December 13, 2009
Admire the burlap on this Hydrangea 'Preziosa' in the morning sunlight...
POSTED BY KIM — You could say I’m a “fair weather gardener.” Not that I don’t get out there in the rain and the cold, but that I tend to plant my garden for what it will look like in the spring, summer, and fall. So unfortunately, my winter garden suffers. Especially this year, when I picked the coldest, windiest day of the year to cover my roses and some of my hydrangeas. Smart! You wait until the last minute to do some gardening chores and Mother Nature will bite you in the aster!
The chicken wire on this rose, filled with brown, nasty leaves, really captures the essence of the winter landscape.
Hm. I’m just noticing that the Veronica ‘Waterperry Blue’ that I’ve planted as a groundcover around these roses appears to be evergreen. Interesting!
The neighbors get to enjoy this view on the side of my house. That's Hydrangea 'Angel Smile' wrapped up in her winter best. Charming...
December 12, 2009
POSTED BY KIM — I don’t even let my kids help decorate any more. 
December 11, 2009
POSTED BY KIM — I subscribe to this great monthly gardening e-newsletter put out by the University of Missouri called “Missouri Environment & Garden.” This month’s issue included an article on how to buy, store, and roast chestnuts.
I don’t think I’ve ever even eaten a chestnut, let alone one roasting on an open fire, but I was intrigued by the article.
Here’s what I learned:
o You can buy chestnuts at the grocery store. (You can tell who does — and doesn’t — do the grocery shopping at my house.)
o Don’t buy them if they’ve been under misters. They should be firm and not dent when pressed. Store them in ventilated plastic bags in your fridge.
o Cure them at room temperature for several days before roasting.
o Cut or cross cut the shells before roasting.
o To roast them in your oven, place the nuts on a cookie sheet at 425 ºF for 25 minutes. If roasting “on an open fire,” it will probably take longer.
o Let them cool for 5 minutes and peel them while they are still warm. Remove the outer shell and the inner papery “skin” before eating them.
For more chestnut recipes, look here. If I get brave enough to try roasting some of these, I’ll report back.
December 8, 2009
POSTED BY KIM — If you’ve followed any of our fairy gardening posts, then you know that we love our dwarf conifers. And when I say dwarf, I mean 6″-8″ tall. Tiny tiny tiny. And they’re slow growing, so you’ll only see maybe 1/2″ of growth a year.
But what about using them in window boxses? The picture above is a big picture window in my living room. I dragged out some old terra cotta pots and popped in a Picea glauca ‘Jean’s Dilly’ and voila! (FYI — it’s not pronounced “Jean,” it’s more of a French “Zhahn.” Oo la la…) They look like rosemary. I’m going to put little red bows on them and maybe some tiny white lights.
FYI, these tiny evergreens will take just about any light condition, from full sun to light or dappled shade. They don’t like to sit in water, so a well-drained soil is important, but do water them when they’re dry.
Here, Tina did a window box at Sugar Creek with a bunch of cut greens and bows, but in the center, you can see a ‘Jean’s Dilly.’
I’ll probably leave my little trees in those pots over the summer, and think of some ways I can accessorize them with hot summer annuals. But it’s nice to have an easy, versatile foundation plant already in place.
December 7, 2009
POSTED BY KIM — Britain’s The Daily Telegraph is reporting new research that reveals that many common garden vegetables and flowers show carnivorous behavior on par with the venus fly trap.
“Botanists have discovered for the first time that the plants are carnivorous predators who kill insects in order to ’self-fertilise’ themselves.
“New research shows that they capture and kill small insects with sticky hairs on their stems and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the animals decay and fall to the ground.
“It is thought that the technique was developed in the wild in order to supplement the nutrients in poor quality soil – but even domestic varieties grown in your vegetable patch retain the ability.
“The killer plants have been identified as among a host of species that are thought to have been overlooked by botanists and explorers searching the world’s remotest regions for carnivorous species…
“Among them are species of petunia, ornamental tobacco plants, some varieties of potatoes and tomatoes, and shepherd’s purse, a relative of cabbages.
“Researchers at Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, which carried out the study, now believe there are hundreds more killer plants than previously realised.
“Professor Mark Chase, of Kew and Queen Mary, University of London, said: ‘The cultivated tomatoes and potatoes still have the hairs. Tomatoes in particular are covered with these sticky hairs. They do trap small insects on a regular basis. They do kill insects.
‘We suspect in the domesticated varieties they are getting plenty of food through the roots from us so don’t get much benefit from trapping insects. In the wild they could be functioning in the way that could properly be considered carnivorous.’ “
To read the full article, click here.
December 6, 2009
POSTED BY KIM — My mom, sister, niece, and I toured several of the houses on this year’s Webster Groves Holiday House Tour. It made me want to rent a wrecker and tear down my entire house. These homes were not only beautiful, but also beautifully decorated.
I took a few pictures of some things that caught my eye. We did get some fun holiday decorating ideas, but they all had one thing in common — $$$. Yes, if you have a ton of disposable income, you too can beautifully decorate your home!
While I look around for my lottery ticket, please enjoy these pictures….
I thought this was a fun way to dress up a boring ceiling fan. Those ornaments were quite large.
Some ornaments and a string of lights in a hanging basket -- simple but pretty.
Silent Night in needlepoint. WOW!
A collection of bottlebrush Christmas trees.
A sweet fireplace mantel...
These artificial twigs had lights in them -- the effect was really stunning.
December 4, 2009
POSTED BY KIM — Oh, I was so smug posting my Dec. 1 pictures of all the plants still flowering in my yard, then BAM! Freezing temperatures, frost, and everything (just about) is gone. My timing was perfect.
It looks like winter here at Sugar Creek — evergreens outside, all our perennials tucked into bed, the quonset is covered, and the shrub and rose section is bare. But the gift shop is hopping and there’s still lots of fun to be had there.
How cute is this??
My favorite gift shop Christmas wreath. Very "vintage."
BIG sniff! Paperwhites in full bloom! Scratch your computer screen to smell.
Shrubs and roses: GONE!
Perennials: In bed for the winter.
Oooh, a giant jingle bell!
The culmination of our first semester in the environmental design program here at K-State was the design of a small modernist garden. The site for our gardens was a plot 56×40ft., bordered by the Pacific ocean and a 250′ cliff on the west. Two pieces of sculpture – a reclining figure by Henry Moore and Endless Coupling by Noguchi – were to be placed meaningfully in the garden.
