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Monthly Archives: August 2008
State Fair Fun
Having grown up a mile or so north of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, I am no romantic about the fair. It is noisy, dusty, crowded, and fattening. But it can be fun, too. I really enjoyed my evening at the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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State Fair Gardens
If you go to the Minnesota State Fair this weekend, be sure to stop by the Horticulture Building to admire the gardens that have been planted there. The Minnesota State Horticultural Society is responsible for several gardens on the southwest … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Gardens to Visit, MSHS News, Public Gardens, Seasons
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Gardens on a Stick
I won’t be showing a prize pig (as Will Rogers did in the 1933 version of State Fair) or competing in contests for flower growing, jam making, or artwork made of dried beans, but the Minnesota State Fair is always … Continue reading
Posted in Events, MSHS News
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Bloom Tuesday No. 16: August Hues
The color of August is yellow. Yellow corn. Ripening grasses waving yellow/tan tassels instead of green. The vivid, gaudy yellows of black-eyed Susans and tall rudbeckia. During these dry days of August, what looks best in my garden is yellow, … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Tuesday, Fruits and Vegetables
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Minnesota Midget for Breakfast
This morning I harvested my first Minnesota Midget melon and ate half of it for breakfast. The University of Minnesota introduced this vintage melon in 1948. Bred specifically for our short growing season, it has fruits about 4 inches across … Continue reading
Posted in Fruits and Vegetables
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I Spotted a Monarch
I did not have my camera with me, but I spotted a monarch in my front garden yesterday afternoon. It’s perhaps the third one I’ve seen this year, compared to dozens in a normal year. The prevailing theory about the … Continue reading
Posted in Climate, Critters, Nature
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Bloom Tuesday No. 15: Rebloomers and Volunteers
As summer marches on, some perennials are reblooming. At left, a bumblebee goes crazy over the flowers of catmint (Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’). I blogged about this plant’s blooms back in Bloom Tuesday No. 10. After the first blooms faded, I … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Tuesday
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Butterfly Numbers Down?
A surprise encounter with the fellow at left and a recent post on GreenGirls, the Star-Tribune’s entertaining garden blog, got me thinking about butterflies and caterpillars recently. The Green Girls note that butterfly numbers appear to be down in their … Continue reading
Posted in Critters
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Bloom Tuesday, No. 14
The plants that we connect more closely with fall are starting to gain size and get ready to bloom. I have two cultivars of sedum, ‘Autumn Joy’ (left) and ‘Maestro’ (right) that are forming the plump heads that will change … Continue reading
Currant Picking and Another Recipe
Back in February, my husband and I won a weekend at a cabin on Lake Pepin at the St. Dominic School Silent Auction. This past weekend, we spent a delightful couple of days on the bluffs above the lake, visiting … Continue reading
Posted in Fruits and Vegetables, Garden of Eating, Recipes
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