Have you seen all the Sumac blooming?  This hedge is on the curve above Al's house, on Stonebriar.  There's also a beautiful copse of Sumac on the right as you approach the mailboxes.  

 

I have lots of field guides, and plant books, but I'm still not clear on whether this is Winged Sumac, Rhus copallina, or Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra.  Winged Sumac has hairy twigs, and Smooth Sumac has smooth twigs.  As you can see, I didn't get close enough to see hairy or smooth.  They share the same geographical range, similar flowers and fruit.  I'm guessing Smooth Sumac, but since I'm not positive, I'm just going to identify it as SUMAC, Rhus spp.  

 

I do know that it's not Staghorn Sumac, Rhus typhina, that one has red flower clusters.  I'll post a picture when I get one.  I also know it's not Poison Sumac, Rhus vernix, that one has white berries, and is very uncommon.  It grows in wooded swamps.  Not likely to go there, but we've all heard of it.  

 

Just thought you'd like to know the Sumac part.  I love seeing them this time of year;  they're so pretty.  In the fall they will have reddish-brown velvety clusters of berries, equally pretty!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a Brandywine pink tomato. Almost two pounds!!! We planted seeds last March, and this is our reward!!!

 

The tomatoes are doing great this year.  We've already canned some.  Last year we canned none!!!

 

Hey, Linda!!!  That means:  Salsa!!!

 

Stay tuned for more bragging from the garden.  ;)~

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

I saw this on the Internet today, and thought you might like to know.   Really, I couldn't present the information any better, so I left it in this format.  

 

Seeds for all these plants are easily available.  I can share catnip, marigold, and basil seeds.  I have never grown Rosemary or Lavender from seeds.  Best to buy small plants of those herbs.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Hey, Karen!!!  Hey, everybody!!!

 

We finally found something the deer won't eat!!!  Marigolds!!!  They haven't touched them.  YAY!!!

 

Thought you'd like to know.  ;).

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Same flower, different day!!!  Full on smile right there!!!  You can even see honeybees enjoying themselves.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I just LOVE this photo!!!  It feels like the beginning of a smile.  

 

We poke all types of sunflower seeds in the ground every year, just to bring smiles to our faces.  Patty told me that she loves running by our garden.  The sunflowers make her smile.  Some of them are 10 feet tall.

 

The birds love them too.  We see all kinds of birds pecking out the seeds.  And when they've eaten most of the seeds, we harvest the rest to plant next year.  Everybody wins!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Here it is: most of our 2019 garlic harvest.  Aren't they pretty?  Too bad you can't smell them too.  Mmmmm.

 

Last summer I ordered garlic bulbs from Sow True Seeds, in Asheville, NC.  I got three different varieties, 1/2 pound each.  For perspective, 1/2 lb of garlic is about 15-20 cloves, and costs $10.95.  I spent 33.00 plus 5.00 shipping: $38.  Sounds like a lot, but I got 60 cloves of organic garlic, guaranteed to grow.  

 

I planted all the cloves, and harvested 60 bulbs of organic garlic.  I'll do the math for you:  it came to 63 cents each.  OK, that's not the end of the story.  Cause we'll NEVER have to buy garlic again.  This October, if I plant 60 cloves again, next year's garlic bulbs will have only cost 32 cents each.  And every year I can plant cloves from the previous year's harvest.  

 

Not sure I'll plant that much again;  we can only use so much garlic in a year.  But if you'd like to plant some, I'll be happy to share.  It was very interesting to grow and learn about real garlic.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Well, I promised to show you my red cabbage.  Here it is.  See the leaves?  A lot like cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts.  And just like broccoli and cauliflower, the heads grow right up out of the center of the leaves.  

 

See those holes in the leaves?  Cabbage White butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves, and when the caterpillars hatch they eat holes in the leaves.  Fortunately once the heads form, they leave them alone, and just eat the larger leaves.  Don't care, we don't want those leaves, we want the cabbage heads.  

 

I do care that the same caterpillars get into the broccoli florets, and have to be picked out one by one.  Oh well, that's the price we pay for growing organically, we eat a few bugs along with our veggies.  ;).  We steam them first.

 

We enjoy eating these vegetables, and they are cheap enough to buy at Ingles;  but honestly, I think I just want to watch them grow.  It is a lot of work, but it is fascinating!!!  And we learn something new every day!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I thought you might like to see my cauliflower.  

 

In the store it comes wrapped in plastic; in the garden it is wrapped in leaves.  Big, beautiful, bluish leaves.  

 

Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are all Brassica oleracea.  Funny:  same genus, same species, very different expressions.  Anyway, they take up a lot of garden space, so we only plant a few of each.  This year we planted 6 broccoli, 6 cauliflower, 6 green cabbage, and 6 red cabbage.  We've already eaten all the broccoli, and 3 of the green cabbages.  Mr. Rabbit ate 2 of the cauliflowers, but we still have 4 of them, and the red cabbage is just now big enough to harvest.  Can't wait to use it in our salads.

 

Interestingly, in order to keep the cauliflower heads white, you have to "blanch" them. That means you pull the leaves up around the head, and tie them to keep the sun from burning the heads.  It looks funny right now, but worth it in the end.

 

I'll post a picture of the red cabbage soon.  It's beautiful too.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Here they go again!!  Jim and Roxanne showing off their fabulous gardening skills.  They are amazing!!!  They have absolutely NO sun in their yard, and they grow the most gorgeous flowers!!!  Every season!!!

 

These are Star Gazer lilies.  They grow from bulbs, planted in the fall, and they bloom late spring, year after year.  Go look at these, they are huge, and abundant right now.  They were planted years ago, and they just get prettier every year.  I wonder if they are so prolific because of all the deer away spray Jim uses on them, or maybe the gnomes do their magic at night when nobody is looking.  Whatever, they are beautiful, and worth the walk to go see them.

 

Psst...I think it's the gnomes.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!