First flowers of spring in the native bed

Spring plants emerging in the native plant bed

As the 2013 planting season comes to an end, an attempt will be made to document the plants blooming in the native plant garden throughout the seasons to enable comparison year-to-year to track the spread and elimination of different species.

Trillium

Large Flowered Trillium Trillium grandiflorum Sun: Partial,Shade  Soil: Sand,Loam,Clay  Moisture: Dry,Medium  Height: 1'-2'  Bloom Time: May-Jun  Color: white  Root: Rhizome  Zone: 3  Spacing: 1'   No woodland garden is complete without this beloved spring wildflower! Large Flower Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) is easy to grow and returns year after year. It can spread slowly by seed if it finds your site to its liking. Limited availability, so please order early. Hardy to Zones 3 - 7. Prairie Smoke

Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum Sun: Full  Soil: Sand,Loam  Moisture: Dry,Medium  Height: 6"  Bloom Time: May-Jun  Color: pink  Root: Rhizome  Zone: 4  Spacing: 6"   A rock and sand garden favorite, Prairie Smoke is one of the most distinctive and best loved prairie plants! The unique feathery pink seedheads make this a star of the springtime flowers. Geum triflorum spreads slowly by rhizome to form a low growing groundcover. Excellent for hot, dry spots, it thrives in any well-drained soil. Hardy to Zones 3 - 6. Prairie Blue-Eyed Grass Prairie Blue-Eyed Grass Sisyrinchium campestre Sun: Full,Partial  Soil: Sand,Loam  Moisture: Dry,Medium  Height: 6"-1'  Bloom Time: Apr-Jun  Color: blue,white  Root: Fibrous  Zone: 3  Spacing: 6"-1'   Prairie Blue Eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium campestre, is a grass-like member of the Iris family. Perfect for rock gardens, dry sandy soils, and any well-drained garden soil, the dainty blue to white flowers literally dance on the spring breezes! Plant with Prairie Smoke and Harebell for a lovely combination. Hardy to Zones 3 - 8.

Amsonia Tabernaemontana

Common Bluestar

Amsonia tabernaemontana

Sun: Full,Partial 

Soil: Sand,Loam,Clay 

Moisture: Medium,Moist 

Height: 2'-3' 

Bloom Time: May-Jun 

Color: blue 

Root: Fibrous 

Zone: 3 

Spacing: 1'-2'  

Treasured for its charming sky blue flowers, Common Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) is a spring blooming beauty. Long-lived and adaptable, it grows in medium to moist soil, in full sun to partial sun. A woodland native with a range from Illinois to New Jersey and south to Texas and Florida, it is hardy to Zones 3 - 8.

Blue False Indigo

Blue False Indigo  Baptisia australis Sun: Full,Partial  Soil: Sand,Loam,Clay  Moisture: Medium  Height: 3'-5'  Bloom Time: Jun-Jul  Color: blue  Root: Taproot  Zone: 4  Spacing: 2'-3'   Clusters of deep blue flowers surround this perennial favorite in late spring. Deep rooted and very long-lived, it forms a large 'bush' at maturity. Makes an excellent specimen plant, planted individually or in groups, spaced three feet apart. Hardy to Zones 3 - 10. Perennial Plant Association 2010 Plant of the Year!

Phlox in left lower corner

Downy Phlox Phlox pilosa Sun: Full  Soil: Sand,Loam  Moisture: Dry,Medium,Moist  Height: 1'-2'  Bloom Time: May-Jun  Color: pink  Root: Fibrous  Zone: 4  Spacing: 1'   The bright pink flowers of Downy Phlox (Phlox pilosa) really light up the spring wildflower garden! A favorite nectar source of hummingbirds, it makes a great addition to hummingbird gardens. Downy Phlox is also known as Prairie Phlox - it grows in well-drained sand to slightly damp loam. Hardy to Zones 3 - 9. Native plant bed at back of property viewed from the deck My husband has suggested we add more spring-flowering plants to the native bed.  Since many of the showiest native plants bloom later in the year and the spring-flowering plants tend to have smaller, more delicate blossoms, the challenge will be to find plants that will have blooms visible at a distance to enjoy when viewing the bed from our deck.

Chubby Seagull

We need to get in a few more trips to our neighborhood ice cream shop before they close for the season in October.  

The Chubby Seagull on State Park Rd in Sherwood
on the way to HIgh Cliff State Park

Friendly, local high school students greet you

Miniature golf there too

Haven't played yet
Someday....

Mocha Whitecap
with brownies (no cookies)
& vanilla ice cream

on Mocha Mondays
(buy 1/get 1small whitecap)

Hana waits patiently for her Doggy Dish
(free)

We'll miss the carefree days of summer...

Autumn has officially arrived....

Autumn equinox occurred at 4:44 pm ET last Sunday, September 22, officially marking the time of year we kick off the fall season in the northern hemisphere and the start of spring in the southern hemisphere.  The word equinox comes from Latin refers to the 12 hour long equal day and night that occurs only twice a year.  

The term "Harvest Moon" or "Corn Moon," is used to describe the full moon that occurs closest to fall's equinox. The annual celestial sight is referred to as  the "Harvest Moon" because its light allowed farmers in the Northern Hemisphere to harvest their crops for several hours more into the night. For skywatchers in North America, the full moon is expected to rise shortly after sunset (depending on your location) on September 18 and will peak at 7:13 a.m. EDT the next morning.

No matter where you are on Earth, every full moon ascends over your eastern horizon around the time of sunset. It’s always highest in the sky in the middle of the night, when the sun is below your feet because a full moon is opposite the sun. Being opposite the sun, the moon is showing us its fully lighted hemisphere, or “day” side, making the moon appear full.However, the almost full Harvest Moon should also be visible for North American viewers on Thursday night, when the moon will turn full for observers in Asia.

 

 Harvest moon seen the evening of Sept. 29, 2012 (Fox 11 News)

While the moon did light the sky enough to leave some faint shadows in the yard this year, the sky was a bit hazy so the harvest moon was not quite as bright in the sky as we've experienced during past full moons, when the moon shines in the window, waking us to observe light bright enough to leave discernible shadows in the yard below.

Permaculture

Our Master Gardener meeting last week featured Bill & Wilson of Midwest Permaculture who introduced us to the work they've been doing in Stelle, Illinois.  The highlights of their presentation follow:

The goal of permaculture design 

is to support the transition of our society 

from a culture of consumption, 

into a culture of creation.

by

        Building the topsoil while growing healthy food

       Growing enough healthy food to feed the world

               Repairing devastated lands – Re-growing rainforest  

        Producing the energy we need                            

   Creating resilient communities and cities       

  Improving everyone’s overall quality of life 

                   And possibly even retarding/reversing global warming

Permaculture design is exemplified when there is a convergence of common sense, indigenous wisdom and appropriate technology.  The objective is to design livable systems for people and planet that support and mimic nature’s own ability to create real abundance, with little work on our part. Permaculture is grounded in a respectful approach to others, to all of life, and to future  generations–dedicated to leaving the planet in better condition than we found it. Bill Wilson – Midwest Permaculture Permanent agriculture is a science of sustainability.  Permaculture design moves from consideration of ethics to principles to methodolgy to techniques and specifications to development of design solutions. The Ethics: Earth Care People Care Share the Surplus The 12 Principles, based on ecological patterns: Within a Permaculture designed system: • wastes become resources • productivity and yields increase  • work is minimized • and the environment is restored The purpose of the Center for Sustainable Community being developed Midwest Permaculture in Stelle, IL, is to create an agriculturally productive ecosystem that also builds topsoil each year, uses no herbicides or pesticides, and creates a safe habitat for a wide assortment of plants and animals. While the tress and shrubs are in the early stages of growing (small) they will use the open space to grow some of our annual vegetables. They will also plant some nitrogen fixing ground covers and dynamic accumulators to help build the soil. Open areas between the linear food forests allow for access to harvesting the crops, provide full sun penetration, and create an area for our annual gardening or small animal grazing. The nutrients from animal droppings are washed into the hugelkultured swales which in turn soak up the nutrients to fertilize the entire linear food forest. The diagram above depicts how chickens, buildings, and forests might be designed to work together as a productive self-regulating system. “Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.” Bill Mollison – Permaculture’s Co-founder - Australia

Enjoying the Local Apple Harvest

During a recent fall drive in the country in the convertible to enjoy the last of the warm weather, we made a quick stop at Heritage Orchard.  While our favorite eating apple, Honey Crisp, will not be available for a couple of weeks, we picked up a bag of Wealthy apples for fall baking and a few of their tasty cinnamon sugar covered apple donuts.

The apple orchard overlooking Lake Winnebago's east shore was renamed Heritage Orchard (formerly Erickson's) when Vern and Ann Gasch purchased the farm in 1976. Although the farm was never previously owned by the Gasch family, their roots ran deep with three generations involved in planting, care and operation of the orchard over the years. The original farm house was Vern's first home in 1947, the same year that the first trees were planted. The Heritage continues -- a family business for your family to enjoy.  "A Taste of Country" represents an inviting setting with fresh, wholesome products. Enjoy the green grass, fresh air a fantastic view and friendly, helpful people.

920-849-2158 

N2963 Lakeshore Drive, Chilton, WI 53014

  

A new favorite apple pie in recent years was served for Thanksgiving at our Memphis next-door-neighbor Sheila's home.   She had found it in an issue of Southern Living, but a similar recipe has been published in Cooking Light as well.   I have since searched for it on myrecipes.com a number of times:

http://search.myrecipes.com/search.html?Ntt=apple-buttermilk+pie&x=0&y=0

Sheila's Warm Apple-Buttermilk Custard Pie

Crust:

1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)

Cooking spray

Streusel:

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces $

Filling:

5 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 pounds)

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs $

1 3/4 cups fat-free buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325º.

To prepare crust, roll dough into a 14-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under; flute. Place pie plate in refrigerator until ready to use.

To prepare streusel, lightly spoon 1/3 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Place streusel in refrigerator.

To prepare the filling, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add sliced apple, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; cook 10 minutes or until the apple is tender, stirring mixture occasionally. Spoon the apple mixture into prepared crust.

Combine remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, salt, and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Pour over apple mixture. Bake at 325º for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300º (do not remove pie from oven); sprinkle streusel over pie. Bake at 300º for 40 minutes or until set. Let stand 1 hour before serving.

I've adapted one of my favorite oatmeal cookie recipes in attempts to replicate a caramel apple cookie I'd especially enjoyed with tasty results.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

1  cup  butter, softened

1 cup  granulated sugar

1  cup  packed  light brown sugar

2  teaspoons  vanilla extract

2  large eggs

1 3/4 cups  all-purpose flour

1  teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon  nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon  ground cloves

1  teaspoon  baking powder

1/2  teaspoon  salt

2  cups  quick oats

1  cup  finely chopped apple

1 pkg  (11 oz) caramel bits or small soft caramel candies, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl; stir well.

3. Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture; beat at low speed until just combined. Fold in oats, chopped apple and caramel bits.

4. Drop dough by 2 Tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.   Yield: 3 dozen

Sunsets over the lake

As fall approaches the sun is setting earlier and earlier and further to the south on the horizon.   The sun is rising close to 6:30am and setting by 7:00pm, with twilight close to 7:30pm.  Several months ago as summer began, the days were long with the sun rising as early as 5:10am with the skies first becoming light at 4:33am, while the sun didn't set until 8:40pm, with the skies remaining light until 9:17pm, making for some late starts for the numerous fireworks displays folks enjoy throughout the summer in Wisconsin.    

Sailing into the sunset

The sun drops below horizon across the lake.

The next morning a rainbow appears on the horizon
heralding the arrival of rain shortly.

As the days grow shorter, we approach the short days of winter.  With the official arrival of winter on December 21, the sun will rise at 7:52am after the sky begins to at 6:52 and set at 4:17, with the last light fading by 4:50pm., less than 9 hours of sunlight, on a bright day.  

To find out when the sun rises and sets on a given date in Wisconsin, you can enter your location at this handy website:

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/usa/Wisconsin.asp

And along with that comes an average annual snowfall of 41.41", with an average of 68.42 days with 1" or more of snow on the ground-over 2 months.  Of course, one of the first things you discover about weather in Wisconsin is that it is never "normal", always being much drier, colder, hotter, wetter than "average"according to our favorite local weathermen.

To check out those seemingly atypical "averages", this website offers up all kinds of averages to consider:

http://www.usa.com/sherwood-wi-weather.htm

It does indeed confirm my suspicion that it is windier here "average", particularly early in the year.  I remember some very windy mornings waiting at the bus stop with our boys in Green Bay when they were young.

Elderberry - 2013 Herb of the Year

ELDERBERRY-2013 HERB OF THE YEAR

Sambucus canadensis is a shrub with opposite, pinnately-compound leaves. The small, white, 5 petaled flowers are aggregated into conspicuous large, flat-topped or rounded inflorescences. Flowering begins in early June in northeastern Wisconsin. The fruit is a small, juicy dark purple to black berry that ripens in late summer.  The habitat for Sambucus canadensis is often in moist to wet soil and full sun or light shade. It is found throughout Wisconsin and is commonly planted as a landscaping plant.

Garden Uses and Problems:  Leaves boiled (and then cooled) have been used for a treatment against leaf rot, powdery mildew and aphids. Seem to help get rid of moles and mice if put down there holes (boiled leaves or powdered leaves.)

Cosmetic Uses:  Since Egyptian times, an infusion of the flowers has been used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, for skin rashes, eczema and psoriasis. Also used as a steam.

Culinary Uses:  Wines, cordials, Pancakes, scones, cakes, Jellies, Cobblers, pies, breads, Fruit leathers, Chutneys, Pickles, catsup. (Recipes at the end of this monograph.)

Elderberry Juice

1 quart elderberries, stems removed 1 cup water
Combine. Heat to boiling then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Using a potato masher – crush the berry mix and then
simmer for 5 more minutes. Strain through cheesecloth – doubled over and dampened. Let it drip for 30 minutes to an hour and squeeze to get the very last drop. This will give you about 2 cups of juice.

Elderberry Jelly

2 1⁄2 cups elderberry juice
Juice of one lemon or approximately 3 tablespoons 2/3’s of a box of pectin (1.75 oz box)
2 3⁄4 cups sugar
Combine juice and lemon in a large stainless steel saucepan. Whisk in the pectin until it is dissolved. Heat to it boils and cannot be stirred down. Add the sugar, cook, stirring constantly until it comes to a full foaming boil.
Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir for a minute or two until the foam settles – and skim what’s left off. Pour into prepared jars leaving 1⁄4 inch from top. Seal with lids ad bands. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Or cool and store in refrigerator.

Jackie’s Elderberry Syrup

1⁄2 cup dried elderberries
Stick of cinnamon or two
Cloves (5-10)
Ginger (a few quarter sized slices) 4 cups of water
Bring this all to a boil, cover pan, and turn off heat. Let sit overnight. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Strain. Add honey to taste (I use a couple tablespoons) and a dash of vanilla (optional). Take by the tablespoon at the first sign of flu. (This is a thin syrup.)

Elderflower Fritters

Mix up the least expensive pancake mix (just add water) you can find. Dip the flowers (after shaking to get any bugs out) and deep fry until lightly browned. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve but don’t eat the stems.