Bracing….

Once winter gets into full swing here in Maine, we’re pretty much used to snow, ice, and cold weather. It’s been pretty cold here lately, down to almost -20 at night and daytimes only in the single digits. Now, there’s a blizzard coming.

The snow totals keep going up (14″-18″ now), but we are ready. Pretty much everything is cancelled, work, school, etc. We will spend our last hour of calm before the storm bringing in some firewood, checking on all the outdoor animals and then hunkering down. Perhaps we’ll finally be able to watch that movie we’ve been wanting to since Christmas, that is unless the power goes out.

What’s happening in your garden today?

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And So It Begins….

The seed catalogs started arriving a few weeks ago, I quickly put them aside in a drawer because I don’t look at them until the new year comes. As the years go on, Johnny’s Selected Seeds is becoming my go-to spot for seed buying. Not only are they local (only 20 miles north of me), they have a fantastic selection as well. I still buy from a few other sources as well.

Now they are out and I’m looking over my seed stash and trying to decide what to buy. Thankfully, since I saved so many seed for my store, I don’t need much at all. Onion seeds of course, they need to be fresh each year, and perhaps a few new varieties of flowers for the cutting garden. Even though I don’t need many seeds doesn’t mean I won’t be buying seeds, such is the nature of gardening.

What’s your favorite seed catalog this year?

Head on over and check out the seeds available at Seeds & Sundries, support the blog and get some of the seeds you need at the same time.

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Garden Goals for 2018

Throughout the fall, as I clean up and prep the garden for winter, I spend time thinking about what I want to accomplish in the garden the following year. More hedges is one of my main goals. If you remember, I added around 100 boxwoods in a few hedges this fall.

On one side and the back of the main garden behind the garage, I’ll be adding blackhaw viburnum hedges. My plan is to order those and get them planted in late spring/early summer. The main garden is also getting a new main walkway with pathways that will be going off or it in a different direction.

The entire strawberry patch is going to come out and will be replaced with new plants. The bed needs refreshing and moved as it’s in the spot where the main walkway will be. Thus I figured it was best to refresh the patch and start with new plants.

These are my main goals, if I have time and energy remaining I want to build a few raised beds and cold frames to add to the main garden. I have the big picture for the new design of the main garden which I’m just starting to implement in 2018.

What are you goals for the garden in 2018?

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January Cure

A few years ago, I did the Apartment Therapy January Cure with a friend. We’ve been doing it and loving it ever since. Basically, It’s a month long focus on clearing out the clutter and cleaning. Every day there’s an e-mail with task, generally they take between 15-30 minutes. Each weekend there’s a bigger chore, which takes a little longer.
Typically, I stay on top of cleaning/organizing throughout the year. I’ve developed habits that work for me. Last year, with all the traveling and my mom’s illness, I got a bit behind in the deep cleaning, decluttering chores that I did in big blocks of time. This year The January Cure will help me get back on track.


Every January my friend and I do the challenge together. As I was telling another friend about it yesterday, I realized it would be fun to do as a group. If you’re on facebook, join us during the week of January. Each day I’ll post photos of my cure project and you can post your photos in the comments of the Chiot’s Run facebook page.

Do you have a specific time of year you clean and declutter, or do you do it throughout the year?

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Brrrrr……..

This morning our bedroom was 47 when we woke up, and that’s in the new part of the house with good insulation and windows. There was frost on the inside of the windows.

The lows during the nights have been around -10, next week they’re supposed to get down to around -20. That’s a bit cold. Since we have an old, fairly drafty house, when it gets this cold we find ourselves covering the windows with blankets and the bottoms of the doors with towels.


This helps tremendously with the draftiness and typically helps keep the house 5-10 degrees warmer during these very cold nights.

How cold is it getting in your garden this week?

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