tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84885992009-07-05T21:37:06.818-04:00We should all strive to sow, grow, and sustain good things in life's garden. I hope you enjoy these brief writings in this gardening blog about my gardens, gardening adventures and occasional garden opinions, and are inspired to get out and do a little digging and hoeing in your own gardens, wherever and whatever they may be. This is May Dreams Gardens because all year I dream of the days in 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.comBlogger1173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-8178192461959562852009-07-05T19:00:00.007-04:002009-07-05T21:37:06.828-04:00

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and gardening friends everywhere,Greetings from my summer garden. At least I think it is summer. It is summer, right? It’s been so cool here this past week that if we didn’t have calendars and someone just blind folded us and brought us here, we might be convinced it was early May or even late April. I joked that it was so cold that maybe we should have turned our calendars

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-60950936859375213552009-07-05T08:48:00.009-04:002009-07-05T10:11:34.434-04:00

Congratultions, Clematis 'Rooguchi' for being brave enough to bloom after I so neglected you.I take it that these two beautiful blooms are a thank you gift to me for finally getting rid of the weeds around you and putting down a nice layer of pine bark mulch. If it is, I thank you!But it is I who should apologize for the lapse in the first place. I am mending my ways one bag of mulch at a time,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-36595695235544036212009-07-03T22:40:00.001-04:002009-07-03T22:42:33.668-04:00

I don't know where the saying "knee high by the fourth of July" came from in regards to corn, but I'd be worried if we arrived at this point of summer and my corn was still just knee high.But no worries here! My new-to-me corn variety, 'Spring Treat' is way taller than "knee high" and is tasseling now.I think the whole crop will net me about three ears of corn, based on seeing where there are

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-89756162272080272442009-07-02T01:00:00.001-04:002009-07-02T05:55:15.882-04:00

There are a few things missing from my garden this season, including…Phlox paniculata ‘Crème de Menthe’. At one time, this was one of my favorite perennials, but it disappeared completely this year. Last year, it was very undersized and I knew it was fading. I probably should have moved it at that time, given it more space and more care, and then I might still have it. I have no idea where I’ll

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-54083962185837197542009-06-30T22:23:00.005-04:002009-07-01T06:24:01.726-04:00

Many novice gardeners are growing the Queen of the Vegetable Garden, tomatoes, for the first time this season, and may have some questions about everything from hornworms to entering the May Dreams Gardens Annual Tomato Contest.Here are some of the more popular questions and answers:How will I know if I have tomato hornworms on my tomato plants?It is generally not a question of if you have

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-87170551569687815042009-06-29T22:00:00.002-04:002009-06-30T07:35:44.775-04:00

When the night bloomer blooms, all other activity for the evening comes to a halt or at least slows down enough so that I can run to the sunroom every ten minutes or so to take another picture.Excuse me, I need to go take the first picture at 7:00 pm. And I’m back. Where were we? Oh yes, the night blooming cereus, Epiphyllum oxypetalum, is blooming this evening. I noticed the bud was nice and big

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-74096357432790485882009-06-28T21:37:00.007-04:002009-06-28T23:16:32.054-04:00

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and gardening friends everywhere,Greetings from my back patio where I’m enjoying a beautiful evening listening to birds chirping in the trees and watching the antics of a couple of yellow finches out in the garden. There’s a nice breeze and the high temperatures in the 90’s that we had most of last week are gone now, at least for awhile.Out in the garden, I finally pulled

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-22678461938113326502009-06-28T07:44:00.003-04:002009-06-28T08:10:19.847-04:00

Congratulations, Heliopsis helianthoides 'Lorraine Sunshine', you are the flower of the day, of the week, of the side border where you live.You shine above all others right now, at three feet tall and just as wide with your very variegated foliage and bright yellow flowers. And you are doing this all on your own with very little help from me. No extra water, mulch or pruning! Just a tiny bit of

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-6425309917875808922009-06-26T23:58:00.003-04:002009-06-27T07:13:41.900-04:00

What secrets of the garden does this old grub hoe know? What ground has it broken? What roots has it dug out? Who carved that handle, clearly not the original, but definitely hand-hewn? Who has leaned against this hoe, perhaps after hoeing out a long row with it?And how did they get that hoe head on there?That's what my cousin and I wondered and asked ourselves as we examined this fine old

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-34296324585162821122009-06-24T23:47:00.005-04:002009-06-25T16:56:07.156-04:00

I am about to confess that there is another member of the Umbelliferae family in my garden.But before I do, a quick review.In my last blog post, I confessed that I had somehow inadvertently removed, hoed under, or dug up all the dill, cilantro, carrots, and parsnips in my garden in my zealous quest for a weed free garden, and that these plants are all members of the Umbelliferae family of

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-33149919820410197472009-06-23T23:21:00.004-04:002009-06-24T06:43:18.286-04:00

What happened to the umbels?I was standing in the garden the other day, looking around, checking for blooms and bugs and doing some spot weeding, and realized I have no umbels in the garden.Where had they gone, because I know I planted several kinds of umbels.It didn’t take me long to answer my question. I apparently was a little overzealous with my hoeing in my quest for a weed-free garden and

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-56588799714292735872009-06-22T23:30:00.002-04:002009-06-23T06:17:52.903-04:00

Earlier today, I read that at any given time there are 10 quintillion insects on this earth. Written out that number is 10,000,000,000,000,000,000. That's eighteen zeros after the ten. I don't know if that is an accurate number or one that has just propogated itself across the internet and therefore seems true because you see it on several web sites.But if it is true, it's a lot. I wonder how

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-46235370462275807552009-06-21T19:00:00.005-04:002009-06-21T22:07:37.283-04:00

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and gardening friends everywhere,Greetings from my garden! On this first day of summer, it seems fitting that I picked the last of the peas and then the first of the hot peppers this morning.I’m also finally bidding a long farewell to the other spring crops, including the lettuce which has all bolted and turned bitter in the heat, and a few stray radishes whose roots have

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-11874592983754208662009-06-20T08:09:00.006-04:002009-06-20T08:26:32.226-04:00

If I’m remembering right, it seems that my Dad always managed to have a ripe tomato around Father’s Day, in this same hardiness zone that I am gardening in. Whether that memory is right or wrong, that’s the date by which I measure how late my tomatoes are each year.It appears that this year, my tomatoes will once again be very, very late since the plants are just now starting to bloom. Even the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-76034524742499558342009-06-18T22:48:00.007-04:002009-06-18T23:16:44.002-04:00

Another therapy session with Dr. Hortfreud...Carol, you are fortunate we were able to have this session. The weatherman said in the morning that we could get one to two inches of rain, and we didn’t. That would have prevented us from meeting.I know, Dr. Hortfreud! If we had gotten all that rain, I don’t know what I would have done because I really don’t have another WOO to mow or meet until

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-59449294341210970422009-06-16T22:55:00.004-04:002009-06-16T23:34:18.303-04:00

An unexpected rainstorm this evening left another half inch of rain on the garden and kept me from going outside after work for an extended session of weeding therapy.Have you heard of or tried weeding therapy? If not, you should really try it. It’s good for both the garden and the gardener in so many ways!For the garden, weeding therapy is all about getting rid of the plant thugs that are

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-38508351938039716202009-06-15T00:05:00.002-04:002009-06-15T06:17:21.477-04:00

Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for June 2009!Today's post is brought to you by a cool spring with rain whenever we seemed to need it. I wish that every spring could be like this one.It's also brought to you by the color yellow.From the first tomato blossoms to the ubiquitous ‘Stella D’Oro’ daylilies, which I swear every year I’m breaking up with but don’t, I have an abundance of sunshiny

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com109tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-92071165713272100132009-06-14T19:00:00.005-04:002009-06-14T20:44:17.072-04:00

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and gardening friends everywhere,These letters are sure making me look at my garden differently this year, knowing that I am going to write each week to let you know how it is growing. As a result, I'm doing stuff I might otherwise have procrastinated on or maybe even skipped this year, like mulching the paths.Yes, yesterday, I finally mulched the paths between the raised

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-11210839032866036272009-06-12T19:00:00.008-04:002009-06-12T19:02:04.042-04:00

Greetings to all members of the Society for the Preservation and Propagation of Old-Time Gardening Wisdom, Lore, and Superstition (SPPOTGWLS or “the Society”)Following are the minutes of our latest meeting.The meeting began with a review of the previous minutes, notes, and correspondence of The Society. It was also noted that The Society began nearly one year ago on June 16, 2008.Following the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-68026795618182322272009-06-11T18:46:00.002-04:002009-06-11T18:49:43.093-04:00

When did you start gardening? I started gardening, in a way, two score and eight years ago, when at the age of two my mother caught me with my hands in a bag of fertilizer. Family legend has it that she cleaned me up and put me down for a nap, then called the doctor who said to wake me up to make sure I wasn’t turning blue and was still breathing.Although my mother was a bit reluctant to do so,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-86025789847948018512009-06-10T06:26:00.003-04:002009-06-10T11:31:42.520-04:00

All hail the peas!It is once again time for the Feast of the First Peas here at May Dreams Gardens. Festivities include eating a few peas right in the garden, admiring the beautiful pea vines, picking peas, and shelling them to display in one of my best bowls.All hail the peas!You know what’s ironic about this pea festival?I don’t really like peas unless they are fresh picked from my garden. I

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-21247136488998237032009-06-08T18:39:00.007-04:002009-06-08T19:33:21.585-04:00

My careful observation of gardeners has shown me that there are times when they look a little bit goofy. (Goofy like this coneflower that looks like it just opened up and forgot to comb its petals out nice and neat.)For example, I have noticed that a gardener might be standing there holding a hose and watering a plant when she sees something pretty out of the corner of her eye, maybe a new bloom.

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-49617205635247517632009-06-07T19:00:00.004-04:002009-06-07T19:00:08.193-04:00

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and gardening friends everywhere,Greetings from my vegetable garden where the spinach has bolted but the lettuce is still good. It was great to spend time with both of you and so many other garden bloggers at the Chicago Spring Fling last weekend. I’m looking forward already to gathering with everyone in Buffalo in 2010!While I was gone those four days, the weeds especially

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-74283484610718125192009-06-06T06:12:00.014-04:002009-06-06T19:52:42.706-04:00

I found a few miscellaneous ideas and thoughts when I finally unpacked my bags and sorted through my pictures from the Chicago Spring Fling.First thing out of the bags was this rabbit, which isn't surprising. Rabbits are everywhere, as it turns out, even in Chicago.I saw real rabbits at the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Ginkgo Organic Garden. And I saw this little stone rabbit, the best kind of

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-4502229569695082952009-06-04T21:34:00.006-04:002009-06-04T22:10:21.569-04:00

Another therapy session with Dr. Hortfreud...Carol, where have you been? You missed weed therapy last week and your garden is really showing it.Dr. Hortfreud, I know! I went to Chicago for the Spring Fling, but I’m back now.Oh, that’s right, I saw your post the other day about the “one of” plants. You know, you don’t have just “one of” plants. Take that Snow-in-Summer with its pretty gray foliage

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10