Kylee Baumle's Blog, page 6

Amaryllis - These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

If you follow me on Facebook or have been a long-time reader of Our Little Acre , you know that I'm crazy for amaryllis. I long ago lost count of how many bulbs I have, yet each year I buy a couple of new varieties just to see if that will garner a new favorite for me.

It's really difficult to choose just one, because there are now so many different ones available to us. I like 'Blossom Peacock' because the gradual shading from white to red accentuates its double blooms.

'Blossom Peacock'

Another...

Plan Now to Attend "VAN WERT BLOOMS with P. Allen Smith & Friends" in Van Wert OH - April 16, 2016

There's excitement brewing in Northwest Ohio. All the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes along with a major event is happening right now and will culminate on April 16, 2016 at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert.



On that day, landscape designer, author, and television celebrity P. Allen Smith will take the stage and share his experience with those of us lucky enough to have a ticket to Van Wert Blooms with P. Allen Smith & Friends . (You can get yours here!)

Readers know t...

Celebrating a Monarch Discovery

"My Weekly Reader" kept
us up-to-date on current
events during my elementary
school years.I graduated from high school in 1974. That's one of the milestones in your life that you use to measure any number of things, for many years after the fact. Here I am, nearly 42 years later, and I sometimes will still use it as a reference point.

Many things have happened historically since I was in school, meaning I would not have learned them from my textbooks or as current events in the little weekly news...

"The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh": A Review

The World of Pooh was published in 1957,
the same year I was born. Serendipity!This is probably something only my oldest and closest friends know, but I've long been a Winnie-the-Pooh fan of the purest sort. Pooh for me is E.H. Shepard's illustration, not Walt Disney's cartoon.

From the time my mom bought me The World of Pooh , a combined edition of Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, back in the '60s, Pooh has warmed my heart and inspired me to never grow old. (With all due respect to...

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, It's My Ninth Blogiversary!

Co-authored with Jenny Peterson,
our book was one of the Top 20 Amazon
Books of 2013 in its category.I can hardly believe it's been nine years since I began writing Our Little Acre, sharing my gardening adventures. What began as a way to document what went on in my garden at the urging of my older daughter, Kara, has led to another career as a writer. I never dreamed I would get paid for stringing words together.

Much has happened in the last nine years and when I look back on it, I think mostl...

Roasting, Planting, and Restoring the American Chestnut

I recently wrote about chestnuts for my weekly gardening column in our local newspaper, the Paulding Progress . Chestnuts are a timely topic, what with Christmas and the song, not to mention chestnut season is generally October through December.

The president of the New York chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, Allen Nichols, somehow saw my column and contacted me, offering to send both American chestnuts for eating and some for planting in the spring. Yes, genuine American chestnuts, n...

Life's Too Short Not to Chia

Ch-ch-ch-chia!

Sing it with me now! When you hear that song, which Chia Pet pops into your head?  Though it seems as if these quirky items have been in existence forever, it's really only been since 1982 that they were widely marketed. That's an entire lifetime for my younger daughter, so I suppose to her, they HAVE been around forever.

Even so, it took me 33 years before I owned one. Yep, I succumbed to the holiday hype. You've got to admit the commercials are catchy. Tacky too, but that...

A Pecan Pie Story

Mimi and me in 2011
Photo by Annie HavenSeveral years ago, I was having a conversation with Mimi San Pedro, COO of Hortus, Ltd., P. Allen Smith's company. It was a few weeks prior to one of my Garden2Blog visits to Allen's Moss Mountain Farm, and the conversation veered in the direction of pecan pie, as most conversations do. I mean, who doesn't love pecan pie? It's always in the forefront of our thoughts and eventually we're going to talk about it. We can't help it.

Now I am not a pie eater in...

I've Never Met an Anemone I Didn't Like

I've grown spring anemones, summer anemones and fall anemones. They have been ivory, white, red, pink, and purple. The fact that their flowers are daisy-like are probably one reason I love them so much, with white daisies being my favorite flower of all time. (Well, that's what I'll tell you today. Next week, it's likely to be something else.)

I got a new one that I planted this fall - Anemone nemerosa 'Bracteata Pleniflora' - and it's a spring ephemeral. That means it will come up in the spri...

I Love a Tattle-Tail! (A Review)

Some years ago, I shared some information about a unique mailbox system called Return-To-Center. It uses a patented design that reduces the problem of mailboxes getting hit by snow plows or passing cars. You can read my post about it here:

Build a Better Mailbox and the World Will Beat a Path to Your Door

We like our swiveling mailbox, but I love the new accessory we got for it. I ADORE it.


It's called a Tattle-Tail.


More than just a clever play on words, the Tattle-Tail saves me running out to t...