Early this morning, after yesterday's rain, the sun began to break through the autumn mist. The grass is still lush, but all bloom has fled from the garden, except for a single pot of verbena blooming in front of the house on this Bloom Day. And indoors only the ever faithful abutilon is blooming. Still, the Thanksgiving cactus is heavily budded and it may bloom right on schedule. For many more Bloom Day treats visit Carol over…
The week of rain and wind have blown all the trees nearly bare, but the rain was much needed, and mild weather in between allowed the garden clean up to continue. Now that so much is bare I can notice and admire details. The few leaves left on my weeping birch can be seen individually, the color and form better admired. I also have to wonder about the brain of this birch. Surely it has a brain, or why else would…
Some people curse the falling leaves. Not me. Of course, since the wind blows all the leaves off my hill, the only labor I have is to collect the bags of leaves from industrious neighbors. I can never get enough. I learned the technique of Cold Composting from the late Larry Leitner. He collected leaves and pressed them down into fence wire frames that he made in various sizes and shapes. He prepared these cold compost piles in…
The Monday Record was intended to show what I had accomplished in the preceeding week, possibly including Monday itself. However, this week I spent a lot of time looking out the window at rain, and wind, and even snow muttering that if I were a Real Gardener I wouldn't let poor weather stop me from attending to all the chores that needed attending to! After five days of below freezing tempeatures, the low temperature today was 27 degrees. After the…
These apples may not be the most beautiful, but they are pretty sound inside which means I spent the afternoon peeling, chopping and boiling them down to make 5 quarts of apple butter, a delicacy I only discovered last year. Two quarts have already been passed along to my oldest daughter and her family. They like apple butter on black pumpernickel bread, we like it on French toast. There is hardly any way to use apples that is…
After a chilly, even cold, week we are now enjoying a sunny warm spell. Autumn begins tomorrow but the fall into the golden season is now a gentle one. I am looking forward to a mild week because there is a lot to do in the garden. In spite of the chill, I did get to observe the eradication of the Mile-a-Minute vine in Greenfield, and visit some other gardens last week. I cannot stress how dangerous this…
'Life will not be denied!" is the cry that often goes up when I am in the garden, especially when I'm pulling weeds that have come up in the path through layers of cardboard and wood chips. Sometimes the undenied life is beautiful like this tendril of a Grandpa Ott morning glory that just peeked through the slats in the Welcoming Platform in front of the house. A couple of years ago I planted a teepee of Grandpa Otts…
Katarina at Roses and Stuff invites us all to share what is in bloom on Blooming Fridays. How many more will there be before the cold shuts down the outdoor show? I'm sure I have the name of this dahlia somewhere. The cosmos are from Renee's Garden seeds. Foxy Lady has already made her way into bouquets. Patty Cake has just begun blooming. This nameless hydrangea has been blooming for over a month. I love Red! Especially scarlet…
My wisteria has gone wild. Tendrils are twisting everywhere. New shoots are coming up everywhere. The wisteria’s genetic vitality has never been so vigorous. I am blaming it all on the cool and rainy summer. My history with this wisteria is long and varied. During our first year in China we saw many beautiful wisterias with their graceful pendant flowers blooming everywhere from the long gorgeous pergola in Purple Bamboo Park, to humble trellises in dusty…
Late blight has infected my tomatoes. Yesterday afternoon I went out to pick more beans and noticed that the single dead tomato branch was now several dead branches on all six of my tomato plants. It is difficult to see in the photo against the straw mulch, but the reality was very clear. If there was any doubt, one look at the tomatoes made it imperative to take instant and radical action. I pulled up all the plants and…