With a bountiful garden, comes a need to harvest. It takes planning and time to start plants (especially from seed), harden them off, transplant them into the garden, weed, water, feed the soil, trellis. When things are finally lush and green, we tend to sigh with relief and let the garden grow. Soon however, we need to consider harvesting. After all, that’s the primary reason for growing edibles. This year, I’m determined to harvest frequently and in small quantities.
A wonderful depiction of the Grand Cascade fountains in the Petrodvorets (Peterhof) Palace in Russia. I’ve visited this beautiful place in the 1990s, and it was a pleasure to assemble this puzzle almost 20 years later.
With our fast-paced life, many of us tend to skip or delay meals, resulting in feeling depleted and exhausted. Often, it also makes us reach for less-than-optimal snack and meal options. Fortunately, there is an easy addition to daily meals that provides additional nutrient-rich foods your body needs: smoothies.
Lovely vibrant puzzle with lots of intricate details. My five-year-old loved it so much, it is now decorating his bedroom wall. A kremlin is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities.
Once a year, our neighbourhood hosts a garage sale. This year we decided to participate. We had a few things to sell, and kids just got a toy cash register for a gift, so this was a perfect opportunity to teach them about counting money, offering items for sale, and bargaining. It takes more than laying things out on the driveway to create a good experience for everyone involved, maximize your sales, and, most importantly, have fun. Here is how to host a successful garage sale.
We spend lots of time in the kitchen, which has a splendid view of our back yard. This year, as part of my edible landscaping project, I’ve decided to shape the back garden to maximize planting spaces, make the best use of the sunny areas and have an easier time during harvest. I’ve incorporated raised beds, trellises, herb spiral and ponds, and I love the resulting oasis beyond my kitchen window.
One day, I was looking for instructions on building raised garden beds with river rock borders, when I stumbled upon an image of a front yard river bed. It caught my breath, so beautiful was seeing a flowing river in the middle of an ordinary city lawn, with plants growing among the rocks. It’s almost as if a rift opened in the lawn with a glimpse of a forest spring. From that point on, I was inspired to implement this idea. Here’s how to build a river bed on your lawn.
Last week, we went for a walk in an affluent neighbourhood nearby, to explore. After our own edible landscaping project completion, I was curious to see what people do with their front yards, especially those people who have more land to sculpt. To my disappointment, most front yards were lawns, with barely even a flower to be seen. Some even had fake grass (this one is beyond me). This year, when I finally had a chance to shape my own space, I’ve decided to not only create spaces to grow food, but make the entire front yard into a flowing garden around a river bed.
It’s wonderful to be able to stroll along a row of bushes, plucking a ripe berry from a branch and popping it in your mouth. When I was a child, I would raid our cottage raspberry patch, collect gooseberries and currants, and roam the strawberry ground. As part of our edible landscaping project, I have incorporated blueberries, currants, strawberries and raspberries where only grass used to be.
Often, we have quite a bit of space available on the sides of houses – space occupied by unsightly bulging appliances, window wells, utility meters, and seeded with dying grass. I see a great opportunity to convert these unused areas into bountiful growing space. Reclaim this land to grow your own food.
After long winter months dreaming about the wonders of growing my own food, I have finally completed my edible landscaping project. Where nothing but a useless lawn, more brown than green, has been taking up space, I now have a beautiful dry river bed snaking between two vegetable and herb beds in full sun. And in the back yard, there are three layers of planting spaces with raised beds, herb spiral, and trellises. I now spend most evenings outside, grounded in taking care of the plants and reveling in all their splendour. Come along, I’ll show you around.
My kitchen is once more overrun by seedlings. They are green and perky, stretching their necks to the light, quietly awaiting the time they shall feel the wind and the warm sunlight on their leaves.
Lovely puzzle, the part with green trees and bushes takes a bit of time to assemble and benefits from having good lighting.
We can get so used to the same routine day after day, that we do not realize how narrow our world view becomes. Today, an unexpected find has lit my otherwise ordinary work day. It reminded me of surprises waiting for us just out of sight, and of how quickly our perception of reality can change.
Another beautiful rendition of Neuschwanstein Castle, this one has a magical feel to it, with the sky in sunset colours and grounds sleeping under the snow.
It’s that time of year when we are getting out of bulky clothing and warm boots, wiggling our toes in relief and looking for light and comfortable footwear. I rejoice at every chance to go barefoot outside. Feeling the soft earth and silky grass under my feet is divine. However, living in a city, the reality is that for any trip further than to a nearby park, some sort of footwear is a necessity.
Lovely festive puzzle with clusters of bright white, red, yellow flowers, a pond reflecting a bright blue sky, a castle in the background and a wall of green on the right. Fun and bright, pleasure to assemble.
Vibrant, uplifting puzzle with blue skies, green trees, bright flowers, and a stately manor reflecting in a pond. Pleasure to assemble.
This week I take the first steps to start the garden, and it’s exciting as ever, since we have a new space to shape. I have met with Gavin from Edible Landscaping Ottawa to help us figure out what is feasible to do in our space, with considerations of sustainability, cost, and aesthetics, using permaculture principles wherever possible to maximize the food-growing potential.
This puzzle is another view of the beautiful Chambord Château. I have previously assembled another 1000 piece puzzle of this magnificent castle. I love puzzles where buildings reflect in the water, resulting in a mirror effect and the subtle difference in texture between the actual building and its reflection. Beautiful, sunny, uplifting picture to get immersed in.
