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This new weekly post is kinda based on my Five Things Friday post that I put out on Facebook. It can be anything at all that is on my mind. Just stuff. I hope that some of the things will resonate and give you ideas, encouragement, or maybe just food for thought. Perhaps it's none of those things, maybe just pretend that we are having coffee together and shooting the breeze.... or look at the pictures, lol. 1. Baking is one of my most favourite things to do.. Sadly, I also like eating said baked goods so I try not to do it too often! However, I have some events coming up and the weather is on the cool side so great time to turn on the oven. My son is coming down for a week at the end of the month so I need cookies, plus it's my turn to bring nibblies to the garden club meeting, but most importantly of all, I am trying to get back on track with my goal to eat mostly only homemade, homegrown, adopt healthy habits again. I fell off the wagon when mom got sick and then kept going with the eating out and fast meals. Plus, we just found out that hubby is diabetic. I am playing with recipes to find the best and healthiest carbs for him to eat. Apparently sourdough is good for both of us, great for diabetics and people with gastric issues. I have never been overly fond of that sour flavour but I think it is finally time to jump on that sourdough wagon... just 3 years later than the rest of the world, eh? Now to figure out the starter thing. We had a lovely rain day the other day, over an inch of rain and then we got some more last night! Garden is watered, too wet for me to putter, so I have more time to bake. I am of the mindset that if I have to turn on my oven, I want it to be worth my while so I try to do it all on that one day. It becomes pretty much an all day endeavour, plus kitchen clean up. Before you know it, it is 7 pm and you are too pooped to pop. I made two cakes.... made the Sour Cream Blueberry Lemon Cake once again, which never fails to amaze, as well as this Buttermilk Blueberry Lemon Breakfast cake that I have not yet tasted. Is that weird? I made it, it looks amazing, looks just like the one in the recipe. I let it cool and then put it in the freezer for when company comes. A never tasted recipe for company, hahaha, what can possibly go wrong? I also made some crusty artisan rolls and then something totally different and out of the norm for me, as I was trying to use up a litre of buttermilk. I made these buttermilk dinner rolls that are a teeny bit sweet, teeny bit tangy from the buttermilk, very soft and fluffy. This is so new for me, I tend to go for the grainy breads, the ones that are crusty and chewy. So, what to say... I like them, a lot, but they are different for me. I think they would taste great made into a sandwich bun, the slightly sweet with a savoury topping would be pretty great, I think. So, if you like soft, fluffy buns, want a quick recipe, make this one hour recipe! Today, I have more buns on the agenda, will toss them all in the freezer to pull out when it is too hot to turn on the oven again. Plus maybe some oat bread... or maybe oat muffins? I never liked oat bread when I had it in Finland as a youngster but maybe I will now, as a grown up? Plus cookies! Need two types of cookies. Thinking of icebox cookies for one of them... have never made them, not sure if I have ever eaten them, but I read a blog post about them so now want to try! 2. The Front Yard - no food, just ornamental plants here. I purchased some lovely perennials at full price a week and a half ago... they are all on for $5 now. Ack, oh no, how typical! See the plants on the shed stoop in the picture above. They are going to go somewhere in the front yard. This is how it looks now. We are not going to do a bunch to it this year as we have too many things on the go (like the shed) but adding a few perennials now gives them time to mature a bit before we tackle the rest of it. Some may not like the Creeping Jenny but I think it is terrific. A nice ground cover that is virtually care free. The clematis has come into it's own a bit this year and if you look closely, hidden in the green part, is a small hydrangea. Why the deer ate the hydrangea but not the hostas is a very good question! My window box flowers were an afterthought this year but are starting to look just fine : ) This dwarf weeping spruce is one of my most favourite things in the front yard. We bought a house with a beautiful yard that had been owned by an avid gardener. The front yard is amazing, full of easy-care shrubs and dwarf evergreens (no humungous spruces here!) and a somewhat shady front garden. Deer are an issue so I need drought tolerant (I water the front maybe once a month), and deer resistant. The goal is to have colour here 3 seasons of the year. Garden centres and box stores bring in a new shipment of plants, in bloom, every week or two, so if I pick up a few things every couple of weeks, my gardens will soon be in bloom from spring till frost. 3. Back Yard - My gardens are a bit behind this year, while I waited for soil and stuff, but things are finally starting to happen! I ate my first peas of the year and gathered the last of the scapes. The Salt Spring Extra Early and the Persian Stars (usually both early types) are 2 weeks behind the others this year! Makes no sense at all, lol. I mean, it has to be location, but still, comes as a bit of a surprise. The lettuce in the sunny bed is ready, while the shady bed is still far from ready. I found some room to sow some more beets! They came up lickety split! We hope to be canning enough beets to get through till new beets next summer. Things are coming along. This bed of onions, carrots, and beets is thriving. I can probably remove the cat guard from on top very soon... 4. What on earth are these flowers planted in? This spongy stuff is not like any potting soil I have ever seen or used. Seems to be very high in peat moss or coir, perhaps? Is hard to keep the plants thriving in this so I am going to put a layer of potting soil on top.. see if that helps. Now, don't get me wrong, the planters look fine, are blooming nicely, but they take a fair amount of water and fertiliser to keep them happy. I usually repot anything I get from a box store but these were already well established so they will be what they will be. 5. My favourite place to hang out in the evenings or enjoy a morning coffee. We have a big, long back deck with one side for sitting, the other for hubby's bbq and smoker. We face east so get the gentle morning sun. I know, no coffee table... we have 2 great big dogs that like to lie at our feet, no room for a coffee table : ) Happy Thursday, my friends ~ Tanja

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 : ) 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

I have started a brand new thing. A weekly post with thoughts from the garden. Just whatever is on my mind, stuff I have happening in my potager, and any tips and tricks I can share with you all for a happier, healthier food garden. Is this new salvia not the yummiest? I absolutely love these guys! I have them in deep purple, as well. Always love a new idea for the thriller plant in my pots ; ) The flower pots have all come into their own now and look so amazing! I just bought whatever plants I liked each time I went out this spring, with no real plan in mind, but stuck to mostly the same colours. The snapdragons, sadly, were not as labelled. They are a weird red colour with a yellow eye, but my feeling is that anything goes when it comes to flowers, so is all good. Tomatoes.... How to prune indeterminates. Check the vee between the stems and each branch. If you see a sprout growing from there, you want to remove it. Most times, you can just snap it off with your fingers, but if it has had time to grow really big, you will want to use pruners to snip it off. I have pruned my tomatoes, removed any foliage touching the ground, and tied them up to their strings. This is an ongoing thing. It will seem like 5 minutes after you finish pruning your tomatoes, you find new suckers! Keep removing the bottom foliage as it begins to yellow (they are the oldest leaves, this is normal) and anything touching the soil. The greenhouse tomatoes are growing fast, they are all indeterminates growing up strings. Will likely be a crazy jungle in there by end of next month. Staying on top off the pruning is going to be prudent or I am not going to be able to get in the door later on. Yikes! The fence line garden bed tomatoes are all indeterminates, as well. The ones growing in the back row are shorter than I would like, we did not realise that they would not get as much sun as other areas of the fence line. Hmm. The front row is doing great though. Will see how they are fare this year and then make changes accordingly for next year. It's all about getting to know this new yard. The paste tomatoes in the raised bed , despite my worries about them being planted into near 100% compost, look really great! They are all determinates (bush type). Stocky, deep green, flowering, look wonderful. Will be canning tomatoes in August! I hope they do not end up being too high in nitrogen so I end up with great growth but few tomatoes. It is a legit worry. I also have a few dwarf tomatoes from the Dwarf Tomato Project and are different from anything else out there. They are on really stocky stems, nice and thick, almost like sunflower stalks. They are often referred to as Tree Form rather than indeterminate or determinate. I love these guys. They have big, juicy heirloom-like tomatoes in all colours (I prefer blacks and bi-colours) growing on sturdy 3 to 4 foot stems. I grow them with a stake, to keep them from breaking under the weight of all the tomatoes. The tomatoes on the south side love it there... but so does the grape. We hack back the grape once a week to keep it from smothering out the tomatoes. Hahaha! That said, we are going to have a ton of grapes this year! Seeding... Early July is the perfect time to pop in a few new seeds, both flowers and veggies.... The flowers will all come in to bloom just as the spring sown flowers are starting to peter out from the heat. Fresh colour all over again to take you right into fall. Stick some nasturtium seeds into empty pockets along the sides of your raised beds. They will be blooming their hearts out when you pull the tired ones out. Pop a few cucumber seeds into a pot to grow up strings or a trellis, or into the garden bed. When you harvest your garlic, sow some pickling cucumbers, regular cucumbers, bush beans, and greens. Or sow your fall and winter garden, if you are not using that bed for garlic again in fall. Pop in a few sweet pea seeds beside the cucumber trellis, the tomato cages, any place they would have a bit of something to cling to as they grow. Toss in your last block of carrots this week! If you miss the window, save your seeds for winter sowing. Grow a row or two of extra beets. Wondering where to sow your extras? If your lettuce is getting ready to bolt, pull it and toss in some new seeds. Small pockets in the garden with room for something? Toss in some seeds. Although you want good air flow, as long as everything is not the same height, you grow root crops or low growing crops with vining ones or tall ones, you will be fine for air flow and preventing powdery mildew. Just remember, as the garden starts to fill right in, you want to make sure not to wet the foliage when you water. Ground level only. Stick that watering wand under all the growth and water, move it to the next spot, and let it stay there for a while as the water spreads about, move to the next spot. Or, if you were wise enough to install a drip system or weeping hoses, you are golden ; ) Never use sprinklers or you will get powdery mildew in late summer, when the nights are cool and days are warm as the dew point is high. Fall Food Garden The fall and winter veggies are all up and doing great. Will thin them out, grow them on, and pop the seedlings into the garden in August. I've started Swedes (rutabagas), purple cauliflower, broccoli, and storage #4 cabbage. Watering This advice is less popular with folks, lol... Get to know your gardens, your beds, your pots and planters so that you can save water, only watering as needed. My beds are good with watering every third day. I might be able to push that a little bit, too, as the plants get bigger and deeper roots. My goal is to find the right balance for the best production, the best flavour, and save on water - water only as much as benefits the plant. I do what I can to live the most planet friendly life I can : ) The tomatoes under the hail-cover get no rain but I can already get away with just watering them every 5 to 7 days now that they are established. They are not in the hottest part of the yard and can make really deep roots to go seeking water. When I lived on the acreage outside of Edmonton, I worked full time and ran the teenagers around to their activities, so the entire garden only got watered once a week back then yet everything thrived. I am thinking that maybe sometimes it is good to be too busy to fuss, eh? Plus, I want rich flavour. If one waters tomatoes every day or two, they are watery and bland tasting, do not develop that deep, rich tomato flavour that we aim for. I just keep reminding myself that in parts of Italy, they dry-garden tomatoes! That is how they get that amazing flavour. Goals! So, I try to water like my grandmother and aunties did! Before hoses and stuff, when people were hauling water, the gardens were lucky to get watered at all. I am using this thing to feed my pots and baskets every 2nd week, give or take. No set schedule, just whenever I think of it (aka, whenever I remember). Baskets, pots, planters are rely on us to keep them well watered and fertilised as they soon use up the nutrients in the potting soil. Garden beds, however, are amazing if you feed the soil rather than the plants. I like this thingie as it has a dial on it that I can turn to just water and then turn it back to feeding when needed. I can water my veggie beds and feed my baskets without having to go back around later. If you want to feed your garden beds in summer, instead of this kind of liquid fertiliser, that does not improve the soil, try Acti-Sol hen pellets (pelleted chicken poop). I am super worried about the lack of bugs and pollinators in my garden this year. All the feedback that I have received from my readers, indicates that they, too, have noticed the same thing in other parts of the country. I already don't spray with anything other than water, nothing on the lawn, nothing on the flowers or veggies, so needs to be something else. I also do not have hardly any birds! The only thing I can think of is to plant more shrubs, perennials, and flowers. Work on making this yard the same kind of organic paradise as the last one.... teeming with bees, butterflies, and birds. The fancy garden cottage is going up... Walls and roof will be up by end of the weekend. Exciting times! This side of the yard is going to look like a disaster all summer as the build goes on. Check out the lovely antique lights I got from my bro for the cottage! Are they not amazing? Yellow is not the colour I was going to use as my accent colour but I kinda like it! Do I just clean them up and install over the patio door or do I spray paint them a pale blue or green, like the storage shed? One of my favourite stylists that I follow, has painted her greenhouse/garden cottage doors from green to yellow... just the other day! I saw it the day after I got my new (old) lights! Is this a sign? What would you do? So, that is my first weekly garden round up. I sure hope you enjoyed my thoughts and ramblings. See you next week to see what is on my mind... Happy Garden Rambling ~ Tanja

This week's Bits is a great one, jam packed with all sorts of fun gardening information and time appropriate yummy recipes. How to grow and take care of hops. Whether you want to grow them for beer, or just for the beautiful 'flowers', this perennial vine is so pretty! See the vine above on the left in the fall (after pruning) and the flowers below. Love how the some of the leaves go all white. This hops plant is one of my most favourite things in our yard. Tip - do not plant yours where you sit or hang out all the time (hot tub) as, like many vines, they are prone to leaf hoppers. Mine is in the back corner of the yard. Looks fantastic, I get to enjoy the view but not worry about the pests. As an organic gardener, I do not spray with anything but water. I count on the birds and the beneficials to take care of my hops, Valiant grape and the Engelman's Ivy, too. Everyone is thriving : ) Do you have big, fused tomato flowers (megablooms)? Crazy shaped strawberries or tomatoes that look like 2 or 3 fused together? Flowers with are elongated and strange looking? You have fasciation! Not dangerous to the plant, not a big deal. Take if off or leave it on, either way is fine. Caused by weird weather, too cold, too wet, too something... read more about it here. Are you all seeing lots of bees, butterflies, and other bugs? I am not and am getting worried. I have had a few of the bad bugs, but not a lot, so hoping that the good bugs are just getting them while I do not see them. Getting a little worried about not seeing much insect life though... except for ants. Boy oh boy, do we ever have ants. Need to get the house sprayed to make sure they stay outside. Anyway, here is an article about bee favourite flowers. I am scanning to make sure I have their favourites to try to attract them to my yard. You all know how much I love zinnias. Here is an article about how to start and grow them throughout the season. Here are some really great, lovely garden ideas from the Chelsea Flower Show. The potager garden is so pretty! We already know that we can plant food with flowers though, that is old hat to us, eh? Check out the strawberries and the Montessori school garden. See the article and pics here. How to prune fruit trees in summer. Pruning Fruit Trees in Summer | BBC Gardeners World Magazine If you are on Insta, check out this potager garden and the greenhouse! Jessica Hedin 🌿 Ängadalen (@angadalen) • Instagram photos and videos Make your own bug spray! Recipes... Vegan strawberry rhubarb squares, anyone? These look yummy and easy to whip up quickly! Make these air fryer donuts! I will just bake them in the oven, in my doughnut pan, as I have no air fryer and have been dying to find a nice recipe to use in the pan! It will soon be zucchini time. This lemon zuke loaf looks really yummy! Lemon Zucchini Bread - The House on Silverado I hope you all had a great Canada Day! We had everything set up outside when it suddenly turned cold, misty, and grey... we did a quick pivot and moved the festivities indoors instead. As always, the company was terrific, the food was amazing, we ate too much, laughed a lot, had a great time. Have a great long weekend ~ Tanja

The month of June in the garden feels real fine! I got the last bits planted or sown at the beginning of the month, so hopefully in time to get squash by the end of summer. All the seeds are coming up but anything sown in May sure did take its time popping up. Maybe because it has been so dry? Maybe because the nights were often still cool despite the really warm daytime temps? Not sure, but the beans are just now hitting 3 inches tall though they were planted weeks ago. Zinnias are still teeny so I gave them a bit of grow-juice to see if that will help them along. That said, waiting till June to sow my beets and carrots worked great as they popped up in mere days. We discovered that our cold room/storage room actually does have a vent in it, the previous owners knew what they were doing! Yay! It is hidden in the far corner with junk in front of it right now but will get it all set up in time for storing the harvest. Will be perfect for onions, potatoes, squash, garlic, and rutabagas. In the greenhouse, the tomatoes are growing fast, cucumbers and melons are coming along, scallions look great but need to start sizing up! I found some seeds for Baby Spaghetti squash so got those in the ground (in the greenhouse) to sprawl at the feet of the indeterminate tomatoes. Hubby and I got the burlap shade cloths made so it no longer gets stinking hot in there. We purchased burlap that has a very open weave so I made one extra curtain so that we could bunch it up a bit for more shade. If you want to make these, look for a denser weave, if you can. They sell burlap at fabric stores, if you happen to have one near you. It might cost a bit more but you can get a denser weave so is totally worth it. To make these curtains for the south wall of our 12' greenhouse, we bought: 40"x 30 feet long roll of burlap 8 x screw hooks 3 x 10 foot long electrical conduit 1 x can of satin black spray paint I spray painted the conduit black. Love the satin black! It even makes plastic look good. We put 4 of the hooks by the ceiling, spaced 3 feet apart. The other 4 hooks went on the wall, at the very top, to drape down over the 'glass'. I split the 30 foot roll of burlap into 4 and sewed a rod pocket at the top of each. This made them just long enough. If you do not sew, or do not want to sew, pick up some curtain rings with clips and just clip them up to the rod at the roofline. Thread the 'curtains' behind the rod on the wall. That's it. Easy peasy. Took us one hour to do the whole project and most of that was the sewing. We are having a rain day and supposed to have unsettled weather for a week or so. The rain is much needed and welcome, but the forecast worries me a bit as June always seems to have such up and down weather. We call it June-uary as the weather often turns from lovely to cool and grey for weeks at a time. The good news is that I got my lettuce seeds sown in my new small 'greens' bed on the north side of the house just minutes before the rains started. The new bed is just 2 feet by 4 feet and very low. I just raked the bark mulch aside and plunked this wee bed in amongst the hostas. On my agenda... 1. Mulch the greenhouse with composted bark, small wood chip, or grass clippings to retain moisture. 2. Deal with the south sideyard, it is such a mess! Of course, it is the first thing people see when the enter the backyard. I wish the former owners had not put down landscape fabric and rocks as it just becomes a disaster to deal with when the weed seeds blow in and root in the fabric. Will take me the whole summer to remove the rocks, the fabric, and the weeds. 3. Mulch up any areas with bare soil to help retain moisture and make it look tidy. 4. Feed and deadhead baskets and planters on a regular schedule. 5. Start fall veggies in the mini-greenhouse to plant out in early July for late summer veggies (rutabagas, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage). I am a bit worried about whether the cauli and the cabbage will size up in time but you never know unless you try. Just in case, I popped some Pixie cabbages in the little lettuce bed, they have a much shorter maturity date. The calendula (pot marigolds) I am sowing here and there for some late summer colour in the hopes that they will self seed for free volunteer flowers next year. Fall veggies are started 10 to 12 weeks before first frost. In my area, that is around mid-September, so I will be start sowing between June 21st and July 5th. As I putter out in the yard, I find all sorts of thoughts and ideas popping through my head, so I am starting a new weekly garden thread to share these thoughts with you guys. What is happening, what I am changing, planning, thinking, and working on. Just garden info that I want to share with you all while it is fresh in my brain. For those of you who follow me on Facebook, it is a bit like my 5 Things Friday posts. I just need to decide what day I am going to be sending it out... Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Stay tuned! Good news... tomatoes are finally flowering! Whew! In the yard and in the greenhouse, too. Happy Growing ~ Tanja

This week's post is pretty short and has a lot less gardening information than usual as my sweet momma passed away just a couple of days ago. We were at her bedside during the week so not many links to share with you all. My beautiful, sweet mom was an avid gardener as far back as I can remember. She grew only a few food crops, some potatoes, carrots, strawberries, some berry bushes (you know how I always say to grow what you eat!) but she sure loved her flowers. Begonias in big bold colours were here favourites. There were begonias and petunias, colour of all sorts on the deck from spring through till frost, and we could always count on finding mom puttering out in her garden, planting, pinching, or weeding. Mom had dementia for the past 5 years, did not always know who I was when I visited or chatted with her on the phone (she loved chatting on the phone for hours at a time), but that was okay, I knew who she was, and was grateful for the visits and time we had together. Magpies and Signs Do you all believe in signs, superstitions, omens, and such? If not, just skip this part to the links part... but if you do, you might like this story. My dad was very fond of magpies. I know most people do not care for them much but dad had a pet magpie when he was young, and that love carried on his whole life. Mom and dad fed the magpies, talked to them, watched them from the window or the deck. The birds came to get my parents if there was no food in the tray, squawking loudly at them. I hope the new owners of their house have been feeding the birds.. but most likely not, haha. Just a few hours before my mom passed, a magpie suddenly flew into the small courtyard outside her window. It stayed there for quite a while, a half hour or more, just hopping about and hanging out in the small courtyard. There has not been one around the home at any time prior, in the 1.5 years that mom lived there. We would have noticed as we always said "Hi dad' when we saw one ; ) During the time that the bird was outside the window, my mom kept reaching her arms out towards the side of the bed. My brother and I, we both firmly believe that was a sign, that magpie was dad, coming to wait for mom. Okay, on to gardening things and other Bits.... Really good grape growing information on how to grow, prune, take care of your vines. The grapes in this picture are from the acreage but I also have a lovely well-established blue grape at this new house. Such a bonus! Growing grapes is pretty easy, they are lovely to look at, vigorous growers, the vines are so useful, and the grapes themselves, well, they are delish! This article about garden journaling is really good. Lots of things to think about. I am working on trying to get better about keeping track of weather! I love keeping track of ideas in my journal and then going over it in winter to jog my memory. You think you will remember all the great ideas you had earlier, but I often look back at my notes and think... oh yeah, that is what I wanted to do there ; ) I', currently planning for my fall bulb buying and planting already ; ) Decor Bits Decorating with mason jars. I would love to find some of those blue mason jars! and those lids! This cottage is so pretty inside and out. Even has a sweet little greenhouse! Is simple, elegant, charming. PHOTOGRAPHY HOUSE HIRE | My Site 1 (info9071121.wixsite.com) Recipes These strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwiches are on my make it list for our Canada Day party! This strawberry loaf looks delish! I made this last week, just before mom became ill, so had it on the counter for the dog walker and my daughter as they helped with the pooches while I was away day and night. Personally, I thought it was a wee bit dry but very tasty so will make it again but I think I would add some plain yoghurt to add a bit of moisture. Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - On Sutton Place Oatmeal raisin cookies are my most favourite of all time. I have my tried and true recipe, of course, but am always willing to try new recipes... just in case it is better. Thank you all for following and reading my story. Wishing you all a lovely Sunday and week ahead. Go hug your mom! ~ Tanja : ) My sweet momma with 4 of her grandkids and my brother, getting a new gate for the backyard on Mother's Day. She gardened that whole bank that you see on the side. Those stairs brought her up to the magpie bird feeder : )

Here are some great tips to keep your baskets and planters looking amazing from spring till fall, whether you do up your own or buy them ready made at the greenhouse. Hanging Baskets - While I drool over the ready made baskets, already full of blooms, I absolutely love making my own baskets in spring. It's a spring ritual that makes my heart sing. I start by greenhouse hopping, shopping for flowers in new colours and new ideas with no set plan. I know what I like, of course, but I look for new colours to try, new varieties, and love to see what fun things each place is selling. The planting up is the best part. Putting together the plants I picked out in different combinations for the sun, shade, and part sun areas of the yard. When I was running the basket workshops at my wee greenhouse, I was always amazed at how beautiful and different everyone's creations were, using the same selection of plants! Here is everything you need to know about hanging baskets... To make your own, you want to buy the biggest baskets that you can find/afford. Bigger baskets mean more plants and bigger impact, but more importantly, they have more root room and do not dry out as fast, so flowers thrive. Buy the 14"or 16" baskets, never any smaller. I prefer to buy the metal ones with a coir liner as they last for many years... I have had some of mine for 18 years! When the coir liner gives out, you can buy a new one, make it into a moss basket instead, use burlap or coir sheeting as a liner. Get creative. You can also pop a pot into the basket which looks so amazing. Put a paper plate, plastic saucer or plate from the dollar store, or even just a sheet of wax paper or cling wrap into the bottom of your coir basket to stop the water from just flowing right out. You just want something at the bottom to slow down the water, have it sit around for a while so that the roots can take up the water. I like paper plates as I can dump the whole thing into my compost bin in fall and not have to root out anything. Fill loosely with potting soil to the very top. You do not want to push it down or take all the air out of the soil. Just fill to the top. The soil will settle as you water. Use a good quality potting soil, I like Sunshine or Pro-Mix, and add a little bit of manure or compost. My 'secret recipe' is 5 parts potting soil to 2 parts manure. I use this recipe for anything in a pot, basket, planter... a vessel of any sort. Good soil is important. Nestle your plants into the soil, pushing the soil around the base of the plant. As you left the soil loose when you filled it, is easy to make a wee hole in the soil, put in the plant, and firmly tuck the soil in at the base of the plant. Scatter some slow release fertiliser in the soil around the plants, tickle it in a bit. This will gently feed your plants each time you water. This is great for people like me who rarely remember when they last fed their baskets, helps to keep them healthy and flourishing. Tip - I use the thriller, filler, spiller planting method. A Thriller plant in the center. I like geraniums for sun and begonias for shade but use anything you like. Maybe a fancy petunia or a salvia. Fillers are plants that grow upwards and fill in all around the thriller to make a full, big looking basket. This may be lobelia, diascia, clumping petunias, upright verbena.... Spillers are the ones the trail or drape. They might trail a long ways like thunbergia and ipomea, or drape a little bit like creeping jenny, petunias, verbena, or bacopa. How many plants do you need? While there are many variables, this is the formula I use most often. 12" basket (or planter) = 1 thriller and 5 plants. 14" basket (or planter) = 1 thriller and 6 plants. 16" basket (or planter) = 1 thriller and 8 plants. 18" basket (or planter) = 1 thriller and 8 to 10 plants. Place your plants an inch of two in from the edge of the basket rather than right at the rim. This will give you a nice full looking basket when it fills out and gives them more root room. Not to worry, the flowers will find their way over to the edge. Here you see that they filled out to the edge in just a couple of weeks and the basket looks full. Will be spilling over the edges in no time. Watering Baskets To keep your baskets happy right till fall, you want to water and feed your baskets on a regular basis. While the plants in your basket are small, you will only need to water every 2nd, or even every 3rd day. Stick your finger in the soil to check for moisture. If damp, wait another day. As the summer goes on and the basket fills out, you will need to water more often. My rule for baskets on the south side of the house is to water once a day most times but water morning and evening when the temps hit 30 plus. That is only in dead of summer, when they are nice and full, using all the water that you are giving them. Do not drown your baskets. If you over-water your baskets, they will not thrive, the roots will start to rot and is hard to bring them back from that. If this happens, let them sit in a shaded spot for 3 or 4 days to dry out. Pinch back any stragglers, deadhead, remove dead plants. Give them time to bounce back. Once the soil feels like it is mostly all dry, put new plants in any dead spots, give them a mild dose (half strength) of a water soluble fertiliser (or preferably liquid seaweed if you have that), place them back out on the hook to get some sun. If you missed a watering or two, the soil in the basket will have dried out. When peat based potting soil dries out, it shrinks up into a tight ball that the water is unable to penetrate. The water simply runs down the sides of the dry soil ball and out the bottom. Re-hydrate the soil by placing it into a bucket or sink full of water, ideally in the shade, for 3 to 12 hours to recuperate. Most plants will pop back after a good long soak. Remove any plants that did not pop back, replace or leave that space and the others will soon fill it in. Popping in a nasturtium seed in dead spots is a quick fix, my trick to a full late summer basket when others are starting to peter out. In addition to proper watering, you will need more than the slow release fertiliser to keep the baskets blooming. Once a week, or every second week, give them a shot of water soluble flower food, or an all purpose fertiliser. The food you use on flowers will have a larger middle number like 15-30-15, or similar, for more blooms and strong roots. You can see that this hanging basket (I removed the hanger) that I was given as a housewarming gift is already starting to have less blooms a few weeks after it was given to me. When you buy a small 10 or 12 inch hanging basket from a box store in spring, it will be flourishing when you first bring it home but will soon start to look bedraggled. They are fed a while lot of fertiliser to get them looking that full and lush so early in the season but cannot maintain those blooms for long after you take it home. Take the plants out of the basket and pop them into a larger basket or planter with fresh soil and a bit of slow release fertiliser. They will start to flourish again, giving you bloom after bloom. Pots & Planters Pretty much the same rules apply when you make up your planters, pots, and window boxes. Use the same 'secret recipe' potting soil as for the hanging baskets. If you still have soil in your pots from last year, scoop it out and mix it with new soil compost mix to rejuvenate it, put it back in the pot. Place something over the holes in the bottom of the pot. I often use coffee filters but a flat stone, a broken piece of terra cotta, and upside down plastic pot from your new flowers, anything like that will work. Do not pack down the soil as that makes it hard for the roots to spread, but loosely fill it right to the top. Make a small hole, pop in your flowers, firm the soil around the base of the flower. The soil level will drop about an inch when you start to water, so do not worry about your pot being filled to the brim. I use the thriller, filler, spiller recipe in pots, also. If the pot is going right beside a wall, put the thriller in the back middle of the pot, add a row of fillers, and then add the spillers to trail over the sides. If the pot is going to be seen from all sides, put the thriller in the middle and then alternate the fillers and spillers around it. The thriller in my big pot is a stunning pink salvia that the bees, butterflies, and hummers are going to love... but the blooms are not quite yet open in this picture. Haha, of course they aren't. Sigh. Water and fertilise as above with the hanging baskets. My pots are still only being watered every third day at this point. Even though they are in clay pots, and with the all the heat and wind we are having, the flowers are still young, do not yet have big deep root systems, so they require less water. In the dead of summer, they will get watered every day or two. To keep everything blooming, don't forget to deadhead. I walk around and pluck something all the time. I place wicker baskets here and there around the yard to put the spent blooms and weeds in. When deadheading petunias, do not just pull out the flower, tempting as that is. You need to pinch the stem behind the blossom or that flower cap becomes a seed head and will take away strength from the blooming. When the sales come along, if you are still on the hunt for new pots, planters, or baskets, pick them up even though the flowers are long, stretched out, not looking it's best. I needed two planters for my front stoop and happened to find two matching ones at a great price at the local No Frills grocery store. After I pulled out the dead bits, pinched back the calibrachoas that were lanky and going to seed, deadheaded the spent blooms, they were spectacular. The long pink cali in the front will get pinched back later, for now it is in full bloom so I am leaving it be. Just plant what you like, there are no rules. All colours work with each other. If you have a mix, it is called a Victorian planting, or maybe you like monochromatic and just want to do all whites, all pink, all purple. Do what makes you happy. Sometimes, I just pop a few plants into the pot and call it that. These charming clay pots have three plants in them, and I adore them. There are no rules for the plants you choose but follow the rules for watering and feeding for happy, thriving, blooming baskets and planters. In summer, when you are watering, blast the flowers and foliage with a strong spray of water each time you water. This will rehydrate the foliage, blow off dead debris, and also gets rid of any bugs that may be trying to settle on your verbenas or petunias. I learned this trick from a bookshop vendor in Sidney By The Sea on Vancouver Island. He had the most amazing big baskets in front of his shop and said he did this every day to keep them looking their best. Wishing you a great summer, full of colour and beautiful flowers ~ Tanja .

Happy Father's Day Sunday, my friends! We are having a wonderful rainy weekend. No watering the garden, no yardwork to do, a great weekend for baking and crafting. Hubby is at work this weekend so there is no get-together happening at our house. Instead, we will be having a Canada Day party on the 1st to celebrate not only Canada's birthday, but also my birthday and Father's Day, too. Tossing them all together for one great big fun, family day. It is only 11 degrees outside today... my poor tomatoes. Grateful for the rain but wishing it was a bit warmer! Gardening Bits I wanted to start with this great short video about attracting ladybugs to your garden. Is quick and informative, and I love the bug house idea at the end! Build this covered raised bed. This is super cute and easy to make, would be awesome over your brassicas, like cabbage, that tend to get so buggy, or to keep slugs out of your lettuce, flies off your carrots or onions to prevent carrot rust fly and onion maggots. Help your plants beat the heat. How to Help Your Plants Beat the Heat - Dave's Garden (davesgarden.com) Read this article for really practical summertime watering advice. With nearly 20 years of greenhouse experience and advice giving, the one thing I have learned is that people really, really love to water. There are so many variables to consider, like wind, sun, rain, location, etc, but the most practical way to figure out how much water you need is simply to stick your finger in the soil. Potatoes, onions, and root crops do not want all that water and will not thrive if over-watered. Tomatoes and peppers become watery and bland tasting, perhaps mealy, as well, if you really go heavy on the water. Less really is more when it comes to veggies and water. This is such a pretty and informative article about growing flowers. It was always a goal of mine to grow more flowers at the last homestead. In the works was growing mainly just tomatoes and flowers to sell, plus my own food garden, of course. Didn't happen but I still read everything I see about growing flowers for cutting. Whether you want to grow a few for yourself, or enough to sell for bouquets, this is a lovely read. Growing a Cut Flower Garden — The Grit and Polish Seeds - Renee's Garden Seeds is having a sale right now. I have been growing from Renee's seeds for a good 20 years. They are always the first to germinate, have the best germination rates, and I love the varieties and selections they offer. Want to save on next year's seeds? Here is the link to the website to take advantage of the sale. If you sign up for their newsletter, you can also get 10% off of your entire order : ) Catalog | Renee's Garden Seeds (reneesgarden.com) Recipes, Décor, and Other Bits of Things.... With all the talk about parties and flowers and such, maybe you want to host a good old fashioned Scandi style Mid-Summer Party this year? Here are 5 easy tips to host your own Swedish style mid-summer fest. This dilled potato and pickled cucumber salad might just become my new go to! Only thing is that it requires some thought the day before and I am more like a 15 minutes before type of gal... This strawberry lemon pound cake, you guys! I think this is going on the Canada Day dessert menu! Cannot wait to try it! I love pound cakes, I love lemony anything, so this looks like a great addition to my cake repertoire, to go with the blueberry lemon cake. Don't you just love peonies? I had a small peony bush grow in my tomato bed that produced the two little flower buds that you see here. I don't even know what colour this peony is as I had no idea it even existed. So happy to have found this lovely volunteer in my garden! If you love peonies and have a few more flowers than I do, check out this post about creating a beautiful peony bouquet. It is so much more impressive than mine, haha. Are you downsizing your home? We just did that last year, and I tell you, it was hard! One of the hardest things to get rid of was a dining set that had home come with us from Germany and gone from house to house (6 houses) for the past 28 years. We kept this west coast dining table (yes, we had two dining sets, lol) that fit beautifully into our open floor plan home but is a bit too wide in this new house. We love it because, without the leaf we can seat 6 to 8 at it, with the leaf... well, the whole fam-jam fits in just fine. Despite having to move the sofa out of the way when we have family dinners, I do not foresee getting rid of this table ever, unless we happen to find an affordable banged up, chippy, narrow, antique, super long table. Read this great article about downsizing - Home Downsizing: 5 Ways to Cope When Your Family Doesn't Want Your Stuff - On Sutton Place In case you missed it the other day, here is my post on how to have fantastic planters (and baskets) all summer long. Happy Father's Day to all you great dads out there ~ Tanja

I finally finished planting up all my planters, pots, window boxes, garden beds last weekend. Peppers are in pots, tomatoes in the ground, flower pots starting to fill out nicely, seeds coming up in the beds. The hardest part, the part that seems to take the longest, is actually getting everything planted up, eh? The buying and ordering is easy! Summer - I am now going to sit back and watch everything grow. Nothing to do but water, deadhead, and occasionally fertilise baskets and planters. I don't ever need to feed veggies or flowers in actual garden beds as the soil is amended with compost/manure annually - thus feeding the soil to feed the plants. I say that, but it never happens, hah! I always seem to come up with something else to do, something new to make, build, or do. I was lamenting to hubby just this morning about having no suitable spot for growing summer lettuces and he jumped into action. Is currently out there with my grandson, building me a small bed on the north sideyard, which gets only 2 to 3 hours of evening sun. For Autumn- I have pulled out the seeds I need to for late summer/fall crops. Veggies like rutabagas, broccoli, purple cauliflower, cabbage, and maybe some flowers, too. I will start these in the mini-greenhouse on the deck. It is in a mostly shaded area, getting only morning sun, perfect for cool weather crops. Fall veggies are started 10 to 12 weeks before first frost. In my area, that is around mid-September, so I will be start sowing between June 21st and July 5th. Let's see how I make out. When I last lived in Alberta, I was a super busy full-time working mom to two teenagers and I gotta say, growing a fall garden never occurred to me, even though I worked at a greenhouse! The world is a very different place now though, so stocking the pantry with fresh, homegrown food has become pretty important. Gardening Bits More string light information and pics... can you tell that I am obsessed? Still not sure how I will implement them over my patio space, even after reading all these tips. If anyone in the area is an outdoor lighting expert, please contact me, lol. DIY Outdoor String Lights for Summer - MY 100 YEAR OLD HOME This article with great housewarming gifts. I would add hanging basket or planter to this list, as well, if you know they like to garden. I was thrilled to get my basket. I also love #8. This article is about edible gardening but I just really liked the gorgeous pictures! These fantastic greenhouse and garden bed ideas. This is where I got the idea for my burlap shade cloth, you guys! Such a gorgeous blog and insta page. This was a good podcast/good read! Learn about soil blocking versus planting in cells, succession sowing, whether growing flowers or edibles, and most importantly.. not starting your seeds too early. Want to start a flower farm (was always a dream of mine to combine with the tomatoes) read this article for good information. Which also leads to this podcast... why grow flowers with edibles and what flowers not to plant. The irises just make this yard! Sarah Price's Painterly Garden at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show (gardenista.com) So many good ideas and pretty pictures in this article about edible landscaping. Some really great ideas for sustainable gardening. Wish we could have kept more of the elements as mentioned in the first one. 12 Sustainable Gardening Ideas From Landscape Design Pros (houzz.com) Summer Bits This huge list of 64 books to read this summer. I am a very avid reader but do not think I can read that many, hah! I like that it recommends all sorts of books, including décor. The only thing missing is gardening books! This great list of things to do this summer. I love the one about ice cream and cake decorating! These summer self-care ideas are so good. Ideas for how to take care of yourself when life gets busy, crazy, over-whelming. I keep working on doing some of these things. Am I constant with it? Absolutely not. I just keep trying to implement some nice moments into my day to day to help deal with life stressors, even if just for a few moments. I like #2, am trying to do this more often now that we are in pollen season. #5 is my favourite thing to do and goes well with #8. I tend to do this in the afternoon while it is too hot to work outside. Numbers #11 and #12 are things that I have been implementing since the renovation has been completed. I have the perfect spots for both : ) #15 is a given, is hard for me to stay up past 9:30. Décor Bits This English Cottage kitchen is to die for! Love the sink, the brass faucet. Of course, if you saw the pics of my kitchen sink area (above), you know why I like it, as mine is almost identical, just different colours. More pics of my kitchen coming soon. And this kitchen! The island, the cabinet colour, and the dining room! What a lovely backyard makeover. Great ideas for a part sun garden, too. Love the potting bench with the cute sink! And this patio! I could happily sit here with my coffee every single day. These vintage flower pots though! Love the white roses with lavender! Recipes This strawberry milk sounds delish! Not at all like that stuff you squirt out of a bottle. Need to make this for my wee grandies! Even more strawberry recipes! 40 different things to make, from cakes to snacks and bevies, too. Holy doodle, these dessert bars from a cake mix look so good and so simple to make! Gotta try 'em! and this, too... how to make a box cake mix taste homemade! Ideas for a prepper kitchen! How & Why to Start a Prepper Pantry Today | Simplify (thesimplifydaily.com) Saved the best for last... I found this amazing blog with the yummiest, most delicious looking desserts. It is in Spanish, which I cannot read, but I found the translation to be really good! Here is her beautiful insta account Patry García • Fotografía (@saboresymomentos) • Instagram photos and videos Reading her recipe for the lemon poppyseed cake made me get on over to Renee's Garden Seeds order page to pick up some Pepperbox Poppies. Will sow the seeds this fall for homegrown poppy seeds next fall. Whew, that was a full roster this week, eh? I hope you enjoy today's links and get some great ideas to make or do or bake! Have a great week ~ Tanja

Ever since I tried the Wedge Salad with avocados and quick pickled onions from Smitten Kitchen, I have been hooked on quick pickling veggies of all kinds. I started with different kinds of onions and vinegars, to see which ones I preferred, using the measurements from the wedge salad. 3 tablespoons (45 grams) vinegar 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water Kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced I find I like these measurements quite a lot and stick pretty close to them, even though I rarely measure after the first time of making something. I tend to just eye ball it after that. Heat the ingredients on a low setting and pour over your veggies when it is just about to start simmering. Onions - I have since pickled white, yellow, and red onions to taste test them all. Have decided that I like the taste of sweet yellow onions the best, though they are all yummy and I like the colour that red onions add to salads, plates, and sandwiches. If your salad or sandwich lacks colour, if you are out to impress, use the reds, for sure, they are much prettier. Though, if you like the mildness of sweet yellow onions like Walla Walla or Vidalia, you will absolutely love them pickled. White onions pickled are also amazing as they are much less zingy. Try them all and see which one becomes your favourite. They are super quick to make and brighten up any meal from sandwiches (try them with your grilled cheese!) to meat dishes like meatloaf or fajitas. As a veggie, I put them on all kinds of things, from salads to sandwiches and pasta dishes, but you really need to try it on a toasted avocado (homemade peasant bread) toast! I tried both white wine (in the first picture) and this lovely apple cider vinegar that I found at our local Co-op store. The apple has become my new favourite. I like milder vinegars and hardly ever use regular white vinegar for anything much other than cleaning and fall canning. I also use a spiced German vinegar called Salata on occasion, but it is very mild and might need a bit of something stronger added to it to suit your taste. After onions, I started pickling and testing other veggies and found this recipe... pickled vegetable sandwich slaw – smitten kitchen. I am on a (quick) pickling kick. 1 cup distilled white vinegar 4 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons Kosher salt 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds 1 cup cold water I used the apple cider vinegar, of course, loved the addition of mustard seeds, added a bit less sugar and salt than this called for, and still found it too salty. Though that may just be me as doc put me on a low salt diet (sigh) so I am finding many things too salty for me nowadays. Adjust to your tastes. I recommend trying it as written the first time and then playing around with the amounts and ingredients. You can quick pickle pretty much any veggie that you like. In this picture, I have red and orange peppers, carrots, and onions. I would have added cabbage and cauliflower if I had had them at home. I was not a huge fan of the pickled radishes, they were just okay. If you like a hit of heat, you may want to try this pickled onion recipe with jalapeno's. I am a wimp and tolerate zero degrees of heat, so I have not, and will not, try these! Quick & Easy Refrigerator Pickled Onions - Attainable Sustainable® (attainable-sustainable.net) The quick pickles last up to 3 weeks in the fridge, if they last that long. I make some version of pickled veggies at least once a week. My version of the wedge salad, after several modifications, with pickled red onions. Happy Pickling ~ Tanja

This past week, I got the garden beds planted up, baskets made and hung up, and picked up the stuff needed to make a burlap shade cloth in the greenhouse that we hope to get done in the next day or two. Lots of little tasks lay ahead, and if all goes well, I'll be sharing the highlights of the new kitchen with you, too. The reno came out so well, wait till you see the amazing results. I started a new 'thing', am going to post something on my insta account daily for the month of June. It might be informative, might be funny, pretty, or cute, or just something I found to be of interest that day. Today's pic is this one of my newly transplanted tomatoes that are the same size as the marigolds after being planted real deep, ahaha! And see those onions? How much they have already grown? They were chopped to one inch high at planting time so they have grown several inches already! This means they are well rooted in and I no longer have to water them every single day. I have never posted much on my insta, it has just always been a bit too overwhelming. Feels like everything has to be so perfect, a lot of things are very staged, and that is just not me. So very far from perfect, lol. For some reason, I find it so much easier to just chat with you all on fb than on insta... maybe because I am so chatty and insta is mostly pictures? Lol, that might be it. Anyways, am going to try to post something daily and see how I 'grow' ; ) Gardening Bits Wondering which veggies need more water, and which ones to save on? Watch this watering video with Charles Dowding. Do you have a weedy garden, are you starting to despair? Check out this fantastic article and the transition from a really terrible weed patch to a thriving potager/garden. How to save money on plants for all your landscaping needs, whether annual or perennial. Have you moved to a new yard? Wonder where to start with your landscaping planning? Here is an article I wrote about what and where to start and then how we went about ours. I am adding to the plans as we go this year, but if you start with the bones of the yard, is easy to work on the other bits little by little. We got the big, expensive stuff (except the fancy garden shed) out of the way last year so this year is easy to add a bit payday by payday ; ) How to get rid of slugs. Good advice in this article. Growing lots of herbs? Here is a great idea of what to do with them after you have dried them. Creating a cottage garden - the June edition. Such a pretty garden! Creating a cottage garden - June - Lobster and Swan The best garden related one for last... what does Monty Don recommend you do in the month of June in your garden? The pictures are incredible, too, of course :) June 2023 — Monty Don Decorating Bits Check out this lovely carriage house that she uses for summertime entertaining. Such a lovely farmhouse style inspirational post for your covered patio, she-shed, or cottage. Definitely a nice vibe for the inside of my garden shed, though mine will not be anywhere this big and roomy. We start on our shed-thingie this week! Exciting! Though is going to be a long time build that takes all summer as hubs works out of town part of the month. All these fantastic ideas to spiff up your porch. I love #18! Plus 28 budget friendly ways for great curb appeal. My go to answer for everything this year is #25 ; ) Recipe Bits Does this not look super yummy? I am always looking for great bevie recipes that are yummy and non-alcoholic for summertime. Lemonade is a favourite, this one looks amazing. Is a must-try! easy strawberry lemonade – smitten kitchen These focaccias look super simple to make! I have a thing about turning on my oven, especially in summer. If I am going to turn it on, I want to bake or make as many foods as I can at the same time, to save on money. Turning on an oven costs a lot of moolah, lol, so I want to make it count! This recipe is worth turning on the stove for! focaccia sandwiches for a crowd – smitten kitchen Those are my Bits for this week. Have a happy Sunday ~ Tanja

I have long been an organic gardener, since the early days when 'green' was simply a colour, using companion planting to grow bigger, better, healthier and happier edibles. Companion planting is just part of organic gardening, but a very important part. Why adding flowers to your vegetable garden is a Big Deal? Annuals are very beneficial companion plants for your garden. They deter bad bugs, attract good bugs, feed pollinators, and/or work as lure plants. Their pollen, nectar, and seeds bring hummingbirds, butterflies, and birds to your garden for pest control and pollination. Flowers make your plants thrive and may even make your vegetables taste better .. Plus, add beauty, colour and fragrance to your garden, while being inexpensive and so much easier (earth friendlier) than sprays or tonics. At my wee greenhouse, I sold flats of flowers designed for the vegetable garden to feed pollinators and attract beneficials. Here are the top 3 flowers that were always in those packs. Top 3 Annuals That No Organic Vegetable Bed Should Be Without... 1. Marigolds - The marigold is the most common of flowers and yet is the workhorse of the companion garden. Plant marigolds everywhere in your vegetable garden, especially around your tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers. There is no fruit or vegetable that will not flourish with a marigold growing beside it. Marigolds deter aphids, nematodes (small worms in the soil), beetles, and maggots. They also encourage better growth in your edibles, likely because both the roots and the foliage are safe from nearly all pests! They also draw in the beneficial insects that control the bad bugs. French marigolds are also effective at controlling the bad root nematodes that cause club root and other garden soil diseases. French marigolds are bushy, stay short and tight, making for a really nice border plant or colourful mini hedge. I tend to use mostly red or orange varieties, as I am not a huge fan of yellow in my summer garden. The Bonanza, Disco, and Duranga series of marigolds are my faves, I especially love Red Disco. You want to get a simple, open-faced marigold rather than a fluffy, double petalled one, as they have more nectar and pollen for the pollinators. Though, must admit that I also really love the heirloom varieties of marigolds, like Jester or Harlequin (see picture above), that grow 2 to 3 feet tall and sprawl madly, spilling over the beds into the pathways. Something about happy, thriving plants, spilling and tumbling all over, that makes me super happy. Gem tagetes (aka signets) are also marigolds. They have lovely ferny foliage and single blossoms in burnt red, tangerine, or lemon yellow (as in the picture). The plant looks very delicate but is an amazing workhorse in the greenhouse or garden beds to repel tomato hornworm, nematodes, whitefly, and other garden pests. 2. Sweet Alyssum - Is a draw for hoverflies, parasitoids, and ladybugs. These beneficial insects eat aphids and caterpillars, plus the eggs of many of your most annoying garden pests. Their sweet scent adds perfume to the garden while the pollen attracts pollinators to keep your garden growing and producing. Alyssum sometimes self seeds so will come back year after year, is dainty and attractive in the garden. Plant it in all the bare spots in and around your garden to prevent weeds. It thrives in the heat as long as watered well, breaks up soil, and spreads readily. Has medicinal and protective uses, too. White alyssum is the hardiest and the most attractive to the beneficial insects while the bees like the pale purple hues best. 3. Calendula - Useful everywhere and for everything, just like the marigold. Is more effective than both alyssum and marigolds at attracting beneficial insects whose larvae eat the bad bugs and their eggs. Bonus is that it self seeds readily so you usually only have to buy it once and then can transplant it from your garden to wherever you need it. I love growing marigolds in summer, but I let the calendula go like mad in spring and fall, as they thrive in cool temps while the marigolds do not. The petals are also useful additions to ointments, oils, soaps, and shampoos. Calendula is usually sold in bright yellows and oranges but there is also a beautiful pink one available called Strawberry Blonde. While you will not find it at your local greenhouse, it is super easy to grow from seed. Direct sow or prestart. Super easy and cool weather hardy. Oh, and the flowers close at night or on rainy days, are open in sunshine. Those are the three most important companion plants and should be scattered throughout your garden with carefree abandon. If you only buy tons of these three flowers, you will have a virtually pest free food and flower garden! More Flowers That Work Hard In Your Garden Plant whatever flowers you like, perennial or annual, as it is sure to attract some beneficial insect to your garden, whether a pollinator or a pest annihilator. Here are more ideas your organic gardening needs, in order of importance and efficacy. 4. Nasturtiums - Nasturtiums are great companion plants to grow near your radishes, cucumbers, melons, and the entire brassica family. Tomatoes, too, if you have room, but my tomatoes are always surrounded by marigolds, parsley and basil ; ) They deter aphids, potato bugs and squash bugs, white flies (esp in the greenhouse), and cucumber beetles but are also often used as a trap crop for black aphids, drawing the bugs to them instead of to the vegetables. The flowers are super tasty in salads, have a nice, light, peppery flavour, while the seeds can be pickled and used as capers. Nasturtium's come in great range of hues, from soft pastels to vibrant and popping colours. Bright or soft yellows, oranges like the Creamsicle above, creamy whites, burnished reds, bright reds... Cherries Jubilee is my absolute favourite! I mostly grow the clumping varieties as I like them spilling over the sides of my raised beds, but there are also trailing varieties that are perfect for baskets, trellises, or sprawling through your beds. 5. Zinnia's - Zinnia's are, bar-none, my very favourite veggie garden additions! They are late summer bloomers and so add colour to the garden as others start to peter off. They come in a huge array of sizes, shapes and colours and are rarely bothered by pests or diseases. Is my favourite go to flower. They bring in butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, deter both tomato worms and cucumber beetles, attract hoverflies and other beneficial insects, especially helpful at the end of summer while the aphids start to attack your cabbages and kale. Plant loads of zinnias. 6. Geraniums - Plant near grape vines, roses, cabbage, corn and beets to lure away pests and to repel caterpillars! They add colour and fragrance to your garden and the foliage of the scented ones can be used for cooking and baking. They also are known to repel spider mites, so plant one or place a potted one by affected plants. I have a love affair with geraniums, they have always been my favourite for pots, planters and baskets. 7. Sunflowers - One of the best pollinator feeding flowers you can grow! Bees just love them. Plant by corn to lure away aphids. The ants and the aphids can crawl around on the sunflower and cause no real damage to the flowers. Plant by cucumbers to enhance the flavour and as a support for the cukes to climb up. I have been told that if you grow your pole beans up and around sunflowers, they will stunt the growth of the bean but promote earlier production by a few weeks. Therefore, in my opinion, is well worth your while to plant a few beans to climb up your sunflowers for the earlier harvest, while you wait for your main crop to come through. There are all kinds of additional flowers that will also repel bad bugs, attract good bugs, draw in pollinators, or butterflies, and birds. If you plant it, they will come. The more flower varieties you add to your garden, the healthier your garden will be. A garden full of birds that eat bugs, bees that pollinate, and good bugs that eat bad bugs, is free of pest and disease, plus loaded with flourishing edibles. Additional annuals and perennials to consider ... sweet peas, dianthus, Queen Anne's Lace, snapdragons, pansies, violas, Johnny Jump-ups. nicotiana, single dahlias, and yarrow. Flowers are the healthiest best way to have a pest free garden, I say they are the only way. They work! If you see aphids on a veggie or flower, walk away and leave it be for a day or two, the beneficial insects and their larvae will come along and have a feast. Attract the good bugs to your garden with flowers and they will stay for the bugs (and the pollen). Sprays are all non-discriminating, even the organic ones and the diy ones, so if you spray even once, you will need to keep spraying for the rest of the summer as you have just killed off all the beneficial insects, their larvae and eggs that were sitting there in your garden, ready and willing to eat your bad bugs. Start a movement, grow with flowers, your garden will thank you for it with great bounty. There are only two rules when it comes to planting for the pollinators and good bugs. 1. KISS - Keep it simple, silly! The more simple the flower, the more attractive it is to both bees and beneficials. There is more food in a simple, open faced flowers than in the new hybridized flowers that are so fancy and pretty, that we love so much. Think daisy shaped for lots of food. 2. Plant in blocks or in rows for the beneficial insects to stay in your garden and lay their eggs. The parasitoids and hoverflies will land on your flowers 3 times. If they land on the same flower each time they land, they will feel that this is a good place for their babies to grow up as there is enough food for them. If they land on a different flower each time, they will move on. So, I like to plant my cosmos and zinnias in big blocks, sunflowers in blocks or rows, and the others are always planted in rows between each variety of veggie (as a divider almost), or in long rows as a border plant, all around the sides of the raised beds or gardens. Herbs and their flowers are also very important companion plants ... borage, basil, chives, parsley, rosemary, chamomile, tansy, feverfew, dill, cilantro, oregano, and thyme. There is a saying the goes like this... Bees love to forage for borage. Borage is the flower in the garden bed above. It gets tall and big, full of gorgeous blue blossoms, self seeds readily, and it is a bee magnet. If you are wanting better pollination in your greenhouse, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash... just pop in some borage. They will find it. Borage is also a great companion for strawberries and it deposits minerals into the ground that make them grow better. Put the clippings in your compost bin for those added minerals, too. Happy Organic Growing ~ Tanja