Sunday Bits #31 (grow great cosmos, squash, & herbs, how to fight flea beetles)

You guys are going to really enjoy this week's Bits post. I have so many really great gardening links for you to check out!

How to grow cosmos... super simple and so impressive. They say that they can get to look weedy but I have never found that to be true , I love their carefree cottagey vibe.

I have sown a whole bunch of zinnias and cosmos in my new cutting flower garden bed. I got them in the garden the day before our big rain/hail storm, so will see where these seeds germinate. Am kind of afraid they will all have been washed into the sides or corners.

Look at all the herb garden ideas in this post! I especially love this idea, with all the nice rows! This would be perfect for someone wanting to grow and sell herb bundles. Add one row of lavender, too! Grow herbs in hot, sunny areas, gravel around them is perfect. Remember that most herbs are Mediterranean, so they like heat, sunshine, and thrive in rock gardens or sandier soil.

If you are a gardener and are on insta, check out this amazing yard. You will love it! I look at it about once a day, lol, and am planning a little flowering garden fence just like it someplace in my backyard. I don't know where yet, but it is happening! Magda & Rafał (@ranczo.od.nowa) • Instagram photos and videos

It appears flea beetle issues are big this spring. You can use row covers, sprays, etc... but I highly recommend that you attract beneficial parasitoids to your garden, they will take care of the flea beetles, but also caterpillars, aphids, white flies, and leaf hoppers! One of the best flowers for attracting these good guys to your garden, is sweet alyssum. The 6 packs are inexpensive, are already in bloom now so will attract them right away, gives you lots of plants that both look and smell good. To attract more of the good guys to your garden, plant them in rows or blocks in your garden to attract the good bugs, rather than in singles dotted here and there. Tip* - in those 6 packs, there are usually 2 plants per pod, so to double up your plants, gently tease the plants apart for double the goodness!

Growing a pollinator strip garden! If you have an acreage or larger yard, this would look amazing. I am going to fit it into my yard somehow, in addition to my cutting flower bed, which is also great for the pollinators. A planting plan for a 3'x20' bed is included, which looks super lovely in blues, whites, and pinks. I will try starting some from seed this summer and planting them this fall, see how that goes, and maybe blend with some annuals next spring till the perennials fill in. In fact, if you check out that insta account I mentioned above, I am going to make my strip garden a whole lot like the one in her video! I am obsessed with that strip garden, and as feeding and attracting pollinators and beneficials is super important to me, this plan will make my garden happy, healthy, and pretty, to boot.

In just a week or two, I will be sowing my pumpkin and squash seeds directly into the garden. You can also start them indoors right now to plant out in 3 or 4 weeks time. Here are some tips on how to grow squash.

These are great tips for everyone, not just new gardeners. Check out #10. It is golden advice. If you take nothing else from this article, remember number ten! 10 Beginner Garden Tips That Avoid Bloopers (Great & Small) (empressofdirt.net)

These ideas for small gardens, from the UK. I love all the little ideas that one can get from other people's gardens. I 'steal' little bitty ideas all the time that I think will enhance my garden, or just give it character. My favourite shots from this montage, are #6, 11, 20, and 33.

Oh, this one is so interesting that I read the whole thing from start to finish. If I am only somewhat interested in the topic, I generally skim through the articles, looking for bits of information that pertain to me. This one does not pertain to me, I do not live in an HOA, I do not have those kinds of rules here, but it is super interesting and renews my faith that change is coming, change is possible. You all need to read about how this couple fought the HOA about their organic, environmentally friendly garden, and WON. Time to get rid of the notion that expanses of nothing but turf are pretty, or desirable. Don't get me wrong, I like grass; it is nice underfoot, it makes the backdrop flowers and gardens, look great, but lawns... not so much.

Design & Whatnot Bits

This post about decorating with houseplants gives you some really nice ideas but also tells you how to take good care of your plants so that they thrive.

This mudroom, you guys! It is stunning! The stuff of dreams. Greek Revival Farmhouse Mudroom - Before & After - COCOCOZY

Would you love a Parisian holiday but it's not in the cards? This French Country Bucket list is full of ideas to give you that oolalah feeling!

Here is a sweet Victorian cottage and garden that I would happily move into right this minute. Has a cute little greenhouse for me already, too. Three different apron front sinks with lovely gold faucets. Very English cottage-y. Love it.

Fireworks Blondies!

Baking Bits (you just know I wanted to call in bacon bits...)

It is Memorial Day weekend in the States, so I found this recipe for Fireworks Blondies. I am thinking that Canada Day is right around the corner, wonder if we can find some red and white Smarties to make these next month? I have pinned the recipe to make anyways, as they look delish! Think my grandies will love these, no matter what colour the Smarties may be.

Have a lovely Sunday and a great week ahead ~ Tanja