Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Hummingbirds and Flowers

Finally getting around to uploading a few real camera pictures (as opposed to cell phone camera pictures) to my lap top. I went around and took some random shots of my "new" garden here in Minnesota, even when things were not perfect, just so I could remember what was where, and the general colors of things I didn't plant. These daylilies abound in two beds. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out if they are common ditch lilies or an actual variety of daylily. I never really figured it out. In the end, I figured out that it doesn't matter- this isn't my yard, and I more-than-likely won't live here forever. They are pretty.

I barely saw this clematis growing trellis-less behind a shrub in the landscaping against the house. I ran out and picked up a small trellis and it climbed and bloomed all summer. In fact, it is still blooming right now.


This gorgeous hardy rose bloomed non-stop all summer long, and is still blooming right now despite frost and freeze. You can see the butterfly is enjoying the roses as much as me.


I was also pleased to see the hummingbirds enjoyed my back porch containers. This one spent a ton of time perched on my flowering maple (abultion).


And here, the same hummingbird dines on "black and blue" salvia.



Happy autumn!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

The garden is still providing goodies. I picked these raspberries and put them in my son's lunch. Some of the green beans have been frozen for later, and the rest are ready for dinner this week. The fall color is starting to peak here. Our first fall in Minnesota, and it is beautiful! I heard reports that this should be the best fall color in a decade thanks to the wet summer we had.

Despite the transplant from southern Wisconsin at the start of their growing season, the dahlias have all perked right back up. Some are sending out massive amounts of blooms, and others are sending up giants in lesser quantities. In my years of dahlias this is certainly the largest flower I've grown. 'Kelvin Floodlight,' was almost dinner plate sized.


The Bad

On the other hand we have not had measurable rainfall in 5 weeks or so. All the grass is dead. The ground is painfully dry and cracked. I am soooo tired of watering my plants! And our garden at our rental house not only has the worst decade's worth of weeds I have ever seen, it has hundreds of snakes. At first I was FREAKED out. But not I'm okay. I march around the garden like a fool so they know I'm coming. They live in numerous spots around the yard, but mostly cilmb between the siding and foundation on the back of the garage in the owner's storage room. My husband picked one up yesterday so the kiddos could get a closer look. The boys love the snakes!



The Ugly

Well I guess s/he's not altogether ugly, but by a majority of definitions this spider isn't beautiful.
I love them. I am recovering arachnophobe, and these banana spiders helped me overcome my fear. I let them live wherever they've decided to. I stay on guard because they frequently move their webs, but the boys and I enjoy watching them do their thing. This one has doubled in size since s/he moved in, no doubt from the bees s/he dines on!





Happy Autumn!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Flower still going!

Despite a very near killing frost the garden is still going strong here. I am enjoying it! Already thinking of next year, and how everything will do through this winter.
Enjoy some shots of this season's favorites.










Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A few garden glimpses.

I don't know if I am ready for a Minnesota autumn, but the garden is still going strong, including a nice flush of roses, and some strong color coming from my containers.










Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Our new yard.

Took a few pictures of our new yard and front porch this week.  Finally starting to feel like my own garden.  Also, despite late planting after our move, I am finally starting to get a few ripe tomatoes. The varieties pictured here include Sweet 100, lemon boy, and snow white.  All were delicious in a chicken, basil, feta wrap for dinner last night. 





Thursday, August 4, 2011

Hoo-kini.

Hunter grew this zucchini from seed all by himself. He is so proud. He thinks it looks like a baseball bat.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Settling in.

Doing pretty good here in my new Minnesota garden. Arrived to ten years of weeds and continue to battle them daily, but I have most of my plants in the ground and many are starting to thrive. Will begin regularly listing again.