Organic gardener growing food and flowers, lovin' pollinators and birds.

Kieffer Pears for Holiday Dessert

Working at a bakery means one thing during the holidays: the work days are long and busy. It's a good thing that the predominately busy time at work is also the least busy time in the garden. Even though the garden is hibernating until spring (82 days to go!), I still manage to bring back a bit of the garden with my (refrigerated) Kieffer pears.

It took a long time to figure out what to actually make with these pears (and even longer to figure out when they would be ripe, as I wrote about in previous posts this year). But now that I have them waiting in the fridge, the possibilities are endless. When I know I'll want to use them, I take them out of the fridge and leave them on the counter for a few days to ripen. (I picked them before the first frost this past fall.) I know they are ready to be used because they become a little less firm when handled.

First off, they are delicious when added to the scone recipe I use. I peeled, sliced and tossed mine in cinnamon sugar, then added them to scone base. The pear isn't overpowering and compliments the creaminess of the scone nicely.

The other recipe I've experimented with can be found here at Serious Eats. The Pear Cranberry Crisp tastes so good with Kieffer pears! The second time I made this, I altered the recipe slightly by adding a pint of fresh raspberries to the mix. The dried cranberries already add a little tartness to the crisp but the raspberries give it a little more zing.

Kieffer pears, peeled and sliced.

Addition of the dried cranberries.

Addition of a pint of fresh raspberries.

Finished Pear Cranberry (and Raspberry) Crisp.
I know the pears would probably can well or make a nice pear sauce, but after my plum jam (ahem, sauce) experiment this summer, I'm hesitant to break out the canning essentials again. The only recipe that I wasn't too happy with so far was a clafoutis recipe that can be found here. I didn't have the almond flour or the agave nectar that the recipe called for, so even though I tried substitutions, it was just a little too bland in the end.

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Bulb Crazy

What do 200 tulips, 100 alliums, 200 daffodils, 100 snowdrops and 100 mini irises have in common?

All were purchased with the intent of lining my new path in the front garden.

Starting out. Why did I think this would be a good idea?

After two hours, the trenches are dug.

Promises of spring. Just add dirt and water!

I actually was pretty meticulous in planting these.

A closer view.
In the midst of all this digging and planting, a little toad meandered across the path.

He was enjoying the sunlight on this 50 degree F day.
After everything was planted and covered with soil, I spread crushed oyster shells (to deter voles) and bulb fertilizer in the trenches.

Finally, all done!
I went to my local garden center and picked up three bags of cedar mulch to cover the bulbs. Hopefully this will deter the squirrels from digging too deeply.

So what actually made it into the ground today? The official tally is: 133 tulips, 100 irises, 100 snowdrops, 51 alliums, 83 daffodils. If I continue to line the path to the main walkway, I will be able to plant more tulips, alliums and daffodils.

I also planted seven perennials and one winterberry bush. I have lots more that still need to go in the ground, but my back and knees were aching pretty badly after this project. Since there will be two days of temperature lows in the 20s, I huddled the remaining plants together in my driveway against the house to try and keep them as "warm" as possible. Temperatures should be returning to the 50s and 60s this weekend, so I'm hoping to get them in the ground then.
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Cleanup Time

I've been spending (the little) time I have outdoors trying to get the garden ready for winter. This post will be brief. The leaves are falling much faster now - they are primarily maple leaves as the black walnut trees are already bare. My compost piles are already overflowing with the shredded leaves and plant debris. I've been starting to save seeds from the salvias, zinnias and portulacas.

We've had a series of cold nights with temperatures dipping into the 30s. As much as I hate the cold weather, I'm hoping this cold spell kills the yellow jacket nest that is underground out front.

The cold frame is packed with lettuce and dandelion greens, and I started a small sowing of peas to grow inside as well. They have just started to sprout.

I'm starting to take stock of what worked, what didn't and what I should try differently next year. I'm considering scaling way back on growing vegetables and devoting more space to flowers. (I could always use more bouquets indoors!) Whatever vegetables I do break down and grow will most likely be in pots. (The fabric ones work well.) I liked the New Guinea impatiens out back and may go back to including wax begonias as well.

Back to raking leaves...
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End of the Season

Not too much to write today, but I did want to share these beautiful flowers I brought inside before the frost arrived. I haven't had this many late blooming flowers in previous years, so what a surprise for this year!








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Before the frost

The frost is coming (at 2 a.m. tomorrow, actually) so yesterday afternoon I picked the rest of the pears on the tree. I already have several in a brown bag ripening on my counter from a week and a half ago. Now I have a drawer full in my fridge and a couple that I've handed out to friends along the way. They are large! What a good crop this year!


While I was picking I saw this weird "thing" growing on some of my pear leaves. I was afraid it was a type of fire blight, but after bringing it to my local nursery, I was reassured it was harmless. It's actually a type of fungus. (Just in time for Halloween.) I was told not to compost the leaves.

Mystery fungus.
After work today I'll make the rounds around the yard in covering up plants that need protection from the frost. While I think my mums should be OK, I don't want to take any risks with my Global Warming Autumn Moon mums. They are SO big and the flowers are just about to open! I also picked the last of the tomatoes (lots of green ones) so I'll try to start emptying my planters today, too.

Global Warming mum, Autumn Moon. One of the first flowers to open.

See how large it is!
There's another to match it to the left (not shown).

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Around the garden

I tried to squeeze in as much time as possible in the garden today. I continued my quest for a black walnut free yard and filled two garbage bags full of the nut husks. (As you remember, I can't compost the black walnut parts because it takes so long for the juglone to deactivate.) I also planted the elderberry tree that I purchased about a month ago, as well as a blueberry bush I purchased earlier in the summer.

I spent most of my time, however, watering established and new plantings. We've had a long period of time without a good soaking rain, so everything is starting to look a little parched. The dryness was most noticeable when I was digging a hole for the elderberry tree. The dirt was so dry! I decided to dig the hole, fill it with water, let it drain and then plant the tree. (It's a good practice I should do more often, but it's a corner I'll cut if I'm in a rush.)

It is due to rain in Connecticut on Wednesday this week, followed by much cooler temperatures. There's even a chance for frost on Thursday or Friday. I have been spoiled by the higher than average temperatures and now I feel as if there is no time to plant all the perennials I've purchased.
Check out this cool shadow on the dragonfly today. I took this photo with my iPhone.
I'm surprised he stayed so still for me - but as soon as I was done he flew away.



It's the last night on the tree for many of these Kieffer pears. Looks like the
temperature is finally going to drop this week.

Pretty sure this is Sheffield Pink Chrysanthemum. 
It's blooming like crazy right now.


The elderberry tree is finally in the ground!
I don't usually post photos of myself on the blog, but this one I couldn't resist. My Upstate Ox Heart tomato seeds from Hudson Valley Seed Library finally produced fruit. (I think the plants didn't receive enough sunlight in the driveway this year, which is why it took so long. Seems to be a theme this year, hm?) I have four tomatoes that were ready for picking. (And actually three that were attacked by a squirrel or other mischief maker- damn!) They are pretty and worth the wait, I'm sure.


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A new male butterfly!

Good thing the iPhone can take such nice photos in low light when my other gear isn't ready!

Late last night I checked my caterpillars and found this lovely little man waiting for me! I'm not sure when he hatched during the day (or evening), but it was already dark outside when I placed him on this zinnia. I came back out to go to work this morning and found him on the same flower. When I talked to him, he fluttered his wings. So cool! I think the other chrysalis may not hatch until the spring (which is what usually happens this late in the season).  Hope this little guy survives!

The original post on the two caterpillars I found on my carrot tops can be found here.
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Cleanup time and cover crops


Coneflower seeds
I started to hack away at the dead plant material accumulating in the front garden today. First up, the Becky shasta daisies and the bee balm. These stems have been brown for a while now and the cleanup is long overdue. I will, however, leave seed heads of plants like coneflowers in place. I've seen the goldfinches perched on these plants multiple times in the past month picking the tastiest seeds.

One large patch of Becky shasta daisies. Looks like it needs some dividing!

This is a combination of Becky shasta daisies, bee balm and
a butterfly bush. First go around complete!
While I focused on plants that needed cutting back, I also trimmed back one of my butterfly bushes. I've been deadheading them regularly all summer so it would continue to produce more flowers. While I usually trim the butterfly bushes back in the spring, I took off a few branches now to avoid breakage over the winter.

I then made a round through the vegetable garden and removed some plants that looked like it was time to go. This included tomatoes, eggplants (they didn't grow well this year due to lack of light) and beans.

The cover crop of winter rye and hairy vetch is taking off.
The cover crop seeds I purchased from High Mowing Seeds (winter rye and hairy vetch) is doing really well in this year's pea and bean bed (seen above). It also has begun to sprout where the strawberry plot used to be and where I grew some tomatoes and peppers this year.

I've decided to plant a cover crop this year in any available spots in the vegetable garden. This way, the cover crop can add nutrients to the soil when I cut it back in the springtime. It will also keep the soil in place over the winter, as opposed to leaving the bed empty with just dirt. (In the past I used buckwheat as a cover crop in the springtime before I planted my summer vegetables.) Even though I may not grow as many vegetables next year along the driveway (sunlight issues), the added nutrients will aid the soil if it becomes a cutting garden instead.

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Time to move the strawberries

A sampling of the strawberry plants I kept.

A couple of days ago I dug up the (overrun) strawberry bed and thinned out the plants. I kept a combination of 28 new runners and established crowns. I felt really bad about putting the older, extra plants in the compost pile, but there's only so much room and friends I can give them to!

I really like growing my own strawberries, especially since the ones you find at the grocery store are usually sprayed with pesticides. The birds and squirrels really like that I grow strawberries too, which is partially why I am moving them.

The variety I grow is called Cabot, which I purchased through Johnny's a few years back. The yield is usually high, but I think the spot they were in has grown shadier as the years have past. I also just let them do their thing, instead of keeping them in manageable rows, which is why they started to take over with multiple runners.

My only complaint with this variety is that the fruit tastes a little watered-down. I'm not sure if this is due to a lack of sunlight the plants received. I'm planning on moving them to a sunnier location on the other side of my front garden, so hopefully this will solve the problem! If not, time to buy a new variety!


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Tulips, daffodils and irises, oh my!

I spent an hour looking through the Colorblends and Van Engelen spring catalogs tonight in an attempt to narrow down my bulb choices. I've had both catalogs in the house for at least two months, which I would pick up and look at before falling asleep, dog-earring the pages with the flowers that looked the prettiest. I know I am running out of time to order (holy cow, it's now October?) and luckily the bulbs I want to order are still in stock.

This years preliminary list has been narrowed down to the following categories:

To line the new garden path out front:

For the back garden:

Possibly along the driveway:

Beautiful, but not sure where I could plant them:
Sweet Love Daffodil (I already have some of these and love them.)

From a first glance, that doesn't look too bad. Except I'm considering quantities in the 100s to make the impact that much stronger. I don't want a few bulbs here and there (and I already have a good amount of daffodils that return each year, not so much with the tulips). I want someone to drive by my house and slow down their car to see the flowers. Which is why I'm looking at wholesale catalogs so I can get more for my money. 

A very quick sketch of the front garden as I tried to fit
in future bulbs.
But I honestly do have to trim down the list. I've been postponing planting more perennials out front until I get my spring bulbs in the ground.  (The only exception were the daylilies that arrived in the mail from Ryder Country Daylilies, which I ordered online via Facebook, shown in the photo below.) We are also experiencing above average temperatures in Connecticut this week. (Today the bank thermometer read 86 degrees F!) 


So at the rate I'm going, I'm going to spend way too much money on spring bulbs and have a beautiful display this spring. 

Or my friends may stage an intervention about my gardening habits.

"Hello, my name is Jennifer and I like to buy flowers."
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Take Cover!


It's dangerous to walk through the back garden these days, and the above photo is the reason why. The squirrels are pillaging the black walnut trees, causing most of the nuts to come crashing to the ground. Sometimes there's a brief warning of the following onslaught if the hulls hit the roof of the garage first, but then they often ricochet into the yard. (The trees are too tall for me to take the hulls down myself.)

This box of black walnuts was collected earlier this week, but the yard is already filled with more. I'm trying to be diligent about collecting these hulls so the juglone that they contain does not leach into the soil. (I wrote more about black walnut trees earlier this year.) Random stems, leaves and these nut hulls are being put into the trash and not being composted.


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Lovely anemone


Fall-blooming anemones definitely make my list of flowers I love. They spread fairly easily by self-seeding.  While other gardeners might view them as thugs, I don't mind when they pop up all over the garden. These flowers keep the garden looking pretty as fall begins.

Above is a darker pink one that has spread into multiple beds out front. I also have white and light pink ones. (The light pink ones seem to bloom first.)
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The black swallowtails are back!


Look who I found on the carrot tops this evening when I went outside to gather food for the bunnies! More black swallowtail caterpillars! I snipped the stems and brought them inside. We've had two very chilly nights this week, so I'm glad they are still doing well. (Good thing I didn't get to put away that aquarium yet!)

I wonder if they are the babies of the butterflies I raised this summer...
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Final days of summer


The fall equinox is Sunday, but the sun has already realigned itself in the sky behind the trees in the back garden. It formed the loveliest rays of sun this morning, just peaking through the trees. (I actually had to go get my iPhone to take this photo because my camera lens had just "too much" lens to capture the entire beams of light.)

As sad as I am to see summer go, it is nice to have slightly cooler weather that allows me to leave the windows open at night. And soon the leaves on the trees will turn color, which will bring a kaleidoscope of colors to our back windows. It still feels a little bittersweet.
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Kieffer pears



I am still trying to figure out the proper time to pick these Kieffer pears. I've heard in passing that since these pears are of an Asian variety, they can ripen on the tree. However, Stark Bro's recommends picking them while still firm and then allowing them to ripen indoors. (The site also says they should be ready by mid-October in Zone 5.)

I plan on picking one today to see how long it takes to ripen indoors.

They look pretty, don't they?
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I had a fight with the lawn

Sometime iPhone cameras work in a pinch. Like today, when I declared war on the (remainder) of my front lawn.
Maybe it was the lawn mower that sealed the lawn's fate. It's been chugging along all summer, and the last time I tried to fire it up last week, it wheezed, it cried, and then no longer would start.*

Or it could have been that stone path I was daydreaming about since last summer that would meander across the front garden like a lovely stream.

Or maybe I just really hate the lawn (or weedy lawn) that much.

Ultimately, I drove to my local garden center today with the intent of buying mulch. Lots of it. I grabbed the leftover cardboard that I've been accumulating along the side of the garage. There was even some garden fabric left in the shed that I brought out front as well.

And then, the lawn was smothered. The photo above shows the result of four (4) three cubic foot bags of cedar mulch.

I need to purchase a few more bags to connect this path to the driveway, but boy, did I feel better after!

*Luckily our aunt lives across the street and I was able to use her fancy self-propelled mower to cut the lawn.
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Sweet Autumn



My favorite (but short-lived) later-summer flower is the Sweet Autumn Clematis. This year it spread throughout the front trellises, mingling with the hydrangea and the honeysuckle.

The best part is that when I look out the front window, I not only see the sky but a low border of the white flowering vine as well. I can't pinpoint why I like this flower as much as I do. Maybe it's a signal of the coming fall weather, or just its ambitious nature. Or maybe it's just one of those flowers that makes me pause to admire its beauty.


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