Don't Panic: Step One to Transforming Your Landscape

You know those houses with immaculate lawns and manicured gardens?

Me, neither.

Our new house and garden is a beautiful English Cottage-style house three blocks from downtown... exactly what my husband wanted. And the yard, a double-lot backing onto a playground, is more than I dared hope for moving back into town.

I'll come to love it.

The previous owners had been here for decades. And decades. And decades. They loved it, and beneath the overgrown state of the yard, I can see that there was once a much loved garden here.

But it had gotten a bit out of hand.

What with the warm weather after Christmas (6 degrees! Quick! Break out the summer dresses!) I was twitching to dig in, but, as with any big project, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I am dreaming of a vegetable garden, a greenhouse, a barn for the chickens, a cottage-style garden with roses climbing the house, but none of that will succeed if I don't take this one step at a time.

So, besides gathering every gardening book, magazine and catalogue I own, WHAT is the first step?

Evaluate.

Take a stroll, a camera, a pencil and paper, and look carefully for things that will get in the way of your dream. For example, overgrown trees and/or shrubs. Yes, mature plants can be a boon to a garden (they're called 'bones'), but if they block light, desirable views, choke out other plants or can be overheard plotting to do away with the family dog, it's time to consider getting rid of them.

Thanks, Google, for this street view (2012)

I'm sure they were a good idea at the time.

You also need to look for structural issues around the house and yard. That pretty boxwood will look great covered in Christmas lights, but what's lurking behind it? And that cedar growing against the house is probably doing a fair bit of damage to your roof and siding. 

Aha! A sinkhole pretending to be 'retained'.

Some grading issues. What's buried under there?

And even though it's winter, look for invasive species, especially when inheriting an older garden.

Darn you, Ivy, my nemesis.

 A lot of invasives wear a friendlier guise in the garden centre. That's how they lure you in:

It's a rose. Seriously.

And take the time to make note of the state of patios, decks, fences and pathways:

Too narrow for safety or comfort.

This path goes... nowhere.

Well, nuts.

Doesn't everyone have a patio buried in their back yard??

And, keep an eye out for any unwelcome infestations:

OK, the kids built a fort against the fence. Not exactly an infestation... exactly.

While you're at it, take photos of the yard as it is today. It's overwhelming, I know, but someday it will be beautiful!

Give me 5 years.

Once you know exactly what you're dealing with, prioritize. Make a plan. Don't do it all at once: you'll break your back and your bank. Be flexible. Be patient. Every wheelbarrow load of crap out is one less wheelbarrow load sitting on your future greenhouse site.

Happy Gardening.

Stay tuned for "Don't Panic: Step Two. You Planted WHAT?? A note on invasive species"

- - - - IS MY LIFE!

It started in SOMEBODY'S garden

It was a long time before I understood that gardening was another form of creative expression.

It was another long time before I understood that I simply don't have it in me to focus on the 10 000 hours required to become an expert at much of anything. I bounce from activity to activity like a toddler. I will spent 3 weeks doing nothing but knitting, because KNITTING IS MY LIFE, and then I drop it for six months because SEWING IS MY LIFE. And so on.

And I wonder where my kid's ADHD comes from....

Anyway, in the continuing spirit of creative bouncing, I joined the Cambridge Handspinners and Weavers Guild in the spring because I wanted to learn how to spin. And, the best part of it is that these men and women suffer from the same disease I do: they all want to do a bit of everything. In June, for example, we did rust dying.

Rust dying. Who knew?

I always knew rust stained, but it never occurred to me to do it on purpose.

We dyed silk scarves, first by washing them in mild detergent, then by spraying them with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water. We placed rusty objects on them (you know all those 'treasures' your kids drag home with them) and sprayed again. Some members wrapped their scarves, some lay them out flat. One member accordian-pleated her scarf. I bunched mine up in the bottom of a bucket and then lay rusty nails, bolts and washers on top of the silk. I took my bucket home and kept it wet for a day and a bit (we were told to be careful that the vinegar didn't sit long enough to eat holes in the delicate silk). Once I was happy with the colour, I rinsed the scarf in a saline solution and hung it out to dry.

The result is above.

DYING IS MY LIFE!

I'm trying indigo dying next. Indigo also comes from a garden (not mine, this past winter killed my indigo plant). I want to dye enough fabric to make myself a shirt dress and also the local Women's Institute is doing a display about India for the Rockton Fair in October.

You know, because WOMEN'S INSTITUTES ARE MY LIFE.

Best Vegetables to Start from Seed

You can do it!

I work in a garden centre and spent much of this last weekend reassuring customers that it was possible to grow vegetables from seed. In this climate. This 'late' in the spring.

We're blessed with a temperate zone 6 here, although it's been a cool spring so far. Fear not, in vegetable gardening terms, that's not necessarily a bad thing. While you certainly need to buy some plants already started, there is lots to be gained from growing some plants from seed and the time to start them is now.

Yanking a plant out of a pot and jamming it into the ground is not unlike performing surgery on it. Sure, the plant recovers, but it takes time. Some plants get in a real snit about this treatment and may die out of sheer spite. Most importantly, a cell pack of beans, for example, can cost as much as $1.50. That's $ 0.38 per plant! These will be the most expensive beans you will ever eat. For $1.50 I can buy an entire packet of seeds.

So before you blow all your money on cell packs, I recommend buying these babies from seed and planting them directly in the ground:

Beans: these come in vine and bush varieties. Bush varieties are very prolific and can even be grown in a pot!

Beets: they take a while to germinate (as many as 21 days), so be patient. I pick these when they're on the small side.

Carrots: Again, slow germinaters and they will need to be thinned as each 'seed' is actually a seed packet itself. There's some gorgeous rainbow varieties available, too!

Corn: How about pop corn? It can be frustrating to see the squirrels get to the fruit before you do. Measures must be taken.

Cucumber: These things are like magic. The are climbers, and what they climb will want to be sturdy. Last year I made a teepee out of bamboo stakes and the cucumbers created a cozy green shelter.

Lettuce: Spoiled for choice, here. Lettuce likes it a bit cooler, so I try to provide shade for it in the hottest part of the day in the heat of the summer by planting it north of taller plants like corn or sunflowers or beans.

Peas: Honestly, depending on the weather, it might be getting a bit late for peas. They like it cool and I planted mine in March as soon as the soil thawed out. It's been so cool, however, that they've germinated but done nothing else. A warm day or two and they'll be growing strong. Pick peas often, so more flowers (and more peas) will be produced. They're a vine, and will want something to climb.

Radish: An easy, early crop. I plant radishes as soon as the soil can be worked. Once they're eaten, I put in beets or beans. I seldom plant radishes after the middle of June.

Spinach: Another early crop, spinach likes it cool. Heat tends to make it bolt (flower suddenly and unexpectedly). I plant this until mid-June, and then plant again mid- to late- August to take advantage of the Fall weather.

Squash/Pumpkin: This includes both summer squash (e.g. zucchini) and winter squash (e.g. pumpkin, acorn squash, butternut squash). It is possible to find varieties, especially of zucchini, that do not require too much space. However, it is important with squash to plant your seeds successively (two hills one week, two hills 10-14 days later, two more hills 10-14 days after that). Not only do you extend the harvest season, you also stand a chance of defeating the intrepid squash vine borer moth, which lays its eggs inside your squash vine and then toddles off. It's babes, however, when they hatch, EAT THE INSIDE OF THE VINE, and the plant dies. As the moth only lays for about a week every year, succession planting means that even if one planting succumbs, the others will survive. As Doctor Who says: "Everybody lives!"

Turnips: Eww, gross, right? Wrong. Fresh young turnips are easy to grow, and delicious mashed and mixed with butter and maple syrup. Turnip Puff, anyone?

Other things to try: Collards, Bok Choy, Swiss Chard, Onions (from sets), Garlic (from sets) and flowers such as poppies, zinnias, candytuft, alyssum, sunflowers and marigolds.

Love in the Dirt

There are no rose-coloured glasses in the garden.

When we told my father-in-law that we were putting Schoolhouse Rocks on the market, his response was exactly what I needed to hear. "Well," he said, "it looked like everything was done there, anyway."

In other words: what will the next project be?

Very generous of him, as he'd helped me realise a lot of the things I wanted in the garden: the chicken run, the veranda on the cottage, the gate to the woods and the world's biggest privately-owned arbour (I like to think).

Bedankt, Pa!

Good question, though. What WILL the next project be? Edible Front Garden? Urban Farm? Contraband chickens? I don't know, but in the meantime I'm getting my work here properly recorded and captioned.

Straight lines are so boring.

My first attempt can be found here: School House Rocks. Have a gander and tell me what you think. Tell me what your projects for 2014 are, too! I'd love to steal them ;)

I Love You Like Butter

I'm not one to complain about the weather (I simply don't see the point of it), but the cold has left me knocking around this house looking for something to do. And I don't mean cleaning.

Nothing more dangerous than a bored woman, a half litre of whipping cream and a Cuisinart.

It was on sale.

I've seen eight-year-olds shake cream into butter, so I thought it might be something I could manage. There is a small problem with shaking things when you get past a certain age, however, so I decided this might be a job for my trusty Cuisinart. My machine is ancient and the only blades I have left are a metal one and a plastic one. I decided to use the plastic one as it seemed closer in intent to a nubile milk maid armed with a butter churn.



Well, within 3 seconds I had beautiful whipped cream. I stared into it's glossiness and considered pavlova instead. But NO! I was on a mission. I covered it up, turned that baby on and waited (see: poured tea and added a splash of milk). Tea poured, there was this god-awful sound from my Cuisinart and I pulled the plug from the wall. This is what I saw:

What? Hey!

So that's what they mean by 'breaking'. You know, the more I play with milk and cream, the more I love the sciencey stuff of it.

At this point, I thought it might be time to do some reading. I'm glad I did. Apparently, if you do not get all the liquid out of the butter, it can go rancid very fast. So I poured out the liquid (buttermilk! and I thought it only came in 1L containers at the supermarket) and, well, washed my butter.

Buttermilk. Might have to make biscuits.

The Great Unwashed

Washing the butter (but not the sink)

 At this point, I understand the way old expression that the best butter maid had cool hands. Thank goodness it occurred to me that warm water would take all my butter down the drain with it. I tried using a spatula, but it was awkward for me so I used my hand. I kneaded the butter like I would bread in order to get all the buttermilk out. It took very little time.

I got the last of the water out by pressing the butter between two sheets of parchment paper.

Your own butter requires a pretty bowl, too.

Now off to the local antique market to see if I can find any butter molds.

Check out: New England Cheesemaking Supply Company for a really interesting read about all things butter.

January Rocks: Keep It Beautiful

There's beauty in everything. Even -36 degrees.

Gah. Seed catalogues have arrived in the post box.

The bug has hit me hard. Doubly hard, as Schoolhouse Rocks is up for sale and my new garden, where ever it will be, will be much, much smaller. Thankfully, I've kept my small-scale garden books, most noticeably Square Foot Gardening, and have been following The Edible Garden Project and Urban Organic Gardener.

It is not likely, then, that this spring will find my library window full of seedlings. So how do I feed the need for seeds?

1. Sprouts! A mason jar covered in cheesecloth, with a thin layer of sprouting seeds on the bottom, is almost as good as a pot. Soak the seeds in water overnight (brocolli, mung beans, mixed greens, fennugreek etc), then drain. Daily, rinse and drain the seeds. They're ready to eat within 7-10 days. You can buy seed sprouting kits, but wouldn't you rather spend that money on the seeds themselves. Or, better, wine?

2. Pots of herbs. Start them from seed, or, if you can't wait that long, any garden centres carry herbs all winter. Place them in a sunny window (watch drafts with basil, it hates the cold) and snip away. Mist them now and them to combat dry air. Alternately, place them on a tray of gravel with water in it (keeping the pots out of the standing water).

3. And if herbs (and tropicals) are happy in a house, why not vegetables? There are a few things to keep in mind, as always when dealing with plants. Light is crucial, of course, but veg like lettuce, radish, rocket (arugula) and spinach prefer cooler temperatures. Tomatoes, eggplant and peppers want temperatures over 20C. Make sure your pots are of adequate size, and don't love them to death. More plants die of being over-watered than under-watered! Being an impatient sort and the owner of a lovely cool, bright window ledge, I'm putting rocket, spinach and mesclin mix into a sterile potting mix and waiting for the magic.

For more information on indoor gardening, see:

Readers' Digest
8 Easy Veg to Grow Indoors
Best Plants to Grow Indoors