Greetings! As I am working to clean up the garden for fall, I thought it would be fun (and a bright, colorful lookback) to look at some photos of the most recent pickings from the veggie garden. Sadly, I pulled the last veggies this week, if you don’t count some leafy greens that are still in the ground. Happy Gardening to You!…
october garden activities
October 8, 2018Hi all! We are well into October and I meant to post this sooner…here is what I am working on in my Zone 6 garden this month. Some of these tasks are carryovers from last month. Some other things that one might consider doing at this time of year: Save excess seed for next year. (I’m still not seed-saving…yes, yes, I know. I will get there.) Make sure to cover tender plants when frosts are forecast. Use blankets, sheets or…
make garden cleanup fun!
October 1, 2018Around this time last year, the man and I were on vacation. This year, no such luck! I am on garden cleanup duty. As much as I love(!) making my garden bigger each year, the hard truth is: the bigger the garden, the more fall cleanup there will be. If this is something you don’t necessarily enjoy (like me), I’ll be sharing some ideas later in the post that might make this task more enjoyable. As for my own garden, there…
those amazing bats!
September 24, 2018I’m talking about those flying mammals that seem to evoke a love ’em or hate ’em response in us. It may not surprise you guys to know that I fall squarely into the “love ’em” group. Sure, they do look a tad scary and they may not have the kind of face that makes you want to kiss them on the nose (like my sweet labrador, Trixie, has), but they are truly unusual and cool animals. Some interesting facts about…
how to: divide peony plants
September 21, 2018We have some peonies around the place – my very favorite flower. If you missed my post on exactly how crazy I am over peonies, check it out. Today’s post is all about dividing peonies. When we moved here I was very happy to see that there were already some peonies planted. I’ve intended to divide the ones here in order to move some closer to the house almost every year since we moved here six years ago. Knowing that…
book review: forest bathing by dr. qing li
September 17, 2018In his book Forest Bathing, published this year, Dr. Li starts off by reminding us how good it feels to be in nature. It eases our stress, gives us energy, and helps us to think more clearly. We have known about these benefits for millennia. He set out to understand, from a concrete, scientific perspective, what this secret power of trees is all about. This book is the result of his studies. The Japanese have a practice they call shinrin-yoku,…
the sun is back and the days are shorter
September 16, 2018The beautiful sun came back to us! If you have been reading along, you may know that gloom was setting in. I am so happy to report that the sun is back, even though the days are shorter now. I’m kinda getting used to that; after all, it has always been that way in the decades that I have been on this earth (and, of course, much much longer than that!). The change of seasons from summer to fall means…
when you haven’t seen the sun for days…
September 12, 2018Although it’s not official just yet, it feels as if fall has descended upon us this week. I think it was in the 90s last week and I had big hopes for the veggie garden to keep on producing. High temps this week have been in the 60s and the skies are gloomy. Not to mention the non-stop rain for days… I wanted to go into the veggie garden yesterday evening to pick the last of the tomatoes and was…
mum’s the word (or not…)
September 10, 2018Those beautiful mums are just about everywhere right now. That being so, a couple years back I made the executive decision to stop buying mums as part of fall decorating. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the way they look – those gorgeous colors! However, I’ve run into a couple things that I don’t quite like and for me, mum’s the word no longer applies. One thing that drives me crazy is that they look so picture perfect at…
autumn – the best time to plant
September 4, 2018Hey all! This time of year, many of the local nurseries are having end of season sales. Best thing ever! Okay, maybe not ever, but it’s pretty darn sweet. Did you know that autumn is the best time to plant many (or even most??) trees and perennials? It’s true! There are a few reasons that fall planting will frequently result in better success than spring or summer planting. the cooler weather allows the plant to get established without the heat…
