July Garden

We've hit the end of July and I realized all the photos I intended to take of my blooming gardens this month, never happened. Last month I jumped in on a garden link up, so I thought I may as well keep you posted on my blooms in July too. 

This is the small flower garden Lily is tending this summer. I've had the yellow evening primrose for years now and they are a good, hardy perennial that keeps on coming back. Lily's choice was to add a mix of pink and red/white petunias. These have been a great grower in this location and she's been good at keeping them so prolific.

Natalie's Garden is filled with blooming lilies of all sorts and colors, but many shades of orange and red are currently in season.

The other end of the garden with more lilies and a number of daylilies, spiderwort and hostas. I have a row of Four O'Clocks planted in the very back which should be blooming soon. 

It's hard to tell below, but that would be our potato garden (all 99 hills of it) and then my rows of flowers in the background.

A couple of you mentioned in the combox on this post that you wouldn't mind knowing more about the cut flowers I planted this year. I decided that having fresh flowers for the table would be a nice addition to my gardening so I planted a couple of rows. I don't have the exact specifics on the varieties that they are, but I know I found specific seeds that made good cut flowers. I had a couple varieties of Burpee brand zinnias found at my local country store this spring. This variety is one of them and I also have a variety that is a bigger bloom, but I can't find the name. I am really happy with the choice of the zinnias that are hardy, needing very little attention and have been in bloom for three weeks already. 

The yellow flowers below I cannot recall their name. I am thinking they were a type of daisy, which again came from seed. 

This spring I just really scoured the seed packets to find annuals that could be planted, were little work, long bloom time and could be cut flowers. I'm looking forward to planting more next year so that I have more for home and to take in to church for a part of the summer.

The garden is growing and I've only had to turn the soaker hose on once so far this season. It looks like I'll need to turn that on some more this week though. The beans started out well, but don't seem to be lengthening their growing season at all, which is concerning for our winter needs. The carrots seem to be doing well, the squash vines are climbing the fence and have blooms. While the tomatoes are growing for the most part, some of them already have blight (grr!!) and that may keep down the productivity. Gardening and gardening in MN can be so uncertain based on so many variations in temp, rain, soil, etc. 

Happy August!

Come on back later this month as we wrap up the summer and the end to most of the color in my gardens. 

Summer Days Slipping Away

I've noticed that the blogosphere is quieted during summer. Which makes sense because our lives away from the computer are hectic and scattered. For those of us plagued with the long, dreaded winters, summertime is the season to take advantage of the outdoors. 

I am no different. 

Therefore, updates here are sporadic and random.

Sometimes there are just some things I can't help but post, even if they will only become reminiscent posts for myself one day.

Our newest additions at our household came just over two weeks ago.

They arrived in a small box with holes and made a chirping noise.

We are now 'farmers' or 'officially' REAL home schoolers because we have chickens. Our first 19 chicks arrived and the kids are enjoying watching them grow. They are also learning that sometimes animals don't all survive, even at a young age. So far, we've only had one casualty. Eighteen is an even number, so it all works out in the end.

Last week we took an afternoon outing with my parents. We went to check out a small grocery store not too far away that is ran by the Mennonites. It was a major score and such a quiet and clean place. We'll definitely be returning.

While in town, we visited this beautiful church and ran into the priest whom my parents know, so we had a nice visit too. 

An outdoor grotto just perfect for angelic little girls. You see they are folding their hands and implying they have never given their mama any trouble? 

In the swing of summer and the gardens are abundant! I've got to get a garden update posted soon. 

This year I planted cut flowers and I'm reaping the rewards of fresh flowers in vases in my home. I think I'll have to keep on doing this every summer to enjoy my gardens indoors, as well as from my windows. 

The yellow and green beans are also producing. I've already picked several buckets of them and I'm grateful they are doing so well. I was starting the inevitable rationing of last year's beans, but now I don't need to worry quite so much.

The highlight of this week was company coming for supper on Monday. We were blessed with our pastor, the diocesan Vocations Director and a transitional Deacon (he'll be ordained to the priesthood next June) all under one roof. My parents also came to spend a couple of days so they were here, along with another seminarian as well.

To say we had a blast would be an understatement.

As always, the kids were especially fond of the fun that can be had when priests and Deacon visit.

Of course, the little girls are easily entertained when anyone plays with them and does puzzles.

Priceless moment right here.

I insisted offered to take a photo to remember the fun and blog it too.

We also helped out with Vocations Camp: Men of Virtue day camp here this week. You can read more about some of the past years here, here, and here. Due to the small numbers, it was decided that we'd just do the one day camp rather than the overnight. It turned out to be a good decision and the young men who joined us were a great crew. 

My parents helped me cook the meals and entertain my kids so that we could volunteer again with the camp. In the end, as with every year, we enjoyed it and are so glad that we did it.

3 priests, 1 seminarian and 6 young men, just after our supper and before the end of camp.

Now with Vocations Camp behind us, we are looking ahead to the County Fair and sports camp for Jonah next week. 

Keep on enjoying your summer days. 

I know I am because winter will come whether I want it too or not.

 I've got to soak up this sun and beautiful weather while I can. 

June Garden {link up}

While everyone else is busy posting their Friday Quick Takes, I thought I'd jump in on Cari's garden party a week late. I had taken the photos and had them all ready, so heck, why not?

While winter took near forever to leave, since spring has arrived we've had a lot of rain. It's a good thing, but not for all farmers and gardeners who couldn't/still can't get their planting in.

Thankfully, between some rains a few weeks ago I was able to get our seeds and plants in the ground. I was one of the fortunate ones.

The vegetable garden is fenced in to keep the neighborhood deer population out.

This year in the garden we have yellow and green beans, carrots, lettuce, spinach, squash, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and watermelon (Jonah's request, but we're skeptical our growing season will be long enough to produce).

Moving along in the yard we pass our latest development: a chicken coop. Now if said rains would give us a break so we can finish this project, I'd be happy. I'll keep you posted.

In the front yard, right in front of the wrap around porch are two terraces. The top one has shrubs that provide a bit of a screen for annoying neighbors. What? I've never told you about the campground park across the driveway with loud, nosey, insensitive inhabitants. Ok, I won't tell you today either. Let's pretend I live in a beautiful wonderland with no weirdo neighbors in the summer.

The front terrace has perennials that I have grown there for years and divided a few several times. This spring I divided the hostas thinking I had done my job well. Now that they are leafed out I see that a MAJOR divide will need to happen again next spring. 

For the life of me the name is escaping my brain what the first flowers are called. The pink ones were a new addition last year and are spreading quite well. They are a dwarf creeping baby's breath.

Moving along to the south side, this is my biggest and probably favorite garden. It's Natalie's Garden by name. After years of hard work and expansions, it is quite prolific and thriving even after a hard winter.

I painted that little bench last year from a white and I have so enjoyed the color-pop in with the greens.

A few of my beauties that are blooming already. The dark purple one on the left is spiderwort and it started from two plants but has replanted itself in a few other spots in the garden now too. The light purple one (again, name escapes me and therefore perhaps I shouldn't write posts in the AM hours) was an addition that Reed picked up from a greenhouse last year. It's delicate blooms and greens are pretty this time of year.

These cute pansies are Lily's addition. She had these pansies in her bedroom window last year. She nurtured them and they failed to bloom last summer. Late in the summer she planted them in the garden and we tried not to break her heart when all winter she eagerly anticipated their reappearance this spring. Boy were we wrong! One day, she noticed that these little annuals had indeed survived winter. And lo and behold, they even started to bloom!

She's pretty proud.

My new Mary statue has a few flowers to surround her and more will be coming. I told you she'd be the perfect addition to this garden and she is!

Finally, in the backyard is where the hostas thrive. It's also a mosquito haven so they are most appreciated from the deck or my kitchen window. Again, these hostas were divided this spring. Another divide will happen next year too I guess. Phew. They are so beautiful right now due to the ideal hosta weather I guess.

The creeping white and green leaf in between is dead nettle. A very good plant for ground cover if you would be looking for one.

Behind that hosta box garden is this hosta garden. It has a few petite daylilies, coralbells and mums thrown in there for color. Unfortunately, the coralbells don't seem to be thriving and surviving back there.

I have an old stove under the tree that has a couple of dusty miller and moss roses inside.

I almost forgot! To adorn the front door I have this new addition:

The chair came from my grandparent's house. After they moved to the nursing home last fall and grandpa's passing in December, the family went through their things. A couple of us got these chairs. Each of us have painted them and are using them as accents with flowers at our homes. I just painted my mom's in a candy apple red which is perfect for their yard. This project will get completed when hubs gets a chance. He'll cut out a hole in the seat of the chair so the pot sets in there. Hopefully these trailing plants will then do their job and cascade beautifully over the chair. We'll see.

Hopefully you've enjoyed a bit of my garden tour to kick off your weekend.We'll see how things are growing next month and I'll post more photos.

Remember to click over to Cari's to check out all the other wonderfully creative gardens.

Have a great weekend and enjoy honoring your Fathers and Husbands on Sunday!

Bountiful Harvest

I know I mention it every year, but this time of year always makes me feel a little like a Pioneer. You know, like the Ingalls Family. I've been busy these last weeks canning, freezing and storing away food for the winter.

I guess it also makes me feel a little like a squirrel too.



Our garden has served us well this summer and been plentiful.

-The green beans produced enough for me to freeze many meals for later use and several meals fresh from the garden.

-My parents picked up 10 dozen ears of corn for our family from a local farmer in their area. We cut it off the ears and froze over a dozen bags.

-My parents were also our source of apples this year from their abundant two trees, which provided 12 qts. apple pie filling, 9 qts. applesauce that we canned and another 8 freezer containers of applesauce.

-Our tomatoes haven't done too bad, although they are awfully small romas this year for some reason. They have already produced 16 qts. spaghetti sauce, 6 qts. V8 juice and 13 pints tomato soup. I still have plenty more to ripen, but I think we'll be finished up soon.

-There are still potatoes to be dug and squash to pick, bake and freeze this fall yet.


Although it's a lot of work and about now I'm sick of seeing the produce and dealing with it, I always remind myself of that rewarding feeling I have in the winter months. It's a good feeling to pull out one of those jars from the shelf and reap the benefits of the extra effort I'm making now during the harvest.



The homegrown taste just can't be beat!

Saucy In The Kitchen

I've shown you here in the past about my little kitchen cannery when the vegetables start coming in from the garden. I know that canning is becoming a lost art, but having grown up with a big garden back home and a family that canned rather than just froze our produce, I still appreciate it.

Yes, yes, it is A LOT of work. And yes, here in the Midwest that produce has a knack for coming in at exactly the hottest weeks at the end of summer. I find though that the payoff come winter is SO worth it. With a stocked canning cupboard our family faces another cold winter and we enjoy grabbing a jar of apple pie filling, applesauce, peaches, tomato soup, picante sauce, V-8 juice or spaghetti sauce.

You know what makes canning even more worth the hard work? The right equipment. The simplest gadget can make the process run so much smoother. A couple of years ago, we purchased a Sauce Master to use for running either tomatoes or apples through for mashing. What a lifesaver! It has been worth the $40 or so we spent on it. A little messy to clean up, but very easy to assemble, mount on your countertop and operate.



Although this information might be useless for most of you, I just had to pass it along in case you could find some use for it besides during canning time or perhaps a friend who may benefit from it. It would even be great for pureeing for making your own baby food too. It literally takes out only the bare minimum in waste and uses every possible part of the fruit/vegetable that is edible.



**Looking for a deal on the Sauce Master and live in the Midwest? Mills Fleet Farm has them on sale for $29.99 this week!!

Friday Garden Tour

Stopping back in with garden updates from my little corner of the world. Some of these photos are from late last week that I didn't get posted and some are from this week.
Lilies of all sorts are in bloom in my garden and a new one is bursting open almost every day lately. Unfortunately, many of them I do not know the names of or they were ordered as a random mix from the seed company so there's no telling what the color actually is. Enjoy the blooms, despite the fact that they aren't quite as gorgeous as all of these gardens were!

Petite Daylily

Petite Daylily

Peach Fairy Lily

Our vegetable garden is doing pretty well, despite a couple of tomato plants having a little bit of blight already. Otherwise, the green and yellow beans are just starting to be harvested this week and I've already picked several bucketfuls and froze them for winter.

How does your garden grow? How are things looking in your yard? Share photos and leave a comment so I can stop on by your garden.

Friday Garden Tour

After missing out last week, I'm jumping back in on Tracy's garden tour today. The gardens are finally abundant and beautiful. I'm so glad I placed Natalie's Garden where I did, right out our patio door. It's a source of continued beauty, especially as the perennials have grown over the last few years.

Natalie's Garden:

Boxed Flower Garden in the backyard:

Blooming this week:

Tickseed

Daisies

Lilies

Bee Balm


I also scoured a local greenhouse and found a few plants that were reasonable and still looked in good shape, so of course I couldn't resist a few new additions to Natalie's Garden!

Bell Flower

I was especially excited to find this one, since it reminds me of the huge row of Sweet Williams my grandma planted every summer. I have such fond memories of spending time with her out there picking my favorites to create a bouquet.

Dianthus

Larkspur

Delphiniums


It's definitely summer around here and you can tell by all the beauty in the yards you pass by. I'd enjoy seeing how your garden grows! Leave a comment if you join the tour.

Happy Weekend!