Back from vacation and checkin' out the garden status. I'm struggling with this young miracle fruit (synsopalum dulcificum) and I need some advise. It's supposed to be a very slow growing plant; it indeed is. However, it should be a bushy, healthy plant given all the attention I pay to it. . . .
reBlogged
to plants
Posted by ldybug Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2008-08-07, 06:26:36
We survived the tropical storm and everybody showed up to work today in Houston. With most of my morning meetings canceled, I visited a company that is making eco-waves in the garden and home world, the Olive Barn. The proprietor is Jacqueline D'Elia and the product is a smart line of responsibility produced in vogue products (insert the words of your choice: eco-friendly, green, fair trade, sustainable). . . .
I'm not sure who did the landscaping, but this house on Pinquickset Cove on at the end of a narrow peninsula in Cotuit, MA -- looking out to Popponesset Bay -- was designed by architect Peter Forbes & Associates, Inc of Boston. The wind-swept landscape, however, is perfect for the...
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to design
Posted by Jane Berger Reblogged by Old Roses to design on 2008-08-07, 06:25:29
Catch me tomorrow (Thursday, 8/7) on Channel 4 at 4pm. Here is the little bump they gave me at their blog today. We'll be talking weeding, slugs, and weather - oh my! Yes, all the glamorous gardening topics. Now if I was really ambitious I'd set out some slug traps in the garden tonight so I'd have a few to show on the air tomorrow. The thought though of catching and transporting them with me on the metro to the studio is giving me the creeps. Can you imagine if the container broke open in transit? Urgh!
This is a patio peach called Bonfire. I came out one day and noticed white fluff covering almost the entire tree. It didn't appear to be moving. I'm not sure what it is, but I took a soapy wash rag and wiped it all down. The white fluff seemed to have redish-brown, flat specks under it that flaked off when rubbed.
reBlogged
to pests
Posted by Amy Reblogged by Old Roses to pests on 2008-08-07, 06:24:55
My poetry for this month was delayed because of technical difficulties with Wordpress’s picture uploading feature. Please forgive me, Carolyn Gail. If you’d like to read more musings, go to Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. It’s a monthly game many of us play. You’re welcome to play too. There is always more room.
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to whimsy
on Aug 6, 2008, 9:32AM
Posted by Dee Reblogged by Old Roses to whimsy on 2008-08-07, 06:24:44
You turn your back on the garden for one minute and everything changes. We spent a good part of the weekend weeding, trimming, deadheading, and generally prettying-up the vegetable garden. I picked a semi-ripe tomato before I left for Illinois. The spouse picked a couple of almost-ripe tomatoes while I was gone, and we picked a few more last weekend. The reason I didn't blog about them was that they weren't very pretty - some cracked, some with green shoulders (some varieties are supposed to be that way, but still), some catfaced - and all delicious I might add. But this morning, I read Carol's post asking us to show off our UGLY tomatoes. Hey - I can do that!
reBlogged
to tomatoes
Posted by Entangled Reblogged by Old Roses to tomatoes on 2008-08-07, 06:24:24
Last year I couldn't resist buying some tree faces to add personality and character to our trees. Unfortunately during one of the wind and rain storms we had this year the mouth of one of those faces fell off and broke. Now this mouth had already been broken last year and I had glued it back together. You can just see the cracks on the photo to the left. . . .
Does this qualify as a ripe tomato? If it does, I think the vegetable gardeners at Purdyville have beat out Carol of May Dreams Gardens for the first tomato. My 23-year-old daughter started the seeds...
reBlogged
to tomatoes
on Aug 6, 2008, 1:09PM
Posted by Kathy Purdy Reblogged by Old Roses to tomatoes on 2008-08-07, 06:23:43
The vegetable garden is giving us more and more of a harvest and I thought I’d pass along a few tips that will help you increase the yield of your basic crops. Think of it as a advanced vegetable gardening tips. . . .
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to vegetables gardening
on Aug 6, 2008, 1:15PM
A new Podcast series available for free from Bulb experts Brent and Becky Bulbs on iTunes On my last trip to Japan, I spent some time loading up my iPhone with entertainment for iTunes. During online searches, I discovered the joy of the free uploads of many podcasts, and video. Podcasts are available for you to subscribe to, mostly free, from many sources, from lectures from the major universities such as Dartmouth or Yale on many subjects, including entire course lectures. This was a side of digital entertainment that I never new existed, for I am hardly a digi-geek. . . .
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to podcast
Posted by Matt Reblogged by Old Roses to podcast on 2008-08-07, 06:22:35
It seems that the rash of blossom end rot was short lived. I do have one tomato plant that looks pretty awful and which I don't expect to make it. Other than that, things seem to be doing ok. Tomatoes of all shapes and colors are coming out of my garden, ripe and healthy, every few days now. . . .
This is one tough little gardenia bush. I have two bushes which flank both sides of my entry doorway. It is a heavenly experience when they are in bloom to enter and exit the front door. The alcove of the entry creates an envelope of frangrance. . ..
Spiny and prickly, these cucumbers are a surprise to me. I thought I had purchased English cucumbers (hot house cucumber) and couldn't figure out why they looked so different.
Finally, I double checked the tag. Japanese cucumbers! I think the largest one is ready to harvest. My son is coming home from university tomorrow so it will be perfect to pick and prepare for his first night home.
If there is a tool, gadget or something shiny, the chances are that I'll be thinking about buying it. More than a year ago, I made the mistake of buying something that was two of those descriptors: a shiny tool. . ..
reBlogged
to tools
Posted by Garden Keeper Reblogged by Old Roses to tools on 2008-08-07, 06:18:54
I grow the herbaceous type of peony, both the types with single and double blooms. I love their fragrance and the delicate satin texture of their petals. They have good looking foliage on round bush-like plants, and for lots of people they say "Spring has truly arrived". Their blooms are so full and opulent, alone in a vase they are magnificent, mixed with other flowers they hold center stage. They are definitely one of the divas of the garden. . . .
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to peony
Posted by Ilona Reblogged by Old Roses to peony on 2008-08-07, 06:18:14
Typepad makes it easy to post-on-the-fly with my cool new IPhone. Does this mean more frequent posts on my horizon? We'll see ...for now, a couple of shots taken at the nursery today. . ..
reBlogged
to tools
Posted by Darcy Reblogged by Old Roses to tools on 2008-08-07, 06:17:46
I haven't been blogging because I've been in my kitchen experimenting.
The goal - to make an all natural sugar free jelly that tastes good.
The problem - sugar is a big part of what makes jelly "jell" so making one without any sugar is tricky. I don't want to used processed nutrient dead calorie rich white sugar. I also don't want to use artificial sweeteners. . .
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to recipes
Posted by Kathi Reblogged by Old Roses to recipes on 2008-08-07, 06:16:59
I pulled all of my onions a couple days ago. I have noticed other gardeners are drying theirs in their gardens, though with all the rain, I'm not sure why. So I have half my crop on a counter in my kitchen (bottom left photo) and the rest in the sun in my garden (top photo). I'm hoping to find Gino in his garden (his onions are the bottom right photo) so I can ask him if its important to leave them outside.
reBlogged
to onions
Posted by kathy Reblogged by Old Roses to onions on 2008-08-07, 06:16:20
Arisaema consanguineum, a jack in the pulpit from China and the Himalayas (often called Chinese dragon lily), emerges from the ground fairly late and blooms in the hottest part of the summer here. It can reach four foot tall, with striking umbrella-like foliage. I especially like the forms with silver centered leaves, as above. I have found I must be very careful not to let it get dry when hot summer winds blow, as it will topple over and turn up its toes in an afternoon. Most of the Asian jacks seem to want that dream: morning sun with afternoon shade and cool soil that is well-drained but evenly moist. Well, I keep them watered if it gets too dry, and I guess one out of five is good enough, as they are doing quite well. They add a really striking tropical flair to the hot mid-summer garden.
When I purchased this banana tree a year ago it was about a foot tall. This week, I noticed a shoot that had grown into my neighbor's yard full of little bananas. I don’t know how I totally missed it before this. These bananas are the dwarf type, much smaller than the kind sold in the local supermarket but, in my opinion, much sweeter and have a longer shelve life. The best thing about growing bananas is that from one tree you get many. I already have three offspring plants growing next to the mother plant.
Supermarket Chains Narrow Their Sights - NYTimes.com: "Some independently owned, small-to-medium-size chains have been selling extensive lines of local seasonal fruits and vegetables for years, lines they are now expanding.
For the largest supermarket chains, though, where for decades produce has meant truckloads transported primarily from the West Coast, it’s not always easy to switch to the farmer down the road. . ..
via Mediterranean Garden Spain on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
