Gardening, anyone?
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Cpeachymom nice visitor and surprise flowers are the best. seeded by birds maybe?
IMurphy - - what a wonderfull hideaway cottage, it's like a fairy-tale picture. I loved also your meadow flowers pic, those blue ones grow here too, but bloom in mid-June.
zucchini bread was mentioned more than once - thanks for the tip! I think I will make one (as soon as this nausea passes, just got my 3rd AC today)
And yes, Imurphy, dirty fingernails are my constant companions. Somehow, I am not able to use gloves. Now during chemo I am really trying, but it's no good. Idk maybe I need another type/size/material... but I have been gardening since childhood without glives, I guess it will need some more adjusting to
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Well fitting dish gloves feel the most like not wearing gloves.
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Hi ladies- enjoyed seeing the wonderful blooms in your gardens. Not much to share here as the summer has been relentless again with it's heat. My front rock garden did do better with the changes I made this year for more heat resistance plants. I had a couple things sizzle, but overall, it has done well.
Our monsoon rains have come and are good when they are here, but it seems like we have a week of good rain, then it is hot and dry again, rinse and repeat. It has been in the upper 90's during the non rain weeks which is hot for August. I do see my sedums getting ready to bloom as they will usually do in Sept. I plan to do some replanting after a little trip I am about to do and as we had in to fall. Flowers will last year through late October outside, we usually get our first hard frost around Halloween. Going to put in some more mums and other cooler weather things in the pots which have withered the most.
But this is my share for today, got these pretty cut flowers on sale last week at the store on clearance. This is a double bunch I got for $4. Flowers make me happy!
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Hi garden folks, hope you are enjoying these last few weeks of summer, wherever you may be 🌻
Wish I could share some of our cherry tomatoes right of the vine:
Here is one happy zinnia (with some portulacas just closing up for the day):
And our unusual twice-blooming white iris:
And the first blooms of a fall mum in our garden:
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Good Morning All.
Our garden is doing well. We pulled the cucumber and cantaloupes up. Does anyone know if a cantaloupe will ripen in a brown bag?
Tomatoes, herbs and peppers continue to flourish.
The corn is about gone.
There is a creature of some sort in my garden. I am not sure what it is. I have ruled out a snake because I saw it running yesterday. I ordered synthetic urine that is suppose to keep everything away except elk. We do not have elk in North Alabama or at least not in our neighborhood. Any suggestions?
Coach Vicky
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Could it be a possum?
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Wren, I don't think so. It was fast and small. I would think a rabbit but it did not run like a rabbit.
Vicky
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Squirrels tear up everything I plant.
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Teka those are beautiful. The hummingbirds are very attracted to my fuschia NewGuinea impatients. I saw one this morning but couldnt capture a photo.
Yesterday I discovered that my cantaloupe in containers experment finally came through, although I wasnt sure I was going to get a ripe one before frost. This morning this is what the bunny, squirrel or chipmunk left me.
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Just came back from a trip back east to attend a high school reunion (so fun) and spend some time with family and friends in my home town area. Coming home from a final visit with some family Sunday afternoon, I came across this incredible field of sunflowers towards the end of the day. Everyone was on the road side taking photos.
What a lovely gift at the end of my fabulous trip!
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Saw these in the garden at the hotel where I stayed too
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A truck carrying 20,000 lbs of apples overturned on a highway here. People were placing bets who would eat them first, deer or bears.
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In Rwanda, we got a whole stock of bananas for $3.00
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Note to self- Apple prices are about to go up!
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That is 10 lbs of wild blueberries we picked on this sunny Alaska day!
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Coachvicky, have you solved who your mysterious visitor is, yet?
Teka, beautifull garden pics!
Imurphy, wow, what a job 👏 They grow a lot later than here! We have wild blueberries in June-July
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Well, JaBoo, here is the story.
One of our rescue doggies found a rat. It (the rat) has moved on to eternal life. I am so grossed out about this. I have NEVER had anything like this ever happen. I had a small firearm with me in the garden the other day. I am terrified just thinking about what if another one was there and attacked me! And there is the part of me that hates the idea of anything dying. I just wished it had gone away to some other yard.
Our bug-guy was out yesterday spraying for mosquitoes. He put a trap in the garden. Hubby checks the trap. I did not ask how the trap works and I don't want to know. I previously (before hero dog made her capture) order some type of urine compound from Amazon. The reviews said it worked on everything but elk. We don't have elk in our neighborhood. It did not work on the rat or maybe it did work and hero-dog found the creature. I don't know. Just writing about this gives me the willy-chillies. This reminds me of a horror movie.
I would think after 10 surgeries including a BMX and a year of infusion, I could handle anything. I am not handling this well at all. We have a bamboo garden to the south of our yard. Hubby cuts the stalks and we use them as stakes in the garden. I take a long stake and make noise on the bricks and between the plants before I get too deep in the garden. I am a wus.
I live in the middle of a cul-de-sac. There are 2 houses bordering my right, 1 bordering my left, and 2 behind me. The one behind me and to the immediate west of the garden, mows his back yard about every three weeks. I spray our fence line to keep his grass / weeds out. When he does finally mow, his grass clippings go onto the fence and into the garden. It takes a couple of hours to clean up his mess. I know that eventually I am going to have to say something about this to him. And when I do I am going to play the cancer card saying that this is too much work for me. I haven't said anything yet because his daughter and my granddaughter are friends. I also havent't said anything becuase I am Ms Conflict Avoidant.
To end on a happy note, I have processed a lot of tomatoes, peppers, corn, and cucumbers. We are well stoked for the winter.
Coach Vicky
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Coach Vicky, Perhaps your DH could speak to him 'man to man' and say you always rake it up and you have way less energy since you're fighting cancer. I don't blame you for making your presence known before going into the bamboo. It's kind of spooky on it's own.
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Hi Wren,
DH would certainly do that if I asked. He has done so much that I tend not to ask about something I should be able to handle. He is after all checking that trap!
Coach Vicky
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I was just thinking the neighbor might change what he was doing if asked by another man. It makes a big difference, at least with my DH.
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lmurphy- your pic makes me happy! What are you going to do with your bounty?
Twohobbies- sad about your cantaloupe. That happened to me with pumpkin before.
Took these pics at the park today to share with you ladies- p
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Peachy- my zinnias are going crazy now with some recent rains and my sedums look just like yours. My neon sedum is kaput and contacted my favorite nursery who said they have lots of nice sedums in right now so I plan to go this weekend for a couple new ones.
Got a bunch of mums today and giving my gardens and pots their "fall face lift." Pics to follow soon ladies!
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CoachVicky, so the running visitor was the deceased rat? Ugh, that would put me off too... I can't imagine what I would do. I have actually never seen a rat, we don't have them here in the country.... We have various small mouses that dig their tunnels in the garden - and that provide a great sporting ground for our cat. He (the cat) has a chart pinned to our wall with his yearly score. He always brings the prey for our inspection, which can be gross sometimes, but I tell myself it's just a mouse that wanted to destroy my flower beds. The kids have also a bit of an education about natural food cycle, I think (preschoolers).
Do you think there are more in your garden? Maybe this was just the one searching where to hide for the winter? (Don't know about climate where you live...but probably warm when you write about bamboo.) It's good you have a trap set.
The neighbour is very inconsiderate, maybe he has no idea that this is causing you trouble. Could your granddaughter maybe say something to his daughter? but I guess that's too far fetched.
We have a fairly large garden and we are the last in the "street". So one side of our garden is neighbouring to meadow and forest. The meadow gets mowed nicely for cattle feed, but since there are fruit trees on the edge, the mashine can't go right by our fence. So this year, there are nettles grown higher than me right behind our fence and reaching in. Ugh.
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JaBoo, I have actually never seen one either. DH took care of the one Hero Dog found (or whatever happened to it). Curt (the bug-guy) installed the trap that DH checks. I think my imagination has run away with this. I went to the garden late yesterday to get some jalapenos. A beautiful butterfly was in the corn stalks and cause them to make noise. I screamed. DH told me if there still was a rodent, it was more scared of me than I was of it. I am not sure that is true. I have decided to refer to this creature as a rodent. It sounds better for some reason.
I live in North Alabama in a heavily science and engineering town called Madison. NASA is located in the town adjoining us, Huntsville. We are about 30 minutes from the Tennessee line. I hope that gives you an idea of where I am. Yesterday the heat index was 110 degrees. Labor Day (this Monday) is the official end of summer. However, we will be able to swim and wear shorts well into October. It will be brisk in the mornings in October. I planted a second crop of white radishes and our first crop of spinach last Saturday (that was BR ... before rodent).
I have thought about a cat. But I am more of a dog person. I did like reading about your tally sheet.
Those are good life lessons about the food cycle with your children. We take our grandchildren to the garden. They did eat some corn from the garden but most of their meals are chicken fingers, hot dogs, P&B sandwiches.
DH and I started teaching cooking classes at our church for 3rd through 6th graders. During the last one the children did a tasting of white radishes solo, with a savory dip second, and a sweet dip last. They also made three day dill pickles from our cucumbers. Our theme was 4th of July foods. In October our schools take a "fall break" for a week. That is when we will conduct the next classes. Our theme will be "football tailgating foods." I am hoping our sweet potatoes will be ready to use in the class.
Vicky
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Volunteer tomatoes this year. New house new garden. The volunteer is in in the gravel beside the raised bed where I've planted 5 heirloom varieties. The volunteers are producing 20:1 in relation to the babied plants. I think volunteers are extra vigorous plus next year less heirlooms I think.. .....also maybe less babying.
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Coachvicky, well, sometimes the imagination can do wonders 🙂 Thanks for the explanation regarding your climate. Your garden must be wonderfull with the bamboo and butterflies... It's very different here, autumn starts with September. We may have some warm days in Sept. or even in October, but those are around 70F max. You live so near to NASA, wow, that's cool 🙂
Your teaching with DH sounds great. We were considering too, but then this cancer crap happened. So maybe next year. I considered teaching a science class for small kids (fun in the afternoon, not a real school course). DH was asked to teach a bee-keeping course to the kids. Well, now with me in the midst of chemo, it would be too much.
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Vicky, Great idea to do food classes with the grade schoolers. My GS, who is starting middle school this year, loves to cook. He got into it watching shows on Netflicks. Of course he likes sweets the best, but he's making some awesome main dishes also. His Christmas present was a cooking class every month with a chef.
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So I leave for Rwanda - wisteria had been pruned back - when I got home, 2 weeks later, the wisteria decided to enter my window air conditioner. We had to take the AC apart last night to get all the vines out of it
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JaBoo, it will get better. I know you are 3P and that is a long, hard treatment. The Nurse Practitioner told me that a year after chemo I would realize a difference in how I felt. I think feeling better creeps up and then one day BOOM, I felt stronger. I could work the garden not just enjoy it. It was, however, going to my garden where I found strength.
Wren, what a great idea for a present!
Sorry about your invasion, GmaFoley. My DH did training in Rwanda a few years ago. He said it is a beautiful country.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend to all who celebrate.
Vicky
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I love zinnias. Four o clocks and zinnias always remind me of my grandmother.
We have an out of control wisteria too. We thought about moving it to the back deck, but I am not sure if it will be any better there. At least it would be away from the house. So far we have just been cutting it way back but may take it out all together.
Jazzy those sunflowers fields, Ah. I came across some in Kansas one time and its a gorgeous sight- all with their faces turned the same direction.
Vicky the rat would creep me out too. I dont like mice either but at least they are small.
They have finally gotten done tearing up and flagging my lawn for the gas main replacement so i hope that as the summer steam goes away I will get back out and work on my one bed that was near the tree we took out, I am going to give up on the hostas and plant more sedums and also need to thin or remove some daylillies before they take over.
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