Category Archives: gardening

Happy Spring!

March 20, 2020gardening, Sunnybook Farm, Weather, Wisconsinsusanmanzke

It’s still March in Wisconsin, but officially spring is here. It arrived late last night, so this is the first full day of spring.

Other springs haven’t been so cold. Some years spring came too early and messed up the blooming of our apple and pear trees. The blossoms came and then came a frost. That was the year without fruit.

It’s hard to say what weather will come next, but no matter, you can’t do much about the weather.

We can look forward to better days. I’m positive those will come, too.

Patience is what we need.

Flowers from another first day of spring on Sunnybook Farm

Dance, even if in your living room. (Our dog Sunny thinks I’m crazy when I’m dancing around the kitchen, but that’s okay. I got him to move, too. He followed me around from room to room trying to get the treat I offered him, so he was dancing with me even if he didn’t know it.)

Have a good first day of spring.

Saying goodbye for now

November 1, 2019gardening, Sunnybook Farmsusanmanzke

Looking back on flowers from warmer days on the farm.

I’m still collecting and scattering some seeds with the hope of more blooms next year.

Today I wish my perennials a good winter.

Fall yard work

October 10, 2019Bob, gardeningsusanmanzke

Today, before the weather changes, Bob and I worked at digging up flower tubers.

The canna tubers were the hardest.

Canna plants before being chopped from their tubers.

I was given a few tubers a couple summers ago and boy, oh boy, do those multiply and grow! It’s a good thing we plant them on huge planters–old stock tanks. Those raised beds are better than being on hands and knees.

Bob did most of the digging with a fork. I was trying to knock the dirt off the ones he gave to me. We ended up covered in soil.

All the stuff we moved will have to be moved again to put the cannas in a safe place for winter. Eventually the basement will be full of resting tubers, but not today.

Bob tired himself out today with all kinds of yard work.

Bob remembered his grandfather growing cannas in a rock garden in Illinois. I never saw one before I met Bob. It took me years to plant some of my own. I never liked the idea of having to dig them up each fall and replant them in the spring.

We have plenty to share. If you are nearby and want a few cannas of your own, just contact me and you can have a start on your spring planting.

Invasion! … Maybe

October 1, 2019gardening, Wisconsinsusanmanzke

I didn’t know that Queen Anne’s lace was considered an invasive species in Wisconsin. I’ve always liked this plant.

Some call Queen Anne’s lace Wild Carrot, Birds Nest, and Bishops Lace.

It may be thought to be invasive by some but the black swallowtail butterfly find it a good host plant. I’ve added some to a bouquet of flowers to bring out the colors of my cultivated flowers.

I just want to say that I will continue to enjoy the blooming of Queen Anne’s Lace in our ditch where it makes the world a little prettier–at least I think so.

Bombs away!

August 28, 2019Bob, gardening, Weather, wildlifesusanmanzke

The apples on our trees are coming down. A wicked wind in hurrying them off the trees.

Bob wants to mow the grass under the trees, but he can’t. The apples are in his way.

What to do? Pick them up.

Bob can not pick up off the ground, so he uses his grabber. I just lean over and pick up as many as I can.

We both had to watch for falling apples. A healthy wind was bombing us with the fruit. Good thing the apples are rather small this year. These don’t hurt so much when they drop on our heads.

Hopefully, we’ll get some good apples off the trees before they all blow down.

Wonder what we do with the apples that have fallen? We take them down the lane and toss them in an unplanted area where we just happen to have our critter cam set up. It isn’t our fault that deer and other critters come and eat some of the discarded fruit.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person