My garden did okay this year. Several weeks of 90 degree-plus weather and no rain sure slowed things down, but overall, my tomatoes were decent. If a back yard gardener can only get a few good tomatoes, all is not lost. Last year, my tomatoes were almost perfect, only 1 or 2 had end rot. I had a bumper crop, but I didn’t particularly care for the tomatoes. The skins were tough, and the inside … [Read more...]

Recently, Nancy observed a striking bee-like creature feeding on our patch of aromatic Mountain Mint. The black and white bee with purple wings is actually a wasp – a Mason Wasp. They are found in the Eastern part of the United States in mid- to late summer, a frequent visitor to nectar producing plants such as goldenrods, snakeroots, and mountain mint. The striped wasps are solitary creatures … [Read more...]

I have found that there are two vegetables that like hot weather – okra and peppers. If you plant either one in early May, they often sit there and sulk, biding their time, waiting for hot weather, then they take off if you give them a bit of water. Nancy had several pepper plants in her above-ground garden and one plant grew like a weed, but no blooms and no peppers. It was four feet high, … [Read more...]

I decided to plant some spaghetti squash this spring and started three plants indoors - replanting in early May. I noticed, though, that the pack of seeds said a “fall melon” but that I could plant in the spring. Two of the vines made it and one of them produced a single melon, which grew to about the size of a grapefruit, then stopped growing. I finally picked it, we ate it, and it was good. … [Read more...]

My spring garden was okay. I got a mess of sweet peas, all the green onions I wanted and some nice leaf lettuce. My summer garden? Not so much. The squash bombed, the cukes fizzled out and I planted a row of green beans that never saw the light of day. A summer drought will do that. My tomatoes saved the day.  I have had regular pickings of Better Boys and Cherry Tomatoes. A glutton for … [Read more...]

It was Nancy’s birthday and I wanted to give her something special. She enjoys (really and truly) canning and I have given canning paraphernalia in the past. I even gave her an apron with her nickname,“Pepperella”, on it since she loves to can peppers. I scanned Amazon for canning gift ideas and saw an electric canner. I didn’t know such things existed, but I rolled the dice and ordered one. She … [Read more...]

The squirrels had planted a mysterious plant in one on Nancy’s flower beds and we decided to watch it grow and see what it was. As I regularly toss out cantaloupe and melon seeds for the pesky rodents, I figured a melon, but it turned out to be an ordinary yellow squash plant. At first, I couldn’t imagine how they got hold of squash seeds – I never throw them out when we have squash. Then I … [Read more...]

Our friend, Hal Hurka, came over not long ago and helped us get rid of some Lenten Roses – they will take over everything. He dug a bunch of them up, and though he didn’t have to, he gave us an amaryllis in return. It grew, Nancy transplanted it and it now has one of the most beautiful blooms you’ll ever see on any flower, anywhere. I didn’t know much about the amaryllis flower, but I always … [Read more...]

Along about February and early March, the Gardening Bug bites me. Since it’s too early to plant most stuff outdoors, I typically start a few plants indoors from seed. No more. I started cucumber and squash plants indoors this spring and they bombed. Nothing, Nanda, Zilch. The problem with starting young plants indoors is the timing. Often, the plants emerge before they’re ready to be … [Read more...]

We had a hydrangea bush in the yard when we moved in some fifty years ago. It’s still going strong and is as lovely as ever. This year, the bush is outdoing itself in splendor. As it evolves this year, we have pink, blue, lavender, and mint green colors. Hydrangeas mainly flower in shades of blue, pink, and white, but the coloring can depend on the type of soil. Some hydrangeas produce blue … [Read more...]