Busy Long Weekend

We had a very busy long weekend here.  All day Saturday was spent in the garden and got it all done (for now..)  The challenge will be to keep up with the watering if we don't get rain soon. 

Sunday I went on a long hike with the Bruce Trail Hiking Group.  We hiked the Hockley Valley (Ontario) in the Caledon area - a 14 km loop.  It was very hot and humid.  Hiking was tough going - lots of hills to climb.  We had a new hike leader and he set quite a pace, which was much too fast for me.  He towered about a foot taller than me and it took me three steps to keep up with just one of his, at an average of 5-6 km an hour.  Too fast to take any pictures or enjoy the scenery along the way.   At one point there was a sea of Trilliums - as far as the eye could see.  It was so beautiful and looked like snow.  Just looking at the white on the ground made you feel cooler !   Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures.

Today, "Victoria Day" was a national holiday and spent more time outdoors.  I picked the first of the rhubarb and cooked up a batch of homemade BBQ sauce with it for dinner and a couple jars for the freezer, couple batches of homemade low fat rhubarb muffins.

The temperature was even warmer than yesterday and reached 27C plus with humidity.   I did get out on another hike with our youngest granddaughter for a couple of hours in the afternoon and saw lots of wildlife along the way..... three deers, turtles and the spring wildflowers were out.

Tomorrow is back to work.  It's going to be hard be indoors all day behind a desk.

White tailed deer.   Glad I had a zoom on my camera !

Spring Garden Tour

 Saturday was a beautiful day to be spent in the garden.  Sun/Cloud - not too hot - cool breeze.  As soon as it was bright enough outside I was out there, pruning, digging, edging, planting and didn't finish until dinner time.   

The pictures below are a little spring garden tour of my backyard garden....

Lilly of the Valley

Violets

Bleeding Hearts

Primrose

 

Veggie / Herb Garden

Kale

Lilac

Choke Cherry

Something growing in y compost bin - I think it's squash

Apple Blossom

Trillium

My Urban Homestead - Spring Update

Over the last few years I've learned about being an urban homesteader and started to document my learnings.  Alot has been trial and error.   Most of the info gained is from other bloggers / internet and books, as not many "urbanites" in my circles garden.

Many books I have read are for different gardening zones/growing regions, so am learning what does best in my little urban homestead and what doesn't.  I don't get full day sun so am limited from growing well those sun loving vegetables, like peppers and tomatoes.  However, I have learned that kale, swiss chard, lettuce, etc. do well.

Mini greenhouse

This year have made a few changes to adapt to my growing conditions.   This year am trying out three different types of kale, two types of swiss chard, lettuce, mixed greens, spinach, radishes, arugula, purple pole beans.  Garlic was planted last fall and is doing well. Rhubarb has done well along with some herbs.  The last couple years have struggled with tomatoes in my raised beds.  This year, will try them in pots instead.

I added hoops to one of the raised beds and was able to start some cool weather veggies earlier this year.  End May - around the "Victoria Day" long weekend is traditionally the time when we can start planting annuals and vegetables, but can still run the risk of frost into early June. 

Today is the start of the long weekend so will be busy in my garden.

Tomatoes started from seed in mini greenhouse

Hoop house, covered in plastic

Rhubarb

Dish Clothes with a Scrubby

When I am in between knitting projects I crochet/knit quick projects. 

I recently saw dish clothes crocheted at the market with a scrubby crocheted into the corner and thought what a brilliant idea !

I didn't have a pattern so made one up as I went along.   The scrubbies were 10 for a dollar at the dollar store.   I cut them in half and crocheted around them.  

Quick and easy small project !

Homemade is Best

I cross stitched this fridge magnet many years ago.  

It says it all.... 

Homemade is Best !

Baked Brie

For a recent baby shower I hosted, I also made baked brie.  I found this recipe on another fellow blogger's site "Kokocooks" and gave it a try.  There were no left-overs, so must have been a big hit.  I didn't even get a chance to taste it myself.

Phyllo wrapped baked brie was much easier to make that I thought it would be.  Kokocooks gave great easy to follow instructions.   In her recipe she used apricot and rosemary chutney.   I used my homemade red pepper jelly (which one first prize at a fall fair) as the filling inside the phyllo pastry.

Phyllo-Wrapped Baked Brie with homemade red pepper jelly after baking.

Homemade red pepper jelly for filling inside the baked pastry

Phyllo wrapped brie before baking, sprinkled with fresh rosemary from my rosemary plant that has been kept indoors over the winter.

Signs of Spring - In my Garden

Signs of spring in my garden ... in pictures

Garlic Mustard

Daylily

Sedum

Tulips

Lupin

Sedum

Garlic

Rhubarb

Chives

Losing the Grass Battle

For years we have been struggling with growing a nice lawn in our yard.  Between the of lack of rain and water bans in our town, trying to reduce the amount of water we consume; grubs, ants, weeds and moss as well as the city by-law ban on using any pesticdes, etc. our lawn looks pretty sad.   

We've tried re-seeding every year, however there are certain spots that grass just won't grow.  We even tried laying sod, but still there are spots where it just won't grow.

In my search for a lawn alternative a friend suggested clover and thought I'd give it a try.   In our front yard there is quite a large patch of clover and it has been getting bigger each year.  Our local Home Hardware carries clover and I made a mix of both clover and grass seed and overseeded our lawn.   It hasn't taken long for the clover to sprout and our cool and rainy April has sure helped.

Clover seed

Clover sprouting

White Clover is a great grass alternative for those looking for an eco-friendly lawn.   Clover is a perennial plant that tolerates dry soils, but also thrives during wet and cool weather.  It requires less watering than grass and does not need to be fertilized as it has the ability to use atmospheric nitrogen and it improves the quality of your soil without aeration.   You don't need to mow a white clover lawn as it is a low growing plant.  It is disease free and almost pest free too.  It will also attract good insects such as honeybees and other insects that prey on pesky garden bugs.  And....... it stays green, even in dry conditions.

Some like to mow it to remove the white flower when in bloom, but keep in mind that clover will reseed itself through it's flower.  Cutting off the flower won't allow the clover to reseed and you will need to reseed manually.

Benefits:
Less mowing (if any)
Less watering
No fertilizer required
Disease free
Bug resistant
Low maintenance
Less work

 

Signs of Spring

There were many signs of spring while out on a hike with a group of friends on the Bruce Trail this past weekend.  It was a beautiful day for being outdoors.   The air was cool and crisp, the sun was shining with many hints of warmer weather to come.

The ponds and streams were full and flowing, unlike other years where it has been so dry.  On some of the ponds there were Canada Geese and in one spot there were Turkey Vultures lurking above us. 

Our hike lasted about 2.5 hours with a stop for a picnic lunch and we covered about 8 km.

There was still snow in parts of the forest, where there is not much sun

Trillium

Maple Sugar tapping

Trout Lilly

Wild leeks