Well, hi there! It has been a week around here! The weather has been mild and lovely, but we are heading into a few days of a cold snap now… perfect day to putter and prep.
I made myself a wreath for the front door out of fresh clippings of greens from the garden. I am lucky that the former owner had planted dwarf evergreens in varying shades, and of various sorts. Was able to add blue spruce, green spruce, pine, and juniper for a bit of contrast.
I like to keep my wreaths pretty simple, so is mostly greenery with rose hips, spruce cones, and a nice, big bow on it. Turned out so well, though one side is a bit wonky. That is the beauty of handmade, gives it a little bit of personality.
I checked everywhere in town for olive green, velvet ribbon, but it was not meant to be. Next year, I will make sure to order it from Amazon in good time so it is here when I start crafting. I love this green and gold ribbon almost as much though, and it stands out nicely from the street. So, maybe it was meant to be that way.
A few days later, I went back into the potting studio to clean it up from all the needles and leftover bits in order to shut it down for the next six weeks, or so.
With the holidays fast approaching, and then the short, cold days of winter, I likely won’t be spending any time in there until late January, or perhaps a little bit later.
I’ve turned down the heat to fridge temperature (4°C) to keep everything from freezing solid and make it easier to bring back up to temp when I want to do some puttering. It is such a calm, lovely place to putter on a warm, sunny winter’s day.
Most of all, I really want to make sure that my potting soil does not freeze solid, as it takes so very long to thaw out. I picked up a nice, big bale in the fall to do fine for seed starting and rooting cuttings. By the time I need more, the shops will be stocked up again for spring planting.
I continue to use all the tips and tricks I learned when working at commercial greenhouses, from women who have been doing this a very long time. At the greenhouse, we never used a seed starting mix, but rather a high porosity (HP) mix. The porosity makes it easy for the roots to spread out to give you strong, healthy plants. Sunshine #4 or Promix HP are both fantastic.
How are you making out with your holiday prep? I just need some fresh flowers and the decorating will be all set.
Now that I figured out how to get meaningful gifts to my son in Saskatchewan during this postal strike, I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. As a mom, I just want to make the holidays special for everyone, especially the ‘kids’ (no matter how old they may be).
Today is an all day baking day for me. Hubby needs some cookies, or treats of some kind to bring to his men’s group for the last meeting of the year, and I need more treats for my cookie tray. Plus this week’s bread, of course!
I found this holiday bark recipe on Instagram (@farahmerhi) Doesn’t it look divine? I just have to break it into pieces now.
If you do not have Instagram…
- lay out 6 bars of chocolate on a parchment sheet lined baking sheet – 4 milk chocolate and 2 whites, or whatever chocolate you prefer.
- Place in the oven to get soft on a low heat. I did 250°F for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, get a small bowl of Smarties or M&M’s ready. I picked out all the reds and greens.
- A few squares of graham crackers. Break into smaller pieces.
- Break up some candy canes into smaller pieces (Farah used whole baby candy canes).
- Plus, a handful of mini marshmallows.
- Pull the chocolate out of the oven. Run a toothpick through the bars to create swirls of white in the milk chocolate. I like to run the toothpick through it lengthwise and then crosswise to really make it look marbled.
- Put your toppings on the chocolate, pressing them in just slightly so they stay put when you break it up.
- Try to spread everything up nicely so that you get a bit of everything in each piece when you break it up.
* Mini pretzels instead of the graham crackers would also work, and taste amazing. The salty with the sweet!
On to all the fun links I found for you this week….
Gardening Inspiration
From Martha Stewart comes all these beautiful small backyard ideas. I’d so love to replicate that firepit area, but my Berkie needs room to zoomie so cannot think of anyplace to put it!
Oh, and I just watched the Martha Documentary. Parts of it made me so sad as I sure do love Martha. If you haven’t watched it, you really should! Assuming you are a Martha fan, that is. I’ve been a follower (of her gardening, mostly) since the early 90’s.
How to grow luffa gourds, even in a cold zone 3 garden!
So fun to grow, but they have a long growing season.
These luffas in the picture were grown in my hoophouse in 2020. I ended up with 6 in varying sizes.
Sowing & Growing!
Here are some of the seeds that you will be wanting to pick up asap as you will be wanting to start them in early January.
- luffas
- artichokes
- hot peppers (can be started at end of January)
- celery
- parsley
- snapdragons
- lavender
- thyme
- sage
- leeks
- onions from seed
- pansies/violas
- petunias
- geraniums (late January)
From the grocery store, pick up fresh rosemary and lemongrass.
Check the lemongrass to make sure it has as much of the white bottom part as possible, where the roots will start.
Place the cuttings into a glasses of water to make roots.
Homey Bits of Inpsiration
I’m not sure what to think about this maximalist Christmas decor, but I sure do love the little English cottage. The bulbs in the enamel pan look so sweet. Must do this!
Sticking with English homes, this one is stunning. What a gorgeous manor house. How is it that they always do the wallpaper just right in Europe, eh?
Two creative ways to gift paperwhites. These are so pretty! What a great idea!
It’s the ribbon that makes it fabulous, eh? These are my favourite ribbons that would look great with those paperwhites. This gorgeous green velvet with frayed edges to make it look vintage, is so pretty! And this olive green one, too. I am truly feeling the olive green this year. I found this lovely dusty blue velvet, also. If you prefer frayed chiffon ribbons, these blush tones are gorgeous.
How to make an apron from an Ikea (or Jysk) tea towel. This is super cute, and easy! Great DIY gift idea.
DIY a linen & flannel ruffled throw. Also super cute and is on my make list!
Free printable gift tags for all your homemade baked goodies.
*As an Amazon affiliate, if you buy an item(s) from one of the links, I get a small commission to support my blog. It does not cost you any more to purchase through my link than if you went to the link on your own : )
Check out these last minute ideas… that felted car organiser looks upscale, perfect for holding tissues, wet wipes, the dog’s travel bowl. It can also be used as the most amazing baby bag, of course. Fill it up with all sorts of goodies for an expectant mom. The blue mugs! I am looking for just the right mugs for my workshops, these might just be the ones. This book! I have had this in my cart for a little while now. I really need to pick it up for wintertime reading, see if I can pick up some new tips.
Sourdough recipes I am making this week…
I have this Margot sourdough boule rising right now. It takes 48 hours from start to finish, so make sure you have the time. I started last night, before I went to bed, got step one started. Today is kneading and folding day. Then it sits in the fridge till tomorrow, when I finally bake it off.
These no-roll sourdough sugar cookies in the picture above. They look like those fat iced ones you see at the grocers. Cannot wait to taste these!
And, am also making these sourdough discard crackers. Mine are going to be parmesan (well, pecorino actually).
Treat recipes I found this week to maybe put on my cookie box list.
- Easy Granola Cookies
- All of these sourdough cookie recipes look amazing.
- These cranberry cheesecake bars.
The recipe for just about any kind of bread you can possibly think of! They are all here! From sweet rolls to ryes, sourdoughs, no knead… everything.
Lastly, this Croque Monsieur Breakfast Casserole (also known as a Monte Cristo). While I am a veggie, most of the family is not, so we are going to invite the clan over for Boxing Day brunch and serve this dish made with leftover Christmas ham. It looks amazing! I’ll make myself a grilled cheese on caraway rye bread instead ; )
I hope your week is amazing, and your Sunday is just the way you want it to be.
The Marigold Potager - A Zone 3 Prairie Garden 
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