 | Wall Flower Studio is moving! It is with much excitement that I share this news! At the end of June the shop will re-open in a new location. Thankfully not far! We're simply crossing the street & heading to the southern end of the downtown core, beside Up River Trading and across from the CIBC. - 102 Bobcaygeon Rd. I’d been considering this for some time. The current location had begun to feel like a well-loved dress. You want to keep it, but it just isn’t fitting like it used to. Then the flood... A catalyst for change if ever there was one. This led to hearing about an alternate location, and uprooting seemed like good business sense, and one of those serendipitous events one can’t ignore. It’s my hope that this will be a happy place for friends and customers to gather. With the ability to offer a variety of new workshops in a comfortable environment, one that offers a bit more elbow room, I’ll also be able to ramp up my plant offering and streamline other products, that up until now, I couldn’t pursue due to space limitations. I’m bittersweet about leaving. Aside from the lovely view I’ve enjoyed of Sassy Digs across the street, my current landlords, Shawn & Elli, (owners of the Dominion Hotel and the GOTG) along with Clark and Stephanie, all of whom I have come to call friends. However, as an ever optimistic entrepreneur, chances must be taken from time to time. I believe the move will complement the future vision I have for the shop! An exciting new venture and a journey I look forward to sharing with all of you. Thank you! ~ Karen | June Quotes "I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June."
~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island "If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance."
~ Bern Williams | Early July Workshops
1. Air plant Garden
2. Kokedama | 1. Woodland Air Plant Garden Workshop Create your very own woodland inspired air plant garden!
Join Karen at the shop for some indoor gardening inspiration! This workshop offers step-by-step instructions on how to create your very own tropical air plant natural display to enjoy all year round. Learn about container selection, quirky design additions, and how best to care for the little ecosystems so it continues to thrive once you get it home! – Sat. July 15, 2017
– 3 p.m to 4 p.m.
– All materials provided!
– Cost: $35.00 | 2. Kokedama Workshop Join Karen for a Kokedama workshop. (loosely translated, ko ke: moss, dama: ball).
Karen will share the tips and tricks to construct your own living artwork, and then walk you through the process step-by-step as you create a beautiful, unique plant to take home. Kokedama planters developed in Japan as a pottery-free means of growing bonsai and other plants. Kokedamas are also fun and relaxing to make, adorable to look at, and simple to care for. Hanging plants can be a nice option for those of us with curious cats! The workshop includes:
+ Step-by-step guide to creating and caring for a Kokedama
+ A tray to display your Kokedama
+ Tips and tricks for indoor plants
+ All supplies (plants, moss, soil, decorative materials, indoor plant information booklet, care instructions) ▪ Date: Sunday July 9th Time: 10:00am-Noon
▪ $45.
| ▪ | Date: Sunday July 9th Time: 10:00am-Noon | Contact Karen to sign up for either workshop (or both) at: Tel: 705.286.6999
Email sloanartgallery@gmail.com
Or, follow Wall Flower Studio on Facebook! | June Gardening Checklist ▪ Plant annual flowers and veggies.
▪ Weed now and save your back later!
▪ Prune Forsythia and other early blooming shrubs.
▪ Plant tender herbs like basil. Harden them off near the house if you're going to cultivate them outside.
▪ Leave the dandelions and violets for the bees. In many instances, these are the first blooms that will provide food for many of our pollinators.
▪ Prune a few lilacs and/or Lily-of-the-Valley. Pop them in a vase to enjoy inside. A favourite yearly ritual, especially when the black flies are horrendous and keep us indoors for a few days!
| ▪ | Plant annual flowers and veggies. | | ▪ | Weed now and save your back later! | | ▪ | Prune Forsythia and other early blooming shrubs. | | ▪ | Plant tender herbs like basil. Harden them off near the house if you're going to cultivate them outside. | | ▪ | Leave the dandelions and violets for the bees. In many instances, these are the first blooms that will provide food for many of our pollinators. | | ▪ | Prune a few lilacs and/or Lily-of-the-Valley. Pop them in a vase to enjoy inside. A favourite yearly ritual, especially when the black flies are horrendous and keep us indoors for a few days! | | Herbal Tea Drying culinary herbs for tea is easy and enjoyable! Harvest on dry days, preferably in the morning after the dew has evaporated but before the sun is strong. You can pick them at dusk too. Give them a good shake to make sure you’re not bringing unwanted visitors into the house! While I do dry hang sage in bundles upside down to dry, for other types of herbs this process can be messy. They can also get dusty if they’re not used right away. Instead, I strip away the herbs and foliage from their stems and lay them to dry on a mesh screen or tray. Sprinkle the herbs no more than two or three layers thick on the screen. Store away from direct heat and light (room temperature is fine), and fluff them occasionally until they crumble when crushed; leathery, pliable leaves are not dry enough to store. Use one large handful of fresh herbs per four- to six-cup (one- to 1.5-litre) teapot. When making tea with dried herbs, use one tablespoon (15 mL) per mug. These are simply guidelines and amounts will vary according to your personal taste. The strength of the herbs will also vary according to their growing conditions, not unlike grapes to Terroir. Avoid making herbal tea in a metal pot. This can be reactive and can affect the taste; choose instead a ceramic or glass container. Glass Pots make it easier to gauge when the tea is ready. Wall Flower Studio has an abundance of herbal tea & tisanes for every taste! If you're not into harvesting your own, pop into the shop. I create custom tea orders, too! ~ Happy steeping! | What's New in the shop? Succulents!! I have many new varieties to offer. Haworthia, Echiveria, Aloe, Kalanchoe, Jades, and many more unusual indoor plants.
Pop in to the new shop and have a gander! | Air Plants Many new varieties! Large and small and in between. I'm happy to offer information on how to keep your air plants thriving all year long. | Hoya Hearts! My new current favourite! These lovely heart shaped Hoyas are just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.
Easy to grow. They'll thrive with minimal care! | Garden Seeds I still have many varieties of seeds to offer.
Herbs, flowers and many heirloom veggies.
Grown and harvested from my own garden! They're local, hardy, organically grown, non-gmo, and untreated. For a complete list, drop by the shop or visit: HERE - Thanks! | Apothecary If you're like me and don't use garden gloves, (personally I can't stand them), working with bare hands in the garden can be really rough on our skin.
So, if you're looking for something to sooth, stop into the shop and test some of my organic skincare products. I personally create goat milk soap bars, hand and body crème, relaxing bath soaks, and many botanical oils that can ease many skin conditions and irritations..
Come visit to see which one is right for you! | Lilac Cordial Recipe (part 1) You may have guessed by now that I absolutely adore lilacs. For the month of June, to honour them I wanted to share a lilac related recipe with everyone! Enjoy. Makes 1.25 litres o 5 cups of Lilac blossoms (about 9 panicles/flower bunches)
o 1 litre of water
o 1.25 pounds of sugar (568g). I organic cane sugar.
o 1.5 tsp citric acid (totally optional, but I find it ‘finishes’ the flavour of most cordials and aids preservation). I have it available, but it can be found in health food stores as well. Give the lilacs a good shake to remove any insects or debris.
Discard as much of the stem as you can, but don’t pull off individual flowers – the flower nectar is right at the bottom where the flower connects to the stem, so you would lose most of the desired floral flavour! Lilac stems are not toxic, we just don’t want their flavour.
Put the flowers in a non-reactive (glass or ceramic) bowl.
In a medium size pot, bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from the heat. Add the optional citric acid at this point and stir.
Pour the hot syrup over the lilac flowers and stir gently but well.
Cover the bowl with a lid and leave the mixture at room temperature for 24 hours, stirring several times to keep the floating flowers from oxidizing.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another 2 days. During this time the flavour of the lilacs will infuse the syrup. | Lilac Cordial (part 2) After the second day, strain the syrup through a sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth.
Use enough cheesecloth to allow you to pull up the sides and wrap the flowers into a ball, twisting the top so you can squeeze out as much of the remaining syrup as possible.
Transfer the syrup to clean sterile glass jars or bottles. Sterilize your storage jars and lids to increase its fresh lifespan. For longer storage you can process the jars as you would jam with snap lids and the boiling water method (1/2-inch of head space, process for 8 minutes).
Once sealed, the syrup will keep indefinitely - Store in the refrigerator once opened. - Lilac syrup will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 months.
Freezing some diluted in ice cube trays will make a lovely addition to summer cocktails! A cordial is a concentrate – In England, they call it ‘squash’, so you need to dilute to taste. Just pour a bit (1/4 cup is a generous dose for a large glass) over ice, and add water, bubbly water of choice, or half of each.
Lilac syrup would make a killer cocktail just with some vodka and spritzer and, not surprisingly, it goes really well with gin! | Look for another newsletter closer to the end of June!
I'll be offering more information on the date, time and grand reopening of our new location. The current space will be open sporadically this month. Structural work on the building is in progress. I'll be in and out of the shop, as well as working in several client's gardens. I'd love it if you can join me and help celebrate the big day! ~ Cheers, Karen | | |
