Ontario Flower Garden Photos

Here are a few pictures of my flowers, taken yesterday:  Pics of my rugosa rose, whose petals I am collecting to make a gallon of rose wine.

Sweet William in front, sedum to the right and malva moschata not yet in bloom behind the rail.

Peach foxglove digitalis and Japanese iris

Russell Lupins








Peony and Buck behind.










Miniature roses.

In The Cold Frame

I have seedlings growing in my cold frame! A lot of them!   These are my Hopi black squash seeds. They are doing very well. With all the rain and warm weather we have had lately, everything is healthy and growing well!  I also have a couple of striped cushaw squash and about a dozen sweet dumpling plants. 


I have 62 tomato seedlings now! I have never planted that many before! They are all organic, mostly heirloom tomatoes. I planted 2-4 of each kind and I have dozens of different varieties!


These are purple hyacinth beans. I have several of them growing and doing well. These are a beautiful, flowering annual vine!  

I also planted several nasturtiums coming up. They are annuals so won't go into the ground until the end of May.

They are all in the cold frame now. They can go into the garden the first of June. Our last frost date is May 24, but I always wait another week before planting out. 

Medicinal Herbs

I made a decision a few years ago to grow my own medicinal herbs and spices. It's a step on the road to natural self sufficiency. Medicinal herbs can be strong medicine and have to be taken carefully. I am not going to tell you how to use the medicinal herbs since I am not a qualified herbalist but there are a lot of good books out there on the subject and websites as well. One website I have used is "Anne's Remedy". It lists all the medicinal herbs in alphabetical order and tells you what they are for.

They also sell the herb oils, tinctures, teas and so forth but wouldn't you rather just grow your own? It can get a bit expensive buying these things, with postage and all.

I am not recommending that you use medicinal herbs in place of standardized medicine. I still go to the doctor and take the medicines that he gives me, when I need to. (I am usually almost dead by that time and have to be dragged there. It's free here in Canada, but I still hate going, lol). I tell him what natural remedies I am using. I think this is important if you are getting a prescription medicine because some of the natural remedies may react with the prescription drug. I do use the medicinal herbs that I grow, but very carefully.

I also grow most of my spices but I did not dry them this year. (I just didn't have time, you know... BUILDING FENCES!!! and all.) I threw a few fresh chopped spices into the freezer and have been using those, but this coming year I plan to supply all my dried spice needs, where possible, myself.I have a lot of thyme that I planted from seed three years ago. I also have oregano, although I want to get some Greek oregano and I have sage, cilantro, mint, lemon mint, basil and lemon basil and rosemary. I never use terragon, so I don't grow it. (We are stuck in a rut and use the same spices all the time.)

I plan to dry all of these this year and keep them in jars in a cool, dark place. Probably the spare room upstairs, since it is unheated in the winter and the basement is too damp. You can see what I do with the mint in a previous post "Using All That Mint". (I have discovered this winter that I like a mint shot in my coffee, as well. I'm going to try that at home :-)

I do wish I could grow cinnamon and nutmeg. Cinnamon is not that expensive to buy but nutmeg sure is! I use a lot of both in the pumpkin/squash recipes for pie and muffins. If you discover a hardy, short season cinnamon and nutmeg that I can grow, please let me know!

Another thing I want to grow this year is my own ginger. Has anyone grown ginger for drying and grinding? How does it keep in that form? How does it compare to store bought? I'm betting it is a lot more potent! The big question for me is this: Is it worth the time and effort, when my time is so short and I use most of my "effort" already? I need to know.

One thing I am going to do with my herbs this year is make my own herbal tea blends. Not "tea from China" tea , since it doesn't grow here either :-( I drink a lot of green tea and herbal tea blends, especially the mints. I hear that chocolate mint makes a fabulous tea. I have to grow some chocolate mint this year! I might even break down and actually BUY one in the spring! (I tend to avoid those places that sell reasonably priced plants. Too many of them just hop into my cart and insist on following me home!)

Another herb I am going to grow and use this year is stevia. I use too much of the artificial sweetener in tea and want to get away from it. (I know real sugar is healthier, but I don't metabolize simple sugars very well.) If you grow and use stevia, I wouldn't mind some feedback on the taste vs. sweetener and sugar.

I am going to dry these things hanging under the front porch roof where they are out of the sun and get the maximum air flow (and look so "country chic"). This is the mint that I dried last year. It is still hanging out there in -16c temps today. I guess I should have frozen it too. (Time! I had no time!!)

Now that I have these cool new spice jars, I might get adventurous and try new spices, just because I like the way they look in the jar! 

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

The next step in my journey to self sufficiency is making my own dishwasher detergent. I have researched it for awhile now and finally came up with a recipe that suits me. There are a lot of different ones out there.


Automatic Dishwasher Detergent1 cup borax
1 cup wasing soda or 1/5 cup pool ph adjuster soda
1/2 to 1 cup citric acid depending on the hardness of the water. (I used 3/4 cup.)
1/2 cup kosher salt (or sea salt)
Vinegar in the rinse cycle Use 1.5 tablespoons per load (if using washing soda)
Use 1 small tablespoon per load (if using ph pool adjuster soda)

The citric acid keeps the residue from building up on the dishes and makes them shiny and clear, as does the vinegar as a rinse agent.
The salt disinfects, cuts grease and scrubs off the hard grime.

I have not used it yet. I just made it this morning and will wait until after 7 pm to run the dishwasher. (We have a "smart" hydro meter. EVERYTHING waits for after 7 pm unless I get up early enough to finish it before 7 am, which is often the case.)August 11, 2011 update: This recipe will clump. It will even form a solid clump in a couple of days. That's the citric acid. I broke it all up and worked it with my fingers and spoon until it was a usable finer granuar form again and it's been fine since. You could even let it clump for a few days then run it through the grinder to make it very fine. I didn't bother. If I were going to sell it, I would do that.

Used it this morning. Works great!!! Sparkling clean glasses like I haven't seen in a long time using commercial dishwasher detergent. I used a rinse agent from the store, only because I had it. When it is gone I will switch to vinegar. A rinse agent is important to keep the dishes sparkling too.

Update: Sept 02, 2011: This recipe clumps badly. At this time it is one solid, hard piece. I have to chop it into little pieces to use it. I have read that the addition of 1/4 cup of dry rice will help fix this problem without affecting how well it works. I am making more very soon and will add the rice to it. We will see how it goes...

It does still work well! The dishes are always sparkling clean!

Winter Sewing

Well, winter is here, sadly. It's been winter here for about a month now. We probably won't see the ground again until spring. The only way a hardcore gardener like myself can survive this, is to plant in the winter too. I know it's not the same, but at least I am playing in the dirt and sorting through my seeds, dreaming of spring.

"Wintersowing" is a relatively new thing, as far as gardening goes. I first heard the term about 15 years ago, and that is new for gardening terms. It refers to someone planting seeds in containers and putting them outside so they get the freezing winter temps they need to germinate, but are up off the ground and enclosed. These wintersowed containers will warm up and thaw faster in the spring than the ground and the seeds will germinate much sooner.

You could plant these same seeds in the ground in the fall and get the same, eventual result, but wintersowing is faster. It also gives gardeners a chance to plant and garden in the middle of the winter.

Wintersowing is better done in deeper containers. The more shallow ones, as in the top picture from a few years ago, dry out too fast in the spring. Plastic pop and clear plastic juice bottles work well.
Here is one I did today. This is echinacea 'Double Decker'.

I drilled a few holes in the bottom center and cut more around the outer edge with a knife. Then I cut it almost in half, just enough that I could lift the lid to fill and plant but not enough to take the lid off completely. I want it as securely attached as possible outside.



I filled it with storebought potting soil, since our ground is frozen solid, and planted the seeds. Echinacea seeds need a winter to germinate and they also need a little sunlight, so they get covered very little, if at all.

I stuck in a label and put it on my south facing deck with a block of ice behind it to hold it in place during winter storms. I don't have many of these seeds and would be quite frustrated should it blow over and be destroyed. I planted about half of the echinacea 'Double Decker' seeds that I have, saving a few in case these don't germinate. (It's a foolish gardener who plants all of his seed!)

I have a few more seeds to wintersow this year. This is just the first one. I'm looking forward to these special echinacea seeds for the flowerbed. As far as the herb uses go, it doesn't matter which one I have since they all have the same properties. I have single purple ones and the 'White Swan'. These flowers look like this: Almost anything that needs a winter to germinate can be wintersowed. I plan to do a lot more this month, if I have the time.

Soap for the Craft Fair

I have been making soap for the Craft Fair on Dec 4th. I made three small batches just this morning and a few last week. I am cooking it so it will be ready to use. Soap making is fun and so addictive!! I took this picture (above) of my soap last year. It's for my book on "Making Organic Soap at Home" that I have for sale on my farm site. I like doing photo shoots of things. It's a fun hobby!

This is one shelf in the soap closet in the bathroom where I dry all my soap. It contains strawberry, lilac and "blueberry pie". The strawberry is not as pink as I would like. It's a bit too peachy buy I have always had a problem getting a good strawberry soap colour. I have had good, pink soap before but it always seems to be something other than strawberry. When I aim for real pink, I can't get it. Oh well, "Murphy's Law". If anyone finds out where this "Murphy" lives, please let me know. I have a thing or two to say to that fellow!

The "Blueberry pie" soap is my favourite this year! It was a rebatching experiment to save a soap with a colour that I did not like. I am very happy with the way it turned out! 


This is the other shelf in my soap closet with this year's soap on it. It contains "almond biscotti", coconut, "healing herb" and "sweet orange". The "healing herb" soap is made with oil of oregano and thyme - both natural antibiotics. Some of these soaps are made with milk, which is why they are browner.


The "almond biscotti" is my favourite soap scent! It's amazing and always sells out first.

These are for the craft fair at Base Borden on December 4th. I now have all the pumpkin pies, brown sugar body scrub and soaps completed for the sale. I like to have it done ahead of time. I am a bit rushed this year, but next year I am going to start in January making things for the fall sales! I always say that...

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I made my own laundry detergent yesterday! Many of you have been making it for years, but this was my first attempt. I didn't make a lot, only about 10 litres, being a trial first time and all.

I had a very hard time finding washing soda. I did have a little in a box that came with the house a few years back. I kept it, having the plan to make my own laundry detergent way back then and knowing I would need it. The amount in the box was exactly what I needed for this, smaller recipe.

I bought soda for adjusting pool ph to use instead. I have read that it can be used, as well, but in a much smaller dose. I had just enough washing soda for this recipe, but I will need to use the pool ph adjusting soda the next time I make laundry detergent. (I have no idea what this stuff is really called! lol!)

The ingredients you need to make this recipe are: water, washing soda or pool ph adjusting soda, Borax, Dawn dishwashing liquid, grated hard soap and water. Any hard bar of soap will work. Some people use Ivory. I make my own soap, so that's not difficult. What I used for this particular recipe was a "laundry bar" that I purchased specifically for this application, but next time I am using my own hard handmade soap. I grated the soap bar by hand, but you can use a food processor. (I have one, just too lazy to get it set up, wash all the parts because I don't want to put soap into the dishwasher, then put it all back together again.) Most recipes do not use Dawn dishwashing liquid but I have read that it makes a big difference in the grease cutting and stain removal power of the detergent, so I added it.

You can add some fragrance oil, if you want to. I left mine unscented.
You will need a large bucket. This recipe makes 10 litres, so you need a bucket that will hold that much and some, so you have room to stir vigorously. You will also need a large pot for the stovetop and something that measures 1/2 cup.

This is the simple recipe:

1 cup of grated soap or store bought Ivory soap flakes (also hard to find).
1/2 cup washing soda or not quite 1/8 cup of pool ph adjusting soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/4 cup Dawn dishwashing liquid
Bring a quart of water to boil on the stove in a large pot. Add all ingredients except the Dawn, slowly while stirring well. Stir in the boiling water until very well dissolved. Pour into bucket.

Add enough water to bring the amount up to 10 litres and stir vigorously until well blended. Let sit overnight. This should be a gel by the next day. Add 1/4 cup Dawn dishwashing liquid and stir vigorously. If you add the Dawn with the rest of the ingredients, it stops it from gelling as much as it should. Add fragrance oil at this time. Pour into usable size containers. Shake before using. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of this to a laundry load, depending on size of load.
It was quick, easy and cheap to make! I will find out very soon how well it works.

Harvesting Grapevine for Wreaths

Yesterday I started cutting some grapevine for wreath making. I plan to make some evergreen wreaths to sell at the end of our driveway or on our corner. I made a few last year and was happy with the results, so I am making a lot more of them this year, if possible.

You can read directions on how to make your own evergreen wreath in a previous post on this blog: "Making An Outdoor Evergreen Wreath"


The picture at the top is the pile I cut from the end of our driveway yesterday. I still need to strip the leaves, coil and wire them before they dry hard. There is a bit more grapevine there and it needs to be cleared so that we can see the road when pulling out of the driveway.

This is the grapevine on the fenceline with the forest. We have a lot of it! I can cut grapevine in the county forest too, although it's not on our property. I don't think anyone will mind.


It grows all the way into the tree tops!

Yesterday I managed to score these great pinecones from a strip mall nearby! You never know where you will find useful things if you keep your eyes open to the gifts around you!


We have lovely, large acorns from our own oak trees to add to them. I have considered painting the acorns with red spray paint for the Christmas wreaths. I don't know yet if I will do that or not. I'm just thinking about it.

Today I need to get those wreaths shaped and wired to dry. I will, at least, get that much done. I also want to make some soap with the purple soap colour I made from chichiquelites yesterday. I have everything I need, except for the time.

Today is Thanksgiving, here in Canada. We are very thankful to the Lord for all that He has given us! Praise The Lord!