Some plants like sunflowers, marigolds, and snap dragons which are supposed to be rabbit resistant are still vulnerable  when they are seedlings. I don’t want to wait until my flowers are a foot tall and flowering before I put them outside, so I have developed a few tricks. One trick is to cut the bottomRead More

On Tuesday, I snuck out as the storm was rolling in to take pictures of our trees in bloom. Today, I patiently waited until the snow melted to take pictures of a few of our flowers.  I am always amazed at how the pansies handle snow. We have dug the walk out of several feetRead More

I woke up this morning and watched the sun disappear. It was replaced by dark clouds, high winds, thunder, and eventually horizontal rain. However, I decided to brave the elements to bring you pictures of some of our blooming trees. Our Weeping Cherry Tree has just begun to bloom. This tree is gorgeous once itRead More

I returned from my trip this weekend to find more bulbs and even some trees in bloom. Some of the tulips have started to open up along the walk. If you look closely you will see where the rabbits nibbled on the foliage. I am very happy to see the trees bloom, but it doesRead More

It snowed on Easter and I mentally pushed out the date that the asparagus would make its appearance. However, today when watering I was delighted to see the first asparagus pushing up through the dirt. There should be enough by Monday to use it in dinner. If you need asparagus recipes, click here. And thatRead More

I am so glad you asked! I can’t wait to show you how my pink hyacinth grows: There is the promise of a flower. Stretching up. And now out. For this I have waited all winter! Aren’t you glad I don’t do this for each flower on my property? Do you enjoy watching the progressRead More

Erin at $5 Dinners is sharing the latest happenings in her Square Foot Garden on Saturdays. Erin is also inviting readers to link up their square foot gardening posts. I enjoyed watching Erin’s garden last year and benefited from the fact that she harvests her produce one to two weeks before me. That gives herRead More

Last year, I opened my garden in March, even though our last freeze is usually in June. I was able to carefully plan ahead and cover the plants before a snow or freezing temperatures hit our area.  The plants thrived and I was picking tomatoes in May before most of my neighbors had even plantedRead More

I am currently vacationing in San Diego. Hopefully, I will have some pictures to share with you when I return next week. I am enjoying the lush green environment and warm weather. My youngest son, who was born and lived all of his three years in the high desert has been particulary enthralled with theRead More

I have waited a very long time for this occasion…the first blossom! I am so thrilled that I finally have a flower to flaunt; I feel like throwing a party! How is your garden growing? Are you still digging out from the snow, or are you in one of those lovely southern climes and haveRead More

I sometimes supplement my seed potatoes with store-bought organic potatoes. I use paper bags to hold my potatoes until they are ready to be put in the ground. I keep the potatoes in a dark spot in the garage where they are stored at approximately 40 degrees. I will plant them at the end ofRead More

I wish I had flowers to flaunt, and some day I will:But I do have rhubarb to flaunt: My rhubarb is rebounding this year and I couldn’t be happier. They went through quite an ordeal last year, but they seem to have forgotten all about it! Two years ago, I was introduced the the conceptRead More

The lollipop sticks are the legs of an inverted table. As the snow accumulated it was slightly pushed over by the wind. It continued to accumulate in this manner until each leg of the table had a lollipop comprised entirely of snow on top. This post has been linked to Outdoor Wednesday and Wordless Wednesday.

We have spent the last couple of weeks alternating between snow days and sunny 45 degree days. The warm sunny days make me start itching for spring, but I know that the night time temperatures will regularly drop below freezing until early May.  So I consoled myself with the impulse purchase of two 3 footRead More

February is National Bird Feeding Month. The end of winter is the hardest time for birds to find food, unless of course you are a bird of prey! We love watching the many birds of prey in our area, except when they are dining on cute little song birds! We think it is a NorthernRead More

A couple days of rain have melted the snow and I was delighted to find signs of life in my garden. I am amazed because we had night time lows of negative 10 degrees and I did little if anything to protect the plants. I truly expected my strawberries to die. They have survived previousRead More

We are having an unusually warm fall. It has been so warm that I have not yet brought out the boxes of winter clothes, the fall decorations, or started winterizing the horse pens. I think everyone in our house is getting anxious for the temperatures to dip, but there is one benefit to the warmRead More

This year’s garden was one of victories. I triumphed over surprise snow storms, extreme heat, and no precipitation. I lost some battles, but finally won the war against the rabbits. And as far as the weeds go, I made a rock path and called it peace: I shared the story of my ravaged rhubarb andRead More

Last week I told you how I protect my baby sunflowers from the rabbits, and this week I am thrilled to be able to show you the first sunflower to bloom. It takes a while for the seeds to develop and give the center the black appearance that we associate with sunflowers. The seeds areRead More

The squash has left the safety of the raised garden beds. The rabbits have not touched it, but since I am overwhelmed with summer squash right now, I guess I wouldn’t mind sharing. I am putting together a list of recipes that use squash. If you have one that you like, please leave a linkRead More