How To Dry and Preserve Leaves

Oak leaf

I love walking though leaves in Autumn,

 hearing them crunch under my feet. 

I pick some up as their

 beautiful colours catch my eye.

I have an easy way of drying and 
preserving them, to make an inexpensive
 Fall decoration for my table.

This is so simple and doesn't cost a penny. 

I place them in a book, 

usually a large heavy book for a few days,
about a week. 

and viola....they appear pressed.

Maple leaves

Some books I use.
My favourite is a large atlas.

I put a heavy weight on top about a week. 

Maple leaves come in many pretty colours.

from orange, yellow, rust, green, brown and reds. 

What I do with them?


I place them on my table and cover with a clear plastic.
Makes a nice fall tablecloth.

A nice activity and learning 
experience for children.

The colours blend well with fall cushions.

This pic below is my daughter's table I did a few yrs. ago.

My Grandkids and I collected leaves on our walks.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers"

by Lucy M. Montgomery-Author of Anne of Green Gables.

Thanks to the Sherbrooke Record, 

for featuring this blog in their newspaper.

Another blog I did on Autumn colours, click here. to view.

Thanks for your visit xo💚💛

Autumn's Bounty ~ Wildlife Food

Autumn,  a season ablaze with colour,
shorter day, and cooler nights.
A time to prepare for snow and Winter.



We seem to do more cooking, baking 
and preserving foods in Autumn.
Autumn's Harvest gives us so
many great foods to prepare 
for the long cold Winter ahead.

Most trees, give food for wildlife.
We are blessed with an abundance
of beautiful trees and shrubs, here in the Gaspé. 

I am sharing a few in my region
of Eastern Canada.

______________________________

Mountain Ash or

Rowan (Pronounced "round") Trees 
They are native in the colder regions
of the Northern Hemisphere,
adding beauty to any landscape and
can been seen throughout the Gaspé.

The berries will stay on

 until the birds, deer, moose, partridge 
and other wildlife eat them.

This week the leaves have turned brown

 and are falling 

I have a lot on my property.

This year the rowan berries are huge
unlike last year.

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Oak Trees
There are approx. 13 species 
of Oak trees in Canada.
These huge trees can grow up 100ft. tall.

Oak trees produce acorns in the Fall.

Food for squirrels, chipmunks, 

raccoons, geese, woodpeckers,

 bluejays, and deer.

I dry some leaves for decoration uses. 

Oak leaves and acorns

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An Ornamental Crabapple Tree.
I took these photos on one of my walks.

These trees are spectacular in the Spring
covered in beautiful flowers. 
The fruit are eaten by squirrels,
birds and other wildlife. 

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Highbush Cranberries.

Native to North America.

They grow wild in the forest here.

I have transplanted some trees in my garden.

The berries make a nice jam, jelly or juice.

A beautiful shrub/tree with a cluster

 of white flowers in the Spring.

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Barberry Bush 
A green bush that turn orange
in Autumn.

Red Barberry bush

After the leaves fall of,

 the Barberry Bush produces little berries,

more food for rabbits and wildlife.

I found these bushes below,  growing in the woods.

The birds must have carried the seeds there.

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Green Grapes
Last year, the birds or deer, 
 ate them all in one day.

This year they are lasting longer..

====================================================

Maple Trees
Sugar Maple Trees,
In Spring, maple syrup is made from
 the sap of these beautiful deciduous trees.
Quebec is one of the world's top
producers of maple syrup. 

maple leaves

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An Autumn quote from
 "Anne of Green Gables" novel,  by L.M. Montgomery.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

Thanks for your visit xo

You can follow me on Instagram.

Check out my blog on how I dry and preserve leaves, click here.

Kingsbrae Garden - St. Andrews, New Brunswick

In August I visited the Kingsbrae Gardens

 in St. Andrews, New Brunswick

with my daughter and granddaughter.

A 27-acre site, 
a horticultural garden,
opened to visitors since 1998.
What I liked the most about Kingsbrae Garden, 
are all the different gardens on site.

There's a Dutch windmill at the gardens. 

Built in Holland, dismantled and erected
 at Kingsbrae Gardens, 
to honour John and Lucinda Flemer, 
who generously donated the property for the gardens.
The windmill circulates the water from the lower to
the upper pond to prevent the ponds from stagnating. 

Suzanne and Sabina

The Entry Garden

A White Garden

Stunning!

A cedar maze

More than 2,500 varieties of trees,

plants and shrubs and

many pathways to stroll along.

One of the Ponds.

Many beautiful flowers

Coneflowers - Echinacea 

and Black-Eyed Susans.

Lilies

Clematis Vine

Alpacas 

He's trying to eat the branches of 

the tree hanging above him. 

Terracotta Pots

Goats

Very tall flowers

A Woodland Garden

Suzanne and Sabrina

Children's Fantasy Garden

A Sculpture Garden
A few of the many sculptures....

Milkweed for the butterflies
There is a Monarch breeding station where
the public can observe their evolution from 
larvae through pupae to a new butterfly.

Nasturtiums 

Refreshments at the Garden Cafe.

We had a delicious iced-tea.

There's much more to the gardens than I have shared.
A Scents and Sensitivity Garden,
(built in co-operation with the
Canadian National Institute for the Blind.)
 A Secret Garden and Peace Garden,
 A Rose Garden and a Knot Garden,
and more...

I have visited many gardens and 

this beautiful garden is one of my favourite. 

While visiting New Brunswick,

we stayed in the Charming town of 

St. Andrews~By~The~Sea.

Also visited Grand Manan Island
and it's 3 lighthouses.

Thanks for your visit xo