Garlic Scape
**yes, this picture is two years old. currently our scapes have been harvested.
**also currently doing some experimenting with garlic scapes in the kitchen. yum!
**this post is #300. yay!
Wordless Wednesday: Garlic in the Garden
Tag Archives: planting
Back to School Teacher Gift Idea
I thought it might be fun to give an apple to my kids’ teachers like Kendra did (guest blogger on Tatertots and Jello), but last year we gave spider plants and they grew with the class (cute play on words that wasn’t intentional). This Fall I added a little flag to usher in the school year. A little card would suffice for your teacher… or even a handmade picture by your student!
Spider plants are so easy to care for. They don’t need much light, and if you forget to water them, they’ll wilt, but won’t die that easily. These were just replanted, so they look a little droopy. But I’m sure in a few days, they’ll start to perk up.
Gotta Get Outside
I’ve learned from working in construction that there are really only two seasons in Chicago: coming out of winter and going into winter. Sometimes there is an in-between, and that’s when everyone runs outside. We’ve been spending some time outside in our backyard. I’m so excited the plants are coming up after last year’s late season planting especially the brunella (Jack Frost), the garlic and some ferns that were transplanted from Oak Park to a far west suburb and then to our home. You’ll see the ferns have grown a lot in just a few weeks!
(click on the pictures to zoom in)
The shrubs are looking a little lopsided, hopefully after some pruning and warmer temperatures, they’ll bounce back. I’m slightly worried about them. I planted some lettuce and spinach in “the farm”, but I’m afraid it’s late in the season. They’re sprouting now, as of this post, so we’ll see what happens. Saturday, chicken wire was added to help deter the rabbits. I’m looking to add some marigolds soon…along the perimeter of the kitchen garden.
This week is starting out a little damp and cloudy, but by the weekend, I should have some warmth to do more outside. Right now, I have a leak somewhere in the roof to take care of, too. Grrr!
In the Backyard
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been busy in the backyard. Yes, while also preparing for family houseguests and the wedding. Needless to say, our home has been very active over the last month.
We wanted to do something in the southwest corner of our backyard – the shadiest part, too. We called up our friend who also designed our home to help us pull together some ideas. These are the “before” shots.
Here’s where we are now:
Our poor friends… the clay soil was really tough to work through. They also ran into some leftover construction debris (stones, concrete scraps). I’m so glad they were able to help. Patrick is laying out the patio where most of the flagstone came from “Freecycle”.
Pretty arbor – the doorway to the shade garden.
Fencing to keep the critters out – have to add the chicken wire.
The raised beds are bordered by our leftover brick from original house construction. We have a few more details to complete and then we’ll be done for the season which is a good thing… it was a balmy 30 degrees (or less) overnight. Hopefully the plants will survive since they’ve been in for almost a month now.
Shade Garden Plantings: Henry’s Garnet Sweetspire, Viburnum “Winterthur”, Jack Frost Brunnera, ferns and other steppable plants interspersed within the stone patio.
