Kylee Baumle's Blog, page 7

Sandhill Cranes in Ohio

Sandhill cranes are iconic in Nebraska. I know a couple of people who live there that have talked about them for years. I know they resemble our cranes and herons that we have here in Northwest Ohio, except that they're bigger. And louder. As of today, I can confirm that this is true.

Sandhill Cranes
(Grus canadensis)
I had just pulled into our driveway and when I turned the car off, I heard a very loud noise that closely resembled the honking of a large flock of geese, yet I knew it wasn't the...

In a Vase on Monday: A First

I have never met Cathy at Rambling in the Garden , host of the blog meme, In a Vase on Monday . I've never participated in the meme before today, but I'm familiar with it because of someone I have met.

Everything looks as if it was created expressly for Loree's garden - the plants,
the containers, the structures... She is an incredibly talented designer.
"Careful, you could poke an eye out."
Loree Bohl, who lives and gardens in Portland, Ore., has posted her version of the meme a dozen or so times....

Gifts From the Toad Lilies

I'm a seed saver. If I have some annuals or perennials that I love, you can bet that beginning in late August, you'll see little glass bowls with seeds in them lining up on the kitchen counter. They grow in number until about the end of October, which is usually when seed saving season is forced to come to a close. If the plants haven't produced seed by then, frosts and hard freezes put a stop to it.

I've long considered the toad lily (Tricyrtis spp.) to be my signature plant - the one that I...

A Taste For the Exotic: A Holiday Giveaway with Longfield Gardens

From my earliest days as an honest-to-goodness gardener, I've been fascinated with unusual bulbs. Tulips and daffodils are nice, of course, but those quirky ones that you can't find just anywhere always grab my attention.

I've grown quite a few tropical bulbs over the years, in summer and winter, depending on availability, including Scilla peruviana . It's an unusual one, but not so much as its cousin, , commonly known as Giant Madeiran Squill, which until now has not been ava...

Have You Seen What Ball® Has in Store This Year? (+ a giveaway)

Gardeners have been busy canning and preserving for the last few months and it's not over yet. Just this week, I pulled my beets for pickling, as I do each summer. It's one of our very favorite goodies from the garden. I've also got some Mexican gherkin cucumbers (they look like miniature watermelons!) that I'll be pickling for the first time this year.

Since 2010, Ball has been celebrating the bounty of the garden with their annual Can-It-Forward day. Held in August, its intent is to help peo...

Wordless Wednesday: Make Love, Not War

Morning Glory Ipomoea nil 'Tie Dye'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why do plants do this (have variegated blooms)? Here's one explanation:

"The Japanese morning glory has an extensive history of genetic studies. Many mutants in the colors and shapes of its flowers and leaves have been isolated since the 17th century, and more than 200 genetic loci have been localized for the 10 linkage groups. They include over 20 mutable loci, several with variegated flower phenotypes. In a line of Japanese morning...

Of Starfish and Monarchs

One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked, he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.

Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, "I'm saving these starfish, sir".

The old man chuckled aloud, "Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What diff...

Wordless Wednesday: Cheeky Peachy Still Life

We enjoyed our first peaches ever (that we grew ourselves) this week!

Elberta Peaches
Prunus persica 'Elberta'
Semi-dwarf
Zone 5

Just Another Monarch Monday

I found this fifth instar caterpillar yesterday and it's now
in my kitchen, nearly ready to pupate.Oooh oo-oooh. My day didn't really start out to be focused on monarchs, although just yesterday I'd brought in a fifth instar monarch caterpillar so that I can witness the miracle of metamorphosis up close. I had other plans for my day, but those got put on the back burner.

It all started this morning when I walked out to my back garden, where all my milkweed grows, with the intention of finding m...

A Living Room Divider: Define Your Space With Plants

When Jenny Peterson and I were writing our book, Indoor Plant Decor: The Design Stylebook for Houseplants , one of the ideas we shared for using houseplants as a design element was as a room divider.

From Indoor Plant Decor: The Design Stylebook for Houseplants

The photo on page 83 of the Traditional Mix chapter shows how I used this concept in my own entry/living room. Our house was built in 1975 and when we bought it in 1977, we never gave the spindled half-wall a second thought. It's just how...