Happy New Year!

Winter welcome at, my gardening friend, Cindy's home!

What time of the year is this?

Inspite of the shortage of white stuff  around here, there is no shortage of holiday cheer at this home!

A beautiful way to utilize garden art year around!  

What's missing?

What's SE MN missing in December this year?

Lots of holiday cheer decor out there, but the white background seems to be missing!  

Awesome!

  It's at Somberby's in Byron MN

!  

Indoor Holiday Decor ideas!

Just couldn't resist sharing these ideas with you!  Yep, taken at the Bachman's Idea House!

Lemon Cypress

I was so happy to find more of these lovely trees this year!

Last year I puchased one thinking ahead for spring and Fairy Gardens!   (It was only $5, so what did I have to lose?)  My friend, Mary, took care of it while I was in AZ and she assured me it was easy to do.  She just made sure it got sun and water.  So, I had great luck adding it to a Fairy Garden in the spring and it was very happy in part shade outside all summer!  It even grew a bit and was ready to be repotted and brought inside this fall!

I used it again in a Fairy Garden at Mayowood Mansion for decor during their annual fund raising Christmas Tour Event and am looking forward to it returning home in another week or so.

So this year I purchased two of them and they are a bit larger than last year's.  (also a bit more money) Then I really got excited while at Gerten's in Inver Grove Heights because I found them really tiny, like 9 inches tall for only $3.99 so just had to add two more to my collection!  Now to find someone to adopt them while I am in AZ!  

They have a bonus in being lemon scented so its delightful to run your hand over them!

Click on this for more information about Lemon Cypress

How's this for adorable!

Tiny but loaded with charm and holiday spirit!

I just could not resist these little Chrismas smiles!  They are only 6 inches high including their pots!

One will stay with me and hopefully I'll be able to let go of the red one as a gift!  

The tree only 9 inches tall!  That's for me also, more about that in the next blog post!

Outdoor Decor Ideas

The outdoor decorations at the Bachman's Idea House this year featured the new popular use of birch branches and sticks.  

I used the birch at home last year but switched back to the Red Dogwood Twigs this year.  Just not too excited about the birch logs, as I call them.  But they sure seem popular right now!

Nice winter day, roads are clear so away we went again.....

12 gardening friends hit the road once more!

Just for the day.... to visit the Bachman's Idea House on Lyndale in Minneapolis!

Such wonderful decorating ideas, awesome lunch in their greenhouse surrounded by flowering plants, Christmas gift shopping (some are gifts for ourselves, of course), and a quick stop at Gerten's on the way home!

Too tired to cook supper, some of us ended up at Mr. Pizza North for some wine and pizza!  Perfect ending to a perfect day!

Must be December.....

Wow, it snowed on my desk last night!

And the turkey few away, pilgrims left for warmer weather and my hardy little friends moved into my desk fairy garden!  They look happy and are enjoying the magic tree while they wait for their holiday mail in their mailbox!  

And moving on into the Holilday Season....

Who can resist one more container planting for 2015!

I just happened to find these fabulous 4-5 Ft tall red dogwood twigs..... and some healthy looking tree tops....and recalled I had some large red wooden beads.....

Then I found a fantastic price on a mixed green bundle that was just right for filling two hanging baskets I've been hanging seasonal decor in.....

So, keeping it on the simple side this year!

Fairy Garden of Joy!

Just got to share my friend's winter Fairy Garden of Joy!   

Rita's added a green tree to it this year!  Gave  it a great added accent punch of color!  

Our speaker last week at the Garden Club meeting featured how to "Glitz up the Mundane Porch Pot and Wreath" you buy at the store by adding more greens of various varieties along with few quality winter interest pieces!  Was fun to see that Boy Scout wreath become a true work of art and the porch pot became an awesome winter accent piece!  Wishing I had taken some pics to share with you!  Jan Vitse, owner of New Look Floral here in Rochester, MN.  She does workshops on this subject for small groups!  I've been to one of her workshops on flower arranging, had a great time!

My indoor fairy garden is still in Thankskgiving mode, but Josie is coming Tuesday to make sure we do our holiday decorating right again this year!  If only she liked to come and help us undecorate later!  I'll need to work on that aspect of it!  Maybe I can connect it with decorate for spring all at the same time?  Worth try!

Poinsettia Time!

It just isn't Christmas without a poinsettia in my home!

I just simply love visiting a big garden center full all the varieties and colors of poinsettias available! It is always a hard decision to decide which one I want this year and I have been known to purchase several different ones because I couldn't decide on just one. 

They are such fun to give as gifts!  

Isn't this just beautiful!  Would be lovely to enjoy all winter!

For information on Poinsettia Plants click here!

Ready, get set, go.... the Holiday Season has started!

Our annual  Gardening Gals. Day in Faribault , MN

First we go to Farmer's Seed to see what's new in Christmas Tree ornaments and gardener's gifts. Then we head for Donahue's Holiday Decorating Event for an awesome lunch, an entertaining program on holiday decorating tips. Also we sip a bit of holiday spirit and munch on fruit while we roam their huge inventory of poinsettias, indoor plants, holiday decor and gifts.  We always manage to have room in the cars for us and our purchases for the trip home!  Nothing like spending a day with gardening friends having fun!  We are now ready to tackle the Holiday Season ahead!

Pilgrims have moved in now!

I was shopping the other day and found two adorable pilgrims who were looking for a comfortable place to live!  I told them about my Nov. Indoor Fairy garden with a turkey and pumpkins in it and they hopped right in my hand begging to come home with me!

They are so happy and so am I!  I am enjoying their joyful company when I am "computing"!

Gobble, gobble, gobble....

Yep, I woke up this morning to find my little goblins are gone from my Fairy Garden on my desk!

Yep, there was noisy gobbling going on from one loud mouth turkey who has moved in!  

He thinks he is safe cuz he heard us talking about our Thanksgiving Dinner will be at Josie's house!

Christmas at Mayowood

The Olmsted County Historical Society in Rochester, MN. is once again preparing for their annual fundraiser Christmas Tour of our Mayowood Mansion.  

Each year the rooms are decorated by volunteers and volunteer community organizations for a special treat for visitors to tour Mayowood Mansion at its finest and happiest all decked out for the holidays!

This year I ended up helping two friends who are on the Rochester Garden and Flower Club's Mayowood Christmas committee.  Cindy and Judy had the responsibility to contribute a winter fairy garden to the room the committee had been chosen to decorate!  I had plants I could donate, Cindy contributed the base and potting soil while Judy lent the project the accessories.  Together we made it happen and had lots of fun.  We are not allowed to take pictures inside the mansion, so you'll have to get tickets to tour and see all the festive decorations!

If you attend the Mayowood Christmas Tour this year, be sure to look for this winter fairy garden in one of the many bedrooms and then take special notice of rest of the beautiful decor in that bedroom and admire the beautiful decorating skills of the RGFC Committee!

It is so nice to see all the restorations and renovations at Mayowood Mansion!  It has once again become a home filled with light and life.  Thank you Mayo Clinic!

Sleep well my friends!

Yep, here are my friends going to sleep for the winter.....

Sleep tight!

See you in the spring!

What a difference a month makes!

Snow in the air today!  

It's a typical late fall, early winter day, gray, rainy and dreary. I decided to take a picture when I went out to check the status of the hosta leaves.  I'm waiting for them all to lay down and dry up a bit so we can just take half an hour and pick them up and haul them to the compost site!  This way those slug eggs that are carefully left under the leaves to winter over, so they can feast on my hostas next spring,  won't be so protected from our MN winter!  There will be less that survive!  I'm not into all the work of  cutting off the leaves, it's  easier just to pick them up!  And I don't risk passing a disease from one plant to another.

I just had to come in and look at pictures taken this summer to remind myself what awaits me after they wake up again in the spring!  Sleep well my friends!

Oct 29 2015

Hosta Guacamole and Clematis Huldine

Halloween is fun at our house!

Both Denny and I gleefullly anticipate Halloween during our retirement years!

We decorate moderately inside and out looking forward to the little goblins arriving.  Times have changed, most of them are little goblins and parents are nearby!  We put our lighted twinkling teeth in when we answer the door and grin widely,  which absolutely fascinates the little ones once they notice!  Their reactions are priceless!  Not scared, just speechless staring with amazement!  Parents watch with big grins on their faces.  And we also have treats for any pets that are along for the Trick or Treats Stroll.  

Yes, we have the usual assortment of pumpkins outside and then "Cedric" climbs out of his corner in the basement and "hangs around outside" to welcome all comers to our home on  the 31st!  He even turns on his eye lights so he can see better in the dark!   

I always have a difficult time picking out an assortment of gourds to sprinkle around inside with my other fall collection of seasonal elements!  They are all so lovely!

"Cedric"

 

Community Garden Award!

This week I was honored to attend an inspiring Awards presentation.  

Once upon a time I participated on this committee for several years enjoying the fellowship of special people honoring their veterans.  This memorial is surrounded by "pavers"  honoring by name veterans in Olmsted County, Minnesota and while sprucing up the garden beds, each of them privately visited the paver(s) of their loved ones.

One of our members is a Veteran himself and he has shared that the garden beds with their color and life seem to soften the memories of war when he visits there. 

This special presentation also honored the two ladies who were the original creators of these garden beds and have spent 15 years of service tending them!    

Spooks moved into my indoor fairy garden!

It's that time of the year!  

I have one Fairy Garden that is all artificial plants and I updated it this fall.

Of course the goblins found it and  moved right in one night! 

 

I'm wondering if a Thanksgiving Turkey will chase them away later?  And, then what happens when it snows?   I'll keep you posted to any changes in occupants.  It sits on my desk so it keeps me smiling and when Josie comes over she rearranges the scene a bit!

A fairy moved indoors at my house!

Yep, I moved a favorite small fairy garden container inside the other day and planted two ferns I had over purchased for some indoor terrariums so, ..... made a comfy spot and next thing I knew... one of my fairies with her favorite friends moved right in.  It's getting a bit chilly outside, so I guess I understand!

This sits on our kitchen dining table so we are enjoying her company when we are eating!

First Frost!

We finally got killing frost last nite!  I am hearing my gardening friends are looking forward to it also.  I think we are tired of gardening for the season!

I started fall clean up outside early so I am about done already!  Now I am waiting for the hostas to get bit once more by frost so they all will give up and lie down.  It is so easy then to go out on a dry day and just pick the leaves up and haul them to the compost site!  Much quicker and easier than cutting them down!  Also no risk of spreading any disease that might be hiding in one waiting to be spread to another one!  Clearing the leaves away also removes the protection they provide for the slug eggs that are sleeping on the ground for the winter!  I'm all for that!

Today,  just before we went out for an errand,  we quickly pulled the dead begonias out of their pots and yanked up the sun impatiens for a quick trip to the compost site! Nothing attractive about dead plants hanging out of pots or curled up in the ground!   Next week I'll gather up my yard art pieces and tuck them away for their winter nap.  I have a few new tulips to plant  in the ground and then I am done with fall garden prep!

A few more views taken in Mother Nature's Garden Beds while on our fall color drive the other day:

Falling into fall.....

Time to hit the SE MN roads to view Mother Nature's own garden beds!  We did our annual drive with a few destination eating places in mind!  First stop for food was at the famous Aroma Pie Shop in Whalen.  The color was about gone in that area but the pie was not disappointing a bit!

Then we headed to "The River"  (ole Mississippi, of course) and drove north towards our next destination dining place in Lake City!  I should not have stopped for my annual carmel apple at Pepin Heights Orchard because we were five minutes after closing at the Chickadee Cottage Cafe!  So I missed my awesome meal I was expecting there!  Well, I guess we may have to go again to Lake City  soon and then drive a bit further north to Red Wing,  so I can enjoy a bowl of that awesome potato soup at Chickadee before they close for the season!  Denny has not been there yet and I so want him to have some of that soup!

Mother Nature's Water Feature!

Winterizing in Minnesota

Minnesota State Horticulture Society sponsored a seminar on tips on winterizing your plants,  shrubs and trees for our Minnesota winter, which will soon be on our doorsteps!

It was only an hour but was packed with information presented by Megan Magee of Family Tree Landscape & Nursery, Inc. located in Rochester, MN.  Megan sure knows her stuff and how to communicate effectively to a mixed audience of gardeners!  Not only did we have handouts to follow her presentation with but she took us outside to demonstrate how to prune shrubs with loppers and also, the faster easy way, with a gas powered hedge trimmer!  We also got a first hand demo on cutting back perennials and wrapping a tree trunk!   Needless to say, we were impressed and left with new confidence and ideas to keep our plants, trees and shrubs healthy and in great condition for spring!

I just thought I was almost done with winterizing tasks but learned how to prune my various hydrangeas, prune our new shrubs and how we'd be wise to wrap a few newer tree trunks and my hydrangea tree trunks!  A new trick using a bed sheet to catch cuttings will save lots of picking up chores! 

Keep your eyes open for these opportunities to learn.  They are often low cost and put on by professionals in your local nurseries!  There were quite a few experienced gardeners in the audience and we all picked up some new great tips to help us with these fall chores!

Best $10 I've spent for information in a long time!  The coffee, cookies and networking with gardening friends as pretty good also!

Iris in October in MN!

Iris is one of my favorite spring enjoyments!

Yesterday I was with a group of gardening friends planning some garden tours for our hosta society for the next few years when I spied this lovely sight!  Not only was it absolutely beautiful, it is October in MN!

A reblooming iris!  Yep, just gotta get some!  I'm  sure I can find a place to tuck a few in somewhere!

The softer side of fall

Usually, I tend to mostly admire the bronze and gold  shades of mums in  the fall, but this sure caught my eye in Deanna's garden this week.

Deanna thinks it is on steroids or something, it began life in her garden bed as one of those tiny pots of mums in the spring and has managed to take over a big area in this garden bed!  It is indeed happy in its home!

A fairy pond!

This small pond is just the right size to provide a bit of water magic in a sheltered spot near a deck!

Rita, you scored big time with this little gem!  

As it gets to be time to clean out the ponds and water features, I'll bet you appreciate the size of this one!

 It's a fairy pond!  

Fairy Garden bed set in a larger garden bed!

A bit of fairy garden fun can be tucked in a larger garden bed area!  

Rita did a great job of creating a fairy garden fantasy in a spot where she removed a tree trunk!

Lots of thing to attract fairies to live here!

Mini hosta beds attract fairies!

Mini hosta beds are a perfect place to create a bit of fairy attraction spots!  This one even has a small bubbling rock water feature!  

Found this in my friend Alma's Garden Paradise!

Mum Festival!

"Mum's the word?"   Well, it should read "Mum's the word!".

At least it was the word of the day Sunday at Mayowood Mansion and grounds in Rochester!

The Friends of Mayowood Residence and Historic Sites featured a Mum Festival combined with a tour of the first two floors in the Mayowood Mansion!  It was an opportunity to explore an explosion of mums decorating the grounds and the renovations that continue to be made on the Mansion! The weather was perfect!

Each visit to Mayowood is exciting to find  the results of the renovations, which seem to be continuing!  

Our garden club has invested many years, in the past, planting and maintaining 45 planters on the grounds each year as well as decorating one of the rooms for the Christmas Holidays Tour, an annual November fundraiser.  We can appreciate the improvements as we have watched this historic building being restored and capturing life once again!  It no longer is a dark, dingy, deteriorating empty home!  Thanks Mayo Clinic!  

FALL COLOR!

Yes, there is a non traditional way to enjoy FALL COLOR!

Tree foliage, mums, pumpkins and gourds are great.... but this also is a glorious sight!

My new neighbor, Jessica,  recently knocked on my door and greeted me with this huge pot of asiatic lilies in full bloom!  I had given her an assortment of perennials from my garden beds  to hers as a welcome to our neighborhood.  It is so fun to welcome a new gardener to our little corner of the world!

Best of all I'll be able to plant the lilies when they are done blooming and enjoy them again next year!

Dragon Wing or Angel Wing Begonias

My favorite annual!

I've discovered they grow and bloom from spring to frost and provide abundant color and lushness to any full sun, part shade or shady area!  They are great directly in the garden soil but I enjoy them most in containers!

Big containers provide me with loads of lush color and save me watering time.  Any containers I have must have the ability to thrive and survive up to four days without water during the heat of our MN summer season!  

One of my favorite garden centers is near our cabin and I get my order in early for 23 of their first crop of begonias because their plants are not only huge but healthy and ready to enjoy immediately.  This year I decided to use the pink ones that have the darker leaves at home and the red ones with dark green leaves at the lake!  They also have a light pink color as well as a white and I've used them also but prefer the brighter colors!

The above picture is of three of my large containers at home. Each of them have only three plants in them!  That totals only $15 per container for plants!  Lots of bang for the buck! 

I only replace the upper third of the container with new soil each spring!  A handful of water holding crystals with the new soil to ensure my 4 days without watering will be met and they are good to go for the summer with some occasional fertilizing!