My Herbs of 2020

I keep trying to grow herbs. I have them indoors, outdoors, at the lake, in the city and even at work in the Personal Care Home. I love how beautiful and fragrant they are and, potentially, how useful as an ingredient when cooking.  I believe that many herbs have great healing properties and can be very nutritious and good for you, but that is not something I have ever studied. I do know that the act of growing and nurturing the plants is fun and also good for you.  It gives me joy just to play in the soil, handle the plants, look at the lovely flowers and leaves and smell all the different fragrances!

I really would love to have many kinds of herbs growing in the ground and coming back year after year, but I only have a couple. The light is not great or the area doggie free in most of my spaces, so I like to make good use of container planting. This year I have a couple of pots growing on my patio at home and they are so lovely and fragrant! Two of my coworkers are growing indoor herbs at work as a program with the seniors, so it is one of my big topics of the summer. I have herbs everywhere!

The pot below is my mixed one. It has some sage, sweet marjoram, and new to me,  two kinds of licorice plants.  I have seen and tasted wild licorice a few times but I have never grown any.

The next picture is a pot full of different kinds of basil. I had excellent success with basil two years ago so, this time, I thought I would get creative. This pot has Italian Large Leave Basil shown at the front. That is what I have grown before, and it was easy to grow and yummy. The one with the purple flowers is called Cinnamon Basil, and the one with the white flowers is called Spicy Globe Basil. It was flowering when we got it. It would probably do best if we trimmed off the flowers and encouraged leaf growth, but I am just loving the look of it and haven't talked myself into pruning it yet.

The most successful herb for us has been a mint patch that has been located outside our back door for over a decade. At one point, it got really huge, but with time, it has shrunk down and gotten spindly. Trees have grown much taller around it reducing the light and I am sure the soil got depleted. It has been banged around with its location beside the door and even abused a little by our dog who is very fond of sniffing it. This year we cleaned up that area by that side of the house and added sod but we still left a little square for the mint. We worked in some compost and it seems to have perked up to a reasonable size for our use, and big enough to share slips with a few friends. I warn everyone that it can spread like crazy, and you should put a collar or barrier into the ground around it in order to keep it where you want it and out of the rest of your yard.

We keep trying out different herbs at the cottage and we have real issues with rodents and birds eating them and some that we have put in the ground simple have not overwintered well.  I usually have a pot of parsley inside on the window by the kitchen sink and make good use of it and our little raised bed garden has a big patch of chives growing. I love how gorgeous the chives look with their pretty purple flowers and how they provide us with a great ingredient for cooking and salads all summer long. They also act as a good companion plant by acting as a deterrent and keep away some bugs and critters from the raised beds.

I really like telling jokes so here are a few for you.

 ..Not necessarily hilarious ones, but it is still all part of the fun!

A girl told me that she recognized me from the local vegetarian club, but I’d never met herbivore.

I’ve got a device to fetch futuristic herbs. It’s a thyme machine.

I saw a new book about cooking with herbs. It’s about Thyme.

I was going to send back my fish in a herb sauce at a restaurant the other night, but I wasn’t sure if it was the thyme or the plaice. (Hint: Plaice is a kind of flatfish)

I know someone who was habitually late until his doctor recommended sleeping in a herb garden. Sounds odd, I know, but now he wakes up on Thyme.

I used to work with a very wise herb gardener. He was well known for his sage advice.

Thought I’d purchase a tall herb plant but actually turned out to be tiny. No big dill 

I like to put coriander on my blended tomatoes. It’s "soup herb".

I went to a restaurant the other night and asked for something herby. They gave me an old Volkswagen Beetle with no driver.

😀

Growing a Garden with Catherine and Phil

Please welcome my friends and Guest Bloggers, Catherine and Phil. They love their little urban garden and I was so happy when they agreed to share about how they grow a Winnipeg garden.


Joyful Planting

During a pandemic, it can be scary; in order to live through these scary times, one should focus on keeping healthy and protect yourself by sanitizing and social distancing. It's not easy as I'm a frontline worker at a Personal Care Home. I have to be extra careful, but in my house, it's hard to do. We try our best to make sure everything is sanitary.

Our home consists of my husband Philippe, my fur babies, Buddy the cat and Bella, the dog and me Catherine. Phil has the green thumb of the family. Phil grew up in the country and worked on a farm as a young teenager. Myself, city girl, I have a little green thumb. I've watched my parents' garden, and they taught me how to care for plants inside and out.

 I would help put seeds in the soil, pick out the weeds, and water the garden every chance I got. However, if there was a bee or wasp around, I'd be running for my life, leaving the water hose running waiting until that bee goes away. I did enjoy watching our plants grow through the years, especially my parent's apple tree.

Phil and I planted a garden since the day we met 13 years ago and through almost ten years of marriage. Anyways, due to the crisis, the world is going through now why not take the time to plant a beautiful life in the garden, it's the best place to spend time with each other.

Phil searched on the internet and found a way to plant seeds in a Ziplock bag. All you need is a tray, spray bottle, scissors, soil, paper towel, tweezers, planting containers and planting seeds.
All you have to do is you take a paper towel that's been cut to the size of the ziplock bag, spray the paper towel lightly with water. Then fold your paper towel in half with the seeds inside and insert it into the Ziplock with delicacy. The next step is to have an area in front of your window that gets the most sunlight and leaving on a flat surface, or you can get a thick string with clothespins hanging it across your window. Let it sit there for 4 to 6 days, checking if the roots are starting to grow.

Then when you notice that the root is growing, use tweezers or your lovely fingers to lightly grab the seed with the root. With caution, plant the seed into 3/4 cup of soil in any plastic or recycle containers of your choice that have holes on the bottom. Dig a little hole in the soil to add your seed with root facing the bottom, cover lightly with soil and spray with water gently over the top. Add the seeds by separating them a couple of millimetres apart.

Then each day in the morning you should continue to spray it with water as it grows. Make sure you put your lovely creation by the window to get sunlight for your garden to grow. It has been a wonderful experience growing our lovely garden every spring.

As time passes, your plants will grow. Once the risk of frost is gone, it is time to transplant your plant into your outside garden. Take your container with your baby plant and move it to the garden.

Dig a hole approximately the same size of the containers and gently remove the plant. Insert the plant with all its wonderful roots into the new hole that you have just dug. It's ok if you take a lot of soil with you as sometimes it's gets stuck to the roots. Once inserted into the new hole in the garden, bring more soil to the new plant to make sure that it's nice and full in the hole. Add water, and enjoy watching your wonderful creation grow.

After a few weeks of watering daily, your plant will grow. With plenty of sunshine, water, love and even some great companionship, your plant will grow big and tall and eventually will create beautiful flowers.

If you are planting flowers, enjoy your beautiful creation with a wide arrangement of colours and, of course, the smell. Flowers can give out lovely aromas, and every flower has a different scent, so make sure to try many different varieties.

If you are planting fruits or vegetables, your flower after a few weeks will slowly start to create a little spot. The petals from the flower will fall, but don't be sad because that little spot that appears will continue to grow and, after some time, will grow into a fruit or vegetable. You can slowly watch all your hard work grow into some wonderful food that you can soon enjoy.

After a few weeks of watering daily, your plant will grow. With plenty of sunshine, water, love and even some great companionship, your plant will grow big and tall and eventually will create beautiful flowers.

Once the fruit or vegetables are fully grown, you can finally harvest. Remove with care and enjoy the fruit of your labour.

Sometimes your plant will die, and sometimes it won't grow, but don't be disappointed because that happens to all of us.

All plants have different aspects to them that help them grow better. We learn a little more every year on how to plant better, and with patience, love and care, we will slowly become wonderful gardeners, and that will help us go through life.




Story and Photography by
Catherine Molina-Ross and Philippe Ross

What is on your Fall Bucket List?

September 21st was the first day of Fall and I was having dreams of crisp weather with me on the porch in a nice cuddly sweater. I live in Winnipeg Canada and guess what? It snowed! It only lasted for a couple hours but it sure was a wake-up call that Winter is just around the corner and we need to enjoy Fall while we can.

I love making plans and goal setting because it encourages me to get more done and to do new, different and interesting things. Since I love all sorts of activities it is not a surprise that the Fall bucket lists that are all over the internet absolutely get my imagination racing.

I needed to make a list of the things that I want to try this Fall.

Why would I need a list? When I look at my own list I can remember to try it and I can prioritize my fun and adventures. A list acts as a reminder of all the fun ideas that caught my eye and it also helps me watch for those opportunities when they present themselves. Perhaps I might even need to budget for it. Once I have made that list I start to see coupons, adds and stories about the different fall experiences.  I can make notes of where I can go to do these things or how to do them at home if I don't already know how. It lets me get all those fun materials, ingredients and resources together too.  I might even be able to convince some friends or family to join me!

I must admit I love checking things off lists.

I use the various lists I have found on Pinterest to make my own.  You can find lists for couples, young families or teenagers. There are personal achievement-based lists. There are silly lists. I see lots of bucket list items that appeal to me, but for some of them I do realize that particular ship has sailed. Hike the Trans Canada Trail is SOOO appealing to me but I am barely managing a hike through Wal-Mart these days. Practicality needs to be a part of my plan. A Fall trip to stay in a Bed and Breakfast in Vermont sounds awesome, as does Octoberfest in Germany but  it is certainly not in my budget for this year or next year. Besides all my vacation time was used up as part of my work absence for the Hip Replacement Surgery and recovery. 

Why these Seasonal Lists useful tools for Recreation Professionals?

Recreation Therapists must plan their month long in advance. We have to try and catch the interests and needs of the individual but we also try and carry out many programs as groups  Seasonal Bucket lists are almost like a shopping list of popular ideas. Now that doesn't mean that we are going to set up a tub for 90-year-olds to go bobbing for apples but perhaps seeing that item on a list might make us think of doing a reminiscence activity. Perhaps we can find some vintage pictures of bobbing for apples or other Party activities. Perhaps we will arrange to have some school children have a party with us. 
These lists are especially good for my Girl Guide unit too. So many of these items are perfect for the girls' outings or activities. We are all about fun and these projects are just what the girls need to make plans, show leadership and allow them to choose what is of interest to them!

My Top 25 Bucket List Ideas

• I plan on going for a drive in the country
• Taking fall pictures in the country
• Visit a corn maze with Girl Guides 
• Harvest herbs
• Plant bulbs for spring flowers
• Sow wildflower seeds
• Decorate the house with mums  and Fall touches.
• Crochet an orange scarf
• Make scarecrow crafts
• Buy Fall candles
• Make a Thanksgiving centrepiece
• Go to a paint night with my daughters
• Sell Chocolate Mint Cookes with my Girl Guide Unit
• Leathercraft leaf project
• Give myself a fall coloured manicure
• Buy new shirts for fall
• Pumpkin pies
• Pumpkin dip
• Leaf shaped cookies
• Crockpot apple cider
• Hot chocolate by the fireplace at the lake
• Make smores
• Apple crisp
• Cook some banana, pumpkin and carrot cake loaves for sharing
• Purchase a pumpkin spice "something or others" at a coffee shop

I will try and report back about some of these items and we will see how many of these I actually manage to do! Maybe I will take advantage of other fun opportunities that we come across. List are a great framework but spontienaty is where some so the excitement comes from.

Do you have plans for any Fall projects or adventures?