Many thanks to Colorblends for partnering with me on this post. Funny how a little critter can influence your plant choices. That's what it's come to these days. While many of you battle deer, I have an ongoing row with rabbits so my spring bulb selections are always made accordingly. As a result, I have plenty of daffodils, alliums, blue squill, and Summer snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum), but I want what I can't have. Tulips. Or can I? Word on the street is species tulips are the way to go. Despite several attempts at growing the runway model types often splashed across garden magazines every spring, rabbits, both wild and domesticated, find their way into my garden and mow them down. It's a problem. I mentioned the domesticated rabbit because my former neighbor grew tired of his ...
Virginia Creeper, the Native Vine I’ll NEVER Plant Again
Here's the thing about Virginia Creeper, it gets you in trouble with your neighbors. My garden is the epicenter of the neighborhood plantdemic. How can I deny its origin when a portion of my fence is covered with it? It's like saying you never took the cookie when your mouth is covered with crumbs. My neighbor and sarcastic gardening friend, Jim, approached me earlier this year with a leaf in hand and a smirk on his face. The conversation went like this... Jim: Recognize this? (As he rolls the stem between his fingers, spinning the leaf in my face.) Me: Go home Jim. Jim: Yeah, I thought so. He lives across the street from me and discovered several vines growing in his backyard garden which is about 60 yards away from the point of origin, also known as my garden. I ...
It Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Says “Asters”
I did it again. Bought more plants, that is. A few days ago, I was declaring my relief that the gardening season was coming to an end. All it took were the words "Buy One, Get One" and "Asters" and I was out the door, driving an hour south to one of my favorite places on Earth, Woldhuis Farms Sunrise Greenhouse, to grab eight asters for the price of four. I called first to make sure they had the variety I wanted. Quantity was limited, she said, which evoked an urgency on par with the flood of emotion likely felt by Imelda Marcos, wife of ousted Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, when she learned her shoe shopping days were over (at the time, she had over 1,000 pairs of shoes in her closet). So I went. Fast. At just $3.99/ plant, I scored eight Wood's Blue asters for $16, a far cry ...
September is for Dividing Bearded Iris, Finally
Why can't things be more like a Ronco Rotisserie? You know the kind. "Set it and forget it." Simply set the timer, walk away, and hours later your masterpiece, in this case a chicken, is juicy and ready to eat. The garden equivalent for a weary gardener would be one where every plant in your garden is planted (the set it part) and it stays beautiful for decades without any more work from you (the forget it part). It's September and that's where my mind is right now. I'm tired and ready for fall. And unlike the rotisserie, that expression certanly doesn't apply to gardening, unless maybe you're a yew or giant redwood. But September can't pass without one more necessary task. Since I've put it off for too many years, it's time to divide the bearded irises. If you're new to irises, it's ...
Perennial Hibiscus: Bridging the Gap Between Summer and Fall
I discovered perennial hibiscus almost two decades ago when I spotted Lady Baltimore's enormous pink blooms from across the parking lot of a local home improvement store. I wasn't looking for her, she just found me as most plants do. That happens a lot. At the time, I knew nothing about perennial hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) other than I had to have this tropical looking beauty in my garden. She met her end that next spring when I assumed she was dead and dug her out, only to discover hibiscus is late to rise and often doesn't show signs of life until well into May here in my zone 5 garden. Oops. Perennial hibiscus resumes growth in the spring when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees F and is hardy in zones 4-9. For gardeners in colder climates, this might mean that your plant doesn't ...
What To Do With So Many Jalapenos?
I'm not going to pretend to be a canning pro. If you're looking for advice on that, please look elsewhere. For me, canning is a problem solver and, this early in the game, an experiment. I have more homegrown vegetables than I know what to do with! We should all have such problems, right? But, more specifically, I have more jalapenos than we can possibly eat. Unlike the cherry tomatoes they pop in their mouthes passing through the kitchen, the kids aren't reaching for the jalapenos. My husband, however, is a different story. You say "hot pepper" and he starts salivating much like I do when I hear "chocolate." He's a heat addict and until recently, would eat them like one would a banana. His tolerance blows my mind and I grew the jalapenos just for him. The problem is, his stomach ...
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