The Marigold Potager – A Zone 3 Prairie Garden

I am so sorry to be a day late with this post! I took the weekend off of blogging as my daughter came over for an impromptu crafting (and wine) weekend with her momma. We had the best time working on water colour Christmas cards and chatting about all the things.

I did get the solar twinkle lights on the twigs though, they look pretty awesome in the evenings. Honestly, kind of exactly the look that I was hoping for. We got a foot of snow over the past two days, so the lawn is protected from dog piddle, and the new garden beds are insulated from the cold temperatures.

She is an actual artist, while I am very much an amateur at painting, and really, at anything but gardening, lol, but I just love to putter with stuff, to learn how to do and make new things.

Making cards is something I started doing last year, after attending a card making workshop by the sweetest artist and teacher here in my small town. She taught us how easy it can be and made it so much fun.

My daughter found it very informative to watch me, a newbie, deal with learning new skills. Like how to make splatter (a talent I do not yet possess, hahaha) and how I played around with making new colours, hues, tints. Was a learning opportunity for when she holds painting workshops at my wee little cottage (next year). We had a fantastic time.

These are the cards that I made on the weekend, but I have the table still set up with the paint kit and supplies and will be making many more. It is so much fun. Tutorial to come, because if I can do this, you can absolutely do this, too.

Gardening Bits

How to grow yarrow. I love yarrow so much! It comes in such pretty colours now and is a true workhouse in the garden.

I love this article with everything you need to know about clover lawns. Did you know that before World War II, most lawns in the country were mostly clover? Isn’t that amazing? As we know better, we do better. Now we can go back to feeding the bees and loving how well it performs in drought.

We are revamping our front yard next summer, the last part of the yard renovation. I am in planning mode already. The lawn is tired, sparse, in need of help. We have already purchased the clover and grass seed mix! We will put a layer of soil over the lawn (it’s a very small patch) and then overseed. I can hardly wait to get started! I am also putting in an annual flower bed with the pollinators in mind. I know it is odd to plan an annual bed in the front yard, as it takes some time to get going from seed, but I am looking for a place to put my cutting garden, and that is the best space I can think of : )  

Some of you may be starting to stock up on seeds already. Either for your own winter sowing, or to give as gifts to your gardener friends. Vesey’s has free shipping on right now, until the 28th of November, so this might be a great time to do some stocking up. The seed promo code is BAFS24 and the spring bulb promo code is BASB24. They will only take one code, so you gotta pick and choose

Renee’s Garden Seeds has a 20% off seeds sale on right now.

Tomatofest has their heirloom tomato seeds on sale. This is predominantly where I shop for tomato seeds.

If you are on the west coast, you can start sowing seeds in your unheated greenhouses, your hoophouses, around winter solstice. As soon as you put the tree away, you can move right on over to gardening. This will give you cool weather crops by early March! Do the rest of your cool weather crop sowing in April.

Here on the prairies, we are looking at indoor sowing of peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, onions, herbs, perennials to start sowing in January/February. Either way, is a great time to stock up.

This article with 7 secrets to growing the best ever raspberries is a very thorough, very informative read.

Garden screening ideas for a bit of privacy.

10 flowers that easily self seed, even in a zone 3 garden!

Homey Bits

7 curtain hacks for a warmer home this winter | Homes & Gardens

To help keep the heat in and the cold out, heavy fabric curtains can make a big difference and do not cost anything to use. No firewood, no gas, no electricity.

Use heavy fabrics of wool or velvet to make an insulating barrier. These are the blue velvet curtains that I purchased last year, just before Christmas. The price is great, they are thick and pretty, they keep the heat in during the winter, and the heat out in summer. They also come in white, green, gold, and black.

This rowhouse craftsman kitchen is perfect! I would not change a thing.

How to Speed Clean Your Home for drop in guests. I’ve been known to do a 10 minute vacuuming up of dog hair, just enough to get rid of the worst of it before folks drop in.

Recipes

You guys, I have the most amazing recipes for you this week!

• These two pasta dishes, Pasta with Garlicky Broccoli Raab (yummo!) and Pasta with Longer Cooked Broccoli.
• Skillet baked mac and cheese!
• This Caraway Sourdough Rye bread is my favourite bread recipe. It is exactly like bread that you would buy at the market in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark… The caraway is what makes it, gives it that bit of something special! Make this bread into a grilled cheese sandwich with sharp cheddar and a bit of brie for creaminess. It will become your new go-to!
• Cranberry, caramel, and almond tarts. This recipe sounds so good, is going on the list to make for the next family dinner (next weekend).
• These Rolo Pretzel Sandwiches look like a treat everyone will love, perfect for holiday cookie exchanges.

Christmassy Bits

*Disclaimer. There are a couple of Amazon links on this post. As an affiliate, if you were to purchase an item(s) from one of the links, I get a wee small amount of money to support my blog. It does not cost you any extra to purchase through my link than if you went there on your own.

These Christmas porch ideas are all so amazing. There are many little ideas to take from them, even though we live in a super cold area where live trees in pots are not doable. Use branches or faux trees instead, glean other ideas. I love all the ideas but this picture above was my favourite. I’m trying to figure out where I can get a similar tree branch to put above my door. Or maybe this garland? Love the way it sweeps and looks so natural.

The top ten WORST Christmas candies. Most all of these will evoke memories of Christmases past. Fun read. My hubby loves #9 and daughter is all about #5.

Hope you are all having fun with your crafting. Everyone I know seems to be busy with holiday tree lighting events, art sales, crafting, theaters, something… I am the boring man out who just putters away at home ; )

Happy Prepping – Tanja