Gardening

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  You Grow Girl: The Dirt

• pennsylvania_newspaper [Flickr]

  yougrowgirl

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:47 pm

  yougrowgirl posted a photo: Oh boy I forget the name of this paper but this feature was done in conjunction with my workshops at Terrain at Styer's in April 2009

• Echeveria leucotricha harmsii

  Gayla

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am

• Unknown Cyclamen

  Gayla

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:03 am

• LaGuardia Corner Gardens

  Gayla

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:37 am

  Our off-time on a recent trip to New York City was spent wandering around soaking everything in and taking pictures. I didn’t go out of my way to visit specific gardens or community gardens this time, but naturally found some along the way. One of the community gardens I came upon was the [...]

• Morning Glory: Star of Yelta

  Gayla

  30 Oct 2009 | 7:30 am

• 
  The Casual Gardener

• Save Money – A Top Ten List for Reducing Outdoor Water Waste

  Shawna

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:28 am

  Studies show that 30% to 40% of all home water usage is utilized outdoors on the lawn and garden. This happens mostly during the summer months, but in warm states it happens all year long. Here are my favorite Top 10 tips for saving water outdoors in the garden so you can make a difference with water conservation: COMPOST! COMPOST! COMPOST! Compost often acts as a sponge; holding and retaining an incredible amount of water for your plants MULCH! MULCH! MULCH! Mulching keeps moisture in the ground longer after watering. Water before 10 AM and after 6 PM to prevent air and heat evaporation…

• Happy Halloween From Shawna and Harry the Franken-Pug – Thanks For Reading Our Garden Blog!

  Shawna

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:55 am

  Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

• A Special Thank You To My Readers For Helping With The 2009 Get it Garden Challenge

  Shawna

  29 Oct 2009 | 12:37 pm

  What an awesome gardening season – the response to the 2009 “Get It Garden Challenge” has been wonderful. Readers in over 20 countries have come to The Casual Gardener blog this season. That’s a definite reason for celebration! Because of the challenge, I met dozens of gardeners who both learned and educated. They  shared their incredible gardens with my readers and defined community by gardening. As an example, see the below photos of Eugene Bordelon’s peppers. Eugene will be gardening on through the late fall as he still has carrots and sweet potatoes he harvests throughout…

• Poisonous Plants Served Up On a Ghastly Platter: A Book Review of Amy Stewart’s “Wicked Plants”

  Shawna

  28 Oct 2009 | 8:03 am

  Amy Stewart has delivered up a deliciously ghastly and scary-smart combination of stories, etchings, and drawings in a fantastic book called Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. What an utterly frightening book of deadly plants to review during this Halloween week! Her book is creative, humorous, and beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this engrossing book which introduces readers to poisonous plants and the true stories of deaths related to them – how utterly wicked! Above is a short video Amy and her team made showing some…

• 2009 Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative – Pumpkin Soup - Recipe # 14

  Shawna

  22 Oct 2009 | 7:45 am

  Chef Chris Perrin of www.blogwelldone.com and Shawna Coronado of http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com have teamed up to create the ultimate cooking and gardening lineup for the “2009 Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative.”Yep, that’s right, it’s another installment of the 2009 Nude & Echo-Cheap Cooking Initiative. Today we’re making Pumpkin Soup. If you’re not familiar with the 2009 Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative, that’s where I take the delicious veggies grown by the always awesome Shawna Coronado and turn them into a meal for a family of four that costs less…

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  Cold Climate Gardening

• Mini Guest Post

  Kathy Purdy

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:03 am

  I am cited as a “winter survival pro” at Seasonal Wisdom. Check it out, and add your own tips in the comments. I know a lot of my readers are winter survival pros.

• Lady-Slipper Seed Pods

  Kathy Purdy

  25 Oct 2009 | 6:25 pm

  Remember this? Cypripedium acaule, commonly known as Pink Lady-slipper Now it looks like this: Seed pods of pink lady-slipper, Cypripedium acaule I discovered these while on my witch hazel walk. Lady Slipper Seed Germination As related by William Cullina in The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers (affiliate link): “The typical lady-slipper seedpod contains between 10,000 and 20,00 seeds!” The reason they have so many seeds is because the seeds lack endosperm Without endosperm, the seeds are very light and are spread by the wind…

• How to Plant a Lot of Crocuses

  Kathy Purdy

  22 Oct 2009 | 4:37 am

  For years now, we’ve enjoyed the crocus display along one side of our driveway. This spring I decided it should be even bigger, and over the last two days I planted a hundred more, bringing the total to over nine hundred. The “soil” is compacted clay, making the corms somewhat difficult to plant, but, happily, also difficult for the voles to get at. Thought I’d show you how I do it: The Crocus Bank chronicles my problem driveway bank and provides all the details as to what varieties I planted to solve this design challenge. I started planting in 1994, and developed my…

• A Good Year for Witch Hazels

  Kathy Purdy

  20 Oct 2009 | 7:24 am

  It is a family tradition to walk up the hill and into the woods this time of year to seek out the witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blossoms. This is a native shrub or small tree that prefers moist, acidic soil–which we have in abundance. In some years, the witch hazel doesn't drop its leaves, making it more difficult to see the flowers. This year we found many trees with the leaves already gone. The flower-filled branches are enchanting This is a plant that has romantic connotations for me. (Narcissus is another one.) I already told the story in a previous post, so I’ll just…

• First Snow of 2009-2010

  Kathy Purdy

  16 Oct 2009 | 7:44 am

  Last night it snowed. That, in itself, is not unusual for the second half of October. But normally we get flurries mixed with rain, and no accumulation. Yesterday a weather record for snow accumulation was broken. The official new record is 1.2 inches accumulation. The old record was “trace.” And unofficial reports coming in tell of as much as twice that accumulation. The view from the porch around 7:30am. (Click to enlarge) If you click on the photo, you can see that most of the trees have lost their leaves. This usually happens around this time, but normally it’s due to…

• 
  A Way to Garden

• doodle by andre: her other love, the mower

  Margaret

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:29 am

  WE GARDENERS HAVE SPOKEN OUR FEELINGS OPENLY together here about mowing, but I guess The Andres hadn’t had the talk yet–the talk about how some lovers with macho names like Toro and Snapper are fair-weather friends. Uh-oh, the mower’s about to go into cold storage, and *she* isn’t ready for the separation. Or maybe the [...] Related posts:doodle by andre: happy anniversary to us! WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DOODLE MAKES. Sixteen months ago I...doodle by andre, wild bird of a feather I AFFECTIONATELY CALLED ANDRE JORDAN A BIRD OF A FEATHER...doodle by andre: way down in the…

• feeling grateful for great fruiting plants

  Margaret

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:17 am

  AN INCOMING FLOCK OF ROBINS LAST WEEK and another of cedar waxwings just after remind me why I grow big masses of fruit-bearing plants, particularly shrubs and small trees like crabapples (above). The fact that all the leaves just fell here reminded me of the other reason—the selfish one: because I get to look at [...] Related posts:a fruitful year for my viburnum IF I COULD ONLY HAVE ONE GENUS of plants (please,...viburnums: think fall (yes, fall) NO, I HAVE NOT GONE MAD when I say...i know what birds like: 11 backyard-habitat tips I KNOW WHAT BIRDS LIKE. Boys, perhaps not so much...

• paperwhites on the rocks

  Margaret

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:57 am

  I AM REMINDED BY MY ANNUAL EMAIL from a venerable gardener in Rhode Island that paperwhites are lushes, and need a stiff drink their first two waterings to stay compact and less tipsy than they would otherwise. Depending on the “proof” of the alcohol you use, the mixture can be about 1:8 alcohol:water; her recommendations [...] Related posts:out, out damn paperwhites! EVERY YEAR I FALL FOR IT: those fat paperwhite narcissus...

• my november garden chores

  Margaret

  1 Nov 2009 | 4:43 am

  THE WINDING DOWN is well under way in my cold zone, and a beautiful time of reflection and rest lies ahead…if only we can get the place cleaned up before really harsh weather says “stop.” Target extra-thorough cleanup first to areas where rodents and moles might do winter damage, not leaving any heavy buildup of [...] Related posts:my october garden chores FALL IS HEATING UP, at least visually, even as temperatures...my september garden chores THE FALL IS COMING, the fall is coming. Nothing to...my june garden chores J UNE IS THE MONTH when the spring garden, all...

• doodle by andre: it’s all a matter of taste

  Margaret

  29 Oct 2009 | 2:38 am

  WHAT DO YOU SAY (AFTER ‘THANK YOU’) when someone sends you something thoughtful but, well, um, you’re just not an orange person? This latest doodle from Andre Jordan reminds me of all those holiday gifts I never wore but just couldn’t throw out, either. Of course, I actually like pink with orange, but then there’s [...] Related posts:doodle by andre: father xmas or an elf? THE TOPIC OF GNOMES is a popular one here at...doodle by andre: thinking of you ROBIN REDBREAST is a classic symbol of spring, the early...doodle by andre: it’s so regrettable Y ES, AND…

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  The Occasional Gardener

• Suburban Foliage

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:53 pm

  I've been to Mamaroneck the last 2 weekends, the first weekend my camera had issues and I ended up borrowing Jim's camera. I was only able to download the images the following weekend when my own camera became issue free and I took more photos. That's my excuse for a lull in posting.Here's one image from each weekend that captures the much more spectacular foliage color changes that occur outside the city. The range of color is also terrfic and I have a series of autumn palettes that I will post but this first one is in the classic yellow red vein. Remember the pinks and purples from last…

• Urban Autumn 2

  20 Oct 2009 | 12:18 pm

  I managed to squeeze in a quick walk in Central Park a few days ago and enjoyed another view of an updated Urban Autumn except more biased to the autumn part. This time the Manhattan geometry was well in the distance framed by autumn golds, the human crush whittled down to a jogger or bicyclist or two and outnumbered by berries. Much better.+ OGMedia:New Urbanism

• Bittersweet

  11 Oct 2009 | 10:19 am

  The sight of these bittersweet branches hung on a line on the side of a truck in Union Square market stopped me dead in my tracks. It wasn't just their stark sculptural beauty, it was the contrast of their organic curving forms against the geometry of the trucks rivets, the intensity of the oranges and yellows against their monochrome shadows and the flat white paint. There was also something ancient about them that contrasted with the industrial modernity of the metal wall and line. On a table in front of this uncontrived and thought provoking wall art a pile of them pulsated the vibrant…

• Autumn Flotsam

  29 Sep 2009 | 11:41 am

  It's eyes down, here in Manhattan as the pavements get strewn with Autumn flotsam. Acorns, leaves, seed pods and twigs litter the urban floor. Sharp yellows of turning leaves decorate the dull gray concrete. The crunch of dry twigs and seed pods add an autumnal nuance to the urban percussion of foot traffic. I have some acorns left over from some twigs I picked up a couple of weeks ago. This morning I picked up a couple of seed pods from the many honey locust trees in the neighborhood. Their dry brown tones counterpoint the mauve blue flowers of the Plumbago that is now blooming quite…

• Small Mercies

  24 Sep 2009 | 10:05 am

  .Everytime I think today will be day I run out and indulge in a little garden photography, it clouds over or rains. My foster dog is highly dog reactive, walks in central park are out of the question but long walks are necessary since he is young and spirited, so recreation time is taken up by long urban walks where we can take refuge behind a parked car if we see other dogs. Work and volunteer work keeps postponing a day up in Mamaroneck. I will settle for some small respite I tell myself, just a little tiny something, and on cue my Euphorbia Milli blooms. Small tiny exquisite yellow…

• 
  Doug Green's Blog

• Coneflowers yet again

  Doug

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:14 am

  Just when you think you understand and have written about as much as your reader’s can stomach about coneflowers, along comes another rash of questions and fellow garden writers writing about this plant. When the new plants started appearing on the gardening scene, I remember hearing from the originating nurseries that we in the production nursery side of things had to treat these hybrids differently than the older ones. In short, we were told to wait until the plant got to about 12-18 inches tall and then cut it back by half. This would force the plant to develop new shoots and a…

• Fall Planting

  Doug

  3 Nov 2009 | 3:12 pm

  Just for the record, here’s my schedule of fall planting with comments. Understand this is for a USDA zone 4 – Canadian Zone 5-ish and your timing may vary and your experience may as well. This is a rule of thumb worked out in the nursery to increase survival rates over many years and way too many plants. Perennials. I like to get all the perennial work done by the end of September. This gives the plants lots of time to set in good anchor roots so frost heave in the spring won’t be an issue. It’s not necessarily the cold that gets perennials but being tossed about in…

• Perennial Flowers and Record Keeping

  Doug

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:48 am

  Some random thoughts about perennial flowers and record-keeping. I got a few comments – on and off-list about my latest blog post so here are the answers. Do I keep records? Sort of. I keep records of trial plants so I know what’s going on with that plant. I’ll show you the system next spring as I set it up again – basically a cedar stake for each plant with plant data written on it in pencil. This lasts several years and by then, I’ve either killed it, loved it and written about it or moved it into the main garden (or compost pile). The stakes are then sanded down and…

• List of Perennial Flowers

  Doug

  30 Oct 2009 | 2:42 pm

  When it comes to making a list of perennial flowers that I like to grow, I run smack into my enthusiasm for this class of flowering plants. In my old nursery days, I grew over 1800 varieties for sale and I have absolutely no idea how many were in the gardens (well over 1800) as I’d start around 300 new varieties and/or species every year from seed for my plant trials. As one customer said, “I just discovered this rock garden plant and I’ve been gardening for years. I come here and you have 13 species of it!”. (He was referring to my Draba collection). We had all kinds…

• Links for Week of October 26

  Doug

  30 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am

  Links You May Find Useful Budget Landscaping - folks always want to know how to do some budget landscaping – here are the primary steps along with a form for you to add your low-cost landscaping ideas. Leaves in a pond Winterized Pond – Happy Fish Recycled Bluestone Pavers in a Pond When Can I Transplant Dianthus How Far Apart and How Many Years Do I Have to Rotate Sections in my Vegetable Garden Weeding a Rock Garden The How and When Of Dividing Black Eyed Susan - check out the other propagation questions as well on the same page Lost Some Fish Last Year – What Do I Do?

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  About.com Gardening

• Featured Plant: Viburnum

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:01 pm

  The longer I garden, the more I love shrubs. I am utterly delighted with every new Deutzia and Weigela that comes out, but I would never forsake my old favorites, like lilacs, hydrangeas and viburnums. There are over 150 species of viburnums that grow from Zone 2 through 9. These are long-lived and fuss free shrubs that can provide colorful berries for the birds, brilliant fall color and sometimes even fragrance. You're probably familiar with at least a few Viburnums already, like Korean spice, with pink buds that open to white, clove-scented snowballs, the American Cranberry Bush, with it's…

• Gardening Question of the Week: Can I Prune My Raspberries in the Fall?

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:01 pm

  Someone in the About Gardening Forum wanted to know if pruning their raspberry plants now, rather than waiting until late winter, would have any effect on the amount of raspberries the plants produce. I've always heard that leaving the canes in tact helps the plants make it through winter, although I'm not entirely sure why. We'd love to hear from other raspberry growers, about when you do your pruning. Do any of you cut your raspberries back at the end of the season and have you noticed any differences or problems? Pruning Raspberries in Fall Forum Thread When to Prune Raspberries and…

• A Good Foundation Planting

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:05 pm

  For many of us, the shrubs in front of our homes are about the only gardens we see throughout winter. While there's a movement to get us thinking about alternatives to foundation plantings, shrubs still rule. If you're not yet willing to replace your yews and rhododendrons with perennials and vegetables, you still might want to think about sprucing up your curb appeal. David Beaulieu has a foundation planting photo gallery of inspiration for you to mull over and compare what you have with what it could be. Photo: © Marie Iannotti A Good Foundation Planting originally appeared on About.com…

• Naturalizing Bulbs in the Lawn

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:47 pm

  Each spring, when I see old lawns glazed blue with scilla, I briefly think maybe I'll give that a try next fall. Then I remember the year I crawled around the lawn planting dozens of crocus bulbs that somehow disappeared after their second year. Maybe they were eaten or maybe I just mowed them down too early. Do bulbs planted in a lawn have to be allowed to yellow and die on their own, like bulbs planted in the garden? Good question. A spring lawn glowing with scilla or dotted with crocus is stunning, but the lingering foliage can be an eye sore. However, if you want your bulbs to thrive,…

• Holiday Photo Challenge

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:01 pm

  We've started the Nov/Dec Photo Challenge and the theme is - Holiday Plants. No gardener would think of decorating for any of the holidays without including a few plants, flowers and evergreens. Once you've finished your creative masterpieces, take some photos and share your holidays with us. Post your entries Photo Challenge thread, in the About Gardening Forum. Submissions will be closed at midnight, December 31st and winners will be announced on January 10th of next year. This challenge spans 2 months, so you've got lots of time - and lots of holidays - to snap lots of photos. So get into…

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  GARDENING - Google News

• Garden books, November 7 - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

  Google Inc.

  Garden books, November 7Inland Valley Daily BulletinNow Paul Bonine, who owns a wholesale nursery in Oregon, has written a book by the same name "Black Plants: 75 Striking Choices for the Garden" (Timber Mysterious, sophisticated black plantsBradenton Heraldall 8 news articles »

• Fall chores in the perennial garden - Mansfield Today

  Google Inc.

  Fall chores in the perennial gardenMansfield TodayAs long as more moderate fall weather persists and the soil is still workable, we can continue to tidy up and even forge ahead in the perennial garden. and more »

• Curious carrot: Unusual veggie catches attention of gardener - Greeley Tribune

  Google Inc.

  Curious carrot: Unusual veggie catches attention of gardenerGreeley TribuneFisher, you see, has had white carrots pop up in his garden behind his central Greeley home, right along with the normal orange ones. “I've been gardening and more »

• 'Gardening' helps grow companies - Tallahassee.com

  Google Inc.

  'Gardening' helps grow companiesTallahassee.comHis was the segment on Accessing Florida's Economic Gardening Program, an initiative just launched to assist established or second-stage companies. and more »

• Gardening: November good month to plant butterfly garden - The News-Press

  Google Inc.

  Gardening: November good month to plant butterfly gardenThe News-PressNow is a good time to plan and plant your butterfly garden. Many butterfly attracting and supporting plants are perennials, so if properly sited and and more »

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  Home Gardening News

• Venezuelans struggling with water shortages

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:26 am

  Every two weeks, Naisi Obando and her children join the crowd at the water truck when it rumbles up a dusty road into their shantytown.

• A primer on gathering, using your yard's leaves

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:10 pm

  You could be called the lawn Luddites. You're the holdouts who shun leaf blowers and lawn vacuums, the hardy types who find satisfaction in the scrape of tines on grass.

• Plant a see, get a tree

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pm

  Planting seeds is a satisfying way to grow trees and shrubs, and gives you a special affection for the plants.

• Plenty of food for thought in the movie Food Inc

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:24 am

  Plenty of food for thought in the movie Food Inc. I recently had the opportunity watch the documentary Food Inc.

• Top 10 wedding dress trends for Spring 2010

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:07 am

  Bridal Fashion Week is the chance for top designers to show off their new lines, and our chance to find out what's hot in wedding fashion.

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  Plant Whatever Brings You Joy

• Little Orphant Annie

  Kathryn

  31 Oct 2009 | 1:35 pm

  Little Orphant Annie by Gertrude Elliott When I was a wee girl living with my Grandmother, she bought me a book called The Golden Book of Poetry. God bless her heart. And this was one of the many books she used to read to me before I went to bed at night. Without a doubt my favorite poem in this book was “Little Oprhant Annie” and to this day, as I read it or hear it read the cadence rings deep in delight within my being. I feel the child’s delight at the rhythm and the intention embedded so skillfully into the poem by author James Witcomb Riley. I loved this poem so much as…

• The Gatherer and Black Walnuts

  Kathryn

  25 Oct 2009 | 5:33 pm

  Increasingly over time I have been moving towards trying to become more aware and, if possible, to integrate into my every day experience what culinary resources I naturally find at hand. Toward that end, this year I discovered huckleberries and added them to my scone repertoire. I began to teach myself what plants the Native American peoples used locally and to think about what use they might have for me in this day. I began collecting recipes for the quinces that I found growing on this property. I gathered dozens and dozens of apples from my dear friend Conny’s land, and shared my…

• Pumpkin Festival Fun!

  Kathryn

  18 Oct 2009 | 9:22 pm

  This afternoon I grabbed my camera and headed to a local Pumpkin Festival, knowing it would be a visual treat, and I was not disappointed. Having a daughter who spent the better part of the last decade in Hollywood, a broad smile broke out on my face when I saw the above entrance. Central casting, indeed! What I had not anticipated, however, was that the competing contestants were all dogs and I had arrived straight in the midst of a doggie Halloween costume contest, at the very moment they were voting for the various contestants, through audience applause. What timing! The winner was quickly…

• Evolution of an Apple

  Kathryn

  10 Oct 2009 | 6:27 pm

  Some of you might recall that I recently made a trek out to the coast to retrieve an abundance of apples from my dearest friend Conny, who is off to South America for the next two months, rendering her impossibly able to take advantage of her own harvest. Happily and ever so gratefully I gathered the above, from a number of trees (lucky me!). Upon returning they were placed in two large bowls on the kitchen table, a harkening and beckoning towards the abundance of fall–and to productivity in the kitchen! Now what to do?? First on the agenda was to bring the dehydrator in from out in the…

• Redefining Native

  Kathryn

  2 Oct 2009 | 6:54 pm

  Native American Indian picking huckleberries Merriam Webster Dictionary Main Entry: 1na·tive Pronunciation: \ˈnā-tiv\ Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English natif, from Middle French, from Latin nativus, from natus, past participle of nasci to be born — more at nation Date: 14th century 1 : inborn, innate 2 : belonging to a particular place by birth 6 a : grown, produced, or originating in a particular place or in the vicinity : local b : living or growing naturally in a particular region : indigenous synonyms native, indigenous, endemic, mean belonging to a locality. native…

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  Dig In Dirt Blogs

• Diane's Texas Garden

  2 Nov 2009 | 3:48 am

  Living and gardening in the Hill Country of South Texas

• my aloe garden

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:03 am

  Aloes in the garden and in their wild habitat. Save water gardening with aloes, succulents and lilies.

• ThymeAndThymeAgain

  31 Oct 2009 | 9:56 am

  Trained in landscape architecture (with BLA and MLA Degrees), after the renovation of our 1927 house, I planted a thriving home garden. This garden is also metaphor for my on-going job search.

• The Garden On Loch Ness

  30 Oct 2009 | 6:41 am

  A beautiful garden on the shore of Loch Ness. Winding woodland walks bursting with rare and unusual plants from around the world, stunning views out over the loch and a selling area full of gems.

• Green Lane Allotments Weather Diary

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:01 am

  Records the local weather details near to my allotment plot and how these affect my gardening

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  NYT > Home & Garden

• The Decline and Fall of the Bachelor Pad

  By SARAH MASLIN NIR

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:51 pm

  The economy has clobbered many young, single men. And when bachelors scale down, crash pads replace seductive lairs.

• Habitats | Lafayette Street: A Production Called Home

  By CONSTANCE ROSENBLUM

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:34 pm

  Sturgis Warner, a theater director, uses contraptions he built to make the most of his space in a fifth-floor walk-up in the East Village.

• Shopping With Kim Zimmer: When Suds Subside

  By HARVEY ARATON

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:49 pm

  The long-reigning diva of “Guiding Light,” the soap opera whose 57-year run on television ended in September, shopped for furnishings and affordable creature comforts.

• A Dream Home Undone by Divorce

  By PENELOPE GREEN

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:25 pm

  Leslie Williams bought what she thought was her dream house, but her marriage was finished long before the renovation.

• Building With Whole Trees

  By ANNE RAVER

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:38 pm

  Roald Gundersen is an architect who may revolutionize the building industry.

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  May Dreams Gardens

• TGIF for Gardeners and Other Tidbits

  Carol

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am

  TGIF for gardeners... Thank God It's Flowering, or at least this white carpet rose was flowering a few weeks ago.I don't know if I'll find a dried up rose on the 15th for the next bloom day or not. Regardless, fellow gardeners from all climates, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day will take place all through the winter.You'll be surprised how clever and resourceful we temperate climate gardeners can be

• Thoughts Related to Viburnums

  Carol

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:19 pm

  Raise your hand if you thought that the Viburnum genus was still in the Honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae.Yes, I thought so, too, and many online resources and books still include it in that family. But it appears that after careful review using molecular phylogeny, botanists decided that the genus Viburnum should be moved to the Moschatel family, Adoxaceae.Molecular phylogeny? I also naively

• Basketball Season Has Begun And Our Thoughts Turn To Gardening

  Carol

  3 Nov 2009 | 7:40 pm

  Basketball season has begun and our thoughts turn to gardening, as they always do.If a gardener is going to follow a sport, I've always suggested it should be basketball, especially pro basketball, as in the NBA, because it's timed so that its season doesn't interfere with most gardening activities, at least here in USDA Zone 5.For the most part, the season begins in late fall, after the first

• A Gardener's Guide to "Distance"

  Carol

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  It’s once again time for a lesson on the language of gardeners.Today’s lesson is on the terms that experienced gardeners use for “distance” and what they really mean.We will begin with three terms used for distances within the garden and conclude with one term used for distances outside of the garden.As deep as you can digFor most bulbs planted in the fall, the instructions indicate to plant the

• Jack Frost Is A Demanding Task Master

  Carol

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:25 am

  We get an extra hour today!How are you going to spend it? Who is going to decide how you spend?Unfortunately, like it or not, how we spend an hour is often decided by others around us, by forces and fates that are not ours to control.Today, a force referred to as “Jack Frost” has decreed that the extra hour gained today by turning back the clock an hour will be spent in the garden preparing for

• 
  Backyard Gardening Blog

• San Francisco’s New Composting Law

  Administrator

  21 Oct 2009 | 9:44 am

  I just heard about this on the news. Apparently today a new law in San Francisco took affect, enacting the strictest trash ordinance in the country. Everyone either has to compost at home, or get a separate bin to put their compostables in for curbside pickup, or be fined with fines starting at $100 for individuals and $500 for businesses. Well, I’m sure some citizens may hate this, but this is an opportunity for gardens, you’ll probably be able to finagle lots of compost from neighbors, or just do midnight raids on those green compost bins on the curb. But if you’re going to be…

• How to Propagate Hydrangea

  Administrator

  19 Oct 2009 | 6:10 pm

  I love big mophead hydrangeas, they do really well in shade or part sun, and get big bright flowers on them. They don’t do well north of where I am, but I’m pretty much at the northern border of where you’ll reliably get blooms every year, so I can grow them. I always want more, and the easy answer is to propagate them. There are two main ways, layering and cutting. I’ll explain layering briefly but this post is mostly going to be about cutting. Laying involves picking a flexible cane on the side of a shrub, carefully stripping the bark in about a one inch segment as…

• Stalking the Purple Potato

  Administrator

  7 Oct 2009 | 5:48 am

  I love the idea of purple potatoes. Antioxidants and various other nutrituiets are often marked by color and flavor. Foods that are colorful, like blueberries or pomegranites, or butternut squash, have nutritients. Also, foods that are flavorful, cinnamon, nutmeg, most spices. The stronger the flavor, the darker the color, the better it is for you. So the relatively bland and white potato has little going for it. But did you know in the Andes, where potatoes are from, they grow in all sorts of colors? One of which is purple, containing the same antioxidants as blueberries. And, they taste…

• Squash, Frost, Babies, and Kiwi

  Administrator

  6 Oct 2009 | 5:50 pm

  I’ve been a busy bee. Not blogging though. My last post, prior to this one, was July 30th. On August 1st my wife went back to work, which left work-at-home dad (aka me) as sole caretaker during the day for our then 2 month (now 4 month) year old son. I’ve hardly had time to harvest food from the garden, and not even always that, let alone do any gardening and or blogging about it. But, it is time to start again, so let me say, I hate frost. This year we had a really cold early Spring but then it warmed really quick so we had a warm late Spring, with no late frosts. What a…

• Smelly Soupy Poopy Compost Tumbler

  Administrator

  30 Jul 2009 | 4:31 pm

  Composting is not an exact science, and even someone who has used a compost tumbler for a long time like me can mess up. I use my compost tumbler in the following way: I take brown paper bags and while cooking put scraps of veggies, peels, watermelon rinds, etc, in the bags. Then I toss the whole bag into the tumbler. The bag provides the brown, the contents the green, and it should compost, and it does compost. I know though that the bag doesn’t provide enough brown, but I also add clippings from the garden, including chipped branches and other woody stuff, and of course in Fall I add…

• 
  Garden of Eatin'

• Turkey Day ‘09

  Amy

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:34 pm

  First order of business: Costco is getting ready to start accepting food stamps (now known as SNAP, or Supplimental Nutrition Assistance Program) by Thanksgiving ‘09, which I think many of my readers will appreciate thanks to the great economy we’ve got going on. Just be careful and price compare because Costco is more expensive for many things! Second order of business: Plan your Turkey Day dinner now and get it ready as far in advance as possible to avoid that crazy “oh my god what did I get myself into” thing again this year. Here’s some recipes you might like…

• Halloween Good (gross) Eats

  Amy

  29 Oct 2009 | 12:32 pm

  From the world of the internet, I bring you (might want to hide small children): Meat(loaf) Hand From not martha Bloody Brain Pannacotta From Not Quite Nigella Halloween “Finger Food” From A bit of this and A bit of that Zombie Cake From Courtney’s Cakes flickr Halloween Monster From pbjoachim’s flickr Isn’t Halloween the awesomest?!!

• OSU Master Gardener Program

  Amy

  15 Oct 2009 | 3:28 pm

  I got this email and am passing it on to you! Don’t miss out! Fall Greetings from Oregon State University! You are receiving this email because you are on our Master Gardener™ Online mailing list. We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for our January 2010 Master Gardener™ Online basic training course. This popular online class is capped at 35 students (for each of the options below), and has historically filled within the first two weeks of registration. To ensure your spot, register online now and pay in full by December 16. Note: For past and current Master…

• 
  Plant Talk

• Plan Your Weekend: Taiko Drumming

  Plant Talk

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Thrilling Japanese Art Form on Conservatory Lawn Thundering and thrilling, the taiko (Japanese drum) has been called “the voice and spirit of the Japanese people.” From its roots in agriculture and the ancient music of shrines and temples, traditional taiko folk music is believed to entertain the gods, attract good fortune, drive away evil forces and insects, lend strength and courage to warriors, and celebrate life. Each weekend during Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden experience the sounds of both ancient and modern Japan by the group Taiko Masala on the Conservatory Lawn. Get Your…

• New Exhibition Showcases Treasures from Mertz Library

  Plant Talk

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Jane Dorfman is Reference Librarian/Exhibitions Coordinator in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. Mertz Library Director Susan Fraser and Curators Stephen Sinon and I had the delightful task of selecting the 63 items that comprise the latest exhibit in the Library’s Rondina and LoFaro Gallery, Ex Libris: Treasures from the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, on through January 10, 2010. This is a show about the Library’s rich and varied collections. Although delightful, it was not an easy task to select from such a treasure trove of material. The LuEsther T. Mertz Library is the largest botanical and…

• Floral Design Certificate Helps Student Expand Business

  Plant Talk

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Sarah Lusardi is owner of Engaging Floral Designs  and holds a Certificate in Floral Design from The New York Botanical Garden’s Adult Education Program. In 2003 I opened a wedding planning company, NY Engagements, LLC, for the engaged professional woman on the go. Soon I started incorporating lighting services, linen rentals, and even basic floral work for budget-conscious brides. A big break—and a turning point—came when my planning and floral services were filmed for the TV show Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? on the Style Network. I realized that my floral and planning services were a…

• Tip of the Week: How to Grow Garlic

  Plant Talk

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center. Garlic has been around since the beginning of time. As early as 2500 BC pharaohs were feeding garlic to their laborers to keep them strong and healthy while they built pyramids. The ancient Greeks viewed it as a cure-all. Physicians carried garlic cloves in their pockets during the Great Plague to ward off disease. The British used garlic juice in preparing makeshift bandages during WWI. Beyond medicinal uses, garlic has a colorful…

• Plan Your Weekend: Kids Participate in Tea Ceremony

  Plant Talk

  30 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am

  Japanese Autumn Adventures Offers “Passport” of Fun Noelle V. Dor is Museum Education Intern in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. As the Northern Hemisphere inches away from the sun and life turns inward, The New York Botanical Garden is under way with Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden, a celebration of autumn and Japanese culture. While Kiku pays homage to Japan’s annual Festival of Happiness, which honors the fall bloom and seemingly perfect beauty of the chrysanthemum flower, the Everett Children Adventure Garden’s Japanese Autumn Adventures highlights an equally…

• 
  GardenGateBlog

• Beautiful Day

  Cynthia McKenna LPC, NCC

  2 Nov 2009 | 1:28 pm

  I have a long list of "to do's" and I am picking away at them, and noticing that I don't procrastinate as much as I did when I was younger.  Maybe I have finally learned to just get on with unpleasant tasks.  I hope so.  I like the "efficient" me a lot more than the slacker girl...I hope your week is off to a good beginning.CynthiaCynthia McKenna Counseling

• November

  Cynthia McKenna LPC, NCC

  1 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am

  The summer garden is winding down and the fall plants are growing - in that slow way that seedlings do.  I am making the internal transition from summer to winter in terms of cooking, eating, and productivity.  I love the cooler months and the opportunity to be a little less busy and a little more reflective.I was just reading about some gardens in the northern states that are already suffering from early frost, freezing rain, and even snow.  Today in Texas, it's warm and sunny.  The house is open and I can hear the water from the pond.  In the heat of summer, I wish I lived where…

• Halloween Pie

  Cynthia McKenna LPC, NCC

  31 Oct 2009 | 4:12 pm

  Happy Halloween!

• Got crust?

  Cynthia McKenna LPC, NCC

  31 Oct 2009 | 2:46 pm

• Roasted pumpkin

  Cynthia McKenna LPC, NCC

  31 Oct 2009 | 1:20 pm

• 
  Old Country Gardens

• Those #$#@! Plant collectors!

  Melanie

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:14 am

  As I just posted on my other blog, Melanie's Perennials, I'm off this morning to Pittsburgh PA.Tomorrow I will be speaking to a group of gardening clubs, all made up of plant collectors. There will be Hosta collectors there, I love Hosta!There will also be Iris collectors there, I love Iris!Of course there will be Daylily collectors there, thank goodness I love daylilies!And, last but not least, there will be Daffodil collectors there, I love Daffodils! Are you noticing a common theme here? Yes, I must admit I'm a plant-a-holic and most definitely have collectoritis. Truth be told, I don't…

• Inside Out

  Melanie

  27 Oct 2009 | 8:36 am

  Here I sit, inside on my last "free day". Tomorrow I begin working (a "real" job) and had hoped to be able to spend some time today outdoors. Unfortunately Mother Nature knows best, I really have quite a few things to work on here with my lap-top. Still, I couldn't resist taking a few shots at the amazing leaf display going on outside my windows.Looking out my front door you can see the sugar Maple is dropping leaves like crazy. Now I'm wishing we didn't spend all day Sunday raking under this tree.Out back (looking from my second story bedroom) you can see another spectacular sugar Maple.

• Autumn foliage

  Melanie

  25 Oct 2009 | 5:04 pm

  What's this? Two posts in one week! Bear with me folks, I'm trying hard to get back in the saddle again.Today I spent the most glorious day outside, at least 8 hours raking leaves, cutting back dead foliage and picking up branches that were downed during yesterdays storm.The Hakonechloa grass out at the beginning of my driveway still looks fabulous although most of the Hosta and other perennials out there are just about done for.This time of year the foliage on the hardy Geranium's really starts to color-up. I love the burgundy tinges on this Geranium cantabrigiense 'Biokova'.The Hostas are…

• The first day...

  Melanie

  22 Oct 2009 | 7:38 am

  Well, autumn has truly arrived here at Old Country Gardens. It's brought a whole new life to me, today is the first day!Emily and I have been living here on our own for three weeks now, still quite a bit of learning to do. Yesterday I went on a job interview with J.Crew in our local mall, looking for something to do for the holidays and get my feet back into the "working world". Guess what? I start today!The sugar maple in front of my house is just a riot of color, what a great sight to see out my bedroom window.The pass-along Chrysanthemums from my friend Gianna are blooming madly right now.

• Living Life on the Edge

  Melanie

  28 Sep 2009 | 5:14 pm

  Not too much gardening going on right now, been insanely busy with Board of Education duties. The other day though I took a few more butterfly images. Was totally mesmerized by this butterfly dancing oh so close to the spiderweb.I kept watching carefully because I couldn't tell if it's feet were actually stuck there.Now I'm thinking I should have poked it a bit with my finger to make sure that it was truly free but I'm pretty sure I remember seeing it fly about.Also living life on the edge is Calie-the-wonderdoodle-dog who obviously has no problem sleeping in what ever position is most…

• 
  bloomingwriter

• From Imperfection, Beauty: Wabi-sabi in November

  jodi (bloomingwriter)

  2 Nov 2009 | 3:34 pm

  It's not a secret to anyone who knows me or who follows bloomingwriter that autumn is not my favourite season. The vanishing light does bad things to my moods although I do cheer myself with the thought that as soon as we make it past Solstice in December, the days will be lengthening again. Usually autumn in Nova Scotia is a thing of wonder and glory, especially in September & October. This year

• Happy Halloweening from the kitties!

  jodi (bloomingwriter)

  31 Oct 2009 | 10:15 am

  see more Lolcats and funny picturesIf it's not one thing it's another. Been buried in work (which is good and fun and interesting and pays the bills) but also down-a-quart, healthwise. So I've been missing in action again. I told the catchildren they could do the post for Halloween but most of them weren't interested, being busy sleeping. We don't get trick or treaters here now, because the local

• Gardening by colour: White spring bulbs

  jodi (bloomingwriter)

  19 Oct 2009 | 8:06 am

  The weather here continues to be more like November than October: cold, wet, dreary, windy, rainy, repeat as necessary. It's been annoying because the great fall colour we often get has been somewhat beleaguered by excessive wind and rain, so that many leaves are just getting to their good colour when the wind shreds and sends them away. I've done nothing outside, but am declaring a day off

• The fruits of MY labours...

  jodi (bloomingwriter)

  10 Oct 2009 | 3:34 pm

  I've mentioned before that autumn isn't my best time of year, as the daylight shrinks and the garden winds down. Normally I do something to sort of prepare for the coming of winter, a yearly ritual like putting the garden to bed, filling the woodshed, and so on. It's amazing how it fortifies one's mind and soul. This year is no exception, and thanks to my longsuffering spouse's generosity and

• The Fruits of their Labours

  jodi (bloomingwriter)

  28 Sep 2009 | 8:32 am

  I've been working on a couple of assignments that mention seedheads, berries, and other fruit forms, and that necessitated me taking a walk around the yard with my camera, looking to see what has or is in the process of setting seed. I'm not the tidiest of gardeners, and while I deadhead my container plantings, I tend to leave the perennial beds alone so that they can set seed to provide food for

• 
  Zanthan Gardens

• Kalanchoe daigremontiana

  M Sinclair Stevens in Austin, Texas

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:46 am

  2009-02-26. Kalanchoe daigremontiana.

• Welcome, Central Texas Gardener

  M Sinclair Stevens in Austin, Texas

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:58 am

• Rose ‘Blush Noisette’

  M Sinclair Stevens in Austin, Texas

  29 Oct 2009 | 9:39 am

  2009-10-29. Rose 'Blush Noisette'. Zanthan Gardens

• Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2009

  M Sinclair Stevens in Austin, Texas

  24 Oct 2009 | 8:47 pm

  Cheryl Goveia's garden

• Herb Garden

  M Sinclair Stevens in Austin, Texas

  19 Oct 2009 | 6:28 pm

  2009-10-19. The herb garden: parsley, sage, basil, Mexican mint marigold (Texas tarragon), and lavender. The rosemary and thyme are elsewhere. The cilantro, everywhere.

• 
  Digging

• Fine foliage & reflections

  Pam/Digging

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:41 am

  Forget flowers, why don’t we? Let’s admire instead the silver, feathery soft leaves of ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia. My kids and I like to rub a leaf between our fingers and enjoy the strong fragrance. In a sunny spot this plant has spread out 4 to 5 feet in diameter since I planted it last fall. [...]

• Summer into fall flowers

  Pam/Digging

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:24 am

  I can’t say enough good things about orange narrowleaf zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia). It bloomed dependably all summer and is still holding its own, adding a pop of orange amid the silver and blue-green foliage of xeric plants in a sunny bed. Likewise, ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome, one of the Proven Winners plants I trialed this season, is [...]

• S-bee-lunking

  Pam/Digging

  3 Nov 2009 | 3:14 am

  Every day the honeybees go spelunking—or is it “sbeelunking”?—in the pink cuphea. Spelunking, or caving, is popular in Austin, where limestone caves pocket the area. So I’m not surprised that our bees enjoy this exploratory pastime too. But don’t they understand that long, tubular flowers like this cuphea are better suited to hummingbirds’ long, narrow [...]

• Perfect fall afternoon

  Pam/Digging

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:27 am

  My last post showed my garden in morning light. Today it’s all about afternoon light. There’s nothing like bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa), an ornamental bunch grass from Arizona, for capturing light. Bamboo muhly incandesces into a yellow-green cloud when the light shines through it. The variegated American agave behind it picks up the same colors. Also catching [...]

• Perfect fall morning

  Pam/Digging

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:32 am

  ‘Radrazz’ Knock Out roses in the morning light of late October I should have been working all morning in the garden. The weather is perfect—cool, sunny, and calm—and I’m still in the process of digging out grass in the side yard by the new fence, plus the new gate needs a second coat of paint. Instead I’ve [...]

• 
  Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas

• Organic window shades

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:37 pm

  Window shades and blinds seem to go against the grain of natural thinking. Firstly, they're usually made from non-organic materials and secondly they exhibit that the homeowner has taken little thought for their garden planning. A few well-located deciduous trees or vines and shade on your windows will be your last concern. For instance, our main bedroom faces west where we get all the afternoon sun in the warmer months that could turn the room into a sauna. Instead, we planted a trio of silver birches that act as natural window shades during the summer yet allow warmth into the room in…

• How to make Ylang Ylang massage oil

  1 Nov 2009 | 2:34 pm

  Ylang ylang is the flower of the cananga, a tree that grows rapidly in tropical climates and still performs well in temperate zones. It's a pretty flower resembling a curling star and offsets its complementary green foliage with a dash of yellow - enough to light up the whole tree. But, the flowers aren't admired for their beauty. Instead it's their essential oils that give it a star quality and makes it revered around the world by perfume and oil purveyors. The scent is not too dissimilar to jasmine but it offers deeper, richer notes that comfort the senses and makes it ideal as a massage…

• The Problem with Pea Gravel

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:03 pm

  Hailing from an area where pea gravel is readily available, and not too expensive, you would think that I'd have nothing but praise for this landscaping material. And, from an aesthetic point of view I have absolutely no qualms but very few gardeners think past the visual when they add this stuff - or so it seems. Landscaping with pea gravel is a very common improvement material but it does come with some downsides. Here are some problems you may encounter, or hopefully consider, when installing this in your yard; Firstly, pea gravel rolls - or at least it has the ability to. While it doesn't…

• The Benefits of Dandelion Tea

  26 Oct 2009 | 4:30 pm

  No more will you have to complain about those pesky dandelions messing up your lawn or casting their seeds to the utter extremities of your yard. You may, perhaps, begin to hope that more of them will grow even aiding their seed dispersal through your garden beds. For what many gardeners see as a weed, herbalists have been capitalising on its many benefits and drinking its tonic-like properties for millenia. We're talking about dandelion tea, of course. It's a herbal tea produced from this annual weed that has some wonderful characteristics and beneficial qualities. While you may have been…

• Finding a chiminea for your garden

  25 Oct 2009 | 3:41 pm

  Yesterday, as I was walking through one of our big box stores, I began to notice the garden chimineas again. Not because we need one - heading into summer and all - but because they were now heavily reduced - being that we're heading into summer and all. I guess with all the fire regulations they start forcing on us at this time of the year it doesn't seem like a wise time to be buying one. But, this is the very reason that a garden chiminea is a perfect buy. While uncontained fires will become illegal very soon, contained fires - especially those kept within a chimenea - are permitted…

• 
  blithewold.org

• Collecting leaves

  Kris

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:12 am

  I remember walking to school in the fall with a beach-comber’s lurch looking for the most beautiful leaf. When I found it, I memorized it and then kept looking for a more perfect one. I don’t remember ever making anything from my found leaves – some people probably like to press them or make wreaths [...]

• Compost happens

  Kris

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:18 am

  There is definitely something to be said for the fruits of the fall garden clean-up labor: As the bumper sticker puts it, “Compost Happens”. We have been chipping away at the gardens adding more and more debris to the Mother of All piles. At home my compost scares me a little. I can work for [...]

• All Hallows’ Eve

  Kris

  31 Oct 2009 | 6:08 am

  The boundary between this world and the next is said to be thin right now. – Personally I think it’s on the thin side most days but it’s good to have a reason to honor the ancestors and welcome them back among us. Blithewold’s family is never far from here and our hearts – they [...]

• Dahlia experiments

  Kris

  27 Oct 2009 | 10:41 am

  Whoever says that gardening is a completely stress-free (a)vocation must never plant anything let alone those plants that come with their own set of instructions. Like dahlias. For starters, dahlias are generally sold as tubers that resemble nothing more inspiring than a dead mouse. You have to take it on faith and cross your fingers [...]

• Leaf gawping

  Kris

  23 Oct 2009 | 12:22 pm

  I’m not crazy about the term “leaf peeping”. Not only is it a little too tweely alliterative but it seems to suggest something furtive and illicit. I’d much rather point and stare openly at the fall. And that’s just what I did on my rounds the last couple of days. Mouse over for captions and click [...]

• 
  Ellis Hollow

• Remembering Lucas Wooster

  Craig

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:44 pm

  Remembering Lucas Wooster from Cornell Horticulture on Vimeo. It’s been a long week. We lost Lucas Wooster, a dear friend and member of the greater horticulture family at Cornell, who died unexpectedly Sunday. Lucas was finishing up his PhD. He was working on developing drought-tolerant maples that could thrive under tough urban environments. I worked most directly with him as a key person in the development of the Woody Plants Database website at Cornell. But where I really got to know him and see him at his best was in his role as a teaching assistant in the ‘Creating the Urban…

• Gone in 200 seconds

  Craig

  28 Oct 2009 | 4:50 pm

  Keith and crew from Limbwalker Tree Care drop our Norway maple — and make it look easy.  More pix and the whole story to come. It’s worth watching the HD version. Gone in 200 seconds from Craig Cramer on Vimeo.

• Before the Botany of Desire

  Craig

  28 Oct 2009 | 4:38 pm

  If I ever found myself sitting next to Michael Pollan on an flight, the first question I’d ask him is “Do you know Stephen Budiansky?” Like the rest of the gardening blogosphere, I plan to watch The Botany of Desire tonight. (Well, maybe tomorrow on the DVR.) I expect that the video-version of Pollan’s 2001 best seller will make the same central point: We aren’t necessarily using plants so much as they are using us. But what I want to know is, was Pollan influenced by Budiansky’s work from a decade earlier? In 1992, I was editorial director of…

• Say good-bye …

  Craig

  26 Oct 2009 | 4:33 pm

  … to the Norway maple that’s just outside our backdoor. Tomorrow it will will come down. And we’ll have a pile of wood chips, some fire wood to barter, and some good chunks for my friend and wood sculptor, Marc Freedman to turn into bowls and trays and free-form pieces. I’m a little ambivalent, but ready. The biggest drawback is this tree is our house’s air conditioner, blocking the sun on the south side of the house. But there are major limbs that could come down on the house with the next ice storm. It wasn’t pruned to a single trunk early in it’s…

• Paint my courtyard

  Craig

  25 Oct 2009 | 5:53 pm

  If I had a courtyard, this is how I’d want it to be painted.

• 
  Eden Maker by Shirley Bovshow

• “Plantanistas,” Plant Collectors on Garden World Report Show!

  Gardeners obviously love plants or they wouldn't be gardening. "Plantanistas" are an extreme type of gardener. Plantanistas  collect plants frequently and with abandon! This week's Garden World Report show features "Plantanistas" with plant collection ranging from succulents to hydrangeas to rare Chinese plants found on an expedition trip to the China. Also ...

• Don’t Miss “The Botany of Desire” on PBS Tonight!

  Plant enthusiast alert: PBS television will be presenting the compelling show, the "Botany of Desire" tonight, Thursday, Oct. 29 (check for time in your local listing). "The program shows how four familiar species (the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato) evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control." The ...

• “New Generation Gardener” on Garden World Report Show

  There are quite a few young gardeners joining our ranks everyday. The Garden World Report focuses on the "New Generation Gardener," generation Y gardeners who are up and coming bloggers, designers and business owners. In addition to this, Garden World Report premiers  a new show- "Garden Center TV" hosted by me, Shirley. I ...

• Bargain Plant of the Week: Boston Fern

  RalphsI have to share my latest plant score! I was shopping at a Ralphs Super Market in Southern California and came across a lush display of over-sized Boston Ferns. I couldn't believe the price tag when I read it: $9.99 Ten dollars for this massive display of greenery? I asked the greenhouse manager at ...

• “Garden Book and Blog Awards” on Garden World Report Now Playing!

  Watch the "Garden Book and Blog Awards Show now!  You can also watch the show on a larger player at GardenWorldReport.com I have a feeling if you are reading this blog post: 1. You are interested in gardening to some degree 2. You are searching for some garden and landscape design ideas 3. You ...

• 
  Flatbush Gardener

• BK DECAY: Brooklyn Community Leaf Composting, 11/7&8, 11/14&15, & 11/21&22

  Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:30 pm

  Cherry Leaves, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, November 2008 Until 2007, NYC collected and composted residential leaves. For the second year, 20,000 tons of leaves will be treated like household garbage, added to the City’s already-overburdened waste... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Prospect Park South Halloween Parade 2009

  Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:49 am

  Slideshow [bit.ly] Related ContentFlickr photo set [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• We Are the Champion ... Trees!

  Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

  26 Oct 2009 | 3:16 pm

  Via Press Release from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, New York—October 26, 2009—On Tuesday, October 27 at 2:45 p.m., the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will award two trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden “State... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Saturday, October 24: Meet the Trees

  Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

  16 Oct 2009 | 9:14 pm

  Fraxinus americana, White Ash, one of the street trees that will be on the tour. On Saturday, October 24, Sustainable Flatbush will host its first Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. And I'm looking forward to once again be one of the guides for the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Trees for the Future, Blog Action Day 2009

  Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

  15 Oct 2009 | 6:51 pm

  Like Garden Rant, global warming and climate change is a recurring topic on this blog: It's too late, but it's not too late, is it?, 2008-01-16 Gardening as if our lives depended on it, 2007-11-23 Barbara Corcoran Hates the Earth, 2007-11-18 The... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 
  Heather's Garden

• CREEPY

  Heather's Garden

  31 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pm

  I'll steal an idea from Layanee and say Happy Halloween:   Looks like she has her dinner ready...what will you be dining on this evening?  I'm making stew and am excited to use my own carrots harvested expressly for said stew:   Those 4 habaneros (the only ones harvested this year) will probably heat up some chili.  No salsa for us this year, just not enough good tomatoes.  Though some parts of the garden still think it's growing season:   Those little eggplants will never make it to harvest, but the flowers are pretty to look at. …

• DOES THE TITLE REALLY MAKE YOU READ THE POST?

  Heather's Garden

  25 Oct 2009 | 2:12 pm

  I hope not, because I am having the hardest time coming up with titles these days.  I put off drafting this post for an hour or so while I tried to come up with a good title...no luck.  I considered NIMG (Not in My Garden - originally coined by Carol of May Dreams Gardens?): Yes, those are topiaries, anchors, lengths of huge rope, and no, you're not insane, that's the Three Stooges in golf gear on the pedestals:   We pass it every time we go for a walk, but today was the first time the home-owner wasn't out there playing around so I dared to stop and take a few…

• I CAN SEE WHY THEY USE COBWEBS AS HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS

  Heather's Garden

  20 Oct 2009 | 8:30 pm

  We've had one very persistent spider using our front porch to build its web nightly.  I wouldn't mind if the spider did it between the post and the house, but no, it has to go post to post right across the front steps -- otherwise known as exactly where our faces are when we walk out the front door:   Pardon all of these photos...the weaknesses of my simple point and click camera really show in low/no light situations:  But the web is so magnificent even overexposed: I tried playing with the images, but no luck:   I had more success with the macro setting on…

• AT LAST

  Heather's Garden

  13 Oct 2009 | 9:03 pm

  It only took 6 months, but we have a shed!  I left the men to finish up on Saturday as I headed off to an appointment.  They ran into a problem and gave up.  I came home and fixed the issue in less than 5 minutes but it was too dark to finish up.  They headed outside before me on Sunday and I came around the corner of the house to find this: Yes, that's SS2 climbing on to a table to climb onto a chair to reach the middle of the roof.  And VPH hiding his face in shame as I snap the photo.  No one was injured in the…

• THERE'S STILL SOME COLOR OUT THERE

  Heather's Garden

  6 Oct 2009 | 8:12 pm

  Our windows have been closed for days, but I'm adamantly opposed to turning on the heat.  It was a gloriously sunny day here in CT today, but I was stuck in the office all day only sneaking peeks of the blue sky and puffy clouds through my boss' window.  I did get out to the garden 2 days ago and I was so excited to see a new dahlia blooming (I neglected to see if there was a tag though so I have no idea what kind it is):   At least one of the tomato plants is thriving:   And an actual habanero changing color:   Very calendar-worthy in my opinion:  …

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  CafeMom Daily Buzz: Home & Garden

• Lovely Bird Duvet Cover from DwellStudio

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

  Photo from All Modern While I love bird decor, I'd never want totally "bird out" my house. Less is more and all that...That said, I love this DwellStudio Pearl Chinoiserie Duvet Cover with pretty birds all over it. Cause I don't have any birds in my bedroom. Yet. What's on the duvet cover, comforter, or bedspread in your bedroom? Related posts: Bird Decor for Your Home IKEA Bird Tray Birdies for Babies

• Recycle Old Furniture Into a Pretty Wall Unit

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  That's what furniture designer Thomas Wold has done! Aren't these two wall units incredible? They're constructed with lots of recycled drawer fronts and other pieces of furniture.This seems like it could be a wonderful DIY project for the extra creative and extra talented. For pieces this elaborate, you need to have a good eye for detail, design, and material collaboration, as well as some construction expertise, especially for stability and safety sake! But I can't help but drool and love the eco-value of such a project — genius creative reuse that puts old furniture back into play in a…

• Decorating With Branches, Twigs and Tree Trunk Slices

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Tree parts (branches, twigs, and tree slices) make good home design. I mean, did you see the adorable twig coat hooks and door pulls in Farminmama's house? Luh-uv!I'm a huge fan of bringing nature inside my home — trees! — whether that means scattering acorns and seedlings in my window sills, putting fallen tree branches in vases, having my dad make something for our home from wood, or buying cool designs, made from fairly raw tree materials. Shown above (clockwise from top left): Custom Tree Slices, $18 from BROOKLYNrehab Enchanted Woods iPhone Dock, $98 from Anthropologie Branch Hook,…

• Paperspring's StickyStock Looks Neato!

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  See this video at CafeMom. The folks at PaperSpring just sent me this video about their new neato-looking product StickyStock.StickyStock is a Post-It-type sticky paper that sticks to any flat, dry surface without leaving a residue. Upload any image or graphic you want to have printed on StickyStock. I like — especially in terms of photos you want to change out often and a monthly family calendar you switch monthly. Would be a great way to print party invites or save the date cards too. There are so many cool ways to use it. Pricing for StickyStock ranges from $0.49 (4x6 sheet) to $3.99…

• Note to My Readers

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  Photo by AshBayGrammy Hi, friends of Home & Garden Buzz, I just wanted to take a moment to tell you thank you.THANK YOU! Your comments have been so fun and lively lately. I'm loving it. I hope that you know your feedback to our posts is what keeps Daily Buzz going. While we try our best to find things that you'll like or that will get you talking (or laughing), it's always good to hear what you think, what you like, and where you take a pass. Even though I don't respond to all you comments, I read every single one of your comments daily. I love them! So keep them coming...and keep reading. We…

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  heirloom gardener

• Fall Colors: Pee Gee Hydrangea in the Front Border

  heirloomgardener

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  For another post about how the pee gee hydrangea changes during the seasons, click here.

• Adam Woodruff's visit to Oudolf Nursery & Garden - Hummelo, The Netherlands

  heirloomgardener

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:43 pm

  Check out this great post (with pictures) of Adam Woodruff's visit to the Oudolf Nursery & Garden over at Gardening Gone Wild:"On a personal note, I introduced myself to Piet after I had toured the property. He was incredibly open and generous with his time: going so far as to step away from his guests and give me a tour of his studio, where he graciously entertained all my questions, shared some of his current projects and recommended a few other gardens to visit."

• Fall Colors: Chrysathemum in the Front Border

  heirloomgardener

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

• End of Season Roses: Danae in the Cutting Garden

  heirloomgardener

  2 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

• Poemas del río Wang: Imperial crown

  heirloomgardener

  1 Nov 2009 | 4:52 pm

  I grow and love Crown Imperial Fritillaria in the Rose Garden, but I've never seen such an amazing display as this--an entire mountainside in Iran: Poemas del río Wang: Imperial crown.

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  Ledge and Gardens

• Colors in the garden

  Layanee DeMerchant

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:28 pm

  The leaves of this Acer j. 'Aconitifolium' have dropped and the cool days of November are upon us.  November can be so gray and bleak in New England.  This past weekend was leaf raking weekend and so the garlic remains as yet unplanted and the beds untidied.  The bulk of the leaves have been carted to the compost piles but the windy day left the lawn littered yet again with scattered spots of oak leaves. The statuary needs to be put away as cement does not fair very well with the freezing temperatures of New England.  This birdbath will freeze over if left and…

• Happy Halloween!

  Layanee DeMerchant

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:41 am

• Wordless Wednesday - October 28, 2009

  Layanee DeMerchant

  28 Oct 2009 | 4:12 am

• Climbing hydrangea, Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris

  Layanee DeMerchant

  26 Oct 2009 | 3:59 pm

  I have written about this plant in the past.  It is a charmer in flower and the foliage is nice enough most of the rest of the year.  The leaves are rounded ovals with a slight serration and a dark green, glossy appearance.  This vine is hardy from zones 4-7 and originates from China.  It attaches itself to trees, walls and structures with rootlike holders.  It is a bit slow to establish but will grow in sun or partial shade.  I have seen no evidence of pest problems. The vine sends out shoots from the main stem and this gives this plant a more interesting,…

• Fall days

  Layanee DeMerchant

  23 Oct 2009 | 3:19 pm

  This was not the best gardening year and fall continues to provide challenges.  It seems to rain enough each weekend so tasks remain undone and the gardens remain messy.  In addition, the deer have found the rye patch which is currently keeping them away from the hollies, rhododendrons and evergreens.  I did make a trip to one of those box stores which I so dislike but then I had to go to get string for the string trimmer and netting to cover the deer candy.  I am going to give the netting a try this year as others swear by it and spraying relies on someone actually…

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  the back quarter acre

• Amaryllis anxieties

  24 Oct 2009 | 9:10 pm

  After losing multiple amaryllis bulbs last year, I am more than a little anxious about this year's cycle. Those remaining are my favorite bulbs for sentimental or aesthetic reasons. Can't let anything happen to them!So, this weekend, I started the bulbs on their countdown to next year's bloom. "Royal Velvet," "Minerva," and "Ruby Meyer" had spent the summer in the bright light of south-facing windows. Thanks to restraint in watering and fertilizing, their leaves were green, their bulbs looked firm, and this "Minerva" amaryllis had even sprouted a fat little off-spring.The bulblet released…

• Dumbarton Oaks, autumn

  14 Oct 2009 | 2:40 pm

  Folks rave about the beauty of the Washington spring--cherry blossoms lining the Tidal Basin, swathes of daffodils running along Rock Creek Parkway--but autumn is pretty darned lovely, too. Last weekend, I spent an Indian Summer afternoon at my very most favorite garden, Dumbarton Oaks. I've raved about the sublime Beatrix Farrand landscape in a previous post, so here's a single highlight: the herbaceous border.From outside the towering walls of yews bounding this garden, all you can see are billowing clouds of pale purple asters.Inside, two 100-foot long beds of mixed perennials and annuals…

• Gloriosity

  6 Oct 2009 | 4:31 pm

  This is the glory of dahlias: you can just step outside your back door and pick a bouquet of earth-shattering beauty. And then, the next day, you can do it again. Sometimes you even have a helper.

• Bulb addenda

  6 Oct 2009 | 10:11 am

  A finale to the bulb ordering . . .Brent and Becky's Bulbs20 Narcissus Tazetta "Ziva" (indoors)10 Narcissus "Ceylon" (new side yard) . . . and on to the bulb planting, chilling, and potting up!

• Fall plans for spring plants

  4 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Last night, I finally settled down in front of the computer to place my fall bulb order. Given the rabbit feeding frenzy this year, I am reducing the percentage of delectable tulips and am hoping that the daffodils planted last fall will continue to flower. I'll also no longer be digging hundreds of little iris reticulata into the beds by the front walk, only to see them--or, more accurately, not see them--disappear. Miniature daffodils will go into their place.Here's this year's very short list:Old House Gardens10 Tulipa "Generaal de Wet" (back of house)White Flower Farm 50 Narcissus…

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  Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog

• A Garden is a Grand Teacher

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:29 am

  A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches us patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. ~ Gertrude Jekyll

• Now THAT's Scary

  30 Oct 2009 | 11:56 am

  Hm, I wonder what this patient's view is...probably not nature.I'm not usually one for recycling old posts, but people liked this Halloween-themed one last year, when the blog was still young, so I'm re-publishing this year now that our readership and TLN membership has grown. Happy Halloween!Some things are scarier than ghosts and goblins.Hospitals lit by buzzing fluorescent lights; patient rooms with no windows; the sound of machines beeping and shoes squeaking on cold linoleum floors; nursing homes where "clients" don't have anywhere outside to go to feel the breeze and the warm sun on…

• Upcoming Talk (and a PBS show!) by Esther Sternberg

  22 Oct 2009 | 1:58 pm

  If you liked my interview with Esther Sternberg about her excellent book Healing Spaces: The Science and Place of Well-Being last month, here's your chance to see and hear her in person:Dr. Sternberg will be speaking at Trinity Church in Boston, MA on Sunday, November 8th. See details in the Arnold Arboretum press release below. Sternberg is also going to be hosting the PBS show called "The Science of Healing." It airs in Washington, D.C. on November 28th and will probably air repeatedly after that, so check your local stations for dates and times. More on her website,…

• Upcoming Conference: Healthcare Design 09

  21 Oct 2009 | 9:22 am

  Image of dogwood leaves courtesy of Henry Domke Healthcare Design 09 is probably the largest national conference addressing the intersection of healthcare and design. It is founded and produced by the Center for Health Design (CHD) in association with the American Institute for Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). CHD's focus is primarily for architects, but there's plenty for landscape architects and designers to sink their teeth into. I can't go this year, but if I could, here are some of the sessions I'd be attending:A Practitioner's Guide to…

• Blog Action Day '09: Climate Change and the Nature of Nature

  14 Oct 2009 | 9:47 am

  Image courtesy of Henry DomkeToday is Blog Action Day, and the subject of this year's Blog Action Day is Climate Change. Hm, what do therapeutic landscapes have to do with climate change...? Well, apart from the obvious (green spaces mitigating the built environment), here are some thoughts: Why is nature, and our interaction with it, so restorative? Erich Fromm, and then E. O. Wilson, called it "biophilia," the attraction to life. Research by environmental psychologists has shown repeatedly that people respond especially well to plants and water. The more heavily planted the garden, the more…

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  A Leafy Indulgence

• Inconsistent Princess

  Swimray

  31 Oct 2009 | 1:40 pm

  The Nasturtium seeds were purchased from Home Depot for the new side yard garden on the slope. Nasturtiums were tried about a decade ago, and were not a success story, but I was willing to try again this year. Princess of India (Tropaeolum majus) sounded like a good variety to try. Almost all germinated to my surprise, so some were planted at the side, and the extras were placed out in the back yard vegetable garden. At first, the side yard plants did very well in the spring, and began producing flowers quickly. Leaves were dark green, and the plants grew into small mounds. One item that…

• Squash That Bug

  Swimray

  18 Oct 2009 | 10:12 am

  The cleome was tall, spindly, and dying at the end of summer. This is normal for many plants, and never having grown cleome before, thought it was normal. Upon cutting the plants down to tidy up the garden, hundreds of black and yellow beetle-like bugs were found covering the stems and some leaves. Most were thrown out with the plants.Two weeks later, as I was tending to zinnias adjacent to the cleome bed, the same bugs were found on the zinnias. The cooperative extension was called, but was not much help over the phone. I went to the Bug Guide online to visually identify them as friend or…

• Purple Passion

  Swimray

  23 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am

  While in Atlanta last fall, I was impressed by the 7-feet (2 m) tall, purple-leaf plants growing in the corner of the botanical garden outdoor cafe. A sign indicated they were Persian Shield. Once back home, I described them to my landscape architect friends who told me they never grow 7-feet tall in this climate, unless they overwinter in a greenhouse, a most likely scenario.This year, I bought one and have been impressed by its growth over the summer. Although not getting to the height of the Atlanta plants, the Strobilanthes dyerianus produced its intense iridescent purple leaves. This…

• It's A Jungle, Finally

  Swimray

  3 Sep 2009 | 8:18 pm

  The deck that took a lifetime is finally done, well, with the latest construction still needing a good coat of wood finish. The actual deck off the back of the house was completed last fall along with some of the platform steps at the side yard. These platforms create a more gentle, relaxed way to descend the slope than a straight run stair does. A few additional platform steps not in the original plan were added this week to finish off the path.The side yard hillside was nothing but clay around the platform steps. This spring, soil was amended with peat, sand, gypsum, and organic materials.

• Bashful Sunflowers

  Swimray

  25 Aug 2009 | 5:49 am

  It's time to report on this year's trial of dwarf sunflowers. Late in the spring, the rushing around left no time to order the dwarf sunflower seeds online, so a packet of Burpee's Sunflower Incredible (helianthus annuus ) was picked up at the local Target. This year, the results were not pleasing. Although the flowers were consistent and attractive, all the flower heads faced east, probably since the sun came up there, but never turned in other directions. This meant the flower heads were never visible from the street in the display garden. Not much to display here.Second, the heights were…

• 
  Instrument of Grace

• What's Really Scary

  Kim

  1 Nov 2009 | 4:25 am

  Ghosts and goblins? Cobwebs in the corner? Standing water and mildewing plants? You think those are scary? No, I'll tell you scary. Scary is letting your eyes get the better of the rest of you in the bulb-ordering department. Scary is carefully planning just how many you have space for and then ordering "just a few more" just in case. Scary is being seduced by those lovely sirens in the catalogs and being lured to a doom of screaming muscles and aching joints. Then they arrive. Gee, there are so many boxes. Surely there should be only one. Or two. And the boxes are so BIG. There…

• Now THAT's a Raspberry!

  Kim

  29 Aug 2009 | 6:59 am

  Garden Man's raspberry canes are in their second year. The neighbor who gave them to us said we shouldn't expect any fruit the first year, but we did get a little. So did the foxes, and the deer ate some of the foliage. This year, Garden Man fashioned a makeshift fence around the canes, which are much bigger than last year. They are brambles, after all. Even though a deer, fleeing some imagined threat, managed to land right in the middle of the little enclosure and break everything down, we've still gotten fruit. There was a small flush of fruit earlier in the summer, mostly from…

• Common Cinquefoil?

  Kim

  24 Aug 2009 | 4:13 am

  I thought this little gem might be Common Cinquefoil, Potentilla simplex. I saw it during our walk on an interior path on Sears Island, ME. There is something incredibly pleasing about its perfect simplicity, don't you think? After looking at many images online, I'm reconsidering whether or not this is cinquefoil. In my North Woods Wildflowers, Common Cinquefoil is the only flower looking remotely like this one. This plant's distinctive heart-shaped petals, I thought, should make identification easy. Now I'm wishing I had paid more attention to the foliage. Can you…

• Rose and Lily

  Kim

  6 Aug 2009 | 5:29 pm

  These were everywhere in Mid-Coast Maine and Acadia National Park. I took this photo at the top of Cadillac Mountain, and these roses were everywhere. If you passed a group of them, you could catch a whiff of their sweet scent on the seabreeze. Even though there had been rain, rain and more rain in Maine over the last two months, these roses had pristine foliage. Those are MY kind of roses! This lily, I believe it is a Canada Lily, was located in the Wild Gardens of Acadia. If you ever visit Acadia National Park, you must visit this lovely little garden in the park. It's right off the…

• Today's Take From The Garden

  Kim

  2 Aug 2009 | 6:20 pm

  The garden is not producing quite like I hoped. I think part of the reason why is that our garden sitters didn't pick very much. They waited until the cucmbers, zucchini and yellow squash were very large before picking them. Same for the green beans. As a result, I think the plants are confused. Yep. That's my story. While I'd like to have more produce, our garden has been so successful this year, I will NOT complain. We've picked a good bit since we got back, and I've not recorded it. Vacations have a way of destroying routines, but that's OK. Here's what we got…

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  Garden in Bethlehem PA

• Garden Bloggers Death Day

  Marie

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:18 am

  I’m a little late for Garden Bloggers Death Day started by Kate at Gardening Without Skills. Postings are usually done on the last day of the month.I planted this little shrub, marked “Pinus - Pine Shrub”, in June. I don’t know what happened. It just didn’t make it. Purchased at Home Depot for $19.97 on a whim, I guess it wasn't meant to be. I'll try another evergreen in spring. .

• Sheffield Pink Mum

  Marie

  31 Oct 2009 | 4:35 am

  ,If you like garden mums, the hardy Sheffield Pink (AKA Chrysanthemum koreanum ‘Single Apricot’) is hard to beat. It’s one of my favorites..It is a reliable and showy bloomer here in zone 6. It may flop but given enough room in the garden,it puts on a tremendous show. I pinch it back until the end of June. Once it is established, it requires very little care. I’ll cut it back to the ground after a hard frost and leave the stems on top of the plant until spring.Resting on the Japanese Laurel (Aucuba japonica) at The Miller's House Garden in Bethlehem, it is full and bright after only a…

• More Fall Color

  Marie

  28 Oct 2009 | 2:54 am

  .Red Maple.The colors are so brilliant right now that I have to post a few examples from my garden. I’ll stop with these, I promise.Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus floridus). The large maple that shades our house.Dogwood leaf (Cornus florida).PJM Rhododendron with its fall purple hue and one over-eager flower. .(For more check the comments in Fall Color Project on The Home Garden Blog .)

• Color of Autumn

  Marie

  24 Oct 2009 | 4:23 am

  .The fall color in Monroe and Carbon Counties peaked this week according to Pocono Mountains Fall Foliage Reports. .The only day we had available this week turned out cloudy and cool. Even though the colors were not as bright as they might have been in the sun, we enjoyed passing fields and hills covered in bright red, orange, magenta, purple, yellow and gold as we drove north. The view from Penn’s Peak (above and right) was spectacular. We had an enjoyable day taking in nature’s blazing finery.The variety of species on the mountain is responsible for the mix of colors. Oak, sassafras,…

• Japanese Anemone

  Marie

  21 Oct 2009 | 3:58 am

  .Anemone x hybridaOne of my favorite plants seems to be a favorite of a garden rogue.As I was planning to write this blog, I checked to see if I had blogged about anemone before. In the September 24, 2008 post I said, “The flowers are almost 3 inches in diameter. They are rabbit and deer resistant.“I don’t remember where I got that (mis)information. This year I have had a terrible time keeping the critters away from the anemone. Several times during the summer the leaves were chopped off and left lying on the ground uneaten. Deer, rabbit, groundhog? That meant war.Like some kind of…

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  Future House Farm

• Hello

  28 Oct 2009 | 3:07 pm

  Never in our lives have we been this busy. It's a good busy, but a time-suck nonetheless. We love ya guys and we will get back to it all at sometime. Until then, take care.

• Fix this effing mess

  6 Sep 2009 | 9:57 am

  This is our little patch of earth off the the front porch. I believe the dimensions are 4x5 and it faces east. As you can see, it's a mess. The reason for the mess is that we don't quite know what to do with it yet. We want to fill it with perennials. We're looking for flowers, something edible, and some height in the back. Our problem is that we are dealing with some serious partial sun. In the summer, the plot gets shaded by the house around 12:30-1:00. We really don't have the experience with perennials to even know where to start. Do you have any suggestions? Give us a list, and we'll…

• We're sure you've seen enough

  5 Sep 2009 | 2:52 pm

  Even the littlest gardens are susceptible to blight. We could post the photos, but most of you have had it yourself, and need not see more.Our Squash have also fallen victim to vine borers. We were on top of them for a good part of the season, but we over planted the beds and they eventually became so tight that we couldn't keep track of what was and was not done. By the end, none were done, and they all went to shit.Last week Meg tore out all the summer squash and planted some late greens in their place. Today I removed the winter squash and all of the tomatoes. The garden is looking a…

• Building Ingredients

  26 Aug 2009 | 1:03 pm

  Turnips are a great ingredient for broths. We planted this little batch with one thing in mind, soup for the winter. We're still waiting on a few more ingredients before the soup making begins; so our plan, while we wait, is to cube, blanch, and freeze these suckers until the time is right for cooking.

• A bit more candid than usual

  15 Aug 2009 | 10:33 am

  In the Spring of 2002 I had just finished my undergraduate work and to celebrate I took every penny I owned and my little brother for a summer tour of some of our National Parks. This is a photo of Derrek and I at Crater Lake. I was 26 and he was 16.When he was an infant I took him out late at night to see Halley's Comet (he barfed on my shoulder). I changed his diapers, took him sled riding, bought him beer, and helped him bury his father. He was still pretty young when I left home, so our trip was actually the first time we really had a chance to hang out. I believe I can speak for us both…

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  GardenDesignOnline

• Home Gardens Going Green

  Jane Berger

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:12 am

  Just think ... how nice it would be to have an entire suburban street with landscapes like this one ... entire streets without lawns! It's just one of the new ideas that could become a reality ... thanks to the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI), a collaborative effort to persuade homeowners,...

• Cornell's Trees

  Jane Berger

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:12 pm

  The campus of Cornell University has more than 7000 trees, and they're storing millions of pounds of carbon, worth more than half a million dollars to the university. A comprehensive tree inventory was recently conducted by two graduate students, as the university considers how to implement its pledge to achieve...

• Chinese Garden - Portland

  Jane Berger

  1 Nov 2009 | 9:12 am

  The Classical Chinese Garden in Portland, OR, is a 21st-century ancient garden. It opened in September, 2000, and it's destined to be (if not already) one of the most popular garden destinations in the country. Built on the site of an old parking lot, it's patterned after classical Ming Dynasty...

• Halloween Rose

  Jane Berger

  30 Oct 2009 | 2:12 pm

  Pumpkin Patch™ Rose Could there be any rose as perfect for Halloween? This is a new one from Weeks Roses, described as the color of pumpkin pie, on the caramel side. It's a floribunda, medium-sized, round and bushy, with a moderately fruity fragrance. Hybridized by Bedard, it's said to like...

• Halprin Obit

  Jane Berger

  27 Oct 2009 | 9:12 pm

  Lawrence Halprin, one of the 20th century's prominent landscape architects, has died at the age of 93 in San Francisco. Among Halprin's most famous works are the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington DC; Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco; Freeway Park in Seattle, Sea Ranch in northern California and, pictured...

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  Life In Sugar Hollow

• An Afternoon Following The Mountains

  Tracey

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:27 am

• We've Been Busy

  Tracey

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am

  Watching the rain, the mist and the autumn colors; cleaning up the herb garden; sorting garlic for planting; and making applesauce and apple butter (even more sorting for Willa - a task she takes very seriously).Tonight - date night with Corey - to see Elvis Perkins (again!) and eat at Bang. To celebrate the last year in my 30's. How did that happen?I'm talking about bulb planting tips and garlic over at Virginia Living!

• Friday Print Giveaway (and Etsy's Front Page!)

  Tracey

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:45 am

  I was all ready to leave Etsy behind and focus on other things, when I found out my quince photo made the front page last weekend (top row, middle photo). Talk about an injection of inspiration!So, the shop has been re-opened and I am going to start offering the 8 x 10 sizes of my through-the-viewfinder prints - to make for easier framing. There will be white borders at the top and bottom of each print.*Also,* the 8 X 8 viewfinder prints are on sale for $15 through November 15th.And, let's do a giveaway of my chives print, Morning Yearning. I'll spin the random number generator next Friday…

• End-of-CSA Soup

  Tracey

  27 Oct 2009 | 5:26 am

  I fell behind on my CSA veggie consumption for one week and needed something warm, and filled with vitamins, that could include every veggie that was on the precipice of becoming compost. This recipe is a variation on Jacques Pepin's Instant Vegetable Soup, from a favorite cookbook - Fast Food My Way.5 cups of water1 zucchini - shredded2 leeks - thinly sliced1 cup carrots - shredded1/2 cup of celery - thinly sliced2 cups greens - cut into ribbons (I had tat soi on hand, but you can use spinach or kale)3 tblsps steel cut oats (you can also use grits)Salt and pepper to tasteThrow it all into a…

• DIY :: Dyeing Onesies with Plant Dyes

  Tracey

  25 Oct 2009 | 9:31 am

  This project was so unbelievably easy and free of all scary typical dye issues that I feel particularly satisfied that these onesies are being recycled and worn against the precious skin of our toddler. Stains around the neckline were promptly covered up and re-introduced the onesie back into the rotation.During my late summer experiments, I used sassafras leaves, coreopsis blooms (each results in a yellow) and *old* daylily blossoms (which create a pale purple dye). The fabric 'fixer' was a vinegar:water bath (if you are doing food or berries - there is a different fixer). The dyeing process…

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  Lois de Vries' Garden Views

• Gardener’s Fantasy Gift List

  Lois J. de Vries

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:28 am

  Floral sculpture: Inta Krombolz, ikrombolz@comcast.net  Want some insight into what your favorite gardener might be dreaming about during the long, cold winter? It’s not likely to be another trowel or pair of mud gloves. For something your gardener won’t soon forget, choose something from my fantasy gift list:Wind Sculptures – We bought one during our trip to Utah this year and just love

• Pinky Winky™ Hydrangea in Fall

  Lois J. de Vries

  31 Oct 2009 | 9:07 am

  For those interested in following my Pinky Winky™  Hydrangea field trials (see earlier post at http://loisdevries.blogspot.com/2008/08/pinky-winky-hydrangea.html), here is an update. Those planted in part sun in Spring 2007 are now over five feet tall, even though they were “trimmed” by a doe that had gotten inside our exclosure last summer. She had consumed a huge number of leaves, as well

• Abundant Harvest

  Lois J. de Vries

  22 Oct 2009 | 2:31 pm

  A couple of years ago, I was invited to scout Chef James Laird’s vegetable garden. Like many upscale restauranteurs, James and wife Nancy who operate Restaurant Serenade in Chatham, NJ, wanted access to fresh, organic produce. So they grew their own.Rows of vari-colored leaf lettuce and peas had given way to heirloom and specialty tomatoes, green beans, and a wide variety of basil, parsley and

• Gardening Resolutions Check-Up

  Lois J. de Vries

  3 Oct 2009 | 7:26 am

  The combination of unprecedented amounts of rain and unanticipated life events combined to put the kibosh on this year’s gardening resolutions. The trunk of the 75-foot cherry tree still lies among the rhododendrons (perhaps I can make it a feature). It’s been tough to even keep this area weeded, although my Hay-scented ferns and Allegheny spurge have started to take off (this is their first

• Spring Bulb Spotlight

  Lois J. de Vries

  25 Sep 2009 | 11:57 am

  Fall is the time to plant the tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinths and other bulbs that bloom in the spring. The good news is that flower bulbs are among the easiest plants for any gardener to grow. They are perfect for beginners and prized by expert gardeners, lending themselves to a simple planting by a lamppost, or a massive naturalized planting on a hillside.    Visit

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  Sustainable and Urban Gardening

• New Fence Revealed!

  Susan Harris

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:21 pm

  Behold the natural cedar fence that replaced the UGLY chain-link fence covered with English ivy.  It's hard to believe it was only 4 years ago that I thought this was a fine place for ivy.  Ha! Sure looks different!  Also, neighbors can see the garden through the slats, a bit.  And even though I may need [...]

• Scary Halloween Photo

  Susan Harris

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:39 pm

  Okay, so my mostly-black cat doesn't really look scary, maybe just ridiculous.  And okay, so it's a day late but this blog's been out of commission all weekend.

• What’s up with FreezePruf?

  Susan Harris

  29 Oct 2009 | 4:52 am

  People are asking about this new product, especially if they’re garden writers finding free bottles at their doorstep.  So hey, the makers of FreezePruf are sponsors of this very blog (and website and newsletter) so I took it upon myself to interview the botanist who developed FreezePruf, and the full report is over here on [...]

• Ornamental Grasses in all their Glory

  Susan Harris

  21 Oct 2009 | 8:54 am

  I go ga-ga over ornamental grasses and recommend a couple of books about them. Photo: in the garden of Kurt Bluemel.

• What I’m really doing in my garden this month

  Susan Harris

  19 Oct 2009 | 5:11 am

  It’s just a click away – on the new Homestead Gardens Blog.  My new gig!  It’s not quite ready for prime time yet but give it a  look and we welcome your suggestions for it. Photo by Runner Jenny.

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  Transatlantic Plantsman

• Two fine Physocarpus (Ninebarks to American readers)

  Graham Rice

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:52 am

  Physocarpus is not a plant that often features on gardeners’ lists of favorite shrubs, on either side of the Atlantic, but the recent arrival of Summer Wine here in the US and the appearance of Lady in Red at London’s Chelsea Flower Show a couple of years back seem to have woken people up to what great shrubs they are – for foliage, flowers and sometimes fruits too.Here in Pennsylvania we just grow the two in the picture (click to enlarge) – Coppertina, on the left, and Summer Wine. I hope we’ll be adding more. The leaves were picked just a couple of days ago. Coppertina has been a…

• November poem

  Graham Rice

  1 Nov 2009 | 4:27 am

  Novemberby Thomas Hood(1799-1845) No sun--no moon! No morn--no noon! No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day-- No sky--no earthly view-- No distance looking blue-- No road--no street-- No "t'other side the way"-- No end to any Row-- No indications where the Crescents go-- No top to any steeple-- No recognitions of familiar people-- No courtesies for showing 'em-- No knowing 'em! No mail--no post-- No news from any foreign coast-- No park--no ring--no afternoon gentility-- No company--no nobility-- No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No comfortable feel in…

• Black plants to celebrate Halloween

  Graham Rice

  31 Oct 2009 | 11:28 am

  In a horticultural celebration of the holiday, I thought you might enjoy this slide show of black plants put together my my wife judywhite. Thanks judy. Happy Halloween! Black Plants Stock Photos - Images by GardenPhotos .com I'll be reviewing books on black plants here soon.

• Cost of coffee

  Graham Rice

  31 Oct 2009 | 3:21 am

  Back in the Sixties and Seventies there was standard way of comparing the cost of living around the world – you compared the cost of a Mars bar in different countries. Then we moved on and the Big Mac became the standard. Now it’s coffee at Starbucks.Having recently been on my horticultural travels through airports in three very different countries – London’s Heathrow airport, New York’s Newark (Liberty International airport) and Cork Airport in Ireland – and having bought a Venti Latte from Starbucks in each I thought I’d compare prices – and convert them all to each currency…

• Trachystemon - why it is called Abraham, Isaac and Joseph?

  Graham Rice

  29 Oct 2009 | 3:31 pm

  If you're looking for a robust perennial ground cover that will even thrive in dry shade look no further than Trachystemon oriantale. Its mass of foliage does the weed smothering efficiently and its purple blue flowers are a treat in the spring sunshine. Its mass of roots also make it a great plant for holding together the soil on slopes.But why is its common name Abraham, Isaac and Joseph? I'd really like to know. If you've any idea, pleae post a comment. Thank you!

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  WashingtonGardener

• Local Retail Friendly

  WashingtonGardener

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:34 am

  We are proud to announce that the Natural Art Garden Center at 27358 Old Valley Pike, Toms Brook, VA, is our newest local retailer carrying current issues of Washington Gardener Magazine. Lynn Phillip's manager of the new store and I met and chatted through Twitter. Who says that tweeting is just a waste of time? Thea brand new garden center in the Shenandoah Valley is all about creating art in your landscapes. Perennials, annuals, vegetables arrive each week with the newly budding and ready to go in your garden.If you are a local DC-area/Mid-Atlantic retailer and are…

• Fall Fireworks at Brookside Gardens

  WashingtonGardener

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:32 am

  Spectactular Fall Fireworks are on display now at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. Entry is FREE as is parking. You can get there by taking metro to Glenmont on the Red line or by Metro/Rideon bus to stops on nearby Georgia Ave or Randolph Road, then you'll walk about a mile downhill to the entrance. It is open every day of the year from sunrise to sunset.On my Facebook page I put together two preview slideshows of the current Mum Show running in the Conservatory and of the Fall Colors throughout the gardens. Enjoy the fireworks while they last, both displays are fleeting and…

• Pretty Poison

  WashingtonGardener

  31 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm

  On this All Hallow's Eve, I bring you photos of a truly frightening plant -- the lovely native vine known as Poison Ivy. This time of year in the DC-area it is turning a marvelous rainbow of colors, making it very easy to spot in your lawn grass, leaf piles, or browning perennial borders. It is a vine, but it can also disguise itself as a spreading groundcover or even as a seedling tree. Don't confuse it with another color-turning, native vine, Virginia Creeper, which is stunning in fall, but has a quite different leaf shape and growth habit.This is the best time of…

• The Future of Community Gardens in DC and Beyond

  WashingtonGardener

  29 Oct 2009 | 9:22 am

  I wrote this Guest Blog for the USDA web site in early September, I'm not sure if they ever posted it or where to link if they did, so I'm posting it here as well so that you all can read and share your thoughts on the future of local community gardens.The last week of August was proclaimed Community Gardening Week by USDA Sec. Vilsack, and the new People’s Garden project outside the USDA headquarters fronting on the National Mall was a perfect place to discuss community garden in the greater DC-area and take a long at its future. I joined a local farmer and USDA staff to talk about…

• Learn about Urban Trees and How to Winterize Your Garden

  WashingtonGardener

  26 Oct 2009 | 1:08 pm

  I have two upcoming talks. Both are free to attend and are open to the general public.This Wednesday, 10/28, at 7:30pm in the James E Duckworth School located at 11201 Evans Trail in Beltsville, MD, I will be at the Beltsville Garden Club meeting giving my talk on Trees and Shrubs for the Small Garden. This talk was postponed from last January due to bad weather, I just know Mother Nature will be kind to us this go-round.On Saturday, 11/7, at 1:00pm at the Historical Society of Washington, DC, I'll present How to Winterize Your Garden. This will be the last of the DC Urban Garden series…

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  A Tidewater Gardener

• 'Simmon Trees

  Les

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:25 pm

  Racoon up in de 'simmon treePossum on de groundPossum says to racoonPlease shake some 'simmons downThe American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is one of our underappreciated native trees. They range up and down the Eastern Seaboard and into the Mid-West. These trees are tough, growing in the poorest of soils where they withstand the occasional drought, as well as the occasional dose of salt in coastal areas. Though they have fairly good fall color, this time of year it is the fruits that are of interest, which fall off the tree when ripe, creating a feast for wildlife. They are also quite…

• High Tide at Chippokes

  Les

  1 Nov 2009 | 12:48 pm

  Last Friday, feeling a need to indulge my wanderlust and see some fall foliage, I headed west to Chippokes Plantation State Park. When this blog visited Chippokes before, I mentioned that it is one of my favorite places to get away to, and fortunately it is a only a pleasant hour's journey from home. However, when I got there they were having day 1 of their Plantation Christmas Festival, and the center of the park was crowded with vendor tents and shoppers. Apparently it is quite a big deal as there were people selling their handmade wares from all over the country. I know many people enjoy…

• Fall of the Dead

  Les

  28 Oct 2009 | 4:08 pm

  This past weekend while driving along Monticello Ave., I became distracted as a powerful force called my name from the other side of the cemetery wall. It was not the wail of the dead, but the foliage of a Crape Myrtle - a bright crimson red. The extraordinary rains we had in late summer may have made my favorite trees bloom with an added vigor, and though Crapes usually offer good fall color, I think this year's added moisture has caused that color to be unusually brilliant.Elmwood Cemetery is not Norfolk's oldest, but it is perhaps the most elaborate, being developed in the 1850's and…

• Caledon Natural Area - Potomac River Trip Pt. III

  Les

  23 Oct 2009 | 4:15 am

  On the far outer reaches of the vast sprawling northern Virginia suburbs lies Caledon Natural Area. Here on the Potomac River, less than 60 miles from Washington D.C., are over 2500 acres of old growth and virgin upland forest. This area was first settled in the mid 1600's and remained in the same family's hands for centuries. It was donated to the Commonwealth in 1974, and it was easily apparent how special this gift was. Not only was it home to a very ancient forest, but it was also home to a recovering Bald Eagle population. Soon after it was donated, the shoreline here was designated a…

• Stratford Hall - Potomac River Trip Pt. II

  Les

  19 Oct 2009 | 4:05 am

  While on our camping trip last weekend, we were able to go to nearby Stratford Hall, a place I have wanted to see since I was young. Although the place is thick with history, I have long been more fascinated by the architecture of the place. The house was constructed in the 1730's by Richard Lee and was built to impress. It was home to many members of the Lee family including Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee - the only pair of brothers who signed the Declaration of Independence. It is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, though he just lived here for the first…

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  Blue Ridge blog

• November

  Marie Freeman

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:34 am

  It was a beautiful November morning. The end.

• Zombies swarm Boone, North Carolina

  Marie Freeman

  31 Oct 2009 | 8:07 am

    More than one hundred zombies plagued the sidewalks of Appalachian State and King Street on Friday evening. The living dead featured a few famous characters such as Billy Mays and Willie Wonka but mostly the attendees of this particular mob consisted of the usual bloody corpses groaning for brains as they lurched on down the road. Nearing the Bean Stalk coffee shop, a handful of zombies drifted inside, obviously enticed by the smell of java, while the remaining horde encountered resistance from water gun toting leader Shaun of the Dead and a handful local residents who were…

• Before and after

  Marie Freeman

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm

    There was quite a lovely pair Japanese Maple trees near my office which somehow together decided to be fashionable late for the autumn show. I spent an hour or so waiting and hoping for the right combo of reasonably dressed students who were either not gabbing on a cell phone or tuning out the world via ear buds. Two students did eventually walk my way. And it was a good thing I waited that day, because overnight the wind blew and there were perhaps 3 leaves left on the trees.

• Black Saturday perfection!

  Marie Freeman

  26 Oct 2009 | 1:13 pm

  I want to say that I loved, loved, loved, watching Appalachian State bury the Eagles from Georgia Southern on Saturday. Despite yet another rainy, cold game day, it remained Black Saturday perfect as the offense and defense came out to toss the pigskin  to play keep away from the birds. The final score: 52-16 or something humiliating like that. ( I have posted a small photo album on the sidebar ).FYI: The leaves are about to become worm food, though occasional spot color may still be seen around the area. All my friends seem to be excited about Halloween. I went to Walmart and bought an…

• A sweet surrender

  Marie Freeman

  24 Oct 2009 | 6:01 am

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  clay and limestone

• Gentle Bee The Hand Of The Gardener

  Gail

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  The gathering beerests upon the goldenrodthe hand becomes the flowerGoldenrod is still blooming at C&L. It is a goldmine of goodness in any garden~~A protein rich pollen and good sugar nectar source for visiting critters. They are still flocking to its golden goodness.... Bees of every sort, wasps, moths and even predators have staked a claim and a space on the last of the flower clusters. They've come to drink nectar, collect pollen, nibble leaves and stems, prey on other insects, or lay eggs.Its rough and tumble golden beauty has begun to dim and most flowers haveturned to fluffy seeds…

• Moments In A Garden

  Gail

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass you live more richly those moments.Anne Morrow LindberghGailCrocus sativus Subscribe in a reader

• Autumn Scenes For The Fall Color Project

  Gail

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:20 am

  Do please remember to click to enlarge! Shagbark Hickory in full golden glory at C&LAll photos taken at Edwin Warner Park and C&L gardenI CRIED over beautiful things knowing no beautiful thing lasts.The field of cornflower yellow is a scarf at the neck of the copper sunburned woman, the mother of the year, the taker of seeds. The northwest wind comes and the yellow is torn full of holes, new beautiful things come from my gardenin the first spit of snow on the northwest wind, and the old things go, not one lasts.*Fall finally arrived and cloaked our world in beautiful colors...Please…

• It Was A Dark & Scary Walk!

  Gail

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:00 am

  Wait a minute!That sounds familiar. A gnarly dead tree and shadowed woodland paths.Wasn't that last year's dark and spooky garden post?(I liked that post)Do you remember whenthe wayback backyard REALLY was scary?If you don't recall go here to see it! Today, it's all dressed up in fall colors.But, once upon a time, it was a muddy, dark, weedy spacefit for hide and seek with my nieces and nephews and ahidey hole for the dear deer that found the gate open!It was a dark and scary walk, but not anymore. The Dancing Tree kicking up her heels in celebration. But, just in case,you are the kind of…

• Wildflower Wednesday~Carolina Aster: Not Just Another Pinkish Face!

  Gail

  28 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am

  It Clambers, It Climbs! It's Fragrant! Need I say more to convince you to rush to your favorite on line native nursery to get this pretty!Ampelaster carolinianusNot convinced yet? How about this~~ niche gardens describes it as "tough as nails". What's known so far~~ It appears happy at C&L and for that we love it! It's not a Tennessee native, but, is found happily growing in NC, SC, GA and Florida. I am sorry to say, that it's marginal in anything colder then zone 6. It's a fall blooming member of the asteraceae family with sweet scented pink lilac flowers that resemble Symphyotrichum…

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  Dirt Therapy

• Eden State Park

  Phillip

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:13 am

  More vacation photos, this time from our annual visit to Eden State Park. We love this place and were pleased to see that they had done a lot of work during the past year. There were new stone pathways and a brand new entrance with a winding road surrounded by live oaks.The focal point of the property is a magnificent two-story home, owned by the Wesley family, a timber farming family, in the 1800s. In 1963, Lois Maxon bought and renovated the home, creating a showplace for her family heirlooms and antiques. The collection of Louis XVI furniture is the second largest in the United States.This…

• Home again!

  Phillip

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

  We just got home yesterday from a week at Seacrest Beach in Florida. We go to Florida every October - this year was extra special because it was our 25th anniversary. It was a nice, relaxing week. The weather was nice - only one day of rain (we went shopping that day) and much warmer than last year. In fact, they were having somewhat of a heatwave. One day there was a record high of 86, a little too hot for us, but that only happened a few days.We didn't do much of anything except lay in the sun, read, eat and walk the beach. I read five books including the latest from my favorite writer Ruth…

• My favorite tree in Florence

  Phillip

  23 Oct 2009 | 3:35 pm

  Every year I look forward to seeing this tree change color. It is located on Pine Street next to an architect's office and just one block from the campus where I work. It always has the most intense color I've ever seen. As I was lamenting the fact earlier that there wasn't much fall color yet, this tree seemed to turn overnight. There still isn't a lot of color (you can see that from the surrounding trees in the photo) but I'm happy that the most beautiful tree is spectacular as usual.

• Where is the Fall color?

  Phillip

  19 Oct 2009 | 11:07 am

  We've had patches of frost for the past two nights and it looks like winter is just around the corner. So, what has happened to the fall color? The trees are just showing scant changes in color. We have a nice collection of Japanese maples and they are usually spectacular by now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will have some great displays before the cold weather strips the leaves. I've been working on making our front entrance a little more inviting. I've planted mums and pansies to add some much needed color. The pansies are still so small that they are not making much of an…

• Patchouli

  Phillip

  13 Oct 2009 | 10:41 am

  The first time I ever heard of patchouli was back in the late 80s when Madonna released her "Like A Prayer" cd with a patchouli scented insert. I still didn't know back then that patchouli was an herb from the mint family (Pogostemom cablin). I was surprised when I saw this herb at a nursery back in the spring and knew that I had to try growing it. Like I usually do, I bought the plant first and then researched it afterward. I googled it and read that it wasn't the easiest plant to grow and was finicky about growing conditions. I stuck it in the vegetable garden without much fanfare and…

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  Nevertheless...

• Back to Mt Rogers... and the Fog

  Melissa Reynolds

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:43 pm

  So I've hiked Mt Rogers quite a few times now. And the ONLY two times I have had crazy fog was when hiking with Scott. He, I and Bekah hit the road Saturday morning despite the 80% chance of rain. In fact, it rained most of the way up there. But the first mile and a half of hiking was rain free, with low, cool looking clouds hovering just above the mountains. And warmer temps than I was anticipating.However, as we began to hike up Wilburn Ridge, the winds came roaring in and the sideways rain commenced. We continued on, 2.5 more miles to the top, where the winds and rain stopped. A bit more…

• Hanging out with the Fam

  Melissa Reynolds

  27 Oct 2009 | 5:25 am

  Last weekend mom and dad came to visit - YAY! Despite a bit of rain the weather was not too bad, and definitely warmer than last weekend. We hung out around town, saw my cousin Deborah and her two boys (ADORABLE) and headed down to Kings Mountain National Military Park to walk around the battlefield trail and check out some history. The leaves are really changing now which I LOVE. We all snagged some books from the local bookstore as well, and now my mind is spinning with ideas of mosaic quilts and printmaking...

• Peanuts!

  Melissa Reynolds

  18 Oct 2009 | 6:35 pm

  The peanuts were planted back in May...I never knew exactly how they grew... apparently the main stem puts out little runners, where the flowers had blossomed, which head down into the soil, and the peanuts grow ON them. Pretty cool!So I thought the plants would yellow more than they did, and so when I pulled them last weekend... some of them had started growing their OWN plants. :) Oops. I pulled them all though, and they are currently drying on my porch - supposed to do that for a couple weeks. It has unfortunately been rainy though, so it is slow going.

• New Friends

  Melissa Reynolds

  12 Oct 2009 | 7:40 am

  The other day I was at Starbucks. Starbucks has two things... a Marble Slab Creamery next door and a flock of "local" birds that hang out. This combination means that the birds are both friendly and well-fed. This little guy sat on my car while I loaded it up. I think it'd be kind of cool to have him as a regular hood-ornament. :)And this weekend I had gone out on my porch to get some stuff and as I raised my head I caught a large object out of the corner of my eye on the railing... it was a large praying mantis. I grabbed my camera and did a mini photo shoot while he watched.

• Apple Success

  Melissa Reynolds

  10 Oct 2009 | 6:56 pm

  YAYYY! I picked applesssss!!! :) Scott and I left a misty Charlotte, hitting sun halfway to Flat Rock to pick apples. It was a windy, beautiful day. Sky Top Orchard is a pretty cool little spot up on the mountain and they have everything apple you can think of. Including apple cider donuts. Scott and I got to talking about them on the way up and were crazy hungry for them by the time we arrived. We made a beeline for them before we did anything else, hoping they were as good as they sounded. And. they. were. Wow. These were the best donuts I have ever had. Hot out of the oil, covered with…

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  Natural Gardening

• A nice path planting

  lkw

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:57 pm

  We're a relatively small group of folks in the Botanical Garden where I work, and we're spread pretty thin. But my colleagues are great folks who love plants, gardens, and gardening, and I'm trying to feature them in our What's Happening in the Garden blog.

• Gardening ideas

  lkw

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pm

  Thinking about problem-solving in gardens and landscapes is interesting. What we bring to the process is gardening ideas, gleaned from memories, experience, and observation melded with the practicalities of light, soil, and climate. A class today had me thinking about this again.There's no point in dreaming of lush lilacs in Southern climates nor of productive fruit orchards of apples, peaches, nectarines, cherries, or apricots (unless you're willing to do the obligatory weekly spray maintenance, whether organic or not). We can easily grow blueberries, muscadine and scuppernong grapes,…

• Front door views

  lkw

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:33 pm

  I never thought about taking a picture from our front steps when we moved in 15 years ago.This is a view (from 1994) looking down from farther right.My gardening companion starting to plantThere wasn't much to see, except a few large old trees, lawn, and a straight row of planted trees (Magnolia, dogwood, white pine, crepe myrtle). Red tips had been planted along the front, next to the road, and they were already in decline when we came. Happily, we volunteered their removal when the City put in a bike path.But now, it's quite nice to look out through the front door,step out onto the front…

• Native grasses: Little Bluestem

  lkw

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:08 pm

  Our native grasses really don't get the attention they deserve. Little Bluestem and Indian grass are two of my favorites. They do reseed (that's what plants do), but they're beautiful, and support native insects and other wildlife.Much nicer than the Miscanthus sinensis that's become invasive all over the Southeast, due to its excellent colonizing abilities (we saw this in its native habitat, in Northern Vietnam, spreading down a disturbed hillside).Here's a lovely Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium) in a greenway planting near the The Botanical Gardens at Asheville, a gem of a native…

• An almost full moon

  lkw

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:18 pm

  Out the kitchen door, an almost full moon is luminous tonight.

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  Outside Clyde

• Lofty Business

  Christopher C. NC

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:26 pm

  It's all about looking up as the year and the temperatures wind down. All the high and hard to reach parts of the exterior of the cabin that required scaffolding have been completed before winter's arrival.Inside the arrow points up to the loft that is one ceiling piece and one small trim piece of drywall above the window away from completion.A bed will go in this corner under the window. It's

• As The Fother Gilla Turns

  Christopher C. NC

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:31 pm

  Last week our Fothergilla was a veritable rainbow of green, gold, orange, red and a plummy burgundy. Here they are a week later moving completely in to the reds, orange and burgundy while the Acer griseum, the Paper Bark Maple overhead remains a stubborn green. This maple is alleged to have a brilliant red color in the fall. My limited experience with these and other small Japanese type maples is

• The Loss Of Daylight

  Christopher C. NC

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:57 pm

  I don't like this daylight savings time nonsense. I prefer my daylight in the evening, not in the morning while I am contemplating movement.Drywall work takes us right to the edge of dusk and there is no light leftover for evening strolls and other necessities.I could get up earlier to contemplate movement and stop working earlier to have an actual evening time. Or I could move the clocks back to

• The Remnants Of Fall

  Christopher C. NC

  2 Nov 2009 | 1:54 pm

  The reported sighting of a dead black cat sent me four miles down the road to have a look. I could walk four miles in the short part of a day. A wandering cat could easily get that far in five days.It was a skunk laying on its back.There was time to stop and have a look at the remnants of fall. It won't be long now until the forest is completely bare.The better to see his mommy coming home. Don't

• Dia De La Herida

  Christopher C. NC

  1 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am

  or There Was a Little Mishap.Low gray humid clouds and low temperatures, the high was about 42, were plenty enough of a reason to do a whole lot of nothing today. There was another reason too.Drywall work is of course inside out of the weather and the cozy cabin is actually holding in heat now. It was 10 degrees warmer inside there today.A lot of progress has been made and the main floor is

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  The Home Garden: Gardening in the Home Landscape

• Oak Leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:42 pm

  I've been a fan of oak leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) for a long time. The large oak shaped leaves and white flowering panicles are two of its best traits but in the fall its color changes are very nice too. The leaves change through a range of colors from the year round greens to the autumn golds and reds. Our oak leaf hydrangeas are fairly young plants. One was purchased as a full sized plant in a pot and the other was a discount plant in a small plastic wrapped container filled with sawdust. I figured it wouldn't make it for a number of reasons: it was small, had almost no root…

• Free Stuff Friday! (Organic Bug Killer Giveaway)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  While this won't happen every Friday (I don't have enough sponsors) I do have something that some readers and bloggers may want to try in their own homes or gardens. If you remember a month or so back I tested some products from a company called EcoSMART. The specialize in making insect repellents, organic bug killers, and other products that are environmentally friendly and safe to use around children and pets. They are interested in giving away some of their product for you to try at home.   Here's what you have to do to win their product: Tell me about your worst bug experience this…

• Time to Stop

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:28 pm

  It occurred to me today that I've been writing this blog, The Home Garden for over two years. I completely missed the second year mark, which happened last week while I was totally immersed Fall Color Projects and the greenhouse project. Two years of blogging has past and has been a ton of fun. In two years I've published 858 posts while writing a total of 945 posts (including this one).  87 posts remain unpublished in draft limbo either because I started them then went on to something else or I didn't think were good enough to publish. I think that after two years of blogging it is…

• I'm Over There Too!

  3 Nov 2009 | 7:34 pm

  Every now and then I'll be doing some posts for another blog called Complete Organizing Solutions. Tanna, the author of the blog, has invited several other bloggers to do a post every once a month or so to add greater diversity to her site. Can you guess what I'll be talking about? And no, it's not how to organize your closet (I could use some serious help in that area!) I'll let you know when a new post of mine comes up but I would like to encourage you to follow along with Tanna, Jennifer (Simple Scrapper), or Shaina (Food For My Family) throughout the month for some very interesting ideas.

• The Greenhouse Project: Braced for The Best

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:53 pm

  Today we worked a little more on the greenhouse project and managed to get another milestone accomplished: the bracing. Unfortunately due to the end of daylight savings time darkness descended too quickly for me to snap some good photos. Besides braces aren't very interesting, just functional. We put braces on the joists that connect them to the rafters, braces on the front and back post that holds up the beam, and braces under the center beam that crosses the 12 foot side. We also added nails to several places where we had tie plates to ensure tight fits. It may not sound like much but this…

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  Conscious Gardening

• Dia de los Muertos

  ConsciousGardener

  1 Nov 2009 | 1:07 pm

  In honor of my uncle's Frank and Chuck, who both loved a stiff drink and a good meal, I've decided to post a recipe of my favorite Dia de los Muertos meal which includes both liquor and an herb most abundant in Texas gardens, blooming now...oregano.Pozole(Chicken Hominy Soup)whole Buddy's Chicken (Organic/free range)1 lg. red onion3 cans white hominy, rinsed1 lime (more to season)1 head of garlic1 carrot gratedpinch of finely chopped hot pepperSeveral sprigs of fresh oreganosalt and pepper to tasteSaute onion, garlic, hot pepper and back-stripped oregano (about a tablespoon) in olive oil…

• Eeeeeeeeeek!

  ConsciousGardener

  31 Oct 2009 | 7:18 am

  Halloween, Hallowed Eve...is my second favorite holiday. First, is Thanksgiving. Autumn, the season, tone, lighting everything about it, my favorite time of year...and my first daughter's name, Autumn Sage, as in Salvia-greggi...the flowering shrub that grew wild on the cliffs of my midwife's property in Santa Barbara, and the plant I always include in a plan because it comes in every color and is a predictable bloomer. I digress...again... Halloween...my backup costume has always been a witch. I was about 11 the first time someone told me I looked like Elizabeth Montgomery and that only…

• Pesto!

  ConsciousGardener

  28 Oct 2009 | 5:54 am

  My favorite herb, bar none is Sweet Basil. Until Sunday I had 9, 2 1/2 foot bushes. Then came harvest. With a home brew in hand, hubby demanding silence because he had a 10 page paper due and me unable to stifle my giddiness about the tour...I set to work in the garden and make my favorite herb dish...Pesto. I don't care how pastorial it is, I love it...on just about everything. Here's the bounty, plus fixins...minus the 'secret ingredient' which changes with my mood. Basil, garlic, extra virgin organic olive oil, pine nuts (though I will substitute walnuts, almonds or pecans) sea salt, black…

• The Day After

  ConsciousGardener

  25 Oct 2009 | 6:30 am

  I barely slept last night. I had to get up and have a bath in the middle of the night to try and help me relax...I'm still buzzing this morning. The last two days have been magical. It was a shear delight to have so many people in my garden, gardeners...most of them, taking the kind of time I had intended visitors to take. The grass this morning looks pretty trampled, but nothing a little seaweed treatment plus rain can't cure...and the only thing lost are the hundreds of names and faces flitting in and out of my consciousness. I've been fighting off a cold or allergies or both for the past…

• Bloom Day October 15, 2009

  ConsciousGardener

  15 Oct 2009 | 11:03 am

  It's been a few months since I joined in the monthly GBBD, as inspired by Carol of May Dreams Gardens. The summer, for those of us in the heart of Texas was miserable. I am on the Master Gardener "Inside Austin Garden Tour" in 9 days. This has been a year long project that has kicked my ass. We had a record-breaking drought--more over 100 degree days (not consecutively mind you) than ever on record--as if that matters to a rose. I spent my days fretting over my garden, and the two I manage here in Austin, the Green Green garden at Zilker Botanical Gardens and the other demonstration garden in…

• 
  Sharing Nature's Garden

• New bed in the making

  Diana

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:02 pm

  Out beyond the back wrought iron fence there's a line of ugly scrub cedars. Beyond that, several acres of floodplain land with a wet weather pond. The cedars give us some privacy, but let's face it, these are ugy. Not unique, or interesting cedars, just ugly.So I've been whittling away at them making space for a little xeric bed to give us something drought-tolerant and prettier to look at. My guys came today to dig out the rock and deliver soil.This bed won't get watered, and deer will wander through her regularly, so it's my "tough" bed.Here are the tough characters who will spruce things…

• Bits and pieces...

  Diana

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:33 pm

  The bats came out for Halloween! My son had one in his apartment hallway for a day, Manu Ginobli of the San Antonio Spurs swatted one off the basketball court and had to get rabies shots (ouch!) and these guys have been having a big party in my garden. I just love the little faces of the bat-face Cuphea.(The deer occasionally find them and nibble them off, but not very often, so I keep one around.)This little empty spot between the potato vine and the snap dragons is gently holding 10 Gladiator Alliums that will make their debut next Spring. (At least they'd better!)And this Acapulco Pink and…

• Signs of Fall in a Southern garden...

  Diana

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am

  There are some traditional signs of Fall in the hot, southern garden. The Yaupon Hollies bring forth their beautiful red berries...The mums begin to bloom...The colors begin to turn on a few trees, like this Crape Myrtle...And, my Moy Grande Hibisucus continues to bloom!As does the Mexican Flame Vine.And I picked a beautiful, juicy strawberry! October 28 -- seriously!

• What they're there for!

  Diana

  29 Oct 2009 | 6:20 pm

  So, I made a little bed for a cutting garden last fall. In it went a Carefree Beauty (Katy Road) Rose, Indigo Spires, Cosmos, Zinnias, Daisies, Bachelor's Buttons, Larkspur, Lion's Tail, Gladiolas, Bluebonnets, Lamb's Ears, Lilies, Clematis, Morning Glories and a variegated Agave Americana. A few of the seeds didn't come up, like the Daisies, but most did, in various states of growth and fullness. But in my desire to have a pretty bed, I've been hesitant to cut flowers!Today, with the ominous winds whipping about and a storm forecast, I thought, I should bring a few of these in to enjoy them…

• When it rains, it pours...

  Diana

  27 Oct 2009 | 6:01 am

  We've had some more much-needed rain here in Central Texas. And while it's helping to ease some of the drought, it's really just the proverbial drop in the bucket so far.Lake Travis, just outside of Austin in the Hill Country, was down 36 feet -- yes, FEET, at the height of the drought this summer. The recent rains in September and October have caused the lake to rise a little more than 13 feet. Which means that it's still 23 feet below its historic October average of 666.61 ft msl.Forecasters are predicting a strong El Nino weather pattern for this fall and winter.That means Central Texas…

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  The Transplantable Rose

• Troy-Bilt Cordless String Trimmer Draws the Lines

  Annie in Austin

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:15 pm

  As Graham Stuart Thomas once noted, "It is my opinion that it is even more important to attend to the edges than the mowing: slightly shaggy grass can be forgiven so long as the edges are trim."Even when it's not 100 degrees every day, even when there is rain, even when we're not under Stage 2 Drought restrictions, our idea of an acceptable lawn is pretty laid-back and reasonably drought-tolerant

• Ghoulia Child

  Annie in Austin

  31 Oct 2009 | 10:10 pm

  Proof that some people got giddy once the long hot summer was over:Hope your Halloween was Happy!

• GBBD for October 2009, Late but Flowery

  Annie in Austin

  18 Oct 2009 | 5:30 am

  "GBBD for October 2009, Late but Flowery" was written by Annie in Austin for her Transplantable Rose blogLook out the front door and see the butterfly garden awakened by rain (photos enlarge when clicked)The native Gregg's Mist Flower looked as if it would die in August but it's full of bees and Queens in October. The Blackfoot daisies should show up if you click.Walk to the flower bed at the end

• National Park Time Machine

  Annie in Austin

  15 Oct 2009 | 7:50 pm

  "This could be fun", I thought, when Pam/Digging suggested we bloggers post their memories of National Parks. Drizzly days are perfect for turning the pages of dozens of photo albums, are great weather for finding and scanning decades of time-faded prints, then seeing them expand on a screen. I've also allowed the category to expand from National Parks to other places with that National

• Revival and Survival

  Annie in Austin

  5 Oct 2009 | 7:52 pm

  Another two-and-one-half inches of rain fell in NW Austin over the weekend, barely budging the lake levels but giving a good drenching to yards and gardens. A few pepper plants make buds in the vegetable plot and a few radish seeds have sprouted, but I didn't plant a fall crop of tomatoes, just left a couple of survivors in the ground. There's enough sun for them in early spring before the

• 
  Vert

• Etiquette for Butterflies

  vertie

  23 Oct 2009 | 4:10 pm

  Tomorrow (Saturday, October 24) is the Inside Austin Gardens tour presented by the Travis County Master Gardener Association. All of the yards featured are National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitats, which means they are happy places for plants and animals.I haven't yet certified my yard (it's on the list!) but I have made it a happy place for some animals, caterpillars in

• Roadtripping Through National Parks

  vertie

  16 Oct 2009 | 10:00 am

  Pam of Digging is hosting a bloggers' celebration of national parks this week. As soon as she mentioned it, I knew I wanted to post about our roadtrip out west over Christmas/New Year's in 2006/2007. Between buying a new laptop and transferring photos and other files, and having said two-week-old laptop broken by a to-remain-nameless four-legged animal, it's taken me this long to post.For the

• The Big Island: Animal Edition

  vertie

  12 Sep 2009 | 9:59 am

  Rainbow over Kilauea IkeLast month my husband and I were lucky enough to travel to Hawaii, the Big Island, for someone's big digit birthday. (Hint, it wasn't mine.)When I saw all that was growing on the Big Island, I thought about a post comparing the beautiful, luscious plants to the same variety growing (or rather, not growing) in my yard. I quickly realized that such a post would be just

• Rose City

  vertie

  1 Aug 2009 | 6:23 pm

  In early July, I had the chance to leave hell and visit Portland, Oregon. I'm not even sure I was actually invited before I started packing my bag. Of course, Portland ended up having its way with me. I left on June 30; our flight delayed by thunderstorms in Austin. The next day Portland had its highest temps of the year--low 90s--while Austin was chilling in lower 90s."Are you serious?!" I

• The Garlic Haul

  vertie

  18 Jul 2009 | 7:55 am

  As there's almost nothing growing and happy in my yard now, I thought I would post my round-up on growing garlic, because you need to start thinking about ordering garlic if you want to plant in the fall.Last October I planted five varieties of garlic. I marked the rows. I marked the bags with the corresponding row number, and then promptly forgot to make a note of that somewhere. So I can't

• 
  In the Garden Online

• My First Official Garden Injury

  Colleen Vanderlinden

  30 Oct 2009 | 7:53 am

  As accident-prone as I am, I’m surprised I’ve gone this long without hurting myself. I’ve had the usual splinters, blisters, aching muscles. But I finally did it. The thing I made... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Tomatoes I Won’t Be Growing Again

  Colleen Vanderlinden

  2 Oct 2009 | 11:00 am

  So, I talked about the five tomatoes I grew this year that I absolutely fell inlove with, and now it’s time to talk about those that were less than impressive. It’s not that any of them... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• My Favorite Tomatoes, 2009 Edition

  Colleen Vanderlinden

  30 Sep 2009 | 11:22 am

  I grew tons of tomatoes this year. I finally pulled a few of the plants that stopped producing due to Septoria, but most of them are still going strong. In general, I was happy with the tomatoes this... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• On Guilt and Funeral Plants

  Colleen Vanderlinden

  15 Sep 2009 | 7:38 am

  Surely there’s a special place in hell for those of us who kill funeral plants. Especially when we were specifically entrusted with them because of our supposed ability to keep them... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Summer Garden Photos: Before and After

  Colleen Vanderlinden

  5 Sep 2009 | 9:30 am

  I love comparing photos to see how the garden has progressed during the season. This year, the difference was huge, and I thought I’d share a couple before and after photos with you. The Raised... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 
  Metaphyta

• Bloom Day! October 15, 2009

  arythrina

  15 Oct 2009 | 8:27 am

  Bloom Day in October? Everything is winding down. There are plenty of flowers to show, but they seem to be the last ones on each plant.Toad lily:Petunias underneath a butterfly bush:Lavender has been putting up spikes since mid-summer:Clematis jackmanii returned for a huge rebloom:A pink dahlia, backlit by the sun:The color isn't quite right with the flash, but a darker dahlia still looks good too:The temperatures may dip below 32 this weekend, bringing a lot of this to a screeching halt. I've been digging in bulbs for spring, and pulling out the tropicals. I've still got to move all the…

• Berries and seeds

  arythrina

  11 Oct 2009 | 9:43 am

  Another joy of fall: the berries and seed pods from the end of the season.Barberry berries are subtle and hard to see, but a vibrant red.Hardy hibiscus is looking pretty wasted by now, but the split open seed pods are really cool.Of course, this is the season to shine for beautyberry. Utterly nondescript the rest of the year, it pumps out unnaturally purple berries in fall. Love it!

• Sedum flopping, bugs at work

  arythrina

  10 Oct 2009 | 9:35 am

  My beautiful tall sedum has flopped all over the driveway bed. Oddly enough, the one in the most sun is doing this while the others that get part shade are fine. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?What the center of the sedum looks like now:On a part that was still relatively upright, this mantis made short work of a yellow jacket. Good work!A moth takes advantage of a new flush of blooms on the butterfly bush:In mid-summer I diligently sprinkled seeds from open-pollinated columbines on some bare dirt and I now have lots of columbine plants emerging! I can see why people get hooked…

• Signs of fall

  arythrina

  28 Sep 2009 | 5:42 pm

  The weather was distinctly cooler today. Poking around outside yielded this geranium: one leaf gone brilliant red.The witchhazel has turned a few leaves (and just dropped some others, while some stay green).There are a ton of buds! But some have started blooming already.... and they're coming out yellow. Which is weird: this is witchhazel 'Diane' and it has definitely bloomed red in the past.Anyone ever seen a witchhazel bloom the wrong color?

• Beautiful, dangerous Datura

  arythrina

  27 Sep 2009 | 7:26 am

  I bought a purple datura at the farmer's market this spring. I love the flowers...The seed pods start off looking a little like blackberries....Then grow into something a little more grotesque...The overall effect of the plant is cool. New flowers are constantly developing, and old leaves slough off to reveal jet black stems...It is, however, extremely poisonous! (Click here for the wikipedia entry, or here for the comprehensive entry in Erowid - the online encyclopedia of drugs) Just something to know about before you run out to get one.

• 
  Mr. McGregor's Daughter

• The Late Roses

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:57 pm

  On Halloween, I took the kids in their costumes over to my parents' house. I was shocked to find that two of my mom's Roses were still blooming, despite several freezes. (My Rose hasn't bloomed since August, and the Roses in the main garden at my parents' house are done blooming.) The towering orange one pictured above is in a decent microclimate against the brick wall on the east side of the

• Do They Know Something, or Are They Just Confused?

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pm

  What's wrong with this picture? (Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum)While planting some bulbs today, I thought it was a good time to divide and replant some spring ephemerals while they were dormant. Only they weren't exactly dormant. Am I confused, or are these Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) sprouting prematurely? Is this a sign of a mild winter, or will this Trillium grandiflorum be in

• They're Taking Over! A True Scary Story

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:22 am

  I have something to show you. It's not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. It's just beyond this door.It's a dirty little secret that I hide from the world, but I've decided I need to come clean about it.It's my stash of empty garden pots. I haven't counted them. This isn't even all of them. They're multiplying at an astonishing rate. Every spring there are more of them, breeding like

• OOTS: Fall Edition (Out in the Streets)

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:14 pm

  I've finally managed to take a photo of the garden (I can't call it landscaping) outside of the Palatine Inn restaurant in, unsurprisingly, Palatine, Illinois. All summer I admired it while driving past on our way to the girl's Irish Dance class. Finally, I went there for breakfast last week and, even though it was raining, I got a photo. There is more garden around the corner too. In keeping

• Book Review: What's Wrong With My Plant?

  26 Oct 2009 | 6:54 am

  Every gardener, no matter where they garden, what they grow, nor how large or small the garden, will sooner or later have a problem with a plant. It might start wilting for no apparent reason, or it might, like my Redbud (Cercis canadensis), develop unsightly blemishes on its leaves. (That makes it sound like my tree has zits, but there is no such thing as "tree acne.") While many of us have

• 
  My Northern Garden

• First Bloom, Last Bloom

  mynortherngarden

  31 Oct 2009 | 10:10 am

  Among annuals, pansies bloom earlier than almost anything else — and given a chance, they’ll bloom later, too. Witness this poor flower, one of several blooming in a low pot on our back deck. I haven’t watered the pot in months — though nature has done a good job of that since September. Yet it’s still blooming, putting out one last flower against the cold and wind of winter descending rapidly upon us.

• Adding Layers to the Lasagna Garden

  mynortherngarden

  28 Oct 2009 | 2:15 pm

  Ready for winter Last spring, I added a new raised bed to my vegetable area and filled it using the lasagna method. Despite not having a winter to percolate and meditate and otherwise breakdown, the soil in the garden was humus-rich and fertile. A trowel would easily sink 10 inches into the “dirt” in this bed. I grew some large (if slightly out of control) tomato plants in the bed, and I have a freezer full of the tomato sauce I made with the fruits. So, all in all, a success. When I cleaned the bed up about two weeks ago, it was clear the lasagna had shrunk. This is to be…

• Hedging

  mynortherngarden

  25 Oct 2009 | 3:15 pm

  Courtesy of Jung Seeds A second part of our recent spruce-up was the removal of some old alpine currant shrubs that were dying. The shrubs formed a hedge around an area below our back deck, an area that I use mostly for storage of garden equipment. Not wanting to leave this exposed, I planted it this past weekend with nine plants of hedge cotoneaster (Cotoneaster lucidus), a plant that will grow about 4 feet wide and up to 8 feet tall. We’ll probably keep ours around 5 to 6 feet tall by shaving the tops. The cotoneaster should be an improvement over alpine currant for two reasons.

• A Place to Sit

  mynortherngarden

  20 Oct 2009 | 3:48 pm

  The new patio after a recent snowfall. We recently ripped out the foundation plantings around the front of our house and replaced them with a tiered area with a 8-foot circular brick patio surrounded by shrubs, grasses, and small trees. This is an idea that had been percolating in my head for a couple of years as a result of a sense that the best place to sit outdoors at our house, especially in the early evening, was not the place in the back.  The evolution of this project points to a number of issues related to home siting and what makes people comfortable. Several years ago, I stumbled…

• Will My Plants Survive?

  mynortherngarden

  13 Oct 2009 | 1:02 pm

  With a couple of inches of snow falling and temperatures consistently under 35 the past few days, I’ve been contemplating this question. All of my established perennials, trees and shrubs will shrug off this little blast of Arctic air as a mild inconvenience, of course, but we put in about 20 brand new shrubs and perennials the week before this current cold spell started. Those plants have not had time to send out new roots yet, although we were lucky to get lots of rain — more than 4 inches over several days, according to my rain gauge. So, I’ve been wondering, will my…

• 
  My Skinny Garden

• Botanical Interests iPhone App Review

  24 Oct 2009 | 5:49 pm

  When I bought my first iPhone a few months ago, one thing I did right away was look for cool garden related iPhone apps. I was disappointed with the options, so I was excited to learn that Botanical Interests, one of my favorite seed companies, had released an app a couple of weeks ago.The short version is I love it. It's totally worth $5.99 and you should go out and get it real soon. When you launch the app you are presented with options to: Browse seeds by Vegetable/Her CategoriesSearch for seeds based on sun requirements. You can even limit to Heirloom or Organic seeds, warm versus cool…

• Gardeners Against Climate Change

  14 Oct 2009 | 5:11 am

  first vegetable gardenThat's not the name of a real organization, that I could find anyway. But if you're a gardener, you are helping with climate change whether you intend to or not. Come to think of it, somebody ought to start that organization. If you do, please send me an invite! Preface: this blog post assumes that you already "believe in" climate change and that it's not still up for debate in your head. We've come too far to still need to convince people of this. I won't spend my time on it.I know I'm biased but I would challenge anybody to tell me an easier way that a regular ole…

• Where I Spill My Guts

  11 Oct 2009 | 6:16 pm

  I have a good friend who says she can always tell how I'm doing by my garden blog. "If you're blogging, everything's good!" She's right. The amount of blog posts you read here is directly proportional to how good things are in my life, or how bad.This gardening season (well really all of 2009) has been filled with extreme ups and downs and honestly there have been chunks of time where I've struggled with regular ole day-to-day things.Last October my now late father-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer. We entered 2009 in a heightened state of anxiety about his health and impending death. No…

• Planting Bulbs Helps Support Our Community Garden

  11 Sep 2009 | 4:38 pm

  Besides gardening at my own house this summer, I've also helped get Forest Park Community Garden up and running and gardens are flourishing there as I type.We're still raising money to have water access at the community garden. Our plot renters have hauled water in jugs throughout the summer and we are committed to fix it so that they don't need to do that next year.If you are planning to buy bulbs this fall, please consider ordering them through our fundraiser with Flower Power. 50% of what you buy will go directly to the community garden. This fundraiser runs through 10-23-09.If you do make…

• Volunteer Cantaloupe

  28 Aug 2009 | 4:52 am

  Alternate Title: The Cantaloupe That Almost Wasn'tNot long after I completed the kitchen garden expansion, I started seeing what looked like little squash plants growing all along the walkway between the new raised beds. While I thought it was kinda cool that these free plants were accidentally growing in my garden, I wasn't excited about the potential of battling the dreaded Squash Vine Borer on all these plants. There were like 10 of them!I mentioned these squash looking volunteers to my friend J and she reminded me that last year she had something that looked like volunteer squash that…

• 
  Our Little Acre

• Better Than Pumpkin Pie

  Kylee from Our Little Acre

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:53 am

  It's that time of year again. The Jack-O'-Lanterns' lights have gone out and pumpkins can once again be used for their original purpose: making us fat. Okay, just kidding. Only we make us fat and pumpkins are great sources of Vitamin A and fiber.Every year, I get requests for my recipe for pumpkin torte. I don't remember now how I got this recipe myself years ago, but my family insists I make it every Thanksgiving. They're nearly delirious with joy if it happens to turn up at other times of the year as well.I wish I could have a dollar for every time someone asked me for this recipe. I could…

• Colchicums - The Other Fall Crocus

  Kylee from Our Little Acre

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:59 pm

  When Mom and I first visited Schedel Arboretum and Gardens in the fall of 2007, we came upon a beautiful ground flower that resembled giant crocuses. We'd not seen any like them in person before, but I'd recently seen photos of and read about Colchicums, and was pretty sure that's what they were. Colchicums are sometimes known as "Fall Crocus," though they aren't crocuses at all. While I do have a true fall crocus growing and blooming here (Crocus kotschyanus), I'd not ever invested in Colchicums. I say "invested" because they aren't the cheapest bulb you can buy for the garden. But this…

• What's Wrong With My Plant? - A Book Review

  Kylee from Our Little Acre

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:32 pm

  What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?): A Visual Guide to Easy Diagnosis and Organic Remediesby David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth 452 pages Timber Press (December 2, 2009) List price: $24.95 I don't care how long you've been gardening, even if you do everything right, plants won't be healthy 100% of the time. Some new bug or spot eventually finds its way to your garden and then what? You put your plant detective hat on and get to work at finding out just what the problem is. So the leaves are yellow and it's not fall. There are little green specks on the stems and leaves. And…

• Pretty Pink Petunias

  Kylee from Our Little Acre

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:52 am

  This past summer, Mom and I visited the trial gardens at Michigan State University. That was like walking through a candy store, with the colorful array of annuals in full bloom laid before us in strips like aisles in a floral supermarket. The thought that kept running through my head was, "I'll take three of those, six of those, and ALL of thoseSome of the plants that really caught my eye were, of all things, petunias. Even though I've grown them every year in some variety or another, I was still somewhat of the mind that petunias were overused, boring, and a grandma flower. But I kept…

• Something New, Something Old, Something Silver and Gold

  Kylee from Our Little Acre

  1 Nov 2009 | 8:31 pm

  What's new to me is sometimes old to someone else, especially in the plant world, because I'm so new to it. I just completed my fifth summer of gardening and though I've learned a heck of a lot in that time, it's but a drop in the bucket, considering the whole. But this isn't a bad thing.When you find a pastime that is as big and varied as gardening, there isn't a chance for boredom to set in. Your world is only limited by your time or space or energy. There are times when we're hit with all three, but even then, it seems there's always something new on the horizon to capture our interest.The…

• 
  We CAN Dig It!

• Lawn Art

  Marilyn B.

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:25 pm

  The last mowing of the year has been brought to you by the letter "B"

• Perfect for the holiday!

  Marilyn B.

  27 Oct 2009 | 2:29 pm

  Some busy spider is putting decorations in my garden.Happy Halloween!

• Worth Waiting For

  Marilyn B.

  14 Sep 2009 | 1:18 pm

  Back in May, I wrote about some Moonflowers that I picked up at the Annual MG Plant Sale. I still don't know who the generous MG was that provided those seedlings but my one surviving plant (the others were lost to rabbits and bad locations) bloomed last night and I was able to watch it open before my eyes.This has been such a crazy summer between monsoons, cool temperatures, and now drought that I didn't think I would get any flowers on this. Thank you again whoever you are--you certainly brightened up my garden and introduced me to a new favorite.

• Summer Time Reading

  Marilyn B.

  17 Jun 2009 | 11:17 am

  Down to Earth with Helen DillonAdvice and Inspiration from one of the world's great gardenersI had never heard of Helen Dillon--well, I must have or I wouldn't have put this book in my Good Reads list--but I am glad I finally discovered her! She is my idea of the perfect gardener and author of gardening books and I have a pretty good idea that she and I could have a great time together.Her style is a bit different from other gardeners/authors--she uses humor in discussing her adventures in her garden and she does not mince words. I knew I was going to love this book when I read this:"I've got…

• 28 May 2009 | 8:55 am

  Duane

  28 May 2009 | 8:55 am

  Guess the plant. A perennial you do not see often but should be used more.

• 
  Sweet Home and Garden Chicago

• One of the Most Striking Trees in the Fall Landscape

  Carolyn gail

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:59 pm

  Sorbus AltinifoliaI have the pleasure of frequently passing this Korean mountain ash in the parkway in our neighborhood and am always impressed by it's four seasons of interest. While it's foliage is beautiful all year , Fall brings out the best in it. The leaves haven't yet turned to yellow-orange because it hasn't been chilly enough yet but the beautiful cherry-red berries are striking.In late Spring flat clusters of delicate white flowers appear and gradually turn into the beautiful berries. This is a medium to large tree, reaching 40 feet and has a 20 foot spread. While many Sorbus…

• Green Tomato Time

  Carolyn gail

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am

  This is what was left of the tomatoesGood thing I made a photo because these are long gone.Goodness gracious I never expected to see grits or fried green tomatoes go gourmet but they have. They've made the fried green tomatoes healthier by using olive or vegetable oil , That's where I draw the line. Gotta have that taste of bacon fat. Yum. And I add a little drop or two of tobasco sauce to pep up the flavor. I don't eat a lot of junk food so I guess this is one time of the year that I can indulge my quaint taste.I didn't grow the regular or large tomatoes this year so I'm making little bite…

• GARDEN BLOGGERS' MUSE DAY -NOV. 1

  Carolyn gail

  31 Oct 2009 | 8:18 pm

  Forty six years ago - A young gal from rural Alabama and a foreign student from South Korea tied the knot. Guess I was a rebel way back then even because marriage to someone from a different race wasn't widely accepted, South or North. But here we are today, 46 years later , 3 wonderful children and a first grandchild. We are truly blessed to have surmounted all the trials and tribulations that life has given us. Coming from totally different backgrounds and circumstances I would dare say that it was at least 2 or 3 times harder to overcome the obstacles of marriage that people from similar…

• AN EVERGREEN SOURCE OF DELIGHT FOR GARDENERS

  Carolyn gail

  31 Oct 2009 | 7:06 pm

  When National Geographic and The University of Missouri Botanical Garden get together on a book you just know that its gotta be good. More than 200 beautiful illustrations are reason enough to enjoy Flora Mirabilis, an exquisite book, but the interesting stories about how plants have had such a profound affect on our daily life adds another dimension.I was contacted by National Geographic and offered a free copy of the book but I found it reasonably priced at Amazon.com for $23. When I'm not able to get outside to garden the next best thing is reading a good book on plant life.

• A TREE FOR SPRING AND FALL BEAUTY

  Carolyn gail

  28 Oct 2009 | 6:35 am

  Cornus Florida 'cherokee princess 'This beautiful American dogwood is in my neighborhood and I enjoy its beauty both in the Spring when it's covered with large pink blossoms and in its October red dress pictured above.If memory serves I believe that Tennessee has been dubbed the Dogwood State . Actually the dogwood grows in abundance throughout the South and is a favorite tree for many.When I first planted my garden in Chicago I chose two trees - the dogwood and a regular magnolia. The magnolia didn't survive the first winter but the dogwood did. Every Spring when it was time for it to bloom…

• 
  Idaho Gardener

• Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day October 2009

  Mary Ann

  15 Oct 2009 | 5:17 pm

  For Carol, at May Dreams Gardens,

• Squash Festival. For One.

  Mary Ann

  13 Oct 2009 | 12:05 am

  My friend Ardie sent this: This spring I planted some acorn squash bushes behind my back fence. The dream was to have dozens of fresh squash to share with my neighbors. The dream died slowly and one by one the plants, lacking sun withered and died except for one brave little soul. This was the entire crop. I am planning a small Squash Festival at my house next weekend. a

• Growing Chard and Arugula

  Mary Ann

  12 Oct 2009 | 12:19 am

  Here’s what I planted in the garden today: I may need to cover them with some plastic in the coldest part of winter, but right now, the large pots I used are sitting in the sunniest spots in the garden. Taking total advantage of that free solar power. I put the seeds of the red chard in with my other greens, which are already up three and four inches. I dusted the top of the seeds with a light layer of soil. Watered them in thoroughly. And now, I just sit back and wait. MMMM, good. a

• The Fearless Keeyla Meadows (my color hero)

  Mary Ann

  11 Oct 2009 | 3:42 pm

  I have a thing for color. Big, bright, bold, beautiful color. No nude, beige, tan, taupe or ecru for this girl. Give me the Crayolas and a box of 96 if you please. And make it snappy. So, I was doing a little research into a colorful acquaintance of mine, and it cost me. Boy, was it expensive research. I was also overcome with another attack of “gotta have those too!” as it related to bulbs. Yes, more bulbs. For someone who swore she was not going to plant bulbs this year, I’ve certainly lost steely reserve. I think I have about 650 corms, bulbs, rhizomes, and tubers headed…

• Botany of Desire

  Mary Ann

  9 Oct 2009 | 10:41 am

  Michael Pollan’s fascinating book Botany of Desire has been made into a compelling documentary, scheduled for Prime Time, on PBS, October 28th. It will air at 8pm in the Boise area. Of course, check your local TV listings for the correct time where you live. If you liked the book, you’ll enjoy the show. Pollan tells how the apple’s sweetness, the tulip’s beauty, marijauna’s intoxication and the potato’s importance as a food crop has inextricably linked these plants to the life of man and civilizations. Plus, Amy Stewart’s cameo appearance rocked!

• 
  The Gardens of Petersonville

• Different Kind of Fall Color

  Sheila

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:49 am

  In warm climates "fall color" take on a different meaning, especially when it comes to bougainvillea. This tropical vine is in full color in our area this time of year and the bright brackets (the actual flowers are tiny white blooms in the center of the three colorful brackets) are vivid against the clear blue skies that make this such a lovely time of year, even in warmer climates.

• Nature's Filters

  Sheila

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:37 am

  In Laguna we have two ponds. One is in the front of the house, above ground with four or five waterfalls spilling out of the rocks that surround it. I used to have koi in it but it became too big of a battle to keep the varmints that wanted to eat them for dinner at bay so now it is just for looks. There is a huge pump, two filters and UV light that work the whole system and a guy that comes every couple weeks to make sure everything is operating as it should. Then there is this little pond that is basically a hole we dug in the ground and covered with a liner and filled with water about 12…

• Simple Steps

  Sheila

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:53 am

  Although my two gardens were created by the same person (me) they are as different as day and night. The Laguna garden is on a steep slope and was created out of a natural field with only a few eucalyptus and avocado trees as a foundation. All the hardscape was put in by me and has a very natural feel to it, as does the entire garden. San Juan Capistrano hardscape was all completed when we moved in and has a very formal, Mediterranean feel to it. I have to admit that because most of our time is spent at the SJC home, that is where most of the work in the gardens gets done. Few people see my…

• A Lovely Surprise

  Sheila

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:19 am

  Look what I found in a quiet corner of the Laguna garden. An out-of-season clematis, don't remember the name, just blooming away for no apparent reason. It looks a little chewed, but that is okay with me. I was delight to have found it!

• Look Closely

  Sheila

  1 Nov 2009 | 9:21 am

  I nearly missed this bloom on a new calla lily that I planted from a bulb I purchased at a garden show last spring. I love the green variegation on what is typically a white bloom. It blends in with the foliage on the plant that has a similar shape. Very unique!

• 
  The Blogging Nurseryman by Trey Pitsenberger

• The customer as garden center consultant

  Trey Pitsenberger

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:27 am

  Small business has worked on the assumption that if business is good, then whatever we are doing to earn that business is the correct thing. I would have to agree with that analogy. People do vote with their wallets. In the past some business would put out “suggestion cards” or what not, trying to [...]

• Garden writing, and garden centers

  Trey Pitsenberger

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:03 am

  Just five years ago garden writers, and the garden center business we’re generally unaware of each others presence.  That’s changed, thanks to blogs and Facebook. Among my friends on Facebook many are garden authors, whom just five years ago I wouldn’t have known about. This cross pollination is exactly what the garden center business and [...]

• College student + dorm room + garden = future customer

  Trey Pitsenberger

  29 Oct 2009 | 7:15 am

  The headline, “College student finds creative outlet in dorm room garden”, got my attention. Gee, I wonder what he is up to? Well it turns out Matt Lehman, ” has two tomato plants, beans and a cucumber plant doing quite nicely under the artificial lamps he has installed above the 1-by-3-foot wooden box he built.” [...]

• It’s True!

  Trey Pitsenberger

  21 Oct 2009 | 9:05 pm

  My question from yesterday has been answered. Greenhouse Grower Magazine confirms that Color Spot Nurseries has purchased El Modeno Gardens Nursery. According to Greenhouse Grower, “El Modeno Gardens will close its doors after Oct. 31 and Color Spot Nurseries is purchasing the operation’s equipment, raw materials and inventory.” It’s interesting how the nursery industry is fragmenting. I [...]

• Color Spot, El Modeno, and the box stores

  Trey Pitsenberger

  21 Oct 2009 | 7:27 am

  I have been hearing rumors that Color Spot has bought El Modeno Gardens Nursery. If it is true, Color Spot is emerging as the number one supplier of plant goods for the chain stores in the west and southwest. By purchasing El Modeno, Color Spot moves into the shrub and tree category along with [...]

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  Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping blog

• Synthetic Turf, Artificial Grass or Stepford Lawns ?

  ken

  13 Oct 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Recently there has been a large movement towards installing synthetic turf. This new generation of Astro Turf often called ‘eco turf’’, is being touted as the newest in green landscaping. To be sure, there is an impressive list of ecological concerns that this turf addresses including the elimination of the need to mow, water, install irrigation, control weeds, fertilize or haul away grass clippings. The latest synthetic turf is even made from recycled plastic and is recyclable at the end of its life. It is true that you can play on it in the rain and it won’t get muddy and it is…

• Ban Leaf Blowers ! (otherwise known as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . polluting noise bazookas )

  ken

  28 Aug 2009 | 4:40 pm

  I found a web site whose aim is the complete elimination of leaf blowers from California, and Nation-wide if possible. We at Terra Nova support a leaf blower ban. Below we have reproduced some of the “high-lights“ of a ninety-two-page manifesto found on the cleanair.trilithon website. You can go here to download this manifesto. The following is from the Cleanair.trilithon website. . . . no person shall discharge from any source whatsoever such quantities of air contaminants or other material which cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to any considerable number of persons…

• Terra Nova owner Ken Foster and Owen Dell read poetry on KUSP Radio Poetry Show

  ken

  1 Jul 2009 | 11:09 pm

  Terra Nova owner Ken Foster and sustainable landscape guru Owen Dell meet up to read the poetry of Kenneth Patchen on KUSP Public Radio. Beyond the common passion for sustainable landscaping Foster and Dell discover a common interest in Kenneth Patchen’s poetry. You’ll find the Kenneth Patchen show at the KUSP radio website on the May 25th post there. Here’s the link . . .  http://www.kusp.org/shows/poetry.html ENJOY ! Here’s one of Patchen’s art poems, very apropos to sustainable landscaping.

• Toby Hemenway’s book Gaia’s Garden out in new edition

  ken

  24 Jun 2009 | 4:20 pm

  Ken Foster, the owner of Terra Nova drops some names. Here I am with permaculture  teacher and author Toby Hemenway and Larry Santoyo of EarthFlow Design Works. The second edition of Toby’s book, Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture has just been published. It is well worth reading. Just out! The revised, expanded, all-color Second Edition! Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway Chelsea Green, 2009. “The world didn’t come with an operating manual, so it’s a good thing that some wise people have from time to time written them.

• Terra Nova helps with the water quality SNAPSHOT DAY EVENT.

  ken

  7 May 2009 | 2:17 pm

  Because we care about water quality in our community Terra Nova owner Ken Foster volunteered with the SNAPSHOT DAY EVENT on Saturday, May 2, 2009. We know that landscaping can adversely affect water quality. At Terra Nova we employ Best Management Practices that eliminates run-off of both storm water and irrigation. The Snap Shot Day described below is a great annual volunteer effort to gather critical water quality data and educate our community about how to best manage our watershed. Join us for the annual Snap Shot Day ! Program Description: Spanning more than 300 miles of coast…

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  Robert Kourik's Garden Roots

• Root Rot, Phytothphora spp.

  Robert Kourik

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:38 pm

  Another round of rain is on the way. The soil is still a bit warm due to 75-85F days. It's time to watch out for root rot.Many western and Mediterranean plants, especially those from certain desert and chaparral communities, are quite sensitive to overwatering or even to a single irrigation in an otherwise normally dry summer. A primary cause of death for such drought-resistant plants is crown-

• Ocean Horizons

  Robert Kourik

  1 Nov 2009 | 8:32 am

  I love to photograph the vague boundary between the Pacific ocean and the sky as seen on the left. (Sorry land-locked folks.) The photo on the right is a very rare phenomena of a green zone between the ocean and the sky. Enjoy.

• Happy Halloween

  Robert Kourik

  31 Oct 2009 | 12:10 pm

  My costume for tonight. I hope Barbie doesn't mind.(Actually from Jeff & Maxine's eccentric garden.)

• More on Green Manures, free nitrogen

  Robert Kourik

  30 Oct 2009 | 2:40 pm

  <!--StartFragment--> Please scroll down to the bottom after reading the query. (Photo of clover green manure.) Heidi Hunt, Assistant Editor Mother Earth News 1503 SW 42nd St. Topeka, KS 66609 (785) 274-4322www.MotherEarthNews.com Dear Ms. Hunt, I have a simple article proposal to destroy the myths about “organic” blood meal and colloidal phosphates. They are, respectively extremely

• Compostin' Galore, a tribute

  Robert Kourik

  29 Oct 2009 | 9:25 pm

  <!--StartFragment--> Fall is the time to rake up leaves in much of the country. Can’t burn ‘em anymore. Your city or you’ll have to make compost. My Dad was trained as an engineer and has always looked upon science as a firm, reliable basis for much of modern life. He always used the most modern, chemical gardening products. For years, I imagine he looked upon my organic escapades as voodoo

• 
  North Coast Gardening Blog

• Planting Brodiaea and Grape Hyacinth Bulbs

  North Coast Gardener

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

  I picked up some new bulbs to add to the garden this past weekend. I had planted brodiaea (starflower) in the barrel in the back yard last year and they bloomed beautifully in early summer. I purchased two boxes of the bulbs, 24 in all and planted them in the long border in the backyard. The blue/mauve flowers should look stunning with the pink two toned fuchsias in the border. Speaking of the pink fuchsia, I was able to root two more pieces of the fuchsia this summer and planted them in a hanging basket so they can get established before next summer season.I was able to find some grape…

• Fall in the North Coast Garden

  North Coast Gardener

  28 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am

  As fall continues on the north coast I'm still finding growth happening with new and established plants. The sword fern I planted next to the front porch is sending up a new curled white fern shoot from the base of the fern I planted in spring. I originally dug up from the main fern plant from under the holly trees, one of two sword ferns I brought with me from Petaluma. When first planted this fern it had a rhiazome with two frond stems and some roots; now a third frond is curling up from the soil. Having had good success in dividing and planting this particular fern this tells me that the…

• Planting Heaths and Heathers

  North Coast Gardener

  21 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am

  Saturday was spent planting heaths and heathers in the garden. My husband and I were out in the yard by noon, an hour earlier than usual. The forecast was for rain so I did my best to plant four gallon pots of heaths and heathers in the front yard. I had one spot open in the walkway border to the right of the house and planted a pink flowering heather there. The remaining plants were planted in the big border to the left of the house, two heathers and one heath planted there. It was busy work and I was moving as fast as I could. The heath was another large bell flowering plant with pink…

• Annual Heath and Heather Farm Sale

  North Coast Gardener

  14 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am

  October 4th was the annual heath and heather farm sale in a nearby town outside of where we live. I always look forward to the sale, anticipating the variety of heaths and heathers they have available. Last year I was able to purchase a number of heaths (erica) plants with large bells and I've been very pleased with the growth and flowering results of these new heaths over the last year. This year there were almost no heath plants available, unfortunate but I did manage to get two this year. The rest of the plants were heathers with their delicate leaves and flowers. Any heath and heather is…

• 7 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am

  North Coast Gardener

  7 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am

  The butterfly bushes finished flowering last month, I wish they flowered longer but they are spectacular while they bloom. This is my favorite color, it is a magenta bloom. The dark purple bloom is also gorgeous, we have two of each along with two of a lighter purple butterfly bush lining the back yard fence. I imagine if I cut back the spent bloom spikes there might be another flush of blooms during summer here. I may have to try this out and see what happens. I have a cutting of the magenta butterfly bush in a gallon container to try and root it over the winter. I'm not sure if it will work…

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  HAWAII GARDENING

• Little Fire Ant ups the Ante

  Janice

  28 Oct 2009 | 9:32 pm

  Little Fire Ant, an invasive species with a painful sting, is spreading quickly along the coast of East Hawai'i, creating havoc for gardeners, farmers, and pretty much anyone else who has the misfortune of discovering colonies. Little Fire Ants establish colonies usually in potted plants, trees and lawns, but will also enter all kinds of buildings - including homes, schools and businesses. Read about it in my article in the Oct. 28 issue of the Big Island Weekly -- click here.USDA photo

• Hawai'i School Gardens: Pa'auilo School

  Janice

  26 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pm

  At the Hamakua Alive! festival held at Pa'auilo School this weekend, I saw many excellent ideas demonstrating sustainability in action, but most impressive was the school's garden itself. Above is one of the school's milk goats. (Would you believe it was love at first sight? Sigh.)Here are the greenhouses and gardens......here's Donna Mitts, garden educator,and the school's ever-expanding vermicomposting facilities ... I couldn't help but admire the efforts of Donna Mitts. She's gearing up to do mid-scale vermicomposting using cafeteria waste, making this the first school on the island to…

• Fall Container Gardening, Hawai'i Style

  Janice

  25 Oct 2009 | 8:55 pm

  I'm not like most people in Hawai'i. Most residents live near the coast. I live at 3,500 feet elevation on the island of Hawai'i, atop an active volcano, Kilauea. While the rest of the lowlanders are sweltering around the state, I'm experimenting with mainland-style, cool-weather spring/fall herbs and veggies. Here the volcanic plume of sulphur emissions from Halema'uma'u crater, the home of Hawaiian goddess Pele, creates constant acid rain, which presents a challenge for gardeners in the Volcano area. In winter the rain is heavy, which is another problem for residents trying to grow edible…

• DIY Watering Can

  Janice

  6 Oct 2009 | 2:59 pm

  Happy Birthday, Dear Hawai'i Gardening Blog! It's the second anniversary of this here blog thing. To celebrate, let's make ourselves a very thoughtful, very inexpensive gardening gift. Watch it in action. You'll want one. DIY WATERING CAN Stuff You'll Need Plastic laundry detergent bottle Drill with bit that makes tiny holes Utility knife Rinse out bottle thoroughly. Drill plenty of holes in the cap. To allow air to flow into the bottle and keep the water free flowing, cut a hole near the cap in the handle – not to close to the cap, otherwise the water spills out there, too. I make these…

• Edible Gardens, HI Lux Style

  Janice

  16 Sep 2009 | 11:52 pm

  To eat well, it's best to learn how to grow well. Hope you'll enjoy reading my article about Edible Gardens in the August/September issue of HI Luxury Magazine, a glossy periodical published by StarBulletin/Midweek. To read the article, click here. There are some great tips from two esteemed Hawai'i Island gardeners: renowned artist Mayumi Oda on her Ginger Hill Farm and Retreat Center in Kealakekua, and permaculture farmers Tom Baldwin and Shannon Casey at Uluwehi Farm in Hawi.In the photo above is an edible flower, butterfly pea, Clitoria ternatea, that adds a splash of bright color with…

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  Garden Wise Guy

• Time To Unite In The Name of Ugly

  Garden Wise Guy

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:23 pm

  The Hague prosecutes heinous acts like genocide and ethnic cleansing. Though the plant mutilations and acts of aesthetic idiocy I've uploaded to my Flickr site don't rise to that level, they at least deserve to be ridiculed.Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder and some of you might look at the images and say "What's so bad about that?" I resort to my mom's dictum: "You have your opinion and I'll have the right one."Thanks mom.Brace yourself, ask the children to leave the room and click here.

• Santa Barbara Edhat : Look, Up In The Sky!

  Garden Wise Guy

  27 Oct 2009 | 8:51 pm

  When I think of October I think of Halloween, which gets me thinking about bats. Naturally, bats conjure thoughts of belfries, which invariably lead to the topic of beavers.Confused? There's a cure. Read the rest of this sumptuous tour of Santa Barbara's architecture and "roof toppings" at my recent Edhat.com blog.Read Look, Up In The Sky!

• Planting Design Lessons from Raleigh NC - Fine Gardening

  Garden Wise Guy

  27 Oct 2009 | 8:36 pm

  Blessing or curse, I find it difficult to look at a garden without immediately activating the design teacher in my brain. I imagine it's no different for a film critic trying to watch their brother-in-law's home videos. Tune in and see me apologize to a cactus on my hands and knees. Really!Planting Design Lesson from Raleigh, North Carolina

• Win a copy of Designer Plant Combinations! - Fine Gardening

  Garden Wise Guy

  21 Oct 2009 | 11:34 am

  What a fun read this was! Scott Calhoun's book is now the first thing I reach for when I need a bit of inspiration on a planted design job. You gotta have this book!You can win your own copy by visiting my blog at Fine Gardening Magazine and leaving a comment. Do it NOW!Win a copy of Scott's book. Click over to my Cool Green Gardens blog.Posted using ShareThis

• One Pill Made Me Larger: Tripping on Bonsai

  Garden Wise Guy

  10 Oct 2009 | 3:13 pm

  Does the current economic downturn have you contemplating a career change? Have you considered taking a hallucinogenic drug? No? Let me tell you, it worked for me. Wait! Hold it! I’m not talking about my recent departure from my gig with the Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation Department. I’m talking about the early 70s when I began extricating myself from the music business and entering the world of horticulture. The rest of this sordid tale is posted at my most recent Edhat.com blog, Santa Barbara's finest on-line news and entertainment site.Santa Barbara Edhat : Tripping on Bonsai

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  Garden Porn

• Let's Get Dirty.

  Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am

  Praise Flora !A new project is about to begin.Let’s get dirty.Construction bids are in, final decisions are being made and ground, or should I say sand is about to be broken.A new garden at the beach is about to take shape. Wooohooo ! ( can you tell this slow economy has gotten to me ! ) Basic Planting Plan ( lots of succulents, Australian and South African plants.) From Beach HouseFrom Beach HouseThe interesting aspect of this project is that we are going to be using a seeded lawn instead of sod. This seed is from Wildflower Farm and is called their Eco- Lawn mix.It is said to require no…

• The blues are out, Jazzy vibrant colors are in.

  Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am

  I’m over the blues.All of the ceramic pots that I have clustered outside my front entry gate have been blue in color.It was great for awhile but not any more.So with one swift swipe of the card yesterday I bought a bright orange pot.Now I’m on the hunt for a lime green pot and I heard that Flora Grubb nursery in the city might have exactly what I need.The blues are out.Fiesta ware and bright Bauer ware colors are in.From Pina ColadaFrom Pina ColadaThe old blue guards will still be in place, I love the bookend matching large pots, but all the supporting smaller pots are going to be traded…

• Autumns acorns

  Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle

  1 Nov 2009 | 1:32 pm

  My home, located in Northern California is surrounded by oak trees, Quercus kelloggii.These deciduous oaks have inspired my sculptural art work from the front entry mosaic path that I installed 10 years ago to the hand sculpted ceramic nuts that I scatter throughout the garden.Leaf patterns in the path :From Pina ColadaCeramic acorns: High fire porcelain , cone 10 , celadon and texas red glazeFrom Ceramic StudioSonora White stoneware, cone 10, celadon and rubbed black oxideFrom Ceramic StudioFrom Ceramic StudioSonora White stoneware, cone 10, various glazes and oxides.From Ceramic…

• Stone + Water in a small space.

  Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle

  29 Oct 2009 | 9:19 am

  When space is limited in the garden yet the desire for a watery element is present a small vessel of sorts can fulfil the longing.This carved granite stone , stylized in the form of a New England grindstone, quietly trickles in a small back yard in Belvedere CA.It is surrounded by salvia leucantha and miscanthus.From Water fountains in the landscapeFrom Water fountains in the landscapeThe granite stone was purchased from Stone Forest.

• Lawrence Halprin, passes away at 93.

  Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle

  27 Oct 2009 | 2:48 pm

  Article written by John King for the San Francisco Chronicle. Lawrence Halprin, the Bay Area landscape architect who pushed the design of America's urban spaces in new directions over a career that spanned 60 years, died Sunday of natural causes. He was 93.He left his mark at all scales, from the crafting of San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square in the 1960s to the transformation of the 52-acre base of Yosemite Falls that was completed in 2005.Mr. Halprin's best-known national work is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. - a saga that began when he won a design competition…

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  Garden Bliss

• Rest in peace, Emily... "Emmy"... "Em"

  Angela

  12 Oct 2009 | 11:27 am

  You were my constant companion in the garden for the last decade. I could always count on you to jump on my back whenever I bent over to pull a weed... you kneeded my soft flesh with your sharp claws while I "relaxed" in the hammock... you slept in my birdbath and flower pots and window boxes... you tormented the dogs... and you made me laugh. You will be missed.

• Mother Earth News tomato survey

  Angela

  17 Sep 2009 | 2:01 pm

  C'mon, Sacratomatans, this upcoming article needs your input!Take the survey.

• The New Digs

  Angela

  17 Jun 2009 | 9:54 pm

  Lordy.Haven't had time to think about putting my horticultural stamp on this place yet... been too busy taking care of the basics-- like (temporary) window coverings, a washer/dryer, dish rack (buh bye, dishwasher), new IKEA bedroom furniture for the teen, cable TV/internet/phone and... God, I'm exhausted. And broke.Did I mention being without internet for seven long days? Barbaric.Love my new (old) neighborhood, love my funny little house, and love my new life. Stay tuned for gardening adventures and misadventures, backyard barbecues, and summer evenings spent swaying in my backyard hammock.

• Want to learn more about California native plants?

  Angela

  18 May 2009 | 10:49 am

  “Please join Demo-Garden volunteers Brigette and Alicia this summer”And California history? Then carve out some time in your busy, busy schedule to volunteer at the SacValley CNPS Native Plant Demonstration Garden at Sacramento City Cemetery. If you're not already familiar with the demo garden, see one of my past blog posts here.Here's a recent update from SacValley CNPS chair, Sabrina Okamura-Johnson:Notes from the Demo-Garden: Spring at the Chapter’s native plant demo-garden has been glorious this year. The garden has been ablaze with the brilliant yellows of our Sunset fremontias,…

• More April blooms

  Angela

  27 Apr 2009 | 7:45 pm

  Chilean Rock Purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora)- just keeps performing better and better each year, in the ground and in pots. Love it, love it, love it, and soooooo easy to propagate.Byzantine glads (Gladiolus byzantinus)Chinese Ground Orchids (Bletilla striata) just beginning to openGeumNot pictured but blooming now... and totallly worth mentioning: Queen's tears (Billbergia nutans)!

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  Dirt By Amy Stewart

• The Lost Coast Daily Painters Calendar, plus Chicken Notecards!

  Amy Stewart

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm

  The group I paint with, Lost Coast Daily Painters, is pleased to announce the release of our 2010 calendar on Zazzle.com. We've gathered Humboldt County scenes painted by Kathy O'Leary, Rachel Schlueter, Linda Mitchell, and Amy Stewart. Zazzle has made it very easy for artists to create calendars, notecards, postage stamps, and other products with their art--and it's not printed until you order it. I hope you'll stop by the store and check it out. I'm particularly excited to see Linda Mitchell's award-winning painting of Eureka Books and Rachel Schlueter's…

• "Street Vendors"

  Amy Stewart

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pm

  I'm still working my way through New York City! Every time I think I've painted all the interesting images from my trip last summer, I find another one. Street vendors are hard to resist--I love the umbrellas and these simple figures. These carts were at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, across from the Plaza, right in front of the Apple store. 6 x 6 inch oil on board. This is 1/2 inch thick board with dovetail slots on the back so you can hang it on a nail with no extra hardware. The sides are painted black. Click here to bid. Please note that this painting will not ship until Nov 16.

• Cake Boss, Botany of Desire, and Local Flowers

  Amy Stewart

  29 Oct 2009 | 5:35 pm

  Wow!  It's been a big week, TV-wise.  Here's what we've got:On TLC's hit show Cake Boss, watch Buddy & co make a cake based on Wicked Plants.  They brought it to me at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this summer.  You can see the full episode here.Then, check out the PBS documentary of Botany of Desire. I was interviewed for the tulip segment.And it makes me so happy to see this bonus feature devoted entirely to Teresa Sabankaya of Bonny Doon Garden Company, the florist I interviewed for Flower Confidential. Beautiful footage of her garden and shop!

• Wicked News--and More News--and Still More!

  Amy Stewart

  8 Oct 2009 | 6:31 pm

  My Neglected, Weedy, Overgrown Garden Gets Some VisitorsWow--it's been a busy autumn for me.  My friends at Fine Gardening paid a visit to Humboldt County a couple weeks ago.  I tried to talk them out of coming to my garden, given the sorry, neglected state it's fallen into while I've been on the road, but they were determined and quite persuasive.  I'm sure we'll see photos and incriminating video on their website soon, so stay tuned.  Oh, and I've also got a short piece in the December issue of Fine Gardening about my "three garden wishes," and…

• "59 First Avenue"

  Amy Stewart

  6 Oct 2009 | 10:55 am

  Click here to bid. It's been fun trying to track down the exact location of each of these paintings. In this case it was easy--the address of the 30-minute photo shop on the left was printed right on the awning. The shop in the center is a Vietnamese fast food restaurant called New Saigon, and then there's a grocery store on the corner. A typical East Village street scene. This one is 8 x 10 on panel.

• 
  Am I Bugging You Yet?

• Country Bugs, City Bugs

  vanessa cardui

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:25 pm

  We took a trip to San Francisco recently; it was not a bug-tourism trip but nevertheless a few bugs squirmed their way into the experience!We finally made it to Pinnacles National Monument (west side) for a quick look-see . . . It Is Awesome. And there were lots of insects. However I did not bring the camera on the short hike we took. Anyway, on the way down the winding 9 mile road back to

• Walking on Senecio

  vanessa cardui

  26 Oct 2009 | 7:24 pm

  Senecio mandraliscae is an easy plant to grow and kind of fun, as demonstrated by this katydid nymph walking across the tips of a prostrate branch in my garden. When this senecio gets too big or lanky, I just whack off (that is a technical term, folks) the stem and plant it. Strip the cylindrical leaves from the bottom two or three inches of the cut stem, then let the stem dry for a day or two.

• Mantis in the Milkweed

  vanessa cardui

  25 Oct 2009 | 7:11 am

  One of the many predators hanging out in the milkweed forest in my front yard is this golden-eyed California mantis. She is a really beautiful dark color variation, but terribly shy. Here she is peaking out from behind a nearby buddleia plant. Lots of predators live in the milkweed because lots of insects feed on milkweed and therefore feed the predators.Its ironic, since milkweed has gone to

• Leptoglossus meets Opuntia

  vanessa cardui

  24 Oct 2009 | 6:43 pm

  So the Leptoglossus zonata, pomegranate-loving leaf-footed bugs, have broadened their horizon and are now considering the Opuntia cactus as a suitable home or maybe food source. A group of the bugs was exploring the cactus plant, the first one nestled atop an unripe fruit, the second one seems to be checking out the joint between two leaf pads.This species of bug, new to my garden one year ago,

• Ripeness and Dessication

  vanessa cardui

  23 Oct 2009 | 12:13 pm

  Nature is full of contrasts, never so much as in autumn in southern California. This time of year the garden is loaded (especially if you're busy and have put off the autumn trimming) with overgrown mature plant material, ripe seeds, mantis eggs, fat caterpillars, pupae, very large old spiders, huge female grasshoppers and maybe their buried eggs, as well as fresh new sprouts from the base of

• 
  All the Dirt on Gardening

• Do You Grow Gingers?

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  The variegated one is Dr. Moy. Gingers R US has a photo of the flower though they were not in bloom last week at the Dallas Arboretum.I know the white flowering variety below is cold hardy. If you are growing gingers outside how to you keep them going over the winter?White ginger, has the most beautiful scented blooms.

• Which Plants to Protect from Upcoming Frost

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

  So far, fall, 2009, has been frost-free and we still have time to get vulnerable plants pulled indoors. Houseplants that vacationed outside over the summer definitely want to be inside by now. Cacti and succulents that are not native have to be protected, too.Not everything will fit into the house, garage, shed or small greenhouse and choices have to be made. Select only healthy plants to save. Diseased plants should be trashed, not composted. Prepare plants by removing dead leaves and spraying them with insecticidal soap (a few drops of dishwashing detergent mixed into a gallon of room…

• Your Koi Pond in the Winter

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:39 am

  How do you take care of your koi pond over the freezing months? At 43 degrees the fish stop eating and begin to hibernate, huddled close together.Most people here leave their koi in the pond, stop feeding and partially cover the water with an insulating cover.But, other pond owners are investing in small heaters to use from January through April. These are installed in the filter system with the thermostat set to 50-degrees.Definitely, prune back the plants, clean the filters and turn off the pumps. Cut back on feeding and switch to wheat germ based food. Keep the biological filters…

• Sunday Night Tidbits

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:41 pm

  Here's the Sweetspire Henry Garnet on our driveway. The October-November color is spectacular this year - must be all the rain - Henry Garnet does like to be wet.Spacing Toronto - Understanding the Urban Landscape, has a Worldwide Wednesday feature where they send readers to interesting sites.One in the Oct. 21 edition is a blog called Urlesque that can be congratulated for a post on the World's Coolest Bus Stops. Check it out and you may join me in wondering why they can't all be this fun. In our town, the public transportation officials can't figure out how to increase ridership. There are…

• Happy Halloween Dallas Arboretum Style

  31 Oct 2009 | 3:06 pm

  We took a quick trip to the Dallas Arboretum to see their fantastic fall displays. The weather was sunny and perfect for a stroll and lunch outside at the onsite DeGolyer Garden Café.Have a goblin friendly celebration!

• 
  The Dirt

• Brisbane’s 470-meter Solar-powered Footbridge

  asladirt

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pm

  A 470-meter solar-powered footbridge recently opened in Brisbane’s Central Business District, writes Inhabitat. The footbridge, designed by Cox Architects, an Australian firm, cost $63 million. Approximately 36,000 pedestrians and bikers are expected to use the bridge per year.  According to Inhabitat, the LED lighting system is designed for maximum energy efficiency and will be used for festivals along the river. The LED ligh system is powered by 84 solar panels mounted on the bridge, which can ”generate a daily output of 100KWh and an average yearly output of…

• Reconnecting a Washington State Park to the Local Community

  asladirt

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:46 pm

  Gustafson Guthrie Nichols and Allied Works won a design competition to create a park that will span an Interstate and connect a two-block section of Washington State’s Fort Vancouver national historic site with the City of Vancouver’s downtown. The design will include a ”landscape cap” that will extend south from the existing “Evergreen Boulevard” span over the interstate. According to The Oregonian, “a central walkway would connect downtown to the historic area. Smaller wood pathways would branch out to various pockets of the park, such as the…

• New Landscape Rating System to Transform the Industry, Complete Green Building Puzzle

  asladirt

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:27 am

  The Sustainable Sites Initiative released the nation’s first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. A partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden, the Initiative’s rating system represents four years of work by dozens of the country’s leading sustainability experts, scientists and design professionals, as well as public input from hundreds of individuals and dozens of organizations to create this essential missing link in…

• Human Responses to Green Design

  asladirt

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

  Frederick Marks, AIA, a partner with AC Martin, an architecture design firm, presented on the varied human responses to green design at the National Building Museum. Marks focused on recent developments in testing the value of sustainable architecture and landscapes, and asked: “Are they actually providing us with enhanced well-being?” Marks discussed his role as a founding member of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, a group examining the growing body of knowledge on people’s behavior in the built environment. He then outlined the relationship between art and…

• Indiana Town Sees Canal as Sustainable Stormwater Management System and Economic Boost

  asladirt

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:08 am

  Jeffersonville, Indiana, plans to change a street near the Ohio River into 40-foot wide canal and 3/4-mile pedestrian promenade. The plan is expected to improve the town’s ability to sustainably manage stormwater and enable pedestrians to more easily walk to stores and local attractions.  The town’s mayor sees the plan addressing both environmental and economic needs at once. According to the Architect’s Newspaper, heavy rain in the area causes sewer overflow and runoff. To meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s requirements, which prohibit sewage…

• 
  Skippy's Vegetable Garden

• skippy in the garden

  kathy

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:13 pm

• Beantown Seedsavers Seed Collection Event this Saturday

  kathy

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:42 am

  >> From: Erica Lafountain >> Subject: Beantown Seedsavers Seed Collection Event 11/7 12-2>>>> The Beantown Seedsavers are a new group of people with an interest>> in encouraging local seed saving to develop a source for diverse,>> acclimatized, disease resistant plants that are delicious,>> medicinal, and/or beautiful.>>>> If you have saved seeds in the recent past and would like to share>> some of them with others, please come to the Beantown Seedsavers>> Seed Collection event on November 7th from 12-2. Please bring the>> seeds in an envelope or baggie to the corner of Lamartine st. and>>…

• impression of the woods

  kathy

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:25 am

  The woods look like a Monet painting now. This photo is from last Sunday. Skippy and I followed an old stone wall instead of the path so I would see all the leaves up close. I did a little PhotoShopping to make the picture look more like the woods looked to me. Spots of color. Lots of filtered light. Pastel shades.

• photos of my garden plot

  kathy

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:23 am

  escarole and winter radish kale, fava beans, Boston lettuce, red romaine and spinach asparagus, red cabbage and parsnips savoy cabbage and mixed fall greensMy raised beds are beginning to look clean and organized again after the profusion of plants that overtook them this summer. The garlic is planted and covered with a layer of salt hay. Most of the old plant debris has been added to the compost bin. I layered compost and fresh manure on a couple beds and seeded cover crops in this. Its coming up nicely in the mild weather.Several beds still have things growing, waiting for harvest. Parsnips…

• harvest

  kathy

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:37 pm

  These are the vegetables I harvested on Sunday. Four big hairy celeriac roots (below is before I trimmed the them), a couple potatoes, a couple red cabbage. Also some nice lettuce and escarole and a bunch of baby bok choy.The celeriac are one of the first crops planted and the last ones harvested. Very slow growing. I planted Feb 21, harvested Oct 31. Almost 9 months in the ground.

• 
  Ilona's Garden Journal

• Never enough time...

  Ilona

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:26 am

  But we make time for those things we want to. Just sometimes it is response to others applying pressure and all we want is to get that feeling of pressure off! Well, today let's just buck that trend, shall we? Do you need to take a little time to savor life today? Here are some of my photos and some links I thought were very worthwhile reading lately.Assorted and asundry photos that for some reason didn't get posted.This is what endless summer looks like in fall. It had the loveliest shabby rose colored blooms.These are my neighbors who own Yonies Greenhaus. I try to buy as many of my flowers…

• Cool Things

  Ilona

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:51 am

  "Chapter 2: We'll have fun, fun, fun 'til our daddy takes the clay away"Check out Teresa's doings, I'd categorize this under "Things I'd like to Be Doing" clipped from homesteadnotes.blogspot.com 

• Some Thoughts

  Ilona

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:15 pm

  I've been online a while writing garden articles, first in my geocities free website (which is no more- although it is on the "wayback machine"). One of the early fellow garden writers I had enjoyed was Turning Earth. Do any of you know her through her site? Today I came across a reference to those early days,here:'Bloom where you are planted'"I first saw these words on Ilona's garden site. In the midst of a thousand bits of advice we read about how to be happy, successful, discover the meaning of life, these words seemed to me some of the most profound. It's a nice garden-related metaphor,…

• Seeded Earth

  Ilona

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:20 am

  Do visit this blog- the photos are amazing , ranging from the profoundly beautiful to the witty. Thoroughly enjoyed the look-see I took. Advise you do the same clipped from www.seededearth.comWhooping It Up! 

• Autumn Snapshots

  Ilona

  31 Oct 2009 | 10:44 pm

  Viburnum CarlesiiPhoto of V.carlesii taken for the profile article I wrote.I'm glad to have found some kindred spirits. Not sure what we would call our tribe, but glad to have ways that I and my fellow beings resonate.I guess it is time for some pictures. I missed capturing the exceptional colors of the sweet cherry tree when in its full glory, so you will have to take my word for it, but traveled around the yard last week... and here are some of those photos.This year the colors came in waves- much better than usual, but I caught them on camera early -with green still showing. Found this…

• 
  Country Gardener

• How we overwinter non-hardy succulents

  Yvonne aka Country Gardener

  15 Oct 2009 | 8:08 pm

  I have new post on this topic at the new blog.

• New posts up about Eco-lawn

  Yvonne aka Country Gardener

  7 Oct 2009 | 8:44 pm

  I have two new posts over at Countrygardenerblog, about Eco-lawn and you can find them here: Eco-lawn - how low maintenance is it? My new blog now also has a sign-up form to you can get your updates directly from there via email. I hope you'll check it out. I think it's working properly now, but please let me know if you have any problems. © Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

• Fall color in the garden

  Yvonne aka Country Gardener

  19 Sep 2009 | 5:18 pm

  My new post about fall color, this time all about terrific trees and shrubs for autumn display. This blog has moved, please visit countrygardenerblog.

• New post: Ornamental grasses in the fall

  Yvonne aka Country Gardener

  18 Sep 2009 | 6:16 pm

  I have a new post up with lots of pictures of ornamental grasses in the fall. Please go to my new blog to read it. In working on the blog change-over, I have found that transfering the content from this blog to the new one isn't practical for me, so I will leave this one here. I'll be posting from the new blog from now on. As soon as that blog is incorporated into my website (another techno

• Blog moving - I hope you'll follow

  Yvonne aka Country Gardener

  14 Sep 2009 | 9:09 am

  Blog notice: I want to let you know that my blog is moving to a new location. It will be two-step move, first from blogspot to WordPress, which has been done. Please visit the new blog in its new format at Country Gardener Blog. Eventually the content from this blog will migrate to the new blog. Work on that will begin this week.Step two will be to incorporate my blog into my website,

• 
  Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas

• Organic window shades

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:37 pm

  Window shades and blinds seem to go against the grain of natural thinking. Firstly, they're usually made from non-organic materials and secondly they exhibit that the homeowner has taken little thought for their garden planning. A few well-located deciduous trees or vines and shade on your windows will be your last concern. For instance, our main bedroom faces west where we get all the afternoon sun in the warmer months that could turn the room into a sauna. Instead, we planted a trio of silver birches that act as natural window shades during the summer yet allow warmth into the room in…

• How to make Ylang Ylang massage oil

  1 Nov 2009 | 2:34 pm

  Ylang ylang is the flower of the cananga, a tree that grows rapidly in tropical climates and still performs well in temperate zones. It's a pretty flower resembling a curling star and offsets its complementary green foliage with a dash of yellow - enough to light up the whole tree. But, the flowers aren't admired for their beauty. Instead it's their essential oils that give it a star quality and makes it revered around the world by perfume and oil purveyors. The scent is not too dissimilar to jasmine but it offers deeper, richer notes that comfort the senses and makes it ideal as a massage…

• The Problem with Pea Gravel

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:03 pm

  Hailing from an area where pea gravel is readily available, and not too expensive, you would think that I'd have nothing but praise for this landscaping material. And, from an aesthetic point of view I have absolutely no qualms but very few gardeners think past the visual when they add this stuff - or so it seems. Landscaping with pea gravel is a very common improvement material but it does come with some downsides. Here are some problems you may encounter, or hopefully consider, when installing this in your yard; Firstly, pea gravel rolls - or at least it has the ability to. While it doesn't…

• The Benefits of Dandelion Tea

  26 Oct 2009 | 4:30 pm

  No more will you have to complain about those pesky dandelions messing up your lawn or casting their seeds to the utter extremities of your yard. You may, perhaps, begin to hope that more of them will grow even aiding their seed dispersal through your garden beds. For what many gardeners see as a weed, herbalists have been capitalising on its many benefits and drinking its tonic-like properties for millenia. We're talking about dandelion tea, of course. It's a herbal tea produced from this annual weed that has some wonderful characteristics and beneficial qualities. While you may have been…

• Finding a chiminea for your garden

  25 Oct 2009 | 3:41 pm

  Yesterday, as I was walking through one of our big box stores, I began to notice the garden chimineas again. Not because we need one - heading into summer and all - but because they were now heavily reduced - being that we're heading into summer and all. I guess with all the fire regulations they start forcing on us at this time of the year it doesn't seem like a wise time to be buying one. But, this is the very reason that a garden chiminea is a perfect buy. While uncontained fires will become illegal very soon, contained fires - especially those kept within a chimenea - are permitted…

• 
  www.blackpitts.co.uk

• A Carwash Powered By Soup

  2 Nov 2009 | 4:04 am

  This week I am most excited about a bench. It is one I designed to wrap round a walnut tree in a client’s garden. I could have spent ages drawing it out precisely on fine paper but it seemed much simpler to use that age old method, the draped hosepipe. It was then made from oak by the very strapping Ben Craig (who also made these pavilions). I bought a recycled teak table for a client, once. It was extremely gorgeous and looked fabulous. Two days later a vast beech tree fell over and landed smack bang on top of the table instantly reducing it to expensive kindling. Let us hope that history…

• His Balenciaga Clogs Were Stylish But A Little Impractical

  20 Oct 2009 | 10:43 am

  I almost forgot...I promised those of you who have little to do an exclusive photograph of the young, extra flexible Cleve West - burnished thighs and all. I will post that picture today along with the new episode of Three Men Went To Mow so you can see how he has easily retained his chirpy looks as the years pass.But before we get to that I have other, gardeny things to report. In particular a really, really, really, really tiny garden I have been doing in London. It has been unbelievably troublesome and (due to various building errors - beyond the control of both I and my excellent…

• The Turkey Danced A Lonely Jig

  13 Oct 2009 | 12:34 am

  I haven’t written a post on this blog for over a fortnight. It’s odd how sometimes I am desperate to write something and other times I can take it or leave it. This delay is partly because things have been busy but mostly because I didn’t really feel the urge. However, it proves the delight of both self employment and blogging: no deadlines, no editorial policy, no restraints. If I choose to chunter on about horticulture or haircuts, raspberries or the state of organised religion in Kazaksthan, then I may. Then again if I feel that I would rather lie around naked eating marshmallows…

• A Town Called Trellis

  28 Sep 2009 | 3:52 am

  This weekend was the great squash harvest (eat your heart out Mr Eco-Farmer-Olive Dangler-Diacono - who, incidentally, can be heard here talking wisely to the early rising farming community about stuff). They are now all lined up waiting for the pears to ripen so that squash and pear soup can be consumed. I have been journalistically diligent this week and have written three articles for Gardens Illustrated: one about the great Raymond Evison, one about foxgloves at the Botanic Nursery and a final one about the fabulous Luigi Valducci and his National Collection of Brugmansias. As I briefly…

• Heading For The Land Of Treacle

  21 Sep 2009 | 12:02 am

  As some of you may know I got a bit carried away with Biscuits this week.As a result I used the time one evening to set up a Blog on the subject: a place for people to tell stories about biscuits and how their lives have been changed, affected, transformed or left completely unruffled by their Biscuity experiences. This is a joint venture with Mark Diacono (at whose muddy feet the blame must lie). Many people have already very sweetly contributed little essays about Biscuits. If you would like to chip in then please submit your offerings by email to either The Commissar or The Convenor. Once…

• 
  Gardener to Farmer

• Composting Fall Leaves

  Jean Ann Van Krevelen

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:11 am

  Fall is the perfect time to build up your soil with rich, organic matter. It also happens to be the best time of year to collect one of my favorite organic soil amendments , leaf mold. While leaf mold sounds a bit iffy, it is one of the easiest and most effective composted materials to add to beds. In addition to improving moisture retention, as well as soil drainage, it also helps support the microcosm of your garden.   Not to get all Carl Sagan on you, but your garden is an interconnected web...each part must be functioning well in order to produce a healthy yield and reduce the…

• Harvesting Grapes

  Jean Ann Van Krevelen

  2 Oct 2009 | 9:16 am

  Last year, we had two primary problems with our grapes. First of all, there were just too many. You think zucchini is bad? We had pound after pound of grapes. Second, the flavor was weak, not the beautiful, robust flavor of a terrific grape. (We did have an awfully fun time stomping grapes, though!)With that in mind, I decided to make some major changes in how I handled the vines this year. In late winter, I enlisted the support of my neighbor and whacked back the vines to a more manageable configuration. I have four old growth grape vines that are grown along a trellising system. Here's…

• Fall Fruit Harvesting and Preserving

  Jean Ann Van Krevelen

  15 Sep 2009 | 8:40 am

  Well, I spent the better part of Saturday harvesting fruit from the garden. Sadly, the apple maggots had eaten most of my apples. Next year, I will have to explore organic controls...it is quite a bit of work since it is a large tree. Pears were attacked by scab, but only on one tree, so I will have to address that, too. I think a sulfur oil will work there. I also harvested the Italian plums, but I waited too long and many had already fallen off the tree. Dang it, writing a book in the middle of summer really puts a crimp in my gardening style. And surprisingly, I had a ton of San Marzano…

• Grocery Gardening

  Jean Ann Van Krevelen

  11 Aug 2009 | 8:13 am

  It seems as if it has been a very long time since I have blogged...and though I am normally a summer slacker, particularly as the harvest really starts coming in, I have been absent for a very different reason. This summer, I am co-authoring and editing a new book: Grocery Gardening, published by Cool Springs Press. And in fact, it is already available for pre-sale on Amazon. Click on the above link and it will take you there. Now, you know I am not one to write a standard gardening book. So while this covers some familiar topics, it does so in a very different way. First, we started by…

• Bees in the Garden

  Jean Ann Van Krevelen

  17 Jul 2009 | 11:50 am

  I thought it would be fitting to post about bees (one of my favorite beneficial bugs) in the garden in celebration of my new "look". I have a serious love of bees and am fully aware of the intricate and endless work they perform in the garden, keeping the circle of life a-circlin'.  Though I don't have any hives that I manage, I know that the domesticated honey bee has suffered from what is called "colony collapse disorder". Whole hives disappear, impacting pollination of food crops and honey production. Scientists around the world have been working to determine…

• 
  Flowergardengirl

• Snow Princess™ Lobularia hybrid Sweet Alyssum, Must Have

  flowergardengirl

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:10 pm

  Incredible is all you can say about ‘Snow Princess’ Lobularia hybrid sweet alyssum. I grew it in containers and in the ground this summer and watching the never ending display of fluffy white blooms was absolutely satisfying. I thought you might like to see the photos from the Proven Winners site. Please enjoy! You’ve all seen my gardens so let’s go look at some others around the Proven Winners’ world. All photos are used with permission from PW. You may not use these pictures without written consent from Proven Winners Plants. Unlike most alyssums that fizzle…

• Meet ‘Pretty Much Picasso’, the new 2010 outrageous annual

  flowergardengirl

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:59 am

  Take a look at the new 2010 outrageous annual that is going to take seasonal gardeners to another level. Lots a wow coming at you with ‘Pretty Much Picasso’. He’s a Proven Winners Plants variety of course. Don’t be shocked when I tell you that my order totals 40! That’s right….. I ask The Briar Patch last week how many they were ordering and they said–oh about 100. I said well I’m taking 40 of them for my clients and so Candy said—-well ok!….I guess we better get more—I said well I’m guessing you best cause it’s…

• Flowergardengirl on Garden World Report

  flowergardengirl

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:54 pm

  In the picture above is the ‘Invincibelle Spirit’ hydrangea cultivar by Proven Winners Plants. I am obsessive about hydrangea cultivars. This hydrangea will grow in zones 3-9 and keeps this color all summer long. It will take one summer for the stems to gain the strength needed to hold blooms if purchased in the small 5″ containers that I received—but that is how I get them from Proven Winners. They are a gift and then of course—I rave about them. I was growing Proven Winners in my gardens 5 years before Proven Winners contacted me so don’t go saying she…

• The digital random thoughts of Flowergardengirl for Copper Top Cottage

  flowergardengirl

  1 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pm

  When Flowergardengirl was considering the colors for Copper Top Cottage she thought of her favorite colors of fall and paired them~~~with ~~ this of all things– ~~ a rotating egg~~The above image actually spins on her computer and was created in Gimp using photos from the scenes from her back yard but WordPress will not allow that application and too bad for you~~~~Autumn is her favorite time of year. The image above allows her to look at the colors against the teal from every angle. Teal is the color of her Copper Top Cottage. Soon the lace curtains will go up and all the treasures…

• Meet a delightful local NC artist, Gail Morris

  flowergardengirl

  30 Oct 2009 | 1:43 pm

  I fist met Gail while I was trespassing on her front lawn and taking pictures of her flaming red tulips. You may remember that I wrote about it HERE. She caught me on her way out to check her mail and I’m so very glad she did. Now we’ve struck up a friendship.  She has one of those personalities that you want to hold dear to your heart and not let go. ( You do not have permission to copy these pictures for any use.) As you can see, Gail Morris is an incredibly talented lady. Sometimes, she likes to paint my flowers( those aren’t mine above) and often uses them as models for some…

• 
  Suite101: Plants & Bulbs Articles

• Classical Bonsai Styles

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:05 am

  Bonsai styles can be categorized into classical and non-classical groups. Classical bonsai styles are a useful starting point for beginners.

• Planting Spring Bulbs in the Fall

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:59 pm

  Plant daffodils, tulips and other spring bulbs in the autumn. Learn how to plant, where to plant and how to protect them from hungry critters during the winter.

• Plants in Sympathy Flower Arrangements

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:35 am

  A reader asked about the meanings of the FTD funeral flowers delivered online and sent same day for sympathy situations. Here's what the funeral arrangements meant.

• Summer Bulbs for Mid-Season Flowers

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:56 am

  Many bulb gardeners overlook the beautiful summer flowering bulbs because of the popularity of the spring bulbs. Here are plants to extend the bulb garden season.

• Choosing and Caring for Summer Perennial Plants

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:50 am

  Anemones, Delphiniums, Hollyhocks and Foxglove are just some of the very large and versatile range of summer flowering perennials available for temperate gardens.

• 
  Bananas.org

• Happy Birthday, Saltydad!!!

  The Hollyberry Lady

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:27 pm

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOWARD!!! Here's some b-day flowers... HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY. : )

• first frost :(

  ArchAngeL01

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:49 pm

  first frost exspected tonight WoW it came earlyer than i exspected,but the sooner this is over the faster i can make a new bed for my bananas,so for now there all inside,some in the garage and some in the kitchen,but has anybody got totally defoliated bananas yet? id like to see how they turned out esp the tall ones, post some pix of our sleeping bananas or ones that are inside,thanx

• Mamey in southern california?

  culov

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:46 pm

  I am new to this board and I want to send a salute out to everyone in southern california as well as everyone on this board. I was wondering if anyone has had success growing Mamey in Orange County? I live in La Habra and during the winter it get down to the mid thirties.

• Dr. Gohole

  lgohole

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:53 am

  Hi banana group, I got interested in your website because I want to establish a Tissue Culture lab at my institution and supply clean planting material to farmers who want to engage in banana production, processing and marketing. I believe this forum will help me achieve these objectives Dr. Gohole

• Who can resist an invitation to post!

  wordwiz

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:02 am

  I just joined and of course received the message that this would be a good time to post an introduction. I'm from Cincinnati, OH and this is my first time trying to raise bananas. Mostly, I grow tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, beans, carrots, etc., plus some sweet and hot peppers. Last year, I raised a lot of toms and some peppers, along with a few Angel's Trumpets and Kenaf Hibiscus to sell. Didn't get rich, but made enough to cover all my growing expenses and buy a metal shed. I also work with the Hamilton County Fair and like to exhibit unique or rare plants there. One of them this year was…

• 
  Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel

• My Best Low-maintenance Plants: Part I (Salvias)

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

  Time is a luxury. Although I throughly enjoy working in the garden, I like to spend more hours - just being in the garden. When I began my extreme makeover garden project this fall, I realized that not only was I keeping the best bloomers, but the easiest plants to maintain. I ruthlessly culled out poor performers, aggressive or high maintenance plants and threw those on the compost heap. My garden conditions:Zone 7bfull sun all dayoutside the fence, deer resistance is criticaldrought tolerant, once plants are establishedSalviasSalvias provide a long bloom season and there are varieties…

• Azaleas Bloom Again in Autumn

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:40 am

  I think that I enjoy my azalea blooms as much in autumn as I do in the spring. My six Encore® Azaleas reliably provide blooms twice a year. My azaleas bloomed in April and have been repeat blooming since September. All the while, they provide evergreen foliage for the cottage garden.These azaleas work great for my south-facing garden where the azaleas get plenty of sunbeams and some afternoon shade. Three of the azaleas are planted beneath a Kwansan cherry tree. The other three are standards (tree form) up against the garage wall beside the front porch.While there is plenty of space…

• The Shifting Faces of Coreopsis

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:15 pm

  From butter yellow with a red center to a deep burgundy, Coreopsis Big Bang™ 'Redshift' has been changing faces in my garden all summer. This coreopsis influenced my decision to redesign an area of the butterfly garden around the colors of blue, yellow and burgundy. Out with my camera this morning to photograph (and document) my redesign, I noticed that the coreopsis was showing three colors on one plant. I haven't deadheaded this coreopsis since I planted it, so all of these non-stop blooms have been happening on their own. The coreopsis has been reliably upright until recently when…

• How Did You Spend Your Extra Hour?

  2 Nov 2009 | 3:51 pm

  After adjusting the clock (fall back) and gaining an hour, I put it to good use. Sunday was a very, very rainy day, so we went to see the movie Paris starring Juliette Binoche (of Chocolat fame). Actually, the movie took two hours!Anyone who loves visiting Paris may find this film quite insightful into the daily living in the city. This French film (with subtitles) explores the old versus the new in so many ways - social structure and building structure as well as views on sibling and romantic relationships. Paris is my favorite city, so it was highly interesting to see the familiar sights…

• Annuals in Autumn

  28 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  There are annuals still blooming boldly in the garden, even after several light frosts. There are zinnias, ageratum, cosmos and marigolds that still look great. I don't think marigolds know when to stop. Besides that, they've never looked ragged. Granted, the marigold seeds were sown the first two weeks in July so that there would be fall color. There are autumn colors of yellow, gold, orange and red. If you think marigolds look too gaudy for summer, try them for autumn. The combination of the annual (in my zone) purple fountain grass with the tall marigolds works well enough that I may…

• 
  North Coast Gardening

• Forget Halloween: Try These Dark Beauties Year-Round

  Genevieve

  31 Oct 2009 | 2:00 pm

  I always wanted to be a goth girl -  wearing all black, dying my hair purple, and listening to moody music while pondering the deeper mysteries in life. Sadly, I had three strikes against me: I’m a total wuss, so piercings were out, I’m ridiculously cheerful, and since I started my landscaping business when I was 17, I made certain concessions to fashion so that sweet old Mrs Jones would feel comfortable calling me to plant her Bright! Pink! and Red! Petunias! No matter – once I really got into gardening, I realized I suddenly had an outlet for my subversive ways. The first garden…

• Fall Color Container Planting Idea

  Genevieve

  24 Oct 2009 | 11:07 am

  A client came up with this pretty container planting idea for summer and fall. The spiky Phormium/ Flax Grass makes a vivid centerpiece, then she used red Coleus and orange Impatiens to pick up on the Flax’s colored stripes. Last, she used some purple trailing Petunias to cool down the combination and spill over the edges. This is a textbook Thriller, Filler, Spiller combination – as Fern from Life on the Balcony explains it:: A thriller is a pretty self explanatory; it’s a gorgeous plant that is the focal point of the container. Fillers highlight or compliment the thrillers and…

• Your Gardening Body: Digging Without Strain or Pain

  Genevieve

  14 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am

  Anne Asher, a movement specialist from The MOVE! Blog,  has been kind enough to answer some common questions about how professional and/or passionate gardeners can reduce the strain that comes from repetitive gardening tasks. Here’s this month’s installment: Dear Anne, Fall is a great time to plant shrubs and trees, because plants can get their roots established and be watered in by the winter rains. Do you have any tips for digging large planting holes without strain? Hi, Gen! There are two points to think about with digging and shoveling.  First, they are what I call one-legged…

• Fall-Blooming Heathers for Autumn Color

  Genevieve

  10 Oct 2009 | 6:30 am

  Calluna vulgaris ‘Sister Anne’ In all the time I’ve been designing gardens, I have never had anyone tell me, “please, no heathers!”. Thank goodness, because heathers are my secret weapon for extending any season’s interest. By the end of summer many perennials have stopped blooming, but the winter bloomers and fall colors haven’t started in earnest to continue the show. If you’ve got some autumn bare spots in your garden, how about tucking a few heathers into the foreground? They even work in seaside or deer gardens. Scotch Heather/ Calluna Most of the Scotch Heathers are…

• Rubber Mulch: Where the Rubber Meets the – Soil?

  Genevieve

  2 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am

  At Costco recently, I was happy to see some acquaintances coming out of the garden section, until… what in the WORLD was in their cart? It looked like bags of mulch, but… wrong somehow. They patiently explained to this landscaper that recycled rubber mulch is the newest thing and would look very pretty in their garden beds. I was speechless. Over the years I’ve prepared a number of gardening speeches to help my hapless friends make better gardening decisions – “Why that cute little redwood won’t do under the eaves”, for example, and “Please stick the ivy in a pot”.

• 
  TracyLive.com

• South American Gardens and Landscapes: Lessons for North American Gardeners

  Tracy

  25 Oct 2009 | 5:04 am

  South American Flower View the image gallery here Recently I had the opportunity to speak in Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was fortunate to also be able to visit several gardens there as well as tour Machu Picchu in Peru. I want to thank my hosts Pilar de Arteaga de Pereira, who worked diligently with me for 2 years to arrange this lecture, and her fellow members of the Garden Clubs of Uruguay as well as Sonia Blaquier and the members of the  Horticulture Society of Argentina. It was a great honor to speak in both countries to such keen groups of gardeners about mixed…

• The Well-Designed Mixed Garden Now Available in paperback for a great low price!!

  Tracy

  2 Oct 2009 | 4:58 am

  Some people’s eyes glaze over when the subject of conversation turns to garden design. And you can’t blame them — “design speak” can sound like a lot of highfalutin gobbledygook. So it’s a cause for celebration when you come across a writer who can communicate the elements of garden design clearly and effectively. And if that writer can also instill in the reader a sense of joy and enthusiasm for gardening, it’s time to uncork the champagne. These admirable qualities can be found on every page of The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders…

• Hiddenhaven Gardens & Pruning Tips: An Overview for Garden’s Illustrated Magazine

  admin

  1 Sep 2009 | 2:15 pm

  My garden, Hiddenhaven, functions not only as a constant source of inspiration and enjoyment but it is the living laboratory used to test various cultural techniques as well as aesthetic qualities of plants. Over the years this information has been used as a basis for my work as an international writer, speaker and designer. It’s a garden whose primary function is to educate. For example all of the perennial pruning strategies that are present in my book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden were carried out in the gardens. I did evaluative research studying the flowering times, heights, and…

• Garden Pests and Diseases

  Tracy

  15 Aug 2009 | 5:52 am

  Tracy provides solutions regarding pest problems, insects, identification of healthy and ailing plants, chemical pesticides, and critter control. Pests, Weeds & Plant Disease: Garden Pests And Diseases

• Hue and You in the Garden – Part 2

  Tracy

  1 Aug 2009 | 6:30 am

  Learn how to effectively paint your garden in plants, the second of our two-part series of using color in the garden. Click here to view the article (~15mb pdf)

• 
  High Altitude Gardening

• Bell's 1 Up On Me

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:12 pm

  If you wonder why I only show parts of Bella it's because she's gigantic and I don't quite know how to photograph her ~ much less find her good side...I committed to NaBloPoMo (blogging every day during the month of November.) I thought this was as simple as blogging on MY BLOG every day...No, no, couldn't be that easy... I actually have to write daily posts on the NaBloPoMo site. Argh. So, I'm already out of the running for most annoying blogger of the month award. And, I don't know what to do with the two kind women who joined my NaBloPoMo Horse Lovers group. This is such a tangled…

• Blue Skies and Good Lessons

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:53 pm

  I love the brilliant blue of our Wasatch Mountain skies.The pesky snow I whined about last week has all but melted away. Trees have donned their party dresses and we find ourselves lazily basking in the warmth of a second summer.Did you know that the Golden Delicious apple tree varietyis a pollinator for all apple trees? I didn't either!In my garden grows Gala, Fireside and Honey Crisp ~ simply because these were the beauties I knew from my old life in Minnesota. Apparently, if I plant one Golden Delicious as a pollinator I'll have apples coming out my ears. Rather the horse's ears. They are…

• NaBloPoMo and the Project Horse

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:55 am

  If I knew what she was feeling, this would take no time at all.Took a quick jaunt over to visit OmegaMom yesterday. She's heading into the long dark of an Alaskan winter and I wondered how she was coping with that.In good spirits, despite the lack of sunshine, she introduced me to NaBloPoMo ~ while vacillating on whether to give it a go or call it a day.I tossed my cowgirl hat into the proverbial ring.When you're a blogger your life is an open book. Right? Wrong. This summer I adopted 2 horses and I never said a word. (What???) Details of such stupidity will no doubt be exposed during this…

• Post Office Presents

  2 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pm

  I don't often visit the post office because there's never anything good in that P.O. box of mine. Just bills and an astonishing amount of junk mail. However! On this particular visit I found all sorts of goodies!A Toast!Live.Laugh.And, Loaf.First off, I had a birthday a couple weeks ago. This is kind of a big deal because unlike the rest of you I only celebrate birthdays every two or three years. Try it! You might like it. Makes growing older much easier to handle.This GORGEOUS wine goblet was waiting for me at the post office today ~ gift from an old friend. Thanks T!Now Hear This: I am a…

• Kindred Spirits

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:27 am

  And the costume winner is... Kelly's horse!Bond.James Bond.A couple of tricks... a few too many treats... and Halloween's fun festivities are over for another year.Wish 10/31 could always land on a Saturday. That had everyone in the mood for a devilish good time.So, that's it? The party's over? Not just yet...If you have an ounce of energy left after this very fun weekend, here's a yummy way to make use of those pumpkins...Pumpkin Bread Recipe1.5 cups flour1/2 tsp. salt1 cup sugar1 tsp. baking soda1 cup pumpkin purée1/2 cup olive oil2 eggs1/4 cup water1/4 tsp. nutmeg1/4 tsp. cinnamon1/4 tsp.

• 
  Iona's Fort Bragg Garden

• Stud Muffin Chef

  GL

  {Sam Kass}TWICE a month, President Obama’s senior policy advisers gather at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to hash out strategies for improving the health of the country’s children. Among the assistant secretaries, chiefs of staff and senior aides sits an unlikely participant: a bald, intense young man who happens to be the newest White House chef.His name is Sam Kass. And when he’s not

• Awesome Parents

  GL

  {R. Crumb 1980}Were your parents awesome or toxic?

• dressing like a grownup

  GL

  So interesting how the web is becoming more and more like TV minus all the annoying commercials. I know, I know, there is advertising on the web, but in most instances it's before or after not during. I call it WEB WATCHING. So original.A web series about dressing like a grownup.Episode 1: DenimHERE

• Charger Mat

  GL

  Imagine coming home and dropping your keys, wallet, BlackBerry and iPod onto a hallway table. Then, when you're ready to leave the house again, your electronic gizmos are fully charged, without ever having been plugged in.Consumers tired of snarls of power cords and misplaced chargers are turning to electronic mats, which go by names like Powermat and myGrid, that can recharge multiple cellphones

• On the subject of any sort of disclosure

  GL

  A book review by Bay Area Tendrils"A beautifully produced, richly illustrated National Geographic Society book has arrived for review. Author, Catherine Herbert Howell writes engagingly, drawing the reader into the fascinating world of plants that have influenced every aspect of our existence from prehistory to the present-day.Sweet figs and dates to aromatic herbs and tangy citrus, the grains,

• 
  Ewa in the Garden

• Grow Grapes website discovered

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:44 pm

  I just came across an interesting site called “Grape Growing System” that I believe you’ll all be interested in. Few weeks ago I have signed up to free materials and because I value them a lot, I decided to share it with you.If you also want to grow grapes the correct way and would like to sign up for free information, you only need to fill the little form on the right. It is worth it - every

• 13 Beautiful Examples of Wine Grape Growing

  16 Oct 2009 | 10:05 pm

  One of the main mistakes in wine grape growing is poor planning of arbor or other support. See this selection of of hand picked marvellous examples of grape arbors and get inspired.If you plant grapes in the garden today, even your grand grand grand grand grand children can still enjoy it and remember you as the founder of family little vineyard. The oldest grape with an age of over 400 years is

• GBBD, snow and Blog Action Day

  14 Oct 2009 | 11:03 pm

  Do you also think sometimes, that even if you are 40 or 50 today, there is high possibility of next 40 or 50 years in front of you? If yes, do you also think about how your garden will look like?I wanted to make just regular GBBD post today, but also I wanted to post today for Blog Action Day which is also happening today. After short thinking, I have decided on Sunday to make today 2 separate

• Tall ornamental grass - Miscanthus sinensis Sirene

  5 Oct 2009 | 10:16 pm

  Tall ornamental grass in the large garden, may also look beautiful - like this one on the picture. However watch the size. Miscanthus sinensis Sirene grows up to 2 m tall, while Miscanthus giganteus can reach 3 m!Size – let’s say - is similar, but space planned for the grass is really large. Perennial bed of such size would take 1/8 of my garden. When I look at the number (1/8) it seems feasible,

• Tall ornamental grass - my mistake.

  30 Sep 2009 | 11:15 pm

  Miscanthus giganteus - name of mistake. Firstly - mistake of distracted mind to buy it. Secondly - mistake to plant it here. Too tall, too much out of context. In the nursery websites they write: good to plant at the pond.Not in this case. I admit that Miscanthus giganteus looks pretty in other gardens, especially after about 3 years, when it gets denser, but in this case it’s clear mistake.

• 
  Ear to the Ground

• Vendors Wanted for Plantasia Show, Buffalo

  29 Oct 2009 | 7:58 am

  Submitted by the Plantasia managementVendors wanted to sell garden merchandise ie., plants, flowers, statuary, gardening books & tools, pots, bird feeders.  Plantasia, WNY’s premier landscape & garden show, March 25 - March 28 at the Agri-Center at the Fairgrounds in Hamburg. Contact 716-741-8047.Submitted by the Plantasia management

• An afternoon with Chuck

  14 Oct 2009 | 6:18 pm

  I spent the afternoon with Chuck Eblacker checking out some of his new work and visiting an installation I've been wanting to see for quite a while.Chuck is currently creating a dry-laid stone wall at the Harley School in Brighton, and is instructing a course on the subject this semester as well. This is Chuck's project:This is the students':The kids' wall looks great, and what a good skill to learn! Part jigsaw puzzle, part weightlifting, part physics, all Zen.Next, we moved on to a storied Pittsford property to view a few installations Chuck has worked on over the past few years.There's the…

• Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper to give away rain barrels

  9 Oct 2009 | 4:34 pm

  This looks like an excellent opportunity for the WNY crowd: Submitted by Buffalo Niagara RiverkeeperBuffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER is able to give away, thanks to a grant from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 161 rain barrels to high-visibility sites in the Buffalo and Niagara regions. These sites include, but are not limited to, community gardens, low income residential communities, public buildings, government offices and schools.Local municipal combined sewer systems are overwhelmed during storm events and the overflow dumps raw sewage into our sources of drinking water--the…

• 9 Oct 2009 | 6:56 am

  9 Oct 2009 | 6:56 am

  We’ve always thought that we controlled them.But what if, in fact, they have been shaping us?“We don’t give nearly enough credit to plants,” says Michael Pollan. “They’ve been working on us, they’ve been using us, for their own purposes.”THE BOTANY OF DESIRE, airing nationally on PBS on Wednesday, October 28th at 8PM, brings Michael Pollan's provocative best-seller vividly to life, showing how human desires are an essential, intricate part of natural history.The program explores the natural history of four plants – the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato – and the…

• Late Breaking Event: Rose Workshop

  9 Oct 2009 | 6:20 am

  The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is pleased to host a free workshop on the selection, planting, and care of roses, Thursday October 22nd. The workshop will be held at the historic Delaware Park Rose Garden and Marcy Casino (199 Lincoln Pkwy) from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. Dave Swanka, the Conservancy's rosarian, will guide you through selecting, planting, fertilizing, and caring for your roses with an emphasis on using environmentally friendly procedures and products. Please join us for coffee, snacks, and an informative evening. Come early to tour the rose garden. For further information or to…

• 
  The Manic Gardener

• Product give-away standards--help!

  themanicgardner

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm

  To start at the end... There's actually more to this story, but I'm saving some back until I get responses to this piece. So tell me what you think. Background (Personal Position Statement)Though I’m sure some of you will choke...

• Holy smokes!

  themanicgardner

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:39 pm

  Actually, it's steam, and what's steaming is the compost pile I wrote about yesterday. Now, I've often seen steam when I've dug into a compost heap, but I've never seen an undisturbed pile steaming away like a small volcano. Having...

• Hot compost, anyone?

  themanicgardner

  26 Oct 2009 | 2:54 pm

  Should you drop by to visit, some bitterly cold night, and find my house locked, and should you be so lacking in good sense or hard cash that you don’t just head for a hotel on Main Street a mile...

• Table scraps to the rescue! SF leads the way

  themanicgardner

  21 Oct 2009 | 11:50 am

  source: Jepson Prairie Organics Callooh callay, oh frabjous day! San Francisco has just become the first American municipality to institute city-wide compulsory collection of food scraps, which get composted. Nationwide, the EPA reports that food scraps make up an appalling...

• Whatever happened to autumn?

  themanicgardner

  14 Oct 2009 | 9:32 pm

  Having more or less skipped spring this year, the weather decided to go for a double and skip autumn as well. This it accomplished by delivering the hottest September on record—on a par with a normal July—and then plunging straight...

• 
  Your Small Kitchen Garden

• Make Sauerkraut! A Small Kitchen Garden Guest Post

  admin

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:59 pm

  Such beautiful and abundant produce you get from a single cabbage plant. If you plant early and harvest gently, the stalk you leave in the ground can produce many more smaller cabbages. I’ve never grown cabbage in my small kitchen garden. I imagine cabbage is a very satisfying plant to grow as it produces enormous heads that can feed a family for a week or longer. On the other side of the equation, cabbage is so common in Pennsylvania that it very well might be the official state flower; it is omnipresent at farm stands and farmers’ markets. Here in Pennsylvania Dutch country,…

• Your Small Kitchen Garden Promotional Giveaway

  admin

  27 Oct 2009 | 9:28 pm

  You could win a carton containing twelve packs of each of these fruit snacks – 24 packs in total. The text of this article explains how you can submit as many as twelve entries in our drawing. Your Small Kitchen Garden is having its first ever promotional giveaway. The prize is a carton of individually-packaged servings of freeze-dried fruits. I was able to score several cartons of these treats packaged by Sensible Foods under a label other than their own. Each carton contains 24 snack packages. There are two varieties of treats: The Fruit Snack at 84 calories per package and the…

• After Late Blight in a Small Kitchen Garden

  admin

  19 Oct 2009 | 4:35 pm

  Late blight infections in 2009 spread all over the eastern United States, wiping out many small kitchen garden tomato crops. Late blight can express itself as brown discoloration on tomatoes – green or ripe. As the plants fade in your small kitchen garden, the temptation grows to get out there and clean things up. If the plants aren’t going to produce more, why keep them around? The question became more complicated for many this year when late blight destroyed tomato plants all over the north eastern United States. I posted about late blight in an article titled Tomato Strife in…

• October 09 Bloom Day in a Small Kitchen Garden

  admin

  15 Oct 2009 | 8:19 pm

  By the time I discovered a lone squash flower in my small kitchen garden, it was crusted with ice. I regret to say: my small kitchen garden was not at all in the spirit of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day this month. In fact, this post marks the annual transition from active gardening season to armchair gardening season: Snow fell for much of the day. Snow, in central Pennsylvania on October 15th. According to the weather service, this is a new record; there has never been “measurable” snow this early in a season. My Small Kitchen Garden isn’t Done As final as a snowfall seems, my…

• Bread from Your Small Kitchen Garden

  admin

  1 Oct 2009 | 4:50 pm

  My friend on Twitter, @Mamapigeon, specifically asked about bread I was baking back in early September. This post explains how to make that bread. Follow me – @cityslipper – on Twitter or leave comments on this blog, and you can help determine the content of upcoming posts.   Not the applesauce and brown sugar loaf I describe in this post, but this is a typical loaf of bread shaped and baked according to instructions in this article. Bread? Am I really going to tell you how to make bread from stuff you grow in your small kitchengarden? Well, actually… sort of. No, I…

• 
  The Compost Bin

• Compost-Off Continues...

  Anthony

  14 Oct 2009 | 3:33 am

  Round 5Round 6

• More of the Gaiam Compost-Off

  Anthony

  27 Sep 2009 | 12:01 pm

  I'm enjoying these Compost-Off videos by Gaiam. But both the Earthmaker Composter and the Bio-Orb Monster Compost Bin aren't doing that well. Well at least that what they're focusing on in the videos.I'll defend these products a little bit and say that neither bin is really a "set it and forget it" type of product. You're going to have to watch your compost and tend to it's needs. For example, if your bin is stinky (like the bio-orb is these videos) then add more dried leaves or shredded newspapers. And if it's drying out (like the Earthmaker) well then water it. Or maybe even leave the lid…

• Which Compost Bin To Buy

  Anthony

  3 Sep 2009 | 5:39 pm

  Have you ever wanted to see a compost bin throwdown? A real side by side blind taste test? Well the good folks at Gaiam have done just that. Check out this video where they compare the Earthmaker Composter and the Bio-Orb Monster Compost Bin. With the video you can get a good idea what it's like making compost with these things. And there's going to be more videos in this series. I'll keep my eye out for them.

• Compost Fire

  Anthony

  23 Aug 2009 | 9:16 am

  Image via WikipediaIf you follow composting news (and who doesn't) then you probably heard about several compost fires recently.There was one burning in Maple Valley, Seattle earlier in the week and another in Saginaw, Michigan yesterday.Now before you get worried about your kitchen compost crock bursting into flames on your counter top, both of these fires took place at composting facilities. These are really large processing plants that compost for a whole town or city and their piles are probably larger than your house. Can a compost fire start in a home compost bin? It's probably possible…

• Compost Tumblers

  Anthony

  19 Aug 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Here is a list of the most popular compost tumblers on the market:(according to Amazon - 08/19/09)#1 - Achla CMP-05 Spinning Horizontal ComposterI find this hard to believe actually. It's not the cheapest tumbler out there (see #2) and it's not the most well known brand either. But I guess it's the fact that it looks easy to use and it's decent price make it very popular among people shopping to compost tumblers. #2 - Envirocycle ComposterThe Envirocycle Composter being on this list makes more sense to me. It's nice looking, doesn't take up a lot of space, easy to spin and has the lowest…

• 
  jennah's garden

• Fresh things I still have

  jennahsgarden

  7 Nov 2009 | 1:20 am

  I still have some fresh veggies. HERBS (need to dry some more!): •The genoa basil is kind of sort of hanging on. the opal basil still looks pretty good. •The sage looks OK, but isn’t really growing any more. Should be back next year, though. •The rosemary is mostly evergreen, so that’s cool. •The lemon thyme is still nice and lush. VEGGIES: I pulled all the tomato plants, but I rescued some green tomatoes. Some of those are turning quite nicely. Please also note in the picture below how I TOTALLY ON ACCIDENT color coordinated things. How awesome am I? Also note that I can…

• Rainbows! DOUBLE Rainbows!!

  jennahsgarden

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pm

  I’m actually kind of glad I left work a bit late because of a meeting with my boss. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I saw a rainbow. When I looked harder, I saw another! Thankfully, I had randomly thrown my camera in my purse this morning. Luck! I stopped and snapped a few in the business park, and then as I was leaving I noticed a few cars pulled over by the cornfields outside the park looking and taking pictures, so I pulled over as well. I kind of love that after a busy Thursday at work, there were still people who pulled over together by a cornfield to look at a rainbow.

• Umm…I still have to do all those things.

  jennahsgarden

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:19 pm

  You know all the stuff that I mentioned I had to do before it gets cold in this post? I still have to do all of them. Well, not *entirely* true—I did pull up the big gigantic zinnia, bringing in a bunch of blooms before sending it on its way into the woods. I’m hoping maybe it’ll reseed next year randomly there? A girl can dream. The nice thing about cut zinnias is that you can but them when they’ve just barely started blooming and they’ll still finish and be pretty. Proof that I pulled the zinnia. Prob should have taken a pic of these before they got all wilty, huh?

• To Do (Before It Gets Too Cold)

  jennahsgarden

  28 Oct 2009 | 5:26 am

  Sooooo I still have some stuff to do before it gets too cold. It may or may not happen next weekend (Halloween), but maybe I’ll feel ambitious after work this week. Plant the rest of my coneflowers. I had been waiting for the new garden we’re planning on, but that may or may not happen before it gets too cold. So I just need to find them a home. I already waited too long on 2 hostas, so hopefully they make it through the winter and come back in the spring. Pull up the gazanias in the front by the steps and replace them with the rest of the pansies I bought today. I actually…

• THe Hibiscus’s Last Hurrah

  jennahsgarden

  25 Oct 2009 | 4:26 pm

  The Mango Mist hibiscus is now officially in for the winter, but it gave me more blooms at one time right before coming in than it did all summer long. Gorgeous! I really hope it makes it through the winter. Also, an official goodbye to our resident spider. He’s lived by the deck door all summer long. I left him there, figuring maybe he’d keep some bugs from coming in. Every night he comes out for dinner, and every day he goes back into the siding somewhere and hides. Before long, I guess he’s done for. our friendly spider And lastly, excuse the blurry pic, but can anyone ID…

• 
  Easy Outdoor Decor Blog

• Oct 31, Easy Outdoor Decor - Trendy, not spendy alfresco decorating goodness!

  30 Oct 2009 | 7:21 pm

  Drawn to the out of the ordinary? Does the wacky and the whimsical intrigue you? Fabulous! Come, be inspired with easy outdoor decor ideas that make the most of your creativity, time and money. Garden yard decor enthusiast offers information, ideas, advice and encouragement on many aspects of lawn and garden decor. Plus backyard recipes and make-it-yourself outdoor decor craft projects.

• Oct 30, Download gazebo instructions, get that outdoor room assembled, and start enjoying your gazebo today.

  29 Oct 2009 | 8:16 pm

  Download gazebo instructions from many of todays popular gazebo manufacturers.

• Oct 27, Woodstock Wind Chimes - Ride the tunes, man.

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:49 pm

  I'm here for the music, man -- for the Woodstock wind chimes, man.

• Oct 27, Outdoor Christmas Trees - Here's how to make yours merry and bright!

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:36 pm

  The key to fabulous outdoor Christmas trees is surprise, surprise, suprise!

• Oct 27, Gazebo Building Kits - Simply the best solution for maximizing your dollars when remodeling your outdoor living space.

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:02 pm

  Browse a collection of gazebo building kits and find just that one specialone. Easy Outdoor Decor serves up the best possibilities.

• 
  Dirt du jour

• Nikki Polani are you listening?

  cindymcnatt@gmail.com

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:10 pm

  Fine Gardening magazine has launched a garden photography contest “The Autumn Garden” and I can think of a few local garden bloggers who could knock the socks off the submissions so far. Nikki Polani comes to mind….see her photography at Nikkipolani.wordpress.com, and Abby Lanes at Simply-flowers.blogspot.com, plus Todd and Diane at White on Rice.  Course, anyone can enter at FineGardening.com The Prize? A time-elasped Plant Cam so you can watch your garden grow, literally. whatever The Union.com—The police blotter reports man wearing pink polka dot pajamas in the garden as…

• World’s favorite rose

  cindymcnatt@gmail.com

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am

  David Austin’s rose ‘Graham Thomas’ was recently awarded the title of World’s Favorite Rose by the World Federation of Rose Societies. Something to brag about if you’ve got one. If you don’t know ‘Graham Thomas’ it’s a biggin’ with butter yellow cupped blossoms and strong scent that the rose snobs describe as tea rose with a cool violet character. The books say it grows to 4 feet—in California you could make that an easy 8. And don’t believe what you read about it blooming in the shade, it doesn’t. But a gorgeous cut flower all around. Tally ho! whatever The…

• Two for you, one for me

  cindymcnatt@gmail.com

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am

  That’s how I holiday shop. A few gifts for other people, a pair of shoes for me. And so on. What I’d love to spring for this season is a little something from the John Derian collection like this decoupaged bug tray. Love the natural history museum-like look. The cheaper alternative is to buy the bug wrapping paper (sold under goods) and decoupage my own tray. Either way…. whatever Ocala.com —Again, riding lawnmowers and alcohol don’t mix. This incident involves a school bus.

• Is your rain garden ready?

  cindymcnatt@gmail.com

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:35 am

  No big deal, rain gardens are just a depression in the ground where rainwater goes during a storm. The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa says 25,000 gallons of rainwater typically roll off of our roofs each year and end up in the street and straight to the ocean. Rain gardens redirect rainwater, prevent runoff by capturing it so it seeps deep into the water table (up to 30-percent more than a lawn), reduces ocean pollution and provides deep rooted plants a good long drink. Plus, they’re fun. Here’s some links that could help you get started: Native Rain Garden Audubon Magazine California Green…

• The newest novelty plant

  cindymcnatt@gmail.com

  30 Oct 2009 | 8:04 am

  Euphorbia lactea crestata grafted onto something-something, but a something that is green because these pale beauties need a little chlorophyll for life support. Most web sites say do not water in the winter. Other than that, think party centerpieces, gifts for good friends, indulgence for you. (I hate it when this happens - but I’m pretty sure I snagged this image from Molly Wood Garden Design.)  If not, found at a plant store near you. whatever Telegraph.co.uk —Overstuffed - When the vegetable garden is too much of a good thing. 

• 
  The Growing Edge

• Buy Local Gains Traction In Many Markets

  Tom Alexander

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:50 pm

  Jim Offner writes in The Packer, “Buy local” is gaining prominence in the potato and onion businesses, according to marketing strategists. “Buy local is an important piece that our industry participates heavily in,” said Tim O’Connor, chief executive officer of the Denver-based U.S. Potato Board. “There’s a lot of effort there. I see it used real well by retailers.” Of course, the strategy comes with a natural impediment, O’Connor said. “The challenge is it’s seasonal,” he said. “If a retailer in New York wants to feature New York-grown potatoes, they have a window…

• Bisphenol A (BPA) Found In Many Canned Foods

  Tom Alexander

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pm

  Naomi Starkman reports on CivilEast.com, Consumer Reports’ latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods tested contain measurable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA). The results are reported in the December 2009 issue and also available online. BPA, which has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners, has been restricted in Canada and some U.S. states and municipalities because it has been linked to a wide array of health effects including reproductive abnormalities, heightened risk of…

• Win A Free DVD Of The Movie Food, Inc.

  Tom Alexander

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm

  The movie Food, Inc. was released this week on DVD (and is probably available at your local or chain movie rental store.) Click HERE to find out how you can win one of the ten free copies of the movie that the producers are giving away to celebrate the release of the movie on DVD.

• The Rise Of The Non-Veggie Vegetarian

  Tom Alexander

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pm

  In 1973, I saw somebody on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson expound on the health benefits of being a vegetarian. At that moment I became one myself. I haven’t eaten red meat since that time, but as my kids grew out of toddlerhood, we as a family started eating fish and chicken. Hence, I am a “beady eye vegetarian.” Still no red meat since 1973. So I can relate to this article… Finlo Rohrer writes in BBC News Magazine, Vegetarianism used to be simple – its protagonists foreswore the flesh of any dead animal. Today there are “veggies” who eat fish,…

• Can Biotech Food Cure World Hunger?

  Tom Alexander

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm

  The editors of The New York Times write, With food prices remaining high in developing countries, the United Nations estimates that the number of hungry people around the world could increase by 100 million in 2009 and pass the one billion mark. A summit of world leaders in Rome scheduled for November will set an agenda for ways to reduce hunger and increase investment in agriculture development in poor countries. What will drive the next Green Revolution? Is genetically modified food an answer to world hunger? Are there other factors that will make a difference in food production? Paul…

• 
  Native Sons Plant of the Week

• Fremontodendron 'California Glory'

  Jimmy Alcantar

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm

  Flannel bush.  'California Glory' has an up right form when young, growing up to 20 feet tall or more, but becoming mounding with age.  Generous bloomer over along period with flowers inches across.  Performs great on dry gardens, and can be used for screens.  Use caution also to place plants away from foot traffic or away from face or eyes due to fuzzy olive-green leaves with extremely irritating stellate hairs.  Hardy to 15F.  Fremontodendron 'California Glory' is available this week in #5 containers.

• Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow'

  Jimmy Alcantar

  30 Oct 2009 | 9:27 am

  Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow' -Spurge, is a perennial with distinct and unique variegated flowers and foliage.The flower color consists of cream, lime, and green while the foliage displays tones of cream, green/blue with stunning red-pink coloring throughout cooler months. Compact and slightly spreading, 'Ascot Rainbow' grows about 20" tall and 20" wide. Plants are very heat and drought tolerant; best suited to full sun, well-drained soils and moderate water. Hardy to 0F. Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow' is available this week in #1 gallon…

• Salvia chamaedryoides

  Jimmy Alcantar

  23 Oct 2009 | 10:02 am

  Salvia chamaedryoides - Germander sage, is an evergreen perennial with small, silvery leaves that form the perfect backdrop for the radiant blue flowers. A spreading sage, this Salvia grows to 3’ wide with many ascending stems to 2’ when in bloom, eventually forming a small mound. Flowers bloom during warm periods throughout the growing season and peak in early summer then again in fall. It is suggested to prune spent flowers for repeated blooming. Plants are best suited to full sun, well-drained soils and moderate water, however they are tolerant of light shade and modest drought. Hardy…

• Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Crystal Rose'

  Jimmy Alcantar

  16 Oct 2009 | 12:34 pm

   Cranesbill.  'Crystal Rose' exhibits all the long blooming and carpeting characteristics of the parent plant 'Westray'.  The near sterile flowers which are bright and good sized, are long lasting, and profuse appearing throughout the year with the main flush in the warmer months.  They are held erect above the foliage, which archieves a moderately dense 12" diameter during the first growing season.  'Crystal Rose' is a versatile landscape plant, worthy of inclusion in the border or in a rock garden or as a ground cover.  Hardy to 0F.  Geranium x…

• Tagetes lemmonii 'Compacta'

  Jimmy Alcantar

  12 Oct 2009 | 9:02 am

  Mexican bush marigold.  Herbaceous evergreen perennial, a native to Arizona and northern Mexico.  The highly aromatic, fine textured medium green leaves are arranged on brittle stems. Yellow-orange daisy-like flowers provide intense color from winter-spring. Growing up to 3 feet tall by 3 feet wide, makes it a good choice for border plantings.  Tagetes lemmonii 'Compacta' is available this week in #1 containers.  

• 
  A Leafy Indulgence

• Inconsistent Princess

  Swimray

  31 Oct 2009 | 1:40 pm

  The Nasturtium seeds were purchased from Home Depot for the new side yard garden on the slope. Nasturtiums were tried about a decade ago, and were not a success story, but I was willing to try again this year. Princess of India (Tropaeolum majus) sounded like a good variety to try. Almost all germinated to my surprise, so some were planted at the side, and the extras were placed out in the back yard vegetable garden. At first, the side yard plants did very well in the spring, and began producing flowers quickly. Leaves were dark green, and the plants grew into small mounds. One item that…

• Squash That Bug

  Swimray

  18 Oct 2009 | 10:12 am

  The cleome was tall, spindly, and dying at the end of summer. This is normal for many plants, and never having grown cleome before, thought it was normal. Upon cutting the plants down to tidy up the garden, hundreds of black and yellow beetle-like bugs were found covering the stems and some leaves. Most were thrown out with the plants.Two weeks later, as I was tending to zinnias adjacent to the cleome bed, the same bugs were found on the zinnias. The cooperative extension was called, but was not much help over the phone. I went to the Bug Guide online to visually identify them as friend or…

• Purple Passion

  Swimray

  23 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am

  While in Atlanta last fall, I was impressed by the 7-feet (2 m) tall, purple-leaf plants growing in the corner of the botanical garden outdoor cafe. A sign indicated they were Persian Shield. Once back home, I described them to my landscape architect friends who told me they never grow 7-feet tall in this climate, unless they overwinter in a greenhouse, a most likely scenario.This year, I bought one and have been impressed by its growth over the summer. Although not getting to the height of the Atlanta plants, the Strobilanthes dyerianus produced its intense iridescent purple leaves. This…

• It's A Jungle, Finally

  Swimray

  3 Sep 2009 | 8:18 pm

  The deck that took a lifetime is finally done, well, with the latest construction still needing a good coat of wood finish. The actual deck off the back of the house was completed last fall along with some of the platform steps at the side yard. These platforms create a more gentle, relaxed way to descend the slope than a straight run stair does. A few additional platform steps not in the original plan were added this week to finish off the path.The side yard hillside was nothing but clay around the platform steps. This spring, soil was amended with peat, sand, gypsum, and organic materials.

• Bashful Sunflowers

  Swimray

  25 Aug 2009 | 5:49 am

  It's time to report on this year's trial of dwarf sunflowers. Late in the spring, the rushing around left no time to order the dwarf sunflower seeds online, so a packet of Burpee's Sunflower Incredible (helianthus annuus ) was picked up at the local Target. This year, the results were not pleasing. Although the flowers were consistent and attractive, all the flower heads faced east, probably since the sun came up there, but never turned in other directions. This meant the flower heads were never visible from the street in the display garden. Not much to display here.Second, the heights were…

• 
  Water Fountains and Relaxation

• Fountains of Living Waters Rolls Back Wall Fountain Prices

  Kristina

  3 Nov 2009 | 7:34 am

  Wall fountains bring beauty and peacefulness to your home.  Now is the perfect time to invest in a wall fountain and you will be amazed at how worth it your investment will turn out to be.  Not only do they bring a unique piece of art to your walls, water fountains have many other benefits [...]

• November is the Perfect Time to Buy Your Adagio Water Feature

  Kristina

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pm

  Have you been dreaming of a beautiful wall fountain?  May be there is one you have had your eye on and just can’t pull the trigger?  Well, now is the time to buy!  Adagio, manufacturer of high quality wall water fountains had a sale this month on all of their wall fountains making it the [...]

• 7 Tips to Relieve Stress and Relax

  Kristina

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:40 pm

  As things around us continue to get more and more stressful everyday we all need reminders to relax, take a deep breath and take things in stride.  There are little things you can do everyday and a few inexpensive relaxation products that can help you relax and relieve stress.  You will quickly find that by relaxing [...]

• Five Perfect, Affordable Gift Ideas

  Kristina

  28 Oct 2009 | 2:36 pm

  Tis the season to start thinking about gift giving.  More now than ever, we all want to find the best deal for a great gift, something unique, high quality and has a purpose!  Below you will find a guide to 5 affordable gift ideas that will be perfect for the season and something you won’t [...]

• “Feng Shui” Your Home with Water Fountains

  Kristina

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:59 pm

  Fall is a great time to consider making your home more feng shui friendly.  Because many people are looking for ways to enjoy nature indoors this time of year, bringing water fountains into your home can accomplish this and many other benefits.  In case you haven’t heard of the term feng shui or may be you have [...]

• 
  Tangled Branches: Cultivated

• Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

  Entangled

  15 Oct 2009 | 6:47 am

  I forgot.But the loveliest thing blooming right now is the hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium). If it stops raining long enough, I'll go out and take a picture. Really, though, it looks just like last year and the year before and...Copyright Tangled Branches: Cultivated (http://tangledbranches.com/blog/).

• Ping

  Entangled

  7 Oct 2009 | 8:09 am

  I'm still here. Beautiful fall weather has descended and I just don't feel like sitting in front of the computer. I haven't even done much photography lately; I'm content to just enjoy being outdoors before it gets too cold. And the vegetable garden is still producing. I've been drying peppers, freezing peppers, eating peppers, and making hot sauce. I like peppers. Here's a photo I did to accompany some given to my in-laws. I asked the spouse if he could ID them for his family and he said no, hence the photo guide. 'Bulgarian Carrot' was new to me this year, but has become a favorite. Thick…

• The County Fair, Part 4 (Livestock)

  Entangled

  17 Sep 2009 | 11:39 am

  I like chickens. I don't have any, so when I go to fairs I always have to see the chickens. I wish they had other poulty at the Sandwich Fair as well, but apparently only chickens are allowed.It is a chicken. Honestly.Rabbits with eye makeup? Looks like it, but they're a breed called Dwarf Hotot. The eyeliner is part of the standard.The larger livestock is a little harder to photograph unless you get a chance to see the judging. This cow apparently won a red ribbon, whether she wanted to be in the show or not.Copyright Tangled Branches: Cultivated (http://tangledbranches.com/blog/).

• The County Fair, Part 3 (Horticulture/Agriculture)

  Entangled

  17 Sep 2009 | 11:16 am

  Taking advantage of today's wet weather to post the rest of the pictures I took at the Sandwich Fair last week. I decided to break this into several posts so as not to crash your browser. First up, the rest of the Horticulture and Agronomy displays.Popcorn, my second favorite food.Big is important at the fair. These dahlias were the size of lunch plates. (Dinner plates are bigger than they used to be. Lunch plates are now the size of dinner plates.)The blue ribbon pumpkin weighed something over 300 pounds, if I remember correctly.Copyright Tangled Branches: Cultivated…

• The County Fair, Part 2

  Entangled

  11 Sep 2009 | 6:05 am

  A short selection of pictures from the Horticulture displays at the Sandwich Fair yesterday. More pictures to come when I get them edited. There's plenty to see at the fair besides horticulture: rabbits, chickens, cows, needlework, baking, canning, and antique engines to name just a few.Above is the "new" Horticulture Building (did you notice the very tall sunflowers at the entrance?). The "old" Horticulture Building was shown in the previous post. The following description of the "old" Horticulture Building is from The Sandwich Fair, Since 1888, published in 2001 by The Sandwich Fair…

• 
  Blue Ridge Gardener

• End of the month

  Michael

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:38 am

  It is the last business day of the month.  We are about to say so long to the month of October and hello to November.  Talk about time flying–this month sure has. Yes, I know, I have been lax in my writing for the past few weeks. Blame it on the weather.  Blame it on my work. [...]

• Catching up

  Michael

  20 Oct 2009 | 8:22 am

  After my trip to Denver, all kinds of things have happened in my life and in the garden.  I am catching up, at least from this point on a Tuesday. Weather comments: This has been a period of cool and rain that I have not experienced for some time. Since September 15, I have dumped over 12 inches [...]

• Fall is here…

  Michael

  8 Oct 2009 | 6:27 am

  I am finally catching up on things after being away for a week.  I plan to spend some time in the garden this evening, and have a little time to write this morning between tasks. Evidence that fall is here in the mountains of North Carolina: Regular morning temperatures around 40 degrees. While I was in Denver, [...]

• Back from Denver

  Michael

  4 Oct 2009 | 6:06 pm

  I have been out of town much of the week. On Tuesday I flew into Denver for a conference dealing with crime victims with disabilities.  I flew back to NC on Saturday.  I spent a bit of time in the garden on Saturday afternoon, not much this afternoon, and I have plans for tomorrow afternoon [...]

• More Fall Gardening Fodder

  Michael

  28 Sep 2009 | 10:44 am

  The summer may be over, and we may be due for some 40 degree nights (tonight in fact), but it is still possible to get some more growth out of the garden. Here’s an article from the Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer (They may be in Georgia, but  some of their recommendations are still possible in our protected [...]

• 
  Bay Area Tendrils

• Cultural Landscapes ... Central Park, NYC

  Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:50 pm

  Central Park - New York CityDesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.What are cultural landscapes? Stewardship through Education:Link to The Cultural Landscape Foundation:www.tclf.orgon Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel Buzz:ARBORETUMS, BOTANICAL GARDENS, HORTICULTURE- column on the right -

• Landscape ... Dreaming of Italy

  Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm

  Timeless, nowhere ...Flickr photo by Blaster

• Flora Mirabilis .. Extraordinary Plants

  Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:53 am

  Flora MirabilisA beautifully produced, richly illustrated National Geographic Society book www.nationalgeographic.com/books has arrived for review.Author, Catherine Herbert Howell writes engagingly,drawing the reader into the fascinating world of plants that have influenced every aspect of our existence from prehistory to the present-day.Sweet figs and dates to aromatic herbs and tangy citrus, the grains, grapes, sugarcane and coffee that nourish the body,to sumptuous flowers that feed the soul,mind-altering opium poppies, and medicinal discoveries:  Flora Mirabilis draws attention…

• Billowy to Brawny! Accent Plants for Seasonal Displays

  Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel

  3 Nov 2009 | 7:21 am

  Accent plants .. Seasonal selections ... frombillowy grace to brawny girth in Alice's Garden.Winteris on the way, the time of year when I look forward to the blooms of  Grevillea lavandulacea (above).A drought tolerant, deer resistant shrub in the Proteaceae family, this Australian species grows tall in a sprawling form, and flowers abundantly.The pink to rosy blooms (resembling tiny shrimp!) are beloved by hummingbirds!Incarvillea argutaI'm not fond of common names, they're often confusing, but you may find this plant referred to as summer or hardy Gloxinia. Native to the Himalayas,…

• Mysterious & Strangely Alluring - Carnivorous Plants

  Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel

  1 Nov 2009 | 8:31 am

  Sundew (Drosera) rosette form An insect eating plant with a complex form and stunning coloration.Nepenthes - the weird beauty of pitcher plants -on display at California Carnivores, Sebastopol:the premiere U.S. nursery for carnivorous plants,featured in my book, Gardenwalks in California, an INSIDERS' GUIDE, published 2005, The Globe Pequot Press.The color I find most alluring these days... chartreuseCape Sundew (Drosera capensis... its hairy leaves produce a sticky sap, bewitching to insects.Nepenthes ... A tropical pitcher plant:"Nepenthes .. Euphoria(its reputed drug…

• 
  Daffodil Planter: Gardening WIth A Sense Of Humor

• Do my incense-cedars work for Goldman Sachs?

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:30 pm

  Calocedrus decurrens (California incense-cedar) Photo: Walter Siegmund/WikimediaThe relentless, vigorous determination. The fervent desire to tower over and control all within reach. As far as I know my incense-cedars didn't get any TARP money, but when it comes to the quest for world domination they're in the same league with Goldman Sachs. Sure, the cedars always drop some tiny cones, but this year they're inundating the garden. The carpet of cones is so thick the ground is invisible. The dog can't step outside without getting cones wedged in her paws. The gardeners can't walk down the deck…

• Which Halloween gardener are you?

  30 Oct 2009 | 1:57 pm

  Photo: Mansour de Toth (Laszloen)/WikimediaTo wicked and good gardeners alike--wishing you a Happy Halloween!

• Autumn evening

  24 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm

  The Lovers (Autumn Evening), c.1888, Emile Friant (1863-1932)*A reminder for all of us to stop with the raking of the leaves, the pruning of the wisteria, the dividing of the daffodils--and enjoy the quiet times of the season. (Click on the painting for a larger image)*Emile Friant was a French artist. This painting hangs in the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Nancy in France.To leave a comment, click on the word COMMENTS below

• That's why they call it yard work

  7 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Kneeling in my gravel driveway, digging up dandelions with a dandelion fork.That's yard work.Raking up needles dropped by the 60-foot Ponderosa pine.Yard work.Gardening is different! I happily snap my secateurs like castanets as I march out for a spot of dead-heading and pruning. All things seem possible, now that the weather is no longer scorch-your-skin-off hot.But yard work makes me tired just thinking about it.What's your garden task that is never fun and always yard work?To leave a comment, click on the word COMMENTS below

• Capitol Bees

  27 Sep 2009 | 9:30 pm

  Bee hives in the White House kitchen garden. Photo: White HouseWASHINGTON (DP) The bee hives in the famed White House kitchen garden received international attention this week at the G20 Pittsburgh Summit.White House beekeeper collecting honey. Photo: White HouseWhite House beekeeper Charlie Brandts has collected honey from the hives and saved it for special occasions.The First Lady's gift. Photo: White HouseWhile world leaders gathered for economic discussions at the G20 Pittsburgh Summit, First Lady Michelle Obama acted as hostess to their wives. Her official gift to each wife was a tea set…

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  Thai Garden Design

• Construction of a Waterwall System

  Pornchai Gardens

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:48 pm

  A popular theme park resort in Central Thailand are having improvements and landscaping work completed by Pornchai Garden. In this example, the entire face of a large building has been designed and built by the team to look and mimic a natural rockface, with water running down the front and sides of the building from the rooftop. The Pornchai team have built a series of waterways on the roof. When the system is switched on, water is slowly pumped over the sides of the building to create the dramatic waterfall effect. The system is completely under the control of the resort owners. Once the…

• Runway Water Feature in Bangkok

  Pornchai Gardens

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:38 pm

  A client in a Bangkok required Pornchai Garden to construct a complete concrete runway water feature, running the length of their modern house in Bangkok. The Pornchai team constructed the feature with a solid concrete and steel mesh foundation and installed all the appropriate plumbing work. The feature was then built in position, painted white, and coated with a water resistant paint. When turned on, the water flows the length of the runway, filling the various pools, and then re-flowing back to the top of the feature. If you are looking for a professional, affordable and reliable…

• Wall and Fence Design & Construction in Thailand

  Pornchai Gardens

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:36 pm

  Tropical Thailand has many natural ways to create boundaries and borders - thick bristling hedges, curving treelines and thick undergrowth can all enclose garden spaces. Many modern housing developments in cities throughout Thailand have fixed property boundaries; the further you delve into the countryside and these can become less visible. Such barriers are a necessity in most gardens, to keep unwanted elements outside, and to clearly define property lines. There are hundreds of ways walls and fences can be improved and enhanced, even in smaller urban gardens, there is no requirement to…

• Thai Villa Design and Construction

  Pornchai Gardens

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:37 pm

  If you are looking to add a villa or small house to your plot, then talk to Pornchai Garden. Not only can we design the building to your specifications, we can also suggest appropriate materials, interior and exterior furnishings, costings, plus, when you're happy, we will build it for you. Pornchai Garden - a complete turnkey landscaping, design and construction company, based in the Land of Smiles.

• Ixora stricta (เข็มเชียงใหม่)

  Pornchai Gardens

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:21 pm

  The Ixora stricta come from the large botanical family Rubiaceae. They are native to India and tropical Africa, the genus contains over 400 species. Ixora stricta are a very colourful, robust and popular flowering shrub. The Ixora stricta grow quickly and to a good size, consisting of small, pointed green leaves and very distinctive bright pink and orange flowers, which form into lots of tightly packed clusters. They are popularly employed as garden or border hedges due to their tenacity and toughness, they enjoy humid temperatures and full sun, but will need fairly regular trimming if you…

• 
  A Gardener in Progress

• Fertilizer Friday - November flowers.

  Catherine@AGardenerinProgress

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:09 am

  It's hard to believe it's already time for Fertilizer Friday again. It's getting more difficult to find flowers outside, but I did manage. Most are past their prime but still are a welcome sight now that it's November. As for the indoor plants, I've been very good and have remembered to fertilize the African Violets and have one in bloom, but I'll save those for a day when there aren't anymore flowers to show from outside. I've also added an indoor ornamental pepper plant to my houseplant responsibilities. I'm glad I didn't wait until today to take these pictures. We had quite the storm last…

• Promises, promises.

  Catherine@AGardenerinProgress

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:33 am

  I've been noticing that my garden is already making promises to me. As I work to cleanup and cutback perennials and rake leaves I see signs of new flowers to come already. The Grape hyacinth foliage is sprouting to remind me not to dig there as I search for an empty spot for bulbs. Foxglove seedlings are nice and sturdy, and should be ready to bloom early next summer. Verbena bonariensis and other perennials are getting nice seed heads that will sprinkle new plants throughout the garden. Buds are setting on many of my spring flowering shrubs like the Lilacs and Winter Daphne.My Pieris…

• Happy to see the sun!

  Catherine@AGardenerinProgress

  3 Nov 2009 | 3:36 pm

  What a beautiful fall today we had today. We haven't a whole day of sun for awhile now and what a mood lifter it was. A friend and I had a fun day wandering through a nursery where we noticed most of their plants had been "put away" for the winter already. When I returned home I took a walk around the yard to see how the plants were looking. Some of the trees are really still holding onto their leaves. The cherry tree has finally changed to yellows and oranges, but the apple tree still has green leaves and a few red apples hanging on. I've decided the last apples can be for the birds, and…

• Honest Scrap - 10 experiences that made me the gardener I am.

  Catherine@AGardenerinProgress

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:18 am

  I was tagged by Lynn of Best in Bloom Today to tell about 7 things you don't know about me, then Janie from An Obsessive/Compulsive plant collector tagged me for Honest Scrap, then Noelle from Plant Tips and Guidelines for the Desert Garden tagged me as well. It's not that I didn't want to do this, but more about trying to think of 7, now 10 interesting things about me.I decided I would try to make it garden related and share some of the experiences that formed me into the type of gardener I've become.The 10 experiences formed me into the type of gardener I am:1. When I was 4 our family moved…

• End of month view October 2009 and Happy Halloween.

  Catherine@AGardenerinProgress

  31 Oct 2009 | 9:06 am

  I decided to start taking an end of the month view last month. Probably the main difference this month is that the leaves have started falling, and things are beginning to look bare. Maybe next month the leaves will be raked, and I might even tell you that the bulbs were planted below it!In this picture you can see the strange way the Japanese Maple 'Orido Nishiki' is changing and loosing it's leaves. The lowest branches still have the variegated leaves in their usual summer colors. Below though it's easy to see that many of the top leaves have fallen and buried plants.The leaves on the…

• 
  Chicagoland Gardening Magazine's blog

• Did you achieve four-season gardening nirvana today?

  Chicagoland Gardening Blog

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:39 pm

  If you have heard it once you have heard it a thousand times: "plan your garden for four-season interest." Well, did you? The true test is probably today: look out your window right now and tell me if you have been successful. If the leaves are off the trees, the fall colors are gone, and the summer blooms are long faded, what is left? Do you have texture, color, structure, seed heads, and those hardscape "bones" that make the winter garden interesting? Does it look nice today? It's okay if you say "no" ('cause you are probably alone anyway). It's okay if you haven't gotten the hang of…

• Better Bok Choy

  Chicagoland Gardening Blog

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:24 pm

  Back around Labor Day, the six-packs of Chinese cabbage with their promising bright green leaves were too hard to pass up at the garden center. Is it too late to transplant them, I wondered? Frost would be six weeks away. Was that enough time for them to grow with the dimming sunlight? But transplant I did and now, this first week of November, the loosely packed leaves are waiting to be picked. Ready to harvest in 45 to 60 days, Bok Choy (or Pak Choi) has mild, celerylike leaves that are tasty in salads or in a stir fry. Because it's so…

• Rain, Rain Go Away

  Chicagoland Gardening Blog

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:26 am

  The rain and wind last week have blown off just about every leaf from the oaks, ash and shagbark hickories that line our road.  It's going to be a long winter.  On the bright side, the trees and shrubs—especially any needle-leaved plants—will have sufficient moisture around their roots going into winter. And while most of the leaves have fallen, the hydrangeas are trying very hard to hold on to their dried petals. Some more rain and one or two light snowfalls are sure to send these dried flowers of 'Little…

• Transporting Tropics

  Chicagoland Gardening Blog

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

  “In the winter I will be nearly naked and shivering in the cold, gloomy corner of the sunroom.” So begins the note written collectively by my ginger, gardenia, jasmine and bougainvillea. It will get worse before it gets better. If only I had a greenhouse or could part with these tropicals and get new ones each year. The gardenia ‘Miami Supreme’ traveled back home with us by truck from Florida more than 12 years ago. It’s now so large that, in the dark, I sometimes mistake it for a prowler. Flowering tropical plants have finally become more available at independent garden centers.

• Growing to Give

  Chicagoland Gardening Blog

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am

  Cathy Douglass grows thousands of annual flowers—and happily gives every bloom away. Douglass leads a large group of volunteer gardeners who grow and give flowers to cheer people in need. For the past seven summers, this group from Glen Ellyn’s St. Petronille Church has distributed more than 500 bouquets to clients of the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry, the Esse Adult Day Care Center, and the DuPage County Convalescent Center. Volunteer Charlie Coffey of Glen Ellyn shows off a bouquet from the St. Petronille Church’s Summer Garden. The giving garden fills four 20- x 20-foot plots in the…

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  element's backyard garden

• Datura Fastuosa ‘Double Purple’

  element