Debstr's Blog
Debstr's February 2008 Entries
Last Post 92 days, 23 hours Ago
Feb 27, 2008 | 3:22 PM PST
Tags: citronella , luffa
Well, we keep getting hammered with Snow and more is on the way - sure, it looks lovely in a picture and sure would make a nice Christmas card BUT thing is ... I am maxed out on Snow. I will keep my sanity in tact by going down south tomorrow for some relief (watch it snow down there!) I made sure to add the last of my February photos to my album since March will arrive when we are gone and WARM weather I hope LOL
Check out this next photo of the Citronella plant I bought at the recent Garden Show - it has flower buds on it! I will tell you the plant does give off a definite fragrance and now we will see what these flowers do - I have to find time to research this plant a bit more. I have been looking into Lavender and dang there are more varieties then I even imaged. I am still waiting for a book to arrive that I just ordered - will turn me into the pro I am sure :-)
Ok I do have to mention "the Luffa" also here - I know some of my friends here have planted the seeds I sent and others have ordered seeds so let me offer this. Last year when I planted the seed I didn't pay much attention, just planted it, moved it several times and it did do well. This year I paid more attention and the seed I "just planted" took 3 weeks to start growing (that's a longgg time). So I planted a tray full of seeds on 2/18 and they sprouted their little heads on 2/24 ... 6 Days! I did soak them overnight AND nicked the seed with scissors - What a Difference!
I will catch up with blogs before I leave and do hope everyone is doing well and Keeping the Garden Spirit within each of us Growing...... rock on or should that be garden on?? LOL
Feb 21, 2008 | 5:12 PM PST
Tag: garden art
Well, I think I might have another hobby to keep me occupied during this long, long winter! First challenge is to figure out this new camera - it's actually not as easy as my old digital Kodak, but I am sure once I figure out how all the fancy buttons work I will adjust. Ok...so I have my FIRST Poppy bloom happen just the other day and I take snapshots of my latest wonder. Well, the picture came out blurry (or at least the close up one did) so I attempt to clear up the blur with my Paint Shop program and oh myyyyyyy - what did I discover! Every time I go into that program to work on photos I never EVER remember how I did what I did and will probably never be able to duplicate what I am doing - unless of course, I keep practicing. So here are the photos -
This is the clear picture of the first bloom - Red Poppy 2-20-08
Now the BLURRY one -
and..........the new improved dynamite Kaleiodoscope Poppy created who knows how on the computer ...
and of course, I couldn't stop there - I had to experiment further with some Lavender pictures ...
Ok - I am done for now :-))) Thanks for letting me share - I think I may have opened up a part of my creative artsy brain .... I hope I can sleep tonight ! Debbie :-)
Feb 19, 2008 | 5:44 PM PST
Tag: plant charts
I finally completed my Excel worksheet for all my veggies and flowers to help me keep track !!! I kept procrastinating with this project (it seemed so boring) and I have to admit I did change headings several times and I probably will again as the season progresses. I still need to fill in some dates - if I can remember what they were. Now if I would have made these charts up back in December, I would have all my dates logged in....oh well, I can guess :-) My hopes are that this will help you all with your planning (especially new gardeners) because we don't think or realize these dates and information are important until the next year rolls around and we try to remember what we did. Last year I did keep a journal with individual sheets on each plant & I will continue that with certain plants like lavender and tomatoes that I want to research more. I wasn't sure how I was going to share my charts here so I decided to just take pictures and post them. I hope they are readable - I can always email copies if anyone wants them. On the veggie list is a column "Companion" which lists plants good to grow along with the main plant - it was just a quick overview from my latest book I am reading on Companion Gardening.
On another note my tomato plants are growing like crazy - Egads!
and last but not least - a shot of the moon tonight ..... lunar eclipse tomorrow night I believe. Of course it's a picture from "inside" the house - no way am I going out in this bone chilling weather to gaze at the moon LOL Night all!
Feb 15, 2008 | 5:41 PM PST
Times have certainly changed since I grew up and I have to say I sure thought I had it bad. We all had to deal with growing up and becoming our own person and the lessons we learned on how to be an adult and cope with the way life is. I most definitely would not want to be a teenager today, but I have both a son and daughter who are teens, so I guess I can't just wish that one away. Today was a sad day for all teenagers and all people around the world who just stood in shock at the news on the tv once again of a college shooting. The shooting at Northern University actually is not very far from me at all and the shooter was enrolled at U of I where my son goes. Why? is the biggest question and that will never be answered. We all just have to hope and pray that the next generations have the strength and belief that the world is a good place to grow up....just like we did. We all need to plant seeds of trust, encouragement, security and hope.
Feb 13, 2008 | 6:15 PM PST
Today - in the dead of winter here in the Chicagoland area, I had a Sign! ok ok I grew these Baby's Breath under grow lights BUT they flowered today ...... it made me Smile and I send this out to all you as a Happy Valentine's Day gesture .... from the snowy lands of Illinois to You all ~
Guess what else I was doing - Dehydrating!!! LOL yea Not hard to believe with this weather, but actually I cranked up my Food Dehydrator - the Excalibur. I purchased this unit last summer to help me with all the excess garden produce I had. After eating all we could, giving away to family and friends, canning and more canning - I decided to buy a food dryer to help out and what a Cool machine it is! I dried tomatoes, peppers, every herb I grew, potatoes, grapes, spinach, you name it - I dried it! I was buying extra veggies and fruit on sale just so I could dry them - I was obsessed! I think I still am - so today it was Apples - buy one, get one free .... I see Dehydrate!
Ya think I am going snow crazy?? or maybe it's the puppies LOL Happy Valentine's Day ... Debbie :-)))
Feb 11, 2008 | 4:49 PM PST
Tags: cardamon , citronella , bee balm , pineapple sage , lavender grosso
Nothing like coming home from a trip and finding the weather still the same or even worse than when you left - you just gotta wonder Why did I come back ?!? Below zero temperatures are still hanging on here and snow is still dropping from the sky as I type - Spring, where o where are you hiding?? At least I have my new plants to marvel at -
All new herbs that I just had to have - from the top clockwise, Cardamon, Citronella, Bee balm, Pineapple sage and Lavender Grosso. Each of these I will have to read up on and start taking notes - I know several are hard to find around here, so I am excited to watch the progress. I also purchased some books on ... Gardening! I must have at least 10 different books I am in the middle of reading right now - I am bad about that, I can't help but start reading a book then I find I am reading another and on and on ........It only takes me 3 years to finish a book LOL I am very thankful that my dear daughter did water my plants while we were away and nothing was lost - that is a miracle in itself! Amazing things do happen :-) If anyone has experience with any of my new plants, please share - that would be so appreciated!!!!
Feb 6, 2008 | 11:04 AM PST
Today was my first harvest of lettuce inside - and it is snowing like crazy outside! I believe the more you harvest the lettuce the more it will continue to grow. I have started some spinach and arugula also so I will have a whole smorgasboard of greens and it can just keep on snowing :-)
I did purchase a new digital camera and I am having fun while keeping busy as I figure out all the features. The above picture is a merged photo of my harvested lettuce (buttercrunch) and next to that is the great snowy outdoors!
Feb 3, 2008 | 3:08 PM PST
Tag: garden show
Well, I am pretty excited since I discovered a Garden Show next weekend and it just so happens we will be in the area, so I will be going!!! The tough part is deciding which day to go and what seminars to attend - my window for free time is very narrow with the puppies. The show is the Midwestern Herb and Garden Show in Mt. Vernon, IL http://www.midwesternherbandg
ardenshow.com They have hourly educational free seminars and some key speakers. I do want to purchase their cookbook and look into the Club they have down there. I have attended other Home and Garden shows and they are great but it seems alot of focus is on home remodeling and this show looks more for the home gardener, like myself. Ticks is the topic of one of the seminars and I have noticed a huge difference down south and the abundance of ticks ..... I think I need to attend that one!
I am also excited because I decided to purchase a better digital camera this week so I can take pictures of all my gardening accomplishments. I think that is part of the fun we gardeners have - sharing the beauty we create through our gardens with other folks who truly appreciate it. A USB for backup is also on my shopping list since reading the post on here made by a member after she lost 12 years of gardening pictures and details. Computer crashes are very common and everyone should take caution to preserve their work for future generations and also current friends! I have to share that in less than 1 month on this site I have made some genuine friends and have even shared seeds with several .. it is so remarkable to be able to share with garden friends from totally different parts of the country - absolutely amazing! This is the time of the year for organizing because once the planting season is upon us we need to be outside creating our gardens. I was checking out a software program and decided even though it may be helpful - is it really that good of a program? I decided no and will be using Excel spreadsheets instead to log all my plants, dates planted, etc. This way I will have an actual paper copy - maybe checklists that I can use and not rely on a software program that might crash! I believe Excel comes pretty standard on most computers and they do have a tutorial that walks you through using it.
Ok time to go watch the Super Bowl.......I probably would be Unamerican if I didn't LOL Debbie in IL :-)
