Can you see the baby leeks?  Those little green threads are leek seedlings.  

 

The bigger leeks grew from bulblets that were in the ground when I took out the leek blooms.  From the leek blooms, I sprinkled the seeds in the same bed.  Now we have all different stages of leeks.  They will be ready to harvest at different times.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look at this beautiful bowlful of eggplants and peppers.  This is Jon's task today:  to cook them on the grill.

 

Life is good here in the mountains.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look at all the new growth on our Sansevieras.  

 

I put them outside this summer, and cut off some of the unwieldy leaves, and they have put out all this new growth since then.  

 

I guess I should do that every year.  They won't grow much over the winter, but now the goal is to keep them alive until next summer.  We can do that.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is the sign that Mark made for me a few years ago.  The last time I showed it to you, I was bragging that I had written 463 blogs.  That was last year:  September 30, 2020.

 

Well, I just went over 800!!!  They are all right here on the Five Forks website.  You can go back through the archives and find blogs from July, 2017.  I've had so much fun, blathering on about things that interest me.  I'm glad you enjoy reading them.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Yep, it's that time!!!  The persimmons are dropping to the ground.  

 

We found these on our walk yesterday morning, took their picture, then ate them all!!!  No, wait!!  See that greenish one on the left?  We didn't take a chance on that one.  The others were very soft and ripe.  That one isn't ripe enough, and the tannins in it would "turn your mouth wrong-side out!" to quote Momma.

 

The ripe ones taste like apricot jam:  sweet, and jammy, with a few large seeds.  We laugh about persimmons being "outside food," like watermelon.  That way you can spit out the seeds, and not appear too gauche.  HAHAHA!!

 

I would tell you where this tree is, but then you would eat all the persimmons.  So like a good fishing hole, I have to keep it a secret.

 

LOVE YOU!!!

 

 

 

Not sure why, but just this branch of this Sumac bush is changing to red.  We see sumacs sprinkled all around the neighborhood;  some are red, and some are still green.  And this one looks like it's red and green on the same bush.

 

Anyway, it is spectacular when the sun hits it.  So glad we get to see it every day on our walk.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Look at the Beautyberry this year.  Isn't it gorgeous?  These branches are spilling out onto the sidewalk.

 

Birds and deer will eat the berries as survival food when there is nothing else.  I looked it up, and there are over 160 species of Beautyberry, most of them in Japan, but that's a lot of different species.  Wikipedia also said that there is a chemical in Beautyberry that repels mosquitoes.  That's a good reason to plant one in your garden.  Besides, they are so pretty this time of year.

 

You can see this bush in the parking lot at the Blairsville Methodist Church.  We go through the parking lot at all times of year, to see what's blooming or fruiting, or showing fall color.  Our friend Beverly landscaped the grounds years ago, and there is always something pretty to see.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Here it is:  our October haybale.  Jon and I painted it on Wednesday.  

 

We ran out of yellow paint, so I painted a wide black outer rim.  But then the bats didn't show up.  ACK!!!  We had to go get some more yellow.  Then when I painted yellow over the black, you know what I got?  GREEN!!!  

 

So we used the whole can of yellow spray paint to finish the full moon, then outlined it with a thin line of black.  Looks good though, doesn't it?  

 

I'm glad our neighbors let us do this.  We have SO much fun.  

 

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!

 

Look what the Hydrangeas do in autumn.  

 

Not all hydrangeas do this, but these turn rusty pink.  They start out bright white, and stay white all summer, then fade to this lovely rust color in the fall.

 

I've shown you these before.  These hydrangeas are planted in a huge hedge.  They stand about 15 feet tall, and the hedge is probably 50 feet in length.  I love seeing them at all times of the year.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Can you believe it?  September is almost gone!!!  And soon we'll be seeing fall colors everywhere.

 

Well, the Red maples in the Methodist Church parking lot are starting to change to their October glory.  I think that's their variety name.  They are truly spectacular, and worth the ride to Blairsville to see them.  You can also see the maples in the Home Depot parking lot changing.

 

I know you are watching for fall color.  Take pics and send them to me.  We can share them here on the website.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!