Raw Brownies

Lexi has developed an insatiable sweet tooth of late. Thankfully she still loves to eat vegetables, but she frequently asks me for "food treats". 

How to make a pesticide that drive bugs (and birds) crazy

When we moved into our house I was very excited to find an orange tree in our backyard. The first season the oranges were sour like lemons. Last year they had absolutely no flavour (they made great marmalade though). This year they are sweet and juicy and every single one has a worm in it.... grrrrrr!

More Prickly Fun

The morning after Lexi and I painted the rock cacti we had a conversation about succulents and cacti. I should have known that that wouldn't be the end of it. And before I knew it this happened.....

Prickly Fun

I have a little obsession with cacti at the moment. Not the real, prickly kind, but the ones made of rocks and cardboard.

So we took one of my favourite things to craft with in the garden, good old white stones, and turned them into cacti.

Breakfast Jars

Who else finds making breakfast a drag?!

Lexi loves oats but there are days when I just don't feel like cooking it (yes, I know it's quick!). 

I've found the perfect solution. Oat breakfast jars.

We harvested our potatoes

Aren't they beautiful?! They tasted good too

Fairy Garden Fun

As a stay at home mom, with a child who doesn't go to school, I am always on the lookout for fun activities. A few weeks ago Garden World hosted an amazing fairy garden workshop for children. It was great value for money and the variety of plants and craft materials available was amazing. 

Best Pancakes!

When I was a child we had a Saturday morning tradition of having pancakes and rootbeer for breakfast. My dad even used to make maple syrup and rootbeer from extracts that my aunt would bring us when she visited from the US.

Happy Earth Day

Source

Happy planting!

Candice & Lexi

Feeling under the weather

What do you do when you're feeling icky?

Put up a tent, fill it with cushions and read books all afternoon.

The secret to growing huge basil plants

There is no secret trick really.

Since that bag of carrot seeds (you can read about them here), Lexi and I have done a lot of experimenting with herb propagation. We tend to buy herbs in pots, put them in a sunny spot on the kitchen windowsill, yet they never thrive.

Why children should play outside..... even in winter

I recently saw a photograph from the 1950's of prams lined up in the snow with napping babies. It got me thinking about the importance of unstructured outside play for children. I am fortunate that Lexi has always loved playing outdoors. However, these days children are spending most of their free time indoors engaging with technology rather than with each other. 

Ultimate Garden

The perfect solution for a small, urban garden like mine.... vertical gardening. This vertical garden in Russia is my ultimate! I love the colours and the design. Each pot is perfectly placed.

What on earth is Sharon fruit?

We were browsing in the vegetable shop yesterday when Lexi was offered a sample taste of Sharon fruit. I was kinda perplexed because I thought I had a broad knowledge of fruit and vegetables, but I'd never heard of Sharon fruit. Turns out, it's a persimmon (Chinese apple) and there was no way we were going home without a bag. It was love at first taste for Lexi.