My Garden's Goodness

The time many Midwestern gardeners dread is upon us; while some welcome the respite of winter and plan for the coming season, others keep growing with row covers and buckets until the last lettuce leaf and pea pod have been harvested. I place myself firmly in the camp of the latter. Every day that a bowl of spinach can be harvested is a cause of joy for me.

The garden, yea my entire yard, has become a canvas on which I work with various plant mediums. Scent, shape, color, texture, and digestibility are all considerations. I have come to desire a seamless flow of vegetation which serve various purposes ranging from delectibility to mere frivolity; in other words, from raspberries to shaggy hybrid tulips.

The back of my property is bordered by a large stone wall. I'm pondering the relocation of my entire berry bramble to the east property line, and planting some espaliered trees in their stead. Trees are marked down in the fall, although varieties may be limited. Gardening has always fueled my sense of frugality. Getting a red maple or apple tree for $4 does wonders for your landscape as well as your budget.

My garden is a landscape puzzle of interchangeable pieces requiring only vision and effort to accomplish the changes. Right now there is a wheelbarrow loaded with ditch lilies (the removal of which was a rare demand on the part of my spouse) needing a home for the winter. A bag of 100 tulip bulbs waits on the porch. Hundreds of rose hips need to be clipped and dried. Tarragon, chives, oregano, and thyme crowd the drying space in my kitchen. Gardening for me never ends and that is why I love it. 

$1 Roses and Other Bargains

Ah, the frost is almost on the pumpkin, a surer sign than the harvest moon that garden bargains are ripe for the picking. This fragrant little bush rose was snapped up at Home Depot last year for one dollar. She suffered a minor attack from Japanese beetles in June, but since then she has bloomed profusely: abundant fuschia-colored buds opening fully to a tye-dyed, white-streaked pink. Installed right outside the back door, this was my daily reminder to focus on what was truly important in life. I always tried to stop and smell the gorgeous perfumed flowers no matter how hurried I was, and offer a prayer for all who needed one.

Right about now the lawn and garden departments are unloading their straggly stock. There may not be a picture or tag specifying the variety, but in the risk vs. reward trade-off, you usually make out ahead. For a small investment, a mystery daylily or rosebush will grace your garden, providing a colorful surprise come spring. Don't forget to peruse the packaged seed display. As a seed saver, I can confirm that year old (sometimes even decade old) seed will sprout if stored properly. Don't be afraid to spend pennies on the dollar for bargain seed. 

All this for a dollar, or two.

It's Not Over...Until It's Over

• Technically the fall season has begun. The Cardinals' Wild Card victory fever is high here, and I'm living among the faithful. Like baseball, fall is not over until it's over. There's still time for lettuces, spinach, and depending on how far south you reside, peas and cabbages, too. The quickest plants to get in before frost are the lettuces and spinach. And if a hard freeze is predicted, covering your crops (while sun and 45+ degree temps return in the daytime) will further extend your growing season.



Butter Crunch or Bibb (left) and Leaf Lettuce (right)

Spinach will give you the advantage of salads today and Spinach Artichoke Dip from your freezer tomorrow. The same is true of the pea pods. Fresh edible pea pods can be harvested sooner than the fully mature pods. Eating the entire pod when it's young and tender cannot be surpassed; it's that good. While having a variety of lettuces is wonderful, having produce which you can both eat today and freeze for later is ideal.

Last year I began a pea crop in March and it was finished by the 4th of July. Peas wilt in the heat and prefer a cool growing season during spring or fall. Replace them with a row of scallions or heat-resistant spinach until August wanes and you are ready to plant another crop.


There are several types of peas, or pea pods. While 'Sugar Snap' are quite good, you don't have to cultivate a Chinese type. Any pea may be picked while immature, i.e., the pod is flat and tender. The pea pods blend in well with the foliage; there will always be those which slip past you making it to full maturity. Harvest them for next year's seed, doing the same with beans in your garden which have been "missed."



Pea Pods

I'm Home

After a long, hot summer in a cold office basement, I am back to the place I love best. When my children were younger, they'd come in, slam the door, drop their books, and get a snack: in that exact order. And they'd call out, "I'm home." Now that half of them are gone, and drive a distance to return, "I'm home" means so much more. After spending the entire growing season in an office, I'm home. The garden was a wreck, but laboring to restore the vegetable and flower beds is the most meaningful thing I've done all season.

The water spigot here represents the font of life for my little acre. One hundred-plus degree days took their toll, reducing cantaloupes and pole beans alike to wilting masses. Cucumber beetles reigned the day. Not spending time in the garden every day allowed huge swaths of weeds to annex my strawberry and raspberry patches.


A couple breezy days of work have mended the garden; several rows of lettuce--Bibb, Iceberg, and Black Seeded Simpson--are coming along fine. The sugar pea pods are a few inches high, and the spinach has passed the cotyledon stage just in time for the rabbits to arrive. Yes, I am home.

Spring Serenity

Never ending garden maintenance is eased by vistas of lush green and paintbox flowers. Don't you wish every day in the garden was as beautiful as this one? More foxgloves to see...I am so proud of these gorgeous stalks that one picture is not enough.

Rudbeckia - Masses of Color This Summer and Next

Growing Perennials from seed is a money-saving venture. Many will not bloom the first year, and perseverance is a prerequisite for not only growing the plants from seed but wintering them over in your garden until next spring. Then, perhaps you'll get to enjoy the flowers you've worked so hard to see.

Rudbeckia, the Latin family of the Black Eyed Susan, has both perennial and annual varieties. Both will flower the first year from seed. This perennial will scatter enough seed from its giant, bushy bouquet to keep you in Black Eyed Susans from now 'til eternity. Finches love the seed, and you'll be entertained just watching them flock to the bare stalks in winter.


This spring my garden had hundreds of "volunteer Susans," and being the frugal type I potted a dozen or so to give away.

Foxgloves From Seed

Fresh, Organic Sweets Are Right Out Back

Last summer I walked into a grocery and the only item on my list from the produce section was a lemon. It was a stunning revelation. The garden at home was full of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and a melon patch which included watermelon and cantaloupe. Not to mention that everyday items such as onions, carrots, potatoes, eggplant, lettuce, spinach,tomatoes, peppers, corn....I'm losing track...abounded. Growing food is work; hot, arduous, dirty labor. But the rewards are sweet and sometimes spicy. And preserving food will extend those rewards into the cold winter months.

My strawberry patch is overflowing with ruby red Sequoia berries. This type was chosen over the Quinalt ever bearing variety, a decision I do not regret. Despite the claim that they produce all season long, the Quinalt plants which I have located throughout my garden haven't produced well. They do flower, but the yield is measly. I wholeheartedly recommend Sequoia protected by fencing. The 18" netting which surrounds our Sequoia patch has kept out rabbits, increasing our yield.

The Dwarf Elberta Peach Tree is loaded with over 100 little peaches; it's a dwarf, but the fruit will reach full size. Practicality tells me that some of the fruit may have to be removed early or supports made for the smaller branches. It will reach 8-10 ft. in height and needs no pollinator, although adding a Red Haven Peach in the yard is said to increase fruit on both trees.

Keeping Christmas in Your Heart Every Day of the Year

I believe many people are disappointed during the Christmas holidays because they build expectations which cannot be met. This year I decided to think about Christmas all year round; not just snapping up a present in July or getting something on sale. No, living the real meaning behind Christmas every day...not just for one day.

For everyone who decorates a Christmas tree on Thanksgiving and pitches it on December 26, listen up. Christmas is a season which lasts until Epiphany. Stretch it out, enjoy it, and Happy Holy Days.