My Kitchen Garden: Early Summer 2021

May 2021 was a month of extremes; one week I was desperately covering my tomatoes to protect them from frost, the next week there were heat advisories.  

My direct-sown spinach hated the temperature swings, bolting as soon as it germinated.  Everything else pretty much soldiered on with the help of a lot of hand watering necessitated by the driest May in recorded history.  By mid-month I had emptied all of my rain barrels and resorted to tap water.

All that loving attention paid off in June with the garlic producing a lovely batch of scapes.

The peas have also been sweet & plentiful ...

... and so far the tomatoes look very promising.

On the hardscaping side, I gave all the cedar garden boxes two coats of stain and a wonderful arch trellis was custom designed and installed by Ines & Eric of My Nordic Garden.

Garden Trellis by Ines Batterton

I also took advantage of Ines's coaching services and I highly recommend her to anyone interested in improving their kitchen garden knowledge.

Over in the flower gardens, I was delighted with the beautiful Aveyron Tulips, a new addition to my sunny border.

I'm also thrilled that many old friends survived being moved to new locations and are now thriving.  

These include the Siberina Bugloss that brings a lot of joy first thing in spring ...

... as well as my Jackmanii Clematis which has never looked better.  It was well worth using that backhoe to move twenty-plus years of roots over to the new garden!

All-in-all, May and June 2021 were a whole lot of work and a whole lot of fun!

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My Kitchen Garden: Early Summer 2021 by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2021-07-01 A Whole Lot of Fun!

Images: Garden Trellis by Ines of My Nordic Garden; All other images by Tatiana Dokuchic

My Kitchen Garden: May 2021

Welcome to the marvelous month of May! 

After months of plotting and planning it's finally time to get growing.

Having been started from seed, Sweet Peas, Snap Peas, & Everyhardy White Scallions have now been transplanted into the raised beds while Laxton's Peas, Napoli Carrots, Verdil Spinach, Astro Arugula, & Mix Lettuce were sown directly.  The Russian Red & Music Garlic, planted last November, seem to be enjoying the early spring weather.

Cosmos Sensation Mix, China Aster Crego Mix, Orchid Cream Nasturtiums, & Tall Climbing Nasturtiums are hanging out in the cottage at night after enjoying some hardening off time in the garden during the day.

Brandywine Pink Beefsteak Tomatoes, Waltham Broccoli, Alpine Strawberries, & more White Scallions are enjoying the grow light and sunny window in the laundry room waiting for their turn to be hardened off.  I've potted up the tomatoes twice now so I'm really hoping that night time temperatures will warm up enough for me to get them at least into the unheated cottage.

With the exception of two White Spruce and four established Boxwoods all the residents of my old flower gardens were rearranged into brand new beds last November.  It really was a long winter waiting to see what would come up this spring.

I was delighted that my little Siberian Bugloss not only survived the move but managed to produce the very first flowers in my new landscape.  Allium, Hostas, Tulips, Hydrangea & Clematis are all taking a look around at their new locations but sadly it doesn't look like any of my ferns will be making an appearance.  Perhaps they just need a bit more time to defrost.

All the shelving has been added between the studs of the cottage and the cedar planks of the raised beds have been prepped for staining.  As soon as the weather clears I'll be ready to slap that stain on.

The compost bins, rather neglected last year, have all been revitalized and are ready to roll.

Whew!

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My Kitchen Garden: May 2021 by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2021-05-08 Time to get growing!

Images: Tatiana Dokuchic

My Kitchen Garden: March 2021

 

It's been a long time coming but will soon be planting in my new kitchen garden. Garlic went in last fall and spring seedlings are just waiting for warmer weather.

The potting shed/mini greenhouse/cottage is coming along nicely with lots of work happening on the interior. It also awaits a roof and some paint for the door.

Spring projects are the best!

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My Kitchen Garden: March 2021 by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2021-04-02 My new kitchen garden

Images: Tatiana Dokuchic

The Potager or Ornamental Kitchen Garden

A Potager at Château de Villandry, France

Designed to feed both body and soul, the potager or ornamental kitchen garden is the ultimate combination of parterre and vegetable patch.

Fruits & vegetables, flowers & herbs, are artfully arranged in symmetrical garden beds that are surrounded by low clipped box hedges.  These individual plots, separated by sand or gravel paths,  are precisely placed to form striking geometric patterns.

Reluctant Renovator: Are We There Yet?

It's been eighteen months since we embarked on 

our renovation journey 

(Reluctant Renovator: And so it Begins) 

and I've finally gotten around to asking myself if "we're there yet".

I have a sneaking suspicion that, for me at least, when it comes to our home renovation we're never actually going to arrive, simply because my "there" is a tad too Utopian.

Far from being frustrated, I'm actually very content with this idea of a never-ending renovation journey especially since I'm now enjoying some major accomplishments.  All this to say that it's a excellent time to take stock of what we've done, where we are, and where we want to go from here.

First things first though ...

Spring Clean Your Blogs: Reap the Rewards of Renewal

It's Spring!!  It's Spring!!  After a particularly trying Canadian winter I'm more than ready for this season of renewal and since Mother Nature still hasn't gotten the spring memo for my neck-of-the-woods I'm expending my new found energy on a much needed blog cleaning.

Truth be told, I really enjoy this creative process and so I thought I would share some of my enthusiasm.

First off, I'm really not talking about the little maintenance tasks that you should be doing all year round. Ensuring that your links are still working & your pictures are still posting are best dealt with on a regular basis otherwise they become a bit of a slog.  If you have fallen behind, and who doesn't on occasion, you may want to take some time to get those in order before proceeding.

Now on to de-cluttering!

The older I get the more I value a well curated space be.  Since this appreciation for restrained elegance is constantly at war with my natural magpie tendencies I have to compromise.  I find it helps to take a step back and try to look at my blogs with fresh eyes all the while mumbling "... less is more ... less is more".

Pinning My Garden Together

My husband often teases me about the photos that I take of my garden.  I like to think of them as lovely little vignettes but truth-be-told the tight focus hides many of my gardening sins, like all those weeds that have managed to make themselves right at home alongside their more distinguished cousins.

I thoroughly enjoy my little garden though it pales in comparison to the photo fantasies of Beautiful Blooms or Potagers & Parterres over which I swoon.  Of course I'm well aware that these dream gardens result from a level of expertise and effort that I will never attain and I'm more than okay with that.  There's no way I'm going to be crawling "commando style" through my garden beds to get all the last little imperfections out (as I read one avid 80 year old gardener did right before her magazine photo shoot) but I am open to any practical ideas that would help to improve my little plots.

And that's where Pinterest came in.

Reluctant Renovator: Striptease

We're two weeks into the renovation and I'm daring to hope that the worst is over!

Almost everything that had to go has been stripped away and a bit of newness has begun creeping in.

It took about a week for the tile floor to make its exit and I'm still cursing the original installers that did such a poor job that the floor failed and had to be replaced.  Considering that there was 650 sq. ft. of tile it was a big job and you can just imagine the dust generated from all the cement & grout.  Have I mentioned recently that I'm allergic to dust?  Where's the Benadryl!

Reluctant Renovator: I Fall to Pieces

It's too late to turn back now!!

As you can see from the photo above, we've gone past the point of no return with the renovation.  The initial plans & design are done, the material is ordered and the tile, which covers most of the first floor, is a thing of the past.

We spent the weekend throwing things out and packing up the rest.  I found the undecorating (removing photos, art, knick-knacks etc.) to be a tad traumatic, sentimental fool that I am, and it probably didn't help that Patsy Cline's tune "I Fall to Pieces" kept running through my head.

As an antidote, I revisited one of my favourite George Carlin riffs where he talks about "Stuff".  Thanks for the much needed perspective, George!

I've been pretty quiet, blog wise, since my initial renovation post And So It Begins back in November.  Planning & design are labour intensive but apparently not very blog worthy.  I do hope to make up for it now that things are really rolling along.  For those of you that are interested in a bit of a sneak peek, you can check out My Reno Pinterest Board to get a bit of an idea of where we are, hopefully, heading.  Dining, Kitchen and Interiors provided some of the inspiration.

Comments are most welcome, including your preference: Patsy or George?
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Find Tatiana Dokuchic on Google+

Reluctant Renovator: And so it Begins

I love good renovation stories. I love how they seduce me with their whispered promises, endless energy, optimism and, of course, their humour.

Those were the first words that I wrote on this blog (Renaissance Daze/Days) and they still hold true;  I do love good renovation stories!  The thing is, though I find these stories endlessly entertaining and inspiring, I really don't want to star in one.  Apparently as far as my home is concerned I have become a "Reluctant Renovator" to say the least.

Perhaps it's all my experience managing IT projects.  I would like to believe that my story will be mostly sweetness & light à la Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun but experience says it will probably be closer to that of Tom Hanks in The Money Pit.

Worse yet, I could end up like Nathan Lane & Lee Evans in Mousehunt.

You see where I'm going with this.

Not that I'm actually concerned about intelligent mice sabotaging the project; I worry about things like scope creep, time delays, cost overruns, bad decisions that I will have to live with for the rest of my natural life, etc. etc.  Considering that I've spent the last three years reducing the stress in my life isn't this just like pinning a big "Kick Me" sign to my own back?

Then again, how bad can it be?  I mean really.  Perhaps I can take all my project management experience and actually put it to good use.  Perhaps the end result will be absolutely fabulous!  In any case, I'm finally going to face my fears and give this home renovation project a shot.  As therapy, I'll be blogging a bit about it and above all I'll be trying to keep my sense of humour intact.

Wish me luck!

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Find Tatiana Dokuchic on Google+

Chanel in Versailles: Seriously Frivolous

Backstages by Benoit Peverelli (Versailles16may12)

Karl Lagerfeld described his latest collection for Chanel as "Seriously frivolous".  I don't know about you, but I could certainly use a heaping dose of fantasy & frivolity right about now!!

Though my day-to-day world seldom intersects with that of haute couture, my work in SecondLife® (see Tatiana's Tea Room) assures that I keep an eye out for anything concerning the Chateau de Versailles in France.  I was absolutely delighted to see that Chanel was presenting its 2013 Cruise Collection in the palace gardens among the fountains.

Look at the detailing on these pieces. It makes me happy just ogling it and I imagine Marie Antoinette would agree!

“The image of France has been a little sad: the gray uniform of Europe,” Mr. Lagerfeld said afterward, sipping Diet Coke but letting his audience eat foes gras and cake. The chandelier-filled ephemeral party place seemed like an upgrade on the French queen’s private retreat, the Petit Trianon.

“The Enlightenment was the best thing that happened to Europe, not debating in Brussels,” continued Mr. Lagerfeld, comparing the cultural period following the dark medieval years to the European Union era.

“I wanted to give France back some lightness,” he said.

Let Them Eat Cake: Lagerfeld Captures Versailles’s Heyday, The New York Times.

Thank you, Mr. Lagerfeld.  This student of Versailles loves seeing its gardens filled with such magical life. We can all do with a little more lightness!

Photos: British Vogue



June 4, 2012: For more delightful news of Versailles see Versailles: Transported
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La Vie en Rose

VERANDA Magazine: March-April 2012

If I was brave I would paint a room pink, have white linen chairs

and bright yellow throw cushions

or

I would paint a room bright yellow, have red leather chairs and lots of white accents.

VERANDA Magazine: May-June 2012

But until I gather up my courage
I will content myself with savouring the beautiful designs of others

and

Tweaking my own web pages & virtual creations.

La Vie en Rose indeed!

Sarah's Style

Sarah's House - Season 3 - Main Bathroom

From the moment I saw Sarah Richardson selecting this wonderful fabric with its flowers, butterflies & scrumptious yellow, I was hooked on the latest season of HGTV's Sarah's House.  I had caught a glimpse of it in the show’s teaser and it was well worth waiting until the third episode of the season (episode 30 of the series) to see how it inspired the creation of the Main Bathroom.

Sarah is also inspiring a long overdue transition of my decorating style from the ‘80’s (1780’s in the case of my Second Life® design & decorating work!) to something now referred to as the New Classic Style, a mix of modern & traditional that is absolutely fresh. Of course it probably helped that she wooed me with a fabric from Sanderson, a company currently celebrating “150 years of English Decoration” that began in 1860 as an importer of French wallpaper.

There are seven episodes remaining this year and I’m intending to savor every one of them. Tomorrow she tackles the kitchen. What could be better!