Kylee Baumle's Blog, page 10
February 5, 2015
l've Never Met a Better Lavender - It's 'Phenomenal'!
We know that fragrance has the power to take us back in time to an experience and it can transform our mood. It's also one of the joys of gardening - growing plants that not only look pretty, but smell that way too.
Lavender is one of the most well-known fragrant plants there is and while I love growing it, it can be persnickety about our Zone 5b climate and our native heavy clay soil. Even with soil amendments, there are years that can be pretty tough on even well-established lavender plants....
February 4, 2015
Wordless Wednesday: Winter Birds of Color
Today, I'm living in a snow globe, with 2-4 more inches of snow to fall in addition to the 8-10 inches we got over the weekend. The blue jays are foragers, waiting patiently until the outside cats have had their fill of kibble, and then they swoop in and grab a snack for themselves.
Blue Jay(Cyanocitta cristata)
January 20, 2015
January 11, 2015
There Are Marigolds and Then There Are Pot Marigolds
These are not your grandma's marigolds. But wait, she probably grew these too! While I love the traditional marigolds and have never had a single year of gardening that didn't include them of one sort or another, there's another "marigold" that I adore even more. The pot marigold.
Calendula officinalis 'Flashback'Calendulas are commonly known as pot marigolds, and while it's classified as a short-lived perennial and sometimes a hardy annual, in my Zone 5b it's definitely an annual. I've never...
January 10, 2015
It's Houseplant Appreciation Day! (+ a book giveaway)
Yes, it's pretty, but...It's the middle of winter and I guarantee you I'm not doing any gardening out there in the frozen tundra right now. I know the entire eastern half of the country is shivering, but with all due respect to those of you in the south that think you've got it bad, I invite you to spend a few days with me. It will be two more months before I can even begin to think about what I might do in the gardens outside. But I've got more than enough green going on right here in the ho...
January 9, 2015
Got Snow? Ames True Temper Telescoping Roof Rake to the Rescue!
Ever since I've had my conservatory, when winter comes, snow on the roof skylights has been a problem. Because the quality of winter light is lower, that light is even more important for my plants housed inside, in spite of most of them being somewhat dormant at the 50°F we keep it in there.
Snow on the roof, the sun can't melt it...
Snow is a good insulator, butit blocks the light.Anything that blocks light isn't a good thing, so when Ames Tools invited me to try some of their tools, I immedia...
January 4, 2015
A Memorable 1st Visit to the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory (Ft. Wayne, IN)
The weeping spruce trees on the east side of the conservatory always look like they're
celebrating something.Each winter, just as the gray, cold days start to wear on me, I start wanting to pay our local botanical conservatory in Ft. Wayne, Ind., a visit. For many of the past years, we made it a family affair, inviting our girls and their spouses to join us for a couple of hours of lush, tropical goodness. It's a way to spend some family time and forget about the weather.
About a month ago, we...
January 3, 2015
A Visit With Debra Lee Baldwin (and a giveaway!)
In March of 2012, I had the good fortune of being able to travel to the west coast to attend Spring Trials, courtesy of Proven Winners. It was my first trip to California and there were many things that made it memorable.
Debra and her sweet Lily in her garden in 2012.One of the highlights of the trip was the opportunity to see Debra Lee Baldwin, whom I call "Queen of the Succulents."Debra was one of our mentors when Jenny and I wrote our book, Indoor Plant Decor: The Design Stylebook for Hous...
December 14, 2014
Elizabeth and Her German Garden
This is a story about a book. As you're reading this, you're probably going to think to yourself, "Well, that's rather historical, how nice," and then your attention might wane unless you're interested in that sort of thing. But this is not going to end like you think...
Thanksgiving weekend, my husband and I spent three days watching the first four seasons of
Downton Abbey
since we were both too sick to do much of anything else. We're both DA addicts and we thought we'd just start from the b...
November 29, 2014
Postcards From the Past
Last week, I wrote about collections for my garden column that I write each week for our local newspaper, the Paulding Progress . Gardeners collect plants, certain genera of plants, garden tools (such as hoes), and old garden books. I do the former and the latter, but I used to collect something else.
Long before I ever knew or even thought about becoming a gardener, way back in the sixth grade, I collected postcards. Cheryl, my best friend at the time, and her family were antique buffs and I o...
