Although the growing season is winding down around here, there is still plenty of activity going on outside. The honeybees are busy collecting pollen from the blossoms of the mini-pumpkin plants in preparation for winter. The morning glories have finally started blooming.  It won’t be long before the first frost around here,Continue Reading

Life is crazy busy at the moment with fall chores and all the kid activities.  I decided to take a quick moment today, however, to post some pictures of our harvested pumpkins. Despite the mildewy mess in the pumpkin patch, we still have quite a few pumpkins for decorating andContinue Reading

Growing pumpkins. It is not as easy as one would think.  I discussed in a previous post all the issues we’ve had with growing pumpkins in the past.  Last year was our first successful growing season.  Encouraged by our success, we grew pumpkins again this year. Our pumpkin patch lookedContinue Reading

I planted a cutting garden for the  first time last year, growing a variety of annual flowers from seeds.  I enjoyed the convenience of having a supply of flowers to cut for bouquets without having to worry about how they looked overall in the garden.  Once the seeds germinated, itContinue Reading

Summer is flying by and we are swamped with vegetables to harvest, flowers to pick, weeds to pull and grass to mow.  We enjoy a variety of fresh vegetables at each meal and inevitably eat too much.  The rewards of all the hard work in the garden are paying offContinue Reading

We have put a lot of work into restoring our chicken coop from its original dilapidated condition.  The result is a very solid, safe, comfortable and cute home for our chickens.  Despite their fancy digs, our chickens love being outside any time there is not snow on the ground. TheyContinue Reading

The harvest is on and I cannot pick the vegetables fast enough to keep up.  Although I try to stagger my planting times, every year it seems that everything ripens at once.  At the moment, we have wax beans, green beans, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, zucchini and onions ready for harvestingContinue Reading

The month of July is a time of transition in the perennial garden.  Many of the early blooming perennials are starting to wind down, allowing others to take center stage.  Aside from an early infestation of aphids on my Lupines, I am having a good year in the flower garden. IContinue Reading

I have planted sunflowers the last several years because I love seeing the beautiful blossoms towering above the garden.  They are such happy flowers that seem to smile all day long in the sunshine.  Of course, they have the added benefit of providing the birds with some tasty snacks onceContinue Reading

It has been a good growing year for the vegetable garden.  The plants are huge and everything looks good.  At the risk of jinxing myself, I am happy to report that the garden does not have any major pest, bug or disease issues.  The weeds are growing just as vigorously asContinue Reading