Stragglers

I found a few strays that I forgot in my last post.

I suppose I should get out the Hummingbird feeders.... This little guy and one of his friends was buzzing their tiny wings around my head the other morning. I adore Hummingbirds, they are so pretty and quaint. My Grandma always had hummingbird feeders around her house and since she lives in the mountains they are everywhere. I remember when I was little I stuck a lollipop in my mouth, bobbed my head up and down and said, "look Grandma I'm a hummingbird!" That is one of those memories that we will never forget.

I love climbing roses, I hope to get a few more around my yard. Hopefully ones that are a prettier, brighter color as I do not really like this dark red. I do not like anything that is dark colored for that matter. They are so easy to take care of and I love how they climb up everything, so pretty.

This is one of my most favorite trees in our yard. I do not know what it is called, all I know is that it has really pretty purple flowers that grow on it. We have two of them. We also have one that looks similar but grows white flowers. I love it as well and will post pics when it blooms. I am sorry this is not the best picture and it is hard to see. I believe you can click on it and zoom in a little to see the flowers.

Catching Up

I have some nerve calling myself a Gardner, most Gardner's I know do not let their flower beds get like this. If I was a grandma Gardner it probably would not have, but I pull out all my excuses whenever I can. "I am a mom of a very crazy 21 month old! I work a full time job! I have a husband that requires constant attention when we are together! My house needs to be cleaned!" etc, etc. Even though they are very legitimate excuses my weeds should not be this bad. No excuses!

It took 2 weekends to get this bad boy cleaned up. In a previous post I talked about this bed and how it was being done 1/3 at a time. Well, it is finally done and I have my husband to thank for it. He knew it was bugging me and I wanted it to be done this last Sunday. I was at work until 2pm and he knew I was still in quite a bit of pain. I came home to a flower bed, and then some, that looks like this..



These are zinnias coming up, not weeds :)



This has also been freed of weeds. Now you can see the Zinnias and the Sunflowers are huge.

Remember they Hydrangea I fell in love with? I planted it in a spot where I will see it every time I come out of my house.

It is lovely isn't it?

At the yard sales in JC I picked up a chair that I just loved so much. It was only $3 so I was not leaving without it. I found a perfect use for it as well.



African Daisies, I love the purple and green together.



The green sprouts coming up are Bachelor's Buttons. I have never planted them before so I am anxious to see them grow.

This is the best smelling rose bush in my yard. It only blooms for a little while but it is full of several blooms at a time. It looks shabby in this picture but it is looking better. Parts of it are dead and need to be removed :(



More Daisies and some of that blue stuff? Anybody know what that is?

Sorry this is sideways, I didn't realize it until just now. This is my first attempt at a "designed" pot. I think it turned out great and I am excited to see it fill out.

I have got to do something about my window pots. Hubby is supposed to build me new window boxes that I can plant my flowers directly in to.... Construction is slow these days....

The whole reason I took a picture of this was to show the color. So much for that huh? (It is a Geranium hanger)

Here are those purple and green Petunias I was talking about before. They are called 'Supertunias'  not sure what they call the color though.

I hope these overflow really soon because they look silly right now.

So there are a few of my garden goodies lately. I planted in another flower bed and planted a package of purple Zinnias. I will post on those next week as I am going to be MIA until Tuesday.

Have a great Memorial Day everyone! Stay safe and do not forget to water!

Recipes #1

For dinner last week I made Husband's favorite soup, Cheddar Potato I guess you would call it. The recipe is from my Mother-in-law only it has been tweaked a little to satisfy hubby's obsession with cheese. This soup is so yummy I could eat it for days. The best thing about it is that it is super easy. Brandon was so happy I made it that night, he came home from work soaking wet and freezing. Nothing better than delicious warm soup when you are cold!

Sorry I am not the most wonderful photographer

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, grated

1 tbsp butter

2 cans chicken broth

3 cans cream of potato soup

1 ½ c cheddar cheese, grated

1 c sour cream

Salt and pepper

 In a large pan, melt butter and saute’ celery and carrots.  Add chicken broth and simmer on low for 20 mins.  Add potato soup, cheese and sour cream.  Cook on medium low for 15 mins.  Finish with salt and pepper. 

My tweaks: I use 4 cans of cream of potato soup, a can of cheddar cheese (not to replace but to add), and I use bagged shredded carrots if I am in a hurry. I also use broth I make on my own instead of canned. The amounts may be modified in the recipe to whatever you may like. For instance, I do not even measure my carrots or pay attention to how much celery I chop up.

On overcast days I get a sudden urge to bake. This time I made chocolate chip cookies. I had made them only once before and it did not turn out so well. I left them in the oven for too long so they were crunchy. I did not realize that cookies would set up after taking them out of the oven, it is hard to know things that no one has ever told you. I thought 8 minutes was too short because by then they were still gooey. This time around they turned out perfect.

The recipe I used for these was on the back of a package of Safeway brand chocolate chips (I always use recipes on the back of packages because they are usually very yummy). I took some of them to work, some of them went with my Father-in-law, and the rest went in my hubby's tummy. One of my co-workers liked them so much she asked me for the recipe. She laughed when I told her where to get it. I do not have the recipe to post but I will later on, promise.

On Friday evening I baked a batch of choc. cookies, homemade brownies with nuts, and packaged brownies sans-nuts for a bake sale. The homemade brownies were nothing short of amazing. I was shocked at how well they turned out. I will be making them again, hopefully very soon!

The recipe was obtained from an app on my iPhone called Big Oven. I would die without this app, it has saved my butt so many times when it comes to meals. I am not sure if it is available on the other phones but if you have an iPhone and you cook, you should definitely get it.

The shiny ones are the packed brownies, I do not like them!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

1 c Butter

1 c. Sugar

1 c. Brown Sugar              

¾  c. Cocoa

3 lg Eggs

1 c. Flour

1 ½ ts Baking Powder

1 ½ ts Vanilla

1 c Walnuts

Melt butter. In separate bowl, mix together sugars and cocoa. Add melted butter. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add flour and baking powder. Add vanilla and nuts.  Bake in 9”x13” pan 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I had to put foil around the edges of my brownies half way through because they were starting to get crusty. I am thinking next time I may try using a lower temp for a longer time, but the foil worked just fine.

I love to bake, I am not a big fan of cooking though. I really enjoy being creative and making making my goodies look "cute." If you have any recipes that you love feel free to share! I would love to try them.

TheStar Cullen: The secrets to successful garden shopping

TheStar Cullen: The secrets to successful garden shopping

Middle of May Showers and We Bought Flowers!

Finallly! I have been waiting for WEEKS for my husband to be off so we could go buy flowers for the yard. I have a few already and some seeds, but it was not enough to satisfy my flower addiction. We went to two nurseries, Lowe's, and Walmart.

On our way to Show Low we stopped in Snowflake at a nursery Brandon wanted to show me (I believe it is called J&K but I am not sure). I was in shock! I had never seen anything like it before. The size of the hanging planters was absolutely astonoshing! I was amazed by the whole place even though it was rather small. The different species of plants and flowers they mixed for the pots was so imaginative. I foolishly left my phone and camera in the car so I do not have any pictures. Hopefully I will return soon. I ended up buying a salmon colored Geranium and we went on our way.     The prices here are a little high by the way.

The next stop was Christopher's Gardens in Lakeside. If anyone that reads this blog lives in NE Arizona, I highly recommend this nursery. The plants are unblemished and the prices make it a bargain. I looked it up online and found this. I am in love with this place. The prices are low but not quite as low as Lowe's or Walmart. I ended up buying a Petunia that is purple with green edges, it is beatiful! Brandon bought two Habenero plants as well.

I did not want to purchase my 6 packs at Christopher's because they are cheaper at Lowe's (plant condition always comes before price!). Lowe's plants are usually in great condition and they have a wide variety of 6-packs. We bought so much there that I am having a hard time remembering! I got my usual Petunias, Phlox, Daisies(African), and Dianthus. We also bought seeds to fill the island with. There is a wildflower variety, Petunias, and Zinnias.

This picture is sideways, sorry.

I  found something that I instantly fell in love with. I told Brandon I was not leaving that store without it, no matter the price. "It" is a gorgous blue/purple Hydrangea. I have seen them before in pictures but never in real life. They are stunning! I think I have found my favorite flower.

This picture does not do the flower justice, but in all fairness I was trying to take a picture of the whole bunch, not just the Hydrangea. It is in the top left, the bright green is the unopened flowers. I am so excited to plant this!

The last week we received unusual, but very welcomed rain showers. It was so nice to not have to water anything but pots for a few days. The rain is so beneficial to a garden, it is also beneficial to weeds. Every gardner knows, the best time to pull weeds is the day after a good rain. So yesterday morning that is exactly what I tried to do. My Zinnia flower beds are overrun by weeds. I tried last weekend to pull them and only finished about 1/3 due to wind. Yesterday, I finished about another 1/3 due to pain in my back from a kidney infection, ouch. Today I hope to finish, rain-soaked bed or not. I have to finish!

I am going to do some gardening today and some fun picture taking. I should have some new posts up this week. :)

"God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done."  ~Author Unknown

Just a little water

Hello, happy Wednesday! I have not been able to do much gardening this week as it has been very windy here. I am not able to spend much time outside other than what it takes to water because of my daughter. I personally am so used to the wind that it does not really phase me. My daughter on the other hand, is a different story. I would hate to be at fault for her getting an ear infection or something.

So I have been watering and watching seedlings sprout. I fertilized my indoor plants yesterday as well. It's funny how my flowers outside get more water and attention than my house plants. I am horrible with houseplants, I can never get it right. If anyone has tips on indoor plants I would greatly appreciate them!

This weekend I am going to catch up on my gardening tasks. Hopefully the weather cooperates! I will be planting the wildflower mix in the island flower bed, Bachelor's Buttons (I have not decided where yet), and weeding the veggie garden and the flower beds. Our gardens are becoming overrun by weeds! Pulling and cutting weeds is my most hated gardening chore.

Also this weekend I have to make sure to spray my rose bushes with Malathion. I noticed a few aphids on one of my bushes and I know there will soon be more. I have discovered it is best to spray BEFORE they come rather than after. Once your buds and leaves are covered, it is a lot of work to remove them completely. I am hoping to plant more rose bushes this year, I am so excited about this.

Over the weekend I will make sure to take pictures and post on Sunday. I planted a whole bunch of flower pots last week that I am so excited to share with everyone. *One of my bushes is already blooming!

"When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant." - Author Unknown

The Plot

Hey everybody! So FINALLY I am going to post about our gardens. It's about time! We already have sprouted seedlings. I promise I have not been procrastinating because I want to. I have been having difficulties with posting pictures. So, now I have pictures and a whole lot to say.

The pumpkin patch

The Vegetable Garden

*Side Note, the grass sure has gotten green since this pic!

Our apple tree. The tempurature went down to 26 last week, I'm hoping we'll still get apples this year.

My husband and I planted rows of Zinnias and Hollyhocks here. We've never tried this before so I hope it works out.

"The Island" that's what we call this little flower bed. I had planted Marigolds in the top but I must have done something wrong because they are not growing....... Told you I was a beginner! I will be planting wild flowers in here sometime this week. They did great last year.

This is in front of the house. I always plant Zinnias up here because they are so heat tolerant. They look beautiful all summer. Last year they stayed until I cut them down in October!!

My husband is head of the planting the vegetable garden. After it is planted I help water, weed, and harvest it. He does not like to give me much credit though ;)

The vegetable garden contains: tomatoes (early girls, grape, and cherry), jalepenos, summer squash, green beans, radishes, carrots, and cucumbers. I am not entirely sure of the breeds, I'll check this week and post.

My husband is a huge fan of miracle grow. I know we live in a 'green' and 'organic' generation, but I guess we just have not evolved yet. At least once a month he fills his sprayer full of one powder packet of Miracle Grow and sprays the garden, the grass, and the flowers. It works wonders and I highly recommend it!

So now that we know the plots, I will take pictures of the plants and post them. I also have planted some flowers and can't wait to post the new things I tried this year. If you have a Facebook page I recommend you "like" the page The Gardening Club I found a lot of inspiration on this page for flower arrangements.