Sunday Bits #20 (landscaping, rutabagas, soil, forcing branches)

I have all sorts of really great garden related links for you today. So time appropriate as spring is just one week away.

We still have snow on the ground here, and minus degrees, but they say is supposed to warm up tomorrow. Who knows! It sure would be lovely to get outside and do stuff, even if it is just sweeping off the deck.

I have a bunch of wee seedlings in the grandkid's room. It has a south facing window for lots of natural light and we can keep it a wee bit cooler by shutting the heating vent. Will run out of space really fast so hope to get the greenhouse emptied out this week to get it ready to move some stuff in for end of month (along with a small heater for night times).

Gardening Bits!

The timing for this post about how to fine tune your garden landscaping could not be better as we prepare for the gardening season ahead. It can help you pull your yard together for all the seasons, in case you need a bit of help with the tweaking. This is what Katherine says about spring flowering bulbs...

Like everyone, I get seduced by the fall bulb catalogs, and then place an order without knowing exactly where I’m going to plant everything. When the box arrives, it’s challenging to walk around the garden trying to imagine where you’re going to need jolts of color in spring.

Better to take snapshots of what the garden looks like in spring (when the fall-planted bulbs would be blooming) and make notes, to use as a reference library when it’s time to order bulbs again.

This is something I really need to know as this is my first spring here and I have no idea what, if any, spring flowering bulbs have been planted. I want to know where to put bulbs this fall for a huge pop of spring colour.

I'll be sowing these sometime after June 15th, no sooner!

Are you growing rutabagas this year? Or sometimes called Swedes. You will want to read these instructions as they are started later so that they finish off in the cooler fall weather. End of June-ish here on the prairies.

I am growing a bunch of them as they are good storage veggies. Keep well, taste great, low in calories, high in fibre and anticarcinogens. So good for you. We make a casserole with them at Christmas, roasted the rest of the time, and mashed rutabaga is so very yummy.

How to grow Swiss Chard from sowing to harvest, and different sorts and colours to try.

Do you use Epsom Salt in your gardens? Did you know that in most all areas of the country, our soil is not low in magnesium so using it can actually cause balance issues? If you use it for preventing BER (myth), you will want to read this article. Food for thought.

These pots for the shade are so so pretty! I love the one with tiarella and brunnera, but the bleeding heart one is also lovely. Best of all, these two pots are deer resistant, too. They have used perennials in all the containers so you can pop the plants into the garden at the end of the season, or when they start to crowd out your pot (in warmer climes).

These two articles are about watering the garden in times of drought or just to save on the water bill.... this one is how to use gravity fed soaker hoses from your water barrel and this one about how to collect rain water.

Are you making a new food garden? Revamping an old one? This article shares all the things to think about... plus lots of pretty kitchen garden pictures to look at, too. Check out this one, too. So many ideas! 16 different garden plans!

Soil!

This one is so good! How to reuse soil in your pots! What kind of soil to use. How to make your garden soil better. Good soil is a really big deal so this article is super helpful. If you have dogs do not do #4, hahaha. I can tell you from experience that it does not go well.

I saved the best one for last. This article tells you how to fill your beds in six steps for great soil. As most of you, we built new beds last year and just got started filling them up before the winter came on fast and furious with snow and freezing temps, will finish next month, just in time for planting season. We used straw instead of composted bark mulch, either are fine. I love composted bark mulch but it is harder to find and can be pricey (tip, we use it mixed with potting soil if we are growing roses in pots) whereas straw is pretty cheap in comparison. Great soil takes a few years to develop, but if you practice no-dig gardening and feed with organic matter, you will have amazing soil that is teeming with beneficial soil life in no time at all.

Homey Bits

Check out these pretty curtains in this space, you guys! (this post is actually about how they decorated the open shelving but my eye went to the drapes and cushions, hahaha). They are so perfect for the room! Choosing the right curtains for your space is a big deal, you all. There are many choices, many that will work, but the curtains decide the vibe of the whole room. Do you want them to fade into the background? Draw your eye to the view? I just recently had to decide this for my living room (will post the pics when the reno is done and I get my rooms back) and had to decide whether they should be bold or blend in softly to the background.

The 10 most popular paint colours in Canada. I love these kind of articles. Are you thinking of changing up your cabinet colours (or walls) with paint? Check out the tips here for picking out just the right colour for you.

Some cute house things... this bathroom. To be fair, they had great elements already so was a fairly easy update... but how do you feel about painted wooden floors? I love them in older houses where the wood is not in the best shape... but what if they are in great shape, like these ones?

Make It Yourself Bits

Victoria Wright

Forcing flowering branches. In warmer climes, you can be forcing plums, cherries, forsythia, and quince right now. Here, we will be pruning our trees and shrubs in the next week or two (before the end of March) so will have branches for forcing apple blossoms. Honestly, they do not even need to be flowering branches. Prune any tree or shrub and bring the branches in for early spring greens. Hang some eggs, bunnies, ribbons, on them to make an Easter tree. You need to do this soon though, in order for them to be greening up for the holidays.

24 things to do before you look at your phone in the morning.

This lemon pie! Yum! I cannot wait to make this! I love lemon meringue pies, this one using Meyer's lemons would be just a bit sweeter as the Meyer is a cross between a tangerine and a lemon, so would like to try it to see what I think. I have made Meyer lemon curd before, it was delish!

So many great links this week, eh?

I will leave you with this light and fluffy lemon dessert idea that I made for one of my spring workshops. Here is the closest recipe that I can find for it, though is not exactly the same as I crumbled some graham crackers at the bottom of mine for a 'crust'.

Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday and a terrific week ahead.

Hope you all get sunshine and warmth,

a bit of garden time in some way or another ~ Tanja