Christmas Notebook

spring garden

May 22, 2012 – 5:21 pm

The weather yesterday and today has been beautiful. Mild temperatures and a nice breeze. A couple of near perfect days.

The hydrangeas continue to look beautiful.

This smaller plant is a few years old. It grew from one of our older plants and we moved it around the corner. This year, it has quite a few blooms on it. You can bend a hydrangea stem to the ground, put a brick on it, and have a new plant at the end of the summer. Where it’s in contact with the ground, it will grow roots. In the fall, cut it from the mother plant and move it to another spot in the yard. We’re going to do this to make some new plants this year. Can’t have too many hydrangeas!

The daylilies are beginning to bloom. This is ‘Black Eyed Stella.’

Monday gave us ten FFOs (first flower out). Here are a few of the current blossoms.

‘Thumbprint’

‘Two Part Harmony’

‘Cosmopolitan’

Russian Sage is a great plant for the daylily beds. It adds texture, long bloom time, and an airy look that always draws attention.

The Asiatic lilies are beginning to bloom.

Pretty coreopsis with evening primrose in the background.

As the light fades, it’s nice to take a break and rest a bit in the swing. A gardener’s work is never done, but tomorrow is another day.

I hope you have a garden to enjoy. If not, you will find some to visit at Jean’s Bloomin’ Tuesday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in our garden | Comments (2)

menu plan monday ~ may 21, 2012

May 21, 2012 – 11:03 pm

Today was a beautiful day. Sunny, breezy, about 73. After he got home from work, DH and I spent more than two hours in the yard. He pulled weeds, I drove the mower pulling the wagon. Such a beautiful evening to be outside.

We had a busy several days last week getting ready to host our church’s annual spring picnic. It was a lot of fun. The kidlets really enjoyed the chalkboard.

And the older “kids” were gracious and helpful with packing the chairs and tables after the picnic. We are blessed with great young people at our church!

Following is the menu for the week. Tried to keep it simple. I don’t like to be tied down to the kitchen this time of year, when we enjoy spending all the time we can in the garden.

Monday
Tacos

Tuesday
Spicy Shredded Pork (leftovers)
Homemade Buns
Garden Salad
Corn on the Cob

Wednesday
Baked Chicken
Stir Fried Bok Choy
Garden Salad

Thursday ~ My birthday 🙂
Homemade Pizza
Dark Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting

Friday
Bacon-Provolone Chicken Sandwiches
Homemade Buns
Grapes

Saturday
Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chicken
Rice
Steamed Green Beans

Sunday
Birthday Party Potluck for my Dad. I’m making the cake.

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (1)

hosta beds

May 19, 2012 – 12:18 am

Though the daylilies are beginning to bloom, the garden is a little sparse on color right now. The earliest daylilies, like ‘Black Eyed Susan,’ ‘Stella d’Oro,’ and ‘Bitsy,’ are blooming well. Others are just beginning to open, like ‘Priceless Pearl.’

While we wait on the daylilies, there are a lot of other things to see. We are really enjoying the hostas. This bed is under the Southern Red Oak in the back yard.

Hosta ‘Gold Standard’ with ‘Lemon Lime’ in the front…

This row of hostas is by the carport, near the back door.

This hosta bed is under the old mulberry tree in the backyard.

We have ‘June’ in two places in the yard. This one, under the mulberry tree, is in deep shade and the color is soft and dark.

‘Fried Bananas’ is a quick growing hosta and doesn’t mind some sun.

This bed near the front porch will look a bit neater once it is mulched. The hostas are (left to right) ‘Torchlight,’ ‘Royal Standard,’ and ‘Grand Tiara.’

We don’t know the name of this one, but it’s a pretty one.

‘Squash Casserole’…one of my favorites.

Under the redbud tree by the east porch.

‘Guacamole’

‘Liberty’

I have other hosta pictures, but I’ll save them for another day. Here’s a look at a few other garden gems. Aren’t the hydrangeas beautiful? I love these plants.

North of the fenced garden is Miscanthus ‘Morning Light.’ Very pretty in even the smallest breeze.

Fenced Garden

These red lilies bloom in several parts of the yard.

In a few weeks there will be a lot of color to share when the daylilies put on their show.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in our garden | Comments (5)

my mother’s day

May 14, 2012 – 10:56 pm

We had a very nice day on Sunday, Mother’s Day. God blessed us with beautiful weather. The day started with pancakes with the grands. Snow White knows the recipe by heart now. If Pa isn’t ready, she pulls out the flour, the baking powder, salt, etc., so they can begin mixing as soon as he’s ready.

While they made and consumed pancakes, I made the Sunday bouquet. The hydrangeas are just coming on strong. They are in varied stages of bloom. We have some bushes that tend to pinky-purple and some that are blue.

I wish I’d taken more pictures of dinner prep, but I did get this one of the twins helping their aunty shuck the corn.

My father-in-law always looked for the first strawberry of the season on Mother’s Day. Our traditional Mother’s Day treat is strawberry shortcake, in his honor. After dinner and cleanup, Rose Red helped Pa make the shortcake.

With the beautiful day, we decided to have dessert outside. DH brought his mother over from the nursing home and she really enjoyed looking out over the backyard gardens, as well as the gorgeous weather.

Snow White loves strawberries.

Rose Red would like more, too.

It was nice to get a four-generations picture while our son and his daughters were here with great-grandma.

Later in the day, our younger son called, so I had all my children accounted for. I am grateful for the blessing of such loving children.

My thanks to my family for giving me a great Mother’s Day. I love you all!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in family | Comments (1)

menu plan monday ~ may 14, 2012

May 14, 2012 – 12:19 pm

I hope you enjoyed a Happy Mother’s Day. We had a good day with all our kids home except our younger son and his wife. But I was able to talk to him on the phone. Always good to hear his voice. DH brought his mother over from the nursing home and she enjoyed the backyard garden and our traditional Mother’s Day treat of strawberry shortcake. We took a four-generations picture while everyone was here. As you might guess from the picture, the fourth generation was not so excited about having a picture taken.

Now to think about the menu for the week.

Monday
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice

Tuesday
Chicken Caesar Pasta Casserole with homemade Caesar Croutons
Garden Salad
Steamed Green Beans
Corn on the Cob

Wednesday
Baked Dijon Salmon
Accordion Potatoes
Garden Salad
Peas

Thursday
Chef Salad

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Spicy Shredded Pork ~ I follow the pork recipe’s ingredient list, but I don’t blend them. I put the roast in the crock pot and throw everything in on top. I know it’s not the same as roasting it, so it’s different than the meat the original recipe would produce, but it’s still delicious! And easier.
Homemade Buns
Veggies and Ranch Dip

Sunday ~ Church Spring Picnic at our house
Cheesy Potato Sausage Casserole (scroll down to bottom of post for casserole directions)
Homemade Rolls
Cookie Sheet Pie

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in family, menu | Comments (2)

hostas in the garden…and other lovely things

May 11, 2012 – 11:43 pm

As I may have mentioned before, the hostas seem to be especially beautiful this year.

‘Blue Angel’ is just getting started in our garden. We’ve had it for several years, but this one will be quite large when it reaches maturity. It can take 7-10 years to reach maturity, so plant it where you can leave it. If you dig it up to move it, it may take longer to mature. Also, it will be bluer in shade than it will if it’s planted where it gets some sun. The sun will reduce the waxy coating that gives the hosta its blue color.

Hosta ‘Big Mama’ has decided to take off this year, after a few years of doing nothing. It’s looking great.

Never ending task…digging tree seedlings out of the flower beds. We’re not sure which hosta this is, but I’m guessing it may be ‘Fried Bananas.’ It has grown quickly and looks great under this redbud tree.

We have ‘Fried Bananas’ ringing a redbud tree in the back yard. Planted between each one is a smaller hosta called ‘Emerald Tiara.’

Great corrugation on ‘Fried Bananas.’ The late afternoon sun shows off the veining.

Planted in 2011, ‘Sutter’s Mill’ was the first hosta in our garden to put up a flower scape this year.

‘Janet’ is a sometimes confused with ‘Gold Standard’ which is a larger hosta than ‘Janet.’ I wanted to show you this one in particular because it has produced a green sport. A sport is a shoot of a plant that is different from the original plant. ‘Janet’ is supposed to have a lighter center, with a darker border. The all-green leaves are a sport. This hosta needs to be dug and all the eyes separated to get the green out. We’ll replant the sport elsewhere in the garden and will let ‘Janet’ get back to normal.

Here’s a picture of ‘Janet’ taken in our garden in 2007, in all her loveliness. We had several years of dry summers around that time and ‘Janet’ stayed lush and green when other hostas dried up and burned.

It’s not all hostas in the garden. Volunteer coreopsis is beginning to bloom. It adds a bright note to the beds.

The lacecap hydrangea is looking better this year than it ever has. I wasn’t very impressed with it before this year. But it’s looking pretty!

The other hydrangeas are loaded with blooms, as well. They are just beginning to turn from green to pink and blue.

The Siberian Iris ‘Gull’s Wing’ is one of the whitest irises we have. It looks nice paired with the blue of the false indigo.

In the back yard, the rhododendron is making quite a splash of color. This was sold to us as a white rhodie. Imagine our surprise when it bloomed pink. But such a lovely pink. I’m glad we have it instead of the white one.

We don’t have enough astilbe. It’s such a pretty, fluffy spike of a flower.

Plants aren’t the only things that grow in our garden. The variety of wild life sometimes surprises me. This week, when DH brought an iris blossom in, a hawk moth rode in on the petals. We put it outside and it spent the entire day on the back porch. It was still there when I went out to visit the garden that evening.

I hope you have a garden to enjoy. If you’re local, you are always welcome to visit ours. Or you can visit a lot of other gardens at Tootsie’s Place. Enjoy!

We’re planning a plant sale for June 2, by the way. All proceeds will go to the mission fund at our church. If you want to be on an email list for plant sale reminders, email me at reacoulter@gmail.com.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in our garden | Comments (4)

menu plan monday ~ may 7, 2012

May 11, 2012 – 12:03 am

I had this post ready to go last Sunday evening, then we had four long days of intermittent and unreliable internet access. I couldn’t get on my blog, flickr or Netflix, just to mention a few. What a long four days!! It seems to be working this evening, so I’m posting this, even though it’s late and I will try to get something from the garden posted tomorrow. Here’s a preview…

The hosta ‘Blue Cadet’ by the birdbath in the back yard is looking so nice this year. But it’s about to eat the birdbath…may have to consider moving it back a bit.

Monday
Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot
Rice
Garden Salad
Steamed Green Beans

Tuesday
Soft Shell Tacos
Lettuce, Cheddar Cheese, Beef, Tomatoes, Avocado, Green Onion, Salsa

Wednesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Garden Salad

Thursday
Homemade Pizza

Friday
Chef Salad

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Mother’s Day and I’d like ~
Grilled Chicken Wings
Grilled Pork Steaks
Garden Salad
Veggie Packets in Foil
Corn on the Cob
Strawberry Shortcake

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Sunday bouquet

May 6, 2012 – 6:10 pm

Today’s bouquet was made with rhododendron and ‘Goldflame’ spirea.

This one went together pretty fast. I used a round crystal bowl to hold it, with floral foam taped into the bowl. I like the way it turned out.

The glass votive with a few stray blossoms is courtesy of Rose Red. She likes to use it for the flowers she picks in the garden. She doesn’t have the hang of picking stems with her flowers yet.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in bouquets, our garden, spring | Comments (1)

the garden is leaping toward summer

May 4, 2012 – 12:45 am

There is so much going on in the garden this week that I don’t know where to start. Spring lingers in the peonies and the irises. Summer beckons as the daylily scapes begin to shoot upward.

The columbine are setting seed. They self sow easily. If you have a columbine plant, you’ll find new plants in the bed next year. If you want to save seed to sow them where you want them, wait for the seedpods to turn brown. When they begin to split, collect the seeds. These columbine are hybrids, so the new plants may not look like the parent plant. But they are all beautiful.

Carpenter bees chew wood, but do not eat it. They consume nectar and pollen like they would find on this columbine, pollinating as they feed. Male carpenter bees do not have stingers. You can tell a male carpenter bee by the white spot on its face. They are very curious and will buzz around people but are not aggressive. My grand-daughter was excited to actually touch one as it hovered near her on the east porch the other day.

Peony ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’ looks great paired with Siberian iris ‘Caesar’s Brother.’

‘Monsieur Jules Elie’

The peonies that opened first are now finishing their bloom time. But others are just opening, like ‘Nymph.’

Another late blooming peony…just getting started.

The iris ‘Alabaster Unicorn’ has a unique pointed beard, like a unicorn’s horn. It’s a beautiful clear white with yellow beards and white horns.

Yellow Flag Iris

The hostas seem particularly vigorous this year. Anyone else having the same experience?

Hosta ‘Squash Casserole’

The hosta ‘Big Mama’ has been in our garden for several years. It hasn’t done much until this year, but this spring it has certainly taken off.

Hosta ‘Golden Meadows’

Hosta ‘Midwest Magic’

The hosta ‘Love Pat’ languished in the garden until we moved it to this bed. Now it’s looking much better. Sometimes you have to move them around until you find the place they like.

The hosta on the left is ‘Orange Marmalade.’ The large green one behind it to the right is a sport from the ‘Orange Marmalade.’ A sport is a shoot of a plant that is different from the original. Amazing that it can be SO different, isn’t it?

The rhododendron in the front yard has finished blooming, but the one in the back is just getting started.

The Queen Anne’s Lace had reseeded itself in the yard. We dig a lot of it out, but do like to leave some because it’s a host plant for Black Swallowtail caterpillars.

False Indigo…a great plant for the garden, if you have room. It can grow four feet tall and spread as much as six feet wide. When you plant it, be sure you want it there because it does not transplant well. It’s a native Illinois prairie plant and likes full sun.