I have not picked the first tomato from my garden this year, but I will soon. This has been one of the strangest growing seasons for backyard gardeners in recent memory. It was chilly and wet early, with a killing late frost, and then extremely hot and dry. But it appears August and September will be tolerable. I put out my tomato plants in late April and the vines prospered (except for one … [Read more...]

I couldn’t decide whether to write a piece on mowing grass or an update on Uh-Huh our resident baby bullfrog, so I decided to squeeze both into one article for the Backyard Birds & Buds section. First, grass bags - the kind that attach to lawn mowers. For the past dozen years or more, I have owned lawn mowers with grass bags. Naturally, all the grass clippings find their way into the bag … [Read more...]

There are now a few more bluebirds gracing our neighborhood than before. Our resident pair managed to raise a family despite the sweltering days of late July and early August and the young ones have fledged. Unlike previous bluebird families that used our bluebird box, this family stayed in the yard for several days after the chicks fledged, taking advantage of the free meal worms I put in … [Read more...]

What would an edition of CvilleBuzz be without an update on Uh-Huh the Frog? As I mentioned a few weeks back, Uh-Huh (named after Froggy Went A’ Courting) materialized in our small lily pond. Don’t know where he came from or how he scaled the walls on the side of the pond, but he’s there nonetheless. At first, he was about the size of the tip of your thumb. The little fellow is now much larger, … [Read more...]

My wife Nancy has spent a lot of time working in our yard and it really shows. She has watered and weeded regularly and keeps things trim with edgers and weed eaters. Throughout the yard, her flowers and shrubs are lovely. But the ones I believe both of us are proudest of are the wildflowers she planted around our birdbath. They were perennials and are flowers like you would typically find in a … [Read more...]

He showed up about two weeks ago, a baby frog sitting in the catbird’s seat in our small lily pond. Don’t know how he scaled the three foot sides with a rim, and I don’t know how he even knew there was a pond up there somewhere, but he came and I am delighted. I love frogs. I call our new guest, Uh-Huh”, the same name I have used to describe the 4 or 5 frogs we have had in the past. “Uh-Huh”is … [Read more...]

I saw some the other day. Weeds. Beautiful weeds. Milkweeds, actually. I saw them at Trump National Golf course near Charlotte. They were growing tall and proud beside the cart path. Fortunately, the course manager knows good weeds from bad ones and he left the milkweeds alone. The monarch butterflies thank him for that kind act. Milkweed is the only plant that can sustain a Monarch caterpillar … [Read more...]

People spend a lot of money these days to add beauty to their yards. They hire landscapers to maintain lush, green lawns and install pools and water falls for a soothing backdrop. Homeowners extend patios, add brick walkways and build outdoor kitchens for entertaining. They plant flowers and shrubs and seemingly spare no expense to beautify their yards; yet, the most beautiful addition of all is … [Read more...]

One of the joys of a backyard garden is harvesting a mess of peas – green peas, or sweet peas as I call them. They are called sweet peas because the tasty veggies have both sugar and starch. At the same time, they are extremely healthy, loaded with something called phytonutrients, which provide key antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. That’s all well and good, but the main reason I plant … [Read more...]