We’ve often said that our gardening style is “less about manure and more about mojitos…” although admittedly we do get pretty down and dirty in Sow Simple. But there’s always time to raise a glass… or two… Read the rest of this entry »
May
18
Happy Friday: May Day Mojito!
May
15
Three living fences
Why have a boring fence? We love vertical gardens and they are perfect for surrounding gardens or defining property lines. If you don’t have a fence, you can construct one specifically to grow vines or climbers. The one above is supporting beautiful hop vines. And we also found two other green fence ideas, if you’d like to see more….
May
11
Happy Friday: Blue Sky
It’s going to be a great weekend. Nothing but blue skies on the horizon!
Here’s a fun idea for Mother’s Day, if you are celebrating with a special lady on Sunday.
Just pick up a single, antique cocktail glass and all the fixings for your mom’s favourite tipple. Surprise her with a special drink, plus a beautiful keepsake glass, for her lips only!
My mom LOVES blueberries, so that was our theme. We found the sky blue highball glass in a vintage shop in Victoria.
To make the “Blue Sky” cocktail, over ice mix two ounces pure blueberry juice with one ounce of gin and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Top with tonic or soda water and add an edible petal garnish, plus a few frozen blueberries for pizazz.
Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day!
May
10
Victoria: Awesome Abkhazi!
A highlight of our recent trip to Victoria was the opportunity to visit the wonderful Abkhazi Garden, a property protected by The Land Conservancy (TLC). We were also lucky enough to be the guests of Site Manager (and all around garden guru) Jeff De Jong, for a little tour. The garden was peaking, colours were popping and we made all kinds of fun discoveries…. come along with us, if you’re curious…
May
09
Meet Murray…
Okay, this is how I feel when I have a ton of photo files to sort…. just like Murray, the resident duck we met in Abkhazi Garden, in Victoria! The garden photos are beautiful and I promise to post them very soon…
May
08
Victoria, BC: a perfect perch
Usually when visiting Victoria, BC we stay right downtown, but on our Sow Simple book tour last weekend we decided to branch out a bit and lodge closer to Beacon Hill. And I’m so glad we did!
Our room at Queen Victoria Hotel and Suites was as promised, perfectly situated (ie: close enough to walk everywhere downtown, yet very quiet, next to a big park). Plus, we were on a budget and needed a full kitchen (for our events menu) which was easily accommodated. Free parking and free internet: nice perks. Pool, hot tub, restaurant, friendly folks: check. We’d definitely stay at this hotel again : )
Also, I have this thing about picking hotels. If I can’t stay at the fanciest hotel in the city, then at least I want a cheeky view of it. And so I was pretty pleased with our vantage at QV Hotel, overlooking the backside of the Fairmont Empress Hotel and the harbour:
Being next to Victoria’s lovely Beacon Hill Park also meant that John had lots of opportunity to do what he likes to do best when visiting tourist destinations: identify trees and plants and “borrow” cutting material for scientific and propagation purposes back in our room. He usually forgets to bring a loot bag and so it is slightly embarrassing (and always hilarious) to accompanying him on a walk as he discretely tucks away his souvenirs, until his jacket is literally bursting with organic material and we have to go back to the hotel to regroup. As you can imagine, elevator rides with other guests or hotel personnel, at this point, are especially amusing.
You are not fooling anyone, John!
May
07
Victoria, we adore you…
We took our new book, Sow Simple on the road to Victoria, BC on the weekend.
It’s no secret that we love this city… but on our latest trip we discovered even more reasons to “get diggy” with it!
From park capers to parkside hotels, A+ gardens, hip markets and funky neighbourhoods off the beaten path, stay tuned for our Victoria and Vancouver Island Sow Simple highlights to be posted throughout the week.
We miss you, Victoria.
May
07
Monday garden: Nice guys + green thumbs
Is there anything hotter than a group of firemen gardening? I don’t think so! These charming green thumbs were planting up some pretty annuals along the sidewalk in front of No. 8 Fire Hall in Yaletown, Vancouver last week. They use leftover plants from the City and it’s a seasonal tradition, apparently. Thanks for keeping it real and making things beautiful guys! Check out the garden at 895 Hamilton Street.
Big hugs,
Christina
May
02
We dig Global TV!
It’s quite possible that some of the nicest people on the planet work at Global Morning News. We had a blast showing off projects from Sow Simple this morning and we got to hang around a bit before and after our set, to chit-chat about gardening, garden parties and kids’ gardening, with entertainment reporter Erin Cebula (far left), co-anchor Sophie Lui (middle in blue) and co-anchor Steve Darling (in the tie)… Absolutely everyone behind the scenes was super friendly and gracious too, especially as we hauled all of our crap (literally, our Mini Cooper was stuffed to the rafters… and we brought manure!) in and out of the studio.
If you missed us and you’re curious, you can check out the video clip here. And this blog post has links to the how-to ideas, plus manure tea instructions, as noted on the show.
Thanks to everyone at Global TV for making us feel SOW welcome!
xo Christina + John
May
02
We’re full of it!
It’s no secret that we love the opportunity to “spread the joy” about gardening (and Sow Simple)… especially when we can talk about manure and vodka shots!
So we are both very stoked to be on Global Television Morning News with Steve Darling and Sophie Lui, today (Wednesday around 8:15am). We will be sharing more good stuff from the new book and chatting about growing your own green tea, making manure tea fertilizer for your garden (*see below), sowing micro-greens and shoots and downing crabapple vodka elixir from iced flower shooter glasses.
Sounds like a pretty fun morning to me!
Thanks Global TV!
How to make manure tea:
If you want an awesome homemade fertilizer for your vegetable garden or flowers, try making manure or compost garden tea. This organic liquid brew will add nitrogen and micronutrients to your seedlings and established plants, from tip to root.
To brew your own compost or manure tea, you’ll need a large scrap of cheesecloth, burlap and similarly loosely woven fabric; some string; composted manure or freshly composted soil; a bucket; water and a watering can.
First, cut a square of fabric at least 12X12 inches square, roughly. Lay the fabric flat and place about one cupful of manure or compost in the centre of the fabric. Grasp all four corners of the fabric together and make a neat “tea bag” by wrapping and tying a piece of string tightly around the bundle.
Place the fabric bag of manure or compost in about one gallon of warm water and let it sit overnight. Squeeze the bag occasionally to release more nutrients into the liquid. After 24 hours, strain the “tea” into a watering can and use this liquid the next time you water.
Aim to fertilize your seedlings, bedding plants and vegetable plants with your tea at least once a week.
