How Does Your Garden Grow?

Just like last year, we were able to go to a flower warehouse this year.  Because of our little babe, I talked Tom into going with me.  We ended up with twice the amount of flowers as we had last year!  So, we've been planting planting planting!

We filled in this flower bed with bright annuals.  I love the wave petunias - it is the only type of petunia I buy now.

This is a new flower bed this year.  I'm looking forward to seeing this fill in.

We have four big pots in our backyard to fill.  The bright colors make me very happy.

This is a little flower bed in our front yard.  We've filled it with mostly cosmos and petunias.

Our basket that hangs off the front porch.  Tom was really into yellow this year!

And our vegetable garden is growing.

Besides when we can finally pick the veggies, I think this is my favorite state to see!

We have so many strawberries this year, but we will be lucky if we harvest any.  The bird have a 4 am snack.  We've got to get a net!

Sadly, I didn't plant a single plant this year.  I held the baby and directed while Tom and big kids planted.  I kind of missed it!

How is your garden doing?

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I Canned



not MY pantry



Source: awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com via Laurel on Pinterest

This is the type of post that will make my sister roll her eyes - so just don't read sis.  My grandma had a food storage room in her basement.  It was lined with shelves of canned food.  It wasn't my favorite food to taste, but I loved looking at it.  Did everyone's grandma have a room like that?
Last week, Tom decided that we were done gardening.  Thank goodness, I got a little tired of it about a month ago.  He picked everything that was left in the garden. The same week, I bought a 40 pound box of apples that I had plans for. I got bowls and bowls of fresh produce that I didn't want to go to waste, so I rolled my sleeves up and spent the entire week in the kitchen.    In the end, we made this:

12 pints applesauce - I flavor with a little vanilla - not cinnamon
9 quarts apple pie filling
6 pints salsa
6 pints tomato sauce
4 gallons frozen tomato sauce
1 batch cilantro sauce
4 dozen chocolate zucchini muffins
5 dozen ultimate zucchini cookies
2 quarts blanched carrots in freezer
2 quarts grated carrots in freezer
2 quarts grated zucchini in freezer
6 pints pickled beets
4 pints refrigerator pickles

Source: makeandtakes.com via Laurel on Pinterest

Some things I've learned:

1. I'm not a huge canner, but if I do it in small batches, in pint size jars, it seems more manageable.
2. The kids are more likely to help if we pretend we are in Little House on the Prairie.
3. The floor needs to be mopped every day.
4. Jars of food that you grew yourself and then canned yourself are WAY prettier than a grocery store can.
5. I don't know what I'm doing, but there are A LOT of people online that do know what they are doing - thank goodness!
6. It really does help to have the right tools.  I started out just winging it with what we had, but after splashing boiling water on my neck, I bought some basic supplies!  So worth it!
7. I don't know why I didn't like it as a kid - we think it is delicious now!
8. With my daughter's allergies getting worse and worse, it makes me nervous to see food that might or might not have been processed in a plant with her possible allergies.  The comfort this gives me to know where this food has come from and that it is safe, is worth it.
9. Don't worry - my husband kept a running tally of the money this was costing, just to see if it was cheaper.  I was curious too.  In the end, it was a little bit cheaper than buying store bought, but I did have to get a lot of supplies this year.  Now, I already have the jars.

So that is what I did all last week. Any questions?  I probably don't have the answers, but I can guide you a bit!

Source: outsidetheinterzone.blogspot.com via Laurel on Pinterest

Our Veggie Garden - August

This is my favorite time for gardening - it's harvest time!

Our garden first planted:

Our garden in July:

We've had about 6-7 zucchinis and 2 yellow squash so far - they are just starting.  The cucumbers are exploding!

We planted too many tomatoes this year.  There is a jungle in there.  I think I'll have to learn how to can tomatoes for the winter.  I'm thinking pizza sauce for our Friday pizzas!

The peas are all done and were very loved.  The beets have already been picked and pickled!  The green beans have started and we just eat them steamed!

It's always amazing how quick things move in the garden!

Plus, my hydrangeas are about to burst!  Yeah!

And the holly hocks are awesome.  Just saying.

I'm getting together all of my favorite garden recipes and I can't wait to share.

How is your garden?

Our Veggie Garden - July

A little update on our vegetable garden - it's thriving!  Everything is doing really really well.  Well, except for the strawberries - ants keep eating them.  We've talked to expert gardeners at our local nursery and they've told us that strawberries are really really hard to grow here and don't expect too much - RATS!

the cucumbers, the zucchinis, and the yellow squash

The tomatoes and peppers (and a couple of onions, for you, dad)  The tomatoes have busted out of their cages!

Cilantro, which has gone to seed already, and basil.  We have had so much cilantro!  I love it - cilantro lime chicken, salsa, guacamole, on turkey burgers. . . .  I've made cilantro sauce to put in the freezer for later and have given away bags!  We've also planted another batch that will hopefully come up when the tomatoes are ready.

carrots and beets

peas - just had a bowl on Saturday.  YUMMY!  G. will eat them straight from the garden.

Our green beans getting ready to climb

So the trellis' and the cages are not Martha Stewart looking, but that's fine.  Within a month, the plants will cover them.

coming soon

Tom planted a row of marigolds to make the garden look pretty.  We did place this garden in a prime spot and it is front and center when you look into the back yard it's the focus.  He tried to make it a little prettier for me -  I like it!

How is your garden growing?

Ka Bam!

Good thing we like daisies!  They have completely taken over this flower bed!

They are like my son's comic books - POW!  BAM!  KABOOM!

I. cut me the cutest vases of daisies.  We have so many we're going to need to start giving them away!  I do love all the other flowers in this bed, though.  The daisies are going to need to be split up and let someone else have a little spotlight!

Flower Pots

After we added the tons and tons of rocks in our backyard, Tom and I both looked at it and screamed - this needs color!  It was in the end of October, and things weren't as green around then. 
This year, we added 4 pots to our patio.  I filled them up with flowers from the other day.

Kristi helped me pick out mystic dahlias for the center, verbena, zinnias and wave petunias.  By mid summer, those petunias should be hanging everywhere!

We stuck some of the extra petunias in our flower garden by the trampoline, along with some cosmos.  Just looking at this picture now astonishes me.  This bed has grown in so much that you can't see the dirt!  It is thriving and beautiful!  We are having major thunderstorms right now, or I'd go take another picture. 

Everything we've planted is thriving!  We spend a lot of time in our backyard and this makes it much more of a fun place for me to be.  We did put flowers in the front - that's a post for next time!

Our Veggie Garden

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Last Saturday, we finally finished getting everything in our vegetable garden planted.  We had such great success last year and were excited to get started again this year.

We buy our tomatoes and peppers from start - everything else is from seed.

Row 1 (bottom of picture):  green beans

Row 2:  peas

Row 3:  radishes/beets

Row 4:  carrots

Row 5:  rosemary/basil/cilantro

Row 6:  various tomatoes

Row 7: peppers and one pot of onions (for you, dad)

2 hills cucumbers

2 hills zucchini

1 hill yellow squash

strawberries

This might be the most exciting stage - besides finally picking the food off!

Our kids were heavily involved this year and had opinions on what they liked.  This is a FAMILY project and they all help.  Surprisingly, M. is the best of the three - always out there with me just looking and checking.

Wow, my mouth waters just thinking of the end result!  I can't wait.