garden Archives

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Barb — 3 Comments

Renee’s Garden Seeds – July 2016 Results

End of July Garden Update

-Renee’s Garden Seed Review for 2016

Please note that I received free seeds as part of a promotional privilege from Renee’s Garden Seeds. I am going to share my honest opinion of seeds we have used for many years.

What did we plant this year?

Blue Lake Heirloom Pole Beans – So far we have only lush looking plants and no beans to harvest. We planted these on 5/23 so we should have seen some beans forming. I’m not sure what is going on with these.

Classic Slenderette Bush Beans – This are a winner! We have been enjoying this easy to grow and pick variety for over a month now. They are tasty, tender, and I find them super easy to pick. The plants are compact and have given us an abundance of beans.

Pandorino Italian Grape Tomato – I planted these in the wrong spot and they are shaded by the zucchini. The plants are starting to look great so maybe there is still hope that they will produce some tomatoes soon.

Raven Dark Green Zucchini – Yum, yum! We are eating this zucchini every other day now that it is producing. The plants look great and the zucchini is easy to pick and tastes delicious!

Sundancer Sunflowers – These are growing well but no blossoms yet.

Scarlett O’Hara Heirloom Morning Glory – This is such a pretty color flower and it is just getting started blooming. I am going to enjoy it for some time to come.

Snow Sonata Knee High White Cosmos – These are something new we are trying and they look healthy…hopefully some flowers soon!

White Wonder – Heirloom Double Feverfew I can’t find any of these growing in the box…maybe I’m missing them and they will come up later.

Mighty Lion – Butterfly Zinnia Amazing flowers! This is my favorite new zinnia ever. The flowers are so large and orange that you can’t help but be happy when you see them in the garden.

Paradise Mix Echinacea – Butterfly Flowers This is another one that doesn’t seem to have grown.

White Bishop’s Lace- Butterfly Flowers Pretty flowers! This is another new flower in the garden box and you can be sure it will be grown again!

I am loving my garden this year…in the actual square foot garden boxes. The last few years with the drought we have been unable to plant a real garden so this is a delight.

If you are creating a garden journal or using your garden as your nature study subject this summer, I highly recommend the notebooking pages linked below. Please note these are my affiliate links.

Note these are affiliate links to products I love!

Download a FREE sample of A-Z Animal Notebooking Pages from NotebookingPages.com.

Save

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

End of June Garden Update

Time for a little end of June garden update! Make sure to check the garden tab at the top of the website for a whole list of garden related nature study ideas. You will also find there the crop plants list that helps you study many of the common garden vegetables you may be already growing in your garden.

Here is the link for green beans: Crop Plants – Green Beans.

I am enjoying the gardening season! Every morning I pop outside and take a garden tour, sometimes even before I have coffee. The progress of each box is easily seen as they grow quickly in the summer heat. These are Slenderette bush beans from Renee’s Garden.

I think I may have planted a few too many beans this year but that will give me a supply to share with friends who love beans as much as I do in the summer. I tucked some marigolds in between the bean plants for some color and to attract some pollinators. The pole beans are Renee’s Garden – Blue Lake variety.
Is it possible to love a zucchini plant? I don’t know if it is or not but I will say it anyway. I love this zucchini from Renee’s Garden (Raven variety).

Here are the actual plants that look fantastic. I am hoping to see some produce from this soon…you know how it is with zucchini. They can sprout up to be monsters overnight practically.

I have one box where I mixed four different flower seeds together and sprinkled the seeds to fill the box. This sounded like a good idea at the time but now it is hard to tell what are actual flowers and what are weeds that need to be pulled out.

Flowers Planted in this Box- All Renee’s Garden Seeds

White Wonder – Heirloom Double Feverfew

Mighty Lion – Butterfly Zinnia

Paradise Mix Echinacea – Butterfly Flowers

White Bishop’s Lace- Butterfly Flowers

I will keep you updated as the summer growing season progresses. Just so you know…I received my Renee’s Garden Seeds in exchange for my honest review of the product. I have used Renee’s Garden seeds for many years and highly recommend them. Thanks for taking a look at my garden goodness.

How is your garden coming?

Save

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Summer Blowout Sale – Nature Study Kits

Are you looking for a pre-planned summer nature study idea? My daughter and I designed two kits for families to use to easily include nature study and art appreciation in their homes. These kits have been such a hit, we are offering them again this summer.

We have prepared a limited number of kits – first come, first serve.

US addresses only

Kits are $10 each or $16 for two kits, shipping included. This is a really good deal and we hope to sell out of these kits fast. If you want to buy a kit, click over to the Hearts and Trees website and look on the left sidebar for the appropriate Paypal buttons. It is possible to purchase one of each kit by clicking the option on the sidebar.

All kit purchases will be made on the Hearts and Trees website.

Click the links below to see what comes in each kit and how to order yours.

Lavender and Bubbles Kit

In all there in this kit there are:

Felt bracelet sewing project (felt, needle, thread, buttons, and instructions)
Foil pendant project (foam pieces, foil, yarn, and instructions)
Bubble painting (watercolor paper, straw, and instructions)
Bubble letter notebook page
Bubble wand project (pipe cleaner, 5 beads, and instructions)
Lavender sachet sewing project (fabric, thread, needle, yarn, dried lavender, and instructions)
Lavender nature journal (cover, journal pages, length of twine, 2 rubberbands, waxed paper, and lavender sample)
Lavender nature study written in the style of the Handbook of Nature Study
Jean Simeon Chardin artist study (Soap Bubbles art print and 2 notebooking pages)

Garden Seeds Kit

In all this kit includes:

· Sticky Garden Fun Window Project (instructions and contact paper)
· Stiff Felt Magnet Project (instructions, 4 pieces of felt, magnet)
· Foam Stamp Project (instructions and foam)
· Easy Tissue Paper Mache Vase Project (instructions and tissue paper)
· Botanical Solar Print (instructions and 2 sheets of paper)
· Sidewalk Garden Scavenger Hunt (instructions and sidewalk chalk)
· Renoir print: Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil
· Renoir art print notebooking page and index card for viewfinder
· Garden Journal (instructions, construction paper for the cover)
· 3 Garden-related notebooking pages/activity pages (2 lima beans, 3 kidney beans, 3 pinto beans, 1 sunflower seed, 1 corn seed, paper towel and baggie)
· Garden Scavenger Hunt laminated card

These kits include everything you need to complete the art and nature study activities. All types of learning will take place and these kits are appropriate and designed for children ages 6-12 years. Summertime is the perfect time to add in some meaningful activities without a lot of fussing from the parent.

I know you will love both kits…so much fun and learning to fill your summer hours!

Be Inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Growing Beans

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Growing Beans
Archive Post

Have you ever used green bean seeds and plants for your nature study? This is a wonderful way to share the complete growing cycle. With your children start your study with the bean seeds, then the plants, then the flowers, then the beans, back to the seed again!

Bean Nature Study – Seed Germination from the archives!

I also want to share a link to one of my gardening entries from 2009 that I think will inspire newbies to gardening. Take a look at this entry and find some encouragement to start even a small garden:

Gardening Doesn’t Need to be Complicated

If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this archive challenge in the Crop Plants Challenges ebook. In the book, you will find a custom notebook page to use with your green bean study.

SAMPLE

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Garden Planning and April Recap -In Progress

This is such a gorgeous colorful time of year in the garden. I thought I would do a little update on my Garden Planning nature journal page and share how my April 2016 recap page is coming along.

At least this is the plan as of today…I know when the actual planting time comes I will probably adjust a bit but this gives my husband an idea of what irrigation I will need for him to set in up in each box. The one box is labeled as the “herb box” which it used to be in the past but now it is just a regular box…it will probably always be known as the herb box.

I’ve left some blank space for recording experiences as we finish up the month. I find that keeping the page going during the month is the best way to assure that it will actually get done. I used some watercolor pencils, gel pens, and a ruler to create my page.

Are you working on your garden seeds challenge? Take a few minutes and get it started! Are you going to create a monthly recap page? Here is the link to the Once a Month Nature Journal Project idea post.

Make sure you click over to NotebookingPages.com to enter their ONE DAY giveaway today! 9 AM to 9 PM CST

Debra is giving away 24 memberships today and everyone gets a FREE notebooking pages sampler.

Please note that I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and highly recommend this product after years of using it with my own family.

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Garden Seeds Project – Photo, Journal, Plan

We received our seed order from Renee’s Garden and it inspired us to get out into the garden and start our spring clean up. The end of March and the beginning of April is the time we can get out and start weeding the boxes and dreaming of the summertime garden goodness that will be coming fast!

Garden Clean Up March 2016 (12) — Here’s the garden before the clean up.

With all of our children living away from home, the garden chores all fall on my husband and I. I have a hard time bending over for very long so I decided to work a half hour every afternoon and with three days of doing that and one rather long afternoon with my husband, we finished the initial clean up.

Garden Clean Up March 2016 (1) — Here is the after image.

Now we can make a list of things we still need to do to get the boxes ready including a good composting. The drip system needs a bit of revamping as well but we have a month or so before we will need to have the irrigation ready.

In the meantime, I will be planting several veggies in containers up on our deck where I can nurture them through the early spring. I will also be planting veggies in the garden boxes but I have enjoyed watching and eating the veggies on our back deck in the past few years and don’t want to miss that experience this year.

As part of the Garden Seeds Challenge, I started on a Garden Planning page in my nature journal. I sketched a few of the seeds we will be planting this year and included some of my garden growing thoughts too!

We looked up our hardiness zone to remind ourselves of when we can plant each of the vegetables we have on our list: Plant Zone Hardiness Calendar.

We can usually count on having a good garden if we get our seeds in the ground by May 1st. I don’t ever plant anything fancy so here is our list for 2016.

Vegetables

Lettuce: Baby Leaf Lettuce,
Green Beans – French Mascotte (container bush beans), Classic Slenderette (bush beans), Blue Lake pole beans.
Tomatoes – Litt’l Bites Cherry (container), Pandorino (Italian grape tomato)
Squash – Astia (container zucchini), Raven zucchini
Baby Bell peppers

Flowers

Sunflowers- Bird and Bee Pollinator Mix, Sundancer.
White Bishop’s Lace
Zinnias
Echinacea (Paradise mix)
Snow Sonata Cosmos
White Wonder Feverfew
Grandmother’s Pincushion scabiosa

After all of that work, it is so nice to sit with the feet up and enjoy a cool drink as you survey all your hard yardwork.

If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this archive challenge in the Garden Flower and Plant Ebook in your library. In the ebook you will find a custom notebook page designed for use with this particular challenge.

PLUS there is a new printable in the member’s library for sketching your garden seeds too!

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Garden Seeds

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Garden Seeds – Observations
Archive Challenge

Now that spring is really here, let’s get our gardening started! Of course, that means picking seeds and for all nature loving families we can make that into a simple and meaningful nature study. Taking time to note the differences and unique shape, size, and color of flower and vegetable seeds will make an impression on your young naturalist. Even if you just pick one kind of seed and do a thorough job with your observations there will be long lasting benefits to this type of seed study.

Garden Study – Seeds and Observations

You may also want to use this printable activity if you plan on visiting a garden nursery.

If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this archive challenge in the Garden Flower and Plant Ebook in your library. In the ebook you will find a custom notebook page designed for use with this particular challenge.

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – April 2016 Garden Seeds

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

April 2016 – Garden Seeds

Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.

The newsletter link is not in this email but will come separately. There may be a delay in your receiving the email so please don’t email me until the second day of the month if you haven’t received the link on the first. For some reason, some email providers take longer to receive the newsletter email.

If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below.

If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.

If you need to subscribe:

You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link.

This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of April so be sure to download it before 4/30/16.

Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level!

Note: If you are following the Ambleside Online’s nature study rotation, this month’s newsletter is perfect for the theme: Garden Flowers and Weeds.

Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:

This edition of the newsletter features ideas, resources, and links to help you take a really close look at garden seeds.
Contributions from Outdoor Hour Challenge participants Paige Hudson and Shirley Ann Vels from Under An English Sky.
April Nature Study Planning Page with field trip ideas, nature photo ideas, and a special 15 minute challenge for parents.
Garden Seed Study printable notebook page which can be used as a nature journal topper as well.

Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com. Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person.

Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.

Need help getting started with your nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study? Check out the fresh “Getting Started” page here on the website!

Renee’s Garden has provided me with my seeds again this year in exchange for my writing about my experiences with these wonderful seeds from a fantastic company. I love picking my year’s selections from their website which is both informative and beautiful. I have some seeds left from last year that I will be planting but here is my list from this year’s package!

French Masconette Bush Beans
Classic Slenderette Bush Beans
Raven Zucchini Squash
Pandorino Tomatos (grape tomato)
Bishop’s Lace
Cathedral Bells (vine)
Snow Sonata Cosmos
Double White Wonder Feverfew
Climbing Phoenix Nasturtiums
Grandmother’s Pincushion Scarbiosa
Sundancer Sunflowers
Mighty Lion Zinnias

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Hunt for Early Spring Bulbs

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Early Spring Bulb Hunt
Archive Challenge

This week take your outdoor hour time to get outside and look for signs of early spring bulbs. You can use the ideas in the Early Spring Bulb challenge from the archives.

Early Spring Bulb Outdoor Hour Challenge

In that challenge, you will find directions for reading about the crocus, the daffodil, and the tulip in the Handbook of Nature Study. Also, there are suggestions for where to look for bulbs and journaling ideas for your nature journal. You may also wish to view my own entry for ideas on how to complete this challenge: Early Spring Bulb Study-Watercolor Time.

If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this archive challenge in the Winter Nature Study Ebook in your library. In the ebook you will find a custom notebook page designed for use with this particular challenge.

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Barb — 3 Comments

August Garden Update – Nasturtiums, Veggies, and More

Our attempt at a nasturtium flower study fell short again this year.

Don’t you love nasturtiums? They are such a happy flower and they remind me of my grandma. Her garden seemed to just sprout them in all the corners and I always have thought they were easy to grow and care for.

I have not had much success in growing my own nasturtiums. I have tried a few times and this year I received nasturtium seeds (Little Firebirds) from Renee’s Garden. I read the back of the package and it said they would be great in a container so I planted them in a fairly large pot on my back deck. My seeds quickly sprouted and the leaves that formed were so pretty and lily pad shaped just like the package said. But, over time, the leaves started to turn brown which I thought was from lack of water so I stepped up my watering.

Things grew worse instead of better and now all I have is a pot of crispy leaves, no flowers.

Not sure what happened there…over-watering?

The rest of the garden is going strong and I am reaping some rewards in the form of zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and basil.

The zucchini is Astia from Renee’s Garden and the seed package says it will grow compact plants and yield an abundance of tender zucchini. I have picked about eight zucchinis so far and I think my dog or some other critter has eaten a few too. I am really liking this variety but I left too many plants in my pot…..next year one plant per pot.

The tomatoes are Litt’l bites Cherry from Renee’s Garden. The package says that this plant is perfect from pots and baskets and I can tell you that I have had huge success with this veggie. The problem is that some critter comes at night and eats anything almost ripe. I have put up a cage and netting around it to protect the fruits for us to eat!

The basil is Italian Cameo from Renee’s Garden. I love, love, love this variety and it is easy to pick a bunch really fast. I harvest some every few days and it just fills right back in for the next time.

The peppers are growing every day in our hot summer afternoons. These are Baby Belle Peppers from Renee’s Garden. They are a mini snack or salad pepper which they say I can pick either green or wait for them to get red before harvesting. I think I will try doing it both ways and see which I like better. I am having success with the plants in a pot on my back deck.

So there is a short update on the garden in pots! I so enjoy getting out there every morning to survey the progress and water, trim, pick, and taste something. I have decided I don’t need a big garden to get that “garden fix” that I need in the summer. Lesson learned!

One last new thing on the deck…a second hummingbird feeder! I placed a new feeder along with some red plants to attract a few more hummers to my yard. They love both the red geranium and the red petunias….great tip for those of you trying to establish a new hummingbird feeder. Use the natural colors to get them interested in visiting your feeder and then they will become regulars.

Summer fills my days with gardening and bird watching….and cloud watching. We are still in our drought here in California and every time there are clouds we hope for rain but so far….nothing!

Category: garden