2022 Garden

Just browsing the 2021 Garden post and realized everything is so late this year!

2022 GARDEN

Orange Monarch Snow Crocus
4.4.22 – Crocus barely peeking out. Only 2 of the 10 I planted came up. We left on spring break shortly after this and when we came back the buds were gone.

Grape Hyacinth
4.26.22

Hawaiian Skies Daffodil4.28.22

5.2.22 The vase was a birthday gift from Jess!

Lilac Wonder Tulip
5.8.22 I love this little tulip!

Purple Iris5.11.22: I only have a couple of these.

Lily of the Valley5.14.22 I struggled to keep these alive last year when I planted them and didn’t know if they would come back this year, but here they are!

Kilbourn Park Plant Sale 05.15.22 All these and also rosemary! Reminder for next year, go on Saturday, not Sunday.

Lilac05.16.22 When your neighbor’s lilacs come through the fence to your yard, then they are yours! Actually, Jen and Cory have so many, they told me to help myself! Mine are not blooming yet.

5.19.22 I’ll never get sick of the scent of lilacs!

05.22.22 Now we have our own lilacs!

Garden 05.17.22 Got the garden in.

Mini Fuschia 05.18.22 These are so cute and dainty. Too bad they kind of fried later on when we had some really hot days in a row.

Yellow Iris05.22.22 I’ve never been a huge fan of these, but they really put on a show this year!

05.23.22

05.24.22 Blooming in the front and the back!

05.25.22

05.26.22

05.31.22

Front Garden
05.25.22

05.26.22

07.21.22

Moss Rose

05.29.22

05.31.22

06.26.22

Zucchini
06.01.22 – My zucchini is very small but getting blossoms. No fruits. This is my first year trying to grow zucchini.

Herbs06.02.22 The thyme and chives are gone crazy already. I didn’t plant these this year, they came back from last year!

8.31.22

9.30.22 I made pesto with end-of-the-season basil.

Little Free Library Garden

06.04.22 Dad helped me remove the grass around the Little Free Library and add a layer of mulch. We also added pavers around the base of the library.

06.05.22 I went to Pesche’s and got flowers to plant around the Little Free Garden. The lily of the valley was already there, but I planted the zinnia, dahlia, dusty miller and abutilon.

06.07.22 The fairy lights were not working for a long time. I think the cord was severed by the lawn mower. I added an extra set back on.

08.04.22

08.06.22

8.10.22 Cut flowers.

8.16.22

8.22.23

09.02.22

09.12.22

Tiger Lily
06.05.22 These Tiger Lilies just popped up out of nowhere.

Geranium

06.11.22 I’m not really a “geranium person,” but I let Makai pick what he wanted from FMGC to plant on the front steps. These are his favorite color to the max! He said he felt like they were burning his eyes out (that’s a good thing, apparently).

African Flake Daisy06.13.22 I got these at the Kilbourn Park plant sale and they are finally blooming. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since I’d never heard of this flower before. They’re so beautiful!

06.28.22 I was surprised when my second African Flakes bloomed and they were yellow! Still very pretty!

Daisy
06.20.22 The daisies are blooming in full force! I picked a few to put in the small vase that Jess gave me.

07.06.22 SO. MANY. DAISIES. I love it! People have stopped and commented on how much they love them!

Verbena06.20.22 Ive never grown verbena before, but I really like how it’s looking!

Lantana 06.20.22 This is also my first time with lantana. It’s so pretty. Makai picked the lantana because it reminded him of popcorn! ?

Coneflowers / Echinacea
06.26.22 The coneflowers look so pretty!

Pink Cherrywine Tomato (from the Chicago Tomato Man)6.27.22 I harvested my first couple of tomatoes and they were so juicy and sweet!

7.15.22

8.27.22

10.15.22 – Bringing in the tomatoes so they dont get frost.

Swamp Milkweed06.30.22 I planted milkweed seeds from a pod someone gave me a couple years ago. They’re finally big and blooming this year!

07.07.22 The milkweek is really blooming now.

07.27.22 OMG the milkweed is covered in aphids!

08.04.22 Today I noticed a few ladybugs on the plants. Makai thought that was sooo cool! Funny that kids understand the relationship between aphids and ladybugs from reading Eric Carle.

Coleus
07.04.22 Coleus going strong in the parlor palm one year later!

08.09.2022

Daylilies
07.07.22 Daylilies are in full bloom!

Dahlia07.10.22 The dahlia are small but very pretty.

Hibiscus7.14.22 First hibiscus bloom!

7.15.22 Open!

08.03.22

Black Eyed Susan7.17.22 I planted these at the end of the season last year and half thought they died. Glad to see them come back. They’re still small, but I’m sure they will spread and grow!

Phlox
07.19.22 The phlox is finally in bloom.

BUNNIES!07.22.22 I was tending to the garden and notices the large clump of thyme was …. slightly…. quivering? I lifted it up and saw…. BUNNIES!!!!!

07.23.22 They’re sooooo cute.

07.25.22

07.26.22

07.27.22 SIX bunnies! We were gone for a trip to Green Bay and Door County at the end of July and when we came back, the bunnies had left the nest.

8.17.22 WE HAVE MORE BUNNIES!

BELL PEPPER

08.01.22 The larger pepper is a Chinese Giant bell pepper and has a super sweet taste. The smaller one is a King of the North and has a more traditional bell pepper taste. I got both of these from the Kilbourn Park Greenhouse sale. And then a few more of the Pink Cherrywine tomatoes.

10.11.22

CANNA08.03.22

10.15.22 – out to dry

SUNFLOWER08.05.22 The sunflowers are here and they’re bigger than my hand!

8.10.22 – wink!

8.16.22

9.1.22

KATYDID 08.05.22 Maybe Katydids eat aphids too? Saw this one on the milkweed.

RASPBERRIES

8.11.22 No fruit yet, but look how tall they are!

Almafi Orange Tomato from Chicago Tomato Man8.12.22 Picked the first one!

GRASSHOPPER 8.17.22 – We’ve seen so many grasshoppers in the yard lately!

JASMINE9.1.22 Jasmine in bloom smells amazing!

9.14.22

CHRYSANTHEMUM

DRAGONFLY09.22.22

TOMATO HORNWORM

10.04.22

2021 Garden

We had such a great garden this year! This doesn’t even show the squash and pumpkin!

HAWAIIAN SKIES DAFFODIL4.9.21 Last fall I bought some bulbs and planted them. These were some of them. My first flowers to bloom.

KINDRED SPIRIT OAK4.16.21 We requested a parkway tree before we even moved into our house and it took more than 2 years for the city to plant it. We got a Kindred Spirit Oak in the fall of 2020. I was so anxious for it to start to bud this spring and finally it did. I’m hearing that oaks bud late.

5.3.21 Getting some leaves going now.

5.16.21

5.25.21

LILAC WONDER TULIP4.24.21 I loved these tulips last spring and did research to find out that they are Lilac Wonder tulips. I planted the bulbs in the fall and they are finally blooming!

4.27.21

STRAWBERRY4.26.21: Last year the strawberries grew and spread, but did not produce any fruit. Looks like this year will be different!

6.3.21 YES! FRUIT!

6.5.21 Makai said the strawberries are SO sweet!

NIGELLA DAMASCEANA [LOVE-IN-A-MIST]5.4.21: Dad was going to pull these weeds out, but I stopped him, literally a second before he was about to do it. I’d remembered sprinkling some seeds around that I’d gotten for free in the neighborhood gardening group. It was late last summer or early fall. I wanted to see what this turned out to be. I posted in a couple gardening groups and some people had hunches, but no one was for sure. Some thought dill even!

5.26.21 – Finally blooms!

HERB GARDEN5.4.21 I’ve planted the herb garden. Back row is parsley, chives, cilantro and basil. In the front is oregano, dill, thyme and rosemary. The thyme keeps coming up every year. I dug out all the mint and literally threw it away! We never use it and it is hard to manage. The problem is that KC thinks its fun to jump into the raised bed and dig. I’ve replanted the chives 2-3 times now.

I got these fence pieces from Home Depot and put them around the herb garden. KC looked at them and jumped right over the top!

I ended up putting the fence pieces around the front flower garden. I think they look nice and give it a more polished look. I need to get a few more to complete the area.

9.5.21 Front Garden

For now, this is the best way to keep KC out of the garden!

5.25.21

7.4.21

7.9.21

8.14.21

COLEUS FLAMETHROWER – SPICED CURRY5.2.21: Makai did not want flowers in the turtle!

6.1.21

7.4.21

8.6.21

10.10.21

10.26.21

PANSY 5.14.21 Planted in the front garden near the bird feeder.

LILACS5.17.21

IRIS 5.19.21 The irises have grown so tall!

PUMPKIN5.20.21 I started these from seeds that Makai picked out at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

6.6.21 bloom!

6.17.21 Squash on the left, pumpkin on the right.

6.17.21 The pumpkin leaves are HUGE!

HIBISCUS5.21.21

7.7.21

7.13.21

7.15.21

8.4.21

BROCCOLI5.22.21 Starting to see some growth.

6.6.21

6.8.21

6.14.21 Roasted it

SPAGHETTI SQUASH5.25.21 Makai came home from gardening class with a spaghetti plant (and a very large onion)

6.7.21 bloom!

6.17.21

7.1.21 Squash + Pumpkin

7.9.21

LILY OF THE VALLEY5.31.21 Makai’s preschool friend Sam’s mom gave me some Lily of the Valley. I planted it around the oak on the parkway in front of our house.

RASPBERRY6.1.21 Picked this up at Home Depot randomly.

7.3.21 raspberries!

MOSS ROSE 6.2.21 I love these moss roses.

6.15.21

DAISY6.3.21 The daisies are in bloom! They’ve grown and spread so much since last year!

6.14.21 I have so many daisies, I cut some for my office.

6.21.21 I can’t believe these are so big compared to when I planted them!

BLACK SWALLOWTAIL CATERPILLAR 6.6.21 I discovered my dill is filled with caterpillers!

6.8.21 It loves the dill!

6.9.21 – spotted a butterfly!

“CATALINA GILDED GRAPE” WISHBONE FLOWER6.10.21

6.21.21

OTHER CRITTERS6.17.21 Someone thought maybe a mayfly?

7.8.21 gorgeous gold bug!

8.29.21 Grasshoppers!

9.1.21 Slug

9.4.21 Cicada

CALIBRACHOA6.21.21 I have these in three planters on the front steps!

7.4.21

CONE FLOWERS
6.23.21 I planted these at the end of last year. So pretty.

GREEN BEANS6.28.21 First green bean harvest.

DAYLILY
7.1.21

MARIGOLD7.3.21 Dad and I added a planter to the back of the Little Free LIbrary. I planted marigold seeds in there and they are blooming now!

7.4.21

8.29.21

RED AMARANTH6.14.21 Someone was giving this away on Facebook, so I grabbed 2.

 7.6.21 Growing very big!

9.6.21 I can’t believe how huge these got!

SUNFLOWER7.13.21 Sunflowers will bloom soon!

8.4.21

8.7.21

8.14.21

Storm! 8.24.21

8.26.21 Cut some of the sunflowers that were on downed branches.

8.28.21

9.4.21. I gave some of the sunflower heads to a little girl for her preschool. They were going to dry them and pick the seeds out.

CUCUMBER8.3.21 – Back from Hawaii!! Cucumbers, beans, squash! Not eating the squash!

PHLOX8.4.21

BELL PEPPER8.6.21

8.23.21

 

JALAPENO8.6.21

8.14.21

8.21.21

9.4.21

CARROTS8.7.21

9.12.21

10.25.21 Finally pulled them all. All tiny but very sweet.

COLEUS 8.29.21 Somehow this coleus just started growing in my indoor palm!?!?

 

 

Adventures in Gardening

Some of our gardening memories this summer!  May: I spoiled my own Mother’s Day by talking about going to the garden center that weekend and planting everything. This was in the middle of the quarantine during the pandemic. My gift was a whole gardening bag filled with tools. Dallas gave it to me early because he was afraid 1. I would buy some of these things and 2. that I’d need them to do the gardening.

At the Farmer’s Market Garden Center. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I hadn’t been to a store during quarantine. This was my socially distanced X to stand on to wait to go inside to pay for the things I picked out outside. Everyone was masked and keeping their distance and being very friendly as we all try to figure out how to navigate this.

Getting my gardening on!

Dallas and Makai got in on the yard work too!

Cucumbers, basil, rosemary, mint, chives, thyme. The mint and the thyme came back from last year. We had so much mint that I gave a ton away to Rachel, Jess and Kristin.

Marigolds and strawberries. The strawberries took over and I replanted the marigold somewhere else!

The snake plant got fried! Not good outdoors in the sun!

Marigolds and spikes.

Too sunny for the coleus here, but I put it there anyway. Loved the colors.

Dad sent a ton of canna bulbs and I planted 15 along the garage and 10 more on our fence line in the front yard.

Since the cucumbers climb, I got some supports.

We moved the garden from the yard to the rocks, which was wayyyy better. The grass didn’t die under it and we didn’t have to move it to mow.

I wanted to go back to the Farmer’s Market Garden Center, support local at this hard time, etc, but even before it opened the line was down the block. I ended up going to the Home Depot garden center. It was huge. They really expanded it.

I love the smell of lilacs in the spring SO much, I finally got one and planted my own!

June: Added some peppers that a neighbor was giving away. They just said they were “hot”. They turned out to be jalapenos.

Also planted a free tomato a neighbor was giving away.

Marigolds are not fancy but I love them!

Added stakes for the tomatoes. They’re really taking off!

July: I picked up a small hibiscus (not hearty) and planted it in a pot on the patio table. In July it finally bloomed!

I found this plant in the rocks and planted it in a planter. According to my Facebook gardening group, it is a snapdragon.

I got a birdbath and added it to the flowers along the garage.

Mid-June – starting to get some vegetables growing!

Unfortunately, my tomatoes had a soggy bottom! According to the internet and my dad, this is either because of inconsistent watering or not enough calcium. I bought some dried milk and added it while watering.

I waited until Makai came home from WI to let him pick the first cucumber.

Phlox and canna. I remember both of these growing in the back yard when I was young.

I attempted to dig out some of the grass in this strip and did not get far at all. My dad managed to dig it all out, put down wood chips and transplant some flowers I picked out. We also moved the birdbath from the back to the front.

August – We found a katydid!

Cannas are blooming

Tomatoes

Front Garden

Strawberries and tomatoes.

HERBS!

So many cucumbers!

Grasshopper!

These tomatoes I grew were DELICIOUS!!

Canna

Dad gave me a stonecrop plant and it was blooming in September.


Hibiscus Watch 2020
We planted the hibiscus last summer when we returned from Hawaii. Will they grow back this year?4.4.20 – They look very dead

5.17.20 – My Facebook gardening group told me to trim the hibiscus branches back, so I did that a while back. I’m starting to see the smallest nubs of growth.

5.24.20 Within a week, the little nubs are getting bigger.

5.26 Way bigger!

5.28 Really growing fast.

6.1 With Makai for perspective.

6.3

6.23 – taking a Makai photo before he goes to WI for a while.

7.9 Hibiscus grasshopper.

7.15 There are so many buds! It’s going to be quite a show.

07.23 – AND WE HAVE A BLOOM! A big one.

7.30 – a week later. SO MANY BLOOMS!

August – Found this pretty bug on the hibiscus!

Tomatoes! Jalapenos! Hibiscuses..es..es!

Look what we’ve got on our roof deck right now:

green_yellow_red_tomatoes

tomato_red_red_green

tomatoes

These grape tomatoes are SO sweet and delicious.

We’ve also got these:

jalpeno_pepper

I haven’t tried the jalapenos yet. Letting them get a little bigger. We have 6 more pepper plants of all different kinds, but they are further behind these jalapenos.

I’ve never grown tomatoes or peppers before and am so surprised and happy that they are bearing any vegetables!

We also have loads of herbs and flowers up on the roof. I planted two hibiscus plants. One died when we were on vacation. The other, she’s a beaut! –

hibiscus_1

hibiscus_2

hibiscus_3

Queen of the Grill

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marinade.jpg

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grilled_fruit_sundae.jpg

When Dallas is home he never lets me use the grill, which is good because “yay! he’s cooking dinner for me” and bad because “hey, I want to play too!” On Sunday he went to the Bears game and was gone for like 10 hours. I ran (ok, ran/walked) around the neighborhood, came home, showered, went to Whole Foods, then came home, marinated, and grilled up a storm. On the shish kebabs are squash, eggplant, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, and chicken. Then I grilled some fruit and had a sundae for dessert. Yum!

» How to Make Grilled Fruit Sundaes on Chicagoist