Robyn Chubey’s creative ideas for decorating homes and gardens in every season, and her garden-to-table recipes to delight family and guests, are about to reach a new audience.
Chubey’s five-acre farm on the outskirts of Winnipeg — Prairie Glow Acres — is the showcase for her skills as a talented photographer, gardener, florist and decorator. Her social media followers (@life_of_glow on Instagram) are drawn by her innovative ideas and easy DIY projects for creating showstopping spaces, and she uses photography to tell engaging stories about life at home and in the garden.
Next March, she’ll launch her first book, Gather Together: Delightful Décor and Simple Recipes for Every Occasion.
Robyn Chubey photos
Robyn Chubey uses pumpkins to create a welcoming entrance to her greenhouse.
“I was contacted by Quarto Publishing in spring 2024, and was asked if I had ever wanted to write a book,” says Chubey. “I’ve wanted to write a book for about 20 years. I said I would love to.”
Publishing is highly competitive, so when a publisher approaches someone who has never written a book before, you know that person has a great story to tell.
Chubey’s book contains more than 100 affordable ideas for recipes, craft projects and holiday-themed décor.
“It’s a seasonal entertaining book,” she says. “For every occasion or holiday, you will find suggestions for creating a tablescape, five or six recipes and a craft component. It might be DIY placeholders that offer a personalized touch. There are ideas for Father’s Day gifts and hostess gifts and recipes for homemade vanilla extract and a homemade ginger ale recipe.”
Arranged by season, the book is a guide to hosting any event. Her garden, where she grows a range of edibles including tomatoes, peppers, beans, leafy greens, pumpkins and herbs, inspires many of the recipes for delicious appetizers, sauces, drinks, breads, meals and desserts.
Gather Together is also packed with photos and tips for creating stunning centrepieces. Chubey grows dozens of different types of flowers for the bouquets she uses to decorate her home. She also sells cut flowers. Sunflowers and zinnias are two of her favourites for Thanksgiving tables.
Zinnia blooms are paired with mini pumpkins in horns of plenty on the Thanksgiving table.
“I love Autumn Beauty sunflower, which has orange-gold-russet blooms. I also like the Kong sunflower, which grows to about 12 feet (365 cm) tall. The variety of sunflower, though, isn’t as important to me as a branching sunflower variety that produces multiple blooms.
“I find that if you are growing single-stem sunflowers — like the ProCut series, for example — it’s easy to lose the flowers to pests, especially if you are growing on open farmland like I am. If early blooms on a branching sunflower are lost to pest pressures, I know that I just need to wait and I will get gorgeous blooms from all the branching parts because pests always come in a cycle.
“Zinnias are one of the best cut and come-again flowers. My favourite variety is Benary’s Giant Zinnias. The flowers produce big puffy flowers with layers of petals.”
This year, Chubey grew Unicorn and Alpenglow zinnias from seed that she purchased from Floret Flowers.
Collecting and saving seeds from the flowers and edibles she grows is key to the arrangements she designs and the recipes she makes. She’s been busy collecting and drying seeds this fall and she stores them in paper envelopes which she tucks into clear plastic photo storage boxes.
With Thanksgiving at hand and Halloween just around the corner, Chubey uses pumpkins in all sizes and colours to decorate her shed, greenhouse and front entrance, and to create fall tablescapes for indoor and outdoor entertaining.
Robyn Chubey can show you how to create a fall-themed outdoor tablescape, step by step.
“Pumpkins go with everything,” she says.
Usually by May 1, Chubey starts the seeds for 35 pumpkin plants.
“We have the perfect climate for growing amazing pumpkins, and they couldn’t be easier to add to a corner in your yard,” she says.
Chubey recommends planting one pumpkin seed per cell, pointy side up, in a seedling tray. Within three weeks of germination or once the risk of frost is over, she transplants the seedlings to a sunny location, taking care to disturb the roots as little as possible.
She grows her pumpkins in eight four-foot by eight-foot raised beds and trains them to grow vertically on a trellis.
“Ideally, your pumpkin plant should only be about 7.62 cm at the time of planting,” says Chubey. “Plant it close to a trellis, and as soon as it starts to grow its vines, tie the main vine to the trellis using jute twine. Make a non-slip loop knot which keeps the twine secure.”
Robyn Chubey and her new chicken coop. Soon, she’ll have colourful home-raised eggs.
In addition to the pumpkins she grows, Chubey sources the gourds from local farms like Schwabe Pumpkins and Lavallee Pumpkin Farm, as well as Country Roots Market and Garden and her local grocery store. She likes to save seeds from as many different pumpkin varieties as she can.
Chubey’s favourite tip for pumpkin-inspired décor is to group three to five smaller pumpkins together and pair them with candle holders and florals in vases. I love the way she tucks zinnia blooms with colourful mini pumpkins into horns of plenty for the Thanksgiving table.
“If you want to go all-out pumpkin wild,” says Chubey, “layer all the pumpkins you can gather to create long centrepieces dotted with candles and vases filled with fall florals on your table and kitchen island. To create more dimension, place some of your pumpkins on their sides.
“Group multiple pumpkins of all shapes and sizes to create vignettes outdoors in entryways, around sheds or around chicken coops.”
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Chicken coops? That’s one of Chubey’s latest projects. In June, she built a covered chicken run for her newly acquired coop. She’s raising four — a Black Copper Maran, a Black Maran and two White Ameraucana hens — which she obtained from Little Pines Homestead in Petersfield. She is also raising three chicks — a Buff Orpington, Lavender Orpington and an Olive Egger.
“I’m so excited because I’m going to have green, blue and copper-coloured eggs,” says Chubey.
Robyn Chubey recommends simple ideas like combining zinnia blooms with mini pumpkins and fresh or dried florals in vases or horns of plenty.
She’s already thinking about creating gift bouquets that include a six-pack of eggs.
Her creative mind and bountiful garden generate endless possibilities for ambient décor and delectable recipes for special occasions, but also everyday living.
colleenizacharias@gmail.com
Colleen Zacharias
Gardening columnist
Colleen Zacharias writes about many aspects of gardening including trends, plant recommendations, and how-to information that is uniquely relevant to Prairie gardeners. She has written a column for the Free Press since 2010 and pens the monthly newsletter Winnipeg Gardener. Read more about Colleen.
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