Happy New Year!

This is the view from the front porch of our house. You can see the square outlines of the garden beds and the dark blob of the compost bin. Obviously, I won't be doing much gardening in the next few months (ah, Minnesota winters), but I'll try to add some winter cheer on this blog with some reminders of summer. Remember, fellow northern hemisphere residents, now that we've passed the solstice, the daylight lasts longer each day. Happy New Year!

November Harvest

This fall is unusually warm.  People have told me they're still harvesting greens, such as chard. In my garden, I have bok choi, which I'll harvest today or tomorrow.  We're up for a few nights of freezes ahead, and while I could cover them, I've got a recipe I want to make. We've since eaten the chard and the lettuces. This year's main struggle in my garden was a slimy creature that I think I finally have under control.  I never understood why people complained about slugs so much until they ravenously consumed too many delicious items in my garden. Another struggle was the late start since we had been traveling at the beginning of the summer.  In some ways, it was great because the soil was warm and seeds sprung to life quickly and the tomatoes grew vigorously.  Yet my sweet peppers didn't turn red, partly because the only choice at the garden center was California Wonder, great for hot and sunny spots, not so great for my shady woods. Every growing season has its strengths and weaknesses, though overall this was a pretty glorious summer and fall.  After washing thoroughly (and rinsing again and maybe again--I hate slugs!), I'll enjoy these delicious homegrown greens...in November!

The Color of Oak Leaves

Oaks don't have the reputation that maples do for fall leaf color, but the wild oaks in our area are gorgeous, too. The leaves can be brown, but they're also rust, gold, orange-brown...

and a spectacular scarlet.

Thank goodness the oaks are here since the maple leaves have fallen. (This photo is from last week.)

Other colors in my woods include the rainbow leaves of raspberries and blackberries and a burst of yellow from grapes.  What a beautiful time of year!

 

Falling for Autumn

This time of year may be my favorite. (Wait. Do I say that when the daffodils bloom? Or when I pick the first tomatoes?) This is the view from my front porch this morning. There are no mosquitoes!

But there are plenty of slugs.  I should be eating this bok choy instead of the slithery critters. That is the Fork of Death. I use it to pick out the slugs because it's just too gross to touch them.

Even the revered maple leaves are holey (or holy?). I wonder if the slugs did this. This is the worst they've been as long as I've lived here. Next year one goal is to cut back on the slug population in my garden, but the weather conditions will probably be better for a different kind of pest. No worries--I'm a prepared gardener with my arsenal of organic remedies. Whatever winter doesn't kill, I'll be ready.

Fun with Fruit

 I love clearance shopping, and I found this Red Banana in July, which doubled in size with the tropical hot and humid weather we had recently in Minnesota. Last night I had to bring the plant indoors so it wouldn't be too stressed in our 40ish degree temps. Our house feels cool, but I refuse to turn on the heat.  (I'll turn on the oven and make some zucchini cake instead.)

The wild plums have been picked over by the animals, so I won't have enough for cooking, but I'll get a taste.

I know this is bragging, but one of my favorite things to do is to pick an apple off a tree and then eat it for lunch. This is my McIntosh tree.  People love their Zestar and Honeycrisp varieties (I do, too), but this classic sweet-tart apple is one of my favorites.

P. S.  Thanks to the Minnesota company Fra-Dor Inc. for featuring my blog recently.

Basil Lover

I'm a basil lover.  I love fresh basil in my summer recipes.  True confession--sometimes I purposely walk by my basil, rubbing the leaves to release the fragrance, especially the vanilla scented Blue Globe (bottom right corner of above photo/Purple Ruffles in photo below).  No, I'm not crazy (or at least I don't think I am--maybe that's not such a good sign).  For me, basil signals summer---the delicious smells and fresh tastes and delightful sights. 

 

How To Freeze Green Beans

The most important thing is to breathe deeply. Yes, that's a lot of green beans. Be sure to taste one straight off the vine.(Yum!) But don't panic  because freezing is soooo much easier than canning. 

First, clean the beans.  I break of the stem end, but cutting is okay.  I keep the beans whole, but they could be chopped into bite-sized chunks. (Take another taste?  Why not!)

 

Next, boil a big pot of water. Gently lower the beans into the water to avoid splashing. Generally beans need three minutes for processing. The boiling process kills an enzyme that makes beans mushy when they're frozen. The beans may make a popping sound; that's normal. I like to use a strainer to get the beans out, but tongs or a slotted spoon works as well.

 

 

Plunge the beans into ice water immediately to stop the cooking process.  Overcooked beans are mushy, too.  I like to use a big chunk of ice because it melts more slowly than ice cubes. Note the bright green color compared to the olive color of the uncooked beans. (This is a good time to take a taste to make sure they're cool.  Yum!)

Drain well.  Ice crystals form with the leftover water.  It's not such a big deal, really, just be prepared to drain off excess water when re-heating your beans.

Place the cooled beans in a baggie, keeping the bag flat for better storage in the freezer. They won't taste as good as they did today, but they'll be better than anything you'll find at the grocery store in the middle of a Minnesota winter.

The Power of Petunias

It's been hot and humid, really humid, melting my previously wind-chilled inner thermostat.  And I won't complain. I promise. Instead I marvel at the staying power of petunias.  The containers need water every day, but they thrive in this weather.  I went for lots of color and planted Wave with double-flowered.  I consistently trimmed them soon after potting them so they'd grow bushy.  And they look great. Please don't notice the weeds...I'll get to them when the dew points drop.

Gomphrena is a Gem

Gnome Purple Gomphrena was one of the few choices left at the garden center when I got back from the UK in mid June. It didn't look at that exciting at the time.  Now that it's been in my garden a month, it's proven itself to be a great flower. The compact plants are bushy and full of flowers.  The color is a tasteful almost-neon, magenta-like purple. I've got it paired with alyssum as a border, and the two textures contrast nicely. 

Disappointments?

Gardening has its up and downs as does life in general.  The above photo of lettage (lettuce plus cabbage) is growing beautifully, so that's not so bad. However, my favorite part of the cabbage is that crispy heart.  I just wasn't thinking when I ordered these seeds, excited to try something new.  They are an excellent choice for cabbage rolls or other recipes that need a big green leaf. In other disappointments, slugs have attacked one garden bed rather viciously. It happened so quickly.  It's starting to recover, but, alas, I wish I had paid closer attention.  My biggest down is that I finally got some progress growing Asclepias or the milkweed family. The county sprayed the roadside, and my cosmos and milkweed are wilting. I'm growing them in a rustic raised bed behind the mailbox, which I thought would be safe.  Pretty flowers blooming might be another clue not to spray.  I watered them down after I found out, so I'm hoping for a recovery.  Even though I melt like a snowman when the temperature and humidity rise, I am NOT going to complain about the weather.  The tomatoes love it.  The peppers love it. The view from my window-- an emerald forest of trees edged with brilliant day lilies-- is gorgeous, especially since it's not snowing.

Showy Lady Slipper

On Monday I walked the Lake Wobegon Trail between Avon and Albany to see the Showy Lady Slipper. This has been on my bucket list since I learned it was the state flower in grade school.  They are beautiful.  My husband wondered why such an elusive flower was the state flower. It's a good question, and I have no idea why.  

P.S. You may notice a gap in posts--I was traveling in the UK.  I hope to post some garden photos soon. They have a longer growing season and my husband is an Anglophile...it's tempting. 

A Fairy Garden

I swore I'd never fall for gardening trends, but I fell for fairy gardens.  There are so many cute and clever ones out there that I get sucked into the internet vortex and lose time.  This is my version with a sedum and veronica. The moss and violet are from the yard. I bought the characters at a local garden center.  The "house" is a mug I made years ago with my daughter at a paint-your-own establishment in our small town.  It was too heavy once I filled it with water, so it got pushed to the back of the cupboard until I re-purposed it here. I can't claim to be a great crafter or artist, but I like this small touch in my garden. 

Rain and Lilacs

My favorite time of year might be when the lilacs are blooming and the mosquitoes aren't biting.  Do you see that white blob next to the blue pickup in the background?  That's my rain barrel, which is collecting fresh water as I type (perfect day to blog!). I tightly cover the openings because that lovely water could be a source for breeding mosquitoes. Well, the water's lovely now.  It gets murky if I don't use it and the days get warm.  No matter how funky it gets, the plants love it. 

Three Wild Violets

"Three wild violets" sounds like a good title for romantic fiction, but in reality it's the three Violas I have growing in my yard. The one above is the common violet, which many people will recognize in their lawns.

This is downy yellow violet.

And I suspect this is dog violet. I like this online source about Minnesota wild flowers:  https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/ 

P. S. This is a busy time of year for gardeners (and mothers of students!). I'll still post, but less frequently until the end of June. 

Happy May Day

In honor of May Day, I'm posting pictures of what's happening now. That's rhubarb above (with a stray dandelion--I didn't notice it until I posted the picture!). This time of year I celebrate every little thing because the plants and I have survived the long winter. I've planted some seeds, too. Let the growing begin!

These crocuses are the only survivors from the winter of the voles. (I took this photo last week.)

I was pleasantly surprised that all of the garlic survived.  I didn't get a chance to mulch it properly because of the early snow. 

The daffodils are almost ready to bloom.

The wild plum looks fantastic--completely covered in blossoms.

Wild violets live throughout the lawn.

Spring and Siberian Squill

During my countdown to spring, I featured Scilla, and now they're blooming. Spring has arrived!  But with little rain, we have dangerously dry conditions. This weekend a wildfire a mile or so from my house inspired me to hook up the outdoor hoses (as if that would help). The forecast calls for rain, so I'm hopeful.

P. S. Images and writing on this blog copyright Linda Larson 2015. 

Countdown to Spring: Zinnias!

Happy first day of spring!  It's the vernal equinox, an excellent time because our days are getting longer.  More light equals a happier me. However, the growing season has yet to arrive here in Minnesota. No matter...I offer you a bit of color with fabulous zinnias. The photo above is a Zowie zinnia with a Monarch butterfly.

Above is Cherry Profusion zinnia, which grows as ground cover. Below is a Lime green zinnia, a big flower in an unusual color. I just love the versatility and ease of zinnias! 

Countdown to Spring: Presentation

I'll be at Albany Library (Minnesota) on Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30 pm to present "A Year In My Garden." Join me for helpful tips and colorful photos. Bring gardening questions! We may not be able to dig in the dirt yet, but we can dream together and share some chocolate, too. Books will be available at the library and at www.amazon.com/author/llarson .

P. S.  Just a reminder that content and photos are copyright © 2015 Linda Larson. 

Countdown to Spring: Crocus

It's one week until spring! Not here in Minnesota but somewhere else (Indiana, perhaps, in zone 6 or thereabouts), these fall-planted beauties are blooming. I love them, but so do the mice and voles.  This year I've observed more vole tracks than usual, which makes me wonder if I'll have any crocus blooms this year.  I've read the advice to plant the bulbs inside chicken wire, but I dig in the dirt and I don't feel like scraping my hand on dirty wire.  What I do instead is sprinkle the bulbs with cayenne pepper powder when I plant them. Of course, winter happens (lots of snow and ice and wind).  It's a gamble, but one I'm willing to take.

Countdown to Spring: Forget-me-not

Forget-me-nots are often planted with tulips. The tall spikes of the tulip flowers pair nicely with the ground cover aspects of forget-me-nots. However, what's important about this blog entry today isn't this flower so much but its name. This winter has been brutal.  I write this on a below zero morning, days after snow was found in every state except Florida. Here's my message: Spring says, "Forget me not!" This little flower reminds us that temperatures will rise, snow will melt, and flowers will awaken. 

Countdown to Spring: Lilacs

Lilacs are the coffeehouses of flowers.  I stand beneath the branches and breathe deeply, practically tasting the scent, memorizing it since I won't experience for another year. Perfumes and colognes cannot recapture this fragrance. It's not only the scent that makes them a coffee house, but that the lilac becomes a gathering place, where butterflies come to eat and dragonflies come to meet. From the camouflage of its branches, I hide with my camera. I witnessed a butterfly...

a dragonfly...

and the elusive hummingbird.