Tuesday 27 January 2015

Raised beds


Using raised beds is an efficient way of growing vegetables. Follow the link below and you will get some inspiration.



http://growfood-notlawns.com/started-boxes-60-days-later-neighbors-not-believe-built/

You can find more good advice on YouTube on how to grow vegetables in raised beds.


My raised bed after the Kale had been harvested.

Saturday 24 January 2015

Oriental Poppies

When a friend of mine was visiting two summers ago, she helped digging up one of my borders. Some of my bleeding hearts disappeared but there was no reason for regrets, the following summer the border was filled with Oriental Poppies in different colours and shapes. A late gift from previous tenders of my garden.

I do hope they will return next  summer.




Translation

Blogging is a great way to keep family and a wide group of friends updated on what you are doing and of course also to reach new readers. I have chosen to write this blog in English and not in my mother tongue, Swedish, as more people will be able to follow it. I have also encouraged some elderly family members, who have forgotten the English they were taught in school to use the Translation service. That was maybe not altogether wise, the result is sometimes hilarious! When translating a recipe from Swedish into English, the Swedish word "salladskål" was translated into "salad bowl" and then it went on telling you to cut 2 kg "salad bowl" in two pieces lengthwise. The correct translation would be Chinese cabbage. 
I have tried to update the translation, as you are asked to contribute, but that doesn't work. So dear Swedish reader please bear with me. I have not forgotten to speak Swedish.

Kära svenska läsare. Vill bara berätta, att jag inte glömt att tala svenska. Däremot klarar jag inte av att justera den svenska översättningen, som man får när man trycker på "translation"-knappen. 
Underhållningsgraden när man läser mina inlägg på automatiskt översatt svenska ökar dock väsentligt!

Friday 23 January 2015

Wine and roses

One great destination for a day out, when visiting or staying in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, is the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens.

 


 
In a beautiful setting overlooking a tidal river valley, the Historic Gardens is a premiere Nova Scotia attraction showcasing gardening methods, designs and materials representing more than four hundred years of local history. The Rose Collection holds hundreds of rose cultivars and thousands of fragrant and colourful blossoms.

Last year we joined in at the Wine and Roses event, a most enjoyable fundraiser arranged by the Historic Gardens. You could then stroll around the garden and smell the fragrance of the roses  enjoying a glass of wine and also sit down and listen  to live music.

For more information about the gardens: http://www.historicgardens.com/



 

Wednesday 21 January 2015

NEW DAWN


Today it i snowing, wet heavy snow and the sky is grey. It is a perfect day for dreaming about summer in Annapolis Valley, Canada. Roses belong to my favourite things and among them my NEW DAWN pink climbing rose.




Climbers generally have large blooms on not too vigorous, rather stiff growth and most repeat flower. Most climbers are best supported by walls, trellises, arches or obelisks

Climbers should be pruned to establish a permanent framework of significant branches from which flowering stems are produced. To achieve this cut back side shoots to one or two buds from the point where they branch out from the main shoots. If the plant has become bare at the base, cut one of it’s main shoots hard back to encourage new growth from ground level. The best time to prune a climber is October, when the flowering  is over, but it can be done later if the weather is mild.

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Rambling rose

I love my pink rambling rose greeting me at the entrance of my driveway. In the summer it is totally covered with lovely pink flowers.




 

Ramblers are in general, much more vigorous than climbers. They will produce great quantities of small flowers, although most do not repeat flower.

Ramblers need to be pruned to encourage flowering on young shoots that grow from the base of the plant each year. To achieve this cut out completely the side shoots that have finished flowering and tie in the new shoots in their place.

Rambling roses are said to be easy to propagate. In October I  took some cuttings and planted those in soil. They rooted well and even started to grow a little before the frost arrived. I will keep you posted on how they get on when spring is back.


Monday 19 January 2015

FOOD and Climate Change

When the Scientists  reported on Climate Change last autumn one of the issues that was highlighted was the need to take into account what we eat when trying to reduce Greenhouse Gases. Roughly one third of all emitted GHGs originate from food consumption. Especially red meat is the culprit when GHGs emissions need to be reduced.





  One  efficient way to minimize the GHG emissions is to minimize the amount of food that go to waste. The GHG emitted during production will otherwise be for no purpose at all.