Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans. Here in New Hampshire it’s a dark and rainy day and we won’t be doing any grilling. But a few days ago, before the heat wave hit, we grilled up some huge chicken breasts to use for our “no cooking” meals. It’s always difficult to find food to feed the family on muggy hot days. I could easily eat a salad, or have cheese and crackers (with wine of course), but my kids want more.
So I headed to Roys’s Market in Peterborough where the chicken pieces were humongous and bought six pieces. I marinated them in my special, homemade marinade, and my older son grilled them for us. It’s been enough for the 4 of us to eat for 3 days. I’ve made chicken salad sandwiches, quesedillas, and enchiladas. Today we will finish up the enchiladas and maybe get some clams and seafood from Kimballs. Not cooking in the heat is top priority for me. We may drag out the ice cream maker and cook up some of that!
So happy 4th to everyone, whether you are grilling, eating out or whatever. Be safe on this American holiday and enjoy the fireworks if it’s not raining where you are.
New Free Hydrangeas – Propagating My Blushing Bride
Last summer I had noticed that my ‘blushing bride’ hydrangea had low-lying branches which were taking root. I had successfully propagated a hydrangea before – started a new bush from an existing one – by digging up a rooted stem and transplanting it.
There is all kinds of info about taking and rooting leaf cuttings to begin a hydrangea plant, but the ground root layering method will give you a larger plant with a stronger root system. And you have an instant new shrub.
Click my link above to see my story about doing this in the past, or follow along here on my blog, and I’ll explain what I did this time – with pictures!
This method of gaining a new, free plant for your yard (or to give to a friend) works with the macrophylla variety of hydrangeas which tend to have branches that grow close to the ground. In my yard I grow the blue endless summer and the white blushing bride which are this type. Their flowers are rounded and the color of the flower can be changed according to the soil conditions.
Once you find those low lying branches and find one that is rooted to the dirt, tug gently to see if it’s rooted well. If it comes right up, put it back (cover it with lots of dirt) and add a weight (like a rock) to hold the root down into the soil. I leave those to dig up at a later time.
The offshoots that I dig up are well rooted and look like little hydrangea plants all on their own. It is easiest to do this in Spring before all the leaves have come out and make it difficult to see around the base of the shrub. As I searched around the base of my original plant, I found one well-rooted shoot by itself, and two that were so close together that I kept them as one plant.
Clip the stem(s) that run under the dirt from the original plant to the new one. Dig around and down under the new plant as best that you can and put it in it’s new home. It helps to know where you will put it, and get that area ready before you dig up the new one! Do you know how to plant hydrangeas?
As with all newly planted shrubs, give it plenty of water and watch it each day to make sure it’s doing well. Lots of sun will make this type of hydrangea wilt, but after watering it should bounce back.
I now have two new ‘Blushing Bride’ plants (see my pics below), and best of all they cost me nothing but a little time!
One of these new plants is blooming with three flowers in just one years time. Read this post about the new Blushing Bride plant.
Thank you for sharing!
Get a Tick Key to Remove Those Nasty Critters
I can’t remember how I heard about the tick key, but I am glad I have one. In fact I think they come in sets too, and it might be a good idea to have more than one since it’s easy to lose track of it.
The shape of the opening narrows to a point and I’ve used it to remove 2 ticks from my cats. Just slip the wide end over the tick and slide it down to the point. The tick comes right off – head and all. It’s so simple! Wish my photo was better, but you get the idea. I hate these things, like everyone else, and getting them off the animals was always such a chore. Then I’d worry if I’d removed the whole thing.
I find most bugs to be interesting and usually helpful. But there is no reason for ticks to exist, as far as I can see. Lime disease is so bad in New England, we have to find the best ways to avoid getting ticks in the first place. But if you are bitten, or you furry family member is, try the tick key – I think you will like it.
Thank you for sharing!
My Greenhouse is Full
This year it is nearly full, with tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, zucchini (courgettes), parsley (already planted in my raised bed), and flowers. I didn’t start anything from seeds this year, but I’ve purchased a grow light so I can start seeds indoors next April. Then I’ll move them out to the greenhouse in May. That’s my plan anyway.
A few weeks ago I went to House by the Side of the Road in Milford, NH and bought my tomatoes and a few pepper plants. The other veggies and some flowers I bought at Tenney Farms in Antrim.
I don’t ever have luck growing peppers, even though I’ve read all kinds of helpful tips. I have fewer tomato plants this year too. The “Celebrity” type seems to give me a nice crop, so I am sticking with that kind. And of course the small, grape tomatoes too. I’m the only one in the household who will eat them, and last year I had too many!
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May Brings Out the Dusty Street Sweeper
Having the street swept is a new thing for me. The first spring in my new home, I noticed that people were making rows of sand at the edge of their yards. They were brushing (?) the sand off their grass somehow, and I wondered why. The sand comes from the sand trucks that frequently sand and salt the roads all during winter. I found out a while later when the noisy street sweeper came through the neighborhood and sucked it up!
I don’t bother to sweep sand off my “grass” mainly because I don’t have any grass. I’m working on it, but that is far down my list of yard work that needs to be done. I did get this photo of the sweeper as he went by a couple of times, kicking up clouds of dust. It’s a normal part of Spring clean up in this part of New Hampshire.
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The Endless Summer in Spring
I added some bonemeal around the base and will eventually add new dirt too. Right now I am busy readying my vegetable gardens for planting – hopefully this weekend. Once the fabric pot raised beds have all the dirt they need, I will add what’s left to the flowers. My Pinky Winky and Limelight hydrangeas all look fine too. In a couple months I’ll see some flowers. Can’t wait!
