#132 Garden Surprises

It's that time of the year when everything is popping  up.  Surprisingly I've had some flops.  Why?  God only knows.  I planted a whole bunch of Zinnia's from seed and this is what popped up instead.

Weeds

Weeds

and more WEEDS...

So because of all these nasty weeds -- I had to use some elbow grease and get down and dirty by pulling everything up.  I ended up replacing all the weeds with perennials (flowers that come back every year) from my existing garden.  So this is wha it looks like now.

Liatris/Blazing Star

Hosta and Hydrangea

Few Zinnia's that survived

Fountain Grass and Hosta

Day Lillies

Much better

Gardening is a matter of trail and error.  You should never give up though.  Sometimes you have flops but it's a big, big world out there with plenty other replacement options.  I love the fact that I was able to get these free replacements with my existing plants from my yard.   Now that's a win-win.

Until next time...

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#128 Gardening in Fort Knox!

Well it's that time again.  I'm planting in my garden and it's been updated.  This is what it looked like for the last couple of years 2013-14.  Two raised beds that I purchased from Aldi.  I added chicken wire and poles to each corner and there she has it -- a well protected garden bed.

This set-up did exactly what it was set out to do -- keep the critters OUT!!!  It worked very well.  My hubby decided that he could re-do this in a more efficient manner at the same time adding more space for more food.  This is what it looks like now:

More room for more food

The middle has a pull up door for easy in and out access

My make-shift arbor made from fencing, stakes and twine

Hubby used steel stakes and chicken wire.  Also on the last picture, I constructed an arbor out of fencing, stakes and twine.  This will hold my larger variety of cucumbers.  The large standing pole next to the arbor will be a stake to hold my large/tall sunflowers.

What I have growing is all varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.  All the stuff we will eat.  I may plant some yellow onions in a container.  So far, I'm loving this new design.  There's plenty of space for when the plants grow and mature for them to have space to stretch and not be overly crowded.

Come back and check out how things will look in the upcoming months.

Until next time...

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#127 Sowing Organic Seeds In-Doors

I'm getting a jump start on my outdoor gardening.  I'm trying my hand at growing seeds indoors.  I'm growing Zinnia's, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Morning Glories. 

I like the idea of starting early -- but I'm going to need more space and better lighting to keep this up.  My plants have germinated and are growing nicely but they want outta here.  They want to spread their roots into deep soil.  I don't start outdoor gardening until after Mother's day (sometimes a little earlier) just because our weather here in MO is quite fickle. 

 

If you have never checked out my garden, here is a link to check it out:  My Garden Stuff  (just scroll down and you will see all my gardening post - including this one).  Be on the lookout for a full garden redo.  I have an organic garden and it will be expanded this year with a walk-in enclosure.

 

Until next time...

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#106 Bottle Art Tree -- It's GROWING!!!!

My Bottle Art Tree is growing!!!  I'm excited to say during the month of October -- one of my birthday presents to myself was a bottle tree from The Little Shop Around the Corner.

This store was a great find.  It's an antique and collectible shop that resells vintage merchandise donated to the Missouri Botanical Garden.  As you know, Missouri Botanical Garden is one of my favorite places in the world.  So I will have to add this one to the list.

I have enjoyed unique art for the garden and in my opinion this bottle art is brilliant.  It is something that is very inexpensive -- but yet adds a burst of color to your yard.  It's something that can stay out year round and it's eye catching.  Here's my before and after picture of my tree art:

Before

After

I had fun finding my bottles at different thrift stores.  They ran from $1-2.  Also I received a box of free ones from a restaurant in my neighborhood.  SWEET!!!  So Sweet indeed that I started a new tree with a garden trellis I had sitting around.

My new addition

So now that it's getting cold and all the pretty color from the flowers have faded away, I can always look out my window and see this splash of color glistening back at me.  Ran, snow, wind or hail -- I will have something to look out to that will bring a little smile to my face.  Now that's what I call small pleasures!!!

Until next time...

Post to check out:
My Bottle Art Tree - Beginning Post.



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#103 Bottle Art

As you can tell, I love to garden.  It's my most favorite hobby.  I've been looking into working now to prepare for spring.  One thing that I've been fascinated with is bottle art.  These are some images that I found on-line that I love:

 

 

Wild Birds Unlimited Bird Feeders

These bottle trees, however, can be very expensive.  From $20-200 on up.  I looked into purchasing one from Amazon or having Brian make me one out of lumber and pegs (like the one above).  

I also saw at Wild Bird Unlimited these beautiful birdhouses made from PVC that run $120-and above.  I thought if I was to purchase one I could just just attach pegs to them and add my bottles but with it already starting off expensive and the thought that I still needed to work on it by adding pegs was a little disheartening.

Well this was my solution.  At a antique shop I found 3 bottles under $5 and I found some "PURPLE" (my favorite color) plastic garland.  I had been thinking about what I could use at home to make my own inexpensively and relatively quickly (without drills and pegs).  My shepherds hooks came to mind.  So this is what I came up with.

I love it every time I look out.  I can perhaps add more bottles and more white shepherds hooks.  But I think it turned out pretty neat so far.  I love how the plastic garland sparkles with the sun and how the bottles add an artistic flair to this sculpture. If you have never seen bottled art -- this may look ridiculous -- but it's garden art -- you've seen it first here -- HA!!  Come back often, because I will be adding to it, especially when spring and summer rolls around next year.

Until next time...


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#101 If You Want Organic Vegetables and a Beautiful Landscape, You Have to Work For It!

 FALL

 My Favorite Thing For September -- Gardening during the Fall and Winter

For a Beautiful Spring

At the end of each month, I try to remember to post my favorite thing for the month.  For September (which by-the-way flew by) it would be preparing for Spring in the garden.  It's that time of the year!  FALL!!!  I'm in the process of working on the garden for the Spring.  What I do now will affect what my garden looks like and the type of rewards I will reap in my organic vegetable garden come Spring 2015.

So my vegetable garden is getting ready to get a major overhaul.

 Before Vegetable Garden Bed

 

After Vegetable Garden Bed

 

Potential Plan for the new Bed

This is a smaller version of what we want to make Rosemaryt garden Site

I always wanted something you could walk into.  My husband built a screen house and a shed -- so I have no doubt that he can pull this off.  So I'm super excited about gardening next year.  Of course, I would like it a little bigger and longer to fit the entire length of the fence so I can actually put either stepping stones or gravel inside to walk in and make it a more productive space.  I will show MY actual pictures next year.  Thank you Rosemaryt for allowing me to use your picture.

I started a new garden bed.  I needed my vegetable garden to not have a lot of flowers in the bed.  So I moved my Snowball Viburnum in my new garden bed:

Here is what my Snowball Viburnum looks like in the Spring:

Snowball Viburnum

Here's the new bed I started:

Snowball Viburnum (right), two Hydrangeas (middle), Hibiscus (center)

It may not look like much now -- but underneath the layers of mulch is sheets of cardboard and my black gold compost.  It will break down and decompose over the fall and winter and come Spring -- watch out!!!  Don't ever think there's nothing to do in the fall and winter -- there's plenty to do to get you ready for Spring while all the while getting your hands dirty and bringing a smile to your face.  This work to me is "Oh so relaxing."

Until next time...

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#58 What to do with all that harvest -- Some Recipes!

My Favorites for the month of August is what I have been able to do with my garden harvest. Check it out below!

This year's "ORGANIC" vegetable garden was a SUCCESS! I'm so glad I did it and I'm doubly happy for the harvest that I was able to produce for my family and friends. This was my first time EVER planting cucumbers, asparagus, strawberries and so much more.

I made loads of cucumber salads with chopped onions. Here's one of my recipes for cucumber salad:

Renee's Cucumber Salad

1 1/2 Cucumber

Handful of sweet 100 cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

1 small box of Raisins

1/4 cup Feta cheese

small chunk of onion (white or red)

1/8 cup Pine Nuts

Newman's Creamy Caesar Dressing (1Tbsp.)

Cut the cucumbers up in little disc sizes and then cut up the small chunk of white or red onion. Add the tomatoes and "Newman's Creamy Caesar" dressing. Add the pine nuts and feta cheese and enjoy. This is 1 serving.

I received a sweet pickles recipe from my girlfriend Chris. This recipe is absolutely delicious and it doesn't stay around long. I was able to make one quart jar size of pickles. They were good just as a snack or on sandwiches.


My family ate them so quickly I only had a little to show:

So good!

Chris' Sweet Pickle Recipe:

2 cucumbers (4 cups)

1 medium onion sliced thin

1 c sugar

1/2 c white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp mustard seed

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp turmeric

Place cucumbers and onion in 2 qt. microwaveabe dish. Mix balance of ingredients and pour over cucumbers. Microwave on high 7-8 minutes stirring twice. Should be tender crisp and onions translucent. Ladle into jars, cool and refrigerate. Keeps for 6 months to a year.

My sister Lisa's recipe for cucumber salad:

I didn't have a picture from her -- I could just imagine it looking like this 

Lisa's Cucumber salad:

Cucumber (2 will do)

1 White Onion

1 Large Tomato

Wish Bone Italian dressing

Feta Cheese (optional)

Cut the cucumbers up in little disc sizes and then cut a white onion in rings along with a tomato also in disc sizes and add "Wish-Bone Italian" dressing. You can go fancy and also add some feta cheese if you like.


My tomatoes were experimental this year. I did them in containers. They were so nice and sweet! I had no ideal I would have so many to pick time and time again!!!

My harvest of sweet 100's Cherry & Juliet Tomatoes

This is Spinach Florentine Flatbread I recent had at Friday's but can be easily re-done at home using spinach and tomatoes from the garden.

My Friday's Copycat Flatbread Recipe:

Flatbread (I used Aldi's Fit & Active Flatbread Multi-Grain w/Flax)

1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 or 2 garlic cloves minced (depending on how much you like garlic)

Cherry tomatoes (chopped) from the garden

Spinach from the garden cut up

Pesto as needed (your choice) 

Spread pesto on your flatbread. Mix spinach and garlic together and spread on top of your pesto. Sprinkle Mozzarella on top. Add chopped tomatoes on top while baking or after baking (your choice). Bake in 400 degree oven for 5-7 min until cheese has melted. Enjoy!

My Spinach Chicken Pasta.

The Recipe:Spinach Chicken Pasta:

Spinach from your garden cut up (1 or 2 cups spinach)

100% Wheat Spiral noodles (or any shape of your choice)

2 Chicken breast cooked and cut up into chunks

1 or 2 cups Newman's Creamy Caesar Dressing (depending on how creamy you like it)

Any seasonings you prefer (I used Salt & Pepper)

Cook pasta as directed. Add spinach and chicken and mix well. Add your Creamy Caesar Dressing and your ready to eat.

Next Year's Container Garden Plan...

Susan, a home school mom who reads my blog, shared her container garden going down her driveway -- I can't wait to try this on my concrete slab I have in my backyard:

Pretty cool huh? 5 gallon paint buckets, some bird netting and your good to go! That means more tomatoes, more cucumbers -- more food!!! Love it! Thanks for the ideal Susan!!!

This organic gardening has been so successful, I can't wait to start again next year.

I can't believe I did it! 

Until next time!


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#50 Update on my vegetable garden

From this to...




  




This!



I've got spinach, lettuce, cucumber, watermelon, parsnips, asparagus and onions growing in this square foot garden.  And it's nowhere near harvest time and everything is growing so nicely.  Because it's caged in like Fort Knox (HAH!) the rabbits and squirrels and other critters are not trampling and eating all my labor and investment.  I'm a happy camper!

Now that I have my own ORGANIC garden I'm enjoying the fruit/vegetables of my labor.  I've started a little herb garden on my window sill and also I've planted two containers of strawberries. 

Parsley and Basil

My window sill herb garden

Two containers of strawberries -- Grow baby Grow!!

The strawberries will come back every year and the first year will be sparse but next year -- watch out!  The same with my asparagus.  The beauty of having your own garden is that you don't have to cut everything and store in the refrigerator -- you cut as you need it.  I've done that with my lettuce -- cut some and it grows right back -- love it!

The three containers facing are tomatoes

The tomatoes are experimental.  I'm growing in the white pot Bush early Girl Tomatoes for container -- it was just a planting disk you add to dirt (here's a picture below):

And the other two in the containers are Juliet and Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes.

Here's a peek at the progress of some of the Juliet tomatoes

It's a wonderful thing to have your own garden and see the miracle of nature taking place.  Hopefully this has inspired you to take a corner of your yard or patio and try your hand at growing vegetables or herbs.  It's very rewarding!  All it takes is a little bit of ...

Until next time...

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