A New Journey

I love the New Year. It's full of hopes, dreams, and promises of "a better you". Although I hate the fact I have to have a date to want to better myself, or thinking that every year you simply MUST change yourself -- I love the way it makes me feel. I feel empowered, excited, and my mind races with ideas.

I have never journaled, I mean, unless you count 2 or 3 days at the beginning of the year, ever year, since my early 20s. A promise I always tell myself I will stick with, I never do. I buy all the pretty notebooks with the linespacing I like (is anyone else like this?) A new blue ink pen with a .5 tip, and I start off great, then I get bored, and the "journal" slowly makes it's way to my bookshelf, never to be written in again. I did it again this year!!! So I'm trying a blog.

I have no idea how to do this, or even why I would want to? In a way it feels invasive, but not more than I'm accustom to from social media I suppose. It's not "private", but I'm not writing about my high school crush, or that time I stole cigarettes from my best friends mom, or when we would sneak out to meet boys (sorry Sue). It feels more "adult" I guess. Sharing intimate stories of a beautiful Cosmo I grew from seed, or how pissed I am at myself because I haven't weeded in months and now I'm overwhelmed. An organized spot where I can post pictures, updates, and random ideas. I'm hoping this will also help with any of my garden issues -- I have a terrible memory and wouldn't be able to remember what went wrong last year, what I did right, and what I swore off completely for the next year. I can just go on and on. Maybe someone will read, or not. This is for my future self.

So here it is..

I'll start with the most important part to anyone reading -- Ontario, Canada. Zone 5b. First frost May 12th, last frost September 30th (I find the last frost date gets pushed more and more each year!)

Next, I'm a wife to my loving husband, the best thing that's ever happened to me, and a dog mom to 2 golden boys. We live and work in a city, and lucky enough to have a pretty big backyard. We are currently looking for a new home with more outdoor space. Enough for me, the boys, and my husband to have a workshop (he has a craft for CNCing, casting, and really just building -- he also has a million tools that need a home!)

My Outdoor Garden: This journey started in 2015 with a 2x8 raised bed -- that's it. I knew nothing, not even what a perennial or annual meant. I only knew how it made me feel, and always wanting to learn more. We did peas, broccoli, cucumber, melons, tomato, and beets. I direct seeded everything except the tomato -- which I bought from a local nursey. Everything did pretty bad as I didn't tend to it, we got a few bitter cucumbers and so many split cherry tomatoes. But I promised myself the years to come would bring abundance. 

And so starts the madness. 

Now we have 3 island beds with perennials (mostly started from seed), perennial boarders, and a large fenced area with a mix of raised beds and in ground gardens. I've also been experimenting with container gardening, something I have been terrible at, mostly because I'm an under waterer -- I'm getting better.

There are some bare nooks and spaces where I try to add plants when I can, although because we are looking for a new place, spending time on time on any new plantings seems like a waste of energy.

2020 - raised beds, this was the year of flower discovery for me.

2023 -- border garden

My Indoor Jungle: Cue the houseplants! In 2019 a friend introduced me to houseplants, and I was amazed! I didn't know you could keep plants in your house all year?! This obsession quickly escalated and I now have well over 150 plants (that doesn't include propagations). I did a deep dive into the genius, care, soils, light, etc. I had to know everything! 

With the huge houseplant boom in 2020 during Covid, I was able to propagate and sell SO MANY PLANTS. From then until now, I have learned a lot, and killed many. My collection is more refined now, I know what I like and what I don't. I no longer have to have the "it" plants. Even though most of my Youtube watch is houseplanty content, it rarely influences what I buy.

A seasonal space in my indoor jungle is my seed starting set up. I grow all of my vegetables, and almost all my flowers from seed (there's always things that just don't work, and by then its too late to start more, so I buy!). Our spare bedroom is set up as a plant room (I'm seriously so lucky for my husband, he puts up with all the space I take up!) I will do a post with my seed starting set up soon.

Something new this year that I'm excited to document is my indoor growing of vegetables. I have started leafy greens, tomatoes, herbs, and even cucumbers -- all to be grown and harvested inside. A post to come.

Jungle Dog + Milsbo Cabinet

2024

Variegated Flowering Maple

2024

Fall 2024 -- Basking in the West sun

October 29th, 2024 -- The last garden blooms

I'll end this post with a reminder to myself, and anyone out there who needs it. Be kind to yourself. Be free. And rest when you need to. Don't compare yourself to others.