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I'm happy to be back on the garden guide forum. I have kept myself busy over the summer months. One is I started my own little business.. of making my own soy candles. I also make my own natural herbal soaps as well, I had been looking for a facial soap that wouldn't dry out my skin and cause redness, so the herbal soaps are an answer to my prayer.
BTW...if anyone was wondering about my Father-in-law....yes he is doing better...and went to work almost immediately. So this is good.
I've missed you all! And especially now since Spring is "trying" to come around the corner! I have noticed some little green leaves and stems popping up from the cold frozen ground. Amazing.
With the rise in prices at the grocery store.... we are planning to expand on our garden. This past summer's heat was just so trying on the plants....we tried hard to get everything to grow...but it just didn't work. Even my brother's garden failed in some areas, which actually made me feel a little better.
Is anyone doing a seed swap on this forum?
I'm just sooooo tired of all the cold temps and snow...although we didn't have as much as other's did....and it IS SNOWING again out there!!!! yikes.... *it doesn't seem to be snowing now*...I just looked out the window. GOOD. Maybe it will stay away for good.
Well, hope to hear from you guys and gals... Have a blessed weekend and Happy Valentines Day!
~Mary~ aka Flower-Power
For the past month most days it's been heavy downpour. Usually I don't mind the rain except for the fact that it let me know that my garden is on a slight slope and the bottom half of the garden was under water with my garlic being flooded in the process. It's still alive amazingly enough and we've dug a trench to keep most of the water out but we are seriously going to have to rebuild the garden when it gets warmer out. Maybe do it in a box garden fashion.
I wish I knew I was going to run into this sooner.
I was out checking out the garden this morning and making a mental list of this to try to get done this weekend, when I spotted a zucchini. I have posted a picture in my Greenhouse & Garden album. This is the biggest round zucchini I have yet to see, my cell is next to it to give a hint of the size! And then the end of it had seeds coming out! I am not sure if the peacocks had eaten a little of it and the hole was near the seeds, or what... I am not sure but really strange looking,, there is a picture of that also!
Well, two weeks ago we dug the outline for the garden and rented a tiller yesterday. We put in fertilizer and good dirt (since all we seem to have here in middle tennessee is clay and chalk) and let the tiller mix it all up. It looks nice. It will make it easier now to mix the compost there. Right before we start planting the garlic we think we will till the ground again just to make sure its all mixed up nice and good.
I have a seed starter kit from parks seed. I have started seed without the kit before and it's been fine but I figure since I will be starting a lot of plants at one time I should try the starter kit. We'll see how it goes.
Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I've been VERY busy. Because we had an unusually cool summer, and a down right wierd spring in relation to excess water and snow the first week of June, I've been busy pulling in a bumper crop of everything. I'm STILL picking saskatoons, and now am thick in the raspberries, red and black currents, apricots, and cherries. I've managed to pick enough to give some of the eventual jam to friends and families for the coming season. I just waded into the salmonberry patch, and picked a handful today... soon they too will be ready. Blackberries are so loaded down with green berries that I'm hoping they hold off for a little while till I can get caught up.
I found a big tree of saskatoon's further back on the property that was really cool. I'm searching for my camera so I can take pictures of them to post. The berries are the size of a large blueberry, and are really sweet. This is really wierd as the sasaktoons are smallish berries that are tart in nature. I'm definitly going to pick a few gallons off of this tree and make them into a separate jam and see if they will make a good jam (if I can keep the kids out of them long enough to do it!)
My garden is growing bigger by every day now, and its COVERED in blooms of all discriptions. Now if I can only keep the deer out of it long enough to get some peas! I had a couple of handfuls ready last week, that the deer managed to mow down the day before I was going to pick them... so now I have to build a fence of sorts around my garden.
I'm finding that if you water your garden with the water you boil carrots or corn in, it acts as an organic fertilizer to boost the vitality of the plants. My Grandmother and mom always did this, so I decided to try it, although I thought for sure it was a wives tale. Although my garden was late this year, its managed to catch up and over come the garden of my sister-in-law, and hers was started from seed months before mine.
Sorry for the jumbled post, but life is crazy right now and I don't have much time on the computer these days...
I spent a good part of the day getting my garden up and growing.. around the outter edges are purple petunias, I've read that petunias will keep some pests away... so I look forward to seeing what happens. Then I planted 2 tomato plants (early girls), a row of lettuce, row of baby spinach, 2 rows of stringless beans, 1 green bell pepper. Then in the corner, I put in a catnip plant... I read where catnip repels flea beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, ants and weevils. We'll see if it really repels Japanese beetles!!
I left one area to plant my Basil. My garden is 10' x 8'. I'll be planting some Dill too, but in another area of my yard. I love to cook with dill.
Okay... my hands are tired from all the weed pullin' and digging... so good nite.
Hi, my name is Mary, aka Flower-Power. I'm not sure what zone I'm in, however, I do know I'm in the "planting zone". As of now, I've just started getting flowers for hanging baskets, and in the process of transplanting some other overgrown plants like daylilies. I've got a hosta thats buried in daylilies!
Anyway... I guess I garden for the pleasure, and I enjoy photographing what I've planted. I like to "mouse-draw" photos of birds, flowers, and whatever else comes to mind... I then turn these pics into greeting cards. Its a lot of fun.
My occupation is... I'm a teacher/director. My husband is retired Air Force. He's been to a lot more places, than I, together we have been to North Carolina, Japan, Arkansas. This August, we will celebrate 24 years of marriage.
I'm looking forward to getting to know more of you... :O)
Hey There New Friends!
Come by and check out my Container Gardening articles on eHow at:
http://www.ehow.com/member
s/writetruth.html
Let me know what ya think...
Have a Wonderful Day.
Bobbi~
OK, so it's just above freezing here in the north east section of PA... and two days of rain brought floods to many places... If only I had a place to put it... my sump pump moved about 15,000 gallons of water from the sump in the basement. And I do grey water collection to be h2o conserviatve... go figure.
Just started a vermi-culture project test project in the basement... My daily travels collect coffee grounds from local places,,, for months they have been collecting on tom of the snow and ice caked compost heap out back... will have to see if all this stuff I've been seeing about these critters (worms) is for real. Will look forward to my home grown potting soil coming into fruition in about two weeks... wish me luck.
hmmm how do I get the underline function turned off???
Ask your local Starbucks location if they are participating in Grounds for your Garden! It's supposed to be a national effort, but some locations need coaxing.
Am putting thoughts together for DIY worm farm for teachers... Looks like it will go together nicely. Found cities in Canada that use a similar system for in-apartment composting! How kewl is that?
Enjoy the day!
Jeff in PA
One of the delights of owning a nursery, as Cheryl and I do, is the continual discovery of new plants or plants we never before knew existed.
Just when we think we must have seen it all, botanists and horticulturists surprise us with new varieties that still make us say, “Wow!” after all these years.
Often, these new varieties are developed under a cloak of secrecy with as high a regard for security as, say, an automobile company designing and testing a new car. It might surprise you to know that botanists submit their new varieties to the U.S. Patent Office, along with lengthy descriptions and illustrations of their “inventions.” Highly precise detail is required in order to demonstrate that the plant in question really is a new variety, developed by the horticulturists who are submitting it.
If you would like to see what a plant patent submission looks like, you can find one for a peach tree named Corinthian Rose at http://www.freepatentsonline.
com/PP11564.html
The Corinthian Rose (Prunus persica Corinthian Rose to be precise) really is a spectacular flowering tree judging from the pictures I’ve seen. We have planted some already and we are looking forward to watching them develop, as we do with all of our new “discoveries.”
If you’re looking to start a peach orchard, this isn’t the tree for you. Corinthian Rose bears little or no fruit. This new cultivar is intended for ornamental use in the home landscape.
One of its most distinct characteristics is its narrowly columnar growth habit. The tree will reach a height of 20 to 30 feet at maturity with a spread of only 10 to 15 feet.
So why is “rose” part of its name?
Around May and June, it bursts forth with double pink rose-colored blooms, giving the appearance of an unusually large and impressive rose bush, rather than an ornamental peach tree. When the blooms are gone, Corinthian Rose can still be enjoyed for its distinctive dark purple leaves.
I think this would be the ideal tree to enhance a patio area for any sunny spot in the garden that could become a focal point of its surrounding landscape. It has a vigorous growth pattern, reaching 14 to 16 feet in about four years. You would need to follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season in order to establish a deep and extensive root system. Before new growth begins in spring, feed it with a general purpose fertilizer.
You can find more information and where to buy Corinthian Rose peach trees by going to Google and simply typing in the words Corinthian Rose.
Horticulturists develop new varieties to create plants that are beautiful and esthetically pleasing to the eye. However, they will also develop cultivars for more practical reasons.
Take, for example, Wintercreeper. It is an attractive family of plants but some varieties are known for their spreading characteristics.
As a result, a relatively new variety was developed that has a much-reduced spread pattern. Known as Emerald Gaiety Wintercreeper or Euonymus Emerald Gaiety, this variety is a versatile and undemanding shrub that does fine in full sun or fairly deep shade and even in quite dry soil.
Emerald Gaiety has green and cream variegated foliage that turns to pinkish red in winter. It can reach 4 to 5 feet in height and a width of about 3 feet with a dense, erect branching habit that makes it a good choice for a hedge or screen.
Of course there are times when a spreading or climbing plant is exactly what you need. For example, Emerald Gaiety’s smaller cousin, Purple Wintercreeper, is an ideal choice if you’re looking for a low-growing groundcover for a hard-to-mow slope with the added benefit that it can help to control soil erosion.
New varieties can please the senses and serve practical purposes. There’s always something new to grow in the garden!
The Plant Man is here to help.
This is just what I need... another blog to keep up with... how about checking what I'm doing currently at
Will post more detail as time permits.
Jeff
Tucked away in the little town of Metter, Georgia is a garden made for quiet contemplation, meditation and prayer that also provides a bit of respite for travelers along I-16. Relatively small in size, the garden is full of incident and interest. It is designed around Christian biblical themes, which is appropriate since the garden serves as headquarters for the Guido Evangelistic Association. There is an splendid, tiny chapel built in a modern architectural style. Streams and waterfalls run through the garden amid extensive azaleas, shrubs, pine, palms, flowers and vines.
I think that is because I already have a few going at blogspot.
Here are the links
The Greenhouse in Tyra's Garden
The others are in my native tongue, Swedish that is.
Welcome to visit!
Not again! We're surrounded by snow and expecting another storm this weekend. We had blue skies and sunny days for a week, but now...harumpf! Just when my little lilac tree was starting to bud. Poor thing is confused with spring/winter/spring/winter.
Just the other day, I was thinking: What will my herb garden look like after the two feet of snow melts off? I have rosemary, thyme (of two varieties), oregano, sage, mint, and who knows what else may come back up - and twice as big this year, I hope!
When I moved up here in the mountains, I had to uproot my big bin I had planted with herbs. Of course, they all died, as it was in the dead of winter. I grieved over the loss of my little plants, but didn't hesitate to plant another round. They all did very well, and now I am awaiting their return!
In the meantime, I can wish and dream, looking through the seed catalogs.
Anyone have crocus or daffodils yet? Hyacinth? Oh, how I miss those lovely flowers!
I have iris growing at the side of my house, and one little hyacinth. I must get busier this year and plant more!
The holidays are over, my days are now mine again. As much as I treasure the holidays, no matter how fun they may be, they always seem a bit stressful and wear me out! I'm always happy the holidays are finished.
Since January is in full-bloom (and nothing else IS here in the high country), I turn my thoughts to work, work, and more work! As it all piles up on my desktop, I gently remind myself that one must take a very necessary break from all this hard work and...well...
Now is the time for all good people to order seed catalogs, dream about Spring, and relish the thought of digging in the soil of Mother Earth to create their very own garden!
I have had dreams of wearing my garden clothes, my gloves, and that silly gardening hat I have hanging in my closet...dreams of comparing one seed to another and how it will look when it pops out of the ground.
The snow, two feet deep, is trampled to slush on the path to my mailbox from my constant forays to check for the latest 'wish books' so that I might have an excuse to take an afternoon break, sifting through hundreds of color photos reminding me how my garden should look! I'm sure my husband would love to install many a mailbox around our property so that he would be relieved of shoveling duty!
In the meantime, I read, dream, and enjoy a strongly brewed cuppa coffee whilst perusing my catalogs. It's as good as Winter gets!
And, I love it!
Hey There Everyone and Anyone who may be reading this!
My name is Michelle Davis. I am from Nova scotia, Canada and I just bought my first house with my Boyfriend, Justin. I was never much into the gardening thing, which always made me the black sheep of the family since my whole family loves to garden, my mother's yard looks amazing with gardens everywhere, it is trruely her passion.
Since I bought my house I am becoming more and more interested in plant life and cannot wait for spring so I can start to garden! Only problem is.... I am a garden VIRGIN. There are a couple small gardens already on the property that I did a good job maintaining... I think... until fall and winter rolled around... but what was done to the area was not a ton and I would like to expand on it a little... as well, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to start a vegetable garden, and maybe plant a fruit tree.
As well as outdoors I want to bring some plant life into our home to help keep the air fresh and just bring more nature into our homes. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated in any of the above, as well as comments and ideas.
My name is Michelle Davis, and I am a Gardening Virgin.
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