I see it has been quiet here on Gardeners Index the past month or so...Everyone is putting their beds to rest till next year, or planting their new spring bulbs. I have been cleaning pottery and getting them stored, moving perennials and just packing everything away until next spring.

O.K., this is what a weird season I had. It was too cool and cloudy to grow anything but moss and lichen and fern. Heck, my fern didn't even like it this year. But, the biggest surprise were my "Easter… Continue

What a disappointing summer here in northwestern lower Michigan. We really had no summer at all, more like an extended spring. There were two or three days of temps above 80 in July, and Two days in August. Then it just turned right into fall. I now have Easter Lilies blooming next to my asters! Nothing produced or bloomed when it usually does. Out of 4 pack trays of veggies, I got 1 to 3 fruits from each variety. Tomatoes were few and far between, and very late to ripen. Only last week was I… Continue

It is finally warm enough to produce veggies in my garden, about 3 weeks too late! I ate the first grape tomato off the vine this morning. I remember why I love waiting for them every year. Nothing like a homegrown tomato. So far, one Zucchini, a handful of peppers, and immature everything else.

To top off the bad growing season, some storms blew in on August 7th and my neighbors tree decided to top itself on my new woodland garden. Smashed the privacy fence and made a huge mess. I was… Continue

Here we are in the middle of July, and I don't have one tomato! I tried the topsy turvy this year, it is doing better than my caged plants, although there are only blooms, no "maters" yet. It is just too cool for fruits to form. The cool weather plants seem to like it though. Begonias and cyclamen that are usually about done for the heat of summer are really thriving. Usually by now I am flush with rudbeckia, cone flower, lilies, scabiosa and allysum. I hope it warms up soon. I am counting on… Continue

Here we go again, another "ify" planting season in Michigan. Usually the west coast is pretty temperate compared to the rest of the state. There is a narrow strip along lake Michigan that is considered zone 5/6, depending on how far north or south. Every year, I usually have my pumpkins and corn in by Memorial day. Well, Memorial day was a little early on the calendar this year, so I just planted my veggie garden here in town, and waited until the last warnings of frost were over to go to my… Continue