Cheerful and Hopeful
Surely the most cheerful and hopeful of the fall catalogues are those of the spring-bulb growers.
Katherine S. White from Onward & Upward in the Garden
Two weeks ago I placed a rather large order for spring flowering bulbs, around 2500 total (YIKES, I know). Most of my money was spent on bulbs that will naturalize, like narcissus, crocus, muscari and bluebells; making my workload a little lighter in years to come. I love tulips, and even though many get eaten by deer, I ordered a few hundred of those to plant as well. We’ll see if I can keep the deer away from them.
Needless to say, I will be spending every waking moment of nice weather and sun we get over the next couple weeks planting these bulbs. I even made a video about planting bulbs for the Your Day blog, check it out. Next week I’ll post about which varieties I ordered and where I’ll be planting them. It looks like this coming spring will be quite beautiful here at Chiot’s Run.
Will you be planting any spring flowering bulbs this year?
Share this:
Overwintering the Garden Pond
If you remember, we have a small garden pond that we put in last spring. It used to reside in my parent’s garden, until they replaced it with a much larger pond. We put fish in it last year, which promptly all got the ick and died. They were replaced with fish from my parents pond that survived for quite a while, then died right before winter.
This spring we put 10 small feeder goldfish in the pond; they all survived. Now I’m wondering if I need to put a small heater in the pond for winter. My parents always had fish survive in the pond, but they had a spring running into it which kept it from freezing. I know it doesn’t freeze through to the bottom because my water lily survives, but I’m wondering if the fish will survive.
Does anyone have any advice for me on what to do with this pond over the winter? heater, on heater? We live in a zone 5a, so it can get pretty cold in the winter.
What zone is your garden in? Do you deal with cold or heat as your most extreme temperature?
Share this:
Fairy Gardening and a Giveaway
For the last couple years I’ve been admiring the fairy gardens at one of my local greenhouses. They are very lovely and quite elaborate. I never really thought about putting one in here, until now.
I happen to really love all the diminutive plants that you use and the idea of putting them all together in a teeny tiny garden seems like so much fun! And don’t even get me started on all the cute tiny pots and other things you can get for them, like these tiny glass cloches and terra cotta pots I found.
Two weeks ago Ethel sent me a Fairy Gardening kit to put together with my nieces & nephew. We had a blast doing it as you can see in the video that we made. Watch it here.
If you’re looking for ways to get your kids interested in gardening, or something hands on for homeschooling, putting together a fairy gardening is a great way to engage them! My nieces & nephew really loved all the tiny plants and the little chairs and garden ornaments. I remember when I was growing up my mom always had a miniature cactus garden on the coffee table. It was a fairy garden of sorts, a desert version with cactuses and a tiny little chiva (which is a traditional Colombian bus).
I’m thinking next summer I might make the area around my garden pond a fairy garden of sorts. I have a small church that I’ll use and I bought a few of those beautiful little glass cloches for myself. Ethel is giving away a Fairy Gardening kit just like the one we put together in the video and the one pictured above (minus cloches & plants) to one lucky person, follow the video link above to see how you can enter for your chance to win.
Have you ever seen a fairy garden? Do you have one in your garden? Would you ever think of having one?
Share this:
Clean Those Hiking Boots
About a year ago, someone from the National Park Service contacted me about using the following photo of dirty hiking boots for a poster for a new campaign they were starting. I said yes and asked to see a photo of the final poster. This photo was taken many years ago when we went to the Smokies with some friends.
A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the photo and the poster, and figured they had forgotten about sending me a copy since I haven’t heard anything since. Then, last week, I got an e-mail with a photo of the finished and installed sign.
I can’t wait to head on up to the Indiana Dunes to see this sign. They also said that a couple other parks will be adding a boot cleaning station just like this one. Keep your eyes peeled, you might see my photo and my name on a sign at you local park!
I really enjoy hiking, there’s just something about it that I love, maybe it’s the peacefulness, maybe it’s the exercise, probably both. I often wish we lived closer to a park with trails, perhaps someday. Until then we plan hiking vacations when possible, head out in the woods at the family cabin when possible, and walk the roads around our house when the weather allows.
Are you a hiker or do you prefer a more leisurely form of travel?
Share this:
A Lesson in Patience and a Giveaway
I’m an avid reader and reading, on average, a few books per week. I have a few favorites that I read over and over again, Living Seasonally: The Kitchen Garden and the Table at North Hill being my most favorite and the one I’ve read most (with East of Eden coming in a close second). I first read this book many years ago and fell in love. Not only do the authors portray a beautifully simple seasonal lifestyle in their kitchen garden, their way with words is perfect, almost better than photos. I keep checking this book out of the library over and over again, and each time I notice there are fewer and fewer copies in my library consortium. This past time there was only one, I decided it was time to buy a copy for my library.
I’ve been eyeing this book for years on Amazon and checking at any used book store I visit, searching to find it at a good price without any luck. I also added it to my wish list on Paperback Swap even though I’ve never seen a copy there either. Usually it’s being listed for $150 or more anywhere they have it, that’s a bit out of my price range for a book, no matter how much I love it.
Being threatened with the risk of not being able to read it again if the local libraries lost or sold their only copy, I decided it was time to finally buy a copy. I found one used for a price I could afford. Even though I paid more than I usually do for a book, with the number of times I’ll read this book, the price actually seemed reasonable for the amount of joy and inspiration I find in it’s pages.
Ironically, while still waiting for the book I purchased to arrive in the mail, I received an e-mail from Paperback Swap that another member sent a copy of this book to me. That means I got a copy of the book for FREE. I was flabbergasted!
Generally, I’m very patient person, waiting for quite a while before purchasing anything. This patience has saved me thousands of dollars in the past, on everything from t-shirts to land. Maybe I was impatient in my purchase of this book, or maybe I valued it enough to finally spend the money on it. Either way, I’m happy that I have two copies because now I can share this book with someone else. It certainly is a good reminder to be patient and to remember that the phrase “Good things come to those who wait” is very, very true. So faithful readers, my impatience will reward one of you.
Comment below for your chance to win my extra copy of Living Seasonally. For extra chances to win: use the icon below to tweet this post with the hashtag #chiotsrun or head on over the my FaceBook and share this post.
We have a winner! KimH a fellow Ohio gardener has won (if you didn’t get my e-mail make sure you contact me through the link in the sidebar).
Are you a patient person? Have you ever had an experience that reminded you of the important of being patient? Do you have a favorite book you’ve been trying to find a copy of for your library?
