I can't believe it but . . .

. . . I have been down for the count with a nasty case of the flu.  What a season, seriously.  It  would appear that this bug is intent on keeping me down.  Sufficiently enough that I am going to have to CANCEL the Flower Soap & Honey Festival scheduled to go ahead this Thursday from 4 - 8.  I'm sooooo bummed out but the way this bug has me feeling, pulling it all together for you in the Moss Cottage way by Thursday at this point isn't even remotely possible.  It's a total bummer, it's just so beautiful here right now with the last of the autumn colours showing themselves, the perennial gardens still holding steady and the glorious sunshine forecast to appear again come Thursday.  Ahh, there is just so much out of my control!  Please share this message with anyone you know who was planning on or thinking of joining us. 

I will be hauling along some of the autumnal goodies to the Thunder Bay Country Market on Saturday so please do pop in and say hello.  

Ready to go Spiced Cider mix, hand printed tea towels, bunches of wheat and other seasonal drieds, small wreaths suitable for hanging or ringing a candle, and whatever else my mind has deliriously let slip away at the time of this writing . . .

I do so apologize and if I don't see you at market, have a gloriously grateful Thanksgiving and schedule your calendar for Saturday, November 23rd.  The winter season begins here come rain, snow, sleet, hail, or the flu!.

 

I cannot be the only one . . .

noticing the fast pace at which autumn has chosen to show her true colours.  It may just be my imagination and technically someone is likely to correct me with the knowledge that we're right on schedule.  The telltale sign . . . the tamarack tree in my front yard began to show its golden glow about one week ago.  Almost always the last to turn and more noticeably following the poplar, the glorious birch, the stunning maple . . . the ever trustworthy tamarack appears to be in a bit of a rush.  Oh my, where has September gone?

Just a lot little behind schedule this fall, our harvest celebration, originally scheduled for September was postponed and we hope you will now join us for a brief but beautiful 
Autumn harvest celebration, just in time for Thanksgiving.  Originally and most deservedly called "The Flower, Soap & Honey Harvest festival" it was the intention to pull together all of the parts of the summer and early autumn season dear to my heart and celebrate the harvest of a Moss Cottage kind.  But as you have no doubt experienced yourself, the growing season was unpredictable with an early but killing frost, the humidity unusually high for a long period of time and the honey flow significantly diminished.  Not to be discouraged, The Flower, Soap & Honey Harvest festival will be and you shall not be disappointed.  A heart warming autumnal delight for the senses awaits, so please join us. 

You will indeed find flowers, soap and honey woven together in surprising and delightful ways, a lovely selection of simply thankful gifts, table decor and apple cider.  

Forever Grateful for you all,  

In reply

. . . to those of you who have asked . . . we have asked that to be considered your work must not have been available in Thunder Bay before.  We will consider your work if you think it is unique and has been available in limited supply.  If in doubt, send an e-mail with a description and a few high res photos, we'll be in touch.  I appreciate you asking. 

Now, I'm off to harvest what I can from the cutting gardens.  There is a risk of frost overnight.  

{image:  http://www.pinterest.com/ufmc/boards/}

H-E-L-L-O . . .

I've been waiting

It's hard to imagine that September is upon us.  Summer seems to have flown by, don't you think?  As an addicted urban flower grower I do love the summer season but by far I have an autumn soul.  While many find autumn simply as a not so welcome sign of the season which follows it, the colours, scents and crispness of the autumn air inspire me, rejuvenate me, cause me to reflect and to plan ahead.  

As the flower season begins to draw to a close, I have begun to harvest the garden for drying.  Most years would have seen me carting buckets of freshly grown flowers to the market, but the season is late and many of the gardens are just now showing their true and lovely blooms.  Watching for frost becomes a daily adventure.  So, rather than filling buckets for market, we're preparing for a flower season of a different kind and if you love flowers as much as I do I hope you will join me for a lovely harvest gathering.

We'll be back next week to share the details but lets just say it involves flowers, soap and honey.  

We're also looking ahead to that most glorious of seasons and our winter's vision is just so magical I can (almost) hardly wait!  This year we are seeking out creatively unique souls searching for a place to share their work.  If you or someone you know is a creatively unique artisan or crafter looking for a one-of-a-kind shop from which to share your work then we want to hear from you.  Moss Cottage will be accepting work for jurying later in September to be included in the shop during the winter christmas season.  If interested, 

e-mail me with information about who you are, a bit about your work with one or two high resolution photos.  Should your work compliment Moss Cottage and the lovely folks who visit Moss Cottage we'll let you know and see that you get the details you need to provide your work for the jurying.  

First and foremost, to be considered,

your work must be handmade of original design  (not from a kit or copied from another's work or idea) and not have been available for sale to date in Thunder Bay.  

Now, I'm off to feed the bees.  Have a gloriously inspired, rejuvenating weekend.  Be sure to pop back for the details of the Flower, Soap + Honey Harvest Gathering.

{Image:  pumpkin-harvest.com)

Dennis the Menace

I feel like the Wilson's from the movie Dennis the Menace.  Oh how they covet that arum or corpse flower which is known to bloom only once every 40 years or something insane like that.  You know the scene of which I speak.  

 I  adore the free flowering varieties of Papaver (poppy) growing melodically throughout the gardens.  Single and double varieties in pinks, lavenders and the odd white.  The bees appear to adore poppies and the poppy seed head which follows is a staple in my cut flower bunches.  

Earlier this season, I became obsessed with Papaver somniferum 'Lauren's Grape' poppy.

To learn more about Papaver somniferum check out THIS great post by my friend, Master Gardener and garden writer, Holly Rupert.

I discovered Lauren's Grape while scouring online catalogues searching for the perennial poppy, 'Patty's Plum' and was immediately smitten.  I was desperately searching for Canadian sources for the seed when I discovered it through the Gardenweb Forum.  

There, a fellow gardener generously shared seed from her Southern Ontario garden.  I was graciously delirious with happy when the seed arrived in the mail.  After fluffing of the garden soil in early spring, I broadcast seed in specific spots throughout the garden, spots I thought would go undisturbed by a busy gardener's hands.  I did not mark the spots upon which I scattered self-proclaiming that I would recall their location and the seeds would remain undisturbed during germination.  As the season progressed and the garden began to fulfill it's promise of a true and proper spring, the patches of poppy became covered with the ever increasing foliage of the surrounding plants and I promptly forgot where I had so carefully scattered.  

Having shared seed with two fellow gardener's to ensure a local supply of seed next spring, I cautiously inquired if the seed which they had so carefully sewn was showing signs of germination?  So far, not a sign.  

I was careful not to overweed or excavate the poppies which revealed themselves in areas which I thought might contain this precious commodity and watched my gardens closely.  

Now, after a full season in the gardens, Papaver, 'Lauren's Grape' has begun to show herself in full regalia.  She's just as I imagined. 

While I'm not throwing a party like the Wilson's, if you too love Lauren's Grape and have yet to see her in person, this is your chance.  You are invited to have a peek at her, she's growing in the potager garden at the shops entrance.  This heat will no doubt  bring her along quickly.  I have been watching her bloom all day long and I suspect that by tomorrow morning, she will be in full and stunning bloom. Luckily she has a few smaller sisters. 

The annual cutting gardens are also beginning to burst into bloom and while I now begin to watch the weather carefully for signs of frost, the gardens will be left to come along at what I expect will now be a fast and furious pace.  

If you are in the mood for a garden stroll . . .

 OPEN GARDEN 

Tuesday, August 27th  7 - 8:30 p.m.  

As a gentle reminder, there are honeybees and a large population of other bees on the property.  They are busy foraging for nectar and pollen and do so amongst the gardens and the grounds, including the grass.  If you are allergic to bees, please be prepared.  

Photos 1, 3, 4 & 5:  theurbanfarmchick.blogspot.com

Photos 2:  crocus.uk via therebloomsagarden.com

Friday Inspiration

These persistant cool temps and rainy, gray skies turn my mind to indoors and unfinished projects that may just get my attention this weekend.  Bummer!

Organized inspiration.

Hmm, maybe I'll spend sommmme time outside searching for driftwood.

But then again, these lovely things are in season . . .

Whatever your weekend finds you doing, make it inspirational and let me know about it.

Cheers to the weekend. 

{source:  simplevintagecharm.tumblr.com, ba-interiordesign.tumblr.com}

OPEN

Moss Cottage

is

O P E N 

Thursday, August 8th & Friday, August 9th

1 - 4 pm

With REALLY  great DEALS for those who venture our way.  While summer is far from over, we are preparing for a really lovely early September event sure to bring a summers' smile to your face and we need to clear out and make room.  

Then, on Saturday, August 10th you will find us outside with all of those lovely veggie producers.  Don't forget the market has temporarily moved to the Labour Center on Fort William Road while the fair is in town.  

Nothing but sunshine coming our way . . .

{image:  http://pinterest.com/ufmc/boards/}