March without the Madness
In this edition:
New! Growing Fruit Trees Group! Join us!
Gardening without Peat
Pots of Bulbs: It’s not too late!
and more! Keep reading!
Hello, friends! Here we are on the other side of winter. In Colorado March and April are our two snowiest months, but I found my first daffodils tentatively peeking out of the ground this week, so I know that spring is coming.
I have lots of goodness for you to begin your month as we slip toward the Vernal Equinox and the first days of spring.
New Group: Grow a Little Orchard Together!
It all started with an Instagram post. I wrote about the fact that I’m planting about a dozen fruit trees this spring in what I hope will be a small, high-yield orchard on the side of our house. So many people chimed in and said they were going to do the same, that I decided it was time to start a group.
And you are invited, too!
Grow a Little Orchard will bring together gardeners from all over who want to share ideas and experiences growing fruit trees. I’m using Grow a Little Fruit Tree by Ann Ralph as a guide — a pruning manual to keep my trees very small but very productive. It’s a big science experiment, and I’m excited to invite you along!
Membership costs $5 per month which covers the cost of maintaining the group on the Retrieve site.
You’ll find registration information and everything else on the group page. Click the link!
New! Gardening Group
Whether you are planning to plant a dozen fruit trees or just begin with one, I hope you'll enjoy connecting with other gardeners, sharing resources, and supporting each other in our growing endeavors. Click below to be redirected to my class storefront!
In 2023 Ditch the Peat
As our minds begin to turn to plants and spring, I would love for you to consider my new guide to Gardening without Peat. If you make one change as a gardener this year — no matter how much or how little gardening you do — the best thing you could possibly do is stop using peat. Why? In a nutshell: harvesting peat is a terrible ecological practice, and there are lots of good alternatives. Click the link below to learn all about why and how we as gardeners need to give up peat asap:
Easy Potted Bulbs
And it’s not too late to start some bulbs! I’ve been forcing bulbs for the last month, and they are starting to bloom. Glorious! But pre-chilled bulbs are still available, and if you start them now, they will be perfect for your Easter or Passover tables. Check out my guide for all of the details!
I’ll be starting seeds this month and getting the orchard prepared for trees which will come at the end of the month. So much going on here! And I’m so excited for a little more daylight, a little more warmth, and more time outside.
Here’s to a wonderful March for you all!
xoxo
Angela
Welcome Fall!
a late September update from Mid Modern Mama
Friends, here we are in that wobbly part as summer ends and fall begins. It’s been such a busy few weeks. I’m sure that’s true for you, too! I’ve been doing a lot of gardening, preparing new content and ideas for the coming months, and we just launched our 7th One Room Challenge project, too!
I am almost ready for fall to come, but my garden is so lovely right now, and I’m just reveling in the beauty of dahlias and salvia, zinnias and cosmos and sunflowers. We haven’t had our first frost yet, but I know it is coming soon.
As you are moving from one season to the next, I have some project ideas and news for you!
Gardening
I created a new tutorial for our super-cheap steel barrel planters which I have used all over our backyard. For us, these cost less than $7 each to make, and they are a great size for all kinds of plants. We also spent a lot of time this summer creating shade in our backyard, and I have a guide with 9 different ideas — as well as a peek into one of our current projects, our Shade House which I LOVE!
Seasons Change
If you are ready to bring fall into your home, I also have a variety of fall projects which will help transition into the new season. And if the front of your home could use a transition, I have some easy and inexpensive ideas to dress up your home this fall.
I hope you are all doing well!
Cheers!
Angela
Barebones: Must Have Gardening Tools
Beautiful gardening tools crafted for generations of use
Beautiful Garden Tools that also Work Hard
My New Favorite Gardening Tool is…
You ask, and I answer! One of the most frequent questions I get about my One Room Challenge Greenhouse is: what gardening tools are your favorites?
I have the answer: my tools from Barebones Living. These garden tools are gorgeous — and tough! When I opened the box that they sent me, I was shocked! Usually pretty garden tools are pretty terrible. These are amazeballs! The handles are walnut with copper trim. The tools are steel and feel like they were hand-forged. They are comfortably heavy. The gloves are buttery.
My sister asked me a few weeks ago what to get my mom for her birthday; I immediately sent her to Barebones Living. Yes, they sent me a box full of their tools, but I have zero reservations about recommending them. They are beautiful — and more importantly, they are really functional.
The Garden Scoop from Barebones Living
The garden scoop is my personal favorite! I didn’t even know I needed a soil scoop, but it does the job so much better than a trowel. Who knew!
Next on my list to get: their shears and scissors which look substantial. And the Harvesting and Gathering bag for carrying all these beautiful tools around in the garden!
Lanterns: Solve Gardening in the Dark
It’s hard to get it all done! With so many balls in the air, nighttime has to be a productive time, but until recently I couldn’t do any gardening after dark, because I don’t have electricity in the Greenhouse.
Enter Barebones Living. Barebones sent me some of their fabulous lanterns to use in the Greenhouse, and now I can garden after hours — or just escape with a glass of wine. Either way!
The larger Forest Lantern recharges with a USB, and the smaller Edison Mini Lanterns run either off of a USB charger or batteries. They have a LONG battery life, too. I put cup hooks under the shelves in the greenhouse, so I can hang the lanterns where I need them, and move them depending on where I am working. I love being able to go out there at night! Barebones has other outdoor lighting solutions, too — all with a vintage look and high-quality feel. They are great for all kinds of outdoor activities.
Whether you are looking for garden tools for yourself or a lovely gift for someone you love, I genuinely recommend Barebones Living. The quality of their products is impressive, and they represent a rare kind of craftsmanship. I suspect my Barebones tools will be used for decades.
Note: If you purchase something through a link posted on this site, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting Mid Modern Mama!
Your Early-Owl Access to Garden Notes is here!
Get early access to order the Garden Notes collection!
Introducing the Owl and Ember Garden Notes Collection!
I have teamed up with Owl and Ember for a new collection just for gardeners. As small, woman-owned businesses we want to reward our loyal supporters, so we are giving you early-owl access to the new Garden Notes Collection! We are thrilled to introduce you to Garden Notes, our new gardening journal and planner! And to go with Garden Notes, we have three all new exclusive sticker sheets — perfect for Garden Notes or any planner!
Right now, this collection is available exclusively for MMM and Owl and Ember subscribers!
If you are already a subscriber, you should have recieved an Early-Owl access email. If you aren’t a subscriber yet, sign up below, and you will get the link to order right away:
I’m so excited to introduce you to Garden Notes — truly a labor of love!
As always, let me know if you have any questions. And thank you for your love and support! Happy gardening!
Cheers!
Angela
Garden Notes: a New Journal/Planner
a sneak peek into my latest journal/planner coming soon!
Happy March! I hope you are well. We had a wonderful week of warm weather last week, and now we are snowed in once more. But that’s spring here in Colorado — and I can’t complain. We are thankful for every drop of moisture here!
Big News! I have created another journal/planner, and I’m so excited to share it with you! It’s called Garden Notes — and it is the perfect little notebook for gardeners of all types. I have been using a garden journal for a few years, but none of them were quite right. They were either too detailed, not detailed enough, too fancy or too basic. I needed something practical. So I created one myself, and it seems to be JUST RIGHT!
Garden Notes next to some of my seedlings which are thriving in the Greenhouse.
Technically, this won’t be available until April in the Owl and Ember shop. However, I know many people, like me, are getting their gardens going now! So, for our subscribers, we are offering Early Bird Access. On March 15 (yes, the Ides of March — no reason to beware), subscribers to Mid Modern Mama and Owl and Ember will recieve a early-ordering link. Our early order supplies are limited, but we want our gardening friends to be able to use Garden Notes as soon as possible!
From the Garden Notes product description:
Garden Notes
Garden Notes is a simple notebook: a place to make notes about your garden. It looks both forward and backward: both journal and planner. It’s a place to mark the months and the sowing which lies ahead as well as to reflect on the blossoms and harvests as the weeks of your growing season slip past. As you garden, year upon year, it also becomes a record. What flourished? What perished? When did the tulips emerge? The carrots ripen? The dahlias sing?
Whether you are a beginning gardener, a small flower farmer, or a dabbler with pots on a balcony, Garden Notes gives you a place to noodle about your plot of earth. With blank space for sketching, spots for list-making, lines and dots, and lots of freedom, this notebook leaves room for making it your own while providing just enough suggestions to help you get started, too.
Garden Notes is the perfect gardening journal – created by Angela, a passionate gardener, and designed by Holly. In creating this journal, Angela looked at the scribbled notes she keeps about her own garden – pasted into a not-perfect journal. She considered the notes she and other gardeners want to keep:
What is planted where?
When was it planted?
When was it harvested?How well did it do?
What should we change next year?
Those big questions are particularly important when a garden is buried in snow, but the gardener like Angela is ordering seeds and plotting for spring. Frustrated by gardening journals that just didn’t quite work, she created her own. The result is Garden Notes – a beautiful, simple notebook with room for everything.
Garden Notes is designed for every plant-lover on your list! I’ll be creating a video sneak peek later this week, so be sure to watch for that to come, too!
So, if you aren’t subscribed, be sure to drop your email below. I will never spam you nor will I sell your information. Promise!
Looking for some gardening inspiration? Be sure to check out these links. And if you aren’t following me on Instagram, do it! I share all kinds of gardening goodness on my feed.
So what are you planting? Let me know in the comments!
Cheers!
Angela
Planning for Spring
Ordering seeds, learning about soil blocking, and DAHLIAS!
We had the most beautiful hoarfrost last week — thick and icy, coating every tree and plant. Absolutely magical! Of course, it obscured the fact that a few hundred yards from where I took these photographs, the Marshall Fire had destroyed entire neighborhoods a few weeks ago. Today I dropped off some items for friends who lost their home, and if you still feel called to help, there are more than one thousand families who are struggling from this trauma. The Boulder Community Foundation is taking donations to help people who lost their homes in the Marshall Fire. You can donate here.
Though we aren’t even to the end of January, I’m beginning to plan for spring. I start my day in The Greenhouse each morning — checking on the plants, watering, taking cuttings, potting up, and soaking in the warmth and a little Vitamin D.
If, like me, you are starting to think about spring, I have some ideas and resources for you!
Starting Seeds
Now that I have The Greenhouse, I’m getting serious about starting plants from seed. In the end this should save a lot of money (I hope), and allow me to have a greater diversity of plants — particularly water-wise and native plants — in our garden.
This year I am trying the seed blocking method for starting seeds. You don’t have to have a greenhouse to do this — a sunny windowsill would work just as well. You also don’t need a lot of equipment. Just three things: trays, a seed blocker, and a trug or bin for making the soil mix.
Colorado flower farmer @blossomandbranchfarm has a great tutorial on how to start seeds using the seed blocking method. She recommended these particular trays which are perfectly-sized for the seed blocker — and happen to be perfect for the shelves in The Greenhouse, too.
Her tutorial is in two parts. The first includes all of the why and a glimpse into how it works.
The second video includes her peat-free soil recipe. Another big reason I’m planting seeds this year: I can grow peat-free. Using peat in gardening is an enormous environmental issue. More on that later, but suffice it to say: going peat-free is much better for the Earth, and it’s important for us all to do our part.
So, what am I starting? I have ordered seeds from several sources including Prairie Moon, Botanical Interests, and Baker Creek. I plan to start a variety of perennials including varieties of Agastache, Yarrow, Goldenrod and Baptisia as well as annuals including a wide range of Zinnias, Dill, Penstemon, Nasturtiums, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Salvia. I’m planting for the bees and other insects — lots of umbellifers and blooms with big, open centers which are easy for pollinators to find. I am trying a LOT of new things this year and several I’ve never heard of including Rattlesnake Master! We will see how it goes!
The Grand Garden beds after being planted last summer. The pink blooms in the foreground are Red Birds in a Tree (Scrophularia). They are planted out with Geum, Yarrow, Scabiosa, Bee Balm, and Verbena.
In planning my gardens for this year, not only am I thinking of the pollinators and hummingbirds, but I am also aiming for more cut flowers to bring into our house. That was one of the most pleasant and wonderful surprises of my garden last year. I was able to cut bouquets weekly — almost daily — to fill our house with flowers. I’ve always wanted such a garden! And last year was the first time I’ve achieved that on a regular basis.
Roses, Dahlias, Cosmos, Scabiosa, Zinnia, Gladiolus Murialae, Salvia, and so much more from last September’s garden offerings.
So, as I think about planting, I’m also plotting a bit for myself. Fortunately, the pollinators and I have similar tastes!
Dahlias
Creme de Cassis which was absolutely gorgeous in my garden last summer.
Dahlia Cornel Bronze — a stunning and consistent bloomer last year.
I have also ordered dahlias — not native or water-wise, but oh, so glorious! I’m planting 20 different varieties — most just one tuber each. They won’t all come up, of course. That’s the way it goes with plants! Last spring I planted three varieties two of which came up and bloomed. They were beautiful and did well, so I’ve gone all in for Dahlias this year.
I ordered tubers and cuttings from a range of farms and sources this year including:
Some of these growers still have tubers left, and some will have a second sale period this spring. Floret Flowers also has an amazing guide to dahlia sources if you are still looking for some of your favorites — or are starting your own dahlia obsession like me.
I’m working on several tutorials for gardening ideas and lots more for the spring including a gardening journal/planner which will be in Owl and Ember’s next product release just in time for spring! That is a true labor of love, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
More soon! Until then, happy planning!
XOXO
Angela
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Happy January!
A January update from Angela
My nasturtiums are living their best life in The Greenhouse!
Happy January, friends! I hope you are well and are enjoying some good, winter weather! We have had some really good snow here in Colorado — much needed! And it is finally cold, snuggly, build-a-fire weather which we have missed!
If you are still working on your thank you notes from the holidays — or need some help getting started — check out my guide to writing a fabulous thank you note! I’m still working on mine. I’m not perfect, but I certainly make a good effort!
Perhaps you are feeling a need to get back to planning or journaling — or even to make a start.
I have some guides and ideas for planning and journaling — processes which I see working together, but many people do one or the other as a practice. Check out the resources below for ideas, tips, and some of my favorites, too.
And if you are working on some simple home improvement — reorganizing, decluttering, or repurposing, I have some thoughts and ideas for you. I’ve done it all and hopefully learned a bit along the way. Hopefully these ideas will help you, too!
Lastly, Valentine’s Day is just a month away! Eek! If you are starting to think about Valentine’s projects and crafts, decorations, or gifts, check out my Valentine’s Day guide for ideas.
If you are on Instagram, be sure to check out my 2021 highlight reels. 2021 was a great year for projects, and it was fun to go back and chronicle them all!
And, if you missed my earlier announcement, I am taking two classes this year which I’m sure will spur all kinds of interesting conversations. First, I am taking Wanderlust, a year-long art journaling class. It’s really my first introduction to painting techniques and tools. I am just thrilled about everything we are learning so far and look forward to my Friday lessons.
Additionally, I am beginning the Colorado Master Gardener program this week! I am thrilled to embark upon this adventure in learning and volunteer work. More on that at a later date!
What adventures await you this year? Always learning; always growing.
Lots of love!
Angela
Preparing for Christmas
Resources to help you have a merrier Christmas season!
Christmas is coming! And I have all kinds of resources to help you prepare. If Christmas is a big part of your life — as it is mine — I have all kinds of projects, giving guides, and so much more to help you have a happier, more beautiful Advent and Christmas season.
Most exciting: the new update Decorating the Greenhouse for Christmas! We just finished putting the finishing touches on The Greenhouse, and I wanted to decorate it for the holidays. I was inspired by my own Scandinavian traditions, bringing touches from my own Norwegian traditions as well as incorporating what was already in my garden into the festive scheme.
I’ve included the three links below for your reference! The Christmas link includes a variety of content including projects like embroidered Christmas stockings, recipes, and more. The Giving Guide includes budget-friendly gift suggestions for all kinds of people on your list.
Budget-friendly gift suggestions for everyone on your list! Lists include:
My Favorite Gifts | Gifts Under $15 | Gifts for Mid Modern Lovers | Gifts for Children | Books to Give Gifts to Make | Wines to Give | Bubbles for the New Year
And don’t forget to order your copy of the new and improved edition of The Nice List! It’s available in my store below, and I’m so excited about this redesigned resource. It isn’t too late to use it and allow it to help reduce your stress level this season.
Merry Christmas, friends! I’m so thankful for your love and support all year.
Love,
Angela
