Yesterday's Gardener

09/09/2022

In honour and memory of Queen Elizabeth II, this beautiful 269-year old iris, called the Mourning Iris. I really can't imagine the world without her, and I don't think they make leaders like her nowadays. It is the end of a long and iconic era.

In memory of Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - 2022)! Iris susiana L.* ( Carolus Linnaeus, 1753) The grayish black Mourning Iris and the only oncocyclus species worth attempting to grow for the average gardener. Reports indicate that it has been successfully cultivated and even increased in some sections of the country. The Mourning Iris is an immense globular flower strangely beautiful though somber. Ground color is silvery gray completely dotted and veined blackish purple. Large black signal patch. Most striking as a cut flower and used for this purpose by florists in metropolitan Europe.

08/09/2022

NEW BLOG POST out today!
Morning glories are one of my favourite flowers. Or are they?
Today’s post The Good Morning Glory explores the difference between a “good” morning glory and a “bad” morning glory. There’s one that we all love to hate (me included) and one that can be welcomed into most gardens. And I’ll tell a story about how the “bad” morning glory made me realize it was time to sell my house. Yup, it’s true!
Do you know the difference? Do you grow annual morning glories in your garden? If you do, tell me where you live and what your experience has been with them.
https://bit.ly/3qm7HmX

06/09/2022

Seed saving in progress. Radicchio will hopefully grow a bit in this month's cooler, Speckled lettuce pushing up flowering heads now, and Snap Pea seeds from are ready for harvest.
If I keep saving seed and growing them on, in a few years I'll have my own varieties perfectly suited to my hot dry Okanagan climate. It takes around 8 years for a self-hybridized variety to fully stabilize.

05/09/2022

🌻YESTERDAY’S GARDENER blog is now live!🌻
Yesterday’s Gardener is the ultimate guide to heirloom seeds, vintage vegetables, antique flowers, and old-fashioned gardens.
First, let me introduce myself. I’m Dani Brown, lover of heirloom plants and teller of seed stories. I'm a former heritage garden coordinator for a British Columbia museum, where I gained my passion for heirloom gardens and plants. That knowledge has been resting inside me for a while, and this feels like the perfect time to share it!
As you explore the site you’ll hear the stories of heirloom plants and find out why you might want to grow them. You’ll discover:
🌺 Flowers that were common in your grandmother’s garden, and their scents, colours and meanings.
🌽 Vegetables and herbs that were grown by past generations from all over the world.
🌿 How to save seeds from and preserve vanishing varieties of flowers and veggies.
🏡 Garden styles from older eras and ways we can add vintage touches to our modern gardens.
I hope you have as much fun exploring the site as I have had creating it!
www.yesterdaysgardener.com

02/09/2022

Tea ✅
Breakfast ✅
Visit local flower farm ✅
I can't think of a better way to start off a late summer day than a visit to It doesn't get any better for a than having a flower farm 6 minutes from your house! 🌼🌸🌻💐
Me and my Yesterday's Gardener blog will be at the open house in Peachland this Saturday. What better way to decorate my table than with a bouquet of Arlene's beautiful flowers! I wandered about snipping old-fashioned zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, amaranth, scabious and more.
If you'd like to pick your own bouquet contact Arlene, and give them a follow. If you'd like to learn more about gardening with heirlooms my website will be live tomorrow (more info later today). And if you're in Peachland pop by the open house and say hi!
    Columbia

31/08/2022

I'm in Surrey BC this week (my former home) visiting much-missed friends and one of my fave places in the world -
This is where my love of heirloom gardening began. In 1993 I started a beautiful journey when I volunteered to be part of a team that researched, planted and maintained flower and veg gardens at this historic farm site. Our mandate was to only grow plants that the pioneer Stewart family would have grown between 1890 and 1910. It was a challenging and rewarding task!
I was eventually employed to manage these beautiful gardens and the volunteer team that cared for them. My knowledge of vintage varieties of fruit, veggies, herbs and flowers grew, along with awareness that our garden plant diversity is disappearing much like endangered animal species are.
I am so blessed to have had this experience - it shaped the gardener I am and gave me the passion to begin Yesterday's Gardener. The blog goes live this weekend - stay tuned!
PS if you're ever in Surrey you must visit this living history museum. It's one of the most peaceful places I know, and they have events and demonstrations of what life was like for area settlers.

27/08/2022

Sshhhh! He's all tucked in to the dianthus for the night!
Thanks to Arlene for pointing this little guy out during my visit to her beautiful flowers last night. Check out her flower farm in West Kelowna soon!

26/08/2022

Yayyyy! The 'Purple Peacock' pole beans are finally fruiting! This heirloom variety from the Ozarks is beautiful, from its purplish stems and leaves to its violet flowers to its delicious dark purple beans. I grow it every year for its beauty and crop.
Note: when cooked the beans turn from purple to green because heat dissipates the anthocyanin that creates the purple colour, leaving behind the green chlorophyll. No matter - they're yummy no matter what colour they are!
 
Columbia

22/08/2022

The closest to a pink shade I have ever seen in a calendula. It is a sport of Calendula "Zeolights" that I've grown for a few years and let them seed themselves.
I'll be saving seed from this one for sure to grow on and create my own pink strain.
Calendula seeds are some of the most interesting in the plant world (swipe to see the seedhrad). To me they look like little prehistoric ribs. Here's how to save your own calendula seed:
🌻Simply leave some of your fave flowers on the plant until they are dry and brown. Choose the colours you like best or the stems that had the biggest flowers. You can tie a bit of ribbon around the stem so you remember which ones you intended to save.
🌻Pick the dry seed heads gently and place in a dish or open paper bag for a week or two to complete drying. Then separate the cool-looking seeds from the heads and very gently blow off the chaff (dead petals etc). Store in a sealed jar or envelope.
🌻Mark your seed packages well with the flower name and date saved.
Now you don't have to purchase calendula seeds next year! You're welcome! 😊



Columbia

22/08/2022

08/08/2022

BLOG COMING SOON!🌻🌸
Life (just like gardens) sometimes goes a different way than you planned, right?
I have a feeling many of us have been in a similar place lately - floundering a bit, having the rug pulled out from under us, pivoting. Again. But we're gardeners, we're resilient, we know how to go with the flow!
And that's what I've been doing. I had to put this blog on hold last year when things got too busy. Then this spring, everything stopped - all my jobs abruptly ended, community garden project didn't go ahead this year. So I'm pivoting - back to this blog project that has held a very special spot in my heart for a few years.
Yesterday’s Gardener celebrates all that is vintage, rare and old-fashioned in the garden:
🌺Flowers that were common in your grandmother’s garden, and their scents, colours and meanings.

🍅Vegetables and herbs that were grown by generations from all over the world.

🌿Garden styles from past eras and ways we can add vintage touches to our own gardens.
I've migrated my site and am working hard to make it beautiful and useful for you. I can't wait to unveil the new Yesterday's Gardener in a few weeks!
KelownaGardeners