Although I am sad to report the garden seasoning is over, I am thrilled to say that due to a very warm fall I completed all my fall garden chores! Usually the cold and snow sneaks up on me so fast that I can't even finish chopping everything down; but not this year! I got everything done, so I won't have to be doing fall chores in the spring.
This will be the last gardening post of the year. If I have a beautiful snow fall and I'm thinking the garden looks stunning with the fresh fallen snow, I may take photos of the garden in winter; but that will be 2023.
This is what my garden looks like after every last flower has finished blooming, and before everything is cut down to the ground.
Even if all the fresh beauty has faded, I'm always awestruck with how pretty and colorful the garden can still look in the fall.
There are layers of fall color in the fall garden, from the yellowing leaves of the Asiatic Lilies to the colorful leaves in the forest beyond the garden gate.
Both my husband and I were stunned the way our bushes produced so much fall color this year. We usually only expect trees to give us fall foliage, but bushes can also provide fall color.
The bright orange bush below is one of my garden favorites. It provides interest all season long. In the spring it has yellow flowers, in the summer it has green foliage, in the fall it looks like this, and in the winter it is covered in red berries. Just don't ask me the name. I have no idea. 😉
These yellow leaves are from a lilac bush.
And this yellow bush is a Viburnum.
The photo below is what the garden looks like when everything but the bushes have been cut down to the ground. I'm so happy to have my work done for the year. It leaves me with such a great sense of satisfaction knowing I won't be overwhelmed with extra work come spring.
I had a little feral friend come to visit me while I was gardening. He wouldn't come close enough to me to let me pet him, but he was sure interested in my water bottle.
This little guy I almost stepped on while walking back to the house. We have so many frogs in our yard! Good! Eat those snails and slugs boys!
I was harvesting broccoli right up unto frost. The plants would not stop producing! I finally just got tired of picking broccoli everyday and processing it, so I ripped up the plants. I know, it seems wasteful, but I have a chest freezer full of broccoli now, I have no idea if we will even be able to eat it all.
And now, I want to share some favorite summer recipes I loved!
In the spring, we went Blueberry picking and we gathered enough blueberries to fill four gallon freezer bags. I made several desserts and muffins, and put blueberries in all my smoothies, and I still have three gallon freezer bags left over. These blueberries should be enough to last me the rest of the winter for sure!
Blueberry Peach Crisp
I have never made a Blueberry Peach Crisp before so I decided to give it a try.
I love the way peaches and blueberries look together. So pretty. I liked this recipe, but honestly, it was a bit too sweet for my taste. I think I will either stick to Apple Crisp or try and find a recipe with less sugar. If you're interested in making this recipe, you can find it
HERE.
Zucchini "Apple" Crisp
Like most gardeners, I always have a surplus of zucchini, and, I always manage to find some gigantic zucchini that I somehow missed that has grown into the size of a caveman club. Most people just feed those extra-large zucchini to the chickens or toss them in the compost bin, but I actually found a recipe that uses those club-size zucchini: "Mock Apple Crisp"
I had my doubts when making this recipe. Everyone said it tasted "just like apple crisp". So I decided to give it a try, and you know what? It does taste just like apple crisp. My husband loved it and said, "Why ever make apple crisp again, if you can make it out of zucchini? It's a lot cheaper!"
The trick is slicing the zucchini to look like apple slices and cooking the zucchini in lemon juice. The zucchini absorbs the lemony flavor giving it a tart like taste you'd find in apples. It truly is amazing! And the best part is, the recipe uses 8 CUPS of Zucchini! It's a great dish to make if you have a lot of zucchini.
You can find this recipe HERE!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Muffins
This next recipe also uses zucchini and I found it on Instagram
HERE, from Half Baked Harvest. That lady can cook! How she stays so skinny eating all this delicious food I have no idea.
I thought these muffins were quite tasty and nutritious since they are low sugar, and use both zucchini and bananas, but I didn't think they were sweet enough, which is funny since I usually think most baked goods are too sweet. She uses honey instead of sugar in her recipe, so maybe that is why. I even added the extra honey she recommended if you like a sweeter taste, plus I made the honey butter, and it still wasn't very sweet. BUT, I still liked them, it was the chocolate chips that sold me!
Blueberry Oatmeal CookiesDuring blueberry picking season, I found this recipe in my electric coop magazine and they looked so scrumptious I decided to make them. Wow! Were these good! Both my hubby and I loved them, and I think as far as cookies go, they are pretty healthy too! Unfortunately, because the recipe was in a magazine, I lost it 😢 but I found
THIS ONE on Pinterest that looks pretty similar.
I hope you enjoyed my last garden post for the year! Now it's time to relax by the fire and dream of next years garden.
Have A Great Day! Amy
Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
Your garden does look so beautiful no matter the season. We too had more color this year then last and 2 of my new-ish snowball bushes are a burgundy color right now, so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could grow broccoli here and I am sure it's mainly due to my lack of skills but our summers are usually so hot too and I think broccoli does better in a bit cooler temperature.
The recipes look delicious, I will pin the muffins, faux apple crisp and blueberry cookie recipes. Maybe I'll make the faux apple crisp for Thanksgiving and fool everyone :)
Cute visitor you had in your garden. We have so many stray cats in the neighborhood, I feel so bad for them. The word is that a lady in the next street over keeps breeding them. So sad as most become homeless!!
Oh, thanks so much. You're so sweet. I think you could grow broccoli, you'd just have to plant it super early or very late. Yes, the kitty is cute but our neighborhood is over-run with them. We have the same issue where one person brought them in to control rabbits and they have become a public nuisance. I worry about the effect on the wildlife too...killing birds, too many rabbits and squirrels, etc.
DeleteI remember a similar bright orange bush from my childhood in New England. We picked the berries to play with. I don't know the name either. But it is beautiful and vibrant. Like a living bonfire!!
ReplyDeleteYour yard and garden are amazing in every season. The faded hydrangeas look like pompoms. I love the textures and different shades of green as you move into fall. We are just home from vacation and it was unseasonably warm everywhere we went. Glad you were able to use your moderate temps to get ahead on cutting back the garden.
Pinned the peach-blueberry dessert. Our peach tree was more than generous this year and we have so many frozen peaches to use up still. Thinking this Thanksgiving might serve peach-blueberry crisp!!
Thank you. Yes, the garden has a different kind of beauty even when there are no flowers. I can't even imagine have a peach tree! We crave those here in Wisconsin, and it's so hard to even find good peaches, even during peach season.
DeleteYum! I just made oreo cheesecake bars. It looks like fall has arrived at your house.
ReplyDeleteThose sound delicious. Yes, fall has arrived, and already left. Spring and fall are very short seasons in Wisconsin.
DeleteYou have a beautiful garden Amy and it is bittersweet that this is your last post for the year on it. The orange bush is so pretty and a real eye catcher! And how cool you have little helpers to help you get rid of all the bugs. The chocolate zucchini muffins sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteMaureen | www.littlemisscasual.com
Thank you!
DeleteYou sure did get some beautiful fall colors in your garden. These recipes sound fantastic and Oh So Yummy.
ReplyDeleteThank you bunches for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month sweet friend.
It was an extraordinary colorful year for the bushes.
DeleteDefinitely going to make the blueberry oatmeal cookies. Your yard is enormous compared to my small city dwelling!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy them as much as we did. Yes, it's a big yard. It can be terribly overwhelming sometimes to maintain, especially as I get older.
DeleteIt always makes me sad when fall and winter roll in and everything outside starts withering away...but then with spring everything comes back to life again! Spring and summer are my happy times. You sure have a green thumb, no doubt abut it!! The recipes sound yummy! Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 89. Shared.
ReplyDeleteYes, me too. But then it's also bittersweet, as my achy old body is ready for a rest by then . I love spring. Thanks so much.
DeleteSO many yummy recipes!! Your garden is just lovely in all seasons.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joanne!
DeleteYour pictures are lovely. I was drawn to them immediately.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI always enjoy seeing your garden, inspires me to work on mine. The bright orange bush is beautiful. The little visitor is so sweet, certainly likes your water bottle.
ReplyDelete-Soma
Thank you. Yes, the kitty was quite interested in that bottle.
DeleteYour garden is so lovely and inviting. Looking at the pictures makes me wish I could amble throughout the landscape to take in all the peaceful beauty. Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 42.
ReplyDeleteCarol
www.scribblingboomer.com
Awww, you're so sweet! Thanks so much!
DeleteWow ! What a splendid green garden, nothing tastes better than homegrown fresh harvest. I am drooling over the food. Thanks for sharing with Garden affair.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and I agree: homegrown food tastes so much better.
Delete