Kylee Baumle's Blog, page 5

2016 - The Year of the Cherry

Several years ago, I received a couple of cherry trees at a garden writer's event. I can't remember the event, and I don't know which kind of cherry trees they are. I planted them and hoped that one day I would have enough cherries to make a pie, even though I don't do pies. If I got cherries, I'd make a pie for my husband, because he loves pies.

Oh, who am I kidding? We've had apple trees for nearly 40 years and he's the one who makes the apple pies. If we get cherries, he'll be the one to ma...

Walking On Sunshine

I have this kind of love/hate relationship with dandelions and I'm betting you do too. They're the sort of thing that you can't live with because they irritate you so much and you can't live without them because they just won't let you.



At this time of year, they're fairly innocuous, and to be honest, they've got a lot going for them. We've just emerged from winter and seeing the first dandelion bloom pretty much makes each and every one of us smile, even if it's only on the inside. And one or...

Snow and Sun: A Simple Lesson in Physics

An early spring snow in April survives in shade, but even though the ambient temperature is 27F, the sun is warm enough to melt it. Radiant heat – the kind the sun gives – heats objects. The grass and earth are warmed, causing the snow to melt. And you thought the sun heated the air, didn't you?

In a Vase on Monday: Amaryllis As a Cut Flower

I recently posted a photo of my 'Ambiance' amaryllis (Hippeastrum) on Facebook and happened to mention the fact that amaryllis as a cut flower lasts longer than if it remains attached to its bulb. A few people were surprised to hear that.


There may be a couple of good reasons why this comes as a surprise to some. (It surprised me the first time I heard it, too.) For one thing, most people who buy amaryllis bulbs do so just prior to the holiday season, they follow the planting instructions on t...

In a Vase on Monday: Spring Ephemerals I

Weather continues to be all over the map, and although it's not atypical for spring in the Midwest, it seems a bit more extreme than usual. Last yesterday afternoon into evening, we had a severe thunderstorm, with winds that hit 57 mph, and hail. Lots of hail.

Two-and-a-quarter inches of rain later, we had way more water than we needed. We didn't need ANY before the storm, but there were no tornadoes, so there's that. Small favors and all.

This is the first time in 10 years that the arbor has b...

"At the Edge of the Orchard" by Tracy Chevalier: A Review

Goll Woods, near the setting for At the Edge
of the Orchard , gives us a glimpse of what
the Great Black Swamp was like in the 1800s.I live in the Great Black Swamp. I've lived here my entire life and am fascinated by the fact that people now actually inhabit this once inhospitable place. In the last 160 years, it has been developed into a place of rich farmland and is home to one of the largest wind energy sources in the region. The Goodenoughs in At the Edge of the Orchard wouldn't recognize t...

In Spring, the Wind Blows Hard

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

- Charles Dickens

Spring has been scrumptious so far. Each day I go to the garden to see what new blooms await my notice. I would have spent even more time doing that these last couple of days, were it not for the wind. Take yesterday, for instance.

Our high temperature was 63, and when you're on this side of winter, that feels like summer. Except for tha...

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - March 2016

It's been some time since I've participated in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day , started and hosted by Carol Michel of May Dreams Gardens . But with us having one of the earliest springs I can ever remember, with so many lovely things blooming in the garden already, I just had to share them this month.

Our Little Acre is situated in USDA Zone 5b, surrounded by 6a, here in Northwest Ohio. Why we're in this little cold pocket, I haven't a clue, but my gardening experience has taught me that we can't rel...

February Lilies, Wine & Chocolate

I just wrote about how much I enjoyed that big bunch of tulips back in January, and then along came FedEx two Saturdays ago with another familiar brown box from Stargazer Barn! I could hardly wait to get this one open to see what was inside.

Lilies this time, and though they were still in bud, I had grown this particular lily in my own garden once upon a time and knew how beautiful they would be. I remember when I bought my bulbs in 2005, 'Starfighter' was advertised to be an improved version...

A Gift of Tulips in Winter

It was the coldest day of the year so far (23F, with a low of 1 overnight) in mid-January, when our doorbell rang. Our house faces west and it was windy, so you can imagine the blast of cold air that greeted me as I opened the door to receive a box from the FedEx delivery man.

I knew when I saw the box that what was inside it was going to be like a breath of spring - just what I needed.

TULIPS!

These flowers were packed very well, with a zip-tie around the flowers
and through the box so they woul...