Gardening: Growing Update

The past few days have been GORGEOUS - definitely with a capital 'G' - here in Detroit. I mean who would complain about mid-70's in Michigan at the end of March/start of April? Hopefully Mother Nature isn't playing some sort of April Fools' trick on me...

When I walked Riley around the neighborhood the other evening I could smell the grass and warm air and damp earth and it truly smelled like warm weather and Spring once again. (OK, besides the nice smells I also sneezed a little with the tree pollen that's suddenly appeared too). I even saw a bunch of active golf carts on the course next door. Ah to be out in the warmth and sunlight once again! Can you tell I'm excited?

So with all of this said, it's about that time of year again where I start giving you my garden/plant growing update. Although I don't plan to start as many seeds this year, there'll still be plenty to share with you.

Some Stonecrop Sedum is on its way up....

The Allium are getting closer to forming flower shoots...
Creeping Jenny is starting to turn green once again (many of you may recognize this as something people put in their window boxes and planters in the summer...you may not have realized it can be grown as a perennial).
Nothing nicer than some fuzzy Poppy leaves...makes me smile thinking about the pretty (though fleeting) bright pink, papery flowers they'll show me in a few months.
And the herb garden is starting to come back (do you know how tired I am of buying herbs all winter knowing I have all of these in my garden?!?)

Here's a small sampling...there are some Chives...

and Oregano

and Salad Burnet (it smells and tastes like cucumber!)

some Germander (can't say I've used this in anything yet...)

Spring Tulips are on their way up and out...

and my Peonies are showing the beginning signs of life.

Oh Rhubarb, I can't wait to cook up your tasty deliciousness...(so much better than what I can find in the grocery store)

And the smell of some gorgeous, fragrant Hyacinths...just in time for Easter Weekend.

Enjoy the pictures...hope they start to get you thinking and inspired to start some spring cleanup in the yard and flower beds...and start thinking about what you want to plant around the house this year. I know I can't wait!

Gardening & Food: Labor Day Weekend at Home

I've been a little behind in my postings...I've had material and ideas for a lot of entries and am not very quick in sharing them with you. If only work didn't take up so much time ;) Seeing as the leaves are now changing and falling to the ground and we've had a killing frost to eliminate any hopes of more fresh items from our gardens, I think it's about time I share photos from visiting my family's place on Labor Day weekend.

Visiting my parents' place in peak harvest season is definitely a treat. After all, who can resist fresh veggies and fruit? And when items are in abundance you can guarantee you'll be taking some wonderfulness home with you. This year the garden was even more bountiful than usual. My parents had so many tomatoes for example, my Mom took excess heirlooms to school with her to give away. Can you imagine? Free heirloom tomatoes?!? I hope her co-workers appreciated how much those would have cost at a grocery store :)

Some highlights from our garden-fresh weekend meals include grilled pizza in traditional style (i.e. homemade dough and sauce from scratch with fresh veggies from the garden), my dad’s famous omelets (his version of a Western with bacon, green pepper, onion and cheese) topped with delicious fresh salsa and served with toast and homemade jam (blueberry, grape, and raspberry!), Hamburgers with fresh salsa (including tomatillo), and fresh basil pesto with heirloom tomato mozzarella caprese. My mom has been really busy with her canning this year too – salsa, banana peppers, pickles, sauerkraut, jams - and their garlic was so successful, my dad braided it into a rope for storage.

Here are some photos to show the fruits of their labor. Maybe some day I'll have my own beautiful canning closet and braided garlic rope...

Gardening: Mother Nature

Sometimes Mother Nature isn't quite so motherly. Last night storms blew through the Detroit area. And although normally I would welcome lots of rain in mid-to-late June, this was more than just a gentle shower. As you can see from the photos below, we have some flooding next to the house. We had it get pretty close to the house a couple of springs ago after large quantities of snow melted and the ground was still frozen. But I've never seen it get this high in the summer months - probably since this time the flooding was caused by a clog in the grate covering the drainage pipe. I fear many of the plants I started from seed have been lost as >60% of the area we planted is under water. I doubt it'll dry up in time to save them. Keep you fingers crossed...maybe they're stronger than I think.

Garden: The Peony Garden at Nichols Arboretum

Before going out to dinner last Saturday, Jonathan took me to see my favorite late May/early June wonder - the Peony Garden at Nichols Arboretum (University of Michigan). I only discovered the garden a year ago after living in the metro-Detroit area for 7 years (Why did it take me so long?!?).

Since we visited the arboretum last year, we were better educated about where to park. But we still weren't smart enough to discover the wide-open lot next to the Ronald McDonald House (closest to the garden) was permit parking only on week days (i.e. free on weekends) and instead, fed the meter by parallel parking across the street. Oh well, I suppose we now we know for next year...

We strolled into the garden behind an elderly couple holding hands and I couldn't help but think how lovely it was to see the two of them taking an evening strolls through garden, still in love after all of those years. There were a lot of other couples and families in the arboretum and, as we were entering, Jonathan told me a man gave him a sympathetic look when he we passed by (I suppose not everyone can appreciate massive amounts of peonies in all their glory!). It was really a peaceful and pretty setting. There were people picnicking on the hill and others running through the arboretum on an evening jog. But most visitors were like the two of us, wandering around, inhaling the fragrant blooms, trying to capture the fleeting beauty. I think if I could live all summer long in a garden filled with blooming peonies I would...

Gardening: Bloom Update

I thought I'd share some flower garden eye candy with all of you today...orange oriental poppies, pink lupine, white festiva maxima peonies and purple clematis.

Over the years peonies have become my favorite flower, in particular the festiva maxima variety I have growing in several locations on my property. There's just something about their huge, petal-heavy blossoms and lovely scent that puts a big smile across my face and completely relaxes me. I suppose I've always had a special place in my heart for these flowers. Growing up, we had an old chicken coop at the front of our property (used for storage, not chickens). Sarah Bernhardt peonies bloomed every summer along the side of the cement block building and I would always admire them. I remember not being allowed to pick them when I was younger since they attracted ants (I would end up bringing the pesky creatures into the house with me). But who could have blamed the little guys - peonies look and smell so delicious!

Gardening: Starting from Seed Update

Remember all of those trays of seed I planted weeks and weeks ago? Well the weather up here is finally starting to become more consistent. As a result, this past weekend I moved the "babies" outside to start hardening them off. They're sitting under a tree in the back yard getting ready to be planted this coming weekend. Hopefully Jonathan remembers to water them since they're at his house :)

Gardening: Weekly Update

More flowers are in bloom this week in my garden...alliums, bearded irises, and columbine. And the peonies are budded out!

Gardening: Weekly Update

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Gardening: Privacy Fixes

It was only a few years ago the area next to Jonathan's house looked a lot like this photo - pretty, natural grass that provided both privacy and a nice, scenic backdrop to the patio in the summer. Unfortunately, a couple years ago, the neighborhood association cut down everything next to the house to "fix" a water drainage problem (I like to gripe about this since first they never notified Jonathan before doing this and second since they left the grasses shown in the photo below behind all the other neighbors' houses...not fair!). Anyway, this spring, Jonathan and I decided it was time to do some planting to make up for the lack of privacy. The ornamental grasses I've started from seed will hopefully help us add to the volume - it's a fairly large space to cover. And our parents gave us some grass divisions from their plants too. Once we have more items planted and they start growing, I'll show you what progress we've made making it pretty and private once again.





Here's what the area by his patio now looks like now, without tall grasses to block the view...Views are shown from the neighborhood side and the road side:

Gardening: Starting from Seed Update

It's now week three in my seed starting project and the plantings are coming along very nicely. Almost EVERYTHING has germinated with the exception of a few delphinium (even the giant plume grass has shown it's baby roots). So far so good...I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Luckily the frost-free date is quickly approaching (May 15 for here in Detroit) meaning these babies can be transplanted outside very soon!

Gardening: Weekly Growing Update

Spring brings weekly changes...welcome additions to the reawakening garden. This week the redbud is in full bloom, leaves on my Japanese maple are starting to emerge more fully and chives, clematis, allium, and bleeding hearts are budding out in preparation to bloom. My hostas, catmint, siberian irises and ornamental grasses are starting to gain some more height. And the astilbe I thought had died last year has started to come up, stronger than ever!

Gardening: My Nemesis - VIOLETS

For the past few years I've been battling violets. Yes, the seemingly harmless, little purple flower some people like to use in pretty jams or lovely teas has become one of my biggest botanical problems. Although pretty on their own, once they start spreading into the yard, goodbye lush, green grass! Unfortunately, according to my online research (and helpful garden-center folks), there isn't a weed product out there that kills violets completely (unless you kill the grass as well). *Sigh* And since sitting in your yard, pulling them out by hand isn't exactly a desirable or effective method(believe me, I've tried it before and it's no wonder it's difficult to kill them...they have huge, strong roots!), I've been using the Ortho product shown below. The "bottle with the purple label" seems to be the best for helping control violets - and is most effective when used on the plants in their early growth stages (before they bloom). Happy spraying!

Gardening: Dreaded Spring Task - Tackling the Patio Furniture

This past weekend I tackled one of my most dreaded spring tasks - oiling the wood patio furniture. Before starting the project I was debating if pretty wood was really worth all of the effort (as I do every year before spending half a day brushing and rubbing away). I also wondered why I really need a table, 6 chairs, a bench, and other side items (potting bench, end tables, etc) for just lil' ol' me. I could have saved myself a lot of effort by just having one chair and table! :) The good news is I started early on Saturday and finished up around lunch time. So I still had time to enjoy the weather and spare some of my day off besides being able to enjoy patio furniture that looks like new again.

Gardening: Starting from Seed Update

So I'm sure you're dying to know what's going on with all of those seeds I planted...At the one-week mark (Saturday), I had some germination for a lot of the items.

This tray is full of various hollyhocks...most have sprouted.

The main seeds up on this tray are Jupiter's Beard. Some of the catmint has sprouted as well but I'm still waiting on the ornamental grass. I have another full tray of giant plume grass (covered in the background) that has yet to germinate...if it doesn't happen this week, I'll be pretty bummed.

The far left two rows contain some silver pampas grass babies, followed by two rows of status, and four rows of goldmoss sedum. The delphinium to the far right hasn't germinated yet...