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Winter Lights: Creating a Glowing Winter Garden

Sirena Van Schaik — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:16:03 +0000

I’m not sure about you, but I live in a place where snow in winter is not an uncommon thing. In fact it is so common that backyard ice rinks are common and so are winter tires and antifreeze. For a few months of the year, my little piece of earth can safely be called the Great White North without any tongue in cheek.

Although I love snow and winter, I find that it can be a bit disheartening at times when I think of all the gardening that I am missing out on. I can’t get out and plant, I can’t enjoy big blooms full of color. I am stuck in a world covered in white and like the creatures of Narnia, I wait for the Ice Queen to be vanquished from the world so Spring can greet me.

Now that I have waxed poetic about how I miss Spring, I should mention that there are some wonderful elements that you can add to a winter and all it takes is a little bit of water and a touch of light.

What I am talking about, actually, are lighted pathways made with ice candle holders. These candle holders can be placed on patios, stairways leading up to a front door or even lining a pathway through your garden. It can add an enchanted feel to a winter’s garden and is something that I love to do with candles and ice. And I’m going to share with you, exactly how to make an ice candle holder.

What you will need:

Water
A large bucket
A medium sized bucket
large rocks
duct tape
candle

Directions:

Clean out the buckets so that you will be left with nice clear ice when you are finished. You can actually use a variety of containers but the only thing you should keep in mind is that one should fit in the middle of the larger container so there is a space for your candle to rest.
Once the large container is cleaned, fill it with cold water until it is about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.
If you want to provide some decorations to the ice, you can place plants and flowers in the water or you can leave them free of any decoration for a clean, almost glass like finish.
After the water and decorations are in the water, carefully insert the smaller container into the water and press down until it is flush with the top. The key is to have a space between the bottom and sides of the larger container and the bottom and sides of the smaller container.
Place the rocks into the bottom of the smaller container until the container no longer pops up in the water.
Tape the edges of the smaller container to the top of the larger container so that it stays in the middle of the water.
At this point, you should be able to freeze the water. It is important that there is no water in the smaller container and only the larger container has water. Freeze the container in the freezer or if your climate allows, place it outside overnight.
Depending on the size of the container, it can take one night or several nights for the water to freeze completely. Once it does, set the large container in a bucket of hot water (or garbage can of hot water if it is too large) for a few minutes.
Carefully tip the ice candle holder from the large container.
Pour hot water into the smaller container and allow it to sit for a few moments before you slide the smaller container from out of the ice candle holder.

At this point, you should have an ice sculpture/candle holder that has a space for a candle, size depends on the size of a container that you used. Insert a candle into the space once inhabited by the smaller container, set outside along your pathway and light in the evening for a beautiful winter garden.

Sirena Van Schaik

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Homemade Fertilizer Tips

Sirena Van Schaik — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:29:08 +0000

Every year, as I stumble to the cash register under a dozen plants, I often forget to grab the fertilizer that I prefer to use. I mean, there are a hundred and one different things that I like to buy for my garden every year and I tend to forget about purchasing anything else, except the plants. When it comes to fertilizers, I have a few favorites but mostly I prefer to use Miracle Grow. I’m not sure why this is but it may be what I was taught to use from the very first time I became serious about gardening.

If you are an avid gardener, or even not so avid, you probably have your own type of fertilizer that you prefer to use and probably something that it has in common with mine is that it is expensive. It is almost alarming at how expensive a fertilizer can be. Sure, we all want big and beautiful blooms but does it have to be so expensive to create those blooms. The answer, of course, is no, it doesn’t need to be that expensive.

Instead, you can make a number of fertilizers using everyday items that you find at home. Not only is it more inexpensive, reusing, and recycling the materials around your home is a great way to be a “green” gardener.

Tip #1: It’s all in the grounds

The first time I heard this being suggested, I was a little surprised. After all, doesn’t coffee stunt growth, I mean, that is what happened to me. Fortunately for my plants, coffee works as a great fertilizer for gardens and instead of throwing your leftover coffee away, why not save it for your garden. With this fertilizer, you actually don’t use the grounds but you use the coffee that is brewed from the grounds. Once you have a pot of coffee, add it with another 4 pots of water for a 1:4 ratio. This will give you your fertilizer and you can use it on your plants every other week to see some pretty amazing results.

Tip #2: Apples aren’t just used to keep the doctor away

Okay, maybe it’s not apples exactly but using a homemade fertilizer that has 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and one gallon of water, can add a definite boost to your plants. This fertilizer is great for house plants and it does an amazing job at boosting those green leaves.

Tip #3: Keep your fish tanks clean

This may seem like a strange tip but if you have a fish tank, your dirty fish tank water works as an excellent fertilizer since it is chalked full of nitrogen, which plants need in their soil.

Tip #4: A little Epsom for you and me

I love having baths and nothing is as nice as a bath with Epsom salts. It can clean those pours and relax those muscles after you have spent a day out in the garden digging up that new flower bed. What is even better, a mixture of 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt and 1 gallon of water can really help your tomato plants and other plants that require a higher level of magnesium to thrive.

Tip #5: Get cracking

The last tip that I am going to recommend as a homemade fertilizer is egg shells. Whenever you make some eggs, save the shells until you have a fair amount. At that point, simply crumble them and then sprinkle them in the soil around your plants. This provides your soil with much needed calcium carbonate.

And there are a few tips to get you on your way to not only saving a few nickles and dimes but also towards being an organic gardener.

Sirena Van Schaik

photo credit: © Fallsview | Dreamstime.com

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O’ Christmas Tree

Sirena Van Schaik — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:00:36 +0000

You may be wondering what I am doing writing about Christmas trees in January but the fact is, this is actually a perfect time to discuss Christmas trees, or more specifically, what you can do with your Christmas Trees. Every year, after Christmas and New Years has come and gone, most people will pull off the ornaments from their Christmas tree and then pull the whole tree out to the curb.

For some, they are lucky enough to have a Christmas tree pick up but for others, those Christmas trees are sent to the dump where they slowly decay. for that reason alone, many people do not feel that Christmas trees are the green choice, but that is really a different subject all together.

The purpose of this article, isn’t in determining what is “greener,” real or fake, but it is about what you can do with those Christmas trees after the holidays are over. Believe it or not, you can save your Christmas tree and use it out in your garden in a variety of ways.

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Christmas Tree:

Maybe you won’t be decking your halls but Christmas tree branches, and depending on the size of the plant, the whole Christmas tree can make an excellent shelter for perennials that are found in your garden. Simply bury one end of the tree branch and drape it over the garden. Snow will fall around and onto the branch but most of it will be kept off your slumbering perennials.

When spring arrives, all you will need to do is lift off the tree branches to let a little light and warmth shine down on your spring garden.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow:

Oh, no one minds the snow when they don’t have anyplace to go and they can enjoy the warmth of their cozy home. You may be wondering what this has to do with your Christmas tree but by placing it outside or in a stream, you can create a habitat for a variety of animals including fish and birds. If you do decide to create a habitat, it is important to anchor the Christmas tree so that it doesn’t fall or float away creating a hazard to other but once you do that, birds, fish and other small animals will be overjoyed that you have provided them with such wonderful winter lodgings.

Oh, Give us some Figgy Pudding:

And some suet and some nuts and some fruit. A discarded Christmas tree can be an excellent little bird and woodland creature feeder. All you need to do is stick a variety of foods on it and the animals that visit your garden will do the rest. It may not seem like a big addition to your garden but trust me, a garden just isn’t the same without all the little animals that come to visit it.

Mulching around the Christmas Tree:

The last tip that I will offer for that Christmas tree is to create a mulch from it. This can be stored and used the following fall when you are getting ready to winterize your garden or you can use it to create decorative ground cover in your flower beds.

Whatever you decide to use your Christmas tree for, one thing is certain, the joy that a Christmas tree brings, doesn’t have to end with Christmas.

Sirena Van Schaik

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