Sunday Bits of Inspo #88 (Old Wives' Tales, Lavender, Blueberry Boy Bait )

Red yarrow, creeping Jenny, and purple dianthus.

The heatwave is over, but the plants loved every minute of it. They are all thriving and happy. Me, I am happy with these moderate temperatures, as I can finally get things done.

I had an AHA moment yesterday, have made a big change of plans in my backyard renovation. Will tell you all about it in the next Notes From The Potting Shed. It's going to make a lot more sense, and look spectacular.

Check out this pretty yarrow, eh? It lives in the hottest part of the hard. Gets afternoon and evening sun, is surrounded by concrete, gets very little water as it is under the eaves, but yet it is thriving. I highly recommend. Not sure of the name, but think it is Red Velvet.

Here are the great reads that I found for you guys this week...

I absolutely love this garden, must pick up the book about krautkopf gardens.

https://propertyproslm.com/rain-gardens/

How to make a rain garden. A rain garden is a shallow, bowl-shaped area that collects water runoff from impervious surfaces such as downspouts, sump pumps, paved areas, roofs, driveways, walkways, and lawns. Often, the heavy rain from a thunderstorm comes down so quickly that the water doesn’t have time to soak into the ground, which means the water isn’t even available in the soil for thirsty plants to take up. A rain garden creates a “trap” for that water!

Dangers to garden birds. I love the birds. I plant flowers and shrubs that will attract them to my garden. They seem to prefer my front yard to the back... which may be because the dogs are out back. Perhaps they see them as a threat. I get that. I so want to put out some cute little birdhouses, but sadly, as long as we have Little Lulu kitty, that is something I cannot do. She has gotten fat and lazy since we left the acreage, a whole lot less mice and rats around here, but she loves to watch the birds through the window. Though she sticks pretty close to home, she is allowed outside. Therefore, no bird houses for me.

My lavender row back at the acreage.

Ten things to know about growing lavender. I love the English lavenders! I took these for granted on Vancouver Island. They grew, thrived, flowered, with little to no care needed. Especially big bonus as they did not need water to thrive and flower.

Here in my zone 3 garden, I treat it as an annual. If you have a sheltered area, mulch it up well for winter, it may come back, but if you think of it as an annual to enjoy for the season and it happens to come back the following year, well... what a lovely bonus.

These are the most beautiful, carefree, English cottage style gardens! So dreamy! Check out the many great photos in this read. White cosmos with blue borage? Wow, they look so good together!

These garden edging ideas are so pretty. I am busily pulling out the plastic flexible edging from my yard, making more natural transitions. I do not need to keep rocks and mulch completely separate (see 15). I know that they basically stay in their own lanes as that is what we did everywhere at the acreage. No edging materials at all. Though I sure do love those sleepers!

My raised beds with everything growing close together.

Here are two really reads about garden myths. Did you know that these are old wives' tales? This one, and this one. I loved the last read best, but disagree with the part about not planting things closer than recommended, lol. As long as you have good air flow and plant things that grow well together, you are fine. If you live in a humid area or have your garden in a warm pocket that has little to no wind/airflow, then do not do it.

Homey Bits

It's been a minute since I posted much of anything to do with patios, decor, homey bits, but this post with design ideas for verandas and loggias is so worth the share. Not many of us here in North America have loggias (covered outdoor corridors, often with columns and arches, that lead to the garden) but really, they are just fancy decks... right?

Turning a shed into a tiny house? This is so cute. I love everything about it, but cannot imagine the amount of cleaning I would have to do with my grandies and pups in there, hah!

Check out the outdoor space idea in this Scandinavian home!

This pretty rag wreath. In Blue! Just my colour!

Because... well, because Blue!

Blue Toaster!

Blue Coffee Maker

Blue Teakettle

Cute blue toaster

This coffee maker by Drew Barrymore.

A blue electric tea kettle

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Recipes

I think I vaguely remember hearing about this many years ago... have you heard of Blueberry Boy Bait? It sure does look yummy! but then again, you all know I love anything blueberry ; )

Holy doodle, this salad looks amazing!

I found a new sourdough baker to follow. Love her insta page, and has a blog, too. Check out all the yummy recipes! This recipe looks like my next yummy thing to make!

My plant stash for the pollinator strip garden.... and Berkeley.

Hope you are having a great weekend! Happy Sunday, eh? ~ Tanja