Midwest Gardening: What's Blooming/Growing

AD-Free Blog

We spent a hard week trimming, clearing debris and all dead/dying/overgrown stuff out. 

Time to enjoy some blooming.  

Everything seems to be just growing so fast right now. Here's some quick photos with only one story, lol. 

oldnewgreenredo

Only thing blooming around the pond right now is this rosebush---which had been dead/dormant for over 10 years. Last year I coaxed three flowers out of it. And, this year I cleared all the other plants around, trimmed and fertilized. And, Whaaa-Laaaa---roses and lots more buds, too. It was originally a climber and gets long tendrils, which I have been cutting back also? I am far from a rose grower...but I'm proud of this! 

(Honestly I knew the root would be huge -30 years or so- and really didn't want to dig it out...LOL)

oldnewgreenredo

It has luscious crimson roses! 

oldnewgreenredo

One of two pots around the pond, I planted with this purple thing...hoping it climbs out soon.

oldnewgreenredo

Geranium blooming here. The squirrels have been digging in all three pots along the garage...it will be a miracle if some of the plants make it after being planted multiple times. 

oldnewgreenredo

I bought red geraniums early---an 8 pack, but one was this color...it's pretty, but???

oldnewgreenredo

The squirrels have been rearranging the Gnome village in the backyard. Everyday!

oldnewgreenredo

I always thought Gnomes would live under a shady tree. The Grand helped me place all these...! 

oldnewgreenredo

I'm cutting lettuce today, and the peas are starting to blossom.

oldnewgreenredo

Also more lettuce and onions, picking for the week! 

Tips on keeping garden lettuce on this post:

Midwest Gardening:First Crop and Tips

oldnewgreenredo

All the tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans are starting to bloom! And a few short sunflowers.

oldnewgreenredo

Pots are starting to explode, the Caladiums and Elephant ears....are really winding up! 

oldnewgreenredo

The back pond is running, and the trellis rose is starting to bloom. Hubby is working on a base for a new fence behind here.

oldnewgreenredo

Last thing I planted last week---sweet peas for the east fence.

oldnewgreenredo

The Hollyhocks are thick with leaves and forming the bud stems at about 4 feet high. I wonder how tall they will be this year?  The birdhouse is moveable, I never know when plants may cover something!

oldnewgreenredo

These are the Hollyhocks I planted last year---they should bloom this year, HH's are biennial--so they seed and then bloom after the second year.

oldnewgreenredo

Last Iris....waiting to open.......sigh. such a short season!  My Sedum plants are very happy, also.

Add caption

I've actually sat  here a bit... the crazy hot temps have cooled off, and watching the birds with my feet up and a cool drink is...

One of Life's simple pleasures! 

WHAT DO YOU HAVE BLOOMING?

Thank you for any and all comments.

Finally I am able to reply to comments by using Chrome. So all you Mac users who have upgraded to Catalina---this might help the glitches on Safari  and Blogger!

Join me at these fine blog parties:
Over the Moon
Metamorphisis Monday
All About Home

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, 

Sandi 

oldnewgreenredo

Midwest Gardening:New Projects for June 2020

oldnewgreenredo

Always Ad-Free Blog

We did get the plants on the left all planted in May, but the bushes were a sale/buy, and we weren't ready for them until now!

The 'snow' on the ground was Hawthorn blossoms...which lasted three days or so.

The plan is to plant the  conicals on the front of the 'mound' which isn't much of a mound anymore after 20+ years.  The Weigela is a compact flowering bush to add some lighter color into what is basically a green area.

oldnewgreenredo

This is a multi-trunk Hawthorn/Buckthorn in from of our garage, this area also needs some care? On the list!

oldnewgreenredo

In May, I dragged this birdbath to the 'mound'. This area was all shade until we lost a forty foot spruce tree last fall. I've transplanted Daylilies and Phlox and added, Liatris (from bulbs in the greenhouse), 3 short Shasta daisies, 2 Russian Sage, a purchased Knockout Rose and we plan to add the Weigela. 

The Periwinkle ground cover is going nuts with the extra rain and the sunshine this gets now.

oldnewgreenredo

Something will be added on the stump? Something silly and fun, I think.

oldnewgreenredo

We are going to add more dirt and then a bit of mulch. I found a few large stones and will reinforce some of the 'mound'. 

oldnewgreenredo

These bushes were overgrown and sparse, the Plum was all but dead! We took everything you see, OUT!

In it's place we have chosen some hardy evergreens that will only get so big!

oldnewgreenredo

oldnewgreenredo

This Tree Rose of Sharon was really half dead, but lots of shoots close by. 

oldnewgreenredo

After it was cleared, we planted these Mimosa conicals. We left some peonies, a bit of forsythia and some privet bushes. We need additional dirt in here and maybe a bit of rock. The structure in the back is the base for my husband's long wanted ---wishing well. I guess I'm old enough now to have a wishing well, (WITH A BUCKET) he specifies. Anyway, he is easily distracted so maybe, maybe not! LOL.

oldnewgreenredo

At the corner we planted another  Evergreen. Day Lilies and Peonies have struggled here, another tree on our neighbors side is scheduled to get a severe trim, if not down completely. 

oldnewgreenredo

Another project hubby started was this lamp post and electrical at the end of our driveway. He also built the ledge for some pots. I've tried to plant drought resistant plants, we will see how they do with 100% sun and the wind out here.

oldnewgreenredo

I staged my pots this year, the one on the left still has it's label.

oldnewgreenredo

Two weeks later and nothing is really dead yet! But, we have had tons of rain!

We will try and add a sprinkler head here on the irrigation hose.

oldnewgreenredo

The mailbox planter is coming along....just have to keep it watered.

Now the BACK!

I showed this area in early Spring. These are the Before photos.

oldnewgreenredo

A roof extension was put on last year to solve water issues. Having a few hundred-year-rains, maybe 3-4 times a season has been difficult. 

Our lot drops about 6 feet from the west to the east.  Plus our neighbors double lot drains on us also.

oldnewgreenredo

Under the extended roof, Planters are to be the featured here. The Coleus is all from seed, and we have Caladium starts (THEY ARE SO SLOW), with nursery Impatiens

Hubby is working on permanent solutions to hide wiring along that beam. We scrubbed the walls and concrete and generally cleaned the area. I plan to dress this up a bit. Once this area is stained and I reinforce that enamel topped table, it should really look great!

oldnewgreenredo

We have three old scythes and a bunch of other farm antiques, when I get them all together this will look like a farmer's market. 

oldnewgreenredo

Now,  the pots are starting to really fill out! The paver base is a bit dirty right now, I raked up all the wingy-dingys from the Maple Trees yesterday, and it's already dirty again

oldnewgreenredo

Before: The west new lattice wall completed late last Fall. Because this is so shady here, we need air flowing or the area just gets moldy. 

oldnewgreenredo

We still needed to hook up the drainage pipe above here, (in May). But I have my Coleus from seed and nursery Impatiens started in pots. The Vinca is from the 'mound' as a transplant. The Hostas were from a 'start' assortment of little bitty sprouts last year, and they are already a great size for here. 

oldnewgreenredo

Here you can see the diverted drains from the roof extension going into the flower bed. The Hostas and Cedar bushes should grab some of that excess rain. 

Another project not yet started:

oldnewgreenredo

This lattice will be replaced with a new structure, when the birds move out. Papa is very vocal, and won't let us near here without a frantic scolding. The Clematis was about to bloom, too.

oldnewgreenredo

Two weeks later and he is still standing guard, but the Clematis is blooming. (He's up on the top rung, squawking at me.) Sparrows will have as many as 4 sets of babies in a season.

More Projects: Hubby is still working on a rebuild of the compost pile, and we are waiting for a dead tree to be taken down, before he finishes the fencing on the north side. I've been doing all the gardening while he builds, builds, builds.

We are sending out for bids on our driveway and culvert to be redone....definitely not something for a DIY. We will use blacktop---because snow melts so easily on the black surface that faces south. 

On my list is sprucing up the greenhouse, and I have some fun projects planned for June. 

HOW ARE YOUR GARDEN/YARD PROJECTS COMING ALONG?

PLEASE SHARE in Comments!

Thank you for any and all comments.

Finally I am able to reply to comments by using Chrome. So all you Mac users who have upgraded to Catalina---this might help the glitches on Safari  and Blogger!

Join me at these fine blog parties:
Little Cottage Link Party
All About Home

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, 

Sandi 

oldnewgreenredo

Sandi's Fresh Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie

AD-Free Blog

It's our favorite time of year---RHUBARB TIME. This is a post from five years ago of our  Family's favorite pie/tart recipe. 

One of the first fresh fruits to ripen in the upper Midwest is Rhubarb. Tart and tangy it is one of our favorites.  This recipe includes some quick tips and variations.

We have two Rhubarb plants and they were huge, below is a photo from May12th I think, and they are 4 times as large now.

I always pick the biggest and reddest stalks for pie. The leaves immediately go to the compost pile.  A wonderful compliment to the rhubarb are strawberries, which are plentiful and reasonable right now. 

So, I just had to make some Strawberry/Rhubarb pie. At this point this recipe is mine or one learned long ago and from memory. 

Sandi’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie or tart.   

Fills 2-8” pre-made pie crusts or one very large tart pan. (I allow thawing time for the pre-made pie crusts) A cookie crust adds some extra flavor in a tart. (I'll use a lemon/vanilla cookie recipe for tarts.)

Mix:

8 cups of diced rhubarb 

2 cups sugar or sweetner

½ tsp of salt

Stir in large microwaveable bowl. Cook on high for 4 min, and stir and then another 4 min on high. ( Pre-cooking the rhubarb gives a warm solution for the corn starch to dissolve and helps to shorten baking time).

Add:

4 cups of sliced cleaned strawberries

2 tsp of vanilla or more

Stir together into rhubarb

Make a mixture of

2 TBSP of cornstarch or thickener of your choice

½ tsp nutmeg

1 TBSP of cinnamon (we love cinnamon)

Stir into warm fruit until well mixed-

Split into pie shells or tart pan.

Mix 2 cups of rolled oats in bowl or chopper

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of flour

5 TBSP of cold oleo/butter

1 tsp cinnamon

(you could add chopped almonds to this also) 

Pulse in chopper or mix with a pastry cutter in bowl, until well mixed and crumbly.

Spread over fruit

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 min at 350 degrees.

Serve with icecream/whip cream/ or cool whip.

Delicious warm or cold! 

As a girl when I stayed a summer in Denmark, we had rhubarb and strawberry treats all through the summer. Also, rhubarb pudding with fresh scraped vanilla bean was my favorite and of course drowned in rich cold cream. I will have to make that next!

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, 

Sandi