Tag Archives: flowers

Home Goals 2023

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I’m feeling pretty excited for this year’s home goals. We have some big projects coming up that will really transform the farm and how we live here. I also feel like we’re in a good place to tackle them. As you saw in my 2022 home goals wrap-up, I feel like we’re building toward the vision Matt and I have for this farm.

I’m also learning to make our home work for us. The way I want to do things, the way we live, the best use of our spaces. I’m less locked into keeping things just because that’s the way they’ve always been. This is our farm now, and I want to make it what we want.

Here’s how we’re going to be doing that this year.

Coop

Source: Backyard Poultry

First on the list is a (maybe) surprise project. We’re building a coop! Finally! We’ve lived here for nearly 11 years, and I’ve wanted birds the whole time. At my mid-year home goal review last year, I suggested maybe, possibly knocking down the old coop. Well, that ended up happening. There’s still a bit more clean-up to go, but it’s almost time to rebuild. Actual birds are not part of this year’s plan. I need a functional secure home for them first. Other barn upgrades, like last year’s eavestrough plan and probably some electrical, will be part of this project.

Patio

Source: RS Landscape & Construction

The driveway patio returns to the list. I think I’ve found a contractor. We’ve talked about my vision. We have a quote. We revised the quote so that it’s now in budget, but still in vision. We’ve looked at stone. We’ve talked timelines. I’m crossing my fingers that everything comes together to do this project this year.

Swing set

Source: Wayfair

This project is another carryover from last year, though you haven’t heard about it yet. Ellie very quickly outgrew the playset I bought for her. She now has the treehouse, which has been a huge hit. She needs a bigger swing set. Our girl is very into underdoggies, and as she grows she wants to swing higher than our little set can handle. I found swing set fittings on kijiji last year and even bought wood. This year, I will put it all together.

Vegetable garden

Source: Charles Dowding

I usually try to be cautious in the garden, but this year I’m feeling optimistic and it’s making me ambitious. I did a major cleanout in the fall, made a few rows and paths, and spread mulch everywhere. Ellie has big plans of what she wants to grow this year, and I’m hoping that we can get closer to a no-dig, not too weedy, productive garden.

Turnaround garden

Source: Gravetye Manor

Building another flower garden on the turnaround was a bit of an impromptu project last year when we transplanted the well garden in anticipation of building the driveway patio. I’m waiting to see what plants survived their hasty, late season relocation and we will keep growing from there.

Ellie’s bedroom

Source: Wendy Hyde via Design Mom

I think have finally convinced our girl to move rooms. So she and I will be coming up with a fun new design to make the guest room into Ellie’s room. Green is no longer her favourite colour, so now we’re aiming toward teal. Or maybe rainbow. My client has lots of ideas.

Of course, along the way there will continued work on the history of this farm, pond shore, pruning, more clean up everywhere, preparing for the worst, repairs and surprises. But there will also be lots of fun.

What projects are on your list for this year? Do you have any home goals?

Brush clean-up with a borrowed wood chipper

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Back in the spring, I started trimming branches, brush and trees that had sprouted up around the farm. I kept clipping and cutting for weeks. (Matt’s Dad even came out to help with some bigger trees). By the time I stopped, I had two very large piles of brush.

I asked our farmer (who rents our fields) if I could borrow his wood chipper. He was willing to loan it to me, but when I asked if our tractor could run it he laughed at me. So I needed to borrow the chipper and a tractor. Well, the weather shifted soon after that, hay season started, and our farmer and his tractors were busy.

So the piles sat.

I waited until we were well into fall, and I reached out to our farmer again. A giant tractor and an equally giant wood chipper soon arrived.

And I got to work.

The chipper blasted through our brush. It was awesome. Matt’s Dad came over and cut a few more trees, so I added them to my pile and kept going. When I finished one pile, I moved the tractor (slightly terrifying to drive something that big) to the next pile and kept going. It took several days, but finally all the brush was gone.

I spent another day cleaning up and moving the piles of chips. I have one pile on the turnaround where it will be spread on our new flower garden next spring. I have another pile tucked beside the compost bin for wherever else we need it. And I still have half of the load that a local tree service delivered back in the spring. (Comparing piles, I estimate that I chipped another truck load.)

With my focus on no dig gardening, the chips will be useful. I’d much rather make the brush into something useful than burn it. Plus having all of the brush finally cleaned up feels like a big win.

Do you use woodchips in your gardens? Have you ever used a woodchipper? Or driven a big tractor?

Garden month… part 2

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Last month I declared September garden month. I was cleaning up, wrapping up, and setting up for next spring.

We have now passed the middle of October, and gardening month(s) is continuing.

The photo below shows some progress that has been made.

Ellie and I transplanted about half of the well garden to the turnaround, and I spread top soil.

Transplant well garden

I feel like the turnaround is a great start. The transplanting was a bit haphazard. We didn’t peel back all of the sod on the turnaround. There was no planting scheme. We didn’t get quite everything out of the well garden. But there are bright sides.

The plants in the well garden were so large that each plant split into many other plants, so we filled a large area of the turnaround. I can see where this garden is going, and I’m hopeful that we’ll make good progress next year.

Spread topsoil

The top soil had sat beside Ellie’s treehouse for nearly a year, so getting rid of the pile was a big accomplishment. In the end, it took me two hours with the tractor to spread and level it all. (I’m not very skilled with the loader, so finishing everything in so little time feels like a major win.)

The garage got a little top-up where the backfilling had settled, and then the rest went to the solar trench. It’s been eight years since that trench was dug and the ground has settled very unevenly. The tractor is good at finding the low spots and ends up spinning its wheels as they hover above the ground. Hopefully mowing will be a bit easier next year now that the worst dips are filled.

Clean up vegetable garden

The vegetable garden is the reason garden month is continuing. I pruned the raspberries, but that’s it. I am aiming to layout paths and rows in the quadrant that we planted this year, so that we’re ahead when spring comes. Ellie bought me garlic for my birthday, so we also have to plant that.

Maybe I can say garden month has successfully concluded and vegetable garden month is now beginning.

Is anyone else still gardening? What outside chores are you trying to finish off? Have you done any fall planting?

Garden month kicks-off

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Happy September. Does anyone else feel like the clock is ticking? Yesterday we had our first cool temperatures and even saw a flock of geese flying over.

Fall on the farm always comes with a bit of pressure (or at least an ambitious to-do list flitting around in my brain). I know it’s not fall yet, and I said in my last post that I’m holding onto summer as long as I can. I am. But there’s a window here. So I am declaring September garden month.

I have some very specific tasks that I’d like to tackle this month, so that I am prepped for winter. Really, I’m looking beyond winter and ahead to next summer.

Spread topsoil

You may recall that my Christmas gift from Matt’s Dad last year was a load of topsoil. We have put the dirt to good use, but we still have a large pile left. I know exactly where I’m going to use it, and if I have a day with the tractor, I think I can get it all spread. Toss on some grass seed, and we’ll have a smooth(er), green(er) lawn next year.

Clean up vegetable garden

We had more success in the vegetable garden this summer than in many years. It’s still a complete disaster, but we made an itty-bitty bit of progress. I’d like to build on that progress by cleaning up what worked this year (zucchini, cucumbers, peas, raspberries), and getting one quadrant ready for planting next year. That means pruning, paths, rows, mulch, cover crops.

Transplant well garden

Garden in bloom in June

Anticipating that we will be building the driveway/mudroom patio next year, I want to empty the flower garden that’s currently in this spot. This garden is well-established, and I don’t want to lose the plants when everything is under construction. I always envisioned the turnaround being a massive flower garden, so I my plan is to use these plants to begin to fill the other half, which is currently grass.

Working on these tasks this month will hopefully give seeds and plants time to get established before winter and set us up for smooth(er) sailing next year. At least, that’s the plan. Ellie starts school next week, so I will have more time for projects (at least that’s the plan). Garden month, here I come.

Do you have any projects you’re working on this month? Anyone else feeling the pressure of winter looming? Share what you’re working on in the comments, and we’ll cheer each other on.

Wildflower watching

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Sarah in Illinois has a good reminder today to stop and smell the flowers.

As I drive to and from work every day, my mind tends to wander. Most of the time I am thinking about what chores I need to do, how my day at work went or what I have scheduled next in my planner. However, lately I am trying to slow down a bit and enjoy my commute.

Compared to most people, I am guessing my commute is relatively short. My work is 12 miles from my house but only 4 miles is highway. So 8 miles is rural back roads where there is plenty of beautiful scenery to look at.

My eye was drawn last week to this bunch of purple flowers:

I decided that one day I was going to stop and gather some for a bouquet for the house. But when I stopped I couldn’t believe how many butterflies and bees were all over it.

I just couldn’t bring myself to take some of their food. I decided they needed it more than I did and I would just enjoy it from afar.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster)

Then I really started paying attention to other wildflowers along my drive.

Rudbeckia laciniata

I was so pleasantly surprised to see the roadsides are full of color.

Symphyotrichum ericoides

Giant Goldenrod Solidago gigantea

Erigeron strigosus

So here is a mini challenge for you this week: On your drive to work or school or wherever you may be headed, look around (safely, of course paying attention to the road is the most important thing) and tell us what you see that maybe you haven’t before. It may not be wildflowers but I bet there is something beautiful to report back here to us.

Sidenote: I did my best to identify these plants, but if anyone believes I have incorrectly labeled one feel free to correct me!

Thanks for the challenge, Sarah. We’ve been seeing herons, which is very special for us. They represent my Dad for me, and make us feel peace, hope and love. I think heron season is likely over now for the winter, but they’ve been so helpful to us through the last few months.

Morning glory surprise

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As a teenager, I once planted a Morning Glory at the base of a light pole by the walkway at my parents’ house. I carefully trained it up the pole and enjoyed the heart shaped leaves and trumpet blossoms all summer.

There’s something about Morning Glories that make them especially special, in my opinion. I like everything about them. So does Sarah in Illinois. She’s sharing a surprise Morning Glory that she’s been enjoying this year.

Every year in the spring when seed displays start popping up in every store, I always buy several packets. I buy all brands and all price ranges. When I see the displays that advertise 4 for $1 or even 10 for $1 I stock up knowing that the germination rate of these bargain packets is not very high.

Last year I remember buying a packet of Morning Glory seeds. I planted them along the outside of the chicken’s run. I had two small vines that climbed up the outside of the run and I was able to enjoy the beautiful blooms every morning.

This spring I recognized the leaf shape sprouting out of the same spot. I was so excited that they had reseeded themselves over the winter.

I started training the vines every morning to climb up the outside of the run. Then of course the chickens became curious of this green treat that was within their reach so I had to create a barrier between them.

My persistence paid off.

Every morning I have 10-20 new blooms on this beautiful vine. And the chickens can enjoy a little shade!

Did you have any surprise plants pop up this year? Do you have any favorite climbing vines? Can you pass the seed displays without buying when they show up in the spring?

What a treat, Sarah. I love it when plants pop up unexpectedly. Although this year we have a surprise plant that’s turned into a major vine and has become quite an obstacle. I’m not sure even chickens could keep it under control. I think I may have to talk about it next week!

A simple deck switch in Illinois

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In Illinois Sarah is enjoying outdoor living. She and her husband Steve made what turned out to be a simple change to improve their enjoyment of one of their favourite outdoor spots.

I’ve mentioned several times that Steve and I like to spend a lot of time on our deck. We designed and built it the summer of 2013. Then two years later we cleaned and sealed it.

We have gotten so much use out of it, whether it is just Steve and mefr or one of the several the birthday parties, 4th of July parties and girl’s night that we have had on the deck.

As much as we have used the deck, Steve had noticed that it could be improved. When we designed it we had two sets of steps: one directed towards a door of the house that we use often and one directed towards our garden.

However, after a few years of use Steve pointed out that we could really improve the flow if we moved the steps. What first seemed like a huge undertaking was really a quick change up. Thankfully the steps were built independently of the deck so after removing several deck screws the whole set of steps easily moved.

Then taking a few screws out of the railing and using a circular saw to cut it down we were easily able to replace it where we had removed the steps. Thankfully Steve has really good vision, because when he mentioned doing this I thought it was going to be a whole day of work and honestly it took less than an hour!

Moving the steps to a longer side did bring up a small issue. The stairs were narrower than the opening. Steve and I both felt that some tall planters would guide people towards the stairs and a railing wouldn’t be needed.

We found these planters at Lowe’s. To fill them we wanted something permanent that would look nice in the winter so we also purchased these bushes. Then we bought petunias and verbena for color during the summer. We could not be happier with how they turned out. (And yes that is Blitz’s very own baby pool in the background.)

Also I had to divide and move my mums around to fill in where the steps had been. We still need to decide what material and where we want a walkway but overall we are thrilled with the changes.

The deck just feels like it makes more sense this way and we sure like to spend time sitting out there and enjoying each other’s company.

Do you have a gathering spot at your house? Ever had a project that just wasn’t working and you made the decision to rework it? What flowers would you use to fill those big pots?

What a great switch, Sarah. I’m impressed that it was such an easy change for you. The planters are a good solution.

Hints of spring in Illinois

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We are officially a week away from the first day of spring. (Is anyone else boggled by the fact that we’re already halfway through March?) Sarah in Illinois is here today, sharing some of the signs of spring that have popped up at her property.

The temps are still too cool to actually do any kind of gardening outside. But while taking a tour around my yard over the weekend, I could see many signs of spring.

First, right outside my backdoor was a clump of chives that looks like they could be used right now.

The daffodils once again have fought their way through the gravel that we put down.

The lilies are coming up through the old growth and reminding me that I still have a lot of yard clean up to do.

The plum tree has some promise of buds to come.

The magnolia out front has some beautiful buds starting.

Even my mums are reaching for the sunlight.

And finally out in the garden, my strawberries are reminding me that time in my garden is not that far away.

What signs do you have that remind you that spring is coming?

Can I say I’m glad I’m not the only one starting the season with garden clean-up yet to do, Sarah? Your lilies look like they could be any number of spots at our place. We’ve had snow flurries every day this week, so I haven’t done a formal tour yet, but I’m hoping to see some more signs of spring soon.

End of season beauty in the garden

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Hollyhocks in fall

The garden at the end of the season has its own beauty.

Our hollyhocks, which I loved so much when they were blooming at the height of summer, are still standing beside the garden gate.

Hollyhocks in July and December

The weathered wood fence, the barns and silo in the background, the sturdy stalks and the remains of the blossoms say “farm” to me as much as they did nearly five months ago.

Anyone know if I should be cutting back these stalks as I’m putting the rest of the garden to bed for the winter? Any tips for encouraging future blooms (I know hollyhocks are an every-other-year kind of plant)?

Remembering

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Light pink poppies

Tomorrow we will mark another Remembrance Day. I’ve written before about how meaningful this day is to me.

My grandfather served in World War II. Nov. 11 is also his birthday. Every year, the family would be together on Remembrance Day, and some of us still carry on that tradition, meeting at the cenotaph just before 11 o’clock on Nov. 11.

Growing up, my grandparents lived next door. One of the fixtures of my grandmother’s garden was her poppy plant. Now, whether through wind, seeds, transplanting or cuttings, my parents have the descendants of this poppy.

This fall, I collected a bunch of seeds from my Mom’s plants. I’m hoping that they will grow in our garden here at the farm, and give me more memories of my grandparents.