I turn a blind eye to the storm outside.
On my table I created a mini woodland garden.
For now, that will have to do.
Hyacinth
Simply beautiful
Heavenly scented
What’s not to love?
You can keep snowing, Mother Nature, for now…
Kate
April 8, 2013
Groundhog Day
I’ve figured it out.
Punxsutawney Phil was kidnapped! Seriously, people. How could we be so blind? Someone took him and replaced him with an imposter on Groundhog Day. We are all so totally gullible and self-absorbed that we didn’t notice or even care because the imposter told us winter was over.
Now we are in trouble. It’s been over two months. He could be anywhere!
But it’s a little late to do much about it, isn’t it? I can’t believe we were so gullible. But why else would we be sitting here on April 8th watching a ridiculous storm sweep across the upper mid-west dumping snow?
Yep, as I sit and type, we kind, but gullible folks in Minnesota, are under a winter storm watch for the next three days! It’s April, people! Isn’t anyone else concerned about this? And it’s going to be bad. Depending on which meteorologist you listen to, we will get up to 6 inches, just an hour away will get a foot and others say it’s foolish to even attempt to forecast volume based on what’s coming.
I’ll tell you what, if we had been paying attention, and noticed that we had a Punxsutawney Phil imposter this never would have happened. Okay, the storm may have happened, but we would have been prepared. We wouldn’t all be sitting here expecting spring in April but getting blasted by winter. No sir, we would be perfectly content with winter hanging on for months on end. Because we would have known because Phil would have told us.
But we didn’t. We believed the imposter and here we are… miserable, caught off-guard and missing Phil.
Oh, Phil, I’m so sorry. Wherever you are….
Kate
April 7, 2013
Fairy Gardens 2013
Last week I caught the Fairy Garden exhibit, called Tiny Treasures: Fairies and Gnomes, at the MN Landscape Arboretum.
I’ve done a couple of posts on Fairy Gardens in the past and thought I would share a few pictures of the 2013 exhibit for inspiration.
Gnome Succulent Garden
Gnome Succulent Garden II
Bird Bath Fairy Garden
Bird Bath Fairy Garden Close-up
Zen Fairy Garden
Gourd Fairy Garden (Grow Gourds!)
Tree House Fairy Garden
Tree House Close-up
Fairy on a Bridge
There were many more than shown here, but I chose to show you some of my favorites.
As you may have noticed they added Gnomes to the mix this year.
Which garden did you prefer?
Do you like Fairies or Gnomes better?
Are you inspired? Would you make your own?
Kate
April 5, 2013
Elderberry – Why you want two
Have you ever heard the phrase, “The best time to plant a tree is five years ago.”? Well, that’s kind of how I feel about Elderberry (even though it’s a shrub).
Elderberry, a native shrub to North America, can be grown in (hardiness) zones 3 – 10 and can be planted in virtually any condition. It grows anywhere from full sun to part shade. They are very adaptable to different soils, but thrive in wet areas (where a lot of others can’t).
American Elder flowers
Their résumé looks pretty good too. If you are looking for a plant to do some work for you or provide you with more than something to look at, they are a very useful shrub. They attract beneficial insects to the garden, their white flowers can be used for tea, and their edible blue-black berries can be used for a quite tasty medicinal elderberry syrup (which is very tempting to pour onto pancakes), can be made into elderberry wine or used for jams and pies.
And , if you’re looking to bring wildlife to your yard, they also attract birds both because of their multistemmed form, where the birds with take cover, and their fruit serves as a bird buffet. Elderberries can get quite large though, ranging from 6 – 12 both high and wide, and they need a friend as a pollinator in order to get fruit so you can’t plant just one, you’ll for sure need two, but if you have the room, plant a few or more that way there will be enough fruit for you to bake, brew and share with both friends and the birds.
Did I mention they have fall color? They are beautiful in the fall as well!
American Elder Fall Color
Elderberry is one of the coolest plants that I don’t have in my yard, but it is definitely at the top of my list to plant this year.
Kate
Photos from University of Minnesota Extension
Walnuts n Pears 