Moss Rose



If you are wondering about now if there is anything that will bloom during the dog days of summer, you are probably not alone.  As I've mentioned before, the heat of the summer is often a time of mere survival for plants, especially when it comes to flowering annuals.  However, Moss Rose and Purslane,…

We picked the first 6(!) cherry tomatoes today!   This is the earliest date yet for us.  These little gems came from the plants that are now about 6 ft tall, planted in the "compost" bed. 

On Friday, I harvested some basil leaves, garlic and two banana peppers to use as toppings on our homemade pizza.  I put the basil on top of the sauce and under the cheese so it wouldn't get crispy.  It really added a gourmet touch, and the smell from the kitchen was heavenly! 

All right, the perennial beds are nearly caught up, as is the weeding in the veggie garden. What's next?

At work I found two brake drums that were changed out of a semi-tractor! At about 16" across and 12" deep, with holes already in the bottom and roughly 20 lb each, they will make perfect parking block/planters for the end of the driveway. The first two go home with me today, pictures to come.

Step 1- will be treating them with phosphorus acid etching primer…

A fellow gardener once told me " You are God with a pair of pruning sheers in your hand; you decide if a sapling becomes a tree or a shrub."  Do you agree?  Is there some truth to that?

I ask because I recently received a beautiful pink dogwood as a birthday gift (Cornus x Rutgan) and have the perfect spot in my backyard but it would place it 8 feet from my screen porch.   Right now it's about 8 ft tall and 2 ft wide.  I know over time the tree can grow to 20 x 20 ft wide…

I am in the process of remedying my lovely clay soil.  Any ideas on what to plant here?  It is facing East and gets partial shade. 

There were originally Holly bushes in front of the windows but they were not growing well.  I am not sure how long they were there.  I just moved in about 6 months…

At some point every summer, you probably get a little overwhelmed with the amount of greens you've eaten. Whether you're growing them yourself or getting them by the CSA box or just keep buying them at the farmers' market because they look gorgeous, you can start to feel like a walking salad after awhile!

So here's my tip for…

Okay it's sorta not far but I've been aways from here. This year has been so hard on our garden. First the winter didn't know when to let go so we jumped head on into spring before we realized it missing alot of potential planting. so somethings never made it in the garden and others aren't doing to well. Then our spring was cute short by this HOT! weather, so nothing is growing much to top it off we have been in a sever drought!

I'm sad alot of my things haven't made it far in their…

SO.  I just explored the 'Groups' area. Wow. Can you say sensory overload?  There were already too many ideas in my head to make sense of at one time, but now! Oh so many more ideas. Wall gardens, woodland, creative containers, Oh My!

There is so much we can do with our little corner of the planet, it's completely amazing.  Where to start? well, to be honest, I've let my existing perennial beds slip a bit, so they need to be revisited before any new projects get going.…

Hello,

I love the new format, think the photos stand out much better this way. 

 I'm still new here and don't see a "search box"?

Are there…

This plant came up in one of my pots last year. I appears to be heat tolerant. I also seems to be cold resistant too as it survived one our coldest winters in years.

If anyone has any idea what it is, please let me know.

Thanks.…

Hi fellow gardeners.  It is hot and rainy here in Cleveland, OH.  For the first time I planted my zucchini in pots and tried a different variety that are more round.  This variety has quickly set fruit which is good, but they are staying small and rotting.  They are in clay pots,  and get plenty of sun.  The rains are almost everyday and at times heavy.  Is this doing it?  I had cucumber beetles at first but sprayed with an organic spray that seems to have stopped them from chewing…