you cannot see the bottom layer, add another layer of tubers on top and cover with more peat moss. Pop a lid on the box and they are done.

Store your Dahlias in a cool, frost free place. I like to store mine in my garage. Be sure to mark the box so that it easily found in the garage. I like to check my Dahlias every month while in storage. If they start to shrivel a bit just moisten them a bit to plump them up. By March you will start to see tiny eyes on the tubers beginning to show signs of growth. They can be potted up early in a warm greenhouse or left until the temperature is right to plant outside.

Fertilizer Friday - December Blooms

2011-12-02T10:23:00.001-08:00

I cant believe its Friday already! Where does the week go? For me its all about organizing a new Seedy Saturday event for my community and its keeping me pretty busy.
I popped over to see what was blooming on Tootsie Time and I see poor Glenda has the wrath of winter happening in Alberta. We are so lucky to be living here on the west coast of BC where if we get an inch of snow, all pandemonium ensues. Luckily its sunny and cool here , a perfect day for a walk in the garden. Even though the sky is clear its been cold so I don't have all that much in bloom and I am thankful for the evergreens in my garden that give me colour on a winter day.

As I sit in my office I look out to see this Viburnum bodnantense in bloom. Its just beginning to share its fragrant winter blooms and I love seeing it.

I can see flowers in full bloom on top of this wonderful shrub but cannot reach them for a good photo. You just have to take my word. This shrub is about twelve feet high now.

The other bloomer in the garden is the winter Jasmine. Each week more flowers open and its yellow flowers are a welcome sight.
Well that's about it for my garden. Its looking pretty dormant right now. All the leaves are down and raked, the seed catalogues are arriving and I am dreaming of spring. Its time to put our feet up and plan our new gardens, take note of what worked and what didn't. Spring is just around the corner!

Wordless Wednesday- Imagine if this had been in your yard!

2011-11-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

Making Pinecone Bird Feeders with Children

2011-11-29T10:02:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year when we have to remember to take care of our feathered friends. The birds help us take care of our gardens by eating pesky insects in our gardens. They are a delight to watch in the garden especially in winter. Today we are making pine cone bird feeders with a grade one class. To get ready, we tied some cotton string around the top of each pine cone so we have something to attach to the tree.

You will need pine cones,a bowl of bird seed, string, scissors and suet or lard for this project. We also covered the table with a plastic tablecloth to make the cleanup easier. We also had a foil tray or cardboard flat ready for the finished pine cones to go in. Now to get started. Have an adult render some suet or melt some lard. Because we are working in a school that is nut free we didn't use peanut butter for this project but you could use it at home. Often peanut butter and lard is melted together in equal amounts for this project.

Once the fat is melted, we had an adult dip the pinecone in the fat to coat it. As you can see, she held the pine cone by the string which made this process easier.

The adult held the pinecone over a tray to catch any drippings. The children grabbed handfuls of birdseed and poured it in between the scales of the pinecones trying to coat them as thickly as possible. We let the cones harden and this week the children will take them outside the school to hang in the trees. I am sure there will be some happy birds in the neighbourhood!

Christmas Gift Basket

2011-11-29T09:48:00.001-08:00

I love Christmas but sometimes trying to think of what to buy for someone can drive you crazy. You know what I mean, those endless trips to the mall looking for just the right gift. This year I decided to keep my shopping local and its a lot less insane, trust me. I start my shopping at a silent auction a couple of weeks ago and have been making smaller gift baskets from the huge baskets I successfully bid on.

I needed a few more baskets for my gifts so off to town I went. When I walked in to our Christmas thrift shop last week , I couldn't resist buying this cute Santa container. I love his smiling face!

The container isn't very big but I was able to squeeze in a dish of chocolates, some biscotti, a pair of garden gloves and some seeds.

Now to wrap it in some cellophane wrap and a fancy bow and I have a hostess gift ready to go.

Christmas Basket- Cabin Fever

2011-11-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

Today I made another Christmas basket called Cabin Fever. It originally came full of puzzle books, jigsaw puzzle, playing cards and snacks. I decided to make it just a bit more personal for my father in law. He loves to play bridge and do Sudoko puzzles. I found a great container at my favourite Christmas store. It says Merry Munchies on the front. It was perfect for what I wanted to create.

I added the Sudoko puzzle book, a giant size jar of peanuts, a bag of trail mix, a deck of playing cards, a crib board game, a couple of pens, a pencil, some single size hot chocolate packages, some tea samplers and a bag of chocolates. I know he will love this gift. He loves his tea and a good puzzle. Its often hard to buy for people who have everything they need. This will let him kick back ad relax, do a puzzle with a cup of tea and some snacks.
All I have left to do is wrap it in cellophane and put a pretty bow on it and its ready to put under the tree.

Christmas Basket-Tea Time

2011-11-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I told you about my fun day shopping at a silent auction. Today I will reveal what I put in the first basket I created. I call it a tea time basket. At the silent auction the original basket came with lots of goodies in it but was way more than I wanted to spend on one gift.

The remade basket contains two fancy gold rimmed tea cups, some fancy serviettes, two embroidered linen serviettes, a bag of chocolates, a box ofGirl Guide cookies, a magazine called Tea Time (how appropriate), some tea, hot chocolate and a calendar. I figure the basket has a value around $35.

I had enough hot chocolate, tea and biscotti from the original basket to use for some stocking stuffers and another basket. I am having fun making these baskets and will show my second one tomorrow.

Shopping Locally for Christmas

2011-11-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just a month away and I am trying to get ready for the big day. I haven't been to the mall more than once since last Christmas. This year my fractured hip and wrist have slowed my pace so I have decided to do all my shopping close to home. Last weekend I happened to be attending a fundraiser at Ladner United Church. It was a silent auction. I love silent auctions! Perhaps its just the thrill of bidding against someone and winning. I finished my day by bringing home four huge baskets. Here is a sample of what I successfully bid on.

I couldn't resist this tray with two parfait glasses filled with chocolates inside. Who doesn't love chocolate?

This one was called Cabin Fever and has an assortment of puzzle books, snacks and board games inside.

Of course, I couldn't come home without the Gardeners Basket. It was full of so many great things from pruners to garden gloves and seeds.

I love this Tea Time Basket. It is full of fancy napkins, tea cups, teas and cookies. Now I am not giving such huge baskets away as gifts. I am taking them apart and making some more personalized baskets for friends and family. Over the next few days I will show you what I have done and I hope it inspires you to be creative with Christmas. We don't have to spend a lot of money.
What I loved most about buying these baskets, the money I spent went to a worthy cause, not just another big box store.

Post Produce Day from the Garden

2011-11-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist joining Daniel in Post Produce Day on Your Small Kitchen Garden. I just hoped the weather would cooperate. Just before I headed to the community garden we were hit with a deluge of mixed rain and snow. I am thinking, this girl ain't going in this weather. I stopped to have coffee with friends and when I left the rain stopped. I decided to make a trip to see what I could harvest for dinner tonight. Now its been down to -4C and I wasn't sure how the roots crops would do. They are in raised beds so I had my fingers crossed.

Was I in for a surprise in more ways than one. First I had to deal with walking in the puddles and there were lots of them. Remember now, I am the one who walks with a cane. Don't tell hubby I was tracking through this muddy mess. Did I tell you I live below sea level here in Delta. We also get lots of rain at this time of year. Not really much we can do about the rain.

Let's see whats growing in the garden. The kale looks great and we can continue to harvest though the winter.

The beets are pretty well done and I only had one beet today that was of a good size. Even then, it was a bit small.
What I did get was lots of carrots, some small but they will be so tender. What a mess full of dirt they had on them!

I took a bunch of carrots home and this is how they looked once I cleaned them up. They may not make it to the dinner table. Of course, isn't that why we grow so much? So we can snack as we cook.

Ginger Cookies-Getting Ready for Christmas

2011-11-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist starting my Christmas baking as the weather has me thinking of comfort food. Is that what it does to you? I came across some great cookie recipes that were shared on twitter last year so I am sharing with you today.

Today I am making ginger cookies. Here is the recipe.

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, unbeaten
5 Tbsp molasses
2 cups of flour,sifted
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp.ginger
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream shortening, add sugar gradually. Add egg, beating well until blended. stir in molasses. Sift dry ingredients together and add gradually to first mixture to make a stiff dough.

Form into small one inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place cookies two inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes.

I found that they were done in just over 10-11 minutes and can burn quite quickly so be sure to watch them. Cool on wire racks. This recipe will make about two dozen cookies.

Garden Walk on a Frosty Morning

2011-11-19T09:14:00.001-08:00

Its a frosty weekend but the sun is out so its a good time to walk about the garden.

As I make my coffee each morning this is the view outside my kitchen window. The sun is just rising and it's rays make the Cotinus shimmer with light. I love theses fall colours!

Its time for the winter Jasmine to bloom. I have to remember to watch for it as I have it tucked in a corner in a container. Its nice to see something blooming away in the cold days of winter.

The colours of fall are striking but as the cold sets in the leaves are falling. This will be the last tree to lose its leaves. This is our sour gum tree. Its leaning a bit looking for the sun.

My rush to put away pretty containers had me reusing an old plastic pot for the front door. The Heather and Chrysanthemum were the only plants originally in the pot and they love it there. I didn't want to uproot them so I planted around them. I added some Dusty Miller from another container and poked some Osmanthus branches in to fill up the pot. I also planted some Tulips and Narcissus under the plants so we have some colour when the Heather blooms in the spring. The Chrysanthemum took a bit of a beating with last nights freeze so when its finished I will add some more greenery in the way of cedar or fir branches for a more festive look.

Frost Has Arrived!

2011-11-19T08:55:00.001-08:00

The frost has finally arrived as we had below zero temperatures last night. Its a good thing the garden has been cleaned up for winter. I took a walk outside to see how things have fared overnight. I have the heat on in the greenhouse and everything looks okay.

I noticed that some of my Rhododendrons are not too happy about the cold. Depending on the species or variety, some Rhododendrons will curl their leaves. Don't be surprised when you see this happen.

It is a normal reaction of the plant in response to cold weather. The leaves curl to minimize damage to the plant, kind of like curling up to keep warm. As the weather warms, the leaves will return to normal. Out of my forty rhododendrons I only have three that react this way.

November Bloggers Bloom Day

2011-11-15T09:13:00.001-08:00

Now that November is here I have to wonder how many people will have flowers in their gardens. So many gardens are already under snow cover. Here on the west coast we have had a couple of days of light frost so the blooms are winding down. Today I am joining May Dreams Gardens in sharing my blooms on the fifteenth of the month. I was actually surprised to see as many blooms as I did.

November is all about foliage and you have to love the changing colours within the landscape. My Sweet Gum and Sour Gum trees are a brilliant red against the backdrop of Western Red Cedar. The old roses are showing a bright yellow leaf and making it a kaleidoscope of colours in the garden.

I walked out behind my greenhouse and look who I found! Astromeria still trying to bloom at this time of tear. I guess the reflected heat from the greenhouse keeps it going.

Anyone have annual flowers still? Most of mine were done in with the first frost but look at this Salvia. This is one tough plant as its only 30F today and it doesn't look all that bad.

I have several roses planted in front of my home with a south exposure which explain the buds on this Laura Ford rose I purchased at Select Roses a few years ago. Its a rose with wonderful fragrance, no pests and disease. I love it.

When I saw this Nigella blooming I realized that the seeds had germinated again. I wanted to say,"What are you doing blooming now?" I love this self sowing annual. I eagerly shake seeds all over the garden.

The Choisya ternata is sending out random blooms. It obviously is a bit confused about the weather.

I don't even want to rake these leaves. They make such a beautiful display on the gardens. Unfortunately we have more leaves than we can use. We will use some as mulch, compost some, give some away to the community garden and get rid of some with our green waste pickup. Trust me, having over fifty tress makes for a lot of leaves. I asked hubby what his plans were for his holidays this week. He said,"Rake, rake and rake."

The ever faithful Feverfew is still going strong and I didn't have the heart to cut it back yesterday. Forecasts of snow are in our forecast this week so I am frantically cleaning up the garden.

My last share is this Chrysanthemum. I planted it in this pot several years ago and it never disappoints me. I love the rust colour. It just screams fall.
Well that's it for this month. I am off to plant some garlic as its getting late. I am also harvesting the last of the beets and carrots from the Ladner Community Garden. I look forward to new blooms in December as my Viburnum bodnantense is in bud. So until then, happy gardening!

Read 'Em All Tuesdays

2011-11-14T13:27:00.001-08:00

Today I am joining Tootise Time and sharing a wonderful new blog I am so excited about. I was so awestruck when I saw the photography blog I am sharing today. A high school friend of mine sent it to her friends as it featured the birth of her new granddaughter. The whole birth process is absolutely fascinating, a miracle for sure. When I went to Michelle's website called White Linen Photographers, I loved seeing the new baby photos. What I didn't expect was the birth video on her site. Now if you watch it, its a kleenex moment, at least it was for me. I watched Michelle grow up as a child and it just amazes me to see her with three children now.
If you are looking for a photographer for a special day, I would sure recommend White Linen Photographers. Okay, I am a little biased but did you see those fabulous wedding and baby photos on her site?

Celebrating Baby Jace

2011-11-14T08:25:00.001-08:00

I had hoped to do this post as part of my Simply Enjoyable Moments of October but unfortunately Baby Jace was just born and he and his Mom needed some deserved rest. Yesterday I attended a baby shower for my new great nephew Jace. It was so much fun to get together with friends and family to celebrate this new family member.

Here is the star of the day, little Jace, a month old tomorrow. He was quite complacent and decided to sleep through his own party. Sleeping babies are just so adorable.

All Jace's gifts were under the Christmas tree and we had little helpers bring them for mom, Taryn, to open. The children were delighted to be such a big help.

Jace was totally spoiled but there are just so many wonderful things out there to buy. From new clothes to new toys he received it all.

We passed the baby around so everyone got to see him. We all enjoyed some food and chatted away the afternoon.

The best moments were watching my family members hold little Jace. Here my niece, Kristen, looks radiant holding Jace. She is going to have her own little one in early summer of next year. Can you tell? She just glows.

This is a great photo of grandma Cheryl holding her first grandchild. That rocking chair is going to get lots of use.

One of my most special moments was seeing my Mom holding Jace. She couldn't wait to hold him. This is Mom's third great grandchild. What a blessing it is to have this family that I belong to as it grows each year.

Its a Blustery Day!

2011-11-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Its a blustery day here on the west coast of British Columbia. Winds up to 100 kilometers per hour came through here this afternoon as I sat at my computer working.

Our yard is surrounded with large trees. When I say large I mean large with some towering well over one hundred feet high.

I lost a large branch on this Poplar a couple of years ago. Its just a swaying in the breeze today.

Ugh, my messy backyard. The wooden structure has fallen over and leaves are coming down like rainfall.

Boy, do we have leaves to clean up! The yard was bare of leaves just yesterday afternoon. I am so glad I bought hubby a blower a couple of years ago. Half an acre of leaves is a lot to rake by hand. I hate the noise of blowers but with this size of a property, we need one.

I love trees. They add such value to the landscape. Its when the wind comes through after a heavy rainfall that has me worried. With the soil so saturated the roots are not stable and that's when trees topple over.

I love the colours of the trees at this time of year. In the above photo behind the yellow leaved willow there used to stand a Western Red Cedar. We lost it last year in high winds, right in to the neighbours yard. We were not too popular.

As I sit at my computer writing this I can see this Oak tree. Its shaking its fists at me so hard I had to leave the room. The leaves were flying and hitting the window in front of me with a thump. The cats were running to hide under the bed.

I had lawn an hour ago but now my yard is a carpet of colour. Long weekend, well, you know where we will be.

Cooking with Children in the Classroom

2011-11-10T10:41:00.001-08:00

I love cooking with children. They get so excited about it. This week myself and three volunteers made pumpkin soup with another class of grade ones. The children help us chop up the vegetables into small chunks for the soup.

The children harvested the leeks, pumpkins,beets and carrots from the school garden last week in preparation for soup making day.

Yes, we let the six year olds use knives, scary! Actually they are very careful and many have learned to use a knife at home.

All the vegetables are cut and ready to go to the cook. One of our volunteers does the cooking.

This bowl of beets, squash and parsnips are being roasted so each child can try them.

On soup day one of our volunteers makes bread dough ahead of time. each child gets to roll a bun and place it in a muffin tin for baking.

Dont these buns look yummy? They were delicious. I must post the recipe one day.

All the soup is ready, 21 bowls of it cooling off a bit before we serve it. Most of children take just a bit to try. We have found most come back for second and even third helpings.

After the soup is served we bring out the roasted vegetables. Lets just say, the pan came home empty. By the time we have finished with soup day, the children have no room for their lunches from home but they are proud to have made this meal from the garden.

Its Been a Hoot of a Week!

2011-11-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Okay no pun intended but this has been a week of hoots in an owly way. We have had our share of critter adventures with skunks, raccoons, bald faced hornets and beavers in the past but now owls?! Who would have thought. Certainly not us.
It all started earlier this week when hubby was placing the trash cans at curb side early in the evening. It was dark out but pretty normal now that standard time is here.
As hubby was placing the trash out he saw a jogger running by on the sidewalk across the street. All of a sudden he spotted a bird right behind her head! It was an owl and it was picking at the ladies hair. She frantically brushed her head with her hands and stopped to see what was going on. Hubby told her an owl had tried to get her head. She was feeling a bit unnerved but continued on her jog. A few minutes later, a man comes by along our side of the road on a bike. He is wearing a helmet and as he goes by our place the owl takes a swoop at him hitting his helmet.By this time hubby is starting to realize the house may be a better place to be as he sees the owl take up a lofty perch in the tall maple across the street.
Hubby was all excited to tell this story and wished he had a camera. There are lots of owls out here but we usually see them in barns with their young. This is the first we have seen them around our yard. They must like the tall evergreens that fill our yard.
So that night I posted this story on Facebook only to hear about a friend of ours who had a similar experience. Our friend, Dave, was out jogging with a cap on that holds his keys attached to it while he jogs. Yes, you got that right, the owl swooped down, picked his hat right off his head,keys and all. Okay now no keys meant that poor Dave had to stay with a friend overnight. The worst part of the story, how do you walk up to someones door and say," An owl attacked me last night and took my hat and keys. He dropped them on your roof. Can I go up there to get them?" Like who would believe such a story? Poor Dave did get his keys back.
We figured it was the end of the owl funny business until I got a call from hubby this morning. As he walked to work which is just a couple of blocks away, the owl swooped down and tried to get his head. Now that must have been funny to see a guy frantically waving his hands in the air trying to keep the owl away. I shouldn't laugh as it hasn't happened to me yet and I hope it doesn't.

Harvesting in November

2011-11-09T08:53:00.001-08:00

Yes, its true, we are still harvesting in November. You have to love living here on the west coast. Some vegetables taste better when harvested after the first light frost.

Brussel sprouts fall in to this category. These sprouts look fabulous! I like roasting them in the oven with other vegetables.

Another great vegetable is kale. We have been donating kale to the food bank all summer. Now the plant has yet more leaves to harvest. I like making kale chips. All you have to do is wash the kale, tear it into two inch pieces, coat it with a bit of oil and bake it in the oven at 350F for about 10-15 minutes. You have to watch the kale chips don't burn. Kids love them.

We still have cabbage growing in the garden. Looks like cabbage rolls will be in order for this allotment holder.

I was amazed when I passed this broccoli plant to see how it had gone to flower. The seedaholic in me wants to see if I can get seed from this plant but alas it isn't my garden. Just imagine how many seeds theses flowers will produce.

All was not lost, I went home with some lovely beets. Linda at Tree and Twig Farm sent me some beet seeds to test out. Looks like these are the last of the crop to mature. I cant wait to roast them for dinner tonight.

Read 'Em All Tuesdays

2011-11-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Have you found a blog that you love to read all the time? I follow quite a few blogs and there are many good ones out there. One I like to read is called My House of Giggles. Now how can you resist that name?
Tracey writes the blog when she has time between taking care of her two adorable little boys and her hubby. Tracey writes about great design ideas for the home. Just last week she had an old chair given to her and she painted the fabric, yes, painted it. I had never seen this done before so I read with amazement on the whole process. Tracey makes everything look so simple. One time she recovered a stool with a striped baby sleeper. She likes to recycle found or thrift items in to her home.
Of course, that isn't the only thing she talks about. Wait until you see the birthday parties, the costumes and the family events she posts. If you don't fall in love with this blog I will be surprised.

Baking with Fresh Pumpkin- The End Result

2011-11-05T10:29:00.001-07:00

Okay I am so addicted to using fresh pumpkin now that I have tried it. Yesterday I used the fresh pumpkin I baked the other day. I made some pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting and a pecan pumpkin loaf. I still have one cup of pumpkin puree left in the freezer. Well that won't do so I have another pumpkin in the oven. I hope to make enough pumpkin puree so that I can make a couple of fresh pumpkin pies. Now that's yummy!
Here is how my pumpkin cookies look for tonight's potluck.

If you haven't cooked fresh pumpkin its totally worth it.

Fertilizer Friday-November Blooms

2011-11-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't written a Fertilizer Friday post in ages. Where does the time go? I finally got myself a new computer as the old relic just refused to upload photos any longer. I mean I don't blame her as she is eleven years old and slowing down.
So I walked the yard today to see what was in bloom. I found more flowers than I expected. Hubby was outside cleaning the flower beds for me. Lucky me to have such a great man.

The Dahlias are still going strong. I will dig them up when a frost hits and store them in my garage. They have to be one of my favourite flowers.

My all time favourite filler, Feverfew, is still blooming away. What a terrific plant for a large garden.

What I love about this time of year is the fall colour. Its like a painters palette in the garden.

The Cornus kousa or Japanese Dogwood has turned a lovely shade of red.

Wasn't I surprised to see the winter Jasmine in bloom already!

The hardy Fuchsias are just about done. I won't cut them back until spring.

The Sedum Autumn Joy has turned a dark maroon colour. I leave the flower heads on this plant to add some structure to the winter garden.
That's about it for the garden this week. Check out my friend Glenda's garden over at Tootsie Time. She received two inches of snow last night,brrr. We had our first frost last night so we are not far behind. Winter will be here before we know it.
Happy Gardening everyone even if its just looking at seed catalogues for next year.

Cooking with Fresh Pumpkin

2011-11-02T14:45:00.001-07:00

This year we harvested several pumpkins from the Ladner community Garden. I knew most of them were cooking pumpkins so I decided to try using fresh pumpkin for baking. I have an event to bake for this week so why not pumpkin pie or pumpkin cookies?

I looked up a recipe online and it said to cut the pumpkin in half horizontally. I did that and was surprised at how easy it was to cut. The next job was to empty the seeds and stringy pulp inside. I saved the seeds to dry for next years planting. I think I have enough pumpkin seeds for the whole town.

This is how it looked before going in the oven.

I flipped it over so it was cut side down in a 9x13 inch pan. Now it was all I could do to get it in there but it just made it. Next I covered each pan with foil.

I baked the pumpkin halves for an hour and a half at 375degrees F. When I took them out they looked like two cakes that hadn't risen. I love the aroma of cooked pumpkin as it filled the air. It had me thinking about Christmas baking.

I carefully flipped over the pumpkin and scooped all the flesh out in to a large bowl. I used my potato masher to smooth out any large chunks.

I ended up with just over three cups of pumpkin to use in my baking. You can freeze the pumpkin for using later or refrigerate it and use it fresh within a couple of days. I refrigerated my pumpkin as I am baking tomorrow with it. Now to decide on a recipe. I am thinking pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting. Sounds good, doesn't it?
I checked out the price of pure pumpkin while grocery shopping yesterday. Get this, it is $3.89 for a 398 ml tin of pumpkin. Now I am happy I tried using fresh pumpkin. Not only did it save me money but I know where it was grown.

Scavenger Hunt in the Children's Garden

2011-11-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

The children's garden is winding down as the temperature drops. It was time to do the final harvest and get ready to put the gardens to bed.

We were pretty excited to harvest as many pumpkins as we did. The plants got off to a slow start with our cool summer weather in June. Now that the leaves have died back it was time to bring the pumpkins back to the classroom. The teacher will weigh them and count the seeds with the children. Next week we will use one of the pumpkins to make some pumpkin soup. The students job is to chop up all the vegetables for the soup and make buns.

Its just the first day of November and a cold day at that. The temperature was only around four degrees Celsius as we harvested carrots, pumpkins and leeks. After our harvesting we had a scavenger hunt. I had made a list of things in the garden that the children had to find.

One item on the list was a green and white leaf. The children found three different green and white leaves in the garden. Lamium is one of our plants that continually invades the garden. We were more than happy to have the children pick the leaves, haha.

The children also looked for yellow, blue,pink and white flowers. They came back with Borage for the blue, Tansy for the yellow, Feverfew for the white and Clover for pink.

We also added leaves on the list of items to look for. Yellow leaves were the easiest as they covered the ground in some areas of the garden.

It was a little bit harder when I asked them to find a purple and green leaf that could be eaten. With a bit of help they came back with kale. Bingo! One of the volunteers made some kale chips for the students to try. I am happy to say the bowl came back empty. Who said kids don't eat veggies?

It was a fun morning and we can't wait to eat our harvest next week!

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 31

2011-10-31T07:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to admit, I am not really in to Halloween since my children are older. Some children just don't want to give up the whole costume thing. So I had to laugh a bit when my daughter came home with this costume. I couldn't look until she had the boots on to complete the outfit.

She had to show the cape. Can you guess who she is? Superheros seem to be popular this year.

The big R on the costume and the colours should give it away. I remember making costumes every year for my children. I only just recently donated them all to charity. I like it when the little children come to the door and can't even say trick or treat. They are so cute!
It has me remembering those simply enjoyable moments when the children would be so excited about Halloween. We would rummage through the costume boxes and decorate the house. Spider webs had to grace our front door and pumpkins lined the driveway.
Happy Halloween to all my readers! I enjoyed posting my simply enjoyable moments for the month of October.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 30

2011-10-30T08:36:00.001-07:00

Okay, you will be upset with me today. I had a lot of fun yesterday shopping for Christmas. I know, Halloween isn't even over yet. Believe it or not we have our first Christmas get together next weekend!
So today I headed to the local thrift shop. Now this isn't your ordinary thrift shop, it's a Christmas thrift shop run by our Delta Hospital Auxiliary. All the money made in this store goes back to improving equipment and services in our hospital. Why not shop here when you know the money made is not padding someone else's profits? It's also a good way to recycle.

I needed to come up with some centerpieces for our tables. Each one of the centerpieces above holds a tea light candle except for the snowman.

The thrift shop even made sure I had a tea light for each of them as they rang them up. Guess how much this cost? I bought seven centerpieces, one wicker snowman and four plastic Christmas tablecloths for just $15!
The good thing about this is, I will be taking them back to the thrift shop after our event so they can resell them again. I don't want to tell you about my fifteen totes in the shed full of Christmas stuff. I have more than I need for my own use.
What a simply enjoyable moment it was shopping for Christmas. Only another 55 days to go!

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments- Day 29

2011-10-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

I have been keeping a secret and it's killing me! As of today the Ladner Community Garden will be holding their first annual Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo on January 28,2012.

This idea has been on the back burner all summer as we grew along with the new community garden. Now that we have secured a venue, we are in the planning stages. If you are like me, a seedaholic, you will find every kind of seed you are looking for at this event.

If you want home grown fresh vegetables, Seedy Saturday is the place for you. There will be lots of organic and heirloom seeds to be purchased.

Perhaps you are looking for flower seeds or plants for spring planting. We hope to have seed companies from all over attend this event.
So mark your calendars today. I will have more information coming about Seedy Saturday over the next month.
Such a simply enjoyable moment signing the rental agreement this morning. This will be so much fun for the community.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 28

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some of my most enjoyable moments have been those spent with hubby on a drive around our community. There is always something to see whether it's a new development or some old buildings. I love barns and we have lots of them here. We live in a farming community just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. I seem to take pictures of the barns that look abandoned.

You can't help but notice this barn is about to collapse. The moss covers the roof and sunlight pours in through the holes. You have to wonder what stories it could tell, tales of farming in the old days perhaps.

This barn is a lot newer and is still used to store some equipment. Are there favorites things you see when out for a drive? Moments that make you reflect on what has happened in the past?

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 27

2011-10-27T07:44:00.001-07:00

You know Halloween is just around the corner when everywhere you go all you see are pumpkins.

This field of pumpkins is located on Westham Island in Ladner. Lots of pumpkins just waiting to be picked.

A little further down the road we stopped at Westham Island Herb Farm. The farm was filled with children taking tours of the pumpkin patch. What fun!

I like this display of jack-o- lanterns all with different faces. Imagine how much work this was to carve all these pumpkins!

Then there are the scary creatures all around the farm. Boo!

The gardens are still looking great at the farm. While I was there I bought some locally grown veggies and some hard neck garlic to plant. The fresh corn was so good I will have to go back for more.

Such a fun trip to see the farm. Now if only I had a cup of coffee, this would have made a great place to sit and enjoy the fun. Another simply enjoyable moment in our community.
Did you know that the farm is all lit up at night? Don't forget to take a drive to see the lights.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 26

2011-10-26T07:33:00.001-07:00

Today was another fun day working with children. We made pumpkin soup using pumpkins, carrots and potatoes from the children's garden at the Ladner Community Garden.

I like to grow the Neon pumpkins, they have great flavour. We harvested pumpkins, carrots and potatoes for the soup.

The recipe used about one half of a small pumpkin. We had the children do the chopping. We also had them chop the potatoes, onions and carrots for the soup.

We fried the onions until tender, added the pumpkin and potatoes, then carrots and broth.

After cooking and blending this is what the soup looked like. Ready to serve.

We had chef, Ian, help in the kitchen while Lynn and I worked with the children to chop the vegetables. Lynn also had a surprise for the children.
She had made some bread dough. When the children saw it, they were awed.

Each student got to roll a bun from the bread dough and had the warm fresh buns with their pumpkin soup.

Seriously I felt like I was working a soup kitchen that day. The children liked the soup so much they came back for second helpings. I thought I would never see the end of the line.
This soup was so good I had one child ask me,"Can you come and be my Mom so that you can make me homemade soup everyday?"
Such simply enjoyable moments yesterday. Here is the recipe below so you can enjoy it.
Pumpkin Soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion,sliced
1 1/2 lbs pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
1 lb. Potatoes, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp fresh thyme
Salt & pepper
2 1/2 cups of milk ( I used broth in case of allergies)
2 tsp lemon juice

Heat oil and butter in large pot for 4-5 minutes until soft. Stir often.
Add pumpkin and potatoes, stir well, cover and cook/sweat on low heat for 10 minutes.Stir occasionally.
Add stock, nutmeg, thyme,salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until vegetables are completely tender.
Cool slightly, then blend until smooth.
Add milk or broth, add lemon juice.
Enjoy!

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 25

2011-10-25T08:04:00.003-07:00

If you ask anyone, they will tell you that I am a bit of a plantaholic. Over the last three months my gardening has been nonexistent due to a couple of broken bones.
Yesterday I was delighted to actually do some real gardening. Actually I was clipping up stuff for the compost and pulling weeds. It's time to clean up in the children's area of Ladner Community Garden.

There are still some roots crops in the ground and they will stay in until next month.

You can see our squash has had it. The last few days have been down to five degrees Celsius and the heat loving crops are done. Here I am chopping up pumpkin vines to put in the compost. The bags are used as it is easier for me to drag them along. No wheelbarrows for me until I can walk better.

Now most of the beds are bare. In this one we set pots of tulips in the ground. The grade three class planted them. They will look great in the spring. When it's time to plant vegetables, we will move the bulbs to a new flower garden.

I also spent time collecting Nasturtium seeds to save for next year. They will be placed in an envelope to dry in a cool frost free place,usually the garage.
In two weeks time the grade three class will be coming to learn about lasagna gardening. We hope to get part of our fruit garden ready for spring planting.
What a simply enjoyable moment spending time doing something I love. Have you made time for yourself to do the things you love?

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 25

2011-10-25T08:04:00.001-07:00

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 24

2011-10-24T07:15:00.001-07:00

Have you made a scarecrow before? It's so much fun and an inexpensive way to bring out the creativity in your children. You don't need to buy anything. All you need to get started is a frame for the body. You could attach two sticks in a cross like fashion just the photo below. The person who made these frames for us decided to add hip extensions as well but they are not necessary.

Check out your closets for old clothes. Bring an old pair of pants, shirt, socks, gloves and hat from your closet or local thrift shop.

You can use a brown paper bag for the head and draw the face on before it is stuffed.

You could use an old pillowcase for a head as well. We used permanent colored markers to make the faces. They stand up to the rain we get here.

Tie off the ends of the pant legs and shirt sleeves with baling twine or string. Then stuff the legs and arms with crumpled up newspaper. The frame is inserted down inside one leg and you may want to have it come through the pants in the back so the post can go in the ground later.

Once the pants are on, you add the shirt and pin to pants. Then it's time to stuff the shirt. The head is attached with the top of the frame going in the pillowcase or bag, tied securely and pinned to the shirt. The edges are tucked in the shirt.

It was so much fun making scarecrows with our grade one families yesterday. This is our scarecrow family picture.
What simply enjoyable moments were had yesterday! The rain stopped just in time for our event and the children had lots of smiles making the scarecrows. Even the adults couldn't help but laugh.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 23

2011-10-23T07:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I spent the day with some friends. We had plans to tour some farms and perhaps a winery. Little did we know the pumpkin patch brigades would leave us with no way of visiting the farm. Imagine fifty cars full of children looking for their favourite pumpkin. There was nowhere to park so we decided to proceed to the winery. Unfortunately it was closed, more disappointment. Probably best I wasn't sipping wine at 1030 in the morning anyway.

There was just one more place we could try. We happened upon a few signs advertising fresh eggs and veggies. We turned the corner and this is what we saw in the parking lot. Loads and loads of squash everywhere. This is just a small portion of the harvested squash.

As we walked in the door I passed what I wanted. Local honey! I was delighted to find some here. Then I saw there were threes flavours, decisions, decisions. I opted for the blackberry/cranberry honey.
As we looked around there was only one other person there so we started asking questions. He said, "I don't work here.You write down what you buy and drop the money, exact change, in the box."
I am thinking, you're kidding, really. An honor system still in place? Wow!
I bought my honey and some real garlic, not that stuff from overseas. My friends loaded up on fresh eggs and vegetables.
What a simply enjoyable moment not only with friends but finding such a quaint vegetable stand. I can't wait to go back.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 22

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Some of my most simply enjoyable moments are those spent with friends and family. We often travel together and that makes it special.

I love being anywhere near the water. One weekend a friend took us out boating. What a treat as we don't have a boat and the view from the Fraser river is amazing. We went out just in time to catch this beautiful sunset.

One thing we don't have here are waves like this. Just look at them. What a sight this was! This photo was taken when we vacationed on the Mayan Riveria last fall. How I wish I was there right now.

Last month we stayed at the Mayne Island Resort. The deck outside our suite overlooked the ocean. Imagine having breakfast out here each morning. I would never get anything done.

Have you a special place where the view catches your breath?

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 21

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter is taking equine science and one of her projects involved training her horse to do a couple of tricks. I love spending time watching her work her horse. The grace and beauty of horses is amazing.

Here she is relaxing with Rose, her Morgan horse, in the round pen.

Looks like someone just got a reward. I think someone has a pocket of carrots chunks handy. She trained Rose that if she touched the end of the crop she would get food.

Today Rose is learning how to take a bow. There goes her head.

Next it was learning how to hug. Teeny tiny girl with 1000 pound horse. That could be a tight hug.

Oh, there's the reward for giving such a good hug, a handful of carrot chunks. Such fun to practice these tricks with Rose. She is a quick learner. For me it was a joy to be asked to take photos of her learning. Spending time with both of them such a simply enjoyable moment.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 20

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today I had so much fun! Every time I work with six year olds I come home wondering why I didn't do it years ago.

As soon as the grade one class arrives at the garden, they go for a run. Check out how foggy it was this morning.

I was ready for the class. We had clothes and supports laid out to make scarecrows. I knew it would be a fun day.

Almost done, just needs a head. Making heads was what my group's job was today.

Isn't this face cute, rosy cheeks and all? The children loved drawing the face.

We decided to leave a scarecrow in the garden this year. He will guard our crops. What a fun day full of simply enjoyable moments. At the end the children thanked the volunteers for coming to help. One child spoke up and said, "Yes, they could have stayed home and had a bowl of soup."

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 19

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

I was so touched by a stranger yesterday. It was one of those moments that I won't ever forget.

I was busy planting bulbs at the Ladner Community Garden when a woman walked by and stopped to talk to me.
She said that she goes for a run by the community garden everyday and wanted to thank us for changing this from such a boring space to one of beauty. She said it makes her day to go by the garden and enjoy it.
Often we hear a lot of negative comments in all parts of life but just having this simply enjoyable comment once made me smile.
So remember sometimes just the smallest encouraging remark can make someones day.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 18

2011-10-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

Although I miss the warmth of summer, fall definitely brings us beautiful colour. I walked the garden yesterday morning and couldn't help but enjoy the crispness that a cool morning brings.

It had gone down to just above freezing and you could see the signs of frost lingering on the Cotinus leaves as the sun shone through.

Below the Cotinus are blueberries waiting to get planted at the community garden. For now I get to enjoy the beauty of their fall colour.

I can't forget the Hydrangea as well. I had to pick some blooms to bring inside. There is nothing better than fresh flowers on your table. What a simply enjoyable moment walking around in the fall garden.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 17

2011-10-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

I was looking through photos yesterday and trying to put a seasons worth of community garden pictures together. I happened to come across this photo and wanted to share it with you. This was a simply enjoyable moment that I shared with many others.

Last May ,this group of volunteers came together to build the Ladner Community Garden. It was a wet day, not uncommon for the west coast, but it didn't stop anyone. We were all so excited to build this garden. Looking at this photo, I have to acknowledge all the wonderful volunteers that worked so hard that day. We became a community within a community that day. Thanks for helping to make this dream a reality. It was a simply enjoyable moment in my life.
Thank you to Olaf Kringhaug for taking this photo for us.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 16

2011-10-16T06:33:00.000-07:00

I have lots of simply enjoyable moments in my life and many are when I am around animals . Is it because they love you unconditionally or does mother nature just have a way of making them so irresistible? I love all animals, having four cats at home already. We also have a horse. Well technically it's my daughters horse but if you think I haven't mucked a stall or fed this horse a zillion times, I have.

This is My Irish Rose or Rose for short. She is a Registered Morgan horse and we love her. She has the sweetest personality.

I spotted these horses in the spring. I watch this farm every spring as there is always new foals to be seen and I was not disappointed this year.

One of my most simply enjoyable moments was when Gypsy was born at our boarding barn. Isn't she just the cutest? Like any newborn, she can't stay still. Walking her is like hauling a two year old out of a toy section. They just get all excited and jump all over. I could have stood and watched her play all day. Animals bring us such simply enjoyable moments.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 15

2011-10-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

One of my most enjoyable moments was during the Olympics of 2010. We were so thrilled that Vancouver was chosen to host this event. The torch run counted the days down to the opening of the Olympics. It wasn't until shortly before the torch run began that we found out a friend of ours was running.

Peter Motzek was a field hockey player in the Olympics years ago, something we didn't know about him. It was fun to be beside him as he held his torch.
The Olympics brought to this province a real sense of patriotism. The city of Vancouver was filled with hundreds of thousands of people who celebrated with support for their country. Our residents welcomed those from other countries and showed them that we can be a great host city.
What a simply enjoyable moment it was to be part of something so spectacular! It was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so glad I was part of it.

31 Days of Simply Enjoyable Moments-Day 14

2011-10-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

Some of my most simply enjoyable moments happened when I first moved to Ladner. We moved to this huge six bedroom house backing on to farmland. It was a city slickers dream. We could run about in the back fields and hope the farmer didn't catch us running through his grain field. Those fields are where I learned the art of picking potatoes with the crew that worked by hand in those days. We couldn't speak their language but a no to a green potato was well understood.

This is the same house where my mother thought she could put dishwashing liquid in the dishwasher. We all pulled up chairs as the suds oozed out before us with my mother frantically mopping them up. This was also the house where my mother had a very big surprise one day. We were all headed out to town and when she opened the basement door, lo and behold, a bull stood there looking her in the face. She slammed that door shut so fast!
We didn't live long in the house before we moved again. A couple of years ago we returned to the home as it is now used for weddings and receptions. Here we are, all seated on the front steps just like we did forty years ago. Over the last year, I returned to the home to work in a children's garden on site. It's like my whole life has come full circle. There are new children living on the property and living those simply enjoyable moments just like I did.