Happy Mother's Day to all

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.
- Graycie Harmon

Today, I will celebrate Mother's Day with my family - mainly outside - working on projects that need our attention. The sun is shining and I can already feel it will be a nice and productive day. My hubby and our teenager have a busy day a head of them with my to-do list.

I think one of the cutest Mother's Day traditions is the school projects kids make. Flowers seem to be the central theme which would make me smile anyway. My oldest daughter decorated a terracotta pot with translucent beads and sparkles and filled it with snapdragons and pansies. That's a keeper.

Mommy's little helper, a first-grader, could hardly contain her excitement when she handed me a large envelope. In it was a poem, her handprints and a packet of seeds. She told me her teacher gave her three flower choices. She chose cosmos, she said, because she remembered I liked them because we had planted some together at home. What a sweet Mother's Day memory. That encapsulated what Mother's Day and the love of gardening is all about for me.

It made me think of my own mother. I'm sure today she is busy tending to that big garden in the sky and how glorious that must be. I posted a photo of impatiens today - one of her favorite flowers - in memory of her.

I read this quote recently and I think it's quite fitting. Happy Mother's Day to all of you. Enjoy your day with your moms, your kids or in the great outdoors.

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.

- Claudia Ghandi

My garden, my friend

I am enjoying getting lost in my garden again.

I can't wait to get home from work and see what grew in those eight hours since I last checked them. It's such a welcome reprieve from the stress that I feel lately - like when I'm having a bad day at the office, or the family is driving me nuts or when life is giving me lemons and I'm too exhausted to try and make lemonade.

It is then that I turn to my good friend - my garden. She rarely disappoints me, and if she does, I'll always find a reason to forgive her. She has been with me in good times and bad and no matter what comes my way, I can always find comfort in her. And this week, I need her.

Enough of my drivel. Let's look at what's happening outside ...

This lungwort is almost blossoming and is very lush. I think the pink blossoms are a week away. I love the spotted leaves.

This terra cotta-colored yarrow is getting quite big already for being only early May. I hear these spread rapidly. God only knows what this will look like in August. Yikes!

I transplanted this perennial bachelor button (Centaurea montana) this spring. I was a little nervous having it in the backyard after all the deer feasted in their growing area so I moved it to the front of the house. It transplanted incredibly well.

My good friend Ang gave me this special breast cancer-themed dahlia. Problem is.... the tag doesn't indicate if it's a perennial or annual and I've never grown dahlias. Can someone tell me what to do with it?!?!? Is it better potted in a container or in the ground? This plant has extra special meaning to me as my mom (aunt and first cousin) all had breast cancer.

I'm trying to keep the field rock look in my backyard and took out all the pavers around this portion near the deck. For Mother's Day, my husband said he'd create a nice sunny corner for me near the deck too (pictured below). I can always use another sheltered sunny location.

Any ideas for this area?

And now to my "What is up with this?" section:

This cushion spurge is barely there - I'm afraid it has winter kill. Does this look healthy to you?

Same goes for the Russian Sage - I see it starting to come up all over town but not in my backyard. Does this look like it's gone? Is it OK to Miracle Grow these plants - or is it too early?

Computer withdrawals and a seed update

"Flowers changed the face of the planet. Without them,the world we know. . . would never have existed."

- Loren Eiseley, US anthropologist

I have been computerless at home for nearly a week. Some awful virus attacked my computer (no thanks to a file-sharing software that one of my wonderful children installed). Well, after a week's wait and $140 later, here I am finally able to post again. I have learned some valuable lessons this week: Don't download any file-sharing program, make sure all of your photos and music are backed up (which I thought I did but then later found out I didn't) and have a good anti-spyware program. Sigh ...

Anyway, on my last post I told you I was going to start some seeds indoors and in one week's time - I have healthy sprouts. The last to appear was the cleome. Like the seed packets suggested, I put the California poppy and the nigella straight in the ground. Apparently they like a cooler start and I live in the perfect climate for that. This is the kind of weird weather North Dakota has: Last Thursday it was 83 degrees and then the next day - in the 40s! Only here!

It didn't deter me much, I still worked out in the garden beds and even moved a few perennials around. I also sowed the blue larkspur too (thanks Kerri!).

Now it's just wait and see ... if only I was a patient gardener!

Flood '09: Holding steady

Saturday was a more quiet day in Fargo. Most dikes around the city held and the river was holding steady. Our dike has been strong and we have built it to nearly 44 feet in most places. It gave all of us a sigh of temporary relief. I think most of us caught up on sleep and probably took a nice warm bath to soothe our tired old bodies!

Some reports from the National Weather Service said it had crested already at 12:15 a.m. Saturday at 40.82 feet. By early Sunday, the Red River had dropped to 40.25 feet. City officials tell us there is more water south of town that needs to flow through the Red - so we are cautiously optimistic that it will not crested to the dreaded 43 feet that was once predicted.

Our development is directly across the river from Oakport Township in Moorhead where they have had lots of problems and lost homes. We are so fortunate to have had strong neighborly support of time, manpower and equipment to get our area where it needed to be.

By yesterday, I had sent the girls to friends' homes that are away from the river. They needed a break and I think the stress that we were feeling was getting to them. They seem to be having a good time elsewhere and it has made life easier for us. School has been called off already in the Fargo area for next week too.

For right now, our main course of action is dike patrol. As a neighborhood, we have to "man" our own dikes 24 hours a day for seepage and of course, breaches. Shifts are divided into 2-hour increments - four people are needed per shift. We were told that all shifts were covered until this coming Tuesday - which is fantastic.

Kyle and I had our shift last night from 6-8 p.m. Although I was on patrol, I couldn't help but bring my camera. This is a historic event. The photo above is Kyle checking one of the sump pumps.

The sun was still shining when we went out but toward the end of our shift it was bitter cold. The routine is that you walk the 3-block route and check the bags and the sump pumps. There is seepage from the bottom that is pretty much contained with the pumps and is considered normal. We were told to look for "sabatoge" of bags from the dike (who would do that?!?!?) and leaks from the middle of the sandbag pile.

We were met by National Guardsman on a couple of occasions. They were here from South Dakota helping with the effort. We still have roads closed into our development and the Guard is still cornered at each entry. It is a comfort to know they are there if something should go wrong.

The Red Cross has been so good to us! They have been here several times, leaving all kinds of food, water and cold and warm beverages for us - even for us on dike patrol! They dropped off warm roast beef sandwiches for us yesterday (which were delicious, by the way). I talked to one of the workers and he said that the area "church ladies" donated an astounding 2,000 sandwiches in one day to them.

One of the the main pumps in our development - notice the water that is being pumped back into the river.

This is one of the main houses that we sandbagged around. It is at the end of our cul-de-sac and if this dike was breached - we would have the river pouring down the street toward us. That is Kyle checking one of three sump pumps at the owner's house.

I'm sure this archway was quite a ways from the river at one point.

A long and winding trail of sandbags protects the cul-de-sac on our street.

This was a routine sight for the last week, mounds and mounds of sand on our street, waiting to be bagged and placed behind these rows of houses. We had about 100 people making sandbags for the last three days. Saturday was the first day we didn't have to do it. This sand is for us if we have an emergency. After this ordeal, the only sand I want to see is the stuff you find in Mexico!

The flood has also disrupted the natural habitat of the deer. Instead, they have found solace in our backyard. This has been a common scene this week. We have had as many as 9 deer in our yard - eating berries that have fallen from one of our trees (that I would LOVE to remove from our landscape - but that's a different story). The problem I have is that they are eating some of my ground cover on my garden beds and I don't want them to think this is an OK feeding spot for the future. They are driving Sasha nuts! Oh well, unique circumstances, right?!?!?

Thanks again for your concern and prayers ... it is much appreciated and best of all, I think it is working! We are putting up a valiant fight ....

Beth

Flood Fight

As many of you are probably aware through national and local news, Fargo is in a desperate fight against the Red River of the North. The last few days have been surreal with the overwhelming effort of the community to sandbag and volunteer. I am in awe of the unselfish nature of others to help their fellow man.

My neighborhood borders the river and we have been frantically making sandbag dikes at the end of our street and two streets north of us. My husband, son and I have been volunteering - in fact, I haven't seen our son very much in the last two days - school is let out for high schoolers and college kids to help and he's been in all parts of Fargo - doing his part. And it's hard work! Some of those sandbags can weigh up to 30 lbs! It's a human assembly line to get them laid down to protect these homes.

So far, we are safe and dry and city engineers came out to our site and we are confident our dikes will hold - others in different parts of Fargo-Moorhead have a tougher fight. As a write this, I hear they are evacuating people in south Fargo already. It's very disconcerting. I hope and pray that we can hold off the floodwaters and Fargo-Moorhead suffers minimal damage.

In the past 48 hours we've dealt with rain, thunder, lightning, rising waters and now a winter storm with 4-8 inches of more snow. It's a good thing we are resilient.

Here is a link that shows photos of what is happening on my street. http://www.flickr.com/photos/36626034@N07/

If you want to find out more - please visit http://www.inforum.com/. Other areas of the state are dealing with flooding and evacuations too.

Please keep the people of Fargo - and all of North Dakota in your prayers!

Spring? Soon? Please?

Hello blogging world!

As you can see, we have quite a bit of snow left - and expecting more this weekend. Argh ...
I got a little spring fever today as the temperature hovered in the mid-30s. It was wonderful but I'm afraid it'll be a long time before this white stuff is gone and the region is very worried about spring flooding.

This winter I have noticed lots of deer feeding off remnants of my garden. It's ok I guess. There was a family of deer and how could I deprive that little Bambi of nourishment!

I'm getting ready to order my seeds soon .... that's the fun part! I have enjoyed all the colorful catalogs that make it to my mailbox.

When I'm not enjoying all the seed catalogs, I've managed to watch my favorite show - American Idol! I admit, I'm addicted. And unfortunately to my kids' dismay, I've found Facebook! I have had so much fun. I'm astounded at the number of people that are on there. Young, old - you name they're on there. It's been a blast connecting with friends and colleagues. Just one more thing to keep me on my computer! :O)

Lastly, I mentioned that I took a hiatus from my blog when school started and my son's hockey season rolled around. Thought I'd share this photo from parents night. It's not very often that you can get your teenager to give you a hug - but that night he did and I just beamed. It was so nice ....

Hope everyone is doing well in their corner of the world! Hope to be on here more soon!

Cheap labor

Raising a teenager is one of the hardest jobs you'll ever have. And whoever said that raising teenage boys was easier than raising teenage girls has not lived in our house.

Aforementioned teenager got himself in a little hot water recently. Aside from the normal punishment of no cell phone (gasp!) and no keys to his truck, his father thought of a more creative way to earn back privileges.

"You have some garden stuff to do outside?" he asked me. "If so, put him to work."

It was music to my ears.

On a really hot sunny day, aforementioned teenager dug out the area I was hoping to have tilled this fall. He did a nice job and I watched his work with the eye of a disapproving mom and a landscape forman.

"You missed this spot over here!"

"Watch out for that underground sprinkler head! - Good grief!"

Once his landscape work was completed, we went to the city landfill where I had him fill several buckets of beautiful black compost to add to my new area. My husband and I edged it with field rock that the previous homeowners had around the house. My new garden bed was complete and his detention was served. The photo above looks pretty sparse but next year, it'll be lovely.

I moved my foxglove over to the new area and surprisingly, I have blooms already. Aren't they cool?

I took this gloriosa daisy home from the nursery this week and planted it in the new bed.

Black-eyed susan were late this year but boy, were they worth the wait.

Even the "Arizona Sun" gaillardia bloomed this year for me after an abysmal start. I hope they survive the winter.

Next blog installment ... photos from guest gardens!

Wild and Windy Night

What is with the weather lately? Tornadoes, floods, excessive heat ....

Here in North Dakota, we've been able to escape the wrath of Mother Nature but we got a dose of her fury last night.

I was alone with all the kids when signs flashed across the TV about tornado warnings. I've been fascinated with thunderstorms and ominous weather since I was kid and my curiosity got the best of me. I grabbed my oldest daughter ("Annaboo") and we walked outside to see the impending storm.

The sky was a combination of blue, black and gray with swirling clouds abound. We were in awe - but only for a minute as within seconds the wind blew and trees were bent. We ran back home only to realize we had left Sasha outside on her chain and Mommy's little helper was playing in the yard with friends. I was terrified that a tornado was within minutes of touching down.

The momma bear in me kicked in.

"Grab Sasha and get in the basement with your brother," I yelled. I grabbed Mommy's little helper from outside and Annaboo, by this time, had Sasha in her arms and was wrestling with the screen door to get in the house.

Envision Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz sans the flying cows and witches flying around on broomsticks.

The lights flickered and the wind howled as we waited out the storm in the basement. My teenage son was home (atypical for a Saturday night) and I was relieved that I had all my children in the house. The neighbors were gone and had called to tell us that their two young children were alone with a frightened babysitter. They asked us if we could bring them over to our house for safety. Through gale-force winds, my son volunteered to get them and he brought them to our house where we sat around and listened to the radio and ate Goldfish. I was very proud of him and his initiative to be the "man in the house" last night. I think the kids were more calm than me!

The storm blew past Fargo and we were fortunate that no funnel clouds touched down near us.

I took a tour of the house and garden and noticed little damage despite reports of 50-60 mph winds. The basketball hoop - a heavy beast to begin with - was moved about 10 feet and one of our flood lights on the house was blown out and dangling by a thread. And the gardens .... they were unscathed except for lots of branches and leaves mixed in with foliage and blooms.

I hope others were as lucky as us.

Yew got to be kiddin' me?

What do you do with a yew that has winter burn?

I tried to reshape it, trim its brown branches and now I have what looks like a Charlie Brown shrub - misshapen and forlorn. Ugh!!!!

Anybody have a remedy for this sad shrub? You know it just wouldn't be Beth's garden if something didn't go down the toilet at some point or another ...

Speaking of going down the toilet, I did my morning walk around and noticed the rabbits chewed four marigolds plants and a monarda which left a mangled mess. They've eaten my marigolds before - but monarda! Bee balm was supposed to be indestructible!

On a happier note, I finally did what I've been reading about for the last few years - I brought in compost and I can honestly say the perennials in the front of my house have never looked better. The city was offering free compost to those brave souls ready to get blisters and backaches from shoveling it into empty containers. So one Saturday morning, I grabbed Mommy's little helper and headed to the landfill. We filled four recycling tubs full of beautiful black compost. I liberally spread it around all my flowers and worked it into the soil and have watched my perennials take off. Recent rains have helped even more.

Why didn't I do this years ago?

Garden vs. Suppers

My husband has given me the talk already ... in fact, I think I've gotten it twice, maybe three times. It's 5:30 p.m. and the family is getting restless.

"Dear, I know you love your garden and tending to it and looking at it. But you're neglecting some things - like suppers."

My first reaction is defensive-mode. What do you mean? I always fix something for the girls. Ramen noodles, chicken noodle soup, salads - and on a good night - fishsticks! The kids are outside, the teenager is gone and somtimes I postpone that whole idea of "dinner."

But I know what he's getting at. My husband has an absent wife on most nights from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Once I get in the door from work, I quickly don my garden gear: baggy shorts, ratty T-shirt and my knock-off Crocs. I strap on my iPod or radio headset and listen to the Twins game while I go about my business of weeding, introspection and frustration.

"I'll do better," I tell him.

But I've heard the girls fuss a little more too.

"Mom, aren't we going to eat"?

"You love that garden more than me!"

"I'm going to eat at the neighbor's house."

My sister used to tell me that I needed a wife. I think she's right - I'm now ready for one. And if you find one for me, tell her to put the roast in the oven .... I gotta move this iris before the Twins game comes on.

Spring at last!

A labor of love from my husband for Mother's Day

Hello bloggers - it's good to be back! I haven't been writing lately because, well, I've been gardening! The snow has melted (the last snowfall we had was about 10 days ago - it's May for crying out loud!) and there 's been a lot to do since then.

As you can see in the photo above, my husband promised to expand my garden this spring and I held him to his promise. With shovel in hand, he dug, and dug, and dug and loaded fresh dirt into a larger space in our backyard. He finished it off with new edgers that look great against our newly stained deck. I've been busy filling it with perennials I've moved or divided. I think in another month it'll start to really thrive.

With spring comes the inevitably inventory of what made it through the winter. Sad to say these plants didn't make it:

• Sunray coreopsis


• Gaillardia


• Veronica


• Ken Donson clematis


• one barberry bush


• Jacob Cline monarda (I know - monarda! Just when you thought nothing could kill it)


• One catmit (that's because the snowblower got it). It still might be salvageable!

Oh well, a lot of my other transplanted stuff is thriving - the ligularia and lungwort are going gangbusters and the one phlox I thought I destroyed has sprouted to life again.

Mommy's little helper in the garden

This time of year is pretty tough for me as I have no willpower. I've visited the local white hoop flower shop in the grocery store parking lot at least 5 times since it's opened last week. I've been to darn near every nursery in Fargo, not to mention big box retailer garden centers. I have to see what's new and am so enticed by all the colorful blooms. Here's what I've done new this year so far:

Cannas! My co-worker dug up all of his canna bulbs when he moved from Indiana to Fargo and graciously shared them with me. He came in to my office with no less than about 40 bulbs. Really, you can only have so many cannas. I probably planted a good 7 or 8 and the rest I shared with friends and other co-workers. Not sure how a tropical-looking plant will look in my landscape but I'm willing to give it a shot. I hear they are no-maintenance and rabbits don't care for them. Nice ...

A new clematis - Ernest Markham. It's supposed to have reddish-pinkish flowers that I think will look tremendous next to my salvia caradonna and rudebekia. Clematis and I have had a tough relationship over the years. Let's hope a new variety will be good karma for me.

Red coreoposis - different than the sunray coreoposis - more mound-like. I hope it doesn't get as invasive as the pink - I was digging those out of my garden bed for two years.

More to follow ...

A new year, a new addition

I've taken quite the hiatus from my blog - since October 19 after the tragic loss of our family dog, Henry. Much has happened in our home since then and the best news that I have to share is the addition of our new four-legged friend, Miss Sasha Sioux.

We got Sasha on the day before Thanksgiving and she's been healing our hearts ever since. I told my husband I don't think I could ever live without a mini Schnauzer. I love the breed so much and both of our Schnauzers have given us so much joy. I am especially encouraged by Sasha's growing interest in chasing rabbits in the winter landscape. Already, she's got a beat on them, chasing them away from the remaining stalks of my sedum. Atta girl! I have big plans for you sweetheart!

Have you ever experienced a winter in North Dakota? It's god-awful and I can say that being a lifelong resident of this state. This last stretch is some of the coldest weather I can remember. I tell out-of-staters if you can live through December 15-March 15 in North Dakota, then you've done well. The rest of the year is all good ... or at least tolerable!

Several seed catalogs have made their way to my mailbox. I'm ordering zinnias from the Harris Seed Company and am still on the hunt for the best California poppy and signet marigold seeds. My fellow gardener and co-worker Jane turned me on to Harris seeds as she and her husband bought their seeds from them last year and they had the most beautiful zinnias. Robust and absolutely spectacular in color. Aren't the lime ones gorgeous? I gotta try them.

Perusing through a retail supercenter garden section recently, I saw some of those pre-filled trays where you plant seeds and water. Anyone ever tried that? I went on to Connie's blog and she really does it the right way! This tray thing seemed pretty straightforward, effortless. Almost too easy? I'm a little hesitant as I'm not sure where I would put a tray of fledgling seeds when I have a playful puppy that already likes to jump on garbage cans. Direct sunlight isn't the problem - it's finding a peaceful resting place for them to grow. I'll have to think on that ....

Another encouraging sign for 2008: My husband said to me last week, "How did we say we were going to expand your garden this year?" What a guy .... you see, he finally IS coming around!

Stay warm everybody.

Until next spring ...

Just wanted to bid a temporary farewell to my handful of blog friends who have visited over the past few months. As the growing season comes to an end, I have found little to no time to tend to my blog (and garden) for that matter. I am slowly putting my garden to "bed" for the winter and thus, this blog will go on hiatus until next April. The next few months will be busy with many hockey games (I am the communications volunteer for my son's high school team which includes lots of emails, web editing, newsletters etc...), Girl Scout outings and various school functions. Such is the life of a working mom with three active kids.

So for now - so long. I will periodically check everyone's blog as time allows. Have a wonderful fall and winter season!

Great Garden Quote ...

This sent to me by my wonderful sister ... thanks Barb!

When you see a beautiful flower garden, try to meet the owner. Beautiful gardens are often tended by the nicest and most interesting people.

- H. Jackson Browne, Life's Little Instruction Calendar

Tomorrow would have been my mother's 80th birthday. My mom took off for heaven 15 years ago after battling cancer. Not a day goes by when I don't think of her - whether in a funny or melancholy way. Anyway, I can't help but think that she would be proud of this new passion I have found in gardening.

We lived in a very modest house growing up and mom didn't have a lot of garden space. Our house faced north and I remember she had the most beautiful impatiens. She nurtured those plants all summer long and they were glorious in color - salmon, pinks and purples. I remember her going out in pouring rain to collect rain water from the spouts just so she could nourish her flowers with that precious water. Only now do I understand why she did what she did for her flowers.

So Mom, happy birthday. And if you're looking down on me and my garden today, I hope you give me a thumbs up for effort!

Dog paddling, vacation and open spaces

Sitting lakeside with a margarita in your hand is one of life's small pleasures. We had a great time relaxing with family and taking in all the sights and sounds of the lake (aren't loons the best?), small shops, etc.. Oh, if every week could be like this! Our mini Schnauzer Henry tried swimming for the first time - what a trooper he was. Is he not the cutest guy?!

My sister-in-law and I couldn't resist the small-town nurseries and flea markets that were trying to get rid of their inventory. One place in Vergas, Minnesota had their perennials as low as $2.70 each! Of course, they weren't large plants but they were green and healthy and they begged me to take them home with me! Why not try some new varieties at that price? I bought a Sunray Coreopsis, "Goblin" Gaillardia and Lady's Mantle.

And now I have the space!

My poor husband survived the sweltering heat Saturday to expand my garden bed (original design is above) in the front of the house. He tried using a sod cutter but the blades were dull and it made the area even worse. So he got out the shovel and started diggin'. We put our 16-year-old son to work too. He created a small area in our backyard that will be a perfect home for zinnias and cosmos seeds next year. Nothing like some hard manual labor on a 90-degree day ....

Anyway, the space is wonderful - with at least 5 hours of sun in the morning/early afternoon. At its furthest point- the space extends about 5-6 feet. The soil is remarkably good - lots of worms which is always an encouraging sign. We added some fresh dirt and a little peat. I'll mix some compost in the area in the spring too.

Of course, that area will be a little barren until fall when I start filling it up. I'll divide overgrown perennials that have worn out their welcome and transplant cuttings from generous friends and relatives. I'm such a garden geek.

The challenge now is that I have a new canvas on which to draw on and at times it's quite overwhelming. Do I move the hostas even though the landscape has a slight slope? Do I bring the rudbeckias forward? Where do I put the Lady's Mantle? What about that ligularia I was going to buy?!?

As you can see, I have lots of questions and lots of yellow, green and white in my current color scheme. Any ideas for flower combos that would look good with what I have?