Songbird Grange

Fresh baked croissants are the perfect Saturday morning breakfast. Because I don’t have time to make my own pastry (I always wonder who does?) I have found that ordering them through Williams-Sonoma is the easiest possible way to enjoy them. Set them out the night before the next morning turn on the oven and 20 minutes later you’re good to go!

These Jacque Cartier roses planted along this lane is one of my favorite things on the property. This time of year they are are in their full glory. By end of summer they’ll be about 8 feet tall. Early mornings when I walk down the lane all I smell is roses and it’s heavenly.

As far as “type“ Canaries go I think these cute chubby border canaries are the best. They are the largest of the songbirds and we have found they have a very vibrant song to go with their size. They’re not as active as our other canaries, they love to just eat and sing.

I love cooking with copper pots and pans. There is a little more maintenance to them then just washing a regular pot, because you have to polish the copper. I have learned if you do this every time you use it it’s so much easier. I love using barkeepers friend, it’s cost effective and it does the trick of keeping them nice and clean. I highly recommend giving it a try if you have copper cookware.

I think big hanging baskets of fuchsia are synonymous with summer. This beauty is called swing time. It likes regular feeding of fertilizer every other week and it will reward me with blooms through September.

When renovating our kitchen last year the inspiration for this little sitting area called an inglenook was taken from Cabin 10 at Mankas Inverness Lodge which over the years was our favorite spot during the holidays, also one of the reasons we named our little house cabin 11. It’s a cozy spot to sit for breakfast or even dinner with just the two of us.

Alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are a tiny type of strawberry known for their delicious, aromatic wild-strawberry taste. I planted them in the fall in hanging baskets with pansies. It’s a perfect combination. The strawberries are absolutely adorable and delicious. I will definitely do this again next fall

Here’s a Mystery, these two Chinese elms leaf out at different times. I have no idea why, I’ve searched “the Google” and they don’t seem to have any sort of explanation, maybe one of them is just a late sleeper.

Proceed with caution should be a sign over a clump of nettles. For a little plant they produce quite a sting, it will raise a welt on your hands or arms. I let them grow up and then harvest them for used in pestos etc. you have to have gloves for harvesting and I like the gardening gloves with the taller arm piece so there’s no danger of getting stung.

Deer are beautiful and they look so pretty out in the tall spring grass grazing. They don’t look so pretty nipping the buds off our rosebushes. I found the best way to deter them, if they do get past the deer fencing, is to spray liquid fence. You just mist it for about five days in a row so if the deer are coming through every night they lose their standard walking trail. It seems like deer are creature of habit and once they find a route they stick to it. After a week of spraying, it just takes about once every few days to deter them.

These old stoneware crockery bowls are like friends of mine. They have this great character, a nice solid weight to them and any little chips they get seem to just add to their character. That said they are very difficult to chip. The rims are made thicker specifically for that reason. I have also used them as inspiration in making my own bowls.

In 1989 I bought four little square salad plates at a garage sale. Something about the color and the pattern just spoke to me and here we are 33 years later and I have a whole room that we have designated to hold these dishes. I collect them every time I go into a shop and see a piece that I like. I think I’ve hit my limit so all the ones I have will be the ones I keep and I don’t think I’ll add too many more as then I will achieve hoarder status. I love them, I think it’s important that people collect and enjoy things that really make them smile.

These row covers have been just the ticket this year and it looks like the broccoli is happy and healthy. The pests that love broccoli; cabbage worms, flea Beatles and aphids have all moved on since the broccoli is kept safe under the covers. I made broccoli beef stir the other day and it was delicious!

I love useful things and these colanders fit the bill. They take a little bit of work in terms of drilling the holes. The results are well worth it. We use them for everything from onions and potatoes to apples in our kitchen. And I love to give them to friends.

These lavender just called it quits, so out they come and will replace with some pretty summery zinnias. I am going to put in more lavender, in the fall when it’s better for planting perennials.

These lavender just called it quits, so out they come and I will replace them with some pretty summery zinnias. I am going to put in more lavender, in the fall when it’s better for planting perennials.

Okey-dokey-artichokey… We’ve had such warm weather these artichokes are already setting good sized fruit. Baby artichokes steamed, drizzled with olive oil and lemon and the grilled are delicious.

This time of year is a plant addict’s dream! The nurseries are filled and there is such a big selection. We are getting all of the different areas with pots and baskets planted up. It’s always fun to do this lathe house. I love begonias, fuchsias, and ferns.

Let’s hear it for the hula hoe. This is an invaluable little tool to keep the weeds at bay, and around here the weeds are always plotting and planning.

The bees are out and about with all the trees in bloom. Time to fill and run our bee fountain. Bees require good continual water source for best productivity. This fountain lets them drink without danger of drowning.