Putz and pamper

It’s one of those rare weekends – nothing to go to, not many errands needed – it’s what I call a “putz and pamper” weekend. The best kind ever! A whole weekend of endless possibilities. So thoughts turn to the garden. Scope creep begins – new water in the hummingbird feeder of course, trim the shrubs – already started at 5pm, check the tulip stems to see if they are letting loose yet – done … And then the walk-around starts – put chicken wire around the bottom of the hibiscus so the squirrels can’t get at the fresh dirt every morning and make a colossal mess – ok – done.

Chicken wire the lettuce seeds that are languishing – I suppose – done. Move some plant pots a bit – done. Now it really starts – move the ‘Praying Hands’ hosta that is being overshadowed by a daylily, put daylily seeds in small empty spots in the garden, redesign the front entry area – STOP! It’s a putz and pamper weekend, remember. Oh, yah …

Whirlwind

Every night I think, “Tonight I’ll blog”, but it’s been a four week whirlwind of activities. Tonight’s the night. There is so much to share!

My 15 yr old purple tulip bunch that I have truly enjoyed each and every year faded this year to one small purple tulip. (Plus one the bunnies might have enjoyed)

I have wonderful pictures over the years and will always remember spring mornings relaxing on the patio, looking at their gorgeous blooms swaying in the breeze.

Besides these giant new tulip “bouquets” I planted last fall,

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Last fall’s planting also brought a new, delicate bouquet of pink tulips out back. At our family gathering last week someone thought they were artificial! I reportedly gave a funny look and said, “Go touch them!” – lol. They were, admittedly, pretty “perfect”.

Right next to them, the bunnies had a munch-fest, so having them spared was awesome!

The amur maple out front flowered last week. It smelled glorious for two days, and then I got a cold. But I trust it still continued to smell wonderful for a few more days at least! Hopefully our family enjoyed it a bit!

Now the pink tulips are starting to fade, the asian lilies are starting to show buds, and the daylilies and hostas seem to have doubled in size this past week.

The days have been full. The sunsets have been incredible.

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We have also spent time up north, where the sunrises were awe inspiring.

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And we saw the sunset reflect off one of our very old old pines. We think this one is over 100 yrs. Notice it’s size compared to the other 20ish yr growth!

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Quite a difference from “Charlie” who we moved to get the camper situated.

Grow, Charlie! Grow, Charlie! He has a companion “Lucy” who we will also need to move. They will both be in decent proximity to “Linus”. You get the theme?

The seeds are half planted up north. Lifting 440 pounds of dirt into a raised bed garden was enough for me for one weekend.

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And that was 2/3 full of branches (see hugelkultur post).

Unfortunately, there is a center support that it turns out bends pretty easily when you push down on branches. Oh well! Live and learn!

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I still have one more (identical) raised bed garden to do. And I have milkweed plants to get in the ground, and stakes and chickenwire to put up once the seeds sprout, plus daylily seeds to try. It’s all so much easier to have “scope creep” in the winter when planning! But slow and steady wins the race. I keep reminding myself my gardens at the townhome are years of putzing – changing this, moving that, adding “one more thing”. This is the Year One Test Garden up north.

Our “Guest in the Garden” gets a promotion

WHAT!!!???

Yup, it’s true. Since I started working from home, our “guest in the garden” has gotten a new set of responsibilities, and a promotion. He is no longer a guest. He is now the full-time monitor of the garden, and, more importantly, the office manager.

About an hour into the day he comes in to the office to make sure everything is up to snuff, then returns to his garden monitoring activities (and occasionally a snooze). When I call in for meetings, he hears the speaker phone and comes running to circle around on his office blankie and listen in. And at the end of the day he reminds me not to over-work by prancing and sneezing to ask for his walk.

Sandy’s contributions have been invaluable and he has worked very hard for this promotion. Everyone please congratulate Sandy and welcome him to the team full-time. Please feel free to reach out to him if you have questions about the squirrels, ducks, birds, and bunnies.

Coffee time begins

Today we hit 50° F. Woohoo! Hello spring!!!

The snow is melting pretty fast. Last week we lost well over a foot within a few days. The sewers and drainage ditches were overwhelmed and the farm fields had so much water in them that they looked like lakes. When the wind got howling it looked like they had mini whitecaps!

Today I can see quite a bit more grass. We still have giant piles of snow from plowing, but where the open spaces were mostly white yesterday morning, this afternoon they are at least 50% grass. The more modest snow piles now resemble a snowy version of the Badlands instead of the Himalayas. 10 days ago we looked like this:

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Soon we will see tulips and sedum starting to pop up. Today it is time for this to start going out on the gardens:

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It is coffee time!

I used to buy sprinkle/pour fertilizer granules and put that on my gardens in the fall. They were “time released” so in the spring I would see them in the soil. For the past few years I have put used coffee grounds down instead. I started because it deters slugs, and I found it also deterred bunnies and did a great job of fertilizing. My plants have gone bonkers since I started doing that. They are very happy!

I start out pretty sparingly – just light sprinkles. Then when the hostas start to come up, I also put grounds lightly around each plant. I rarely have slug issues when I get started on that process early.

If the forecast holds for Saturday, I will also have my first “patio time” of the season. Some people call it “lawn chair therapy”. Either way, it is bliss!

Wait! I also just heard the first motorcycle of the season! Oh yah!!! We Minnesotans are so ready for a new season!

Asclepias

Last week I ordered our first 6 deer resistant plants for up north. Asclepias (milkweed) are the plant where monarch larvae mature to become butterflies. Some sources say the monarch population has decreased by 80% in the past 20 yrs, partially due to pesticide overspray that is killing asclepias. They are not to be a cut flower (poisonous) but are very beneficial for the monarch population. They also attract honey bees and hummingbirds use the seed pod floss to line their nests. We’re going to try them as a naturalized plant up north. More to come – bearded iris and coneflowers will be our next purchases.

Lots More Space

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Well, we did it! After years of passively searching and over six months of actively seeking property in northern Minnesota, we closed on 40 beautiful acres of wooded high ground not far from Canada. Yup. It’s cold. It’s REALLY cold sometimes. Yup, there’s a lot of snow. But it’s our cold, snowy dreamland now.

It will be a pretty big process. There is an old logging path so that job is already done, but there is no well or septic, and no dwelling at all. There is a natural clearing we plan to use as the homesite, but it will probably be at least late April, maybe later until we can start that preparation.

And then there is the garden. So far we have seen A LOT of deer and snowshoe rabbit tracks and some tracks that look like moose tracks. Plus lots of field mice. So a tall gated garden lined with chicken wire will be necessary. We also know that composting would not be wise (bear yummies).

Some of my favorites from years ago are probably going to make a comeback. It sounds like bearded iris, daffodils, and grape hyacinth are deer resistant. I know from experience they naturalize beautifully!

We never dreamed we’d do something this big. Well, my husband hoped … We still plan to keep our townhome for at least the foreseeable future, but who knows. God may have plans we could never imagine! Can’t wait to share this wild adventure between our townhome and the woods with you all!

Please share any zone 3 woodland gardening expertise that may be helpful ☺

Saturday becomes Sunday

Friday and Saturday this weekend we visited with my Mom. Way more fun than Saturday morning clean-up.

Today, however, we made time to clean the windows, swap places between a sedum and an asian lily, and plant the tulips. The sedum needed more real estate and the clump of lilies needed more protection from the wind. While shopping with Mom on Friday, I bought an extra bag of tulips – 15 ‘Angelique’ tulips. They are some of my favorites. So including the bag of 30 pink and purple tulips I had previously purchased, we planted 3 spots of 15 tulips each today. Hopefully they will bloom at least one year ☺

Just as we finished up, it started to drizzle, so no new outdoor garden pics for this post.

Indoors, the hibiscus is not so happy. This happens every fall when we bring it in. A lot of leaves turn yellow and fall off. But we did get two buds begin to bloom today.

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On a gloomy fall day outdoors, that was a treat.

It’s candle time again, too, and an outdoor scent was in order. While shopping with Mom, I picked this up.

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On a cloudy fall weekend, it warmed up the atmosphere.

Because it started to drizzle today, I didn’t get the ‘Marque Moon’ and the red daylilies cut back. That will have to happen next Saturday.

It’s all good.

Scarecrow picks in the ground

It’s October. The corn fields are drying. The sky is vivid blue (when it’s not totally cloudy). In a month we will be ripe for snow to fill the growing empty spaces in the garden. For now it is time to join in the fall merriment.

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And a 25 year old favorite:

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The one on the left may be ready for a “refresh” painting. On the list for next weekend.

Wait! That’s a daylily cluster!

Just had an awesome discovery – check it out.

Yes, that is a new cluster of daylilies! I looked online and it sounds like ‘Just Plum Happy’ daylilies re-bloom. I did not know that. This is our most mature ‘Just Plum Happy’ daylily and this is the first year it has re-bloomed. Very exciting!

Not another frost in the forecast for 10 days so maybe … at least some of the buds will have enough runway to bloom.

Very glad I harvested those seeds. Can’t wait to see if they revert to the parentage or create something entirely new.

Fall clean up begins

I need to begin fall cleanup today. It usually takes six Saturdays, and I am right on the edge of running late. Saturday is the day, because compost is open until 2 pm on Saturdays in the fall.

It’s always a little sad to start this process, but I cut everything back by hand (no weed whipping – yet) and if I don’t get going, it will be bitterly cold when the last bit needs to be done. (Experience talking here) Plus, there are those few things to be transplanted, or given to neighbors. And then there’s that bag of 30 tulips.

The past few falls it stayed nice enough that some of the hosta leaves were able to turn colors before they wilted from frost.

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So I will leave those for another week. I’ll start with the asian lilies, the fading hostas, and the daylilies whose leaves are browning up.

Yup. I need to get started. No more hanging on. It’s time. We have our “guest in the garden” this weekend. He can lend moral support. In 30 minutes.

If it were April/May, I’d be all over a day to get out in the garden early, but Brrr! Who wants to leave the comfy house with cozy throws to go out and cut down the garden?

It does help that part of the garden came in the house last night – the hibiscus, shamrocks and amaryllis. They are still in the entryway acclimating before I put them in their locations for the next 6 months. Maybe I’ll enjoy them inside for just a few more minutes.

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No? Okay, here we go. Once I get going it will be fun? Or at least familiar …