The Blooming Farmhouse

Mother’s Day Weekend

We received this bird feeder stand and new feeders as Christmas gifts. We set them up last weekend and since then, we’ve seen orchard orioles, baltimore orioles, catbirds, goldfinch and cardinals. The orioles LOVE oranges and grape jelly. They are very fun to watch! Goldfinch.Catbird.Cardinal.My little hummingbird friend was around again today. This morning (Sunday)…

Sleeping Hummingbird

We have an amazing sunroom on the west end of our house that has huge picture windows facing both south and west. We’ve placed all of our bird feeders outside of these windows and it creates and unbelievable bird watching experience. We put our hummingbird feeder out last weekend after I saw my first hummer…

West Pott. Master Gardener Plant Sale

Today was the annual West Pottawattamie Master Gardener Plant Sale from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. at Iowa School for the Deaf. Proceeds from the sale will go toward scholarships and local community garden projects. The hard working master gardeners organized “digs” at homes around the county to help owner’s thin their perennials or remove…

Trees, Trees and more Trees

This weekend Ryan picked up and planted a lot of trees on our property. He planted Red Oaks, Burr Oaks and Norway Spruce. Below are pictures of the Red Oaks. I’d have to ask, but I bet it was a total of over 20 trees. Everything is starting to bud. Spring is finally here. I…

Metamorphosis

On this cold and dreary spring day, I decided to visit the Metamorphosis display at Lauritzen Gardens again. It was balmy in the upper greenhouse, so much that my lenses fogged over. The display includes artwork from by Sayaka Ganz and Aurora Robson. From the Laurtizen Gardens website: Millions of pieces of plastic find their way into…

Garden Journal 4/14/2018

This spring here in southwest Iowa has been one for the record books. Yesterday alone had a mix of rain, tornadoes, snow and flooding forecasted across Iowa. The day before the high was 71 and this weekend it’s supposed to snow. Most of my free time is on the weekends and we haven’t had many great…

The Drunken Botanist

On Thursday, April 5, 2018, the Loveland Garden Club hosted author Amy Stewart at Lauritzen Gardens for a lecture “Plants that Create the World’s Great Drinks” featuring her book, The Drunken Botanist. She explained that she was inspired to write the book while sitting in a bar looking at all of the various liquors on the…

Starting a Cut Flower Garden in Iowa

Growing a garden for cut flowers is becoming more and more popular each year. I began planning my first cutting garden over four years ago and here are some of the things I’ve learned along the way. Check out a prior blog post on the top flowers for cutting here. Sunlight. You’ll want to pick a…

Bluebirds in Iowa

Recently, I attended a lecture by the Iowa Bluebird Conservationists. My family has been interested in bluebirds for several years now and most of us have a few boxes in our backyards. If you are interested in bluebirds, checkout the information below! Due to the loss of habitat combined with the introduction of the House…

Plant Journal: Growing a Persian Lime Tree Indoors

Ryan and I purchased a lime tree back in August of last year. I was so excited about my first citrus that I did a blog post about my new baby. Read that here. It is a Persian Lime (sour) that is hardy to a Zone 10. I potted it up outside back in August…

Amaryllis Update

If you saw my last post, you know that I have several Amaryllis bulbs that I forced indoors this winter. It’s been a few weeks now so I thought I would share some updated photos. They all bloomed consecutively over the last few weeks resulting in constant blooms. How To Force Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors: Some…

Forcing Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors

Forcing Amaryllis bulbs indoors is a great winter gardening project. Most Amaryllis bulbs are sold as set with a pot, compost and even moss. Take apart your set and read the instructions. How To Force Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors: Some sets come with expanding compacted soil. Set your compacted soil disc in warm water and let…