TOMATOES - APPLES - HELP!!

Its always so much FUN to buy all kinds of tomato plants at the garden centers in the spring of the year....forgetting that they have to be harvested at the end of the season. I have been up to my neck with tomatoes - canning salsa and spaghetti sauce, juice, stewed tomatoes and yet more spaghetti sauce for a couple of weeks now.....

Our numerous apple trees have also produced over abundantly this year so our freezers our full of apple pies to be baked when the trees have long lost their lustre and the landscape turns to hues of gray. The house will be filled with the sweet aroma of cinnamon and sugar and we will enjoy the "fruits of our labor" on a cold January day.

So, on my way back from the compost pile getting rid of the peels from the apples and tomatoes, I decided to saunter through the tomatoes only to fill this pail AGAIN....and being brave hearted (or exhausted and using absolutely no common sense)....

.....strolled down to the orchard to find the trees hanging low with apples yet to be harvested (I am sure they produce more fruit overnight)! This picture doesn't show all 13 trees which have been so generous to us this year.

There are of course bright spots to the end of the garden season - the solace in finding the last of the few beautiful roses waiting to brighten a corner of our lives. Here's to Mother Nature and all her wonders.

Time to Garden

Finally! The day I've been waiting for since January. Yesterday was a beautiful day and it was time to plant peas, beans, radishes ....and Basil! (With a guard fence to keep out the neighborhood rabbits).

Then it was on to flowers.....this is my huge, crazy hosta which absolutely LOVES its home in my front south facing flower bed.... tomorrow a friend of mine and I are going to a local nursery to pick out more annuals for the flower beds.


I got my window box filled .....

and still have these left to do.....

I still need plants for pots we place around the house, some hanging pots, a variety to put in several other flower beds and my garden border......and can't forget my tomato and pepper plants.....oh so much to plant, so little time - Wisconsin needs more spring and summer weather and a lot less winter snowy stuff.

The World is Full of Color!

I think spring may finally be here - more colorful blossoms are showing their beauty every day. Cool nights are still the norm, but the days are getting nicer, and we've had enough rain to give the local fire departments a break from all the grass fires. I'm anxious to get back into my garden - I've been getting things prepared, having fun putting in wider brick paths and worked on my rain barrel today - can a "rain chain" really divert the water into the barrel? We'll find out soon.

Get your grills, mowers, weed wackers ready and enjoy the outdoors!