Weekly Garden Update with Annuals

I planted a few annuals, mostly Petunias, in the side garden bed this last week. All told I spent $20 at the hardware store with all but one being from the "mostly dead" clearance rack ~ but they'll all do well in my yard! The Petunias were red/pink, white, and blue/purple left over from 4th of July. I usually forgo annuals as I don't like to have to re-plant each year, but these have added so much color that they've made me a convert. I also got a new sage seedling and pulled out the old because it was too woody and no longer producing much leaf; that was the "new" splurge. Then I got a beautiful tea rose that I added to the near end of the bed. I've tried several roses there and it's always been too shady or dry for them to survive, but the bed looks so abbreviated without one I'm hoping to better care for this one.

The garden from the other end, looking down toward the gate/driveway.

I've got a beautiful Amaryllis blooming right now in the center bed near the laundry. Amazing what pops up when it gets water! That bed is not reached by the watering system, so it usually founders, but being home lately I've given it more attention.

This is one of the Hibiscus I planted at the far top of the yard, viewable as you walk in from the gate. I think this will go on a Zazzle card!

Here's the bed where the Amyrillis is and where I put the Dahlia last week. The Dahlia has lots of buds but nothing open at the moment--though there are Persian Daffodils in bloom.

The Tea Rose I just put in. Small but such dainty reddish-pink blooms that I'm in love. A few other cool spots in the garden right now:

The Artichoke has a couple of globes again. I love seeing this go to seed in the summer.

The path along our fenceline has the berries overgrowing and the Canna is in full glory.

My neighbor's Bougainvilla drapes over the fence in our backyard, and my owl statue stands watch.

Tissue Paper Frame

Isn't this frame darling around this photo? I'm guessing it was made by the little boy in the picture. ;o)

It was at my vet's office. It seems to be a simple project--tissue squares mod podged around a wooden frame, and then accented with a cutout. I'm filing this away as an example for my 4-H kids.

Hesby House Garden ~ An Armstrong Gardens Shopping Spree

I had a Groupon that I bought way back in March, and its expiration date was yesterday. So I was able to treat myself to a shopping spree at Armstrong Gardens! Amongst my favorite flowers are Dahlias; they began my romance with bulbs. I scored this beautiful Dinnerplate Dahlia called "Cafe Au Lait." What a beauty to wake up to in the mornings!

(The bed the Dahlia was planted in. To the right is my laundry area)

(A Peruvian Daffodil in the same bed as the Dahlia)

(the three Irises right in front of it)

( a small bulb that I keep pulling up, thinking it's a weed--now flowering)

My long standing all-time favorite and personal motif has been Lillies of the Valley. In browsing at Armstrong I came across a bush called Pieris which is known as the "Lily of the Valley Bush." It flourishes in part sun/shade, which is ideal for my front door-walkway. I came away with two varieties: Pieris x "Forest Flame" & Pieris Japonica "Valley Valentine." They're a slow grower but top out as rather large shrubs so it'll be exciting to see how these adapt to my environment. I have bottlebrush trees at my house, so I used the Pieris with red flames closer in, as a transition from the bottlebrush further into the space.

(the Valley Valentine Pieris planted directly beside the front door)

Here are highlights from the rest of the garden that have been gestating for a while:

(my lone Apple)

(my single Nectarine)

(Jaysene's Garden planted back in May is taking hold)

(center in this photo is a spiky Fritillaria.
I planted some of these in Jaysene's
Garden but haven't seen them pop up yet)

(my Daylily "Millie Schlumpf" and Artichoke with two chokes)

(the Hibiscus I planted at the end of the path, to form a hedge looking towards the house from the drive)

(looking down from the back of the lot towards the driveway)

Frugal Festival Food Follow-Up

I didn't take any pictures today as I'm a bit shaken up by my puppy's back diagnosis and spending a lot of energy toward her care, but I did attend an event today that I wanted to report back on:

The Frugal Festival Food Event sponsored by Julia, the Bargain Babe herself, was a great resource of tips and tricks to help your budget, and a fun place to meet people!

There are two blogs that I found out about today of which I'm an instant follower. Tia, of Tia Saving Cents gave a great presentation on couponing that taught me the bones of the game. Unfortunately, time was short so I don't feel like I absorbed as much of what she was saying. But she plans to put her full powerpoint presentation on her blog, so I'll be linking to it as soon as I see it! Tia's also on Facebook, if you like blog posts to just show up in your daily feed.

Another wonderful resource I discovered was Billy Vasquez, author of The 99 Cent Chef. He did a tasty food demo of veggie wraps, with homemade hummus and organic greens. The friend I'd brought to the event as my guest swears by the produce section and cold cases at 99 cents only, and I found it hilarious that someone blogs about how to cook by shopping only there!

The swag bag was first-rate and the balmy breeze made for a perfect afternoon. I had some nice conversations with other attendees before my friend joined me. I'm definitely looking forward to this event next year! It'll be on my summer calendar in bold.

New Territory in Pet Ownership

My seven-lb Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, Claire, was a rescue from the Carson shelter in 2006, and has been certified as a therapy dog through Delta society for several years. She has walked with a pretty pronounced curved back for about a year and a half or more. I've taken her to several vets without pinpointing the exact problem. She's had a few incidences of pain, but nothing that lasted more than a day--until last week. She was yelping so much that I took off in a hurry to see any vet who would have me. I was referred to a specialist, a veterinary neurologist, for a spinal consult.

Claire had an MRI on Tues afternoon, which is a story in itself--$2300 just for the test. But it gets worse: she has a herniated disc in her back which requires a $6000.00 surgery. Since I absolutely do not have that, we're treating her conservatively with meds: steroids & pain medications, possible therapy to include hydrotherapy, acupuncture, massage.... that should treat the symptoms for a while & ideally lessen the inflammation, but won't cure the problem. She's still got a good ten years left on her, which means at some point, this degenerative condition will require surgery. So I've got to start now applying to foundations like Actors & Others for Animals, set up a ChipIn page to accept donations, set up a facebook page in her name, whatever I can think of....

I've requested a written estimate of the surgery from the vet & a letter stating her condition. I've never entered this territory before as a pet owner so will be taking it one day at a time....

Do any of you have dogs with back issues? What sort of therapies have you tried? Any resources in the community with pet owners without financial means? Please give me any referrals or leads you may have in the comments to this post.

Cake Pops

A bridal luncheon I attended recently had the sweetest cake pops as dessert and favors. The bride's aunts had made them themselves after reading an article in the local paper, the Kansas City Star. I was having too much fun with the bride at the event to think of taking a photo, so the ones above are from Starbucks.

I know some bloggers who only print original recipes. One reason I do occasionally reprint, with proper credit, an article I've read or idea I've seen elsewhere is to create my own index of things I want to try. Another, as in this case, is that some webpages can only be found for a limited time. I went to dig this up only to find it had expired on the newspaper's site, and I had to do a fair amount of searching to come across it again.

At Starbucks the cake pop version "Rocky Road" is a chocolate frosting decorated with mini marshmallows and nuts. Since I love the ice cream, that one always jumps out at me visually.

The pops in the recipe re-printed from the newspaper article are decorated with candy corn to look like flowers. I just liked the technical explanation of how to make the pops come together. I think my "cake pop stand" will consist of a cereal box, with holes poked using an ice pick. And I see the recipe states not to freeze--wonder why not, or if you can at least do so once the pops are made....Some kitchen experiments to come soon....

Cake Pop Flowers

Makes 48 cake pops

1 boxed cake mix, baked as directed

¾ can vanilla frosting

3 (1-pound) packages white chocolate candy coating

1 package of 50 cake pop sticks

Multicolored candy corn

1 cake pop stand (available at most craft stores)

1 pastry bag

1 small bag pastel-colored M&Ms

In a large bowl, break up the cake into fine crumbs, eliminating all chunks. Add the frosting, then cream it together with the cake crumbs until the mixture reaches a Play-Doh-like consistency. With your hands (wearing thin, latex gloves) mold the batter into small, cone-shaped balls, then place them on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Cover it with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours in a refrigerator. Do not freeze.

Melt the candy coating, one package at a time, according to package directions. (Tip: if the candy coating is too thick, add 3 tablespoons of solid shortening per package and reheat in the microwave to achieve a thinner consistency).

Taking a few cake balls out of the refrigerator at a time, dip the end of an empty cake-pop stick into the melted candy coating, then pierce the center of the narrowest end of the cone-shaped cake ball, pushing no more than half way through. Holding the stick with the pop facing down, dip the entire pop into the melted candy coating. Remove the pop slowly and lift upward, allowing excess candy coating to drip down toward the stick. Rotate (or spin) the pop as the coating drips down to achieve an even coating and cover all "bald" spots. Set coated pops in the cake pop stand. Add melted candy coating to the pastry bag.

Using coating like glue, squeeze a thin layer on top of the cake pops. Carefully arrange candy corns in desired colors to make the petals of the flowers. Squeeze more candy coating on the middle of the flower petals, and top with an M&M of your choice.

Recipe from Celia Thompson, instructor of the cake pop class at the Culinary Center of Kansas City.

Hesby House Garden 2011

My garden has gone largely ignored this year, but even without putting energy into it, I'm seeing the progress of the last few years of landscaping.

I've had pictures set aside to post from April, when things were beginning to bloom and promise was everywhere. In fact, I had peaches the size of walnuts! But then I left the house, and most everything shriveled from neglect. The peaches dried up on the branch until they fell off. Luckily the tree is still alive, and next year I resolve to do better. My apple tree has finally developed more than one branch too but still hasn't grown fruit.

I have a yellow rose, and then this red one, that love the spot they're in....

In April, the Amyrillis were just beginning to bloom, and the Bird of Paradise was loving the weather.

I have had a few special surprises in my yard. The Daylily "Millie Schlumpf" that I got at a farmer's market in Salt Lake City in 2009 has taken off....

A few transplanted Irises are doing well....

The major improvements have been twofold: when I house-sat in April and May, I walked all three dogs daily in my friends' neighborhood, where I saw lots of beautiful Amyrillis. With permission from owners, I went back one weekend and dug up starts from several homes in the neighborhood. I planted them into a new garden bed at my own home right near my front door, which I've now christened "Jaysene's Garden" after my friend. Had I bought these plants, I would likely have spent over $80 because Amyrillis bulbs are so expensive. I'm excited to see how they all take root! It also prompted me to do a little cleaning out of my own, as I planted a bag of Fritillaria bulbs that had been in cold storage in my fridge since last fall.

This is what a Fritillaria looks like when not in bloom....


Here's what the side of my building looked like in mid-May.


And the entrance path from outside the gate, on the driveway.....

Just yesterday my landlord cleared the side of the house in front of mine, so now instead of thorny ferns and huge fig leaves blocking my path, I'll have beautiful color in the form of these red Geraniums. They were a favorite of my grandmother too, so I think of her each time I walk past.

I still haven't cataloged my tomatoes and where they're planted this season, so I guess there's another post coming. I got my first couple of ripe ones off the vine in the last week.