Life on the Land

One of the first things that pops in my mind almost daily in the summer months is, "I wonder how the flowers are doing!" 

Growing flowers has become a favourite hobby of mine over the years; however it's been woven into my life since I was a little girl. I remember my Mom's peonies out front growing up and how beautiful they were, but I was more fixated on how many ants I could count rather than the beauty of the plant itself that my Mother had cared for.

When I look back at the women in my life, they were all tending to their gardens in one way or another. Planting seed by seed, watering, pruning, the never-ending task of growing your own garden. There was always talk of 'the garden' and what needed to be done. Harvesting that would creep up in the Fall and then Spring was there before you knew it and it was time to do it all over again.

Now at the ripe age of 38 years old, I can humbly say that crafting up beautiful gardens is how I spend most of my days - with lots of trial and error of course. 

Here on the West Coast of Canada our growing season is generous. I usually start getting excited in February and in comes the not-so-nice-looking metal rack right into the dining room for everyone to stare at until the plants are ready to go into the ground after the last frost date which is usually in April, early May. It's an exciting time of year and I tend to stay close to home so I can watch my little babies grow because after all, they truly are babies. 

When we first bought our house, the yard was pretty bare-bones and my goal has always been to build a magical English style garden. Prior to being here we owned an old character home with a mature garden of over 25 years. It was one of the most magical gardens I've ever seen and I'll never forget the first day we moved in and I opened the gate to my new yard and I couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't make it to the viewing prior to buying so this was my first time seeing it in real life and it was quite a sight.

That yard was and is my inspiration for this new adventure that we are on. We have poured our hearts and soul into this property and each year we say we're almost done doing all the things we want to do but then, well - we keep dreaming and making it happen.

Spring 2026 will be an exciting time here on the farm as we are in the process of building a custom greenhouse with lumber that's been drying for the last year which we milled right here on the property. There is something about utilizing the land as much as possible and this one has been a long time coming and I can't wait to show you all. It will be worth the wait or at least this is what I keep telling myself.

So, as I sit here looking out at the sunset with flowers in sight, let this be your reminder to make your dreams come true no matter how big or small. It doesn't have to be perfect; you just need to start. 

Life is too short to do anything other than live the life you dream of. What are you waiting for?

Erin

xo