In spite of spotty frosts that we have had all week, the cosmos in the new Front Garden, as well as the Shed Bed are still blooming. They are protected in both spaces. I was able to take a big bouquet to church with me yesterday. While the cosmos still look summery, it was time to get down to those autumnal chores. My husband took a break from splitting firewood to dig sod and enlarge the southern Lawn…
Thinking there might be a Flower Boy or two, the bride's attendants were billed as Flower Children, but the boys did not appear, or at least not in the procession. I didn't get a photo until they were sitting at the bride and groom's feet as they listened to tales of Amperands, jars of blueberries, roots and fruitfulness, and other things that made the 10 year old boys among the attendees squirm. But to take a step back. When…
If Alma Potchke is blooming it must be September Bloom Day. I thank Carol at May Dreams Gardens for thinking of this wonderful way to keep a bloom record of my own garden, and to see what else is in bloom over this land. This beautiful achillea has bloomed beautifully all summer. It is at the end of the lettuce bed in the new Front Garden which means it has gotten watered along with the lettuce, including the…
Last week I set out the sprinkler to water the vegetable garden for 45 minutes. I have not NOT watered anything else for weeks. Then I turned on the hose to water the chickens. I heard the phone ring and ran into the house. When I got back to the hose - it was dry. I turned off the spigot, went into the house and turned on the taps. No water. We have a drilled well, and have…
August is not rose season for me, but since it is Three for Thursday I thought I would report progress on The Rose Bank. When we had work done on our house foundation that end of the house had to be regraded, and my thought was to eliminate lawn mowing on that slope I could cover it with roses. The blackberry thicket that had been growing there has been more persistent than I expected, but I have been…
I don't think a cutting garden is really supposed to look like this. A cutting garden is supposed to give each plant room to breathe. But here are scarlet bee balm, Hot Crayon Color zinnias from Renee's Garden, bachelor's buttons, gomphrena, and Hot Biscuits amaranth from Seed Savers looking like they are at a crowded cocktail party. Golden rod and tansy and mint in the surrounding field - all blooming. I thought Gomphrena would be great for bouquets…
Rosa setigera, otherwise known as the Cherokee rose or Prairie rose is the only climbing rose native to North America. Its range is from Canada to Texas, as far west as Nebraska and Kansas. I bought my plant at Nasami Farm in Whately last year. My rose collection was calling out for a native American rose. I was told that although this is listed as a climber most people let it just grow into a mounded tangle. I didn't really…
After days of talking to the 70 other bloggers who gathered in Buffalo for a preview of the Buffalo Garden Walk I have a whole new appreciation for Bloom Day, created and hosted by Carol (who I got to meet!) of May Dreams Gardens. For other mortals talk about the weather is banal chit chat, but for us bloggers, and all gardeners, it is shop talk. It is a topic filled with endless fascination - and we see…
Quietness is a Griffith Buck rose I saw last fall at the New York Botanical Garden. I knew I had to have it. I ordered it from Chamblee Roses, planted it this spring, and it is just starting to bloom. The pale color and beautiful shape are perfectly serene. I will be serene because Buck roses are very hardy. Other Buck roses in my garden are Applejack, Hawk eye Belle, Prairie Harvest and Carefree Beauty. I planted Buck's…