Last of the summer phlox

Now that cooler weather is here and frost is imminent if not already at the schoolhouse, my summer photos will have to suffice for the winter.

The balcony is open

Well I’ve been sick for the past few weeks but not I am back in action and so is the balcony garden.

I’ve been late to the post but have tried to catch up. My flowers are planted, my seedlings are growing and my herb garden already has produced an abundant crop.

I’ve done up my hanging baskets and even a little colour in my table planter. This will go on the full table once I have finished painting it this weekend. I’ve gone with stocks and snapdragons for colour and butterflies who meander their way up to our floor.

Watch for more photos soon!

Strawberry daiquiri can’t be far away

I’m going to take advantage of the heat and sun our condo balcony gets this summer and try to grow strawberries.

I picked up this nifty hanging basket at a greenhouse near Waterloo on a recent trip to the parentals. I’m hoping for a bumper crop as it has already grown quite a few flowers.

So when we head up to the schoolhouse to work on weekends, we can look forward to strawberry daiquiri when we return to the city. Or at least a decorative strawberry on the side.

Spring means renewal

Ok spring is officially here so it is time to take action.

After a winter of thinking and planning but not actually doing much (well we painted a bathroom and fixed a counter here at the condo) it is time to think like spring and get into renewal mode. Time to get my head out of catalogues and magazines and do some decorating, repairing, gardening or something at least.

I think I will try to do one new thing each week. Let’s see how this goes. Any suggestions?

Balcony dreams: simplify, simplify, simplify

Last year’s balcony garden was too ambitious.

By the time fall rolled around the beating western sun had burned most things off and I was left with skeletal stems and wiry vines. Not a pretty picture.

Oh the herbs fared well and we had fresh rosemary into January which was great. The catnip kept everyone happy and the chives made my scrambled eggs a lot nicer. But the rest was a not a bountiful harvest.

Carrots seemed a good idea at the time but I’ve not got the space to let them grow into something that doesn’t look like one of Gollum’s appendages.

The peppers went well both hot and sweet. We’ve always got dried chilis for soups and well, chilis. They may be on the list. Or maybe we just stick with herbs and flowers and a couple of experiments like a lemon or an avocado.

It’s back to basics on the balcony so I can contend with the actual garden at the schoolhouse!

Harmony in a hammock

This miserable weather has me thinking about our hammock trees.

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via Sophie on Pinterest ****************************************** *********************************************************************************************************

We have two perfectly placed oak trees in the backyard with two perfectly placed hooks in the bark that have been a source of many a sound snooze for friends, family and likely unknown passersby when we aren’t around. They look a little like this though I can’t seem to find a good photo in my albums. The hammock trees are about the best place to flake out in nice weather which I plan to do when this winter is over.

However in recent years the trees have grown and begun to swallow up the hooks and one tree is starting to show his age and may not weather the test of time. We’re working on some pruning that may help but I hope to get a few more years out of our lovely hammock trees.

We also need a new hammock. The old white, many-stringed behemoth that someone brought back from Mexico has lost my confidence. It is time for a new one. I’ve been perusing the internet and while their prices are a bit steep it is a sound investment in weekend rest!

Source: homefurnitureandpatio.com via Ariel on Pinterest

Source: hayneedle.com via Ariel on Pinterest

Source: hayneedle.com via Ariel on Pinterest ************************************************** ** *********************************************************************************************************

And of course it couldn’t hurt to have one or two (or three) for the boys!

Source: opcf.tumblr.com via Ariel on Pinterest

New for the garden in 2013?

Like the new blossoms of spring, my mailbox is starting to unfurl its bounty of seed catalogues.

It’s that time of year when you can start thinking about what to do in the garden this year. I’ve got a few ideas and a few things to finish up from last year. And the year before. And the year before that…

Beyond the chronic weeding that will have to take place I want to finish off my perennial beds at the front corner and along the side of the house. It’s time to get these guys done already.

I wondered what might be new in the old garden centres this year so have been looking at some of the new plants of 2013.

Of course Canada Blooms is coming up so I can always make a trip down there. Not a huge fan of these shows but they are pretty to look at after a bland winter.

According to Better Homes and Gardens there are several new “Must-Grow New Perennials for 2013” including some new Dianthus, anemone, and the all-too popular hardy hibiscus that everyone seems to have now.

If you want to go for seeds, Stokes has a nice selection for this year. I like the lavender but I’ll go with a well-formed plant as seeds are rarely my pals.

According to the US Perennial Plant Association, this year’s perennial of the year is a variegated Solomon’s Seal. Not my cup of tea but different strokes and all of that.

Well this gives me a few ideas but I’ll spend a few days stewing on it and dreaming about spring.

Our first orchid

We are taking our houseplants up a notch.

The parentals came to visit around Valentine’s Day and gave us an orchid. Now I know houseplants but an orchid seems like a commitment. My violet is in good shape and both Christmas cacti have bloomed this year amazingly. But an orchid demands attention.

Our newest member of the household.

So far all I know is that it is a Phalaenopsis which is one of the most common and hardy types. That should be good to get used to. And it seems that there are a lot of resources available to provide ample information.

Phalaenopsis Care
Phalaenopsis for Beginners – American Orchid Society

Here’s hoping this orchid (Let’s call him Archie) makes it to Spring Break.

So now this week I am off to find Archie a nice planter and will be doing a little “orchid”-ology.

Cheap and cheerful garden tools: An infographic

At our house, my grandmother never used a watering can.

We always had a large apple juice can with holes punched in the bottom and a bucket. That’s what we used for watering and it worked like a charm. Sure it didn’t look like something Martha Stewart would approve of but hey, my grandmother wasn’t a convict either.

Here is an interesting infographic on some pretty basic household items for gardening. I especially like the plastic pop bottle.

Learn about data visualization tools.

 

Did we resolve our resolutions?

The answer to that is a resounding “meh”.

Last year I made a list of “to do’s” for 2012 for both the schoolhouse and the condo. Did we do them?

Schoolhouse

1. Paint front door – uh no. Haven’t done this one yet.
2. Put down flooring in vestibule. – see above
3. Paint vestibule – I am beginning to sense a pattern here…
4. Replace eavestrough – hey this one I can say, “sort of”. We didn’t replace but we did take them down and fix the one that moves water over the hydro meter and into a rain barrel.
5. Complete herb garden – not really.
6. Build nicer garden along the front of the house – again this is a “sort of”. I put in a new perennial garden at the front but we’ll see if the boiling summer of 2012 ravaged it completely. It also turned out to be a lot less sunnier than I thought so things may have to move.
7. Clear out the back bedroom – yes and no. We started cleaning it out but managed to fill it again to make space for our winter tenant.
8. Paint bathroom – nope.
9. Revive the composter – let’s hope for the spring?
10. Research and install if feasible some new lighting – Well sort of once again. Our tenant has fixed the overhead light which is great. He’s also installing a solar flood light (these exist? Who knew?)
11. While this wasn’t on the original list I’d like to point out most of our time (and money) went to two things: Removing two fallen trees on the property and replacing just about everything you can on a well system.

Our condo

1. Come up with a design for the living room – done! I finally have a master plan. I just have to figure out how to pay for it.
2. paint upstairs bathroom – done! I’ll post photos soon.
3. fix dining room chairs – less done. And by less I mean not at all.
4. Paint kitchen – totally done! Pat painted and I got bitten by a cat in the process.
5. Buy new living room furniture. picked out but not bought.
6. Hide the dreadful air conditioner cord that is in the dining room – not done and it still drives me mad.
7. Fix all the general irritations – not done and still totally irritating.
8. Make alterations to the dining room so that the overhead light isn’t going to cause any “concussion-like symptoms” to my guests – nope.
9. Re-organize and decorate the office and make it better accommodate my home office space (which requires space for documents, files and coffee) with our home computer (this requires space for chips, beer and other accoutrements that accompany video games and well, this blog). – mostly. This isn’t too bad.
10. Get more frames for art and photos – some of this is done. We’ve got a couple of new things and a couple of things ordered. But they are all still in a pile…
11. Oh and jazz up the ol’ patio. last year’s garden was a good start but we need more life out there – started. We’ve new planters and I have almost finished repainting the furniture.
12. Again while not on the original list, I’d like to point out that we also had repairs to our dishwasher (still doesn’t totally work), washer and dryer so that is where the couch money went.

So that is where we are at. I’m not going to add anything else until we get this lot done. Fingers crossed for 2013!