Uh Oh, Frost in MI Last Night

Last night the temperature at my mom Peggy's house was predicted to get down to the low 30's.  That means frost was a real possibility. If you saw her gardens in my post a couple of days ago (Gardening: All in the Family), you know her plants are well underway and many not able to survive … Continue reading Uh Oh, Frost in MI Last Night

Gardening: All in the Family

For as long as I can remember my mom had vegetable and flower gardens, sometimes big, sometimes small.  So did my grandparents.  All this interest in growing things rubbed off on me and hopefully I'll pass it on to my kids.  With that in mind, I had my mom and daughter take us on a tour … Continue reading Gardening: All in the Family

A View of the June Garden-Front yard

Yesterday, the backyard, now on to the front yard... This is the area of biggest change.  In preparation for new construction, all the trees next door were taken down in early April.  We knew this was likely at some point (see Problem Areas) and had tried to plan ahead.  This garden contains arborvitae, annabelle hydrangeas, hostas and … Continue reading A View of the June Garden-Front yard

A View of the June Garden-Backyard

I took a tour of my yard today to see how everything was looking. Other than a little late, most things were looking quite healthy. It seems I'm often focussed on the "little picture", so it was nice to just step back and look at the "big picture". Starting in the back... Hostas, sedum, peonies, … Continue reading A View of the June Garden-Backyard

May Vegetable Garden

I've been so busy in the garden, I haven't had much time to write about it.  Hopefully I can catch up in the next few days.  Everything is in that wonderful, lush spring phase.  Well, almost everything, but more on that another day. My raised vegetable beds are looking great.  I got my first harvest … Continue reading May Vegetable Garden

Baby Robins Have Flown the Nest

Most years, I have had at least one nesting pair of robins.  They seem to rotate between 3 or 4 places in the yard.  This year they chose to build their nest right on top of last year's disintegrating nest.  They must have really like this spot!  Early April--4 eggs were laid 12-14 days later three of … Continue reading Baby Robins Have Flown the Nest

Checking in on the Clematis (and How do I Prune Them??)

One of my favorite plants in my garden are my clematis. I love how they climb and burst forth in mountains of delightful color.  Every year I worry about if they'll make it through the winter, but so far so good. One of them I've had since we moved into the house almost 20 years ago. It's … Continue reading Checking in on the Clematis (and How do I Prune Them??)

Spring in Northern Michigan??

While I've had my share of bad winter and spring weather here in Chicago, it still isn't nearly as harsh as it's been at my mom Peggy's house in Northern Michigan.  She's still patiently (??) waiting for the soil to get warm enough to get her plants in the ground.  Just yesterday morning, there was yet another dusting … Continue reading Spring in Northern Michigan??

Assessing Winter’s Damage

While most of the garden has burst forth finally, quite a few things have been mighty slow, while others have obviously not survived the winter.  From what I've been hearing, everyone has suffered some loss in the garden from the long, cold, snowy winter.   In comparison to some, I think I've fared pretty well since I didn't lose … Continue reading Assessing Winter’s Damage