If there’s one ingredient that’s universally used in kitchens everywhere, it’s garlic! Why not start growing your own right at home? Growing garlic is simple, and while it takes a bit of time, the results are well worth it. Here’s how to grow a garlic plant from a bulb both outside and indoors, with no vampires slaying necessary.
It’s not quite Halloween, but now’s the perfect time to think about naturally vampire-proofing your garden…with garlic! Planting garlic around the perimeter will protect your veggie beds from getting trampled by nighttime intruders who vant to suck your bloooood. Follow along to learn how to grow garlic out in the garden and even indoors.
This post will cover…
I grew Italian Soft Neck, Persian Star, and Yugoslavian Certified Organic garlic from West Coast Seeds.
When to Plant Garlic
In all seriousness, it’s a good reminder to plant garlic when you start thinking about Halloween. At least, that’s the case here in Vancouver where the best month to plant garlic occurs between mid-October and mid-November.
If you live elsewhere, a good rule of thumb is that garlic should be planted between three and six weeks before the ground freezes. This ensures that there is enough time for the roots to develop. The moisture and cold of the soil will wake the bulb from dormancy and start this process.
After that, growth is slow and a thick skin (figuratively) is necessary to make it through the winter. Next spring, the leaves will sprout and grow until harvest time next summer. Garlic can soon be a part of your summer harvest. You’ll be cooking with garlic scapes before you know it.
How to Plant Garlic from a Clove
Yes, all you need is one little clove to get started! Here’s how you can start your garlic plant using a clove or split a whole bulb for multiple plants.
Choose Your Bulbs
When planting garlic in your garden, it’s best to use heads grown specifically for planting. Unfortunately, garlic bulbs purchased from the grocery store can carry disease or be treated with chemicals. Both of these can be difficult to remove from your soil once planted.
Instead, buy the heads from a reliable source like a seed company or farmer’s market vendor that you trust. I also do this when saving heirloom tomato seeds.
I grew Italian Soft Neck, Persian Star, and Yugoslavian Certified Organic garlic from West Coast Seeds.
You can also use garlic purchased locally from a farmer’s market.
Site Selection
Garlic plants like a sunny location and need only enough room for the bulbs to reach full size. Space plants around 6” apart, and they should have enough room. Space them a bit farther apart for large bulbs and closer together for smaller ones.
Garlic is perfectly situated when planted at the back of a border or vegetable garden. When selecting a location, keep in mind that the bulbs won’t be fully matured and ready for harvest until summer.
Soil Preparation
Get the soil ready for planting by mixing in some yummy compost, then covering it with a layer of good quality topsoil. Garlic plants will do well in loose, nutrient-rich soil with good drainage. I mixed in my own compost and topped it off with some fresh soil.
I mix in my homemade compost, but you can also purchase compost to mix in.
Planting Garlic
Break apart your garlic head into cloves just before planting. This ensures that the nodes at the bottom don’t dry out and can set roots quickly.
Each glove will turn into its own garlic plant.
Each clove will have a pointy end where the stem and leaves will grow from and a wider, flat part on the bottom. This bottom part is where the roots will form.
Plant the garlic so the pointy end faces up.
Dig a hole and plant the clove tip-side up so that the tip is2”below the surface.
Garlic should be planted 2 inches deep.
Cover with soil and mulch to conserve moisture and nutrients over winter. A good mulch for the winter is a layer of leaves covered by a layer of cardboard. Just don’t forget to remove the cardboard in early spring so the leaves and stems can grow up through the soil.
This is how closely I planted my garlic.
After planting, I covered my garlic with a layer of leaf mulch and cardboard.
When to Harvest Garlic
Garlic plants take around 7-8 months to grow, so they are ready to harvest in the summer after a fall planting.
You know the garlic is ready when the greens on top begin to brown, and the flower stem feels soft. Stop watering the garlic for about a week until the soil has dried out, making it easy to remove your garlic.
To make sure your garlic stores well, you will want to cure it. To do so, hang it in a cool and well-ventilated location for a couple of weeks. You’ll know it is finished curing when the plant is completely dry to the touch and has that outer papery layer on the bulb.
Keep some of the largest bulbs to replant in the garden for the fall for an endless supply of garlic. Alternatively, you can also grow your garlic as a perennial. Leave the bulb in the ground for a few years rather than harvesting it. After 2-3 years, you will see a patch of garlic shoots.
Eventually, they will progress into garlic scapes. You can also divide the plant and then harvest the bulbs just like I just talked about!
How to Grow Garlic Indoors
If you don’t have access to a garden or don’t want to wait until next summer to enjoy your garlic, you can learn how to grow garlic in pots. In this case, you can grow garlic greens, and you may even get some bulbs, too.
If you want to grow bulbs, you will need to refrigerate the garlic for at least 40 days to give them that cold burst. You can skip this step if you’re just looking for greens.
To grow your garlic plant, you will need to break up the cloves just like you would for the garden. The biggest clove will give you the best plant!
Since it has shallow roots, you only need a pot anywhere from 6-12” deep. Make sure to choose one that has drainage holes! Use an indoor potting mix and plant with the pointy side up 2” under the surface.
You can use a liquid fertilizer to help speed up the process, applying it every two weeks. Place the garlic in a sunny spot in the house where it can get full sun if possible. Avoid overwatering as it can rot the bulbs.
After a week, you will see the shoots emerge. 2-3 weeks later, the leaves will be ready to harvest. If you want to grow bulbs, leave the leaves to help produce energy for the growing bulbs. The bulb will take a few months to grow, ready when around half of the leaves have turned brown.
How to Grow Garlic in Water
How easy is it to just plunk some garlic in water and call it a day? If you have garlic greens in mind, you don’t even need to plant your garlic cloves. Softneck garlic is the easiest for growing garlic greens, including Korean Red, German Red, Spanish Roja, and Duganski.
To sprout your clove, wrap it in a damp paper towel and place it in a warm spot. After about two days, it should sprout. Move the clove to a clear container and let it sit with the shoot upwards. A shot glass is an ideal size for a single clove. Fill the glass with water so that it covers a little less than half of the clove.
Once again, place it on a sunny window sill and replenish the water as needed. After about a week, you can begin to harvest the greens when they are 4-7 inches tall. Snip off the top third for the best taste. Enjoy your garlic greens just as you would green onions, with a slight garlic taste.
Frequently Asked Questions About Garlic Plants
When do you plant garlic?
Garlic is typically planted between mid-October and mid-November. When I see the Halloween decorations go up, I know it’s time to start planting garlic.
Depending on where you live, this timing can change. Ideally, it needs to be planted 3-6 weeks before the ground freezes. This allows the bulb to develop roots before winter strikes.
Can you plant garlic in the spring?
Garlic takes 7-8 months to grow. This is why planting in the fall is ideal for harvesting in the summer. However, you can plant it in the spring as long as you get it in the ground as soon as possible. Garlic planted in the spring won’t get as big as those planted in the fall since it doesn’t have that early jump start. The harvest will be ready in late summer to early fall.
More About Garlic
Next summer, your garlic will be in full swing and ready to be harvested. You can first cut the scapes and use them in recipes, then harvest the bulbs and dry them. Bookmark these posts in the meantime:
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
Echinacea is an easy-to-grow plant that will add a pretty pop of colour to any space. Not only is this plant pollinator-friendly, but it makes for a beautiful cut flower too! Here’s how to plant, prune, and care for coneflowers.
Echinacea has a very special place in my heart and my garden. There’s so much to love about these gorgeous spiky flowers. They are drought-tolerant and won’t complain about poor soil.
They are extremely low maintenance once established and produce a ton of eye candy that brings an added pop of colour to the garden.
Echinacea also makes wonderful cut flowers, attractive pollinator plants, is an important food source for birds in the winter, and they have medicinal properties to help us build our immunity.
With all these wonderful benefits, Echinacea surely deserves a permanent spot in your garden!
Jump ahead to…
Echinacea comes in a wide range of colours.
Coneflower Varieties
There are so many hybrid varieties of Echinacea now available. This ornamental seems to be a favourite of breeders as new coneflowers are popping up every year.
New varieties are being introduced every year that have new or brighter colours, taller or smaller plants, different growing habits, more prolific blooming, and double blooms.
Coneflower can refer to multiple varieties of echinacea.
Here are a few new varieties to look out for in garden centres. I was able to see these in person this year through tours and garden trials, and I really love how they have performed.
Evolution ™ Fiesta Coneflower – spicy coral petals that fade to a more romantic muted tone as they age. From Monrovia.
Echinacea Sombrero® Sangrita has vibrant red-orange petals and a burgundy flower stem from Darwin Perennials. Note: in my garden, the colour came out much more orange than red.
Echinacea Sombrero® Granada Gold has a bright yellow colour that doesn’t fade and a yellow cone that holds some of its hues when dried, making it really nice for dried flower arrangements. From Darwin Perennials.
Growing Echinacea
Coneflowers are very low-maintenance once they are established. Here are a few things you can do to get them started off right.
Starting Coneflower Seedlings
I love coneflowers not just for their beauty but for how easy they are to grow. They’re hardy all the way to zone 3, making them a bright and manageable perennial.
You can begin sowing Echinacea seeds indoors for 8-10 weeks before transferring them outside. After 10-21 days, they should germinate.
You can also direct sow them in early spring or early fall. Seeds should be sown shallowly at approximately 3m (1/8”) deep.
Space them out 12-15”. They look stunning when planted in mass!
Light
Pick a location with the brightest light that you have. Echinacea loves bright light and thrives in full sun. However, the plants will tolerate partial sun as well and still produce plenty of flowers.
I have a lot of shade in my garden, and I try to pop in as many coneflowers as I can anyway. They still bloom in the shade but are less floriferous and can tend to flop over.
Watering
Echinacea is also very easygoing when it comes to watering. Water them well to establish new plants in the garden and encourage deep roots. Once established, they won’t need any supplemental watering unless you are in periods of extreme drought.
Coneflowers are known for being drought-tolerant.
Coneflower Care
Fertilization
Coneflowers don’t need any special fertilizers throughout the year. Plant them with some well-rotted compost, and then add compost again in the spring.
Follow your normal soil-building strategies, and you won’t have to add any supplemental nutrition for the plants.
Propagation
Echinacea grows a long taproot, which helps it suck up water from deep down in the soil and gives it that hardiness. This taproot also means that they aren’t a good perennial to divide.
Allow the plants to clump, and if you want to plant more, start them from seed, cuttings, or grab a new transplant.
Pruning
These low-maintenance plants don’t need pruning throughout the year, but you can prune them to increase blooms and extend bloom time.
Echinacea is already quite a long-blooming plant, starting in midsummer and going all the way into mid-fall in my Zone 7 garden. If you’re lucky enough to have a large space with a collection of plants, you can really extend the bloom time by cutting back some of the plants in midsummer.
Cutting back the plants delays blooming, so you can either cut back all your plants for a late summer and fall display or only cut back some of the plants and stagger the bloom times for an even longer season. Fiskars makes some wonderful pruners that come in handy and cut through the thick stems with very little effort.
Should I Deadhead Coneflowers?
If you want to increase the size of newer forming blooms, you can deadhead Echinacea. If you follow the stem down to the first set of leaves, you might see flower buds forming.
Echinacea bud blooming. Cut just above it to deadhead the plant.
This is a perfect time to go in and remove the flower above. Cut the stem right above the new flower growth, and you can add the bloom to a flower arrangement.
Deadheading is simply cutting off the older flowers, which encourages the plant to put energy into producing the newer flowers rather than producing seeds on the old flowers. Learn more about deadheading flowers here.
Use sharp pruners when deadheading your echinacea.
When the second wave of flowers blooms, I keep them in place for fall and winter as the birds LOVE to snack on the seeds. The seed heads dry with a spiky cone above a tall stem. I dry the cut flowers for their seed heads to use in crafts and leave the rest in the garden for winter interest.
Leave the flower heads to grow on the plant in the fall.
Echinacea Uses
Echinacea has been used medicinally throughout the ages. The following information is from Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health.
Echinacea pallida and E. angustifolia are primarily wild Echinacea that can be found on the edges of wooded areas. The most common and easy-to-grow Echinacea for gardens is E. purpurea.
These three varieties are most commonly used as medicinal plants. The roots, leaves, and flowers all have healing properties. Echinacea is a powerful immune-system booster that has no side effects and is safe for children, the elderly, and everyone in between.
Echinacea is known as a medicinal plant.
To use Echinacea as a medicinal plant from your garden, ensure that you are growing an organic plant that has not been sprayed or treated with pesticides or herbicides.
The entire plant can be used to make a tincture that’s handy to have around in cold-and-flu season. Take it frequently in small doses at the first sign of a virus, but stop taking it once you get better, as its effectiveness wanes if it’s used too frequently.
Pink coneflower.
How to Make Echinacea Tea
For the tea, you can use the flowers, leaves, roots, or stems of the plant. I like to use the flower petals and leaves. Harvest your coneflowers when the flower heads are fully mature.
You can choose to use either fresh or driedEchinacea. If using fresh, you’ll need 2 tbsp of the flower. For dry, you’ll need 1 tbsp. Let your Echinacea steep in boiling water for 15 minutes. Then, strain the flowers, roots, or leaves from the pot and drink away.
Coneflowers spread by self-seeding. In the fall, if you leave the seed heads, some will drop. Tons of wildlife enjoy these seeds, so most will get eaten up. Whatever doesn’t may germinate the next spring. If you wish to stop the seeds from spreading, simply deadhead the spent blooms in the fall.
Are coneflowers perennials?
Echinacea is an extremely hardy plant that acts as a perennial in most zones. It flourishes in zones 5-8, but can also be grown as low as zone 3. Higher zones will benefit from the drought tolerance of the plant, but may stillneed some supplemental watering.
When do coneflowers bloom?
Coneflowers will bring plenty of joy to your summer and early fall garden. They bloom from July through September.
Do deer eat coneflowers?
Echinacea are considered deer-resistant plants. While deer may occasionally munch on them, they would prefer other plants in the area before eating Echinacea.
European wool carder bee on Echinacea
More Flowers to Grow
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
Butterflies aren’t just beautiful, they are also helpful pollinators that will help our gardens thrive. Attract them to your yard with this butterfly feeder project. It’s an easy DIY project that will help keep your garden flourishing all year long.
Butterflies are magical creatures that grace us with their beauty. Their bright colours are a welcome addition to any garden. As with bees, they are essential pollinators. In fact, a butterfly’s lifecycle requires them to have host plants and food plants for pollination. Butterflies will keep your garden thriving and add a pretty pop of colour to your space too.
How do you attract them to your yard? There are many plants that they love, but an easy way to attract butterflies to your garden is to make a butterfly feeder.
If you’re looking for an extra way to support the butterflies in your garden, then follow these steps to make a butterfly feeder.
Butterflies love bright, warm colours.
How to Make a Butterfly Feeder
This simple DIY will keep butterflies coming to your yard month after month. Plus, the butterfly feeder is a pretty addition to your yard too. Here’s how to make one, step by step.
Butterfly Feeder Supplies
Plate – Any type of plate will do. The plate I used is shaped like a hibiscus flower. There are notches where the “petals” connect, making it easier to fit in the macrame-style holder. If you plan to use a round plate, you will also need to get a wall mount plate holder.
Mason line or twine – I used mason line to hang my feeder. I used it because it’s made from a synthetic material that will not deteriorate as fast as natural twine. The feeder will hang outside in an area with little shelter and I wanted to make sure the rope holds through the whole season.
Washer (or another metal ring)
Beads – The beads are optional. I like the way they dress up the feeder. Butterflies delight us with their beauty, so I decided to make this feeder extra pretty for them.
Get an inexpensive plate from the thrift or dollar store.
Make it!
First, cut 5 lengths of mason line about 3 feet long. I used 5 pieces of string because I have 5 petal notches on my plate. If you are using a round plate with a wall hanger, you should only need 4 lengths of string. Loop the pieces of string through the metal ring and tie a double knot. Do not worry about the ends at the moment.
If you are using beads, add them about 12 inches from the top. Make sure the beads all line up evenly. Then, tie a knot underneath each bead.
The beads are optional, used as decoration only.
Tie all the strings together about 6 inches down from the beads. Cut the excess mason line a half inch from the knot. Use a lighter or flame from a candle to lightly melt the edges of the strings. I melted mine all the way back to the base of the knot. Do this to the knot that’s securing the metal ring, too. This will keep frays at bay and help keep the knot from slipping.
Melt the ends of your string with a lighter.
Set the plate in the holder and hang it up in a sunny place in your garden. Then, add some butterfly food and watch them eat.
I added lemons, melon, and flowers to my butterfly feeder.
What Do Butterflies Eat?
Butterflies feed on nectar (sugar from a plant). So, fresh fruits work very well as butterfly food. You can also make nectar from honey and water, but I think it’s less messy to add some fruit to the plate.
Butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple colours, so keep that in mind when selecting fruit. If you are worried about ants getting in on the feast, you can add a bit of water to the dish as a deterrent.
Orange slices work great as butterfly food.
Tips for Attracting Butterflies
A butterfly feeder is only one way to attract butterflies to your garden. If you want to keep them really happy, you will need to have plants that serve the needs of all the life stages of the butterfly. Adults need nectar, a safe place to lay their eggs, food for their larvae and a place to form chrysalides (cocoons).
In addition to the right plants, butterflies like full sun, a place to rest their wings, and a place to drink. An easy way to create a butterfly sanctuary is to plant bright flowers that love full sun, add a flat rock to the garden for the butterflies to bask, and put a small, shallow pan of water out for them to drink. You can read more about how to make a butterfly garden here.
Include plants in your garden to sustain butterflies during each life stage.
Butterfly-Friendly Plants
You really cannot go wrong with any type of brightly coloured flower for butterflies. However, remember that the plants must support the larvae and cocoons as well. There are many butterfly-friendly plants, so the chances are you can find a few that will suit your growing zone. Here’s a list of some plants that will attract butterflies to your garden:
Butterflies aren’t attracted to blue, so include lighter shades of purple instead.
Find out more about why some butterflies love milkweed and how to grow it in your garden here. In addition to having a pretty flower garden, you can attract these lovely pollinators at the same time, a perfect garden partnership.
Now, don’t forget about the bees! Here is how to attract them to your garden (and a bee bath project that the butterflies will love).
Butterflies and bees aren’t the only beneficial insects you want in your garden! Find out about the 7 best bugs for the garden.
More Ways to Support Pollinators
How to Make a Butterfly Feeder
Keep these pretty pollinators active in your garden with this simple DIY butterfly feeder.
Cut 4 pieces of mason line into 3 foot sections.
Loop the pieces through the metal ring and tie with a double knot.
Add beads to the line about 12″ from the top, lined up evenly. Tie a knot under each bead to keep in place.
Tie all the strings together about 6″ underneath the beads, then cut the excess line about 1/2″ away from the knot.
Do the same to the knot that’s holding the metal ring too to prevent fraying.
Add your plate and hang it in a sunny place in the garden, topped with butterfly food.
Debbie Wolfe is a mom of two rambunctious boys, wife, and work-at-home mom from Georgia. In her free time (when there is such a thing), she is in the garden or hidden away reading the latest post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama! As interests, Debbie is an obsessive crafter, home chef, and gardener. She is a freelance writer, blogger, and is a co-author and photographer behind the garden blog, The Prudent Garden; a collection of tips, crafts, and articles that highlight home gardening.
From the peaceful seaside vibes of Ambleside to the lively entertainment at the Shipyard District, the North Shore has plenty to offer for tourists and visitors alike. If you’re visiting Vancouver and would love to take in the local scenery and gardens, you have to try this one- or two-day tour to Vancouver’s North Shore.
Echinacea and other pollinator plants growing at Ambleside Butterfly Garden.
Vancouver has been my home for many years. It’s an alluring place to grow a garden. As a gardening community, Vancouver has so many different personalities.
You’ll find gardening styles inspired by traditional Japanese gardens, rainforests full of ferns and moss, botanical gardens with something blooming year-round, and even seaside pockets complete with imported palm trees.
Across the Vancouver Harbour and Burrard Inlet, the Vancouver’s North Shore is a popular destination for hiking and skiing and features some truly stunning, classic BC landscapes.
While you may have heard about the many famous public gardens like VanDusen Gardens, the Bloedel Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth Park, Stanley Park, UBC Botanical Garden, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and the Nitobe Japanese Garden; Vancouver’s North Shore is a definite must-see for anyone with a green thumb.
There is a distinct garden personality: upscale but not pretentious, rooted in traditional style, eco-conscious, and at one with the surrounding woodland. The North Shore is an area full of hidden gems, and I found surprises at every turn.
Recently, I was invited to tour the Vancouver’s North Shore gardens and plant hot spots by Garden BC. I’ve lived in Vancouver for decades, and yet there were places I’ve never been to. When I tell you that you’ll find some hidden gems here, they truly are local spots that only the insiders know about.
Luckily for you, I’m going to share all the dreamy green spaces I had the pleasure of visiting.
Here’s what the itinerary will look like…
Get fresh, locally grown, and sustainable produce at Loutet Farms.
Vancouver’s North Shore is comprised of North Vancouver and West Vancouver, where mountains meet oceanside. You can visit the North Shore like a local, treating and experiencing it like you’re part of the community. It’s a year-round destination where you can enjoy the greenery and wilderness every day of the year.
Gardens BC, officially the British Columbia Garden Tourism Coalition Society, is a non-profit organization that showcases the beauty of our province and helps plant lovers discover new gardens. Visit their website to find more garden destinations throughout the province!
Light reflection at Chiba Gardens.
Day One
I highly, highly recommend this tour to anybody coming to visit Vancouver. After you’ve seen the Vancouver top spots, dedicate at least a day to exploring the North Shore. Depending on what tickles your fancy below, follow either Day One or Day Two’s itinerary, or better yet, do them both!
Stop 1: Jam Café
100 1st St E, North Vancouver, BC V7L 1B1
I started off the first morning with a trip to the insanely popular Jam Café. A Vancouver staple, the North Shore location is one of their newest locations.
The food at Jam Café brings looooong lines, and I can see why. The interior is cool and fun, and the food is even more DECADENT. I had a chimichurri pork belly benny (how Canadians call Eggs Benedict!) with red onion jam (yum) and got to taste the blueberry pancakes and blackstone benny.
Stop by here for a guaranteed good breakfast to kick off your morning.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: Dine at Jam Café for breakfast from Monday through Thursday. You’ll have a better chance to skip the long weekend lines and start the day off perfectly.
Jam Cafe has other locations as well across the Vancouver area.
Stop 2: Park and Tilford Gardens
333 Brooksbank Avenue, North Vancouver, BC, Canada, V7J 3S8
Vancouver’s North Shore’s official botanical garden, Park and Tilford Gardens, consists of eight different themed gardens. Originally, it was created in 1957 as a marketing tool for Park and Tilford Distilleries. It was a gift to the North Shore and covers three acres.
When I say that there are hidden gems all over Vancouver’s North Shore, Park and Tilford Gardens is proof! Essentially, you go through a strip mall parking lot, and in between the JJ Bean and Starbucks coffee houses, you and end up in these beautiful, themed gardens full of plants, structures, and water features. You would never know, looking at large hedge on main street that such a treasure lies behind it.
You can’t miss this entrance sign!
Back when Kiddo was just 18 months old, we used to visit the Park and Tilford Gardens and sit in the light of the three spinning frog’s fountain. We used to tour the garden every other week during the year since it was a great place to take a baby, then toddler, who loved plants and gardens as much as his mother does.
The garden is free to enter and can get really busy with the locals. It’s just big enough to enjoy a coffee and a quiet stroll to see what’s blooming. It has great accessible pathways for people with disabilities and little, short lets that are still learning how to walk.
As Kiddo grew older, we visited the Park and Tilford Gardens about once a year. On one trip, we were sad to see that the three frog’s fountain had been stolen. Devastated that the frogs were taken, it was a time of learning and discussion about emotions for Kiddo—it’s important to respect our environment and that even things as small as a frog fountain can bring meaning to those who enjoy its spaces.
It’s been a few years since I visited, and I was eager to see it through a different lens, no longer the young mother enjoying the space, quiet, and the delight of her child amongst the plants. This time around, I was looking through the lens of a tour guide.
The Oriental Garden is one of eight different garden themes.
What I saw were unique gardens with their own personalities thriving together as one botanical garden. It celebrates plants and their ecology without using wasteful practices to sustain them. The gardens are lovingly tended to and planted with many annual plants grown onsite in the greenhouse next to the herb garden.
With the current summer water restrictions, there is no supplemental water, so the plants are left to sustain themselves.
This meant that the water features were also turned off during my visit. While I appreciate the city’s commitment to saving water, the gardens provide a habitat and safe haven for many wild species. Having the water features on could help the insects, birds, and mammals in the area that were likely suffering from the drought conditions as well.
Some of the plants were a bit dry and stressed. About 10% showed signs of stress or had grown crunchy, while 90% were still faring very well. That speaks quite highly for receiving no water for a month in the heat of the summer. When the rain came again, I went for a visit, and everything quickly bounced back to the green lushness it had for the entire year.
The changes of colour of the Japanese maples and ferns in the Native Garden and the Oriental Garden might be a personal favourite.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: You will find something unique no matter what season you come to tour the North Shore’s Park and Tilford Gardens. In the spring, there are plenty of bulbs. In the summer, you’ll see the blooming and cheerful annuals and perennials. There’s always the Native Garden and the Herb Garden to enjoy as well. And if you stop by in the winter, the gardens are decorated with lights for the festive Gardenwalk.
Enjoy a cup of coffee and go for a stroll.
Stop 3: The Ambleside Butterfly Garden
1460 Argyle Ave, West Vancouver, BC V7T 1C2
Just last year, I visited the Ambleside Butterfly Garden when attending the Harmony Arts Festival. I was with my friend from out of town and Kiddo, and I was utterly delighted. Both of them paused at the beauty of the garden. Still, they immediately lost me as I ran inside to meet all the plants and pollinators flying around.
While on my tour of the North Shore this summer, I arrived and again got promptly lost. Even though I followed Google Maps’ directions, I still couldn’t find it. Instead, I happened upon the community garden at Ambleside like I had the previous year and was again taken by it.
Ambleside Butterfly Gardens also seems to be under the names of Argyle Gardens and Argyle Village Pollinator Garden.
The Ambleside Butterfly Garden was started by a group of Master Gardeners and volunteers alongside the District of West Vancouver. They’ve planted a combination of 70% native plants and 30% hybrids that are all easy to grow and waterwise. Something blooms every day of the year to provide nectar and habitat to local pollinators.
The community space is a delight of beautiful vegetables and flowers growing together. High up is a central collection of hydrangeas and raised beds that tower over your head rather than how we typically look down in our gardens. Sweet peas, roses, and cosmos also tower over, and it’s such an interesting perspective.
The gardeners who care for this garden grow vegetables not only for their practicality but also to mix them amongst the annual and perennial flowers. They know the secret that to make a beautiful garden, you must attract pollinators to ensure the vegetables grow robust and fruitful.
But I got turned around when I went to see the Ambleside Butterfly Gardens. On Google Maps, they’re listed as the Ambleside Butterfly Garden, but it takes you to a parking lot on Bellevue Avenue near 17th St. The true location is just east of the Harmony Arts Festival Space on Argyle Ave, on the east side of the ferry building gallery.
On Google Maps, they’re listed as the Argyle Village Gardens, and the sign has been renamed to include all pollinators or to be considered a community garden space. Perhaps the butterfly garden project has changed, or it’s simply an evolution of the name.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal Tip: Put the address for Argyle Village Gardens in Google Maps to get to the right location. The address is 1460 Argyle Ave W. This is where you will find these beautiful pollinator gardens! I’ve recommended to Google Maps that they adjust the pin to show the true location, so maybe by the time you’re reading this, it’s been corrected.
The garden has a variety of pollinator-friendly flowers that are in full bloom, as well as a few vegetable plants and some community plots. The true showstopper of the garden was the two planted spaces on the exterior of the garden that host a variety of pollinator plants. And sure enough, they were buzzing with activity and even had a few pollinator baths that were being cared for.
Plenty of bees seen to be enjoying plants, such as these yarrow and echinops.
Stop 4: The Boatshed at Ambleside
1200 Argyle Ave, West Vancouver, BC V7W 1C1
After spending the morning gazing at all those eye-catching flowers and plants, you’ll want to head to The Boatshed for a light lunch or snack. The location is just a short walk from Argyle Village Gardens along the seawall. Be sure to take your time to enjoy the seaside plants and the view of Vancouver and the Lions Gate Bridge.
At The Boatshed, I had tacos and a ginger beer for a light lunch between tours. The location, right on Ambleside Beach, can’t be beat. It makes you feel like you’re in this little seaside town when you’re really just in the heart of West Vancouver!
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: You can easily spend a full day at Ambleside Beach. You can walk along the seawall, enjoying both the beach and the plants that surround the area. There’s also the Boatshed container garden, the parking lot pollinator heavens, and the seaside plantings of hardy, drought-tolerant grasses and blooms.
Bonus Stop! GardenWorks North Vancouver
95 Philip Ave, North Vancouver, BC V7P 1B5
GardenWorks has long been one of my favourite garden centres in the Lower Mainland, and I when I heard their newest location was in North Vancouver, I just had to stop by. Each GardenWorks location has a unique and individual style, so you can have a different garden shopping experience at each one.
GardenWorks is known for their buyers who stock not only the best and beautiful-est plants, but they also showcase some serious gift and home selections. Leave your partner at home and get some shopping therapy time at the store. It’s also my Kiddo’s favourite place to buy me gifts!
The new North Vancouver location didn’t disappoint. It flowed with the vibe of the North and West Vancouver garden styles, which are upscale and clean and lean toward plants that naturalize in a mountain environment.
They sell annuals and perennials for the garden, as well as indoor tropicals and succulents.
The garden centre looks small from the front, but as you go, it expands to massive proportions. It was created in an old bus terminal with high glass ceilings that give it an incredibly modern industrial vibe. It has the perfect air space, protected areas for plants to thrive, and a really comfortable shopping experience.
I enjoyed the beautiful selection of perennials, but even more impressive was the trees and shrubs. The hydrangea selection had some great varieties of panicle hydrangeas that would become the star of any garden.
I had a great chat with Tyler and Alex, the store manager and assistant manager, and asked for some suggestions of plants to use as the foundational plantings of my front garden containers. I wanted to change out my existing plants to create something that can have different designs throughout the season but also thrives in a container in full sun.
Beautiful plants and well stocked shelves at GardenWorks.
Their suggestions were fabulous and not what I had previously considered. The knowledge is truly there, as is the availability of high-quality plants. I highly recommend a stop at this garden centre.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: If you’re a tourist and don’t have a place to plant anything, I still recommend you stop at the indoor gift shop. It has so many things you just wouldn’t find anywhere else. I fell in love with some birdcage candleholders and an adorable cabbage dish that has made it onto my wish list for future Mother’s Days.
The indoor selection of gifts is vast and worth a stop.
Stop 5: Shipyards Night Market
19 Wallace Mews, North Vancouver, BC V7L 0B2
Every year, I enjoy at least one evening at the Shipyards Night Market. It runs on Friday evenings during the warmer months and is definitely worth a visit if you’re here during this time. It’s fun, low-key, and accessible, as both dogs and children are welcome.
You’ll find plenty of delicious food and even more lovely people. Visit the shopping stalls and listen to the free live music.
While there, I popped over for a local craft beer, some vintage shopping, and a little bit of dancing before my sunset dinner reservation.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: The Shipyards Night Market is every Friday from May to September. It has free parking and admission and is one of the best options for a night market in the Lower Mainland, especially with the live music and beer gardens!
The Shipyards District is easily accessible from downtown Vancouver through the SeaBus.
Stop 7: Pier 7
25 Wallace Mews, North Vancouver, BC V7L 0B2
At this point, I was famished and happy to sit down for some wonderful views of downtown while eating fresh seafood at Pier 7.
Our table ordered the fresh-shucked oysters and burrata with a pistachio basil pesto and focaccia to start.
Then, we enjoyed the surf and turf, which included striploin, butter-poached lobster claw, tiger prawns, mashed potatoes, and seasonal veggies. We also had the seared halibut, which came with more potatoes, sauteed kale, and sundried tomatoes.
Of course, we also sipped on some bubbly while we enjoyed the view. The food was so balanced, but the best part was the service. We even got a visit from the chef!
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: Pier 7 is just a short walk from the Shipyards Night Market. I highly recommend coming on Friday night so you can visit both. Make a reservation in advance to ensure you get a good spot with a view.
Surf and turf at Pier 7.
Stop 8: The Pinnacle Hotel
138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC V7L 0B1
After a day of visiting some of the most beautiful gardens in town and eating THE best food, my head was truly ready to hit the pillow. Luckily for me, I was staying at the Pinnacle Hotel in The Shipyards, which houses Pier 7.
The location is really unmatched, as you can enjoy all the delights of the North Shore and are also very close to taking the SeaBus into downtown Vancouver.
And did I mention the view???? You can see all of Vancouver’s coastline and it’s just stunning. They also have a pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, and gym for you to use and unwind with at the end of your long day exploring.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: The entire Shipyards district and the hotel are dog-friendly. I met lots of furry visitors and gave them some scratches. I vowed to bring Ozzie the next time I visit!
The incredible views of Vancouver from the North Shore.
Day Two
If you’ve got the time and want to explore more of the North Shore, there’s plenty more to see. Here’s what I suggest as a second-day itinerary for those who want to see more of the gardens that the Vancouver area has to offer.
Stop 8: Pinnacle Hotel, The Lobby Restaurant
138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC V7L 0B1
The day starts off where yesterday ended! We ate right at the hotel at The Lobby Restaurant + Lounge at the Pinnacle Hotel. This restaurant highlights West Coast foods, but it was hinted that I HAD to order the Lobster Benny. It did not disappoint! This Eggs Benedict was prepared with garlic butter-sautéed lobster and hollandaise sauce, plus a side of potato lyonnaise.
Talk about delicious!
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: If you have a car, leave it parked for the morning and take the elevator to The Lobby restaurant. After breakfast, the stroll to Chiba Gardens will help you digest all the yummy food.
Enjoy the views of Vancouver while you walk in the Shipyards District.
Stop 9: Chiba Gardens
267 Esplanade W, North Vancouver, BC, CA, V7M 1A6
As a Master Gardener living in Vancouver for decades, there are very few gardens in the area I haven’t seen. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the itinerary had a garden I’d never heard of! The entrance is tucked away under a sea of foliage which makes for a magical but hidden garden.
Chiba Gardens is a traditional Japanese garden located on the northwest corner of Waterfront Park in North Vancouver. It is a short walk from the Shipyards. The garden opened in 1986 to honour North Vancouver’s sister city, Chiba.
Chiba donated two Japanese stone lanterns to North Vancouver, and local landscape architect, Toshimasa Ito, designed a garden to feature them.
The gifted stone lantern from Chiba.
Even if you don’t know the meaning behind the space, it feels quite special the moment you step in. Light filters through the tall maples onto the zigzag pathways that change from wood to stone to gravel. The lushness of the ferns, mosses, and native plantings chase every colour of green.
The circular pathways in the garden allow you to do a walking meditation where you can breathe deeply while finding peace in your mind amidst the city.
I chose to visit the Chiba Gardens after breakfast to do this walking meditation, resetting my intentions to be of gratitude and peace. It’s a great way to be thankful and accept the nourishment of a lovely meal while cooling off a heated body on a hot day.
The meditation pathway.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: I encourage everyone locally or on a North Shore garden tour to stop by the Chiba Gardens so they can slowly walk through the space and meditate. Try not to focus on any one element but take in the feeling of the entire space. Alternatively, slow down, sit, and focus on a tiny point on one tiny leaf or one reflection of light that comes through the maples, and just breathe in the calm peace.
Once you exit the Chiba Gardens, you’ll be reborn and ready for the excitement of Vancouver’s North Shore while feeling calm and full of gratitude.
Loutet Farm is the first urban farm located on public parkland in Canada. It’s a joint effort from the North Shore Neighbourhood House, North Vancouver, and UBC.
You can buy fresh produce as well as the locally grown flowers.
Located within a residential area, the farm grows plenty of produce right on the farm and is financially sustainable. This means all funds generated go back into operating the farm and creating jobs for North Shore residents.
The farm hosts tours, workshops, and other events. It also hosts a twice-weekly market where people can purchase locally grown and affordable produce and connect with other local vendors.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: You can buy fresh produce grown at Loutet Farm on Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM and Wednesdays from 2 to 6 PM during the growing season from May-end to October. Check out the markets if you’re in the area!
Local vendors also sell at the Saturday Community Market.
Bonus Stop: Gerry’s Garden
1400 Rufus Ave, North Vancouver, BC V7L 2N2
Next door to Loutet Farm is Gerry’s Garden and it was such a wonderful surprise, a true bonus. The garden was started by 96-year-old resident Gerry MacPherson. After losing his son to cancer in 2007, he turned to gardening as a form of therapy.
What was once a beaten-up piece of land between Loutet Park and Brooksbank Elementary School, is now Gerry’s Garden. He spent 10 years turning it into a beautiful space full of perennials for everyone in the community to visit. It’s worth stopping by for a walk and to sit and listen to the birds in Gerry’s Garden.
This is exactly what Vancouver’s North Shore is all about—community and beautiful, natural spaces.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: Sit on the red benches throughout the space and take in all that has been lovingly planted in Gerry’s Garden. In the quiet, some things become more audible, like birdsong, buzzing bees, and perhaps some music from the band at the farm market.
Gerry’s garden has plenty of places to sit throughout.
Stop 11: Nook Restaurant, Shipyards
150 Victory Ship Way #160, North Vancouver, BC V7L 0B2
In the Shipyards District, you’ll find the most beautiful plates at Nook. For lunch, we had a tasting menu of lovely treats, including:
Marinated olives
Pate with port-glazed onions
Burrata and prosciutto
And their famous meatballs!
We also enjoyed some sips, including the Lampone (raspberry, lemon, and soda) and the Zenzero (lemon, ginger cordial, and soda).
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: bring your family! Kids, dogs, and everyone is welcome in the Shipyards District. Nook’s patio is on the Shipyards Splash Park, so you can sip and snack while spending a day with kiddos. Oh, and order the meatballs. Did I mention the meatballs?
Stop 12: Maplewood Flats / Wild Bird Trust of BC
2649 Dollarton Hwy, North Vancouver, BC V7H 1B1
I’ve gone to Maplewood Flats before for birding. It’s a birders paradise and an amazing spot to see other local wildlife. Probably because of the native plantings!
Located on the land of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) and Coast Salish Peoples, you’ll find a space dedicated to celebrating the diversity of the North Shore. Before settlers came, the area consisted of contiguous mudflats that stretched across the Burrard Inlet. These spaces were used by the TWN to hunt and gather fish, shellfish, waterfowl, and more.
From salmonberry to hardhack to sword ferns, many native species cover the lands of Maplewood Flats. Walking down Maplewood Flats will allow you to see it all if you’re interested in the local flora and fauna.
My #NorthShoreLikeaLocal tip: Bring some bug spray or wear long sleeves. The native species are definitely thriving, and so are the food sources for those native species, especially the mosquitoes. Where there is life, there is beauty and history.
Sorbus aucuparia is an excellent food source for birds and is a native tree you can find all over.
Final Thoughts on Vancouver’s North Shore
Discovering the North Vancouver North Shore like a local was a really fun experience. I got to experience the restaurants and the vibrant waterfront, from the Shipyards to the peacefulness of Ambleside.
This is a great tour to discover the quieter side of Vancouver, all while experiencing the stunning gardens and history of the area. This can easily be a one-day tour, but it can also be extended into two for those who have the time for more exploration.
Again, a huge thank you to Vancouver’s North Shore and Gardens BC for inviting me on this tour and introducing a few new favourite spots.
Let me know which stops you try out and which ones are your favourite in the comments below!
Taking a deep whiff of flowers from my garden gives me an instant rush of joy. So much so, that I found a way to carry it with me wherever I go. Filled with flowering quince, rose, calendula, and peony, I took the best flowers my garden had to offer and made a gentle, floral lotion. Perfect for head to toe, this lotion locks in moisture and leaves behind a divine floral scent.
When it comes to lotion, I get quite picky with consistency. I don’t want anything feeling too greasy on the skin and I also don’t want it to feel so watery that it barely moisturizes the skin. Instead, I want to feel fluffy, rich, and ultra-smooth to the touch.
This DIY flower lotion is everything I want in a cream. Not only is the texture perfect, but it has such a gentle aroma that comes from flowers directly from my garden. Unlike lotions with essential oils, the scent is not overpowering.
And don’t even get me started on synthetic fragrances! Nothing smells like a flower except for a flower. You don’t need to be a chemist to smell like your flowers.
While making floral lotion does take some practice and patience to perfect, anyone at home can make some high-quality, fluffy, garden-inspired lotion.
This post will cover…
I chose flowers solely for their scent for this recipe.
What Flowers Work the Best in Lotion?
For this recipe, I made herbal oil using flowering quince, rose, calendula, and peony. The result is a delightfully floral fragrance that doesn’t overwhelm the senses. I chose these flowers mostly for their scent, but also for some of their wonderful skincare qualities.
Both rose and calendula have long been hailed as skin care wonders and grown for their medicinal properties.Calendula acts as a wound healer, helping to reduce inflammation. Rose cleanses the skin as a natural astringent and prevents and reduces skin discolouration.
When it comes to making your own floral lotion, you can customize your herbal oil using whatever flowers you like best or what’s in season. Lavender and chamomile are other skin care-friendly, heavily scented flowers.
If the scent is the main goal, hyacinth, lily of the valley, gardenia, and lilac all come with a heavy perfume. Check out my list of fragrant flowers and skin care herbs for more ideas.
Note: please use caution when working with lily of the valley. It smells wonderful, but when ingested, it is extremely toxic to living beings, especially children and pets. Keep out of reach of little hands and paws!
Not sure what flowers to use? Opt for what’s in season!
How to Infuse Flowers in Oil
When making infusing flowers in oil, you’ll need a little bit of heat. This can be done using the stovetop, a slow cooker, or by sitting out in the sun. For all three, the premise is simple: submerge the flowers in oil and let them sit.
Keep in mind that only dried flowers should be used to infuse the oils. The moisture from fresh flowers won’t mix well.
Luckily, drying flowers is much easier than you may think! Here’s how to dry flowers, plus 14 other things you can do with them.
Infuse your flowers all together.
DIY Flower Lotion Recipe
Bottle up the heavenly scents of your garden with this ultra-moisturizing floral lotion. If this is your first time making lotion, check out this post first for more detailed how-to instructions. Lotion is one of the trickier recipes to make, and it may take a couple of tries before you get it perfect!
Makes 200g. For exact measurements, refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Before even getting started, sterilize all your equipment and your workspace. Then, weigh out all your ingredients separately, combining all your oil ingredients together and then your water ingredients.
With a double boiler, heat both the water and oil ingredients to 160 degrees while keeping them separate. Let them sit at this temperature for twenty minutes.
In a mixing bowl, pour in the oil ingredients followed by the water ingredients. Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients and thicken the mixture.
When the mixture cools to 80 degrees, add in the cool phase ingredients. Continue mixing with the electric mixer until it reaches a fluffy consistency.
Wait for the mixture to cool to 80 degrees before adding in the cool phase ingredients. Temperature is key!
Then it’s ready for a container! Put into a sterilized container with a pump. You can use a piping bag to help get the lotion into a container with a small opening.
Use this flower cream within six months. Discard earlier if you notice any change in colour or odour.
Enjoy the custom scent of your new lotion!
Floral Lotion FAQ
Making lotion for the first time can be difficult. If you’re having any issues, I encourage you to check out the FAQ section of my magnesium lotionwhere I answer some of the most common issues in regard to making floral lotion.
If you still have a question, feel free to leave it in the comments down below, and I’ll do my best to answer you as quickly as possible! But here’s a few common questions I get.
My lotion moulds a few weeks after making it. How do I prevent this?
The issue with the mould would have happened while you were making it—likely using something that hasn’t been sterilized in the preparation area, such as the bowls, jars, spatula, etc. It’s essential to use sterile tools and spray everything down with alcohol.
I have a jar of this lotion that will last for six months and show no signs of mould. If I have extras, I put them in my fridge until they’re ready to use. But I keep the jar I’m currently using in my bathroom stored at room temperature.
How can I stop my floral lotion from separating?
Lotion is prone to separating when you make it. While there are emulsifiers to prevent this, you still need to blend it. Use an electric blender or an immersion blender until it looks like it’s holding together, and then let it cool. Repeat if necessary.
More DIY Lotion Recipes
DIY Floral Lotion
Naturally scented with flowering quince, rose, calendula, and peony, this lotion takes inspiration from the garden while leaving your skin silky smooth. Makes 200g.
Aqueous Phase Ingredients
Sterilize all your equipment. Weigh out your ingredients. Combine all your oil ingredients together and the water ingredients together.
While keeping separate, heat the water and oil ingredients to 160 degrees. Let sit at this temperature for 20 minutes.
Pour the oil ingredients followed by the water ingredients into a mixing bowl. Combine with an electric mixer until the mixture thickens.
Once cooled to 80 degrees, add in the cool phase ingredients. Mix with the electric mixer until it reaches a fluffy consistency.
Pour into a sterilized pump using a piping bag. Use within 6 months.
From boosting the garden to giving us fresh greens in the winter, people all over the world have been enjoying the many uses of alfalfa for centuries. This guide covers 6 of the ways I use the alfalfa plant in my life. Hopefully, you’ll see just how much you’ve been missing out on this incredibly versatile and beneficial plant!
When you think of alfalfa, you probably think of it as a livestock crop. Or perhaps you just like saying the name…al-fal-fa!!
What you might not know is that it’s actually quite a versatile herb. I use it for all sorts of things, from sandwich toppers to rose fertilizer to a hair booster.
A flowering plant in the pea family, Medicago sativa is a highly prized crop all over the world. Often known as a major source of livestock feed, the alfalfa seeds, leaves, and sprouts have many uses all over the world.
Here are some of the amazing uses for alfalfa both in the garden and out.
Alfalfa meal tea is part of my regular fertilizer collection.
Benefits of Alfalfa for Humans
Packed full of medicinal and nutritional properties, there are many benefits to consuming alfalfa. Most notably, it is high in vitamin K with a single serving of the plant providing 13% of your daily allowance. It also has other nutrients including vitamin C, copper, manganese, and folate.
Due to the high levels of saponin, a plant compound known for lowering cholesterol, it is good for doing just that and helps to lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Alfalfa is also known for relieving menopause symptoms, improving metabolic health, and has antioxidant properties.
These are just some of the alfalfa benefits, but this wondrous plant has many more uses. Let’s discuss some! Here are six ways to use alfalfa at home and in your garden!
1. Enjoy Alfalfa Sprouts
One of my favourite ways to enjoy alfalfa is by eating its crunchy little sprouts! A very popular sprouting option, the taste goes well with pretty much anything. They have a mild flavour that is sweeter and fresher when the sprouts are yellow. While mild in taste, they pack a ton of nutrients.
Since the mature leaves taste bitter, the immature sprouts of the alfalfa plant will be much more enjoyable. They’re easy to grow right on your countertop and ready to eat in a matter of a few days. High in vitamin K and C and low in calories, they are a good source of fresh greens that you can grow year-round.
I like to add my sprouts to sandwiches, salads, stir fry, soups, and smoothies. The flavour of a sprout mix and spice make them not shy in a dish and you will surely want to harvest more to eat right away.
Another alternative for eating alfalfa sprouts is growing microgreens. Instead of sprouting in a jar or container, they are planted in a thin layer of soil instead. Whichever way you decide to grow them, you will get the same alfalfa benefits.
Alfalfa sprouts are completely safe for humans to eat. Most sprouts can carry foodborne illnesses, but properly handling and growing will make your sprouts completely safe for consumption. Always buy safe, disinfected alfalfa seeds and make sure all equipment is sanitized when growing. Follow the guidelines and trust your nose to sniff out any bad sprouts.
Alfalfa sprouts have a mild, sweet flavour when young.
2. Make a Hair Booster
Considered a superfood, the high levels of vitamins A, C, E, and K and the antioxidants in alfalfa have people searching for even more health benefits of this popular plant. If you have luscious hair in mind, you might want to consider the alfalfa spouts nutritional benefits.
Nutrition and hair loss have been heavily linked. Whenever the body is not getting enough nutrients, it will prioritize the digestive and cardiovascular systems rather than hair and skin cells. Anytime you get all the vitamins and nutrients you need, you can expect to produce healthy hair.
Alfalfa can be enjoyed as a supplement or capsule, or you can grow it yourself like me! People add it to their smoothies but you should note that alfalfa juice by itself is very strong tasting. It is best to dilute it with other drinks.
Simply including alfalfa in your diet will help you get a hair boost.
3. Use Alfalfa as Green Manure
Green manure is a crop that is grown with the intention of improving soil quality. Most legumes are a popular choice and alfalfa plants work as excellent green manure. They can act as a cover crop during the winter to protect bare beds against the cold weather.
Think of it as living mulch! Cover crops also reduce soil erosion and help to keep weeds in check.
You plant the alfalfa in the fall and then dig up the plant and integrate it come spring to improve the soil.
For a brand-new bed, you can also plant it in the spring and let it flourish for the season before you overturn it into the soil. The high levels of nitrogen, vitamins, and minerals will be a great boost for the soil.
You can also cut back plant material and leave it to decompose in place.
4. Grind Up a Compost Accelerator
If you don’t feel like waiting for your compost to break down all on its own, alfalfa can help! Since the plant decomposes rapidly, it generates a fair amount of heat that helps to accelerate the compost.
By grinding alfalfa and other dried herbs and adding them to your compost, you can have it broken down and ready in 4-6 weeks. It also helps to make your compost have even higher nutrient levels.
You may have seen alfalfa meal floating around at the garden centre. The meal is a source of nitrogen and potassium, plus a broad spectrum of other minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and the growth hormone triacontanol.
When you use it as a fertilizer, it helps to improve the soil structure and plants’ ability to access nutrients.
The NPK for alfalfa meal is 3-0-3. It is a good option for making your own plant-based fertilizer. Alternatively, you can combine 4 parts alfalfa meal with 1 part bone meal for a simple two-ingredient granular blend.
Alfalfa meal.
6. Make an Alfalfa Tea for Seedlings and Roses
Since it has the growth hormone triacontanol, this alfalfa tea is a great fertilizer for seedlings when applied after they have developed their first two true leaves. The American Rose Society also sings its praises and recommends feeding homebrewed alfalfa tea to roses and perennials.
This recipe comes straight from my book, Garden Alchemy. In it, you can learn even more about creating your own fertilizers, potting mixes, plant elixirs, pest deterrents, and more. Alfalfa tea is just scratching the surface of the 80 recipes included in the book!
You can easily adjust the volume of this recipe for your garden needs. For a smaller amount to feed seedlings, add the ingredients to a large, glass Mason jar with a lid and infuse in a warm place in direct sunlight. For a larger amount to feed roses and perennials, add the ingredients to a 5-gallon bucket or large bin.
I make a quick batch of alfalfa tea in a Mason jar to feed to my seedlings.
Materials
To see exact measurements, view the recipe card at the end of this post.
Alfalfa meal
Rainwater or dechlorinated water
Make It!
Measure the ingredients and add them to the container of your choice. Stir well, cover with a lid, and set in the sun. For best results, brew for at least 36 hours, stirring at least twice a day.
The brew is ready when the solid material settles at the bottom, and the liquid above is an orange colour. It should smell sweet and fresh, like hay.
To apply, move the tea out of the sun to cool, and then stir the ingredients again. Pour the tea directly from the jar or bucket onto your plants, being careful not to displace soil and roots. Strain the mixture through a pillowcase if you prefer to add it to a watering can.
Strain if you wish, but I just pour it all over the base of my plants.
FAQ About Using Alfalfa
Does alfalfa cleanse the body?
There is little evidence that cleanses or detoxes are good for the body or that they actually remove any toxins. What I can say is that alfalfa will improve your body with many healthy nutrients and is known to improve metabolic health by lowering blood sugar. It’s also known to lower cholesterol.
Who shouldn’t take alfalfa?
Alfalfa is very safe for most people. However, pregnant people should avoid it, and those who take blood thinners or have an autoimmune disorder should be cautious about consuming too much. Consult your doctor before incorporating it into your diet.
How much alfalfa should you add to the soil?
I add ½ cup of alfalfa meal to 1 gallon of water. This is enough to feed all my seedlings or a few perennials.
As you can see, this powerhouse plant deserves a spot in your garden! With just a little effort, you’ll be able to reap the many benefits of alfalfa.
More Tips for Growing Plants
Alfalfa Tea for Seedlings and Roses
Filled with the growth hormone triacontanol, alfalfa tea is a completely natural and effective fertilizer perfect for seedlings, roses, and perennials.
Learning how to dry flowers will open up a world of possibilities! Here’s everything you need to know about drying flowers and 14 different ways to use dried flower petals.
Dried flower petals are the best way to preserve the beauty of the garden well into the cold winter months when our plants hibernate. I always have dried flower petals on hand to use for my beauty recipes, soaps, and other crafts.
To ensure I have enough, I stock up on flowers each summer. I want to have an entire rainbow at my disposal for the coming months.
As different flowers bloom each week, I am out in my garden with a basket. I collect and snip the flowers until I have more than enough blooms. Since I like to experiment and give away handmade gifts, I can never have too many!
Here’s what you need to know about dying flowers, from how to dry them to what to do with them.
Sometimes, it’s best to just dry the petals of a flower rather than the whole head.
What Flowers Can You Dry?
While I wish every flower dried as lovely as it looks on the stem, not all flowers dry perfectly. When looking to dry flowers, you want ones that hold their colour and fragrance. A lot of it comes down to testing different flowers and seeing how they dry.
For instance, saliva flowers dry well and really hold their colour. However, the flowers shrink so much and become so tiny that it is not worth the trouble unless you have hundreds. Some of my favourite flowers to dry are:
Lavender bunches smell absolutely divine while they dry.
How to Dry Flower Petals
When it comes to drying flower petals, there are a few methods that can be used. However, some will work better than others for different kinds of flowers. Once again, it’s all about experimenting!
Store your dried flowers in airtight jars so they don’t rehydrate.
Hang Upside Down
You’ve probably seen quite a few photos of this first method because of its Instagram-worthy aesthetic. This popular method is to bundle the stems together and hang upside down. To dry flowers this way, you will want to hang them in a dark and cool room such as a closet that isn’t often used.
If you aren’t going to be using the leaves, strip the stems bare before making bunches. I like to use string, twine, or wire to wrap my stems together and attach them to a hanger (see it in this photo?).
Flowers that are good for this method include lavender, roses, centuarea, echinacea, hops, and more. Some larger flowers such as roses may be better to be hung individually rather than in a bunch.
One of my favourite tricks is to cover lavender bunches with a bag. This allows you to catch lavender buds as they fall, making gathering that much easier!
Dry Flowers in Water
I primarily use this method for hydrangea flowers as it helps to retain the bright pink and blue tones. Remove all the leaves and place the flowers in a vase with an inch or two of water.
Place the flowers in a dark and cool room and simply wait for the water to slowly evaporate. This allows the flowers to dry slowly, helping to preserve the petals’ colour.
Without this technique, the hydrangea flowers get floppy and don’t retain their shape.
Air Dry Flower Heads
Air drying flowers are great for flower heads that can easily pop off their stems, such as calendula and chamomile. To do this method, pop off the heads of the flowers and discard the stems. Then, spread them out on a dish, tray, or drying rack and wait.
Once again, be sure to place these flowers out of direct sunlight while drying. For easy gathering and clean up, be sure to have a tray below that picks up any flowers that fall through a drying rack.
Drying flowers on a tray can also work if you just want individual flower petals and not the whole head. This method works great for larger flowers such as roses, centaurea, sunflower, bee balm (monarda), and peonies.
Lay peony flowers on a tray to get the dried petals.
Use a Dehydrator
If you are strapped for time, you can even use your at-home dehydrator if you have one. The process is the same as drying flower heads and petals on a tray, but instead, you are going to place them in your dehydrator for 8-10 hours.
Be sure to place like flowers in the dehydrator so they all evenly dry or place larger flowers on the top rack as they will take the longest to completely dry. If all flowers are the same size, feel free to rotate the trays so the flowers evenly dry.
Press Flowers
The last method for drying flowers is an old favourite! Pressing flowers is a great method for making personalized cards, framed flowers, and other creative artwork. To make pressed flowers, you can use a flower press or a large book (phone books are great if you still have those kicking around!).
Place your flowers how you want them to dry between two pieces of newspaper or printer paper. This will prevent your flowers from sticking to the book pages and stamping them with colour. Squish them down, and if using a book, place some extra books on top as a weight.
Wait at least three weeks before you open up and check on your flowers. For perfectly pressed flowers, you can make a handmade flower press by following these steps.
Use blotting paper with your flower press to help absorb any moisture.
Where to Buy Dried Flowers
Whether it’s due to space limitations or climate issues, some of us don’t have the capability to grow our own supply of flowers. That doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to enjoy the beauty of dried flowers! There are tons of places where you can buy dried flowers. Here’s a short list:
If you’re wondering where to get started when it comes to purchasing flowers online, consider what you want dried flowers for. This resource guide on how to create your own herbal home apothecary is a great place to start.
What to do With Dried Flowers: 14 Dried Flower Projects
Now that you know how to dry flowers and what to look for when choosing your plants for drying, let’s talk about what to do with them. Once you begin experimenting, you’ll find that the possibilities are endless with these colourful creations. Here are some of my favourite ideas to try.
Beautiful Soap Toppers
Homemade soaps make a wonderful, customized gift. To make my soaps a true showstopper, dried flower petals oftentimes take center stage as the final touch. They are one of the easiest ways to decorate, add colour, and even enhance the smell of soap. For my own soaps, I used dried wildflowers. Follow my steps and create your own wildflower soap.
These petals are for decoration only; they will come off the soap not long after you begin to lather up with it.
Melt And Pour Soaps
While dried flower petals sprinkled on top are lovely, you can also incorporate them directly into your soap. Melt-and-pour soaps are the easiest method for beginners, but that won’t stop your soaps from looking absolutely amazing. Check out how to make your own botanical soaps with flowers inside.
For these soaps, choose flowers you know will hold their colour well through the soap.
Lotion Bars
Calendula has a beautiful golden hue to it and also works as an anti-inflammatory for the skin. Experiment with the garden and treat your skin by making lotion bars with calendula.
Calendula is one of the best herbs for skincare.
Bath Bombs
Bath bombs can make a bath go from simple and relaxing to fun-filled aromatherapy. Dried flowers are one of the best natural ways to make a beautiful bath bomb. You can place a full flower on top or even sprinkle them on as a final decoration. Check out my full list of DIY bath bombs you can make yourself.
Shower Steamers
If baths aren’t your thing, shower steamers are the bath bomb made for shower lovers. If you haven’t tried it before, a shower steamer enhances your shower by filling it slowly with wonderful aromatherapy scents. You can find a complete tutorial here.
Shower steamers are just like bath bombs, but for those who prefer a shower.
Wax Melts
Ditch the plug-ins and aerosols and add fragrance to your home naturally with aromatherapy wax melts. These cute herbal infused melts make a cute gift or are lovely to have on hand when your home needs some freshening up.
Adding dried flowers to wax melts is safer than adding them to candles.
Tub Tea
If you don’t care for the aesthetic of flower petals and herbs floating in the bathtub, tub teas are a great alternative. You get the aromatherapy of the flowers without the cleanup. Here’s how you can make them yourself.
Bath Salts
Perfect for beginners, bath salts are a super quick and easy way to get creative with dried flower petals. This tutorial uses peony, but the flower options are endless!
Dark pink peony flowers hold their colour very well.
After a long day, my sore and tired feet are always the first thing on my mind. I like to give them a little bit of extra loving with a herbal foot soak, complete with dried flowers.
You can customize this project and many others based on the flowers you have on hand.
Rose Water
Did you know that rose is amazing for the skin? Coupled with its amazing scent, dried roses are definitely something you want to have on hand for skincare recipes. Here’s how I use mine to make rose water.
Framed Flowers
Some pressed flowers are just so lovely they need to be framed! Pressed flowers are extremely delicate and framing them definitely takes a careful hand. Follow these tips and steps and you’ll have beautifully framed flowers.
Thinner flowers dry best in a flower press, as large flowers can rot.
Dried Flower Arrangements
A flower arrangement is one of the best ways to brighten up your living space and bring nature indoors. While fresh flowers are beautiful, they only last for so long. Preserve the beauty of your garden inside your home and make it last by creating dried flower arrangements. See all the steps on how to preserve your ornamental flower garden.
You can also combine your dried flowers with fake flowers.
Wreaths
Using dried flowers to create a wreath makes a gorgeous and long-lasting decoration perfect for spring and summer. Follow my steps on how to make a lavender wreath or give my hydrangea wreath a try.
This lavender wreath can be made fresh, and will dry wonderfully to enjoy for years to come.
Echinacea Tincture
Flowers can be so much more than beauty. This echinacea tincture helps to boost immunity and reduce symptoms during cold and flu season. Make your own and learn how to use this incredible flower here.
Tinctures are typically made by soaking the plant in an alcohol base.
FAQ About Drying Flowers
How long will dried flowers last?
Most dried flowers are good for at least 2-3 years if kept in the right conditions. Avoid any sunlight and heat, as well as humidity. Once placed in sunlight, the colour from the blooms can fade quite quickly.
How do you keep dried flowers from rotting?
Rotting dried flowers have absorbed moisture. It’s essential to keep dried flowers away from moisture and humidity. For example, you might not want to keep a dried flower arrangement in the bathroom.
If storing your dried flowers in a container, consider including some silica gel packs to help absorb humidity.
Should I spray my dried flowers with hairspray?
Hairspray can really help to prolong the life of dried flowers. If you’re using dried flowers for display and arranging, spray a light layer of hairspray to help them retain colour and hold their shape. Don’t use hairspray on dried flowers you plan on using for crafts or beauty recipes; it should only be used on display dried flowers.
And there you have it! The gorgeous colours of dried flower petals are lovely to hand for beauty recipes, DIYs, and crafts, but they also stand out on their own in glass jars. If you’re like me, once you start drying flower petals, you won’t be able to stop!
Ditch the vegetable garden and redesign your food garden as a forest! Food forests are a traditional but seriously cool practice of growing your own self-reliant mini forests that produce tons of food. This guide covers all the layers of the food forest and how you can start designing your own edible forest garden.
Until recently, biologists saw ancient pockets of food forests that exist within tropical rainforests as accidental. But, increasing evidence shows these forest gardens as a result of deliberate cultivation by Indigenous Peoples.
These forest gardens are filled with a variety of food, layered, interconnected, and self-sustaining. In my home province of British Columbia, evidence shows there were food forests planted more than 150 years ago!
Today, you can still plant these amazing self-reliant ecosystems right in your backyard. This guide covers all the tips to start planning your epic food forest.
Food forests can include all kinds of plants, including edible flowers.
This post will cover…
This food forest is one of the many self-reliant garden projects you’ll find in my book The Regenerative Garden. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to flip the traditional garden up on its head in lieu of more sustainable spaces, be sure to check it out!
What is a Food Forest?
Food forests consist of a host of beneficial plants carefully selected and arranged to mimic a natural forest system. Together, they boost each other up creating a self-sustaining mini-ecosystem designed to give you plenty of food and materials.
There are many similarities between a food forest and a guild. The plants in a food forest make up several guilds all working together to support and feed one another in many different ways.
People often use the words “guilds” and “food forests” interchangeably. However, a food forest’s design specifically produces the highest amount of consumable by-products, such as food, medicine, and craft materials, in a small footprint.
Of course, food forests also build soil and attract pollinators, creating a cohesive ecosystem that is regenerative and long-lasting without the need for human effort to maintain it.
What the ideal food forest would look like.
Food Forest Benefits
A food forest is not just efficient use of space to grow food but it is also a fully self-sustaining ecosystem. Once planted, gardeners can walk away from a food forest for many years only to return and find it flourishing with a large amount of food. Especially when you compare it to a traditional vegetable garden!
Food forests can be grown in many climates, including dry lands, the tropics, temperate climates, and more forested regions. You can customize them exactly to your microclimate to get an abundant harvest over a long period of time.
Food forests are also incredibly low maintenance. There’s no need for extra fertilizer, as the natural mulch from the trees and plants recycles nutrients. Since perennials tend to have deeper root systems, there is little need for watering.
These perennials also protect the soil. Since there’s no need to dig after initially planting, the soil structure and vast soil ecosystem below remain undisturbed and allowed to flourish.
How to Start a Food Forest
Food forests are an ecological community all working together to support one another to grow and thrive. This type of ecosystem thrives with biodiversity, including plants, animals, and insects. The plants in the food forest are characterized by the layers in which they are growing.
The plant choice is completely dependent on your climate, type of soil, and amount of sunlight and water. Some food forests are only native plants while others incorporate non-native and even exotic plants.
Always think big picture when planning your food forest. Try to make the space as open as possible, allowing for not only shade but dappled shade and sunny areas. Your food forest can be as large or as small as you like.
Think beyond what’s immediately visible. A major part of the food forest is the soil itself. Prior to planting, ensure the soil has everything it needs.
You’ll also need to support wildlife as well. In the food forest, wildlife can keep out the bad bugs and assist with pollinating.
Planting food forests in community spaces is a great initiative to aid with food security.
Food Forest Layers
What exactly is in a food forest? There are many layers to growing an edible forest garden to efficiently use up the space and produce as many useful materials as possible. Listing them from sky to soil, here are the components that make up the structure of a food forest.
Overstory Trees
The overstory is made up of the large foundation trees around which the food forest is based. The size of an overstory tree is what sets the overall footprint of the food forest. Majestic, 100-foot-tall trees create a wide footprint for planting, while smaller fruit trees that reach 25-30 feet can be planted in groups.
Keep in mind that the tallest canopy trees can be difficult to harvest properly. Much of the food grown will feed wildlife or turn into compost. When the tree reaches maturity, it will still provide plenty to eat as well.
Many urban spaces aren’t able to choose their own overstory tree. You can work with what you got!
Understory Trees
Understory trees grow shorter and tolerate a little bit of shade beneath the overstory trees. Typically, these are native trees, such as dogwood and redbud, or ones that tolerate shade such as filbert and pawpaw.
These trees can also be planted with succession in mind as they are ones that leaf and fruit earlier to take advantage of the sun before the overstory trees create shade.
Try to plant native understory trees in your food forest.
Shrub and Bushes
The shrub layer consists of perennials that have multiple woody stems that generally grow about 2-12 feet high. These are often berry plants that also provide wildlife habitat and wind protection.
Perennials are key to having easy to care for food forests.
Epiphytes
Epiphytes are not usually included as a layer in traditional food for people. However, they do provide food sources for humans. An epiphyte is a plant that doesn’t grow in soil but instead attaches itself to the surface of another plant and gets its nutrients and water from the air.
Moss and lichen are examples of epiphytes that grow well in shade and provide an important food source for wildlife. They also contribute to the biomass of the soil as they fall and decompose. Fallen lichen such as usnea can be harvested as a medicinal herb.
Moss naturally grows in my local ecosystem.
Vining Plants
Climbing plants such as vines and bines are a way to take advantage of the vertical space of a garden to produce more food products. Some annuals (such as beans) produce lots of food and naturally die back after food production. Other plants (such as hops) are also productive, but they can easily take over if not properly managed.
You can choose perennial or annual vining plants.
Herbaceous Plants
The herbaceous layer below the woody layer is filled with annual, biennial, and perennial plants. They’re either self-seeded or grow back from their roots but, either way, they die back each year.
Herbaceous plants vary in their sun and shade needs so plant the sun-lovers on the sunny side of the food forests and the shade-lovers on the shadier sides. This layer is essential for food production as well as for creating organic mater that mulches and feeds the soil.
Feverfew and lavender are both herbaceous perennial herbs…and beautiful flowers!
Mushrooms
Another layer not typically included in traditional seven-layer food forests is mushrooms. However, both nutritional and medicinal fungi grow well in forest environments. Introducing mushrooms into your food forest is a great way to include another layer of consumables that will greatly benefit the entire ecosystem.
Mushroom logs. Mushrooms like to grow in shady, moist conditions.
Groundcovers
The groundcover layer consists of herbaceous annuals, perennials, and biennials that grow low to the ground (such as strawberries, chickweed, clover, and herbs) but can also include ground vines (such as squash and sweet potatoes).
Root Plants
Root plants allow us to improve soil structure by aerating the soil and also to grow nutritious food crops just below the soil’s surface.
Garlic is a great root plant as it’s planted in the fall and can be harvested in mid-summer.
And that wraps up all the layers of the food forest! Now you can start planning your own using plants that uniquely fit your space. Let me know in the comments below how your edible forest garden turns out.
