The main task for these past few beautiful days has been setting up the new garden in front of the house which gets protection from the wind, and sun early in the season. I thought I could plant hardy vegetables here and start my harvest early. Once again I used the lasagna method of starting a new garden. First I put down old chick house cleanings in lieu of finished compost. We did not get chicks last year…
What a weekend. While I am waiting for the snow to melt I had a glorious weekend thinking about - and looking at flowers! On Saturday I got to meet Kerry Mendez, the spirited, humorous and knowledgeable keynote speaker at the Master Gardener's Spring Symposium on Saturday. She engaged the audience in lively conversation and talked about how to have a successful flower garden- choose the right plant for the right site - and gave great design tips. Fortunately, if…
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…
'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…
Lilian Jackman, owner, grower and general factotum of Wilder Hill Gardens, invited me over to see the late summer garden. I found her at her shady potting bench, situated so that she could keep working in the heat of the day. I admired the thought that went into the design and siting of the potting bench, but did not feel up to the concept of working all morning, having a little lunch and digesting time and then setting…