Our friend, Bob from New York, brought us two figs that he propagated.  He gave them to us last fall.  Each one was just a stick or two in a one gallon pot.  They were already dormant, so we kept them alive in the basement all winter.

 

This spring we put them outside each day with our seedlings, and brought them in at night.  They started to sprout little leaves and branches.  

 

When the nighttime temperatures got above 50 degrees, we left them outside so they could acclimate to our weather.  And when they seemed ready, we up-potted them into three gallon pots.  They took off!!!

 

Now look at them.  Growing beautifully, and setting fruit.  

 

We don't really have a good sunny protected area to plant them in the ground, so we are going to keep them in pots and bring them inside in the winter.  It sure worked out well last winter.  We will have to see how long they can stay in three gallon pots, we may HAVE to plant them in the garden.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

Look at my sunflower!!!  This one planted itself, so it is the first to bloom.  

 

The tomato cages in the background are about 5 feet tall.  This beautiful blossom is up about 10 feet.

 

The pollinators love the nectar, and the birds love the seeds.  We just love looking at it.  We do save a few seeds each year to replant.  But a package of seeds is really cheap, and available everywhere.  Be sure to check the height on the ones you plan to plant.  Not everybody has room for 10-12 foot tall plants.  

 

It is my opinion (and I bet I'm not alone) that you can't have too many sunflowers in the garden.  They make everybody happy.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

When I told a gardening buddy that I let Passiflora grow in my garden, she told me I was crazy!!!  It is an aggressive vining plant, and can get out of control really quickly.

 

I am selective about where I let it grow.  I weed out all the sprouts that are not in MY chosen spot.  I let them grow up the north side of a couple of tomato cages.  That way they don't hog the light from the tomatoes, and we still get to enjoy this gorgeous sight.  There are about 10 blossoms out there right now.  

 

By allowing some to stay, we are also supporting the Fritillary population in our garden.  They use Passiflora for their host plant.  They lay their eggs on the leaves, and when the caterpillars emerge they eat the leaves.  If they don't have enough food they will overwinter as caterpillars and resume their feeding the following spring.  How do they do that?  I don't know, but I make sure we provide some Passiflora for our friends, the Fritillaries.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

These are last week's "baby" cucumbers.  And there are about a thousand flowers on the vines.  They are fabulous!!!

 

Gonna have to make dill pickles, starting today!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Every time we walk past Rosalie's wildflower bed, I want to take pictures.  All the colors are SO pretty.

 

When we were little, we lived in Norfolk, and there was a little flower shop at the foot of the Granby Street bridge.  Mr. Cromwell grew zinnias in the country and brought them to the shop to sell.  We loved stopping on the way to Nanny's house and getting a bunch of zinnias for her.  She loved them too.

 

Mr. Cromwell and his flowers are long gone, but I still think about that little place when I see these beautiful zinnias.  

 

This is my birthday gift today:  flowers for Nanny and YOU!!!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANNY!!!

 

Cabbage in the garden.  This head is about 8 inches across; the outer leaves are closer to 20 inches across.  We don't usually eat the outer leaves, so I don't care that somebody has been nibbling on them.  They will go into the compost bin, and turn into soil for next year's garden.

 

I quartered the head, shredded it, and turned it into Cole Slaw for the 3rd of July picnic.  It was a big hit.  It sold out.  I'll put the recipe in the recipe section.  Try it.  You don't have to grow your own cabbage, it works fine with store bought cabbage too.

 

We have a few more, so we'll be making that cole slaw again.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is Mike and Denice's Juniper.  It is a huge planting of Juniper.  I love seeing the blue berries.  

 

Did you know that some species of Juniper berries are used to flavor gin?  Interesting.  And some species of Juniper berries are used to flavor strong, or wild meats.  We have used Juniper berries in marinades, even for fish.  Juniper has an interesting taste, albeit not to everyone's liking.  Sometimes, we just add a little gin.

 

Before you go snitch some of Mike's Juniper berries, I suggest you look up recipes on HOW to identify the right kind of berries to use.  There are lots of different species of Juniper, so do the research if you want to make your own gin, or marinades.    

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Look at these gorgeous tomatoes.  Did I tell you that I grew everything this year FROM SEEDS?  I know I did tell you, but it just makes me so happy.  I pinch myself every day, amazed that we were able to pull this off.

 

We will be busy this summer canning tomatoes and tomato sauce and salsa.  I'll take more pictures when they start ripening, when the dining room table is covered with tomatoes.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

I planted this bed of Thyme about 10 years ago.  Never really had much luck growing thyme in pots or other gardens, but something here just clicked.  

 

I'm bragging because it takes up a space about 3 feet by 2 feet.  That's a lot of thyme.  It looks dry and dull all winter, but then in the Spring it springs to life again, and is beautiful.

 

I harvest branches just before it blooms in Spring, and hang them upside down in the kitchen window.  When it's totally dry, I strip the branches and put all that glorious thyme in a jar.  I think dried thyme is so much easier to cook with than fresh.  Besides, when I'm cooking, I want it available to me, not out in the garden.  

 

We harvest oregano and sage and rosemary the same way:  pick it just before it blooms, hang it to dry, then put it into jars.  We haven't bought herbs for years!!!  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

When we were working in the garden the other day, Jon noticed something moving below the soil surface.  He dug up this mole and threw it in the wheelbarrow. That's the big blueness you see in the picture.  He called me to come and look.  

 

By the time I got my camera and met him, the mole had already buried itself in the soil in the wheelbarrow.  So Jon dug it out and held it still enough for me to get a picture for YOU to see.  

 

Of course after we got our look-see, he called Gizmo to come check it out.  That is a whole 'nother story.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!