Re-doing a Messy Garden

Good morning!

Lately, I've been re-doing one of the flower gardens.  Over the past couple of years I have neglected it because of other things going on.  When we moved here eleven years ago, this particular garden had phlox planted in it.  They were pretty, but they act like a weed!  They crowded out almost every other kind of flower that I planted.  So, they had to go!  As you can see, even a couple of trees got started in there, as well as lots of weeds.  It was a mess.  That poor iris looks so lonely.

So, I've been pulling up the phlox and weeds, digging the roots out, and covering the area with a couple of old sheets and then wood mulch on top of them.  It looks better already.  Will post a picture when I am finished with it.

I've used old sheets to keep weeds down in other flower beds, and they work very well. The very few weeds that do try to come through are easy to pull.  I only grow perennials, so these beds have become very low maintenance.  Works for me!  As much as I enjoy working in the gardens and digging in the dirt, I don't want to spend a lot of time with weeds.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought two garden statues at a garage sale when I was visiting my daughter and her family.  They were $8 for the pair.  At first I was only going to buy the boy statue, but the guy at the sale talked me into getting the girl as well, and now I'm glad I did.  They look very cute in this garden. 

 

I was going to post some quilt pictures, but that will have to wait until next time.

Hope you are enjoying these nice early summer (late spring officially) days.

I'm Back!

Wow! That was a long break.

Here we are going into summer, and I'm loving it.  Spent most of the day outside yesterday cutting the grass and working in the flower gardens.  The Siberian iris are blooming, and they are beautiful! These are all from one overgrown clump that I divided 3 years ago.  I hated to throw any of them away, so I just put them all on the east side of the house where they get lots of morning sun.  This is the first year that they have bloomed.

Also, the Columbines are in bloom as well as the Wiegela.

Isn't summer grand?  I never tire of looking at the green grass, the leaves on the trees, the flowers, etc. after winter is over.  And it's fun to greet the arrival of the birds who migrate to the area for a few months.  I love having the Barn Swallows swooping around to get insects while I cut the grass.

So, what did I do all winter?  Among other things, I spent a fair amount of time working on quilts which I will show you in my next post.

It feels good to be back!

A Break

I've been doing this blog for two and a half years, and now I feel that it's time to take a break.  There are other things going on in my life right now, so that is what I'm focusing on.

I may be back later, however.  Just not sure when.

Update on Northwoodsy Quilt

Hi there,

Just a short post to show you the latest picture of the Northwoodsy quilt I'm making.  The borders are now attached, and I'm ready to sandwich it. 

I came across an easy way to baste large quilts without having to get on hands and knees on the floor.  That method is just too hard on my knees.  If  you are interested, the tutorial is here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnke_KzeT18

I'll let you know how if it's as easy to do as it looks.


Linking up with Sew Darn Crafty

Beginning of Canning Season

Now that it's mid-August, the time has come to get the canning supplies out.  I picked some beets this morning and canned them this afternoon.

We started with 6 pints, but one ended up with a hairline crack in it so I threw it out.


I also dug some carrots.  Something has been eating the tops, so I thought I'd get them out of the garden before they were completely gone.

These are called Red Dragon, red on the outside and orange on the inside.

Some regular orange carrots with one that is kind of yellowish--not sure where that came from.  I don't think we planted seeds for yellow carrots.

Mr. M dug the row of red potatoes today and a row of Yukon Gold a couple of days ago.  I forgot to take a picture before they went in the cold room.


While I was in the kitchen, I also made a batch of yogurt.  I haven't made any for probably 30 years, but wanted to try it again. 

We've been having some great August weather lately.  It's nice to be able to walk barefoot in the grass whenever possible in the summer; it's something I love to do.

Quilt Progress and Daylilies

Good afternoon! 

I finally have more of the "Northwoodsy" quilt finished.  The top is pieced, and this morning I laid it out on the floor so I could position the animal silhouettes.

There is one more silhouette that will go on the left side.  Now I can start stitching them to the top.

Hot here today and no rain in sight, so we'll be watering the gardens.  We've been enjoying lettuce and peas so far, as well as new potatoes.  Beets will be ready soon. 

I bought 2 boxes of Georgia peaches from the Tree-Ripe Citrus truck last week.  The peaches I've been buying from them for at least ten years are always delicious.   Yesterday I canned 14 pints plus put 3 packages in the freezer. And of course, we've eaten lots of them fresh. 

I love summer with all its wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables!

Here are a few of the daylilies in the flower gardens.  It's hard for me to pick a favorite since each one is more beautiful than the last.

This is a peachy one with yellowish throat (and a couple of pretty daisies--as Meg Ryan says in "You've Got Mail", "Daisies are such happy flowers").

This is more of a lemon yellow than appears in this picture.

Different shades of pink.

A beautiful big orange one and more daisies.

I never used to plant daylilies, but after trying one, I am hooked.  They are all lovely, and with several flower buds on each stalk, there are flowers for a long time.


I'm linking up to Sew Darn Crafty

On My Design Wall

We are almost finished with the new bathroom, and I have moved my sewing room back down to the original one on the first floor.  The one upstairs was nice, but I really feel more at home in my old one.  It just seems like a better fit; and now I can watch the birds at the feeder right outside the windows.

So, now that the room is mostly organized, I've been doing a little sewing.  This is eventually going to be a queen sized quilt for a couple who are friends of ours. 

I have almost 100 more blocks to make, and then once all the blocks are sewn together, I'll applique dark brown silhouettes of animals such as elk and bear on it.



Here's a picture of one of the Campanula varieties in my garden.  It's such a pretty flower.

Happy July!  Hope you're enjoying summer.