Ok friends, it's been a long while since our last post. I had great intentions to do weekly blog posts all last summer but that just never happened. Sorry about that! It took me a long time to recover from our summer season, and I'm not complaining... It's just the reason I am only now finally** sitting down here to write. If you're sick of all the COVID talk, me too. That's the last you'll hear about it from me.
I reached out on our Instagram a few days ago to hear what it is our clients and friends want to see from us. Many said more gardening information and pretty pictures. And to be honest that was such a relief because we can do that for you! We've always avoided giving information not because we don't want you to be successful in your gardening endeavours but because it's taken us a long time to feel like our knowledge could be beneficial to you. We have never considered ourselves experts. Not because we don't have confidence in what we do, but rather because we are always learning, growing, and changing the way we do things. Sometimes we fail, sometimes we succeed, but the process is rarely if ever perfect. Thats just farming (and gardening). There will always be too many variables to account for to get each one perfect. That's part of the fun isn't it? It's always challenging, and just like the flowers we are surrounded by, we too are always growing. SO, all of that to say I am committing to sharing more so that we can be a resource to you. Our way may not work for you, but hopefully it will at least give you ideas, inspiration, and encouragement.
This is our first post on how too, with hopefully more to come. It's a little gardening 101. If you're already a gardener, this isn't really for you; feel free to skip this part. Then again, reinforcing the knowledge you already have isn't the worst thing!
Our first piece of advice; think about your garden. Think about where it's located, what kind of sunshine it receives, and where you'd like to have perennials, annuals, (if these words are foreign to you look them up, and while you're at it check out what "Zone" you live in based on your geography (spoiler alert here in our area of Manitoba we are zone 3, and if we're lucky a few sheltered spots might be zone 4).This will be very important when choosing perennials for your garden) and maybe some veggies (what are those). Think about adding some height at the back and some shorter things at the front. Y'know like the class pictures back in the day... Tall kids at the back ;) Think about colours you love, and whether you want a long term investment ( for example peonies only bloom after a few years but might out-live you if taken care of). Then consider do you want any cut flowers, or do you prefer to enjoy them in the garden. Do you want something that blooms all season (annuals are usually your best bet for this, but require planting and re planting every year) or are you good with seasonal blooms you can have return each year (for example lilies tend to only bloom in July, but they will likely return bigger and better each year). Try not to over think it. The fact is that you're probably not going to get it all right the first season. It's going to take trial and error, but knowing a little about where you live and what you want is going to get you pretty far!
Now it's time to ORDER YOUR SEEDS (if you want to go that route). If you don't want to seed things, keep planning and head to your local garden centre when it's time with a list of what you're looking for.
If you haven't ordered seeds yet, do it now! Seeds are in short supply all over so sit down, and take a look through an online catalog (or a printed one if you have access). Remember what you're looking for based on the above information, and read the descriptions of the different types of plants and seeds. Any good seed catalog will tell you the height, sunshine requirements, and seasonality of the plant. They also usually give some information about being a good cut flower, and if they are difficult to grow. Pick out what you love, and take note of how many seeds are in a package and if they can be directly seeded into the ground or not. You may be surprised to know that many seeds even here in Manitoba are quite happy to be seeded directly into the ground (and often prefer that as opposed to transplanting). We don't recommend starting seeds indoors if you're a complete rookie in the garden - that doesn't mean you can't but it does require patience, and a bit of a setup that can be messy at times. If you're ready to take that on, do it! We'll do another post on how we start seeds indoors another time. For now, don't worry about that!
Since we live in Manitoba where the winters are long and cold there is a lot of anticipation for spring. Don't get too ahead of yourself. It's just barely February and the reality is that with our last frost often occurs at the end of May/beginning of June, and it's going to be a while before anything gets into the ground and with the exception of very few plants it will be a while before starting things indoors as well! So for now, order those seeds, plan that garden, and dream of whats to come. This is the time to visualize your gardening dreams and do what you can to plan. Thats what we'll be doing over here!
Happy Dreaming!
Need a list on how to start? Here it is!
1) Analyze your garden space
- What kind of sunshine does it get in summer?
- How large is it? (how many plants am I going to need to plant)
- What Zone am I in?
- Do I have access to a water source?
2) Decide what purpose you want in your garden space
- Do I want a cut flower garden or a vegetable garden?
- Do I just want something I can look at and enjoy all summer?
- Do I want it all? Do I have space for that?
3) Decide on the type of investment you want to make
- Do you want perennials that you don't have to re-plant and re-purchase each year or do you want more annuals?
- Do you want lower maintenance or are you ready to invest your time and energy?
- Do you want a container garden or a raised bed?
- Do you want to start your own seeds or purchase plants?
4) Decide what flowers you like
- Take a look through Pinterest and catalogs. See what colours and flowers you are drawn to and look them up and research them to see if they'd work in your space.
5) Get started
- You're probably not going to get everything perfect the first time around, but you are going to learn with every step!
6) Have fun, take a breath, enjoy the process :)
Not sure where to order seeds from? Some of our favourite seed companies we order from;
Johnny Seeds (American)
Stokes Seeds (Canadian)
Vessy's Seeds (Canadian)
William Dam Seeds (Canadian)
If you have friends or neighbours also looking to order seeds, combine your orders and split the shipping. Many seed companies offer discounts to larger orders, and better shipping rates!
(You can also purchase from local garden shops, just be sure to look up what you want first so that you have a plan!)
M
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