A Good Day to Smudge

Come on in!

I don't know about you, but my energy and the energy around our home has been low.  Right now, especially now, we need our energy vibrating at it's highest!  So, I did a quick clean up, opened up some doors and did a little smudging.   I thought I would share a few pictures of our set up right now.

The butterfly cross stitch is slowly coming along.  I find the Irish linen difficult  to work with, but I love the look of it. Definitely worth the effort.

More seedlings have germinated and need to be potted up again.  

The tomatoes are growing with great vigour, when planting happens they should be well hardened off. The larger totes work really well for hauling them in and out of the house.

I caught a little visitor in the Amur Cherry tree.  They usually fly away at the sight of a camera...photo shy.

I've added a few pictures of the garden, and some of my favourite parts of the garden for this week.

I am thrilled to see this plant has survived!  It produced endless blooms all summer last year.  I know it is a Salvia, but can't find the tag to tell you the exact species.  I'll keep looking!

Hope you have a lovely week,
until next time,
Abby

April Garden

Last week snow, this week the bulbs are bursting out.  This is a great time of year.  Waiting for the first signs that these little guys survived the winter, and to see them push through the soil!  So proud and boastful.

At this point I usually make a little mental note of where I would like to plant more bulbs in the coming fall.  So excuse the repetitive photos of my barely flowering bulbs.  This will be my reminder and planting  grid for the coming planting season.

We also spent a day bringing in garden soil and mushroom manure.  Almost every year we top the whole yard with black gold.  But the black gold is sooooo messy.  We would spread a layer through out every garden bed and all over the grass.  You could literally watch the greens of the plants and grass get richer.  They loved it. But oh so messy.  This year I think I'll make a compost tea and water the grass with it. 

Before we started to fill the new raised beds with soil I did a little more digging and unearthed enough little boulders to finish all my pathway edging.  The pathway edges are recent,  with all the soil amendments that we`ve added over the years, it started spilling over the edges of the flower beds.  The rocks hold it all in, water and soil, and I love the cottage garden look it gives.

Below is a little view of how our garden has changed.  No waterfall, no creek or any sign of a vegetable before.  Now a cottage kitchen garden, at least that's what I'm hoping for.

Hyacinths are making their appearance.  

And then this happens.  I always seem to forget where I've planted my bulbs and I'm pretty sure there are more trying to push through the bottom of this pot.  I don't want to move the pot or it'll tear the roots off my thyme and lavender plants.  Darn.

The rhubarb has survived! That is a relief.  I was sure I did it in last summer, with all the division and transplanting and a slight bit of neglect.  I promise to do better Mr. Rhubarb!

Inside the seedlings are doing well.  I gave them a good soak of water with a tiny bit of fertilizer to strengthen them up.  

Tomatoes can be potted up again into good sized pots.  They seem to be right on time this year.
Amaranth and basil, peppers and kale, they should all be good for a bit.

Coleus!  Look at that colour, and such detail on their leaves.  I'll pot them up and thin them out as well.

On the cold and cloudy days I've been cross stitching.  I'm definitely a beginner and I get a huge amount of inspiration from Priscilla and Chelsea @ Priscilla and Chelsea .  Right now I am working on a summer stitch, I think this is about half way. It looks like it should be quick, but not for me!

I hope you are keeping well, and safe!
Until next time,
Abby

Keeping Busy

Hello!
I hope you are all getting through this with support from your web of friends and family.  My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one, or is suffering from this virus in anyway. Here in BC, Canada, we are sitting in self isolation for an indefinite amount of time.  Which I am grateful to be able to do.  We also have a lovely calm leader in our health care system that gives a feeling of optimism.  Even with all of that being said it is still a time of uncertainty.  I am looking at it as a time for change, an opportunity to help Earth heal.  Already the effects of our global shut down is happening before our eyes.  Nature is starting to correct our errors in very little time.  They are estimating that our shut down will be until July, imagine the changes by then.
Stay strong people.

I have always loved my garden, being in nature, crafting and a slower pace so I must admit that this is alright for me.  I was a bit nervous when there was no flour or yeast to be had, I have been making bread for over twenty years and never had a problem finding flour and yeast.  But to my delight, they were both back on the shelves yesterday.  I  am really missing the freedom of seeing our family whenever we wanted, but this isn't permanent.  So I am making the most of this time.  I hope that you find a place of contentment as well.

With the help of my husband, I am making some more changes in the garden.  We are building three more raised beds and I going to grow as much food as possible, as a personal challenge.  Weather and circumstances permitting.

We are still  breaking up the snow to speed up the melting. The top north corner of our garden always is the first to peek through, where I've planted many crocuses.  They have managed to survive all my garden rearranging.  Soon I should see tulips, crocuses, alliums, hyacinths, snowdrops, I can't wait!

It always amazes me how they can push through the leaves that fell on them last fall. The leaves act like a blanket through winter and now nutrition in the spring as they break down. They say the fallen leaves are like garden soil gold!  I believe it, my soil has changed dramatically from all the organic material we've added.  Fallen leaves, woodchips, compost, mushroom manure whatever was available.

Crocuses poking through the candytuft.

This wooden bowl was arranged last spring.  I filled it with chicks and hens and some crystals.  It sat on our round table up on our patio last summer, but I thought it would have a better chance protected by the snow in the garden for winter.  I'll go through it, clean it up and take it back up there again in April.  It looks like most of the chicks and hens survived. Thank goodness.

Some tulips are poking out now!

I think these guys are Alliums.  I added more last fall, they don't seem to survive as well as the tulips and they slowly dwindle away in numbers.  They are so lovely in the early summer. And the bees LOVE them.

WARNING if you don't like messy gardens, look away!

This was summer 2017.

 Here in our zone four or five, spring can not come soon enough!

At the bottom of our garden where our pool used to sit, is where our new raised veggie beds will be.
It takes a bit for the soil to warm down there, but it gets a lot of sun through the summer.  Along the back fence is a row of raspberries.  They are delicious, and now they will have the space they deserve.

It's so messy, very difficult to leave like this.  I want so badly to start the spring clean up, but it never ends well for my plants. They like to stay cosy and covered until the nights warm up.  Probably another week or two.  I've lost so many plants through my lack of patience.

Inside, my flower afghan is almost done.  I've almost completed nine rows of ten, I think I'm going to make one more row.  Nine rows of eleven. Why not, I've come this far. Then the attaching begins!  Horray!  Somehow I have to figure out how to get another skein of grey yarn though.... Hmmm...

Until next time,
stay strong, stay calm and stay healthy.