Farm Folk, City Folk...

The other day Jayna and I had some deliveries to make on Granville Island and BONUS it was Thursday the day The Truck Farmers Market sets up in the parking lot outside the main market. This is the real farmers market! We bought organic blueberries, blackberries, heirloom tomatoes and corn from up the Fraser Valley, new potatoes from Pemberton and a bucket of hydrangea for only $10! Oh, I love summertime when the eating is fresh! Darin and Rochelle gave us some single estate olive oil that they brought back from a recent trip to Spain and earlier that morning I purchased my favorite organic balsamic vinegar at Gourmet Warehouse. Tomatoes, basil (prolific now in my herb garden), olive oil and balsamic vinegar are a few of my favorite things.

Last summer I planted a White Garden in a corner of the cedar hedge. It’s not as elegant as Vita Sackville-West’s famous White Garden but it has been a joy to watch it through the seasons from spring blooming white heather, summer daisies, phlox and Echinacea ‘white swan’. White Gardens are very romantic in the moonlight. I must remember to put a bench nearby.

Many people ask if the home we just built is our dream home. What’s a dream home? Give me four walls and I’ll create the dream although this time I did make some suggestions…windows facing east where we could watch the sun rise from bed and windows in the west where we could watch the setting sun in the evening. Oh, and lots of hooks in the bedroom closet. So I guess the answer is yes, we do have a dream home. I was discussing dream homes with two visitors to the shop today and we all agreed it’s more about making the most of our given situation, learning to enjoy little things than about big and magnificent.

Repurpose, recycle and recreate...

We have an old oak curio cabinet that has followed us around for 30 years. Nice but boring. On its way to the garage sale the movers parked it nonchalantly in the doorway where the mid day light reflected on the curved glass doors, bounced off the mirrored back and landed on the floor emphasizing strong sturdy legs. Seeing it in this new light I thought, “Wait! This baby has potential!”
Later, when the dust finally settled in the new house, I shared my plan with Arleigh. ‘Who in their right mind would paint a solid oak cabinet?” he asked. Not stopping to answer I began with two coats of stain killer, 3 coats of Benjamin Moore “Cloud White” and finally a glaze the color of wet cement that I pulled into all the corners and curves. My interpretation of the Gustavian look.

Repurposed now in the guest bathroom with stacks of off-white towels recycled from our former B&B, “What do you think? “ I beam proudly. He shuddered. I saw the future. Changing color again and again as it makes the rounds of my grandchildren’s homes, adding a dash of excitement along the way, in some au courante color of course!

Speaking of changes…we have no intention of recreating the same kind of setting we had at Tuscan 1. It was an amazing life altering experience but now we have the chance to start over again and we are embracing it with a passion. One thing stays the same though…we will continue to let the day happen and enjoy the journey. Fields of lavender? Fields of echinacea? Every herb on the planet? No, just what we need to make the organic plant infusions for our body care products. A bistro? No, but we will serve complimentary lavender tea. B&B? Yes, extended stay for the business/writer/artist/traveler. The gardens? Not miles of walking trails but a plenteous place of refuge.

Arleigh spent the best part of a week cleaning the pond. I don’t know if we have the algae conquered but we are sure enjoying the moment!

Country Living...

The sky wakened me early this morning. The mix of sun and cloud (and dare I say, a bit of pollution too) made streaks of pink and blue ribbons that called out silently, yet I felt an urgency as I knew this show wouldn’t last long so I sat up, stuffed some pillows around me, and let the morning happen.

When the colors stared to pale I noticed how pleasant the borrowed landscape from our neighbors added to the country charm… Steve and Kathy’s big old barn, full now with the resent harvest and John and Ester’s sheep grazing in the meadow, goats and llamas keeping a watchful eye.

I heard that llamas will scare away the coyotes. A good thing too as I watch one dash along our fence line.
The garden is full of surprises now too.

There are many unexpected combinations and the grasses along the borders are doing their best to hide our house and the old barn. Arleigh wants to take it down…the old barn, build a new one, but I’ve been lobbying to keep the old one…much more eco friendly and besides, it’s so practical.

I see the lights coming on in the neighbor’s kitchen. I’ll wander over and see if they have a few extra eggs. There are some left over new potatoes in the fridge that we like to put in our frittata. We picked up some organic tomatoes just down the road so I’ll add them too and a bit of fresh basil.

Affordable Luxuries...

I’ve known for quite some time now that Men are from Mars and women are from Venus but the other day Arleigh was helping in the shop when a lady asked, How long will this soap last? I try not to say what I’m thinking and take the conversation to bathing and shower habits but Arleigh, the practical one, said, Much longer than a Starbucks Latte She bought 6!

Conspicuous consumption is so NOT cool. One of our retailers showed Jayna a $15.00 bar of soap. Ouch! Well it did come from another country. As a Canadian boutique producer, we don’t have a lot of layers to our company so we can, and will, for now absorb the increased costs in food and packaging supplies that the oil “crisis” has caused. Who knows? Things could change! Maybe the Beatles were on to something…Imagine. …some of the lyrics make sense…

Meanwhile in the garden… the meadow inspired borders are lovely but I’m not sure if Piet Oudolf would be impressed just yet! The ornamental grasses are accented with echinacea, rudebekia, asters, coreopis “Moonbean” With the joe-pye weed and miscanthus gigantea reaching skyward things should look good well into the fall. I just love how the sound and sway of the grasses give such a lively dimension to the garden. Arleigh harvested St. John’s Wort yesterday. The cold spring made it late this year. The basil is doing well and I can see I’ll have a plenty harvest when I make pesto sauce later but for now our favorite summer treat is sliced heirloom tomatoes:, fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and pepper. Yum!

Oh, and the peony poppies are really showing off now. I will be saving seed and sharing it with visitors to the shop in September.

Eat, Pray and Love…or Bug Off!

Saturday I had three very interesting ladies visit the shop. It’s so fun now that we have downsized because I actually have time to listen to my visitors! These gals were so in tune with themselves, each other and the universe they just oozed good energy from the moment they hopped out of the car. Conversation started flying. Fran mentioned Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, Eat, Pray and Love which I have discussed with a few other customers. It really cracked me up recently when I read about an interview Elizabeth gave when someone from the audience asked: “Do you have a condensed version of your journey?” Which brings me to a book someone gave me to review, “Words in Action” by Jeri-Lyn McCrea. I took it to bed with me one night thinking it would be an easy make- me- feel- good- book- just- by- reading- it. Wrong! This is an action book. Just like the title suggests. Each page is accompanied with an energizing quote and, get this, blank spaces to write in! The whole concept is to get involved, acknowledge and commit to change. If we want change, how else can we get it except by being committed?

Speaking of commitment, we’re getting ready for a wedding! Erin, our niece, and Dan will be married somewhere in the garden next week. It’s a family tradition…25 years ago her mom and dad were married in one of our former gardens. So both Arleigh and I are on weed patrol and three of our grandchildren are sweeping the decks, washing windows and arranging outside furniture. AND the lavender and roses are at their best and the grasses are really showing off too!

The other day I was having coffee with a friend at Wendels in Fort Langley when try as I might, I did get distracted when she madly started to bat herself all over with both hands. Ha! Mosquitoes! Well they didn’t bother me. I was covered from head to toe in Lemongrass Body Lotion. I took a quick mental inventory and came up with several products that are natural bug repellants. Many of our soaps include essential oils that are natural bug replants. ..Licorice (anise), Gardeners Hand Soap (lemon), Patchouli, Tea Tree, Lavender and even our salves and balms are known to soothe bites and itches.

When do I Harvest Lavender?

This is a question I get asked over and over at this time of year. The easy answer is: when you see the bees starting to buzz around the flower. The various lavenders bloom from April through October in our west coast climate. Except for Spanish lavender which is strictly for show in our garden, each variety is harvested at its own particular time. When the buds start to get fat, the time will be soon. When the first buds open and the bees are buzzing, drop everything and get the shears and start the harvest.

Louise and Lyndsay harvested lavender for us this week. Expect to see organic lavender buds in our bath and shower products like Lavender Bath Milk, sachets, eye pillows and our Organic Lavender Estate Tea.

Here’s a super duper easy recipe for Lavender Lemonade:
Steep 2 tsp. Organic lavender buds in 8 oz. boiling water for about 3 minutes.
While waiting for the tea to steep, place one can original Minute Maid lemonade into a glass pitcher. Add 3 cans of cold water, mix until fully dissolved. Pour strained lavender infusion into lemonade mixture and watch as the lemonade magically changes to an amazing pink. Pour into tall glasses. Garnish with fresh lemon slices and a long stem of organic lavender .

Lavender Fair???

Not anymore! After 10 lovely lavender blooming seasons, Tuscan Farm Gardens has downsized to a manageable lifestyle. I remember the day I knew it had to end. We offered organic soup and panninis to our visitors but on this day Arleigh and I went into our bistro only to be greeted by the staff…there is nothing left for you! So, as he did often, Arleigh hopped on the golf cart and went to our good neighbors at Krause Berry Farm for a milkshake! This isn’t what we planned for retirement. Something had to give. So now with our new Apothecary Shop open only two days a week, lavender and roses blooming all around our new home, life is good!

We actually have time to listen to the birds and smell the roses too! But best of all we have time for family again.

All the family were home last weekend…17 of us. Darin and Rochelle arrived first with their 4 and they weren’t here half an hour and the toilet was plugged. I made a dash for the “old House” to get the plunger but on the way back I couldn’t help myself, I started to weed the garden and then I noticed some pinky/orange spikes further along so I trooped over to get a better look

and by this time my feet (in dress sandals) and hands (no garden gloves) were a complete mess and the toilet trouble disappeared completely from the radar screen. That’s what I love about the garden…getting lost in another world. Anyway, Lauren said the toilet was holding its own at rim level so back at the house I stopped in the laundry room, put my feet in the sink, gave myself a much needed Peppermint Foot scrub with the added bonus of cleaning, polishing and moisturizing my hands too. Yes, life is good.

Sustainability, sustainability blah, blah...

The other day I was chatting with my grand-daughter and asked her if she thought there was a lot of green washing in the media. Well, first off, she didn’t understand green washing. Then she assumed I was a non believer. “Gramma!” she shrieked. No I haven’t changed my ways but some comments seem to trivialize a good thing. I’d just like to see more doing and less talking. Let’s be responsible, sensible and considerate.
Yesterday at Wal Mart I was attacked in the house hold cleaning isle. Dizzy from the massive mix (not to mention the sickening scent and selection) that hit me with their best shot, the thought came to me…just how many window cleaners does a girl need? Years ago I used to buy a certain cleanser by the case and would store them under the sink in the guest room until I noticed hinges on the inside of the cupboard were corroded! And that was just the off gassing! Try a little vinegar mixed with water in a spray bottle. Works wonders on windows and wipe ups. For the laundry try any one of our olive oil soaps as a stain remover. Just rub the stain with wet soap, wash as usual and voila! Lavender sachets are amazing in the dryer. No need to hang the laundry over a lavender bush to dry….and they can be used over and over.

Oh, by the way, if anyone is interested in buying carbon credits, you are welcome to plant a tree at the farm. Arleigh informed me yesterday that he has planted at least 700 since we’ve been here at our new digs. That should cover a few sins!