According to The Farmers Almanac it's time to plant spring flowering bulbs.  I see that the best days this month are the 19 and 20.  So get out those daffodil, tulip, lily, crocus and hyacinth bulbs.  

 

Since garlic is also a root crop, I'm going to plant my garlic on Saturday too.  We had such a great harvest this year, all I have to do is separate the cloves and plant them, leaving the paper on.  They don't take up much space, so you could even plant them in your flower beds.  Plant about 2 inches deep, and 5-6 inches apart, pointy end up.  We add a couple inches of mulch on top to protect the bulbs from freezing temps.  That's it!!!  They will start to grow the bulbs over the winter, then sprout green leaves in the spring.  And in July we'll have more garlic than we can use, again!!!

 

Love it!!!  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

I saw these bushes on one of my morning bike rides at the beach.  There are also some in Linda's neighborhood in Yorktown, VA.  I love them.  The botanical name is Myrica cerifera, and they are commonly known as Bayberry, or Waxmyrtle.  

 

Bayberry are large bushes, reaching 10-12 feet, and they grow in sandy soil.  I've read that they can withstand top burning, leaving the roots to resprout.  Of course, they can only survive a couple years of that harshness, but still...that's pretty amazing.

 

Growing up in Virginia, we often went to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.  We learned that the colonists used bayberries to make scented candles.  Today, candles are made differently, but the bayberries are still used for the scent.  This Christmas, notice the scent of bayberry candles.

 

I have checked the gardening books for North Carolina, and couldn't find much on Myrica, except that they do grow in this hardiness zone.  Not much sandy soil around here though, maybe that's why we don't see them.  Too bad, cause they are really great for a screen plant:  evergreen, tall growing, and bushy.  And they are so pretty this time of year.  I wonder if the deer would eat them...probably.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

I spent a few days with my three sisters at the beach in Nags Head, on the Outer Banks of NC.  

 

We rode bikes and walked on the beach every day.  We got lots of fresh air and exercise. We saw sunburned tourists, wind surfers, and beautiful Brown Pelicans.  

 

I looked for fun things to blog about, but it wasn't much different than here:  persimmons on the trees,  the start of autumn, and beautiful blue sky (read: no rain.)  Oh yeah!!!  I did see some bayberry bushes loaded with berries, and fields of cotton.   I'll show you those pix another day.

 

Today, I wanted you to see the flock of Pelicans flying over the Atlantic Ocean. 

 

I AM BACK!!!  Missed you.

 

 

 

I am leaving today for Virginia.  My three sisters and I are getting together for the first time since Momma died in March.  Our plan is to go to the beach cottage at Nags Head, on the Outer Banks of NC.  We're going to ride bikes, walk on the beach, and drink wine for lunch.  We're going to look at the old pictures, and tell all our great "Momma stories," and laugh and cry together.  Just the girls.  

 

Here's a picture of us when Momma turned 80, in 2003.  We were all a little younger then, but it's a good picture of us all dressed up.  From left to right:  Betsy, Julie, Momma, me, Linda.

 

I'm sure I'll find some fun things to blog about, but give me a few days.  Talk soon.  

 

Love, Gerry

I bet you didn't know it was septic field month? Our septic systems are often the least understood system in our homes. 

We all have question about how to treat them, make sure they don't fail, and if we should pump them out once in a while.

Here are three of my favorite flyers from CDC/EPA to help you out with these questions...

 

 

 

 

I know fall is coming when the Black gum trees start their color change.  They are one of the first species to change color in the fall.  And here she is, right on schedule.

 

Tomorrow is the Autumnal equinox, when day and night hours are nearly equal.  Astronomically, it is when the Sun is directly above the equator.  Astrologically, it is when the Sun enters the sign of Libra.  It will occur this year on September 23rd, at 3:51 am. 

 

OK, back to Black gum, or Sour gum trees, botanically known as Nyssa sylvatica.  (I don't know how I can remember that from 1975, but I do.)  I love what these trees do in the fall.  Their shiny leaves turn scarlet, and the berries turn blue.  

 

You can see them all over the neighborhood.  Bears and birds love the berries, although they remind me of sucking on a lemon.  I have a friend who makes a lemonade-like drink from Black gum berries, but she adds a TON of sugar to make it taste good.  I'll leave the berries for the bears and the birds, Thanks.

 

I just love seeing the color change and dreaming of cooler weather.

 

 

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!

 

 

 

 

 

THAT!!!!!, my friends, is precisely what you DO NOT want to see on your Tomato plants.  It is a Tomato (or maybe a Tobacco) hornworm, fully grown from eating my tomato plant!!!  It is as big as my index finger!!!  Well, it was, before Jon squished it!!!  

 

It is the larva of Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawk moth.  The caterpillars feed on various plants from Solanaceae:  tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, tobacco, potatoes.  You definitely do NOT want them in your garden.  They can demolish your tomato crop overnight!!!!  We plant Borage near the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants to deter the moths from laying eggs on those host plants.  It works!!!  We've had NO hornworms in the garden.  This one was on a cherry tomato plant on the deck, away from the garden.  And, as you can see, the plant was just about finished.

 

Tom asked me the other day, "What is that big, fat green caterpillar on my tomato plant?"  We knew immediately, because we've seen so many before.  

 

Oh!!!!!  Here's another interesting thing about them.  There are parasitic wasps that lay their eggs inside the skin of the hornworms, using the hornworm bodies to feed their babies.  You can see them sometimes as little white cocoons on the outside of the green hornworm.  It's kinda gross, but, everybody has to eat something, right?  I know it happens, I just don't want to see it happening in MY garden.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

This is Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, in the family Verbenaceae.  It is a native shrub in the southern US, and is often used as an ornamental shrub to attract birds to the garden.  This one is growing out of the sidewalk at the Methodist Church in Blairsville.  It was probably planted by birds or deer.  They love to eat the berries.  

 

When Beautyberry is in bloom, it's not that noticeable.  But, when the berries ripen to this bright purple all along the stems, you can't miss it!  It's in this beautiful stage now, so be on the lookout.  I hope you see some in your travels.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I showed you the Devil's Walking Stick last month, in bloom.  

 

Now those blossoms have done their job, and the trees are fruiting.  

 

All I really said about it was that it has a nasty thorny trunk.  Let's learn more about it.  

 

Its botanical name is Aralia spinosa, in the family Araliaceae.  Other trees, shrubs, vines in this family include Sarsaparilla, Ginseng, and English Ivy.   Aralia spinosa is also commonly called Hercules-Club.  They grow in woods and on riverbanks from southern New England to Michigan, and from eastern Texas to north Florida.  We've seen them all along the roadsides in our travels to Atlanta and Chattanooga, and my sister in Yorktown, VA has seen them along the roads there.  

 

Be sure to notice them in our neighborhood. There are several on Five Forks Drive across from Naples Lane, and some down Stonebriar, near the Crabapple sign.  They are really beautiful right now, with their dark purple berries.  The berries are pretty, but NOT EDIBLE.  So just look, DON'T TASTE.  I say that as a reminder to myself.  ALWAYS check the field guides, before tasting anything in the wild.  And, even then, be cautious and positively identify whatever it is.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Hahaha!!!  Made you look.

 

This is a winter project from a couple of years ago.  My sister challenged me to a knitting project.  She sent me the pattern, and I knitted a praying mantis.  You can't go wrong with purple and green, for a giggle.  This one is 10 inches long.  It lives in our living room, and hasn't caught a single caterpillar.  ;)~

 

HAPPY CRAFTING!!!!