Best Link Ever...

I was on pinterest this weekend and came across this lovely link.

I'm definitely going to try number 18 the next time I'm planting carrots... who-would-have-though... Gelatin...

also, have you seen this tulip installation? Dream come true!

Children Know Me as the Garden Lady

Do you live in a building where you love absolutely all your neighbours?

I feel so lucky that everyone who moves in is so down to earth and lovely. My neighbours moved out the a couple of months ago, but we still keep in contact via email.

The other day I received an email from my previous neighbours telling me how their daughter was eating peas for dinner and asked if they were from "Bianca's Garden?" This made me immediately squeal with excitement. I love that kids know me by my garden. 

I used to pick blueberry and climb my balcony to give them to her (they are the upstairs neighbours) :)

The Garden Lady Strikes Again

One of my most favourite things is to help other people with their gardens. I love helping everyone find the best bargains for plants, planters, soil, seeds, and everything else.

I'm a collector of knowledge and have used these super powers to collect the best deals around town.

If you're in dire need of a garden bargain message me and I can most definitely steer you to what you're looking for.

P.S. This will also give me more of an excuse to shop all the garden stores multiple times during the season. Currently I have been banned by my husband because I'm obsessed with 'rescuing' plants... that may or may not need 'rescuing' from their nurseries. I have to peruse, in the name of research!

I'm Currently Scared of Everything...

(photo credit from wikipedia)

Do you ever watch a t.v. show and get so into it that you:

1) Have reoccurring dreams that you are in the show
2) In real life think you're in the show, but it's actually a figment of your imagination
3) Obsessively watch the show until all you can think about is the show.

I'm watching Veronica Mars, and although it's not the scariest show on television... watching it is making me scared of everything!

I'll be walk down the street and spot a large pile of dog poop and think it's a dead rat, and scream, "Eeeep"

I'll be walking to the kitchen and my hand will brush up against the faux fur mat I have on the back of my dining chair, and think it's a monster and scream, "Aaaahhhhhh"

Ror will be sitting beside me, but I'll forget she's there. Then I move my leg/arm and feel her and think she's a tiny fur ghost and scream, "Oh my goodness"

Safe to say, I'm forcing myself to take a little break from Veronica.

This exact think happened when I was watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer too ;)

Happy Dance

Have you ever had one of those absolutely terrible days... then something happens which flips the day into one of the best days?

Last week I was having a truly awful day, but then I came home and found that I received a wonderful letter from my school saying that I had received the highest mark on my final exam! This exam was sooo hard that I was stressing out about it for the entire 6 weeks it took my school to mark it. Only 30% of the people taking the exam passed... Boy, oh boy was I elated.

I was physically exhausted from the day, but I found the energy to happy dance around my house for an hour as I called family and friends :) I am definitely motivated to study for my exam in 3 weeks, that's for sure.

Sowing Seedling and Seeds

Normally when I start my garden I directly sow seeds into my garden plot. This year I thought it would be nice to start seedlings for things that I know I'll have to thin out, or seeds that are tougher to grow. 

I started with butter lettuce and cucumber seeds. Because it wasn't very warm when I started these seedlings (Mid April), the cucumber seeds only started to sprout in the last 2 weeks. However, the lettuce seeds came up almost immediately ;)

Below is the progress shots over the past 4-6 weeks. 

I planted a lot of lettuce seeds because I wasn't sure how vigorous they were going to germinate. Once I saw how much they loved life, I knew I was going to have to thin them out. I hate waste, so I gently pulled out the excess seedlings and transfer planted them into the pot above. This is a very time consuming way of thinning, but you end up being able to use most of your seedlings :)

Another method in thinning out seedlings is to cut the seedlings you don't want. If you trim off their tops, they will wither and dye. 

 First 2 weeks, only the lettuce (left) are germinating.

2 weeks ago, I was loosing faith in the cucumbers, but they finally started sprouting.

Full blown cucumber seedlings, I love you :)

P.S. If you go to the garden store and buy a full rack of seedlings, keep the trays so you can create your own. Mine are from the marigolds I bought at the beginning of the season.

A Lovely Tree

I had a meeting last week downtown and on my way home came across this lovely tree by the Vancouver Art Gallery. Has this tree always been there? I'm glad I stopped to admire it's glory.

It was so lush I wanted to go up to it and give it a hug. Instead I took numerous photographs that I look at all the time now.

P.S. Doesn't this look like the perfect tree to have a picnic under, or to write a poem about.

Basil Mint

Last year I discovered Chocolate Mint, this year I've discovered Basil Mint. It's amazing!

Great for flavouring water, mojitos, gin and tonics...

I cut up some lemons, chocolate mint, and basil mint to freshen my house and have been loving it! Put the mixture in a bowl and let it dry over the next couple of days.

I read somewhere once that cut up lemons in your home are suppose to suck out bad spirits and energy. Not sure if this is true or not, but I believe in magic so I choose to believe this is true too ;)

Apple Blossoms are the Sweetest

A had a great tip from a lovely lady last week. I was telling my mother-in-law about my apple blossoms and she mentioned that they smell wonderful.

I hadn't even though of trying to smell them. But then I did, and it was heavenly... They smell like jasmine, roses, and freshness.

If you have an apple tree, smell the blossoms. Even if this means you'll have to grab a ladder. It's so worth it.

Do you have a different description of how it smells? I only have Crimson Apple Blossoms, but I'd love to know about other apple blossoms as well :)

Complete...

I finished my painting! I finished my painting! I finished!

Sometimes I find that I'll paint something until almost complete, but find I become too busy or creatively blocked to finish it. I've been staring at a half finished paint for almost 2 years. Last week someone moved my office painting around and I found myself inspired. I don't know why the move inspired me but it did.

Have you ever watched the t.v. show 'The New Adventures of Old Christine"? I first saw this painting on Christine's Mantle and searched all over google for the artist. Me and a bunch of other people could never find the actual artist.

My rendition is a little different, but I love it! If you know the painting and the original artist let me know ;)

Don't Trust a Little White Dog...

This was an exciting weekend. I got another apple tree for the first apple tree to have a pollination friend. I whispered to me he wanted his name to be Bob. And......

Ror failed to do her job and robbers came on to my balcony and stole my gardening rain boots and back up rain boots. Note to self, don't trust Ror to protect me during the night time from robbers.

I did find it odd that someone would come on to my balcony to take old shoes, but alas, to each their own. I will not judge the thieves for taking what they needed.

As the story unfolded over the weekend, here are the event:

Friday Afternoon: I use my Tretorn Black boots for the final time (not knowing that this will be our goodbye forever)

Saturday Morning: I walk on to my balcony looking for my rain boots to start my morning ritual of watering my garden. However, I can't find my boots. I turn to the left to grab the spare blue boots (which are not as comfortable). They are missing too... I tare my balcony apart thinking 'maybe a large gust of wind may have been so specific to only blow away rain boots.' I still can't find them. I ask my husband, "did you move my boots?" His response, "Huh, what? No..." I conclude, "Robbers came in the night time and stole only two pairs of boot!?!??"

Saturday Afternoon: I email all the appropriate building people to alert them of this boarder line hilarious theft. I created a container garden barrier to my balcony so that if someone were to try and repeat this act, they would be tripped up by hoses and pots. Most important, I have a sit down convo with the dog, letting her know how disappointed I am with her that she barks at Everything, yet not at robbers... Not cool Ror, not cool...

Sunday Afternoon: Receive an email that my lovely neighbour actually saw what happened. On Saturday morning at 5:30am there was a woman (who was the lookout) and a man (the active thief) going on to my balcony and stealing my boots.

Dear Early Morning Robbers,

Robbers, 5:30am is very early. If you needed to have rain boots that badly that you purposely woke up to steal them... I understand. The black ones you stole are actually very nice, I hope you love them as much as I do. However, the blue ones... They suck and hurt if you want to walk in them. I would just throw them out if I were you. I should have, but I guess the universe subconsciously wanted you to have them them.

Please don't return. I've set up a webcam security system to video tape you if you do.

Thanks for the visit, hope you enjoyed my garden while you were here.

Sincerely,

Beesinthegardens

Updates: Apple Tree and Azaleas

The Azalea blooms are growing, they are on the verge of a major bloom fest :)

I'm going to think positively and hope that a very special bee comes to pollinate my apples with pollen from neighbouring apple trees. These tiny red/pink flowers are dreaming of becoming apples. 

Rory Lately...

Rory plays cards.

Uno to be exact. Surprising she's actually really good. She wins 1 out of every 3 games.

Here's how we play.

I hold up a card, and if she licks it she wants to play it. Sometimes when she's paying less attention I have say, "If you wag your tail, that means you and to play this card."

Action Shots:

Ror calls "Uno"

"I'm so over winning" as said in a gloating manner

Purple Magnolias

Update:

The Purple Magnolia Tress have Bloomed.

Fun Fact:
Container Magnolias bloom 1-2 months after trees planted in the ground. Don't be alarmed when the Magnolia trees in your neighbourhood have bloomed before yours do. It just means that you get to enjoy Magnolia trees longer :)

Simon Says: Walk

Walking around my neighbourhood is so peaceful and beautiful. All the flowers are growing and people have started to plant their annuals.

A wonderful game I've started to play on walks is Simon Says. It's hilarious because you can get the other person to hop and skip around like a crazy person in public :)

Here are some of mine:

Simon Says Jump;
Simon Says Hop on One Leg;
Simon Says Wiggle your Bum;
Simon Says Pretend you have a Peg Leg...

Try it, I know you'll love it.

Netting for Peas

Peas... are... wild...

They are definitely the party animals of the veggie world.

They are easy to grow from seeds, but you have to make sure there is a good support system for them to latch on to. Otherwise they will fall down like a drunk people at a party.

I used my extra tomato cages, long bamboo stakes, and string to create a nice habitat for the wild stalks of peas.

In the past I didn't provide enough support and they would fall over and grow around the support system instead of in it...  lol...

I dare the peas this year to escape their cage, I dare them :)

GardenWorks works!

Have you ever been to GardenWorks? To me, this place is heaven. I recently had a questions that they helped me answer via their Facebook page. I only truly like Gala Apples, and was wondering if my Crimson Gala would cross pollinate with a Royal Gala in order to produce fruit.

I searched all over the internet to try and get an answer, but was out of luck. I posted this question to GardenWork's Facebook page and within 48hrs had an answer.

Thanks so much GardenWorks Staff!

P.S. They have the best ads. I always find they look some what like friends I know :)

Container Gardening: Raspberries

(Raspberry plants at the end of April)

I have found that I don't do well when I get bare root raspberry plants. They are the ones that come in the small bag wrapped around a twig.

Hardier ones come in the pots with soil. Because they already have a good root system they do better in containers. They also start sprouting leaves sooner and yield raspberries faster.

I currently have 3 varieties: 2 normal red raspberries, 1 raspberry shortcake, and 1 black raspberry.

I was very skeptical at first of the raspberry shortcake because it was very expensive and there weren't any fruit on it the first year. It was a big investment for a plant that may or may not have lasted through the winter. However, I'm a believer now. The bushier raspberry plant in the picture above is the raspberry shortcake! It is bigger than even the raspberry plant that in it's 3rd year.

(Raspberry, Raspberry, Raspberry Shortcake, Gooseberry)

Growing Tips:

For container gardening, it's important to prune back the branches after they have fruited. Raspberries only fruit on 2 year old branches. This means that when  you are pruning, make sure to leave the hardier branches alone. 

My pruning trick is to prune back the thinner frailer branches, but to leave the longer stronger branches. 

Raspberries will look like they are dead over the winter. Don't, I repeat Don't prune them in the Spring. Give them time to figure themselves out. They will surprise you at how hardy they are :)

You can definitely can see the difference between the March and April pictures.

P.S. The red stuff on the soil is hot chilli powder to deter the racoons and cats ;)

(Raspberry Shortcake in the beginning of March)

(The 2 regular red raspberries)

(The 2 regular red raspberries)

(Black Raspberry)

mmmmMMMMmmm... Black Raspberries. One of the best things about growing your own fruit the new varieties you can find at the garden stores....

Happy Mother's Day

My mom works at a produce wholesaler. The best thing about this job is that she gets to try all kinds of new fruit ;)

I went over to her house a couple of years ago and she was excited to share her Korean Melon. I haven't ever seen this in the grocery stores until today!

Thanks Mom for always sharing your delicious and new fruit with me. Muah Muah.

Happy Mothers Day :)

P.S. Korean Melon is like an apple and a Honeydew mixed together. It's smaller than normal melons, and less sweet. It has a great crunch. You know when it's ready because when you squeeze it, it gives a little and is less hard.

 The apple is there for size reference

Blueberries: New Ones

The hoarding continues...

Every year I find that new varieties of everything come to the market. Last year it was the Raspberry Shortcake plant. This is a thornless raspberry plant that is almost like a shrub. (Yes, I convinced myself I needed to have this one to...)

This year the Jelly Bean Blueberry and Peach Sorbet Blueberry caught my eye. 

I finally got a harvest of the Pink Lemonade Blueberry last year and loved them. So this helped me convince myself that I needed these too. 

Look how cute! And they're Rory size because they are so short. 

Both of these trees have year around leaves that change  colour. The Peach Sorbet's leaves will turn purple in the winter... I'm so excited!

These plants are from Brazel Berries. Further description and care are on their website :)

 (Peach Sorbet Blueberries)

Container Gardening: Blueberries

I, BeesintheGardens, am a hoarder of blueberry plants. I currently have 13 blueberry plants on my patio, ranging in sizes. When I see a new variety, I force the people around me to help me justify bringing them home. Reason have ranged from "But... It's so cute" to "I don't have this one yet, my other blueberries told me they want this new variety as their new friend" to "I must, I must, I must save this blueberry plant from the awful conditions it's currently in and give it a better home."

The first step in getting better is admitting your addiction.

Ror loves blueberries too. Whenever she's on our patio she goes up to them and sniffs around to see if there are any for her yet. This is why I think it's okay to keep adding new ones? This might just be another excuse to add more, and more, and more, and more.... blueberries...

I'm an avid believer that what you grow, you should share. I love sharing my harvests with my co-workers, neighbours, and friends. However, if you are one of these groups of people you may have noticed you have never receive any blueberries.

This is my second problem. I hoard the plants and the berries... Ror only gets some because she looks up at me with those cute big eyes and it's hard to say no.

Here are some tips I've learned along the way:

I have found that Blueberries love love love coffee grounds. They thrive on it.

You also need blueberry friend plants because blueberries don't like being alone. The friend plants cannot be of the same variety because blueberries will have a greater yield when you give it 3 or more varieties to cross pollinate with.

Don't forget to plant bee friendly plants to lure the bees to your garden.

I'm Obsessed with The Amazing Race

(Photo from Wikipedia)

I'm not going to lie, I'm totally obsessed with The Amazing Race. This season brought back some of my favourite contestants. I'm rooting for Dave and Connor, the father son team. I think it's so cute how they have the same smile. I love that they are both kind and vindictive. If I'm ever on this show (probably not because I'm not American) I definitely will never u-turn anyone.

I hate surprises and usually wait till the live season is over so I can follow along with the wiki results. But those cowboys lured me in and I broke down and started to watch :)

How heartbroken are you that the cowboys are out? I was in so much shock that my mouth dropped open for a full minute before I was able to regain my composure.

p.s. the gardens in the backgrounds are so beautiful. I definitely am taking notice ;)

Flowers to Lure Bees to Your Garden

(photo credit: from Serenity, diy's tumbler)

A lovely friend shared this with me on facebook. I love how cute and organized it is.

Bees are so important to gardening. They help to cross pollinate, which then helps plant to grow delicious fruit.

Hope you love it as much as I do. 

Rory Lately...

  (left before, right after)

From Full Fur, to No Fur

Rory got a hair cut!

Container Gardening: Fig Trees

(These are pictures from right after I planted the trees)

Figggggg Trees

My mom has multiple fig trees in her garden. Every year when the fig are ready to pick she dehydrates them and shares. This is one of the best times of the year.

This tree came already in soil. I added a banana (for potassium), egg shells (for calcium and irrigation), and coffee grounds (for nitrogen) to the garden soil. Other than that I put it in it's new pot home and watered it constantly.

Later in the season, an important step is to add netting to the tree. This will save you from fighting birds for the fruit ;)
Can wait to munch on some figs later in the summer...

Fun Fact: Fig Trees fruit on 2 year old branches.

Fun Fact 2: Fig Trees planted in the ground will create runner trees. Then you'll have a forrest of fig trees.

(This is after a couple of weeks, look at those beautiful leaves and tiny baby figs)