Posts Tagged ‘Gardens’

Bed and Breakfast Garden Labyrinth

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Minnesota Bed & Breakfast Labyrinth

Backyard Garden Labyrinth

A year ago we installed a landscape labyrinth in our back yard.  My gardening rule of thumb is that it takes 3 years for perennials to get established.  As you can see from the photo, our labyrinth is ahead of schedule.  The labyrinth has 20 varieties of perennials of varying heights with a bubbling fountain in the center.

Landscape garden labyrinth

Red Yarrow Blossoms

One of the most prolific plants is  red Yarrow.  It has bushed out nicely in only a year.  I have already done some dividing and moved starter plants to other locations in the garden.

Other plants include Day Lilies, Lambs Ear, Black Eyed Susans, Asters, Carnations, Creeping Thyme, Bachelor Buttons, Geranium and Mullien.

Bee Balm - Monarda

Tasty Bee Balm Petals

Some flowers have two purposes: to adorn the garden and decorate our breakfast serving dishes.  Bee Balm (Monarda) has dainty petals that are very sweet to taste and add a nice touch to fruit entrees.  Hibiscus petals are edible and we have one that is taking hold nicely.

The plants we chose are “mostly” distasteful to deer.  But the Day Lilies need regular treatment to keep them safe from our four legged friends.

You can enjoy a morning walk in our garden by visiting our bed and breakfast – Hillcrest Hide-Away B&B.  We are located in Lanesboro, Minnesota 45 minutes southeast of Rochester.   Lanesboro offers lots of things to enjoy (an art gallery, live theatre, the Root River State Trail) and plenty of places to stay including more than 12 bed and breakfasts.  Lanesboro has been named the Bed & Breakfast Capital of Minnesota.  Visit us to discover a beautiful corner of Southeast Minnesota.

Lanesboro B&B Landscape Labyrinth Update

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Our July 1st blog entry provided the first glimpse of our landscape labryinth.  Now that we are near the end of August, many of the flowers are  in full bloom:

Labyrinth in bloom
Labyrinth in bloom

Paprika Yarrow, Coneflower, Blue Cornflower, Black Eyed Susan, Russian Sage and Bee Balm adorn the labyrinth pathways.  The Hybiscus has buds and should be blooming soon. 

Our B&B guests have enjoyed watching the finches bathe in the fountain and walking the path.  The crunch – crunch sound of the gravel under their feet marks their path from the entrance through the pergola to the fountain in the center.
The deer have been nibbling on the day lilies.  Fortunately, they were done blooming.  Tomorrow I treat them with repellant again. 

Lanesboro Minnesota Girls Getaway

Monday, July 27th, 2009

This morning we’re hosting 2 sets of women enjoying a girls getaway to Lanesboro, Minnesota.  We host many groups of women because 3 of our rooms have hide a beds allowing up to 4 women to share a room.

Especially when we have ladies for breakfast, we like to garnish our plates with flowers from the garden.

Bee Balm petals

Bee Balm petals

 

Recently, we planted some Bee Balm (also known as Monarda) in our landscape labyrinth.  The plants are incredibly hardy and have been blossoming since I put them in the ground (even without watering and no rain for 2 weeks)

 

The individual petals are so dainty AND they are incredibly tasty (and sweet) to eat.  No wonder the bees like them!

This morning we sprinkled the petals on Carol’s Apple Bacon Pancake – a great entree with maple syrup.  

See other blog entries to learn more about our landscape labyrinth. Visit our web site to see our Lanesboro, Minnesota bed and breakfast.

Our Landscape Labyrinth is ready for you

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

We have just completed installation of a landscape labyrinth in our back yard.  A labyrinth is circuitous walking path with a single entrance and single entrance.  Entrance to the labyrinth is via an arched pergola. 

Welcoming Landscape Labyrinth

Welcoming Landscape Labyrinth

The pathways are bordered by perennial flower beds.  Day lilies, Lamb’s Ear, Beard Tongue,Black Eyed Susans, Snow in Summer, Sedums, Hen and Chicks, Creeping Thyme and Russian Sage are among the plants that are now taking hold.
The walking path is beautiful multicolored landscape gravel with a fountain in the center.  Watch for future posts with close up flower photos.  Visit our web site to learn more about our inn.

The perennials are starting to bloom

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Flowers are starting to bloom in our yard.  Perennials Iris, Dianthus, Bleeding Heart and Alium are blooming and all the annuals are planted.  The pathway through our new labyrinth should be installed this week.

Bleeding Heart

Bleeding Heart

This morning we served maple nut scones and a vegetable & ham egg bake with fresh sage from our herb garden for breakfast.  (more…)