Gardening-Tippy Corn

Arg.  I'm not big on growing corn.  It just SUCKS the nutrients out of the garden and it's dirt-cheap to buy, but the family wanted it this year.  As long as I had the extra room in the garden, I obliged.  Son of a gun, wouldn't you know that a very quick, but very strong storm went through and bent every one down to the ground.  I forgot to take a pic.  That night David and I went out, lifted them back up, and he hoed dirt around the stalks to prop them back up.  It worked, so far.  Now to see if they'll keep growing and produce or not.  If not, I've learned my lesson.

Growing corn was nothing super important to me, but it still bummed me out to lose it.  Imagine losing your home or something else you've worked endlessly on just to have it gone (poof) like that in a moment.  Guess I should count my blessing instead of my turned over corn stalks.

Apples, Apples, Apples: wine crisp, state fair, & red baron.

We've picked this tree over & over again. This little red baron is a generous little fella. 

I love how they grow in clusters. 

My view of my apple catchers. Felicity always snitches one. 

A little cinnamon and here come the apple chips. 

Amazing: 22 apples fit into a Tupperware container and 21 apples don't even fill this jar.

I'm hoping to learn how to make apple cider and apple vinegar out of the peelings. We'll see!

Fall Gardening

Greenhouses have everything 40% off in the fall. Since we have 3 beautiful apple trees and one sad, lonely plum tree I purchased a plum tree. Plum trees need to pollinate one another and they need different breeds to do so. 

We also planted 3 raspberry bushes, 4 blueberry, and 6 everbearing strawberry plants. My little helpers love to dig in the dirt. 

Our apple trees are: wine crisp, state fair, & Red Baron. And they produce in that order, which is cool bc then we don't get dumped on with apples. My fav is the wine crisp because they are blood red with soft flesh and super sweet flavor. 

Baby Green Thumbs

Planting some annuals around our fire&line hydrangea, named "Montgomery". Mulch next when daddy makes some. 

Wasn't sure how the clothesline would work but so far so good. Kinda cool to attach from standing up on the deck. 

Outdoor Gardening

We have a beautiful flag in our front yard. However it was FILLED w/ grass, bulbs, and was completely root bound. So I left my sleeping babes, including the Hubie, in the house while I cranked the tunes and dug in the dirt & cleaned up the bushes for 3 hrs. 

After: the fire & ice hydrangea our realtor gave to us. In 5 years it should be 5' high and around. The girls & I will be mulching and adding a few annuals to pretty it up for the next few years. 

These poor bushes & grounds have been poorly neglected for the last few years. The original owners did a beautiful job. The subsequent owners ... Ahh. Anyway they seem much happier and so were the bees. 

No I'm not lactating or peeing my pants. This is what 80*+and hard work look like!