tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84885992009-11-04T09:30:03.537-05:00This is May Dreams Gardens because all year I dream of the days of May when the sun is warm, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the garden is all new again!Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.comBlogger1274125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-78114717251545691902009-11-03T22:40:00.001-05:002009-11-03T23:16:23.518-05:00

Basketball season has begun and our thoughts turn to gardening, as they always do.If a gardener is going to follow a sport, I've always suggested it should be basketball, especially pro basketball, as in the NBA, because it's timed so that its season doesn't interfere with most gardening activities, at least here in USDA Zone 5.For the most part, the season begins in late fall, after the first

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-69274025174309860612009-11-02T12:00:00.001-05:002009-11-02T20:33:35.749-05:00

It’s once again time for a lesson on the language of gardeners.Today’s lesson is on the terms that experienced gardeners use for “distance” and what they really mean.We will begin with three terms used for distances within the garden and conclude with one term used for distances outside of the garden.As deep as you can digFor most bulbs planted in the fall, the instructions indicate to plant the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-70861134531145627562009-11-01T08:25:00.005-05:002009-11-01T09:38:40.112-05:00

We get an extra hour today!How are you going to spend it? Who is going to decide how you spend?Unfortunately, like it or not, how we spend an hour is often decided by others around us, by forces and fates that are not ours to control.Today, a force referred to as “Jack Frost” has decreed that the extra hour gained today by turning back the clock an hour will be spent in the garden preparing for

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-21835432045245934032009-10-30T10:30:00.011-04:002009-10-30T17:07:51.477-04:00

When a gardener plans a Halloween party…She looks for the perfect video to play for her guests to set the mood. Does anyone remember the ‘Green Fingers’ episode of Night Gallery?Part 2Part 3Watch it with the lights turned out! Listen to these classic lines:“Think I’m going to be stopped by some antique broad with a pitch fork?” “Everything I plant grows, everything… I think it’s the soil… it’s

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-53328904920204431202009-10-29T06:43:00.005-04:002009-10-29T07:03:05.444-04:00

Are you ready for the Halloween Hare to visit your garden?Did you set aside a few pieces of candy to appease him when he makes his midnight witching-hour call on your garden?What will he find? Or rather what will he not find? And if he doesn't find what he's looking for - oh the horror! WHAT WILL HE DO TO YOUR GARDEN??For those who are now confused or who've never heard of the Halloween Hare,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-48723342456238035852009-10-27T21:50:00.001-04:002009-10-28T18:33:01.731-04:00

Given how quickly many gardeners learned and affirmed the gardener’s definitions for “quantities”, it is time to move on to how gardeners define “time”.So gather around all you new gardeners, here's some insider informaton on the language gardeners use to describe “time”.But first, remember that it is true what the philosophers tell us, time does stand still in a garden. This fact alone shapes

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-81209967451761028452009-10-26T19:14:00.007-04:002009-10-27T21:34:16.992-04:00

I thought it might be helpful to provide a gardener’s guide to “quantities” to help new gardeners speak the language of gardeners with more confidence.Here are six ways gardeners describe “quantities” and what they mean.A coupleWhen a gardeners say they want to get "a couple of" fill-in-the-blank, as in “I think I’d like to get a couple loads of topsoil”, this actually means that they would like

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-3595463790808273152009-10-25T05:56:00.006-04:002009-10-25T07:21:16.622-04:00

The frost claimed what was left in the vegetable garden last week, leaving cold-blackened plants for me to pull out and add to the rapidly filling compost bins. I look now at the bare raised beds and see that once again, henbit is staking its claim for the winter.There’s not much left to do prepare the vegetable garden and the gardener for winter. I should do some chipping and shredding of the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-28878906382301621622009-10-24T07:47:00.007-04:002009-10-24T12:38:02.613-04:00

Inspired by the hard frost we had last weekend, I wrote a little piece on fall clean up for my Indy Garden Sense column in The Southside Times.Today, I'm going to begin some garden clean up of my own, starting with the garage. I believe the last time I did any cleaning, straightening, sorting, pitching, sweeping, spiderweb removing in there, I founda garden center's worth of hand pruners.I

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-77705201348514031492009-10-23T05:00:00.001-04:002009-10-23T05:00:01.251-04:00

When I see headlines like this one in the newspaper,I first think, “Oh, good, the newspaper is finally covering more gardening topics.”But than I read the article and realize that once again, it isn’t about gardening, it’s about a factory.Of course, reporting on factories and what’s going on with them is important news these days, but so is news related to gardening!Plants are like factories,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-91515079106083165682009-10-22T05:00:00.005-04:002009-10-22T06:59:45.238-04:00

Dr. Plantabulb is an unusual practitioner who generally shows up in the fall and accepts patients all the way up until the time the ground freezes. If you are lucky, you can squeeze in an appointment with Dr. Plantabulb on a day like yesterday with a high temperature in the low 70’s and partly sunny skies.For some gardeners, one appointment is enough to plant all the bulbs in their garden, but

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-19438234422005883292009-10-21T05:00:00.003-04:002009-10-21T09:12:58.862-04:00

Having completely trashed the character of the burning bush, Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’, it is my duty as a helpful, PATH following gardening geek to offer some alternatives.Most of my suggestions will grow in USDA Zone 5b gardens because most of them are currently growing in my garden today. Your mileage may vary depending on the zone you are in and the conditions you garden in.Here’s my

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-37767194333474449332009-10-20T06:00:00.003-04:002009-10-31T16:43:44.769-04:00

One of the first lessons of gardening that most gardeners learn all too soon is that “bad” things can happen to plants. They can be attacked by a lawnmower, eaten alive by rabbits and bugs alike, or come down with some serious malady which could be a blight or a wilt or a you-name-it that you've never seen before.In my own garden, I suspect that my roses have blackspot, a lilac has some kind of

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-20554760233930787312009-10-19T05:00:00.005-04:002009-10-19T19:46:47.464-04:00

Far and away, the most read post on this blog is one I published three years ago today called “The Truth About Burning Bush”.In just this past year, it has been viewed over 18,500 times, according to the Google Analytics tool, and people spent more time on that post, on average, than they spent on any other post on this blog in the past year.In fact, over the last year, it has had more page views

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-41107924802251943452009-10-17T22:01:00.006-04:002009-10-18T09:12:35.229-04:00

Greetings to all members of the Society for the Preservation and Propagation of Old-Time Gardening Wisdom, Lore, and Superstition (SPPOTGWLS or “the Society”)I, your self appointed President, have been asked to pass along the following announcement to all members, past, present, and future...Are you a gardener who doesn’t need to read the instructions on the seed packet to know how to plant your

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-69216839825137836062009-10-16T17:15:00.005-04:002009-10-16T17:29:21.694-04:00

"Lonely crocus seeks long term relationship with compatible flowers to share the sunlight of bright early spring mornings. Must be willing to endure some cold temperatures and occasional late snows. No tulips or daffodils, please, except maybe some species tulips."To read more about flowers to plant with crocuses check out Indy Garden Sense in The Southside Times.(Top row left to right: Striped

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-59248066318799587352009-10-15T00:05:00.002-04:002009-10-15T00:05:00.969-04:00

Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for October 2009.By mid-October, the flowers in the garden seem to be merely hanging on, much like the gardener, waiting for the inevitable “killing frost”. In many ways, the frost is welcome. It answers the question as to when it will happen. It is the cue to begin the final act of the garden.And for this final act, the Endless Summer® Hydrangeas have

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com75tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-83293286436204249812009-10-14T05:00:00.001-04:002009-10-14T05:00:06.157-04:00

Cut or keep?It’s the debate of fall, as gardeners survey their gardens “post frost”. Should they cut all the perennials back to the ground and pull out the annuals?Or should they keep it all "as is" until spring?Cut or keep?On the “keep” side of the equation, many of the perennial seed heads, and some annuals, too, provide food for the birds in the winter time. Who hasn’t delighted in seeing a

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-33889371140475877132009-10-12T20:30:00.003-04:002009-10-13T18:57:52.723-04:00

If you are visiting national parks, be sure to plan a trip to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore managed by our National Parks Service. While you are there, don't forget to visit the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It's the big tall building.This lighthouse has stood along the ocean since 1870, lighting the way for ships, preventing them from losing their way in the dark and fog and crashing up

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-87952708345271942622009-10-11T07:56:00.005-04:002009-10-11T12:54:57.327-04:00

Everything I learned about touring gardens, I learned at Montrose, a garden I visited while attending the Garden Writers Association Symposium last month in Raleigh, North Carolina.Most of what I knew about Montrose before visiting it was what was included in the symposium’s little guide book:“Because of her intimately written garden books, Nancy Goodwin is a recognizable name to garden writers,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-25677113353053448802009-10-10T10:44:00.005-04:002009-10-10T10:56:36.495-04:00

In a place far away yet sometimes quite near, a place I call “back in the day” or “back then”, I thought it was a good idea to plant all of my houseplants in matching pink plastic pots of all sizes. Matching pink plastic pots of all sizes. Can you imagine? Who was that gardener back then?Now if I heard someone say “matching pink plastic pots of all sizes”, I would… well I don’t know what I would

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-57369631899307390042009-10-08T23:18:00.005-04:002009-10-09T06:30:46.821-04:00

I am pleased to announce my new gardening column, Indy Garden Sense, appearing each Thursday in the The Southside Times, a local weekly newspaper available at various locations in southern Marion County and northern Johnson County. My first column appeared today.I would like to give a special “Thank You” to The Hoosier Gardener, Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp, who featured my blog in her column in The

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-63869287712442329092009-10-07T17:37:00.005-04:002009-10-07T17:56:26.715-04:00

It’s October, so before our thoughts turn to rakes and raking leaves, we should have one last celebration for the garden hoes. Yes, it’s time for…A Hoe-tober Fest!What do we do for a Hoe-tober Fest? We celebrate this ageless gardening tool! We show the garden hoes a little love and respect for the hard work they do during the growing season.If you are at a loss as to how to do that, here are some

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-79112504323989739012009-10-05T20:52:00.004-04:002009-10-05T21:09:16.226-04:00

Would anyone like some peppers?I have all kinds. Hot peppers like Jalapeno, Serrano, Poblano, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Mexi-bell and mild peppers like California Wonder and Big Bertha.They are red and yellow and green, and all colors in between. And there are quite a few of them, picked by me this evening in anticipation that some night very soon, we will have frost.The funny thing about these

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-59841578365374170222009-10-04T12:14:00.009-04:002009-10-04T12:25:50.637-04:00

St. Francis in a garden in Austin, TexasWhen you place a statue in a garden, it becomes a focal point, and the garden becomes the stage on which it rests.When you place a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in a garden, it becomes a place for contemplation, a place for quiet reflection.Today, on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, we are reminded of his prayer...Lord, make me an instrument of

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15