View from my hammock...

I get asked all the time if I'm ever able to just sit and relax and enjoy my gardens.

I admit, it is hard to relax in the gardens. It seems like every time I sit down to relax I see tons of stuff that needs to be done. Those weeds need to be pulled, that plant needs to be repotted, the grass needs to be mowed... sometimes the list of chores can seem never-ending.

Even though my to do list never seems to shrink, I make a point to set it aside and enjoy my gardens as much as possible during the summer. It's not all work.

Oh, and my idea of relaxing might not be the same as yours. I find it relaxing to weed and trim my gardens. I lose track of time and let my mind wonder. But laying in the hammock, reading a book (and sometimes sipping on a cold beverage) is the best!

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This week's harvest - broccoli

This week I have been enjoying beans like crazy along with kohlrabi, and I just added broccoli to the harvest. After cleaning everything, I threw them in the steamer for 15 minutes and they were perfect! Yummy!!! I am also starting to get a steady stream of tomatoes.
























































Check out these yard long beans! They are so fun to grow!!




















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The secret for overwintering caladium bulbs?

I am a sucker, every year I buy caladiums because they are so beautiful and unique. And every year I have tried to overwinter them with no success. I have tried every way I know how to overwinter these bulbs and have never had one grow even a sprout the next year. I have talked to many seasoned garden pros about their experiences with overwintering these bulbs hoping to get some tips... only to find out that they have all given up and no longer bother trying to overwinter them.

So I tried yet again this year. I dragged the pots of overwintered caladium bulbs out in early spring and let them sit in the shade, making sure to keep the soil evenly moist...and there they sat for a few months. As usual, nothing happened. I finally gave up on them and dumped the contents of the pots into the compost bin. That's it, I'm done. From now on, caladiums are going to be annuals around here....

...but wait, what's this growing out of my compost bin?!?...



What the...? Ok, apparently the key to successfully overwintering caladium bulbs is to leave them in a pot until June and then throw them in the compost bin and bury them with kitchen waste and dirt? I am confused!

I don't know what to do now, should I just leave them growing in the compost bin all summer? Should I dig them up and put them in a pot? Ugh, now I'm gonna have to overwinter them again this year (I can't give up now!).

Are there any pros out there that have successfully overwintered caladium bulbs (not accidentally like me)? Got any tips for me?

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Tips for keeping the garden tidy

Now is the time of year when some areas of the garden can start to look overgrown and weedy. In my gardens, the spring and early summer perennials are done blooming for the year but their foliage is still bushy.

The foliage of these overgrown plants is hiding the stuff that's blooming now, taking the focus off them. If left unkempt, the gardens can start to look very tired by mid-summer. This can be a big frustration for some gardeners who don't know how to keep their gardens looking tidy.

To keep your gardens looking tidy, trim back spent perennials. This will also help to make the current bloomers stand out and to keep things tidy through the summer. Some plants that are trimmed will even start to get new growth and fill out again, looking revitalized. 

Here are a few examples of garden areas I tidied up...


The salvia in the middle of this picture is mostly done blooming and looks worn out. 


It is consuming the space and taking the attention off of the other plants around it.


Contrast that with this picture. 

 
I cut the salvia down to the bottom of the flower spikes. 



Now the day lilies, variegated yucca and rudbeckia really stand out and it looks much cleaner. 

Here is another example...




In this picture, the overgrown plant in the middle is catmint. 

Like the salvia above, it is done blooming for the summer and looks very overgrown. 

Time for a haircut!







Here is what the space looks like after simply trimming down the catmint. 

Hello hydrangea! 

A couple days after doing this, the oriental lily (far left center) that was buried under the catmint started blooming like crazy. 

There was also a bell flower hidden under there that I forgot I even had (I think I'll move that)!

Here are a few tips that I hope will help you in your quest to keep your mid-summer gardens looking tidy...

• Don't cut the foliage all the way down to the ground this early in the season, unless it has died back. Plants need their foliage in order to build energy for blooming next year.
• Keep in mind that if you're planning on collecting seeds, you will want to leave the flower heads on the plant so they can set seed.
  
• If you're not planning on collecting the seeds, then it's best to deadhead (cut off the dead flower heads) your plants when they are done blooming. This encourages the plant to concentrate it's energy on new foliage growth rather than spending it's energy producing seed.

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Early July Blooms

Here's what's blooming in my gardens right now....

Gladiolus (tropical bulb)

Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks)

Hollyhock Alcea rosea

Echinacea 'White Swan' (Coneflower)

Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

Daylily 'Fun Fling' (?)

Daylily 'Route 66'

Yarrow

White Bellflower

What's bloomin' in your gardens?

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Fertilizing your flower beds

Recently a reader asked if I would consider writing a post about fertilizing flower gardens. I have to admit, I don't really fertilize my flower gardens. I use Preen with slow release fertilizer in my gardens once in early spring and once in late fall. I do this mainly to keep the weeds down, but I buy the stuff with fertilizer in it for the added benefit of fertilizing the gardens too. That's it, that is all I do for fertilizing my flower gardens.

Fertilizing is a very broad and large topic. Each plant in your garden could have different needs as far as when to fertilize, how much to fertilize, and what type of fertilizer to use. You just have go to your local garden center and look at all the different types of fertilizer they have and you will see what I mean, it's overwhelming.

I am not going to attempt to get into the science of fertilizer in one blog post. Here I will just try to touch on some basic and general guidelines for fertilizing your flower beds.

First and foremost, it's important to understand that you can harm your plants if you use too much fertilizer or fertilize at the wrong time. As far as fertilizer is concerned, more is not better.The best thing to do is to read and follow the directions on the fertilizer package.

Very broadly, there are two types of fertilizer; slow release fertilizers and liquid fertilizers. Slow release types don't need to be applied very often and last longer, while liquid types benefit the plants faster but will need to be applied more often.

Here are some other tips:

• Don't fertilize during the dry hot summer months, or when a plant is dried out. Plants that are very dry will soak up the fertilizer much quicker than plants that are well hydrated. The risk of burning your plants with fertilizer is much higher during this time.
• Plants that have fertilizer burn will look wilted and dried out, similar to plants that are under watered. If you over-fertilized a plant, the best thing to do is water, water, water and try to dilute and wash away the fertilizer as much as you can.
• Stick with a balanced, general purpose fertilizer if you are planning to fertilize your whole garden at once. Look for the numbers 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 or something similar on the label. Generally for blooming plants, you could buy a fertilizer where the center number on the label is higher. The Preen I use is at 9-12-9.
• Keep dry fertilizer off the leaves of your plants as it could burn the leaves. After spreading the dry fertilizer, water the your gardens well so the fertilizer will start to soak in.
• Some slow release fertilizers last several months, and it's good to apply a slow release fertilizer in the fall to give your plants the boost they need in early spring.
• With liquid fertilizers, generally perennials should be fed in early spring and once or twice during the summer months.
• Spread the compost from your compost bin in your flower beds for a natural fertilizer. Well composted organic materials won't burn your plants, are much less expensive than chemical products and compost works great.
  

Now I would like to hear from you about fertilizing the gardens. Do you regularly fertilize your flower beds? If so, what type of fertilizer do you use and how often do you apply it?

I enjoy receiving requests for blog post topics so if you have any ideas for a topic that you would like me to write about, please let me know.


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Harvest udpate - Beans and my first tomato

What's for dinner tonight? Let's take a walk out in the vegetable garden and see...

In this week's harvest, I've added beans and my first ripe tomato! I'm also still enjoying salads here with fresh lettuce from the garden. It was such a treat to add tomato to my salad this time! I also ate more kohlrabi and peas.


I've only gotten one ripe tomato so far. It was a small tomato, not much larger than a grape tomato. This type is called yellow pear. It was a bit over ripe, I haven't had this kind before so I wasn't sure when to pick it. But it was still great in my salad! I will be quicker to harvest the next ones (and can't wait for more!!).
















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Collecting Seeds

At this time of the year, I'm betting the last thing on most of your minds is collecting seeds. I know it seems early to start thinking about collecting seeds, this seems like something you would only need to think about in the fall. But seed collection is something I start about this time of year and continue doing all summer and through the fall.

Spring blooming plants are done flowering now and they are staring to set seed. Some people like to cut the spent (dead) flowers off of all their plants as soon as they are done blooming. I am not that quick, plus I like to leave the flower heads on the plants so I can collect the seeds.

Timing is everything for success with seeds. If you collect them too early, they will probably not be as viable as they would if you waited. But if you wait too long, the seeds will all be dropped or blown away and you will get nothing but an empty seed pod.

You will know the seed pod is ready to harvest when it is brown and dried out. Sometimes the seed pod will break open and you can see the seeds spilling out.




If you're not sure if a seed pod is ready to be harvested, it's probably best to wait. Keep checking every day until you see seeds. You could also gently shake the seed pod over a container to see if anything falls out. Also, if you hear the seeds rattling around, then it's probably ready. Check out the post I wrote last fall, Seeds, seeds everywhere for more tips on collecting seeds.

This week I have collected seeds from my poppies (picture 1 above), Lupine (picture 2 above), Allium (picture 3 below) and Columbine (picture 4 below).



Other seeds I have collected this week, or will be ready to collect soon are:

• Foxglove
• Sweet William
• Dianthus
• Salvia
• Chives
  
• Allium
• Columbine

Have you been collecting seeds? What are your favorite plants to save seeds from and what do you do with those seeds?


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What's Bloomin' - late June

So many blooms, so little time...

Bee Balm

Rudbeckia hirta 'Autumn Colors'

Bell Flower

Orange Daylily

Daylily 'Little Women'

Rudbeckia

Veronica

Loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata 'Firecracker'

Hydrenga

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Holy cabbage leaves, literally!

Do you have holes in the leaves of your cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower or any other plant in the cabbage family?

Yes, what is it? There are several different types of bugs that feed on plants in the cabbage family, the ones that I have every year are called the Cabbage Looper. This is the larvae of a moth that is found throughout North America. You can easily see them if you inspect the undersides of the leaves, they are small green caterpillars. Look close because they tend to blend in to the leaves. They can also attack other vegetable leaves, but are most commonly seen to eat the leaves of plants in the cabbage family.

Should I be worried? If the damage on your plants is minor like mine, you don't have to worry about it. This small amount of damage won't hurt the plant, or your harvest. If the damage is severe, you will want to take action. Severely damaged plants growth can be stunted and they may not produce a head.

What can I do? Although insecticides are effective, I'm guessing that you don't want to use insecticides on your vegetables. The best, most natural way to treat your plants for this pest is to hand pick off the caterpillars and destroy them. This sounds like a lot of work and it is at first, but if you're diligent, your problem will go away pretty quickly.

The life-cycle of the Cabbage Looper in this feeding stage is only 3 to 4 weeks. They will then create cocoons on the undersides of the leaves, so you will want to make sure to destroy those too. There can be multiple generations of Cabbage Loopers in one season.

As with fighting any pest, persistence is the key. Good luck and keep fighting the good fight!

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Love/Hate relationship with nature

I am a city girl. I grew up in the city and have lived in the city most of my life. The house I grew up in had a six foot privacy fence surrounding the backyard so needless to say, we did not see much nature in our yard growing up.

Today I live in the wide open expanse of immature trees and green grass that is suburbia...and I have a love/hate relationship with nature. Although I hardly live in the country, I have to deal with much more nature now than I ever have in my life and it's been a difficult adjustment at times.



I love the birds that visit my yard and I keep the feeders filled for them (and strategically placed so my cats can enjoy the birds too). I also have a bird house, and the birds build nests like crazy in my arborvitaes and evergreen tree every year.

I enjoy watching the frogs and salamanders that visit my ponds frequently to hang out. It's so cool to watch the hummingbirds and butterflies feed on my flowers and I love being able to see lightening bugs and the stars at night. Sometimes I even get to see northern lights! The occasional ducks waddling in the yard and loons flying overhead singing their song is pretty cool too.

But...
I have never been very fond of bugs, (although as a gardener I have come to tolerate the "good" bugs) and in suburbia there's no shortage of bugs. I have seen a ton of bugs in my suburban gardens that I have never seen in my life. I really hate flying insects, especially the stinging kind! When I hear buzzing, I hit the deck. Though over the years I have come to like honey bees and no longer fear them when I am surrounded by them in the garden. Wasps on the other hand I will never like, they terrify and disgust me (even though I know they are one of the good bugs).

However, since moving to suburbia my biggest nemesis has been rabbits! I have tried pretty much all of the methods I've heard of to keep rabbits from eating my plants, I won't even get into all the things I have tried (that is a whole blog post in itself). I am very happy that I don't have to deal with deer (knock on wood!!), I've heard they are way worse than rabbits!! I hate to admit it, but I love to see the birds of prey in my neighborhood because they help control the rabbits. I love the hawks, owls and even bald eagles that we see in our neighborhood!! We also have coyotes and fox that help me in the battle against those furry little pests!

My latest brush with nature in this neighborhood has been with raccoons. I have only seen one and so far they have only gotten into the garbage and the compost once, and haven't bothered my gardens. This is one of the pests we had to deal with living in the city, but from what I remember, we only had to make sure to keep the lid secure on the garbage cans. Should I be worried about these new neighborhood dwellers? Will they eat or dig up anything in my gardens?

Squirrels are another little fury pest that I worry about. So far, the trees in my neighborhood are small enough that we don't have squirrels. I know it's only a matter of time before I have to deal with these pests too. This is my dad's biggest nemesis, in the city squirrels are everywhere. They dig up the bulbs and potted plants, they eat the tomatoes and are pretty much impossible to control. I will enjoy my freedom from squirrels while it lasts.

Over the years of gardening in suburbia, I have come to tolerate my brushes with nature, although I will never completely love it! So, what about you? What do you love about nature in your backyard? What is your biggest nemesis in the gardens?

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