Just For Laughs...

What did the snowman and vampire name their baby?
Frostbite!

How do you make a tissue dance?
Put a little boogie in it.

What is a mummy's favorite kind of music?
Wrap!

Why didn't the ghost go to the dance?
He had "no body" to go with.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Recipes by KIM

Please check out my latest blog dedicated to my favorite recipes! Some have taken months to perfect. Other have taken years. I hope that your family enjoys them as much as I have enjoyed creating them. Feel free to comment on them. It would be appreciated. The link is posted to the right.

Recipes by KIM
http://recipesbykimenjoy.blogspot.com

Blooming. Finally!

'Lady' Lavender

I grew this lavender from seed about 3 years ago. It has always been lush and healthy growing on my livingroom and kitchen windowsills. This season I decided to give this perennial a home outdoors in a mixed herb container. It wasn't until just a few weeks ago that it finally decided it was going to bloom. With a little neglect, fresh air, and sunshine I finally have some beautiful blossoms opening up. I'm hoping next year it will put on an even bigger show.

Square Foot Garden Beds

SQUARE FOOT GARDEN BEDS

Clockwise starting in the back left:

Scarlet Nantes Carrots- These produced exceptionally well in my SFG. I harvested, blanched, and froze many of them this season. They will surely be back next season.

White Bunching Onions- I haven't used them. Not quite sure which parts to eat, but it is growing well.

Tango Celery. I wanted to see if it would produce seed before winter. These weren't harvested on time and became hard and bitter. My mistake. They were ready when I wasn't. I planted another five plants...four in the front right, one in the front, middle. These might get to harvestable size before we get frost. Fingers crossed.

'Black Krim' Tomato and 'Salad Bush' Cucumbers. These were pulled from the empty squares. The tomatoes did remarkably well until they were hit with a suspected late blight. The bush cucumbers refused to grow vertically on their cage. Next year they will be back in the ground with a little room to roam.'Little Gem' and 'Jericho' Romaine Lettuce

These were grown from seeds from plants that I allowed to bolt this summer. After collecting seed to save for the winter I shook the plants with some remaining seeds over this bed. It worked well...very well. I didn't expect such good results.

Wind and Rain.

It is cool and very windy here. So much for raking up all the leaves yesterday. Rain seems to have been dangling over our heads all day. It looks like the skies are going to open up soon though. Stay warm and dry everyone!

Boy Are My Arms Tired!

Boy are my arms tired. I just raked and shredded all the leaves I could collect before the leaf truck came down the street to clean them up. They will be my mulch for the winter months.

I also moved my Golden Zest rose to the front of the house where it won't get completely shaded out my my butterfly bushes in the back. Despite being completely shaded under those bushes for the last month or so, the rose foliage is perfect. It's not as lush and vigorous as it could be, but this rose sure packs some disease resistance.

Now that winter is approaching I get out in the garden as much as possible. I have been pulling weeds so they can't get a foothold over the cooler months. I planted the last of my garlic. I hoped to have some left to share with friends, but I didn't keep very good track of my supplies. Most was used for recipes over the last few months. Whoops. I have completely pulled all of my tomatoes and stored the cages. My peppers are just refusing to quit. We haven't had frost yet, so the baby peppers that I thought wouldn't have a chance are big enough to harvest now if frost is in the forecast. They won't get a chance to turn red, but I like the flavor of them green just as much. What else have I been doing? Planting perennials that have been sitting in the containers I purchased them in. I didn't want to plant them in the heat of the summer. I'm only now getting around to it. I brought in some plants to overwinter. Took cutting from my lantana and impatiens. I've composted most of my annuals from containers. Collected flower seeds for next season. I don't get much time to spend in the garden, but I make the most of it when I do.

Can Anyone ID This?

If you know what this shrub is called, I would love to know. Also, when and how much can I prune it. We have only lived here for a few years and it has doubled in width. It's at least 15 feet wide and it has a twin back there on the other side of the yard. They are starting to take over. My instinct tells me to wait until Spring to prune so it doesn't try to send out tender new growth before winter hits. Am I correct? How much could I safely prune it back? That's another important question. I don't want to kill these two monsters. Just rein them back in. Any suggestions?
Thanks everyone!

The Fall Garden

'Feedback' iris and 'Acapulco Salmon and Pink' agastache (in the background). This agastache has refused to quit blooming. Heavily at that. Even with nights in the 30s! Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE this plant? :)

Mums I purchased from Walmart three years ago. I think one was named 'Ashley'. The other??? I do recall looking them up online after purchasing them and found that they weren't supposed to be hardy here in zone 6. Boy they were wrong. I've had them in the same two small containers for the last three years. They stayed out the entire time and kept springing back. They even reseeded themselves.

'Purple Dome' aster

I purchased this aster in the very beginning of the season. It was in a 2 1/2 inch pot. Boy has it grown. Next season I will have to pinch it back and/ or stake it. The persistant rains we had in the last week left it very floppy.

Itea virginica 'Little Henry' ('Sprich')- 2’x3’, Z 5-9, full sun-full shade.

I bought my first sweetspire this past summer. It had long, sweet-scented flower shoots that pollinators adore. Now it is showing spectacular fall color that I've decided my garden doesn't have enough of. This has been a great addition to the fall garden.

The Glorious American Holly Tree

If you step on one of its spiky leaves with your bare feet you may not think the American Holly is wonderful, but one look at it with its berries blazing. Berries that persist through winter....breathtaking.

Ungardening

We have had rain for days. It is so dreary and cold here. You can feel winter quickly approaching. Now begins the process of ungardening. Undoing all of the things that took so much time and hard work to set up this past Spring. Container contents are being composted. Tomatoes are pulled and thrown in the trash. Cages are folded and put away for the year. Although there is a little sadness when the growing season comes to an end, there are still things to look forward to. It is a time of deciding what to plant next season, where to get the seeds, and when to start them. In only a few short months the enjoyable moments of flipping through the new 2010 catalogs will be upon us, and a new season of gardening will be underway. Happy ungardening everyone!

It Is COLD...Time to BAKE

With frost rearing its ugly head, flowers and veggies dying back, and leaves falling on the ground it is time to warm up the house with some fall baking! Here is my recipe for some light pumpkin cookies. Nothing makes your home more inviting than the smell of something yummy baking in the oven. There are other options for this recipe. You could add nutmeg (1/8 tsp.), pumpkin spice, or chocolate chips!

LIGHT PUMPKIN COOKIES WITH SPLENDA SUGAR BLEND by KIM

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 10 minutes at 350 degrees

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup applesauce (Two 4-ounce individual applesauce cups works very well!)

1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend (If you want, you can use 1/2 cup of real sugar)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together the applesauce and sugars in a large bowl.

3. Add in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

5. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture.

6. Spray baking sheets with Pam and use a spoon to place cookies 3 inches apart.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

8. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

9. Add your favorite glaze, icing, confectioners sugar, or eat plain.

10. ENJOY!

As you can see I started to sprinkle them with confectioners sugar and realized I should take a picture of them fresh out of the oven first. These were all that was left of the 30 cookies...until the hubby got home. No. No. I didn't eat them all by myself. My dad and kids insisted that I share them.

Beer Chicken

This was the first roaster chicken I ever made. I made it in a Technique ceramic roaster pan that I ordered from QVC. It was very moist and flavorful. I followed a beer chicken recipe I found on Recipezaar pretty closely. Luckily, it didn't end up tasting like beer. ;)

Orange Harvest

Orange Harvest Iris- A beautiful reblooming iris. Not as orange as in pictures. More of a dark peach and very stunning in the fall garden.