SHIFTING ROOTS

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Beginners Guide to Peonies: Growing Tips and Beautiful DIYs.

August 21, 2020

Peony season is finally here!  For two weeks in June peony lovers everywhere rejoice and furiously arrange and photograph their precious flowers. . . or maybe that’s just me.  There’s nothing like those delicate shades of pink and that glorious scent wafting from every bloom.

But peonies aren’t always as easy to grow as they might seem. In this post, I go over how to grow peonies (especially if you’re in Canada like I am), how long before your peony will grow, and some tips for transplanting peonies.

Did you know that peonies make excellent cut flowers? Once they have established, peonies will provide you with many cut flowers to use in the five DIY flower arrangements I’ve listed at the end of the post.

If you live in hardiness zones 2-8, you really need to pick up a peony root from your nearest garden centre or friend with too many on her hands.  Here’s everything you need to know to grow and play with herbaceous peonies.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase something.  You can read more about it in my privacy policy.  Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

37 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, DIY, Flowers, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: backyard florist, bridal bouquet, bridal flowers, Bride, Bridesmaid, DIY, easy, floral arrangements, floral arranging, floral hoop wreath, Gardening, peonies, peony, projects, rustic wedding, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, simple, urban gardening, wedding

20+ Canadian Seed Companies & Nurseries to Order the Garden or Landscape of Your Dreams

January 9, 2020

Are you a beginner gardener with no idea where to buy your seeds?  Whether you’re looking for flowers or vegetables, heirloom seeds, organic seeds, wildflower seeds for your xeriscape, or hardy fruit trees, you’ll find something in this list.

Are you a beginner gardener with no idea where to start?  Whether you're looking for flowers or vegetables, heirloom seeds, organic seeds, wildflower seeds for your xeriscape, or hardy fruit trees, you'll find something in this list. Order early so you can try seed starting before it's gardening season! #gardening #seedstarting #seeds #startingseeds #flowers #vegetables #landscaping #seedcompanies
[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

13 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: Flowers, Gardening, heirloom, organic, seed companies, seed starting, seeds, urban gardening, Vegetables

How to Grow A Floret-Style Cut Flower Garden on the Cheap

October 26, 2018

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something from one of the links, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

Do you dream of a yard full of beautiful cut flowers and filling your Instagram feed with their gorgeous blooms?  If you’ve read the Floret Farm’s Cut Flower book or seen their Instagram feed, chances are you’ve caught the flower bug and are wondering how you could ever make your flower fantasies come true.  Just me?  Anyway.

I interviewed Saskatoon’s Danielle Fulawka, a full-time artist and cut flower gardener (yes, you read that correctly!!) and asked her to spill her secrets on how she was able to start a Floret-style flower farm in her small city backyard on the cheap.  She was able to start her business from scratch for $2000 and break even in the first year.

Did you know you can start your own flower farm in a small backyard? Danielle shares how she started a flower farm business with cut flowers like Floret for under $2000. You'll never believe how many bouquets she grew in her zone 3 annual flower garden. #cutflowers #flowerfarm
[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

4 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Flowers Tagged: backyard florist, cut flowers, Danielle Fulawka, Floret, Flowers, urban flower farm, urban garden, urban gardening

This Is What Your Urban Garden Can Grow in One Year

October 17, 2017

Think you have too little space in your city backyard to garden?  I’m here to tell you that as long as you have decent light, you don’t.

This year I planted a small garden in my backyard in a designated garden area, amongst my flowers wherever there was space, in pots, and in three raised beds.  That sounds like a lot of space, but it really isn’t.

Here are my results.

Have you ever wondered how much you can really grow in your urban garden? It might be more than you think! I'm sharing the results of growing vegetables in a tiny garden plot, on my patio in pots, and in a few garden boxes. #urbangardening #gardening #growingvegetables #smallspacegardening #citygardening

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

8 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: Beans, Beets, beginner gardener, best plants for beginners, canadian gardening, Carrots, Garden, garden harvest, Gardening, harvest 2017, Kale, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, planting, plants, Potatoes, pumpkins, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, summer squash, Tomatoes, urban gardening, Zucchini

The Solution to an Unused Side Yard: Graham & Sarah’s Urban Garden

June 30, 2017

If you’ve ever had the privilege to live on a corner lot, you know the struggle.  What do you do with that small piece of land that’s facing the street but isn’t your backyard?

You could fence it in, but no one will ever play there and no one wants to be relegated to the dark corner of the yard to “relax.”

You could just leave it be, but all of that grass seems like a waste of real estate.  It’s also a waste of your time to mow, especially if you have an electric lawn mower!!

My friends Graham and Sarah have come up with a fantastic solution: grow a raised bed vegetable garden.

Corner lots are wonderful, but they come with the dreaded narrow side yard.  If yours has full sun, you can easily turn it into a low maintenance raised bed vegetable garden.  Here's how Sarah and Graham did it in their landscaping makeover. #sideyard #landscaping #ideas #garden #makeover

Today we’re going on a tour of their yard and talking about the project, the best parts, and what they wish they’d done differently.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

18 Comments
Filed Under: DIY, Gardening, Makeover, Outdoor Life Tagged: corner lot, DIY, Garden, Gardening, side yard, urban gardening

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • How to Grow Eucalyptus for Cut Flowers (Even in a Short Growing Season!)
  • 26 Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
  • 17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade
  • How to Design a Cut Flower Garden in Raised Beds
  • How to Start a Cut Flower Garden

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Find What You’re Looking For. . .

Privacy Policy

Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
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I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
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If you're starting a luffa sponge, make sure you have some sort of eventual plan for the vine.  last year mine went over my fall windows before I was able to take them outdoors.⁠
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P.S. I've actually never started onions from seed, so if anyone wants to chin in about their experience, feel free!
Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
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That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
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Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
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Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
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