Spring Gardening: 15 Minutes to a Beautiful Garden

March is a great time for your Midwest garden. The problem is, most gardeners are all caution when it comes to Spring planting, telling you it's too early for your tomatoes.. (Of course it is, silly.)  But tomorrow is the first day of Spring!  So, even if it's only for 15 minutes a day, you can get out and get started.  (You know you want to.) 


The Lawn
Now is the time to reseed the yard, especially if you use a seed product that has crabgrass preventer.  The warm-ish days and plentiful moisture make it perfect for germinating grass, especially if you can manage to keep the kids -- and the dog -- out of the yard for a week or so.  (Rainy, chilly weather can make that easier than you think.  Perfect time for cooking lessons, if you ask me. Mmmm.... soup.)

 

The Vegetable Patch
There's a reason spring onions have that name.  These are mine.  Looks like a jumble of half-green mess, doesn't it?  Give them a month, and they'll look (and taste!) far different.  Some crops, like Spinach and peas, actually germinate best in cold soil.  So, the freeze/thaw cycle that works its magic on local sugar Maples can be a great sign that the time is nearing to plant.  I usually wait until the tail end of the Maple sugaring season, then get my Spinach and peas in the ground.


The Herb Garden
Love to cook?  Tend to your herbs, especially the ones you planted close to the house or in that magical microclimate close to your furnace vent.  At our place, our parsley and oregano are already showing fresh shoots.  (And yes, I've cooked with them in the past week!)  Cut back woody perennials like sage and rosemary, being sure to save/dry/use what you trim back.

The Flower Beds
Even if you didn't plant bulbs last fall (See, Mom?  My daffodils and tulips really are already out of the ground!) you can plant some bulbs now.  Glads and Asiatic Lilies planted now will provide you with tall, beautiful blooms in June.  Pansies in pots that you can handily pull closer to the house on cold nights can give your front porch early color.  After a long winter, isn't that what every gardener needs?

Whatever little ways you can edge your way out into the garden will help you celebrate the start of Spring.  Because what's better for the soul than nurturing brand new life?  And these tiny jobs -- like planting your peas! -- are perfect for getting your kids into the garden, a little at a time.

Keep in mind that the lovely brown, leafy, grassy mulch you put on your beds last year is a cozy blanket for everything growing.  If you tend your plants, be sure to tuck them in when you're done.  By the time those daffodils bloom, though, you'll be safe to open the garden, with just a turned-over bucket or floating plastic row cover to keep late frost away.

So get out there!  It's the perfect time for a little sunshine.  Soothes the soul.

- Midwest Mom

May in the Garden

This year has been quirky in our Midwest garden, that's for sure.

We planted early -- spinach, radishes, and sugar snap peas. But the weather got so warm so fast that our early crops bolted. Our spinach harvest was about half it's usual bounty and our radishes had leafy tops but woody roots. The peas are long and leggy -- already as tall as I am. The hubs has trellised them twice already, and they are still growing!

On the upside, the peas are now in bloom and the bees are hard at work and plentiful. Our strawberries are going gangbusters and our roses are more gorgeous than they've ever been.

Yesterday, I took a little time in the garden to pull out the last of the non-performing crops to get ready for peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant. Hopefully, summer in the garden will be more productive than Spring has been.

In the meantime, we're spending plenty of time enjoying our flowers.


This rose is 'Paradise' -- it makes me wish Midwest Moms had smell-o-vision. The fragrance is amazing!



On our arbor is a blend of 'Don Juan' and 'Joseph's Coat'. Both are taller than me now, with very little winter die-back this year. I think it won't be long until the arbor is completely covered.


A new addition to the wildflower garden this year is Lupine. It's flower stalks are striking. (I think it's my new favorite.)

And I found this little flower out in the garden, too! She sure is beautiful... but growing like a weed!

So tell me... how does your garden grow this year?

- Midwest Mom

Midwest Fall Breathes its Last

The wind has picked up, the last breath of Fall sending leaves showering down and skittering along the pavement.

They lay piled thickly on rooftops and on the abandoned truck across the street. They clog gutters and gather at bases of bushes and trees. Eerily, they hang among the wispy remnants of Halloween cobweb.

Under the crisp blue sky, the whine of leaf blowers rings through the air, making the gentle rustle of our old-fashioned rakes sound more like a whisper than work. We are being shushed.

I laugh as the kids swing high and leap into space, plummeting into an enormous pile of crackling brown. They giggle as they crawl among the ladybugs, leaves stuck in hair and hoods and caught in fleece.

We tidy up after nature's clutter, cutting back summer's bounteous growth, now simultaneously overgrown and skeletal. Bringing order to chaos is a satisfying venture.

The birds are gone. And I feel the need to fill a feeder for the few stragglers who remain. The outdoors is muffled and smells of mold and dampness. There are no bees, only worms thriving on decay.

We witness as the colors of Autumn become the shivering nakedness of winter.



- Midwest Mom

Harvest of Friends

This weekend, we harvested a large bowl of produce from the garden. Something about a week of rain must have signaled to our plants that it was fruiting time. We picked over a hundred cherry tomatoes, seventeen shiny ripe red peppers, and several perfectly-sized cucumbers.

I brought the produce inside and prepared some of it to have with supper on Saturday night. But there was so much of it, I wondered what on earth I would do with it all.

It was then that I decided we should do some Saturday afternoon visiting.

I decorated some small paper bags with a simple note and some ribbon and put a few peppers and about twenty tomatoes into each. The note said, "We just thought we'd share with you. -Your neighbors, the Kelly Family."

Then I called the children.

I told them about the packages I had made and asked them if they'd like to help me share them. Each child chose a neighbor, and we made our deliveries. It was fun to spend a few minutes talking with each friend we saw. One neighbor was happy because his tomato plants had succumbed to blight a few weeks earlier. Another neighbor was thrilled because there had been no peppers or tomatoes at the farmer's market that morning. And another came out to the porch to talk gardening with us while the children took turns jumping off her porch steps.

It was good visiting time.

And when we returned home, there was just enough produce left for our own family. On Sunday, I processed the tomatoes and diced the peppers to make a large pot of chili -- the perfect meal for a chilly Fall night.

Then yesterday, our sharing Saturday was returned in spades. The friend whose tomato plants had withered dropped by, bringing treats for the children. When I got the mail, another friend had fashioned a home-made card decorated with pepper and tomato shapes and a lovely note. Later in the day, the telephone rang. "Do you eat fish?" came the voice of our neighbor across the street. Just back from a fishing trip, he had cleaned and filleted enough bluegill for his family and ours to have a fish fry.

At the end of the day, I though just how lucky we are to live among such good people. All it took was a little effort, a small act of sharing, to renew our connections. That's when I realized that our garden had grown not just vegetables, but friends.

Salad Days

I'm always a bit torn during late summer. My mind knows that my plants are done growing, and that they are spending their last bits of strength to produce fruit, filled with seeds that are their next generation. I've nurtured them for months, so as I garden, the prevailing feeling is bittersweet.

My family, however, has no sympathy for my garden's last days. All they care about is our table full of freshly-picked vegetables. My daughter greedily gobbles a handful of tiny yellow cherry tomatoes. My husband will eat as many red peppers as I can pick. My sons barely let me wash the dirt from our garden carrots before crunching them like little vegetable-eating monsters.

And then there is me. I am overcome by the heaping bowls of colorful salad -- by the herbs, pungent and plentiful. I put out of my mind thoughts of my withering plants, their leaves turning to yellow and brown from the chill of autumn. My eyes drink in the green and red and orange of fresh produce. I think of the purple eggplants still to come, and the pumpkins and squash almost ready to come out of our neighbor's garden.

Hard to admit, but my mouth starts to water. And just as an apt garden eulogy comes to mind, I hear my own voice utter, as if from a distance, "Please...


"...pass the dressing."

- Midwest Mom

More to do with Tomatoes

Every year, I give a good bit of produce away to neighbors and friends, and always lots to family. They each have their favorites, whether it's cherry tomatoes, peppers, herbs or cucumbers. But this year, I gave away about twenty-five baby tomato plants to my husband's family. So, what I'm finding is that they're not as eager to receive my generous tomato deliveries as they've been in the past.

One of my commenters last week had a terrific idea about what to do with extra tomatoes. She suggested calling a local food pantry or soup kitchen to offer produce to them. What a terrific idea! As a matter of fact, that is a perfect option for any "bonanza" produce that happens to be coming out of your garden right now.

You can also try calling your child's school. Our school won a health grant last year to provide fresh fruits and vegetables as classroom snacks. So, each child walked in on the first day of school and found a shiny red apple on his or her desk. Offering excess tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, or carrots to your child's teacher as part of a healthy eating lesson is a great idea.

If you want to preserve some of your tomatoes for use during the winter months, though, freezing is an easy option. It's what I do, and it's not difficult. I prefer to freeze them whole, so that I can decide how to use them later on.

To freeze whole tomatoes, start by washing them. Boil a large pot of water and drop 8-10 tomatoes (I use Roma tomatoes) into the boiling water for 2 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and lay them on paper towels to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to gently remove the skin. Store in an airtight container or freezer bag and place in the freezer. They will keep for up to 1 year.

I use mine in soups and stews, and for large, bubbling pots of chili in the wintertime. As promised, here are a few more recipes -- this time, they're recipes you can use for your frozen produce. Enjoy them!

Julia's Chicken Cacciatore
Joe's Gold Medal Chili
NanaJane's Minestrone Soup

- Midwest Mom

What to do with All Those Tomatoes

The warm weather is here and that means two things: swimming season and tomatoes.

We've got the swimming under control this year. But every year, I scramble to figure out what to do with the tomatoes that fill and re-fill every container imaginable every time I make my way into the garden.

I have some tried and true recipes I make for my family. I make salads and sauces that warm my tomato-loving heart. But there's no way I can cook at the rate my tomato plants produce fruit. This year, in my wisdom, I planted about a dozen each of cherry and Roma tomatoes. And they're going like gangbusters.

If you're in my boat, here are a few of my favorite recipes. They may help you tread water a bit until you're happily overwhelmed by the harvest.

Julia's Greek Tomato Salad
Erin's Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Fresh Tomato Salsa
Broiled Tomatoes with Herbs
Cucumber-Dill Salad
Joe's Black Bean Salad
Summer Squash Salad

I hope you'll give one or more of these a try. You'll find there are plenty of ways to enjoy your tomatoes without getting bored.

Later in the week, I'll write a little about cooking with them, with recipes for soups and stews, and preserving what you're pulling from the garden now so you can enjoy your harvest during the winter months.

Until then, Midwest Moms is headed back to the garden. I think I spy about fifty-seven more tomatoes coming ripe since this morning!

- Midwest Mom

Imagination and a Good Read

What is the sound of a writer on vacation? One part sigh, one part stretch, twenty-seven parts hilarious laughter (that's the kids... at least partly).

As a little gift, here are some of my favorite parenting, gardening, and humor articles. I published them back when my blog had zero readership. So, if you come by while I'm away from the computer, enjoy them.

Then, imagine me sitting in my lawn chair with my feet in the inflatable kiddie pool as I don my shades and sip a Frozen Strawberry Margarita with my Mom friends while our kids go crazy in the backyard.

Or, alternately, you can imagine me setting out in the family truckster with Hubby and the kids to explore the wilds of the East -- the Shenandoah Mountains, the Maryland Shore, the City of Brotherly Love, the Farms of Connecticut, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the Rocky Shores of Maine, only to return exhausted and sunburnt, but with renewed closeness that comes from spending 601 hours in the car together with nothing but country stations on the radio (Okay... that's only in Indiana).

Or, you could imagine me helping my sons fulfill a summer adventure wish with a day at a waterpark where they have the courage to go on the biggest, fastest, most watery of the waterslides! (And I hope your imagination photoshops my face onto the body of Cindy Crawford... for the sake of -ahem- accuracy.)

However you imagine me, though, please imagine me with a smile on my face.

There's nothing better than being a Mom, spending summer vacation with your family.

But if you get lonely for something fun to read, please consider one of these:

Gardening
Plants that Attract Butterflies
Going Green: Early July Vegetables

Tips & Tricks
Laundry Tip: Keeping White Clothes White
The Art of the Long Car Trip
Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Parenting
Separation Anxiety: We all have Clingons from Time to Time
On the Road to Raising Resilient Children
Can't We all Just Get Along? What to do when Children Fight
Chores or No Chores?
Time for Me: The Sisterhood of Moms

Humor/Our Life
I am Carnac, the Magnificent
Ants in My Pants
Giving Primo his Props
The Best Laid Plans of Elastigirl

I should be back in a bit. Until then, I hope all is well for you and yours. If you want to reach me, please email me at midwestmome@yahoo.com . I can't wait to hear from you.

Until next time!

All the best,

Julia (aka, Midwest Mom)

Tips for Easier Weeding

A friend of mine pointed out yesterday that the downside of living in a place that anything can grow is that anything and everything does grow.

Even (and especially) weeds.

I weed my gardens by hand, without the use of chemicals. It's not as difficult as it may sound. I follow a few basic guidelines to make the job run smoothly. And somehow, I manage to have my flowers and vegetables remain the centerpieces of my garden -- not the weeds.

I have family members and neighbors who have questioned why I bother. I have two main reasons. First, weeds are resource thieves. They eat up the moisture and nutrients in the garden that other plants will absolutely need to grow their best. If allowed to grow, their root systems will entangle other plants' roots. Their leaves can eat up the sunlight and shadow other plants.

My second reason for weeding is aesthetic. I want my gardens to look tidy. For that reason, I will even keep sprawling perennials in check by treating them as weeds when they spread. My mother and mother in law are always aghast when they see me with a handful of rudbeckia or moneywort that I've pulled out of the garden. When I can, I make room for useful plants in another area of the yard. But when it comes to keeping order, I confess to being a bit ruthless.

Experience has taught me (as have plentiful garden mistakes) what makes for effective weeding. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you put order to your plot.

Educate yourself. - Know what kinds of plants you are dealing with before you start pulling willy-nilly. A great resource is Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. I also use the online weed index from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Check with your own state university or university extension to see what resources exist for your own area. If you know what you're dealing with, it can be easier to avoid potential mistakes.

Be selective. - Spend time evaluating whether or not a weed will do damage. Sometimes, native plants can be attractive additions to your garden. In our first home, my husband and I spent hours digging sweet violets out of the yard. We wanted them to have their own area and for the lawn to be just grass. My first garden sage, a neighbor named Janet, asked us what on earth we were doing. "I love having the violets in the grass. They're green, too -- what does it matter if they're not grass? Besides, if you wait until Spring, they'll turn the whole yard lavender. It's beautiful." We listened to her wise advice and have never looked back. Now, our springtime "lawn" is a carpet of purple. We love it.

When in doubt, wait. - If you're not sure what something is, just let it grow a bit. You have until the plant sets seed to pull it. Sometimes, you can discover some real beauties by just letting an interesting-looking plant grow.

Wear gloves. - I am usually an ungloved gardener. I like the feel of soil in my hands. But when I am weeding, particularly if there might be weeds I don't recognize at first, I do wear gloves. All it takes is your first case of poison ivy or your first spider bite to teach that lesson.

Wet the ground. - I spend time weeding immediately after it rains. The moisture softens up the ground and makes many weeds easier to pull, roots and all. If it hasn't rained in a while, I will choose an area to weed and shower it with the hose for a few minutes -- not enough to make mud pies, but just enough to loosen the soil.

Use tools. - My mother used to pull dandelions with a long tool that looked like a giant screwdriver. I opt for a narrow hand trowel. I carry it with me, plunge it into the dirt next to a stubborn weed and pry upward slightly. With the soil loosened, taproots are easy to pull. Once the weed is out, I heel the soil back down smooth. For soil that is already light and loose, try using a hoe. Turn the corner down and scrape, digging the earth a you go. Pick weeds from the surface of the area you've worked, and use the hoe again to level and smooth the soil.

Be persistent. -- The more consistently you weed, the more you will stay ahead of what your garden needs. I take about 10 minutes each day, usually while the children are playing outside, to attack a section of the garden. By the end of the week, I've cleared quite a bit. And by the time I get the last bed weeded, I can start back at the first again.

Honestly, weeding no gardener's favorite chore. But, hopefully, if you keep ahead of things, your work will yield good results.

- Midwest Mom

Lots of Misc

Have you ever read the garage sale section of the newspaper and seen the magic words people imagine will send loads of prospective buyers their way with fists full of cash?

Lots of Misc

It's at the end of every ad, and quite frankly, I find its meaning ambiguous at best. "Lots of Misc" could mean every piece of my grandmother's German china or it could mean seven bottles of my grandmother's Miss Breck hair color from 1968. You never know. Which is why I stay away from garage sales that just give an address and Lots of Misc.

With that said, today's post is a hodge-podge. It is miscellany at its best, so do your best to wade through. Hope you find something you like.

********

Have you ever noticed that in the Midwest, a man is not a man until he owns a riding lawn mower? And once he owns one, which he will call "the tractor" (although it is clearly not a tractor), he will find any opportunity to use it. He will spend hours of his precious Saturday mowing all five acres of his property to a precise 2.5 inches height. Not that he'll use the 5 acres. Not that he'll golf on it or chase his children on it. He just wants to have a ride on "the tractor".

With that said, Midwest men have a virtual age of 7 where tractors are involved.


********

Here's a unfortunate realization I've made during my last seven years here...

In the Midwest, there is nothing wrong with ending a sentence with a preposition. It makes my East Coast daughter-of-an-English-major's blood curdle to hear my Midwest friends and family ask for someone's location.

Where you at?

It has been spoken into Nextels and Blackberries thousands of times in my town alone, just this morning. I am fortunate that my husband is sensitive, in that he understands my revulsion for the phrase and tries not to use it. The rest of the population, however, is oblivious.

Though my skin crawls, my mind feels assaulted, my inner grammarian wants to shout, "Listen to yourselves!!" I suffer in silence.

But the moment it comes out of one of my children's mouths... I swear to you, I will declare war.

********

Now an admission: When my mother and I talk on the telephone, we inevitably compare garden notes. She always seems so impressed with the way my garden is progressing. But, honestly, I can't take credit for it. It's the soil and the weather.

Is it any wonder that Midwest farms are so productive? The soil where I live is as black as coal. I could grow a lollipop tree from a scrap of paper and a grain of sugar.

So, as much as I go on about my garden this and my garden that... I am keenly aware that my garden is as successful as it is only because of where I am, not necessarily what I do. What I do helps, to be sure... but the key to garden success is the same as the key to real estate success -- location, location, location.

********

This weekend I noticed some newcomers to our little plot. I was pulling alfalfa from the garden -- it had grown as tall as I am and was blocking the sunlight from the lance-leafed coreopsis just coming into bloom -- when I noticed a small, grey creature as small as one of my daughter's shoes. Our bunnies have had their babies.

They. Are. Darling.

I love that they have found a home in our wildflower garden (not our vegetable garden, like last year!) There is nothing as cute as watching a bunny chew on something -- even if it is your entire pea crop. Fortunately, thanks to the bunny hutch fencing we chose for our vegetable garden this year, we don't have to go through that again.

Also, my eye caught a flit of yellow as I looked out the window this morning. Our goldfinches are back. This year, I want to get a picture of them. Looks like I'll have to camp out for a while until they get comfortable with me... or until our sunflowers bloom. At current count, there will be 14 of them in the wildflower garden.

It's a good year to be a goldfinch.

********

A bit of news that is pressing on my mind today... I found out this weekend that one of my best friends back East was attacked by a man with a gun in broad daylight. Without going into detail about it, she is bruised but okay -- never underestimate the power of screaming your head off.

But if you're a praying person, please keep her in your prayers. She is feeling a good bit of fear right now.

********

Today, the kids have the day off. They go back to school Tuesday and Wednesday for Field Day and the last day of school. Then, we're off for the summer. Part of me can't wait for the schedule to ease up. But, part of me is ambivalent about the portion of our time that will be spent "adjusting" (i.e. bickering). Summer vacation is fun, but sometimes my children need some time to get used to sharing the same space.

The bigger they get, the smaller our house seems.

********

That's it for now. Hope there was something in there of interest.

If not, I'm sure I could dig up a couple of half-filled Avon perfume bottles, a pair of used Odor-eaters, or a paperweight shaped like a human heart.

I'll give you the lot of them... Got a nickel?

- Midwest Mom

Our Midwest Garden: First Fruits

Attention, Parents! Herein lies the secret to your children eating their vegetables...

Have them grow their own.

This weekend marked our first garden harvest. What fun! I don't think I've seen Primo more proud than he was while eating lettuce and radishes grown from seeds he planted himself!

Lettuce is so easy to grow -- you can even sow the seeds in a flower box. Let your child water every day at first, then every other day. And when the seeds have sprouted and you need to thin the plants to let the lettuce grow healthy and large, serve your child a big plate of this:



Trust me, if your little one is anything like my oldest, he or she will eat like never before. When Grandma and Papa came by last night for supper, he even went into the garden to pick them one radish each. (And then stood by watching them eat and waiting for words of approval.)

On the way to school this morning, he said to me. "Thanks for teaching me to be a farmer, Mom. I think it's my talent!"

I thought, Maybe it is... maybe it really is.

- Midwest Mom

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Looking for ways to get your child started helping in the garden? Check out Gardening with Kids: An Easy Guide at Midwest Parents. There's no better time than now to get gardening!

It's Planting Time

There are so many markers of the right time to plant in the Midwest. Some people mark the calendar to plant on Mother's Day or Memorial Day. Others measure the soil temperature to know when the optimal time will be.


I like to pay attention to my flowering plants. Because they respond to the moisture level, sunlight, and air temperature, I find them to be excellent indicators of the right time to plant.

This is where the garden is right now:

The peas, spinach, carrots, lettuce, and radishes I planted from seed in April are proceeding nicely. The peas are about 18 inches tall, and the lettuce is about a week away from harvest. The radishes are small, but we're checking weekly to prepare for harvesting them.

Blooming perennials abound in shades of purple. Until this week, I hadn't realized how many there were. In full bloom now are allium, meadow sage, dame's rocket, bluebells, Virginia bluebells, pansies, and violets. We also have plentiful blossoms on our red columbine and strawberry plants.


Ready, but not quite blooming are garden sage and clematis. I imagine they'll start within the week.

The weather has been dry for a few days, but we're expecting rain tomorrow. So, today is the day for planting my most tender (and prized) vegetables -- my tomatoes. I started them in seedling trays in early April, and they have several sets of leaves. I'll also plant my zinnia seedlings, basil, and pepper plants. Once they're in the ground, they are sure to take off.

I can't wait to get out in the sunshine and get digging. If I'm in the mood, I just might have the kids help me, too. Which reminds me -- today I've written a feature for Midwest Parents, Gardening with Kids: An Easy Guide. If you're getting ready to plant and want to find ways to involve your kids in the family garden, head on over for some great tips! (And please comment! I'm sure it will warm the hearts of the Midwest Parents crew to hear from you!)

Until tomorrow, hope you enjoy your garden. I know I will!

- Midwest Mom

Mother's Day Gift Idea: How to Make Garden Stepping Stones

Home-made stepping stones make the perfect Mother's Day gift. They are easy to personalize, fun to put together, and when done right they will last a good long time.

The first time I made stepping stones was about eight years ago. My mother placed a request with all her children's families. She wanted a stepping stone in her garden from each of her grandchildren for Mother's Day. At the time, my oldest child was still an infant. So my husband and I sat down to plan his stone for him.

My husband's job was to figure out the best concrete mix to use to survive frozen Northeast Winters. My job was to design the stone. I am a stained-glass artist and my workshop was filled with scraps and shards of colored glass. So, I made a mosaic ocean scene with seaweed and cute fish. My mother loved it.

Then, two years ago, we did a similar project for my Mother-in-law, who had recently built a shade garden. She has 10 grandchildren, so we gathered more kid-friendly supplies, had the Dads mix some cement, and spent Mother's Day at Grandma's house making stepping stones for her. She loved them, and the children love walking through her garden and seeing their creations.


For this project, you'll need the following items:

~ Portland Cement
~ Coarse Sand
~ Water

~ Transparent, light plastic planter drip trays (to use as molds.) You can find them at your local garden center in a variety of sizes. I like to use the largest size, 14 inches in diameter.

~ Colored glass beads or gems
~ Seashells
~ Polished rocks
~ Colored glass pieces (for mosaic designs)



Instructions:

1. First, Mix your Cement. (Here are some basic mixing instructions and the proportions of cement to sand to water.) Because the stepping stones should have a smooth appearance, we have avoided using gravel aggregate. Instead, we increase the proportion of sand in the mix to make the stepping stones resist cracking. Some hardware stores sell cement mix with embedded fibers in the mix. This can be a great option for those wanting to purchase a ready-made mix. [Note: Cement can burn skin with prolonged contact. Be sure to wear work gloves and appropriate clothing. This is no time to make a fashion statement.]

2. Next, arrange the circular mold on a level surface situated where you want the stepping stone to dry. The area you choose should be part-shaded and free from any sort of falling leaves or other tree debris. (So, not under the Maple tree!) Pour the cement into the mold, filling it right up to the top.

3. Gather your decorations and arrange them in a pretty design. You can make hand-prints or scratch a child's name into the stone, too. As the cement rests, water will rise to the surface. Gently press the decorations farther into the cement at this point, making sure that outer edges (especially anything sharp) is buried in the stone. If you're using beads, this extra pressure will bury them deeply enough to keep them from popping out as the stone wears.

4. Leave the stone undisturbed to dry for the length of time listed on the cement packaging. If you're planning to ship the stones to Mom, keep them in their tray-molds (like those pictured). If you're going to place them in your own garden, just gently flip the dried stone over and cut away the mold with a utility knife.

These are fun to make and are guaranteed to please the gardener in your family. They don't cost a lot to make, but trust me, Mom will think of you every time she looks at your stepping stone. Because it is a gift that lasts, garden stones will help Mom feel the love of her family every time she steps into the garden.

In my mind, that's a very good thing.

- Midwest Mom

April Showers and Midwest Flowers

Spring is a gorgeous time in a Midwest garden, especially when you have camera in hand.

The past week has been rainy and warm, perfect weather for everything that grows. We had a brief respite from the wet yesterday, so I took quiet time in my garden for renewal. I found that the greens were greener than ever and much of the garden had sprung into bloom. Every corner of the yard had a pleasant surprise.

There were fragrant lilacs, waving in the breeze ...



... and tulips galore.




The grassy places were filled with wild violets, giving the yard a purple cast.



And these petite beauties had even started peeking out from their hiding places.




But the most spectacular sight of the season was one we will have to remember in our minds alone -- one no gardener could have planned or planted.

During a warm spell on Sunday afternoon, we hiked a local nature area with my parents. Our trail overlooked the river, and as the river-view emerged from the trees, before us lay endless acres of bluebells. It looked as though a misty pale blue fog was descending upon the shoreline. Just inside the trees, blue morphed into pale pink mounds of Spring Beauties.

How I wished I had my camera, just to share the beauty of it. It was breathtaking. And we stood in silence, drinking it in, for quite a long time.

At long last we continued on, circling down to the rivers edge -- a place we often play during hikes in the summertime. The water level was higher than usual, so the rocky shoals were all but buried. We spied a northern water snake innocuously sunning itself, and left it alone to enjoy the warmth. The boys picked along the shoreline in their water shoes and rolled-up jeans, looking for fossil rocks while my daughter plunged into the shallows. We took care to explain the swifter, deeper Spring current, but increased caution could not hamper their explorer's spirit. Even in the shallows, we played our hearts out.

The family returned home exhausted and happy, with muddy pants and sunkissed faces. I thought, such is the wonder of Midwest Springtime. And my father remarked to me on what a beautiful home we have made here. The image of the field of bluebells, he said, will remain with him for a long time.

I feel the same way. There is no place on earth I would rather be.

- Midwest Mom

Moms Gone Wild

When the weatherman says it's going to be 70 and sunny mid-way through April, it's time for an impromptu girls day.

We're headed to the garden center. My daughter calls it the flower shop. We called her godmother on the spur of the moment and are taking advantage of the beautiful weather to do a little exploring.

I'm looking for hardy Spring-flowering shrubs that like acid soil. We have an area that just needs a little something extra to hide a nasty fence, and why not add color at the same time?

I'm hoping to find Forsythia, Azalea, Rhododendron, or Flowering Quince. We'll look at the size and color to see what would be best, and by the end of the day, we may have some new plants to put in!

Then "the girls" will head out for an outdoor lunch.

-Sigh-

Days like this make me appreciate this week's disappointment. There's nothing like getting a little perspective from a friend to help you appreciate the positive side of things. This time, it came from JCK at Motherscribe, specifically As to Why I Didn't Get the Job. A great read.

So, today, I'll sit back and enjoy this life. The warm sun will feel so good. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Sometimes what seems like a roadblock might just be a bend in the path.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

- Midwest Mom

How They Grow

We put a lot of effort into our garden here on the homestead. The seeds are planted and sprouting. The daffodils have bloomed in the sunshine and the clematis is climbing. There are pots of pansies on the front porch for a little dash of color.

But we have other things that grow around here. We tend them carefully, feed and water them. We talk lovingly to them. And they just grow and grow.

Some have long legs...



Others have broad shoulders...



And one is a beautiful flower.



Sigh...

I'm so glad to be their gardener.

- Midwest Mom

The Blessing of Fertile Ground

Autumn arrives in early morning,
but spring at the close of a winter day.

~Elizabeth Bowen

Spring is finally here, thank goodness. For some reason, this Winter seemed to last an eternity. But the weekend was and it seems like the whole next week will be comprised of perfect Spring days.

It makes a gardener feel joyful inside.

Over the weekend, I itched to get out in the sunshine. I will admit, the inside chores tore at the edges of my patience. Why was I washing dishes when I could be out there? At the first available moment, I called to the kids to put on their shoes and head out.

They whooped like a pack of wild Indians in a 1950's Western.

I guess I wasn't alone, noticing the sunbeam slanting through our yellow kitchen had a strength that hinted of warmth.

I spent Saturday clearing brush and fallen leaves from every corner of the garden. It was amazing to see the sheer number of plants ready to burst from the ground. Even the later Spring bulbs like hyacinth and tulips are a good three inches up. Our clematis has to many buds to count.

I can't wait for Easter pictures.

When I was finished, the compost bin was piled higher than I could reach and my husband was unwrapping our roses. I turned to the wildflower garden.

Now, I know you're not supposed to "weed" a wildflower garden. I don't weed, but I do prepare it for the growing season by removing thick mats of grass and creeping groundcover to make room for the abundant seed left there at the close of last year. I always add a little new seed -- a few annuals to brighten up the garden. This year, I mixed compost and peat and hard raked it in to the seedy top layer of soil. As I worked on Sunday, I noticed that there were the tiniest seedlings everywhere. It was as though they suddenly burst from their shells overnight.

Once the wildflower garden was ready and, with the help of three very dirty but enthusiastic children, we had transplanted our brown-eyed Susans to make a border at the back of the yard, I turned to the vegetable garden. Another, thicker layer of compost and peat went down. My husband and I turned it into the soil with spades to help lighten the brittle texture of the ground there. It's something we do every year. Slowly but surely the soil texture is improving.

I know we could build raised beds and be in total control of the soil characteristics. But there is something wonderful about using what God has given us, working with it, getting it under our nails and coaxing it to bear fruit that I find satisfying.

It's the one reason I would have a hard time leaving the Midwest -- fertile ground. We can grow anything here, and do.

I try not to take it for granted.

In the Springtime, I savor the sight and smell of freshly turned fields, the first mist of tiniest green in perfectly straight rows, the trees that grow tall because they are able to drink deeply and soak in the perfect balance of rain and sun.

There is no place in the world, I think, where life can be so simple and so fruitful at the same time. When the world is growing and you've worked hard to help it along, being thankful for it comes naturally - the seed of gratitude banked against the cold for so long showing its promise, seemingly overnight.

Who knew my soul needed to work the earth so desperately?


- Midwest Mom

Welcoming Bees to your Home Garden

I have come to love honeybees. My vegetable garden relies on them and other pollinators to be its most productive.

Last year, there was a good bit in the news about commercial bee colonies dwindling down to nothing. It was a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. As a home gardener living in a Midwestern small town, I was concerned. Farmers rely on pollinators, just like I do. As I found out on The Great Sunflower Project website, bees are responsible for every third bite of food in this country. (And as my boys will remind me, honey tastes awesome on home-made biscuits.)

That's why we've done a few things here on the homestead to help honeybees and pollinators of all kinds to get a leg up.

First, we have eliminated all pesticide use. That means, we do not use lawn fertilizer with grub control or spray insecticide wash on our roses. There has been no spraying the apple tree. I will honestly say that there are plusses to a pesticide-free approach -- I don't have to worry about dangerous chemicals and my children's health. I also don't have to worry that a chemical is blindly damaging the beneficial insects in the garden because it can't tell them from the pests. The only drawback I've encountered is that I have to be more vigilant about identifying pest problems. Honestly, though, it hasn't been too difficult. (I hope to write more this growing season about organic pest control.)

Second, we no longer use broad-leaf weed killer. One of the potential reasons researchers have found for bee deaths is that they may be suffering from poor nutrition -- they may actually be starving. One of the most prolific pollen and nectar sources we can offer bees is the clover that grows on lawns and roadsides. So, instead of killing it with weed & feed, let it grow. There is something wonderful about breathing in the sweet scent of clover and watching the bees work in the sunshine. How did we get to the point as human beings that we value a single-species grass-only lawn over the fragrant softness of a lawn with clover in it? To me, that seems out of balance.

Third, we have created a wildflower garden. Every state has native plants that thrive on the exact weather conditions that Mother Nature provides. They like the soil. They like the water level. They like the sunshine. Why not devote a border area of your yard to them? Our wildflower garden spans the entire back of our yard. We live in town, so it measures about 20 ft by 60 ft. We rake it clear in the Spring and seed it with a Midwest seed mix from American Meadows. Now that it's a few years old, only annual seed is requred. There are plenty of perennials that last from year-to-year.


Our Spring holds brilliant oranges and purples from Siberian Wallflower (above) and Dame's Rocket. Our Summer is blessed by prairie coneflower and evening primrose, zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers and calendula. And our wildflower border continues blooming all the way into the Autumn. It is home to birds and butterflies, some of which we have only seen since we put it in. Last year, we had the joy of watching three pair of goldfinches feeding there daily. The border improves our drainage and soil quality, too.

This year, though, we're planning to do even more. Our family is participating in The Great Sunflower Project's nationwide bee survey. Yours can too. It's super-easy.

Here's how it works:

Home gardeners from all over the country login to Great Sunflower Project and register their home garden. I had to answer some questions about how large my garden was, what kind of sun and water it gets, and whether I live in an urban or rural area.

The Great Sunflower Project will send us free seeds to plant our own Lemon Queen Sunflowers. We promise to care for the plants, and once they bloom, to time how long it takes for 5 bees to come to the sunflower.

Participants will supply information to help complete as large a bee survey as can be gathered.

I am excited to try it with my children. We will plant and care for our sunflowers together, and then I will let them regularly measure the bee population and take pictures to send in. The program is entirely free, and the Great Sunflower Project website has terrific information on bees of all kinds.

What a great way to teach your children about the ways that nature and science can go together. Participating in the Great Sunflower Project would be a great idea for Girl or Boy Scouts or homeschoolers, too.

I hope you'll give it a try!

- Midwest Mom

Midwest Gardening: Spring Starter Chores

We had a wonderful Spring weekend here in the Midwest.

It was typical -- a little sun, some gentle rain, and by the end of the weekend, 50 mph winds with tornadoes and power outages.

Ahh, the Midwest! Isn't it grand?

This was the weekend when my garden clean-up chores began. It was muddy and wonderful to get out with my spade to start moving perennials. This was the weekend when garden plans started to become garden reality. But, there is a lot to do! It was hard not to feel daunted by the sheer volume of work.

After a long Winter, the sun and warm temperatures made the work worth it. (Maybe I'm part plant.)

My spring clean-up chores were few, but significant. I have decided to devote our entire side garden to vegetables this year. I will be setting aside some space on the south slope of our yard for vegetables as well. To make the most of both planting zones, I will build raised beds this week.

But first, I had to get started moving perennials. I started digging up Brown-eyed Susans and peppermint from the herb garden. I moved them back to the sunny edge of our wildflower garden. All it will take is a few plugs of each to make a beautiful border back there.



When moving vigorous perennials, try to cut them from their bed with a large spade. Lift the entire plant with at least 5 inches of accompanying soil. Keeping the roots intact will reduce stress on the plant and increase the chances of survival in its new location. Dig a deeper hole than you need, and backfill it loosely with soil. I usually put water into the hole before inserting the plug of rooted perennials into the moist soil. Try to keep the level of soil even with the earth around it and press firmly to ensure good contact between the roots and the soil. Water again thoroughly.

Another chore I started to tackle this weekend was moving the compost pile. We use a 2-bay compost system, where we fill one bay each year. In the Spring, I move material that is not completely broken down from the full bay to the empty bay. It is a long process. But my philosophy of Spring chores is Slow and Steady Wins the Race. If the Earth can take it's time getting ready for growing, so can I.

I will work on the compost over the course of the next month. I combine moving it over with other clean-up jobs, so that I am layering older material with newer. We mulch our beds with leaves in the Fall. When the time comes to remove that mulch (not yet) each bed will provide a nicely broken-down layer for the new compost bay. If you're moving the compost at your house, be sure to make the outside edge of each layer a little thicker than the middle. A compost pile that is lower in the center than the outside funnels rain into the pile and breaks down faster. If you build your pile like a haystack, the rain will sheet off and the center of the pile will remain dry.

With steady work over the next few weeks, the compost will be completely moved and the lowest layer of soil, rich in nutrients, will be ready to work into my vegetable garden. There is no better fertilizer than fresh compost. It is my garden's "secret ingredient".

The final "chore" of the weekend was to complete my seed purchase with Johnny's Selected Seeds. I cannot say how clearly superior I find the seeds from Johnny's as compared to hardware store packeted seed. Their varieties are specifically designed for disease-resistance and many are tailored for Northern growers. They also have a wide variety of organic seed. They have a place on their website for gardeners to make a 'garden wish-list'. I love that I can shop for seed, choose a few varieties, and save them until I'm ready to buy. This weekend, I finalized my list. As soon as my seeds arrive, I'll post directions for home seed-starting.

As expected, our lovely Midwest Spring weekend is transforming into a chilly week. Rain today and tomorrow will help those perennials I moved to take root. But our trusty weather channel tells me that night-time lows will be well below freezing after Wednesday, so the layer of protective mulch I have on the flower beds must stay in place for now -- even if the daffodils and day-lilies are poking through the leaves to find the sunlight.

I'd love to hear about your gardens. Are you going to try to plant more vegetables this year? What chores are your biggest challenges of the Spring?


- Midwest Mom

Tag! You're It! Kids Games to Keep you Fit and More

One of my favorite ways to stay active is to play games with my children. I have three between the ages of 3 and 7, and they are running around constantly. The more they run, the more they seem to want company -- "Mommy, Daddy, come play with me!"

It's music to my ears, really.

For today's Fit Mommy Friday tip, I give you another no-brainer. Try to channel your inner kindergartner and play outdoor games with your children. Here are a few to try.

Tag and Freeze Tag: One of the best ways to get running with your kids is to chase them or be chased. In the game of tag, one player is "it". He chases the other players trying to touch them. As soon as he catches one, the caught person becomes "it." In freeze tag, the tagger touches people to freeze them. Tagged players must stand perfectly still. They can only be unfrozen by another player crawling through their legs or running in a circle around them. The goal is to "freeze" all the players but one. Whoever is the last person left unfrozen becomes "it."

Blast Off: This is a great game to play with a playground ball and lots of room to run. The person with the ball gets ready to throw it while the other players stand in a circle around her. Everybody counts: 5-4-3-2-1, Blast off! She throws the ball as high as she can straight up into the air and calls out a name of one of the players. Everyone but the person whose name was called runs as far away as they can get. The child whose name was called tries to catch the ball. If they do: they automatically win. If not, they get it and call out, "1-2-3 STOP!" Everybody freezes. The person with the ball then has five giant steps toward the closest person. If they can throw the ball and hit that person, they get to be in the middle and the ball gets thrown up in the air again. If they can't, they are out. The last person remaining wins.

Monkey Races: We play this game at the playground. Essentially, it is an obstacle course race on the playground equipment. We call it monkey races because it always starts with a side-by-side race on the monkey bars. What a workout for Mommy! (I don't mind telling you that I usually lose to my 7 year old.) Set up the course, ready, set, go! There's nothing like winning to make any game irresistible.

******************************

And now, for a different sort of Tag -- one that doesn't work up quite as much of a sweat!

My bloggy friend Melissa at Green Girl in Wisconsin tagged me the other day to participate in a meme called "Love Me, Love Me Not". I have to list 5 things I love about myself and 5 things that aren't so lovable about me. (Trust me, my husband had a ball "helping" me figure out what to write! Who knew he loved it when I let my hair dry naturally? Who also knew that he notices how grumpy I am before my a.m. coffee infusion?) Then, I have to "tag" 5 bloggers to play the game next.

Because I like to end on a positive note, I'll start with the 5 things I don't love about myself.

1. I am a worrier. I worry about my children and my parents, about their health and their futures. I worry about the country because I want us to finally have our priorities right. (Lately, I worry about that a lot less.) I worry that I'm not doing enough for everyone else. I worry that I will fail. Worrying is something I try to turn into positive action, to use it rather than succumbing to it. But in my heart, I know I will never be entirely free of it.

2. On a lighter note, I am far too ticklish -- physically ticklish. It is a terrible weakness because it means that my children (or my husband) can completely immobilize me at a moments notice. It has all but dashed my dreams of ever becoming a ninja. Ninjas can't be ticklish. But I totally am -- virtually everywhere.

3. I am risk averse. There is always this voice in my head that is telling me all the ways something could hurt before I do it. I often wish I could just turn that voice off instead of always having to overcome it or act in spite of it. My risk-averse nature comes out in my parenting; I know my children will tease me later in life for the number of times the words "be careful" came out of my mouth.

4. In the mornings especially, I am hopelessly grouchy. And when I say grouchy, I mean terse and crabby. My three-year old daughter calls my hairspray "grouch spray". (That disarms me right away, for sure!) Fortunately, my grouchiness is easily overcome by the caring look on her face when she asks if I'm feeling grumpy today -- and coffee... plenty of coffee.

5. I cannot eat anything I want. Trust me. I so totally wish I could, but I have always had to watch my weight and curb my appetites. Life has had a way of throwing that little foible in my face by making me fall in love with the one man who could eat pancakes and bacon for every breakfast, fries at every lunch, and cheesecake for dessert every day and never gain an ounce. He is metabolic perfection. I, sadly, am not.

Okay. Now, for the fun part! What I truly love about myself.

1. My teeth. I have always had straight teeth -- I get them from my mother. I've never had to wear braces, and was cavity-free until I was about 17 years old. Even then, I only had a pit in one tooth. My older sister had to go through a variety of face-altering devices so that she could look more like a human and less like a shark. Growing up, I tried not to gloat over my perfectly straight teeth. But as she moaned in the night from the pain of the medieval torture devices she was forced to wear by sadists we call "orthodontists", I secretly thanked the Lord Above for giving me a mouthful of dental perfection.

2. I have an abiding, honest-to-goodness L. O. V. E. of sports. I love to play them. I love to watch them. I love to talk about them. A side-benefit of loving sports is that my husband's friends have openly labeled me as being pretty darn close to the Ideal Mate. When we were dating, we went to a party for the Michigan-Ohio State game. After a great play, I noted that the guys on SportsCenter had been talking about the player involved. Hubby's friends looked at each other as though their world had been fundamentally altered. "You watch SportsCenter?!??!" they exclaimed with incredulity. Then, to Hubby, "She's a keeper." If my love of sports put me in the "keeper" category and makes me happy, anyway, it should definitely be on this list.

3. I love my sense of humor and my willingness to poke fun at myself at least as often as I poke fun at other people. Laughing is good therapy -- so is laughing at yourself. I would not change my sense of humor. It's one of the essential parts of me.

4. I love that I have a green thumb. There is something profound and powerful about being able to help the earth bear fruit. It is a gift I am grateful for because it nourishes me as much as I nourish it.

5. Finally, I love having an open heart. There are few people on this planet that I have no use for or that I believe are beyond hope. It is a wonderful feeling not to judge my fellow human beings, but to simply appreciate them and care for them. I have often said to friends and family members who have been hurt that, for me, one of the surest ways to know God is through the act of loving again. I have always tried to let love guide my decision-making. It hasn't steered me wrong yet.

And now, (drumroll please) for the five fantastic bloggers I hope will carry forward this fun game of Tag...

1. Laurie Rodak at The Playground Observer
2. Susana at Firefly Shop - My Thoughts
3. Suzen at Erasing the Bored
4. Julie at Octamom
and
5. Abby at My Sweet Babboo


Have a great weekend, everyone!

- Midwest Mom