In My Garden

November 2, 2015 · 2:23 am

END OF THE SEASON

The season is winding down.

Normally by now we’ve had cold nights

If not a freeze.

But not this year

The garden is just slowly putting itself to bed.

Much more gentle

Than a harsh cold wintry blast for the north.

I’m enjoying it

Picking a smattering of blooms

For my last church bouquets of the season.

And burying an undisclosed number of bulbs.

Thankfully I have help in the bulb burying department.

It wasn’t any ordinary help.

Somehow the princesses from last night’s trick or treating

Became worm loving giggly girls this afternoon.

In my experience

It’s rare that you find little girls who love worms.

Cassidy and Sloan not only love them

They name them.

Meet Earthy

Actually, oddly enough

Every worm we dug up

Was named Earthy.

Apparently a common name for earthworms.

Then there was the dirt – sorry Daddy soil.

It turns out refilling a trench

Laden with tulip bulbs

Can be very entertaining

When you’re a six and eight year old princess

Who happen to love earthworms.

There is still much to do in the garden

You can tell by the state of my garden house.

Lilies, Grape Hyacinths and Alliums bulbs to be planted.

Amaryllis to be potted up

More Tulips and Pansies for the garden path.

And then planting the big pots with lettuce for early spring.

It will all happen

In good time

Hopefully with giggly earthworm loving girls.

Gail

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Tagged as Allium, Earthworms, Grape Hyacinths Fall Gardening, Lillies, Tulips

October 19, 2015 · 1:45 am

WINDING DOWN

Normally at this time of year

I’m praying for a freeze.

Not so this year.

The days are so glorious

That the garden is still showing color

Even if just a bit here and there.

I have a few events in early November

I’d like to have flowers for.

Thus the hope for a late freeze.

We’ll see…I’m not in charge here.

This weekend I did pull the zinnias

They had slowed their bloom

To a snail’s pace

And were so covered with mildew

That it was definitely time to go.

Besides the monarchs seemed

To have moved on to Mexico.

So I don’t feel guilty about

Pulling them up.

Fall is also a good time for review

Now, I’m not one for favorites.

Really who can pick a “favorite”

And leave all the others behind.

Certainly in a perennial garden

Favorites are impossible

Since something new is always coming into its own.

But there were two things that did really well this year.

One is perennial.

Annabelle Hydrangea was new to me.

Yet it’s a very old plant.

It’s bloomed since early summer.

They begin white.

Turn green.

And are still holding on.

Amazing.

The other is an annual.

At least here in zone 7.

It’s Heliatrope.

I used it several years ago in containers.

This year I put it the ground

At the entrance to the backyard.

It’s been extremely happy there.

It’s not easily found around here.

Wish I was better at taking cuttings.

And I’d try to save it.

Who knows…I may give it a try.

With the blooms fading

I don’t have as many pretty pictures to share.

I’ll just have to include pictures

Of Coco

Trying out Cockscomb for earrings.

And of course.

The world’s most adorable grandchildren.

Enjoy this glorious fall.

Gail

BUGS – BUGS AND MORE BUGS

For the past week

A spider has been entertaining me

Building a web outside my kitchen window.

I’ve tried taking a picture

From every angle

Inside and out

This is the best I’ve gotten.

You’ll just have to take my word for it.

This spider is dedicated

Working on sunny days

Keeping me fascinated.

You have to admire

Bugs at this time of year.

They must know

The warm days are numbered.

I’m not an entomologist

But I’m guessing that means

Their days, too, are numbered.

That doesn’t keep them

From working away

On these glorious fall days.

The Abelia bushes

Practically quack.

They are covered in tiny moths

Working away on the blooms.

Then there’s the Monarch Butterflies.

On their way to Mexico.

About a dozen or so

Drop by every morning.

They are not early risers

It’s about 10 before they appear.

They fly and dive and drink

Till mid afternoon.

I haven’t pulled the zinnias yet

For just this very reason.

I want them to have all the sustenance

They need for their journey south.

So my garden is covered

With zinnias still blooming strong

Though the foliage is white with mildew.

This is probably very bad for my garden.

But I just can’t bring myself to pull them up.

And deprive all those lovely visitors.

Saturday was spent

Deadheading and weeding.

Pretty much what I’ve been doing

For the past couple of months.

Tulip bulbs will ship soon

I need to begin thinking about

Making room for them.

But for now

I think I’ll join the Monarchs

Basking in the sunshine

And the glory of fall.

I hope you have time this week

To breath in the season.

Gail

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Tagged as Abelia, Bell Peppers, Cockscomb, Dahlias, Fall, Monarch Butterfies, Spiders, Zinnias

October 4, 2015 · 11:48 pm

NEW DAHLIAS

I remember the exact moment I discovered Dahlias.

It was at the wedding of a friend’s daughter

About this time of year.

The arrangements at the backyard reception

Were breathtaking.

I’ve been hooked ever since.

For years I’ve bought from the same supplier.

Mostly solid colors

Mostly dinner plate Dahlias.

Aptly named for their gigantic blooms.

But this year.

When the Redbud tree died

Late in the spring

Creating a new sunny space.

I decided to branch out

And try some new varieties.

Sometimes wandering away from old friends

Is difficult.

Chancy really.

But I’m so glad I did.

I ordered from Swan Island Dahlias.

Found them at that great gardening place…Google!

They have an open house in September

When their fields are in full bloom.

Must put attending on my bucket list.

So here are a few of my new friends.

Swan’s Sunset

Freckle Face

Gabriele Marie

Excentric

Bahama Mama

Coco spent the days

Of this glorious weekend

Looking for a bunny.

This dog allegedly has a great nose.

But not this weekend.

No bunny catch so far.

Thankfully.

Gail

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September 28, 2015 · 12:27 am

NURTURING

Nurturing is an important part of gardening.

It begins with soil.

Adding things that it might be missing.

Making it a rich home for what’s to come.

Once planted

A garden needs continual nurturing.

Making sure that there is ample

Sun, shade and water.

So when I traveled this past week to “twin sit”

I knew I was in for some serious nurturing.

Keeping up with 14 month old twins

Is well…fun…exhausting…intriguing

And so much more.

They too need ample food and water.

A little sun

Sprinkled with shade.

Having never been around twins before.

I’m fascinated with their interaction

Not to mention their constant motion.

So this week nurturing took a different form.

One I enjoy even more than gardening.

We hurried home at the end of the week.

To attend Andrew and Katie’s wedding.

Turns out they too were busy nurturing.

The dozens of children attending their wedding.

Each child gave them a heart

To string for their Christmas tree

Creating memories for decades to come.

Nurturing

Important for the garden.

Even more important in life.

It was a wonderful week.

Gail

A little blog housekeeping. Last weekend I was doing a little “tidying up” and thought I deleted pictures from the media library of my blog. What I didn’t realize was that this actually deleted them from the blog post as well. So from about mid summer back to the beginning the pictures are missing. I’m thinking fixing this will be a project for the frozen days ahead.

SUNFLOWERS

Growing up in the country

The ditches of the county roads

Were lined with sunflowers

This time of year.

Maybe that why I’ve always loved Sunflowers.

Who doesn’t.

It’s hard not to smile

When you see one.

For some unknown reason.

I’ve never been able to grow them.

I would plant the seeds

And nothing would happen.

I blamed birds

For dining on each and every seed.

Leaving nothing to sprout.

That all changed last year.

Somehow smack in the middle of a crepe myrtle

That John had carefully nursed into life

A sunflower sprouted

Then grew

And grew.

I guarded it carefully

In case John chose his shrub

Over my flower.

Both survived.

The Sunflower bloomed as it towered above

Everything else at the east end

Of the garden.

I let it go to seed

To provide lots of food for those birds.

They must have felt guilty

For all those years of wiping me out

And they left a little patch of seeds.

The result is a Sunflower jungle

Growing wildly.

I pulled several of the volunteers

But a half-dozen or so survived

And are now somewhere around 12 feet tall

So loaded with buds and blooms

That the slightest wind or rain

Renders them horizontal.

Combine this with the forsythia

And Viburnum

At this end of the garden

And you would think that no one

Tends this garden.

Yet I can only bring myself

To cut just enough for bouquets.

I’ll just think of it as

The “wild child” end of the garden.

And let it be for now.

Some things just need a little grace.

Gail

FALLING FOR FALL

The signs are everywhere.

I can hear the high school band

Practicing every morning.

Sweaters are appearing.

DSCN6243

Geraldine’s asters are starting to bloom.

The air is softer.

Shadows are shifting.

Fall is almost here.

I think I’ve mentioned before

There’s only one other place

I can think of living.

The place where the weather

Alternates between spring and fall.

I’ve never found that place.

I know it doesn’t exist.

Because

In order to have spring

You must first abide winter.

Difficult for me.

And so it follows that

In order to have fall.

You must abide summer.

Gardening makes this one easy.

DSCN6251

Fall here on the plains

Can linger for weeks

Months actually.

After last year’s glorious fall

I wasn’t sure we’d see another one like that

For some time.

Something tells me

It’s happening again.

There’s a lushness this September

God is spoiling us.

Spring rains

Mild summer temperatures

And now the glorious days of fall.

Coco and I spent Saturday transplanting.

We dug up a batch of daylilles

That were spreading wildly

In the main garden

They’ve been moved to areas that are

A little more accepting of their behavior

Some will even get transplanted

Across state lines

To Elliott’s garden.

In their place I planted cabbage.

DSCN6247

Not sure they have time to get giant

But I saw these babies at the store

And thought…why not?

They are near where we lost a Redbud tree

In June

Between the two new stands of Dahlias.

Not sure what will be the more permanent fix.

But after following Floret Flowers

On Instagram for a few months.

My monies on…more Dahlias.

Can this woman grow Dahlias!

One goal this fall

Is to fill in the empty spaces.

That were weed havens all summer.

So I’m scouting for plants in need of dividing

And volunteers that are popping up in odd places.

I’m looking forward to weeks

Of playing in the crisp clean air

And basking in the glory of a garden.

Gail

Surely this is the last Easter Egg left in the garden!

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September 6, 2015 · 1:08 pm

RE-ENTRY

They say that first impressions are important.

Hopefully as a culture we’ve evolved to giving ourselves

More than a few seconds to get to know each other.

But the first impression of a garden

Can draw you in.

Ever since John built this lovely arbor

Over the back gate

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I have loved the entrance

To our back yard.

How it beckons you

To reveal “the rest of the story”.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

But over the past few year.

It’s gone through some pretty severe changes.

You may recall that we lost

This charming old Mimosa tree

A few years ago.

DSCN9725

It still hurts my heart to think about it.

It created a canopy for the entry

And shade for the plants just inside the back gate.

Which means I had a glorious bed of some of my favorites.

Hydrangeas and Caladiums.

With Impatiens dotted in.

And a part-time home for lettuce.

In summer Hydrangea, Caladium and Impatiens spill onto the sidewalk.

But when the tree was gone.

This once shady haven

Began to bake in the noon day sun.

We have planted a replacement Cherry tree.

Buying the biggest one we could find.

Even taking out the fence to get it in.

But it will be years before it creates

The kind of shade we had known.

So the Hydrangeas have been transplanted

To a cooler home

And replaced with Dwarf Crepe Myrtle

The Caladiums and Impatiens have gone missing

Replaced with an old friend I haven’t used in years.

Heliotrope.

It’s spinach-like leaves provide a backdrop

For the deep purple blooms.

Mixed in between

Is orange and yellow Lantana.

So my cool bed

Is now a hot spot.

Both in temperature

And color.

Change.

I seldom invite it

But once I embrace it

I grow

Just like my garden.

Gail

Lots of Dahlias coming soon.

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August 30, 2015 · 10:26 pm

ZINNIAS

Getting a perennial garden

To bloom all season

Can be challenging.

Many around here

Simply throw in the towel

In late summer.

Photo credit Dave Meara

Years ago

I accidentally discovered

How to have plenty of blooms

As summer turns to fall.

Like most things

It’s all about the timing.

And the right plants.

I think it truly was an accident

Or maybe I just didn’t get around to

Planting my Zinnia seeds.

Until late June.

The result was delightful.

Lots of smiling faces

Blooming at me

When most things have

Come and gone.

Then there’s the bonus fact

That butterflies love Zinnias

So by having them around

During the butterfly migration.

I get my share

Or maybe more of butterflies.

I know it’s a moth, but I like it!

Zinnias are a simple flower

One almost everyone knows

They are not exotic

They are not overly flashy.

They are like that old friend

You talk to after months

Of not seeing each other.

And you slip right back

Into your comfortable place.

Flowers and friend

Have a lot in common.

Gail

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Tagged as Late Summer Garden, Perennial Garden, Zinnias

August 25, 2015 · 7:47 pm

LIVING ON THE EDGE

Planting home vegetable gardens

Is experiencing a resurgence in popularity.

I think it’s great.

Especially if home gardeners

Share their abundance with a local food pantry.

But for some reason

I haven’t been able to convert even a section

Of my perennial border

Solely to vegetables.

I convince myself this is OK

Since my abundance of flowers

Supply the nectar

For hundreds of bees.

I’m thinking they are pollinating

Vegetable plants all around town.

I also consider flowers

“Food for the soul.”

But the truth is I’m not that great at growing veggies.

This season alone

I’ve gotten a total of 5 tomatoes from 3 plants

One of which has now been eaten

By a tomato hornworm

May he rest in peace.

And something ate my three brussel sprouts plants

I am good at leafy greens.

Leaf lettuce and arugula are my favorites.

I can also grow radishes galore.

So I’m doing my bit for the local food movement

Planting the edges of my garden.

And a pot here and there.

I have a hard time remembering

When it’s time to plant things.

So last winter I took the local Extension Service calendar

And input it into my personal google calendar.

Which means when it’s time to plant something.

It pops up on my calendar.

Now I remember it’s OK to plant my fall garden

In August.

Last weekend I cleaned out the spaces

Where there were weeds

And sprinkled seeds for

Carrots, radishes, arugula and lettuce.

They I planted peas around the dahlia cages.

It’s not the vegetable garden of my parents

With neat rows and room for towering corn plants.

But it works for me.

Fitting in things along the edges.

Finding the time and place to grow the things

I really want.

And not trying to force myself

To fit it into a standard mold.

Life changes with time

Finding the time and place

For those changes

Can be challenging.

When we figure out how to do it.

It’s wonderful.

Gail

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Filed under Arugula, Bees, Brussels Sprouts, Bugs, Carrots, Fall Vegetables, Gardening, Gardening;Perennials, late summer garden, Lettuce, Radishes, Seeds, sugar snap peas, Tomato, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Tagged as Fall Garden, Gardening, Vegetables

In My Garden

END OF THE SEASON

WINDING DOWN

BUGS – BUGS AND MORE BUGS

NEW DAHLIAS

NURTURING

SUNFLOWERS

FALLING FOR FALL

RE-ENTRY

ZINNIAS

LIVING ON THE EDGE

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