Those of you who know me well know that I am a lover of shoes (and boots).  I believe a proper shoe or boot completes an outfit.  As I am getting summer stuff put away and pulling out things for the next season I discovered that I have accumulated quite a garden boot collection. 

​We once had a three-season porch that overlooked a pond and my backyard gardens.  It was furnished with typical rattan porch furniture.  We never used it.  Why?  I would guess we weren’t comfortable. 
 
I refurnished the room with cushy sofas, chairs, and a small table for meals.  Outside I added a Pagoda Dogwood and Japanese Maple (both small understory trees growing about 8-10 feet) that provided screening from our neighbors.  It made all the difference and we enjoyed the room and used it frequently.  Can a similar redo of a garden increase the use of an outdoor room? 

As a gardener I focus on the plants and leave the thought of what it takes to really enjoy my bit of the outdoors to chance.  But I would guess that more thoughtful elements in the garden towards comfort would tip the joy meter in an upward direction.  
Here’s some things to consider to add to your garden space:

1. Comfy furniture
2. A fire pit
3. Good views (such as a focal point plant or even borrow from a neighbor’s yard or the lake or countryside)
4. Moving parts such as wind chimes or a water feature
5. Attractions for pollinators and wildlife (birdbaths, pollinator plants, feeders)
6. Privacy:  hedges, shrub bed, trees and/or a fence
7. Most comforting is something overhead such as a shade tree, pergola, porch, or canopy

Most suburban yards are developed with wide-open spaces and hardly any separation from our neighbors.  This drastically reduces privacy that we naturally crave for relaxation.  Michael Pollan in his book Second Nature writes that “a fence or hedge along the street meant one thing:  the family who lived behind it was antisocial, perhaps even had something to hide… Any enjoyment of this space was sacrificed to the conceit of wide-open land, for without a fence or hedge, front yards were much too public to spend time in….Fences have always seemed to us somehow un-American.  Europeans built walled gardens.” 
 
Oh, how I love to peak into those walled gardens and see how lovely and private those areas would be to enjoy.  I say let’s close off some private spaces for us to enjoy our gardens. 

​My favorite place to enjoy my gardens is to sit under our upstairs deck on a patio that faces the lake and is surrounded by perennials that change as the growing season matures.  I can look out the window and see these gardens that are about 15 feet from the foundation of the house.  Many homes have foundation plantings that can only be enjoyed as you approach the house.  Move those plantings 10-15 feet away from the house and they can be enjoyed both inside and outside. 

​Do you have a favorite spot in your gardens?  If not, take a look around your gardens and see what you might do to increase your enjoyment.

​“Garden-making is creative work, just as much as painting or writing a poem.”  ~Hanna Rion

I don’t think much about creativity when I garden.  For me it is more about the desired results; fresh fruits and vegetables, cut flowers for a vase, or a landscape that is pleasing to the senses.  Yet it seems “creative” and “gardening” are put together frequently.  A google search with these two terms yields 164 million results!
 I’ve started to view creativity as more central to my gardening just as I would when decorating the interior of my home.  When I look at those Google results they fall into these categories.  

Some of these photos are from today, some from other years but all reflect my garden in the winter.  I leave my perennials standing because you just never know what nature will provide in the way of a beautiful image. 
​
With the new year I am thinking about what my garden can be in the coming season.  Here are my aspirations for 2019: 

• Maintenance free - oh if only!
• Flowers for bouquets from early spring to last freeze (and beyond).  
• Tomatoes that are blight-free. 
• Plentiful tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans in season. 
• Fresh garlic in mid-summer, enough to last the year and seeds for the next. 
• No more trees needing to be removed - our tree maintenance budget in the last few years has been expensive. 
• Success with trying some new plants - what can it be??
• Planting shore-land plants that are good for the lake and that also allow us to enjoy the view. 
• Replacing a few higher maintenance perennials with low-maintenance shrubs.
• Allowing volunteer plants to show me some new combinations that are pleasing to the eye. 
• Less work and more play!

 

1. Major accomplishment – put in raised beds and wider paths.  See my July 29 post – Evolution of a Garden
   
   
2. Early Planting – we had a warm spring that allowed one of my earlier planting, most were planted on May 25.  That allowed for an earlier and longer harvest season.
   
   
3. Raspberries – great year for these berries, the third year since planting in a new bed. 
   
   
4. Hollyhocks finally bloomed – see August 20 post – Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) Memories
   
   
5. Dahlias – I was disappointed by the late blooms and short season.  Next year need to find a sunnier spot and maybe get them started inside.
   
   
6. Tomatoes – BLIGHT!  Even though I put them in a new raised bed they were all dried up by mid-August.  Still got a fairly good harvest of tomatoes for the table but they sure looked ugly. 
   
   
7. Cucumbers – it was a fantastic year for cukes, lots of them and a long harvest. Not sure if I can take the credit or Mother Nature supplied just the right amount of warmth and sunshine. 
   
   
8. Green Beans – good year BUT…. Some creature ate the plants right to the ground late in the season.  Do I need to put a fence within my fence?  Still haven’t figured out who is the culprit.
   
   
9. Lettuce, spinach, chard, kale – all did well but we didn’t eat much of what was grown.  I may just replace this whole group for more cut flowers next year. 
   
   
10. Zucchini Failure – also documented in September 9 post – The 2018 Zucchini Failure  I may just give up entirely on zucchini, they are so easy to buy or get from other gardeners.  Why bother?
    
    

Writing these down now gives me a game plan for next year.  The challenge will be to remember where I put these ideas so I can act upon them.  Do you have any successes or failures to share?

When the snow flies this gardener gets reading.  I can hardly wait to get started on this stack.  I've already sneaked a peak into these and am hoping for some quiet days this winter to really dig into these tomes. Here is what I have on my book stack, in no particular order. 

• The Garden in Every Sense and Season by Tovah Martin (c) 2018 - When I saw that Ms. Martin had a new book, I just had to have it.  Already on my bookshelf was her book on houseplants, The Unexpected Houseplant, that is my go-to book on that subject.  She writes as if we are friends and I always learn something new.  As the title suggests, this book is organized by season and explores our senses within each of them.  
• Vegetables Love Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler (c) 2018 - Subtitled "Companion Planting for Beauty and Bounty", this one caught my attention because next year I am substituting flowers for a vegetable bed that we don't use.  I've already picked up a good tip on getting bushier annual flower plants; most of us cut annuals too high on the stem.  The author recommends cutting as low as possible and provides a picture to guide the reader. 
• The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone (c) 2018 - I've already read this one, a biography of David Fairchild who was a globe-trotting botanist at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.  Some finds attributed to him are "Kale from Croatia, mangoes from India, and hops from Bavaria.  Peaches from China, avocados from Chile, and pomegranates from Malta. "  It was interesting to read about where some of our common foods originated and how they made their way to our grocery stores. 
• The Northern Gardener by Mary Lahr Schier (c) 2017 - There are 26 chapters from A for Apples to Z for, of course, Zinnias.  The author provides tips for northern gardeners and history from the Minnesota State Horticultural Society.  There is a potluck of lore, facts, and advice that I'll be able to put to use in the next garden season. 
• The Naturescaping Workbook by Beth O'Donnell Young (c) 2011 - My most popular classes are those involving native plants.  This workbook is full of information on creating a landscape plan, choosing appropriate plants, attracting wildlife, and being a good steward of the land.  I've tried to learn more about landscape design without much success but thumbing through this book I'm hopeful to learn a few techniques that I can pass onto others. 
• Grow Native by Lynn M. Steiner (c) 2016 - Ms. Steiner is also the author of Landscaping with Native Plants of Wisconsin (c) 2007 which is already on my bookshelf.  Her new book advertises that it will give me everything I "need to know to design and cultivate a naturally beautiful yard."  A quick scan of the book shows me that the author has provided "Native Know-How" lists for all imaginable situations.  A few samples:  Native plants as Focal Points,  Perennials to Cut Back in Spring, Attracting Hummingbirds, Drought-Tolerant Species, Rain Gardens, and many more.  I anticipate this will be as well-used as the older book by this knowledgeable author.  

So dear reader, do you have a book to recommend for this winter?  Given that the snow is already flying I have a feeling I'll need more to add to the stack.  Please share. 

​Elevation 1313 Feet.  I live at the confluence of the east and west forks that start the Chippewa River.  It flows 180 miles to join the Mississippi River at Lake Pepin that is the widest naturally occurring part of the Mississippi River, located about 60 miles south of Saint Paul and on the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

According to Rhubarb-Central.com "the cultivation methods for forcing rhubarb was developed in the early 1800's. Commercial growers of rhubarb use special forcing sheds, or hot houses, but the home gardener can successfully force rhubarb in a home cellar, a garage, or another outbuilding.  Forcing rhubarb can also be done outdoors, in the garden."  

The process is a bit involved and I recommend that you do some research before proceeding. 

Most spring bulbs need a 12-15 week chilling period.  Try dwarf species or hybrids for the best results.  I plant mine in potting soil in nursery pots and put them in the vegetable crisper of the beer refrigerator and covered with plastic to keep in the moisture.  Avoid putting them with other fruits and vegetables that may emit a gas that will cause them to rot.  Be sure to label with the date and species. 

Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus) are the exception needing no chilling period.  I keep those bulbs in the fridge unpotted. 

Here are some bulbs that are especially suited to forcing: 

1. Hyacinths, Tulips, Daffodils, Irises, Muscari
2. All Amaryllis (need no cooling period)
3. Paperwhites with strong stems & milder fragrance:  ‘Israel’, ‘Nazareth’, ‘Jerusalem’ or ‘Bethlehem. 

When you are ready for some blooms, bring them out.  You can repot in an attractive container and water.  Don't water again until growth begins.  After the first watering I give my bulbs a little extra spirit of 7 parts water to 1 part alcohol (I use an old bottle of vodka) to keep the from flopping.  The picture below shows the difference, the one on the left got a shot of booze when watering.