St. Patrick's Day is the time to plant potatoes in much of the Midwest. They will withstand the less severe frost of early spring -- at least the usually less severe frost. This year -- hard to predict :-) My dad loved to garden and I remember his excitement at getting ready to plant potatoes because that meant spring was here. Barring rain or blizzard -- potatoes were in the ground in the middle of March as close to St. Patrick's Day as possible. Eventually the neighbor, also an avid gardener, came up with a great labor saving method he'd heard about. Save a spot in the big compost pile and just shove the potato eyes in the crumbly mix of organic material --near St. Patrick's Day -- and wait. I was reminded of this when pins began proliferating on Pinterest claiming that you ... [Read More]
Gardening
How to divide hostas
Being the hardy shade plant that they are, hostas will tolerate division from spring until about a month before frost. They need plenty of water the first couple of weeks to help get over the shock and cool conditions will certainly help them reestablish themselves. Don’t expect much new growth until the next season. Most medium sized or small hostas will be ready to divide again in 3-5 years. Larger ones may not need dividing for 8 or 10 years. When the stems and leaves circle around an empty middle, it is definitely time to divide. Otherwise divide when the plant becomes too large for its space or you want to increase the number of hostas in your garden. Most hostas can be lifted out of the ground for dividing. Use your spade to cut a circle around the plant about 4-5 ... [Read More]
Five tips for planting hydrangeas
Who doesn’t love hydrangeas? We have a shady corner crying out for color and light. The shrubs we had planted there never thrived because it was too shady. Then the local power company came in to do some work on the transformer the shrubs were hiding. No chance of thriving after that. I was thrilled to discover that hydrangeas do well with morning sun and afternoon to evening shade. Just exactly the conditions we have. And clay soil is not a problem either, as hydrangeas will handle that issue with the proper soil amendments. When I saw these beautiful hydrangeas with blue and pink and purple blooms on the same plant for a great price, that was the seal on the deal! I took six of those elegant ladies home with me. If you are putting money into gorgeous nice sized plants, you ... [Read More]
Create Private Space in Your Backyard
July flew by at Chez Charlene -- almost literally, at times! We added dorecho to our vocabulary as strong straight line winds took down trees and power lines for miles, while in other parts of the country people were coping with wildfires. Here are Nine Checklists to Help Evacuate Your Home as many had to do. Experiments led to these recipes for Breakfast to Go and Mushroom Swiss Burgers , Friday nights gave us a family favorite known as Chili Cups and our love of carrots led to this decadent, moist Spiced Pineapple Carrot Cake with its perfect complement of Cream Cheese Frosting. A while back, Wheels built a garden shed in the very northeast corner of the backyard. It looked forlorn and lonely. In short order, lilies that were taking over elsewhere were planted around ... [Read More]
Flower Bed Before and After
Last fall, we had an ash tree removed between the house and the front door walk. The retaining wall went behind and around the now gone tree, so I moved it forward next to the sidewalk. Then we added dirt, more dirt and still more. . . ahem . . . fine soil. (When we totalled the cost, it went from dirt to finest soil!) Added plants. . . mostly collected from the markdown shelves at nearby nurseries. Mulched -- not my favorite kind, but it helps retain moisture. That's an important feature because it turned ninety the minute I put the last plant in the ground and is supposed to stay there till next week! Still finessing the layout of the drip hose, so when that is done I'll put down another layer of pine nugget mulch. It's darker and easier to handle and makes a great background ... [Read More]
Take time for you . . . .
Wheels’ work schedule includes 12 hours each on Saturday and Sunday, the days people normally get together with friends and family, go to movies and church, and relax. If we aren’t careful our lives become nothing but work – work at work, work at home, all day every day and half the night. We have to be intentional about building in time for rest and renewal, reflection and rejuvenation. Usually we get a few hours here and half a day there, our daily half hour walk. When I saw a story in the local newspaper about an unusual garden tour, we decided to set aside that entire day for us – no phone, no computer, just leisurely taking in whatever the day would bring. A big breakfast started the day. Yes, that is dessert! Who said you can’t have dessert for breakfast on a special ... [Read More]