Those 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…
september garden activities
September 1, 2018bountiful harvest
August 27, 2018Hi all! A quick post with a garden update on the veggies I’ve been picking from the garden. Not extravagant but considering how late I started and how little effort I’ve put in this year, it’s a bountiful harvest and I’m pretty happy all around. The tomatoes and peppers are winding down, and there are still veggies to come – more onions for sure! and hopefully cucumbers and more squash. Also, just yesterday I put in kale, spinach, lettuce and…
how to: 8 foot trellis for your climbing plants
August 13, 2018Hi all! Earlier in the summer we built and installed an 8-foot garden trellis in one of our raised beds. I gave you a peek of it back in June. The idea is to use this bed for those plants that climb and vine. This year I am growing cucumbers and squash in this bed. I was pretty late getting my seeds into the ground this year and will be happily surprised if they produce before the cooler weather starts…
daily harvest to date this year (in photos!)
August 7, 2018Greetings, my gardening friends. Harvest has been meager this year and many things have failed. But(!), isn’t that just the way it goes sometimes as a gardener. Not every year is stellar. This year, rather than notating in my garden journal what I pick each day, I am photographing it and posting to my Instagram, here. To save you the trouble of clicking over, here are all the daily harvest photos to date. This captures almost everything (like i said,…
book review: french dirt by richard goodman
August 5, 2018I’ve spent this Sunday afternoon in the best way: finishing up a satisfying book while enjoying some shade outside in the garden. The book “French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France” was originally published in 1991. Knowing that gardeners love hearing about the experiences of other gardeners, I’d like to share my thoughts on this charming, memoir style book by Richard Goodman. The title alone is sublime – how could I pass this up? An…
good news from the doc & homemade tomato soup
August 2, 2018If you read yesterday’s post, then you probably know I recently had a follow-up MRI on my spine to help determine if there is further degeneration due to MS. According to my doctor this morning, there is not!! I am over the moon excited about this. The symptoms I am having right now are likely related to old nerve damage. When I got home this afternoon, more good news – a lot of tomatoes ready for harvesting. So, this… Became…
time alone
July 23, 2018I am sticking with my intention to read the book Simple Abundance throughout the year, more or less. I’m not diligent, but I do pick it up every few days and read the entry for that day. In today’s entry Sarah talks to us about spending time alone. Sometimes it is necessary to snatch time whenever we can find it. This may mean in the very early morning, the wee hours late into the night, or at some point in…
i’m digging…
July 19, 2018This week I am digging a gorgeous new canna lily I picked up at Meijer over the weekend. I’ve had cannas in the past, years ago, and then I got over the whole “dig them up and store them inside over the winter for replanting next year” thing. Too much trouble! Am I the only one who thinks this way? Then I met Canna ‘Red Shades’ – WOW! – this one made me change my mind. This is the actual…
