Sunday Bits #37

Good news, you guys! I have seen two ladybugs and one song bird in the garden over the past couple of days. That means they are there, and more are coming : )

From bhg.com - roses, lady's mantle, salvia, and nepeta.

I have been working hard at incorporating herbs and flowers to the garden to attract more pollinators and beneficials, but everything is so new that they either are not blooming this year, or barely... except my annuals, whew!

Here are a couple of links for attracting more bees, pollinators, and beneficial insects to your garden. You all know this is on my mind right now, maybe you want to bring more into your yard, as well. This article is really good. Flowers for all the seasons.

I have flowers for spring in the bulbs and fruit trees (will be adding more bulbs in fall), I have blooms for summer, but I do not have a lot of fall bloomers so finding some of those (echinacea, rudbeckia, helenium, gaillardia, and maybe some asters) is on the agenda over the next few weeks. I just bought some more beautiful flowers... a couple of gorgeous Veronicas (purple and pink), some dianthus (pinks), and a tall salvia.

All these colours of Veronica! Interplanted with salvia, they would look so amazing.

These two short videos by Joe Gardener are all about attracting beneficial insects. This one, and this one. Best thing to do if you have bad pests! I have some leaf hoppers on my Virginia Creeper, a couple of holes on my brussels (nothing to worry about), so far the last 3 brussels are hanging in there after I dug a trench and put the DE in there for those root maggots, but we will see. These kinds of critters are not usually so easily deterred.

I know we already all do this, we grow food, but this victory garden blurb is a good read nevertheless!

Top soil versus potting soil. Do you know the difference? Do you know what to use where? This article explains it all.

The 4 zones to plan for when designing your new garden. I have all of these, even though I no longer have little kids at home.

BER on your tomatoes? Here is an article about blossom end rot, what it is and how to get rid of it. Usually always over/under watering, btw ; )

How to grow better tomatoes... Tips for Growing Better Tomatoes | BBC Gardeners World Magazine.

Decor Bits...

This is such a cute little house and home. I would love to have a little house like this to decorate... maybe as a b&b?

Recipes

Here is a zuke loaf recipe that looks yummy. Many of you already have your favourite recipe, but maybe, you are like me, still looking for a good one as you have never made a zucchini loaf in your entire life, lol. I have always been gifted loaves of this yummy loaf (thanks Terri!) but since I no longer live on the island, I now have to find a great recipe and make my own. Sob! Hahaha.

This homemade iced tea is so good!

To continue (from earlier posts) with the pickling ideas now that pickling season is upon us.. check out these recipe ideas for everything from cucumbers to peppers and squash.

Oh, my, goodness! Yummy strawberry shortcake sundaes!

Peach upside down mini cakes! Peach Upside Down Mini Cakes (Cupcakes) ~Sweet & Savory (sweetandsavorybyshinee.com)

Pectin free, small batch raspberry jam! Tastes like grandma used to make, real fruit flavour.

I have to tell you all about this food blog I just found! So yummy! All these great recipes! This is the recipe that brought me here, so glad I found it for all the tasty but healthy ideas, too. I was doing really well with baking my own breads and treats, making 'real' food, but then mom got sick, so there was mom's bedside vigil, my birthday, Canada Day, our anniversary... well, life, death, and all things happened, so here I am. Getting back on the horse is always harder than falling off of it, eh ; )

Have a really great day ` Tanja