Crisp Country Gardens

06/19/2026

A little plant post on something I’ve learned over the years, this is my variegated pokeweed.

I’ve heard it called invasive or weedy more than once, but interestingly, that has not been my experience at all.

Mine has been in the same spot for about 4–5 years and has never spread or even gotten much bigger.

One reason may be that the variegated form is less vigorous than the regular green type. It does have a very deep taproot, and it can spread by seed in some gardens, so I know other people may have a very different experience with it.

I also recently learned it is toxic, which means I likely won’t use it in bouquets anymore. Even so, I still love it for the garden, the foliage is beautiful, and I especially love it paired with my maiden grass.

06/18/2026

Rain day today 🌧️

The gardens are soaked, it rained through the night, and it was still coming down this morning, so I’m calling it a rain day and shifting today’s work to Sunday. That’s just the reality of garden life we work with the weather, not against it.

Honestly, I’m not mad about it. The rain is doing the watering for us, and if the sun decides to come out later, I’ll probably spend some time in my own gardens planting more of my leftover annuals. I grew them all myself, so I’d much rather find them a home in the garden than let them go to waste.
Until sun comes ill hang in the greenhouse getting indoor plants ready for July 1st Market at Avalon lavender farms.

We also had our horticultural plant show this week. I didn’t have a lot ready to bring this year because everything seems to be growing a little slower with the cool weather, but I did put together a tiny design piece for the wine glass bouquet class using what I had blooming in my gardens.

And somehow… it won Best in Show for the design division. 🥹🌸

The judges also took the time to teach us what we did right, what we could improve, and the proper ways to prepare entries for shows. I actually found that part so helpful, especially since I’ll be helping with the flower section at the Shelburne Fair this fall.

This season has definitely been slower and cooler, but things are growing, the rain is helping, and I’m excited to see everything take off once the warmth comes back.

Garden life is unpredictable, but that’s part of it. 🌿

06/16/2026

Today was a mulch day, followed by a few quick garden cleanups at some other smaller properties.

The gardens are really starting to fill in now, (i had to bucket load the mulch). The fresh mulch makes everything look so clean and finished.

We got hit with a cool thunderstorm partway through the day, which made for an easy desicion to call ot a day and head home to collect flowers for tonight’s horticultural plant show.

Busy garden season days are the best days 🌿

06/16/2026

Tomorrow night. Will be an interesting talk.

Please note, there is a different location for this meeting

06/15/2026

A day in the life of Crisp Country Gardens 🌿

Some days my “office” is full of birds, rivers, crickets, sunshine, old stone paths, cedar woods, peonies, hostas, ferns, lavender, and gardens that feel like they belong in a storybook.

There’s a lot of hard work behind the peaceful photos, buckets, weeds, edging, hauling, trimming, cleaning up beds, and trying to bring the gardens back to where they want to be. But then there are moments where I stop, look around, and remember how lucky I am that this is what my days can look like.

Today was one of those days.

The sound of the river, the birds in the trees, the crickets in the grass, and all these beautiful gardens waking up for summer. It’s peaceful, messy, tiring, and honestly pretty magical.

This is the part of garden work I love most being surrounded by nature while helping these spaces breathe again.

06/14/2026

06/14/2026

Real-life product testing at Mud Girl 😂

I brought one of my macramé water bottle holders with me (its always in the truck, i use it at work) and honestly… it was perfect.

Hands free, easy to carry, didn’t have to worry about holding it, loosing it, and it stayed with me the whole time. It definitely got dirty, but I threw it in the washer when I got home and it cleaned up great.

I originally started making these because they’re cute, but after using this one at work, for walks and now an obstacle course, I can officially say they’re practical too.

Garden days, markets, walks, hikes, kids’ sports, festivals, muddy obstacle races… I’m calling this one Crisp Country tested and approved 😂

06/14/2026

This tuesday come join us and learn about lavender and check out our flower show.

Please note, there is a different location for this meeting

06/14/2026

Today was MUDGIRL day 💪💜 so no work for me 😉

We were down one mama today and definitely missed her, but we still had such a blast.

The weather was perfect, the mud was everywhere, and we attempted to get photos even though that is almost impossible when you’re covered head to toe in mud lmao. I cannot wait until they release the photos they got of us.

After Mudgirl and a yummy lunch, we headed off to Vandermeers to pick up plants for an upcoming garden build. Then, because apparently we can never pass up plants, we made a stop at Connon Nurseries too. 🌿😂

It was such a great mom’s day out. I love the whole vibe of Mudgirl, women showing up, laughing, cheering each other on, getting messy, and supporting one another.

A huge thank you to Amanda Gordon Abram with Abram Real Estate for sponsoring us this year and supporting women getting out, doing something fun, and making memories together. We appreciate it so much. 💜

Dirty, tired, happy, and still came home with a truck full of plants. Sounds about right. 🌸泥

06/12/2026

Today was a whole lot of planting. 🌿

My clients removed multiple Boomerang lilacs from their gardens. They are pretty, but they can be very high maintenance and need constant trimming to keep them looking tidy. We replaced them with Incrediball hydrangeas, which have stronger stems than Annabelle hydrangeas while keeping that same beautiful, rounded growth habit.

We also planted a bunch of my annuals throughout the garden to help fill space and add seasonal colour. I get to do this garden every year, and it is always fun watching my plants grow in a client’s space.

Then we were off to the second beautiful garden to plant even more. This is one we cardboarded and mulched last fall, and the difference has been huge. It is always nice seeing those extra steps pay off the next season.

And I have to say, the pink dianthus might be my favourite thing to work around right now. It smells like cotton candy or bubble gum, and honestly, that makes garden work just a little sweeter. 🌸