Gardening with God

PARADISE?

2008-06-25T22:02:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I wonder about this phrase. I am kind of hoping that in paradise there won't be room for weeds like thistles and nut sedge, that I fight with constantly here on earth. I am also hoping that mosquitoes and japanese beetles will be banned from paradise. I saw my first beetle today and know that the next month will be spent trying to keep them away from my flowers and grape vines. Maybe, just to please me, God would ban moles and ground squirrels from paradise, and the rabbits would only be interested in eating grass and weeds. On my way out to check on the mole that is ruining my back garden, three rabbits ran into the corn field from my vegetable garden. They have been enjoying my green beans, and not at all interested in the traps that I have set for them.
But, on the other hand, the hollyhocks are beautiful, the lilies are blooming in all different colors, and I am eating fresh strawberries and raspberries from the fruit garden. I ate green beans and broccoli last night for dinner, fresh from the vegetable garden.
So, I guess if I can get past all of the aggravations that nature throws in, my garden is still the closest thing to paradise that I am going to see on this earth. Makes me wonder how much more awesome the real paradise is going to look someday.

PLANT SALE

2008-06-14T23:00:00.001-05:00

Today was a beautiful day! I held my plant sale from 10-6. I had a pretty good turnout, but I think if I had held it a few weeks earlier I would have sold more. Note the great sign. My Brother-in-Law is a sign painter and he painted the sign for me, I think that it helped draw people in.
It was a lot of fun meeting new gardeners, that is my favorite part when I have one of these sales. I didn't have a lot of plants to sell, and of course they were mostly purple, but most everyone that stopped left with something.
Several people walked through my gardens, some asked about specific plants, and others had questions about plants in their own gardens. I always enjoy having these sales but they do wear me out, and I don't get a lot done in my yard because I have to keep an eye out for customers. I spent the time that I had between customers, finishing up the planters for the patio. Tomorrow I will have to tackle the weeds in the beds, the rain over the past few weeks have given them a great start. Our local weatherman reported that for the last 9 Fridays we have had rain. It has really backed us up in our business. Last year we had no rain, and this year we have way to much. That's Indiana for you!

MISSED SPRING

2008-06-11T21:33:00.002-05:00

I feel like I have missed Spring! I get so busy this time of year it goes by before I know it. I try to walk around the garden each evening, but that is about it. My 'Dortman' rose is gorgeous, and the honeysuckle vine smells like heaven. My vine was given to me by a good friend. It was a start from her vine, which was a start from her Mother's vine. It takes some work to keep it from taking over the garden, but that smell is worth it.
I have planted all of the properties that we maintain with purple flowers for the 'America in Bloom' competition. This weekend I am having a sale to sell the plants that are left. I do this every year, some years having more to sell than others. I put an ad in the paper with the garage sales and usually sell most of what I have left. I hate giving up the day, and the ad cost me $30.00, but I usually do pretty well. I can still get some weeding done in the beds in between customers. So if any of you are going to be in the Lafayette area on Saturday, and need some purple flowers, stop in. They usually go pretty fast. Of course I always have people ask for something that I had last year, but I usually have different plants for sale each year.
I still want to post about my trip last Friday, but I am just to tired tonight. We took a landscape job in a small town about 45 minutes from Lafayette, and we were there today. We didn't get home until 9:30, so I am off to bed. I have to drive back there tomorrow to finish up, so it will probably be another long day. Maybe I will get to my post about the trip this weekend.

COMPUTER PROBLEMS

2008-06-09T21:45:00.001-05:00

May 25 was the last time that I posted to my blog. I have missed sharing my garden, and have also missed reading what is going on in your gardens. In one of the many storms that we have experienced over the past few weeks, the little box on my roof that allows me to receive my wireless signal, was hit by lightning. After they came out and fixed that problem, I realized that my router was also hit. So after purchasing a new one, and waiting for my son to install it, (which explains why it took so long), I am finally back online. My office computer also now has problems, and I will have to find a 'geek' to work on it. How can you love and hate something at the same time? I love how my computer has made doing bookwork so much easier, and adding my books to librarything, and blogging have been great fun also. But when they stop working, it can make you crazy!
The picture above is of my Donald Wyman lilac. It is one of the last lilacs to bloom. It is named after Donald Wyman, a well known horticulturist. When I first started working at a local nursery back in the 70's, the book that I always went to when customers had questions, was Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia. This book always had the answers. I would often look up plants just to see if they were in there. I was rarely disappointed. I remember how great it felt to finally be able to purchase the book for myself. It was a pretty pricey book back then, and there were no half price book stores, or library book sales, so I paid the full price for it. It is probably still one of the most expensive books I have ever bought, at about $40.00. I now own hundreds of books on gardening, but this is always the one that has the answers if I can't find it in the one of the others.
In the garden things are finally starting to grow. With all the cool weather and rain, most plants just sat there. Then the 90 degree weather hit, and things started to happen. One thing that happened was the strawberries. I had no idea that we would have so many. I was not prepared, nor do I have the time to put up any of them. So we are eating them, and sharing them with anyone and everyone. Most people can't believe how good they are, compared to the store-bought ones.
Well, I am cutting this post short because I want to read up on what everyone else has been up to. But I do hope to post tomorrow night on a trip that I took on Friday to a well known herb farm.
Glad to be back, and I do hope that you haven't all forgotten me!

NO TIME FOR BLOGGING

2008-05-25T22:40:00.001-05:00

I can't believe that it has been a week since I posted last. I also can't believe that we are into the last week of May! This Spring has gone by so fast, I have almost missed it.
The rain that we have had over the past few weeks has put us behind schedule. It is hard to make customers understand that every rain day pushes everyone waiting to have work done, back. Most people are very patient, and understand about the weather. We have had a lot of work that had to be done for graduations, so of course those were a priority. Thankfully, we were able to get everyone done that had events planned, and will now be able to get to everyone else.
This picture is the back yard of a customer that was having a graduation party. The beds needed to be cleaned up and mulched. The flowers blooming are Bachelors Buttons, or Mountain Bluets. They are beautiful, and reseed themselves every year.
My yellow tree peony is blooming! After removing the side shoot, it has done very well. I love the lemon yellow color. My "Miss Kim' tree lilac is also blooming. It seems especially fragrant this year, and covered in blooms.
I always look forward to Memorial Day weekend, because I usually can spend it in the garden. We had rain all day on Friday so the garden was to wet on Saturday to get anything done, so I spent the day organizing my shed, which I did not take a picture of, because I was so ashamed of the shape that it was in. It's all cleaned up now, and so much easier to get around in. I have found that when I am organized, I am able to accomplish a lot more. I found so many things cleaning the shed that I had forgotten that I had. I even found my bird bath heater that I replaced last winter because I could not find the one that I knew that I had somewhere. Now I have two, the birds are going to love me next winter!
After church this morning I stopped at my 90 year old friends home to check on her. It has rained the past few Friday's so I have not been able to do any gardening for her. I took a few pictures of her garden while I was there. The first is of her poppies in bloom, they have the most beautiful 'tissue paper' flowers. The second is a picture of some lupine's. The lupines sprang up in front of the compost pile, I assume the seed was dropped when they were finished blooming, and were added to the pile. The tall purple plant along the fence is Dames Rocket, also a volunteer. I commented that sometimes the random acts of nature turn out better than our planned gardens.
Our forecast is for rain tonight and tomorrow. I am hoping that they are wrong, and the rain comes tonight, and then moves on so that I can get some weeding done tomorrow.
Do take time tomorrow to think of all of the men and women that have given their lives so that we can spend a warm Spring day puttering in our gardens.

PURPLE, PURPLE, PURPLE

2008-05-18T22:07:00.001-05:00

Our town is participating in the America in Bloom program this summer. The flower color that they have chosen is purple. So that means that any properties that are participating, will use purple flowers in their landscapes. One of the properties that we maintain has always used a red and white color scheme, but this year, it will be purple. So, as you can see, my greenhouse is decked out in purple.
I plan to use purple and white petunias, purple verbena, and perilla. We will probably start planting next week, if it ever warms up.
My amaryllis is blooming again. If I could just get it to bloom like this at Christmas it would be great. But this flower has a mind of it's own, and blooms when it gets good and ready. I enjoy it anyway, whenever it decides to bloom.
I was able to get a little work done in the garden this weekend. I got my green beans planted, but I think that it is still to cool to plant my tomatoes. I think our April and May got mixed up. April was very warm and dry, and so far May has been cool and wet.
My tree peony is blooming. This one is a red and white
bicolor, 'Shimanishiki'. These are some of my favorite plants. They look very exotic, but are as easy to grow as the common peony.
My yellow tree peony is just coming into bloom, and my blue one is still about a week from blooming. I will post pictures of them when they bloom.
Well, it's back to work tomorrow, and I have something going on almost every night this week, so I won't get to spend any time in the garden until next weekend, I sure hope it's nice.

SATURDAY TRIP

2008-05-14T16:37:00.004-05:00

Sorry that I never got back to share my Saturday trip. My Sister and I headed out Saturday morning for Cox's Plant Farm. One of our fellow blogger's recommended it, and for the life of me I can't remember who. If you are reading this, please let me know and I will give you credit for the tip. (UPDATE: IT WAS KAREN AT KAREN'S PLACE) We had not got 2 miles out of Lafayette and we saw a garage sale sign. We had to stop because you just never know what you might be passing up. In this case, it was this great fountain. It just needs to be cleaned up, and if I get motivated, a coat of paint. It is also is covered in lime so that will have to be removed, but I just couldn't pass it up for $10.00! What a bargain. My Sister got a good laugh out of me trying to get it in the car. I bought a sheet at the sale to wrap around it, but it was going to be a challenge fitting plants around it for the rest of the day, but I knew that it would be worth it.
So we head out and get as far as Crawfordsville and see I sign for Davidson Greenhouse. If you have never been to this greenhouse, it is worth a visit. They have been around for as long as I can remember and have a great selection of plants. Lots of odd varieties of coleus, geraniums, cactus, and other oddball plants. The signage from Highway 231 is very good, and needs to be because they are located in the middle of the countryside. As we were leaving I snapped a picture of this little girl 'riding' this concrete lion. I wish that I had thought to give her parents my blog address so that they could have a copy of the picture.
So we finally leave there and head for Cox's. We arrive around 1 o'clock and the place is VERY busy! Duh, it's Mother's Day weekend, what were we thinking. They claim to be the largest garden center in Indiana, and I believe them. I have worked in a retail garden center and I don't know how they do it. They must have hundreds of employees. Just keeping up with watering would be a huge job. We spent a couple of hours shopping, and decided that we were starving and needed to find someplace to eat. We both commented on the fact that we were surprised they don't have a food vender on site. As we walked outside and around the corner, there was a tent set up for the Boy Scouts, and they were selling hamburgers, hot dogs, and chips. Wow, what luck! I bet that they made a fortune that day. It looked to me, by there set up, that they had done this before, probably every weekend so far this Spring.
So, after we had each helped out the Boy Scouts with their fund raiser, (I like to think of it that way instead of pigging out), we headed into Indy. We didn't really have a plan of where we wanted to go when we got there, so we just started driving. By chance, we ran across Eagle Creek Nursery, but didn't find much there. When we left there, we got lost, which we often do when we are on on of our trips. We always say that we are going to map out our route before we go, but we never do. At one point, we pull up to a stop sign, with me driving, and my Sister trying to figure out where we are. As I look to my left there is a church there, with a sign meant just for us out front. God has a great sense of humor!
We managed to find our way back to a main road, and found a few more interesting places to stop. Of course no trip to Indy would be complete without a few minutes at the Half price bookstore, well it was actually more like an hour but whose keeping track?
Only my Sister could have gotten me out of my garden last Saturday. I knew that it was supposed to rain on Sunday, which it did, and that I would be back to work on Monday. So, another weekend that I got nothing done outside. But I also knew that if I tried to get out of going, she would give me a huge lecture about enjoying the Spring season, not just working every weekend and missing it.
I hope that everyone has someone like my Sister in their life, to remind them of what really is important.
Thanks Peg.

MOTHERS DAY LIST

2008-05-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

Today is Mother's day, or as it is known around my house, 'Slave for a Day'. Because it is windy and rainy out, my list will probably not get completely done. Some of the things on my list had to be done outside, so they will have to wait for next weekend. I guess that is the true meaning of getting a 'rain check'. They did get my swing frame repaired, and my new water feature for my patio started. Both required the use of the welder, and I don't weld. I am replacing the water feature that I had next to my patio because it only held about 5 gallons of water, and the wind would blow the water off of it. So I was constantly refilling it. I am replacing it with a 25 gallon container, and a lower fountain, so it should not be bothered by the wind.
The flowering trees have been especially beautiful this Spring. This picture is of my 'Prariefire' crab tree. As the petals began to fall, it looked like pink confetti all over the sidewalk. It is also very fragrant, which is why I planted it by the back door to the house. These little Anemone Sylvestris 'Snowdrop' are beginning to worry me. They seem to really like this spot, and are spreading
rapidly. I really like them, and they flower very early, but I am going to have to keep an eye on them so that they don't take over the bed. Right in front of them in the picture is a Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine'. It has variegated foliage, and if I remember right, a yellow flower. I really like variegated plants, and this one has done pretty well. The picture below is in my back garden where I try to plant things that I don't have to fuss with. The plants in this garden need to be able to take care of themselves most of the time.
These are some variegated hosta that I had no place else to put, so I stuck them in here last fall. At the time I wasn't thinking about how they would look when the sweet woodruff was blooming. Sometimes things just work out with no help from us. I love how these two look together. Sweet woodruff is a wonderful groundcover for the shade, and spreads slowly over the years. The tree peony that I wrote about last Spring has begun to send out new growth. If you look closely it looks like two different plants. Last year I was puzzled by the plant blooming the expected yellow, and then blooming pink. When I was at the wholesale nursery earlier this Spring I asked one of the workers there about this oddity. He told me that this was very common. Tree peony's are grafted onto other peony rootstock, and the pink colored peony is coming up from the rootstock. I was surprised that they were grafted, because peony's are very hardy. He said that he was surprised too, and could not explain why this is done either. So, I cut they taller branches off of the plant. It was hard to do, because they looked really healthy and vigorous, but I know that the yellow peony is the grafted, and more desirable one.
Well, the 'slaves' need my advice on their work, so I am off. I will try to post later on my road trip yesterday, 'garden center hopping'.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mother's out there in blogger land!

PASS-ALONG PLANTS

2008-05-07T12:30:00.001-05:00

After reading Jen's post over at Our First Garden, I thought that I might share with you my thought's on pass-along plants.
I believe in always being prepared when it comes to acquiring free plants from generous gardeners. You must always carry in your vehicle the necessary items to make the sharing of plants as easy as possible for both parties, the giver, and the receiver. The givers will be so impressed when you open your trunk and show them that you are prepared to receive as many plants as they are willing to share. They will also feel that anyone so prepared to take the plants, can also be counted on to take good care of them when they get them home.
The items that you will need will all fit into a shoe box, so there is no excuse to leave home without it. In what I call my 'Pass-Along' kit I carry these essential items.
1: A shower curtain. This is the most important item because it is cheap, folds up into a very small area, unfolds to cover a very large area, and most important, keeps my car safe from loose soil, or wet plants. This item is also very handy for garden center visits. I would never venture out on any trip without a shower curtain.
2: plastic grocery bags. We all have tons of these, so keep 10-or 20 in your kit so that each shared plant can have it's own bag. The bags can be labeled on the outside or by using the number 3 item in the kit, old plant labels.
3: Old plant labels, and marker. I keep old plant labels and a marker in my kit so that the name of the plant can be added to the bag, or written on the outside of the bag. If the person sharing the plant with you knows the name of the plant, by all means, write it down. Don't count on your memory. If you are lucky enough to get lots of bags, it will be very hard to remember which plant is which. You can also write on the bag whether the plant grows in sun or shade, and other notes about it.
4: A pair of gloves and a knife. Always have a pair of gloves on hand, and a kitchen knife, or the root knife, shown in the picture, that I bought at Lee Valley tools. It cost's $8.50, and really works well. I have several of them, and they have held up great. I even use them in the Fall when I am cutting the foliage from daylilies back for the winter. The knife is used for dividing a perennial or cutting a small start from the main plant. You may also want to keep a pair of pruning shears in your kit if you have an extra one.
5: Camera. This is not essential to the kit, but if you take a picture of each plant that you get, you will be able to look at them when you get home and decide the best place to plant it in your garden by noting the size that it is in your givers garden.
When receiving pass-along plants from other gardeners the rule of thumb is not to thank them. The belief for this is that the plant will die if you thank them for it.
I always thank the giver for plants that I receive, and don't feel that I have suffered any losses because of this. I do think that if I appeared ungrateful, they might not be as generous next time, so I ignore the 'no thank you' rule.
Don't get hung up on having the name and variety of plants that you receive. After all, they are free! Some of my favorite plants are unnamed. The miniature Iris in the picture had no name, but it always blooms first thing in the Spring, without fail, and I like it as much as any of my named varieties.
Now, to be honest, in all of the years that I have been sharing plants, not one person has ever showed up with a "Pass-Along' kit. So, to remedy this situation, I keep plenty of bags and tags handy, so at least when they get home, they know what they have got.
Maybe I should make up these kits and market them? Hey, if they can sell pet rocks, anything is possible!

COLD AND WINDY AGAIN

2008-05-03T22:01:00.001-05:00

Well, it is Indiana!! We are back to cold and windy weather. I was able to get a few things done outside today, but it was so windy it was useless to try to do any cleaning up. When I went out this morning I really didn't know what to do. It was so windy, that I really didn't feel like working in it, and it looked like it could rain at any time.
Then I thought of a job in the herb garden that I had been putting off and was not looking forward to doing. I decided that it would be the perfect day, and it was in a semi-protected area.
The job was to eradicate the ginger mint. Several years ago I planted ginger mint under my swing in the herb garden. Every year it would creep a little further but the winter would usually kill it back enough each year that it wouldn't take over like most mints do. But the last few years this has not happened, and the mint has moved far beyond the boundaries that I had set for it. I also had decided that I wanted to try a short variety of chamomile in this spot, so the ginger mint had to go. Removing mint that has taken over an area is no fun task. If you do not get every piece of the root it will return within a few weeks. The only good thing about the job is that it is mint, so it smells good the whole time that you are working with it. I do like this mint, the new leaves have a nice yellow variegation, so I saved enough for a pot that I sunk into the ground. This will keep it from escaping back into the garden. It took awhile but I got the mint removed and the chamomile planted. By the time that I was done the clouds had moved in and it was a lot colder, so I moved into the greenhouse to work for awhile.
While walking around the garden today, I noticed a few things. The first is the spruce tree that died earlier this spring. I have no idea why, I just noticed that it had an odd look to it earlier, and when the wind and rain hit all of the needles ended up on the ground. This makes me very sad because I really liked this tree. it was just starting to get some size to it. The only thing that I can figure caused it's death was the weather that we had last year. The late freezes, and then the summer drought, must have been what caused it's death. There was no sign of insects, or root disturbance, so this is all that I can come up with. I won't have a problem filling it's spot though, I have a shrub rose that I didn't have a place for, so it will go there.
The second thing I noticed was that my 'Sensation' lilac is in bloom. This is my favorite lilac because it has a variegated flower. It has that same lilac smell, and gets about the same size as other varieties, but the flower is really unique.
My 'Carlesii' viburnums are also in bloom. I have made a hedge with 3 plants, and they are planted near the new patio off the end of our garage. They smell so wonderful when they are in bloom, it's to bad that the flowers only last for about a week. The third thing that I noticed on my walk was the "Tiger Eye' sumac that I planted last year. I was so happy with it last summer, it held it's color the whole season, and looked great under my tri-color beech tree. So as I am checking to make sure that it made it through the winter alright, I notice shoots coming up all around it. Some as far as ten feet away. This is very bad! In researching this plant nobody mentioned that it sends out runners. Now I have to decide what I am going to do about this problem, because I do not want to fight sumac coming up amongst all of my other plants. The only solution that I see is to dig a trench around it, and sink a barrier so that the runners can not get past it. That seems like a lot of work, but probably the only solution if I want to keep it. I have circled the runners in the photo, so that you could see what a problem this could become.
I am also adding a picture here of a 'PJM' rhododendron that is in my Mother's yard. It has probably been there for 15 years and blooms like this every year. People stop and ask what it is every year. This variety of rhododendron is very hardy, and has smaller leaves than the regular rhododendrons. It makes a nice foundation plant, and it is not deep rooted, so it is safe to plant near your home.

I hope that the wind is calmer tomorrow, and it is a little warmer. I would like to get some mulching done, and maybe figure out what to do with the sumac.

EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL

2008-04-23T22:23:00.000-05:00

It is a joy to drive around town this time of year. Everywhere you look, something catches your eye. Right now it is the pear trees, redbuds, and magnolias. The viburnums are just starting, and the forsythia are just about finished. My 'Ann' magnolia is in full bloom. I like this variety because it doesn't get much larger than about 8-10 feet tall, and continues to bloom off and on throughout the summer. But the 'Butterflies' magnolia is awesome! I am sure that if it was planted near the road like Ann is, people would be stopping to ask what it is. My only regret is that it is planted with a not so pretty back drop, and way to much yellow in front of it. I think that those daffodils should be dug up and moved, and maybe some nice red tulips should replace them.
I also have posted a picture of 'Euphorbia Myrsinites'. It is an interesting plant, always blooming before anything else in the garden, and continuing to bloom through the Spring. It grows along the front edge of my back beds, and never becomes a pest. It does seed, but pulling up any babies that you don't want is pretty easy.
We do need rain, and it is in the forecast for tomorrow evening, but I don't think that there is a very strong chance of it. I love how the plants just seem to jump out of the ground after a Spring rain. The farmers in my area are grateful for a chance to get their crops in, but I would still like to see a little rain, and I can't believe that I am saying this...a little bit cooler weather. Well, it is Indiana, tomorrow we could have snow!

UH, OH, TROUBLE!!

2008-04-22T22:46:00.001-05:00

This morning we had to travel to Indianapolis to the wholesale nursery and pick up plant material for several jobs. I do all of the landscaping, so my husband doesn't have a clue what plants go on each job. He goes with me to pick up plants, just to be the 'load and tarp down the plants, guy'. This makes it very easy to smuggle a few plants home for myself, each time we go.
Now, imagine yourself surrounded by acres of lush beautiful trees, shrubs, and perennials, all at wholesale prices. How can I be expected to behave myself in that kind of a situation? Especially first thing in the Spring! I was like a kid in a candy store!
Spring is always the best shopping because everything is fresh, and usually flowering. They must have had 500 Japanese maples just leafing out, and all of the flowering trees were blooming. They were really not much of a temptation because I don't have anymore room for trees. Where I ran into trouble was in the perennial greenhouses. There were several new perennials, and some that I had just never tried, and after all, I need to know the growing habit of as many plants as possible, in order to help my customers make wise choices. So, with that in mind I proceeded to pick out a few interesting plants.
First I chose a tree peony ('Kamatanishiki') that is supposed to have a blue flower. Now we all know that true blue flower's, are few and far between, but I decided to give this one a shot. I was not able to pronounce it's name, but that is beside the point. Next was a variegated helleborus ('Pacific Frost'), very cool looking, a heuchera ('Mystic Angel'), I just liked it's name, a baptisia (Twilite Prairie'), because I love all baptisia's, and a pasque flower, because, believe it or not, I have never grown one.
Now, didn't I do a good job of not going overboard? I controlled myself very well. Actually, I just happen to know that we will be back down in a few weeks, and they will have lots more plants in by then!

DECISIONS IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

2008-04-21T22:05:00.001-05:00

I got home from work tonight at 5:00, so I had a few hours that I could spend in the garden before it got dark. I needed to get my new grape vines planted. They have been in the packing material for about a week, and were starting to bud out, so I wanted to get them in. I am trying 3 different varieties, Canadice, Reliance, and Interlaken.
I also planted my potatoes. I am trying something new this year. Last year when I made my tomato cages out of concrete reinforcing wire, I made way to many. So, I dug six small holes, buried a whole seed potato, and then covered it with soil and straw. Then I put a cage over each potato, and added straw. As the plant grows I will continue to add soil and straw. I have tried variations of this method before, but this time I really want to check how many potatoes I get from each cage, and how that compares to just growing them the traditional way.

I still had some extra time after getting the grapes and potatoes planted, so I decided to plant some 'Dwarf Grey Sugar' peas. I know that it is a little late, but I had the seed, so I thought that I would go ahead and try it.
I am trying something very radical this year, something that I never dreamed that I would ever do. Even my husband thinks that I have lost it. Can you guess?
Well, after reading Teaming With Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels, (I didn't actually read the whole book, I kind of jumped around) I have decided not to roto-till my garden this year! This is huge for me! I love that first garden tilling in the Spring. All of the leaves, straw, and weeds get tilled into the soil, it just seems so right. Then, along comes this book that tells me just how much damage I am actually doing to my soil. Tonight when I went out to plant the peas, I almost changed my mind. The soil looked so hard, and the weeds were sprouting, the soil was perfect for tilling, and my husband was sitting there on his tractor with that look in his eye. I know what he wanted. He wanted to drop that tiller on that soil and just go roaring across my garden murdering all of those defenseless little bacteria, fungi, and other nasty sounding stuff. He tried everything to convince me to let him loose on that garden, even suggesting that we just till part of the garden and do a comparison on which vegetables do better. I finally said NO!, NO!, NO!, and he skulked away, defeated.
Now, the odd thing is that I am used to soft, freshly turned soil, that is easy to plant. Now I am standing with this little pea seeds, and this hard ground. How am I going to do this. So I go to my shed looking for some tool to get these seeds 2 inches into this ground. Then I spot my dibble. Now if you don't know what a dibble is don't feel stupid. They are not used much here in the states, but they are great little gadgets. They are made specifically for making holes, and that is just what I needed, so I grabbed it and headed back to the garden.
It worked perfectly! I have to admit, it worked better than when the ground is tilled. The holes were perfect, and I dropped a pea seed into each one, and then added a light coating of compost over the row, and covered it with shredded leaves. Now, I probably should keep notes on how the vegetables do with this new method, and I might even say that I will do that. But I know better. All I ask is that they grow and produce enough food that it was worth my time planting them.
And, I will be able to sleep soundly tonight knowing that all of that microbial stuff is safe and sound out there in the garden.

SPRING WORK

2008-04-19T22:05:00.003-05:00

This has been a busy week! Sunny, beautiful days! We are working on lots of cleanups and mulching gardens. One property that we worked on this week is going up for sale in the next few days, so the owners want it to look good. We spent a few days sprucing up the beds, and applying a fresh layer of mulch. We have worked on this property for several years and every time that I go there I am happy that I do not have to battle deer. The picture below shows a row of Yews that are nearly destroyed every winter from the culinary habits of the local deer population.
They munch these yews down to almost nothing. The first time that I saw this, I told the owner of the home, that I did not think that the plants would recover. He stated that this happens every winter, and that they always come back. Sure enough, they did recover. But, then the next winter, the same thing happens again. When I first saw these yews I thought that they were some interesting new variety. If you look at the closeup picture, they do look very bizarre. I wish that I would have thought of it earlier, I would have taken a few of the products on the market that are supposed to repel deer, and sprayed these plants. What a great test plot this would have been. Many of the other shrubs on the property also show deer damage,
but nothing like these yews. I guess that I will just keep fighting my rabbits, and be happy that they don't do this kind of damage, and are a little easier to control.
The forecast for today was rain, so I did not plan to work in the garden. It didn't end up raining much, but it was overcast with off and on drizzle. I did spend the day in the greenhouse. I got lots done, mostly potting and repotting. It looks like tomorrow is supposed to be a much better day for gardening, so I plan to spend the afternoon doing just that. I don't like to work on Sundays, but I often make an exception for yard work. It just doesn't seem like 'work' to me.
Friday was the first day back to my 90 year old friends garden. I check in on her often through the winter months, but Friday was the first day back in her garden. She is not able to do much, but I am always amazed at what she does get accomplished moving around her garden with her walker, and her bucket of tools. She already has her tomatoes potted up and outside against the house getting toughened up and ready for planting. As I was pruning her 'Dortmund' rose bushes, in order to install new trellises, she was standing with her walker watching me work. After a short time of silence she said to me, "you sure do good work". I said, "well thank you, I try". Without missing a beat she said, 'well, I guess I've taught you everything I know". What a character! I look forward to my Friday's with her.

THINK SPRING!!

2008-04-15T22:27:00.001-05:00

This is the message on my bathroom window. I think that you can tell that Mother Nature is not cooperating. This picture was taken on Saturday, the whole weekend being worthless as far as getting any gardening done. Rain, wind, and cold temperatures kept me inside most of the weekend. I did get a little planting done in the greenhouse, but I really wanted to be outside in the garden.
Then Sunday and Monday nights temperatures dropped into the 20s. I don't think that anything was hurt, the trees are not fully in flower yet, so I think that they will be alright. The weather has improved slowly since then, with the end of the week forecast to be in the 70s. But what do you suppose the forecast for the weekend is? RAIN!
Wait a minute! All week I plan for the weekend, and then it is supposed to rain! That doesn't seem fair. Why can't some of that rain be put off until July and August when we need it?
I have lots to do in the greenhouse, so it won't be a total waste if it does rain, but I would really like to get the mulch down before the perennials are up and leafed out. It makes it so much easier.
I received my shrub from White Flower Farm in the mail today, that I wrote a post about in January. If you remember I ordered a Calycanthus 'Venus' or sweet shrub. The cost was $39.95 plus $10.95 shipping. I had a $25.00 gift certificate, so the total cost was $25.00. I expected a pretty nice size shrub, but I am not kidding, what I received was a twig. I can't believe that people pay these kinds of prices. I would never order anything from this company again, after seeing the size of the plant that I got.
I also received my grapes from Miller nurseries. I ordered 1 Canadice (red seedless), 1 Lakemont (white seedless), and 1 Reliance (pink seedless). I am hoping that they are wrong about the weekend weather. I sure would like to get these in the ground. I tried grapes a few years ago, and ended up pulling them out after losing battle after battle with Japanese beetles. I have decided to try again, and will probably using netting to keep the beetles off of them.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

2008-04-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe that I have not posted anything since Easter!
Spring hit in full force, and we have been busy. I am so tired when I get home at night, all I get done on the computer is check my mail. I really miss reading all of the regular blogs that I check in on. I haven't forgotten you, I just don't have much time right now.
I did get to spend the weekend in my own garden. Both days were absolutely perfect weatherize, so I couldn't resist. I am amazed at what a difference you can make in a day in the garden.
My herb garden did not get cleaned up last Fall, so it was first on the list for this Spring. I needed to cut everything back, and then cover the entire thing with leaves. The garden measure around 20 by 50 feet, so it's a large area. But I was fired up and ready to go Saturday morning. This picture shows how it looked last Fall, so you know that I had my work cut out for me.
I began by cutting off all of the dead herbs and cleaning out the planters. I had my husband dump a load of leaves in the vegetable garden that is right next to the herb garden, last Fall, so I didn't have far to get them to the garden. I used my trusty garden way cart, one of the tools that I couldn't garden without. When filled with leaves, it covers a pretty large area. I usually lay them about 3-4 inches thick, allowing for some of them to be blown away. Once the herbs start growing, they will stay in place, but while it is bare, they tend to fly around.
I am not very good at sticking with one job until it is completed and then moving on. I get bored, so usually do a job for awhile, and then do something else, and then back to the original job.
So, I would clear an area, cover it with leaves, and then continue like that until it's done. It took the entire day, but by evening, the job was done. What a relief! It is so much easier to do when nothing has sprouted yet. My cart can be pushed around without hurting any plants. If I had waited a few more weeks, I could not have used my cart, because the plants will be starting to grow by then, and would get trampled.
It is amazing to me that this garden can be completely bare in the Spring, and in a few months, be full, with some plants reaching 5-6 foot tall. Ninety percent of the plants in this garden are perennial. I plant Basil, Parsley, and Calendulas, but the rest of the plants come back year after year. I love herbs because they require very little care. I rarely fertilize them, and only water when it is extremely dry. The only other maintenance is occasionally dividing the plants that tend to take over the garden. I also always have fresh herbs for cooking. Many times I have run out to the herb garden for some lovage, chives, or rosemary to add to a dish.
But my favorite thing about this garden, is just walking through and running my hand across the tops of the herbs. And when people stop by, especially kids, I take them through the herb garden first. They always enjoy it the most.
I also have a swing in the garden, right across form the pond. it is a wonderful place to sit for a few minutes when I get home in the evening.
Well, I don't know when I will be back, happy Spring until then!

HAPPY EASTER

2008-03-22T23:24:00.003-05:00

"Loving Father, may I embrace the cross of your Son as my only hope, my only help, and my only happiness."

I wish you all a Happy Easter!

I am adding a picture of the cake that I made for Easter. I saw it in a magazine, and decided to try it. It turned out great, with lots of comments, and nobody wanting to cut it. As I was finishing it on Saturday night, I ran out of peeps and had to send my husband and son on a "wild peep chase". They had to go to 4 or 5 stores before they found any. They said that they knew that they had better not come home without them. ;) The cake is made with two 9-inch round cakes, one on top of the other.
Iced with chocolate icing and the top layer covered with chocolate chips. Then, I put toothpicks into the peeps, and stuck them in the cake, all the way around the outside. This cake would be great at a summer luncheon or tea, but I am not sure that you can find the peeps that time of year.
Sorry, the picture did not turn out great, but you get the idea.

I'VE BEEN OUTED!!

2008-03-20T16:36:00.005-05:00

For the past few months our local newspaper has ran a weekly column on bloggers in our area. I have read each one that they have printed. Most all of the blogs that have been highlighted have been about these peoples personal lives, and most from the under 30 crowd. Each week I would become more frustrated, sometimes yelling at the newspaper that there were people out there blogging for a purpose, and not just which bar they got wasted at on Saturday night. Now, I know that is important to some people, but it is much more important to me to know whose lenten rose is blooming first, and who ordered what seeds, and when will they plant them.
So, I decide to send my blog address in to the paper.
Now this is huge for me, because every one of these blogs has a picture attached of the author. I DON'T DO PICTURES! Everybody knows that, my family, my friends, everybody! I thought, oh well, they probably won't use my blog anyway, so I don't need to worry. So, off it went. I didn't hear from them over the next couple of weeks, and so I forgot all about it.
Until Monday morning. An email. "We would like to highlight your blog, and we will need a picture".
Me: "Could you just do it without a picture, maybe use that great smiling sunflower I use on my blog?".
Them: "No, but don't worry, the picture is very small, the size of a postage stamp". Yeah, right. Ok, this is when I tell them forget it. But if I do that, people will never know about all of the great gardening blogs out there. OK, so I send them the smallest picture that I can find.
Them: "We need a bigger picture". DRAT!!! I knew it! Ok, so I ask my Son to take a picture of me. He is laughing his head off, because he knows how I feel about pictures. Finally we get one, and I send it off. I am thinking that I have a few weeks to get used to the idea that my face is going to be plastered all over the newspaper.
But Wednesday morning, there it was.
Luckily, it is in a section of the paper that most people never get to, you know the one with fashion advice, self help columns, and the comics.
So I have been outed in the worst way possible, by the local newspaper. I just hope that my sacrifice has raised the opinions of people everywhere that bloggers aren't a bunch of nuts that don't have anything better to do than send there thought and opinions out into cyberspace, for all to see.
We have a purpose!!

WHERE DO YOU BLOG?

2008-03-19T12:25:00.001-05:00

It is Spring, and time for me to get back to work. It is also time to put away my "blog work station" at my dining room table. Let me explain. My main computer is in my office. This is a room that was added to our home before we moved here. It has no basement under it, has windows on two walls, and one heat vent for the room. Needless to say, in the winter, it is very cold in there.
So, a few years ago, before I began blogging, I decided that I needed a laptop. There are a few months in the winter, where I don't have to do much in the office for our business, so I thought that with a laptop I would be able to sit in my chair in the living room, where it is warmer, and check mail, do my banking, and play solitaire. I also work on genealogy in the winter months, and I would be able to take the laptop with me in my travels around the country.
Then, last winter while playing around on the internet, I found the librarything website. A place to catalog all of the books in my library, and talk with other people that love books as much as I do. I was hooked.
That website led me to blogging. I shared that story on my anniversary blog. So between blogging, adding books to my personal library, genealogy, and adding books to the library at my church that I started this winter, I needed a place that was convenient and warm. The dining room table fit the bill. We don't often have meals there anymore. It's just the three of us, and we usually eat in the kitchen, or I am embarrassed to say, in the living room in front of the TV.
So I bought a rolling cart from Sam's, and put my printer, scanner, and everything else I would need to create a mini-office on it. I attached a power strip to the side of it, and plugged everything in. That way it takes just one plug to get everything going. It has worked out very well, I even find my Son using it occasionally. If I do need to use the dining room, I wheel my mini-office into my reading room. It has worked out very well, but I am afraid that it is time to close up shop for the season. I will keep up with everyone on my office computer, now that it is warmer in there. My posts will probably not be as frequent either, but I am sure that will happen to a lot of us, because between you and me, if I have the choice of sitting at my computer, or being in my garden, you all know where I will be. I am sure that a lot of you feel the same way.
So, back to my original question. Where do you blog?

PROJECTS

2008-03-17T10:21:00.007-05:00

I took a walk around my property on Saturday to decide what had to be done in the beds this season. I had lots of projects last summer, including filling in and repairing a trench made by my husband in an attempt to install a drain, and landscaping around our new patio. I do not have any big plans this year, but I did find a few things that I have been putting off, that need to be done.
One is this beautiful pine tree. My husband insists that it needs to come down. It is the first thing that we planted when we moved here 17 years ago. I always warn people about planting trees to close to power lines and buildings, and this is a perfect example why. At the time that I planted the pine, we had planned to have the power lines buried. The problem with that is, it costs money to have power lines buried, and there was always something that was way more important to spend extra money on, so it never got done, and now it is so expensive, we will never do it. I love this tree, and so do the birds. but I think that the power lines are going to win. I told my husband that he is in charge of cutting it down, I don't want to be around to see it happen. The only good thing is that I will get a large new planting bed in the deal.
The second project that I found in my walk was this area. I wanted to tackle this last summer, but never quit got it accomplished. The idea is to move this raised bed, that I use for holding plants, to another area. Then I want to fence an area for chickens, and use the green shed for the chicken house. Several years ago we raised chickens in this shed, and I would like to do it again. This time though I would like to raise the chickens primarily for eggs, where the last time they were all butchered. I had planned to have it ready this Spring, but as you can see that hasn't happened. This has tended to be the junk collection site, don't we all have one? It will be a great place for chickens, and I am thinking that I can pipe some of the heat generated in the greenhouse, into the shed for warmth early in the Spring. The problem with this project, as with all of the projects in this post, is that it involves my husband. He has his own list of things to do, so I usually have to keep after him to help me with my projects. The shed for the chickens needs some repairs, so this might not get done until sometime this summer. It would be nice have a place to get rid of kitchen waste, and the manure would be a good addition to the compost pile.
The third thing is this picket fence. My husband built it shortly after we moved in. It is starting to rot along the bottom, and some of the boards have rotted all the way through. We have talked about replacing it with the new plastic fencing, but none of the ones we have found really look like the old fashioned picket fences. So, he will probably build a new fence from scratch. We would also like to add a piece of fence across the front of our property so it would match this section. The idea is to build the fence in removable sections, so that they could be brought in one piece at a time, over the winter for painting. Great idea, but we ran out of time. So this project may have to wait for next winter.

The project that I dread the most is cleaning out the pond. I only do this about every three years, and I really hate it. The plants need to be removed, divided, and repotted. The fish need to be removed and the pond drained, and then the foot of muck in the bottom cleaned out. It is such a hard job, and very messy. If anyone wants to help, let me know. Free starts of pond plants, and all of the fish you want. ;)

While walking around I also noted how bad the herb garden looks. It is the only bed that I did not get cleaned up last Fall, so it will have to be the first one that I tackle this Spring. Looking back to posts from last year that have pictures of the herb garden, it is hard to believe that it will look that way again.
So, I have plenty of work cut out for me, and with our busy season upon us, it will be evenings and weekends.
I can't wait to get started!

SHOPPING

2008-03-11T21:29:00.002-05:00

Saturday my Sister and I spent the day running around to all of those places that you always want to go to, but just don't have the time. Our Husband's had left early in the morning for a swap meet in Louisville, something that neither of us were the least bit interested in. On our list was the Tuesday Morning store in West Lafayette. If you do not have one of these stores near you, you are missing out. Before we got one here, we would travel to Indy to shop there. They are filled with quality things, priced lower than what you would normally pay. I receive their ad in the mail, and this month there were a few things that looked interesting. The first thing that I saw when I walked in was the St. Francis statue. I already have a statue of St. Francis, but this one is holding a bowl with a bird on the edge. It will look great on my patio, so I just had to have it. Then I saw this little rabbit. Well, anyone that reads my blog knows of my dislike of anything "rabbitlike". These little varmints eat anything and everything that they get near, and do lots of damage, to my shrubs and perennials during the year.
This one looked very innocent though, and his mouth was welded shut, so I thought that he would be a safe addition to my garden.
The item that I actually went to the store for, and that was in their ad, was this garden basket. It folds flat when you are not using it, and then pops up when it's needed. It is large enough for hauling tools around, but I bought it for harvesting fruits and vegetables. At only $10.00, it was a bargain. I have been wanting to get something specifically for this task, and I think that this will do the trick.
So, I spent a great day with my Sister, and picked up a few things for my garden.
Now I just wish that Spring would hurry up and get here.

ANOTHER BOOK SALE

2008-03-07T16:15:00.003-06:00

Well, last Friday night there was another library book sale. These are very dangerous for me, especially when I am starting a church library. Most of my time was spent looking through the religious books, but I could never leave a sale without checking out the gardening books. I did really well this year, either they were picked over before I got to them, or I already owned them. I just ended up with a few. But what an odd assortment. I picked out some really different gardening books at this sale. I wonder if they were all donated by the same person? I will share a couple of the books that I bought that are very different from the normal gardening books I usually purchase.
The first one is called "The One-Minute Gardener". I don't know about you, but this intrigued me. Gardening in a minute. Where is the fun in that? I spend more than a minute just standing at the edge of the garden, wondering what to tackle next. I guess this book would be great for someone that is on a tight schedule.....but really, 1 minute. That is insane. The book does have some good time-management tips in it, so I will put it on my shelf, but I don't ever want to get to the point when I spend just one minute a day in my garden.
The next book is called "The Carpet Garden". I couldn't imagine what this book might have to say, but you guessed it. Cover your garden with carpet, and plant through it. No weeds, no bugs?, no mess! I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to garden in my living room, so this idea is not for me. The only thing that I took from this book was to maybe plant my tomato plant through a square of carpet. This might hold in moisture, and keep the plant dry. But as far as carpeting my whole garden, that's just not going to happen!
Then there was a book on Labyrinth's called, amazingly enough, (get it, maze) Labyrinth. I enjoy labyrinth's but I am not sure I want one on my property. I think that they would take a lot of care, and I just don't see the value in it. So, I will just look through the book when I want to admire the beauty of these things.
Then there is the "The Garlic Lovers' Cookbook" straight from the garlic growing capital of the U.S.A., Gilroy, California. I thought that I might need this when I dig the garlic next Fall, that I planted this past Fall. There are lot's of recipes, and some of the history of the plant. The festival that they have in Gilroy draws thousands of people each year. Local legend says that when Will Roger passed through the town at harvest time, he described it as "the only town in America where you can marinate a steak just by hanging it out on the clothesline".
I also picked up a few older books, one called "The Language of Gardening", and one called "Favorite Flowers in Color". There is nothing like the old gardening books. The one on flowers has 300 pictures, and must weigh 5 pounds. The flower book is from the 1940's, and the language of gardening the 6o's.

Then there is one called "The Lively Garden Prayer Book". It is full of garden prayer-poems. Some of the titles are, "The Hymn of Holy Lettuce", "The Pouting Potato", and "A Dung Beetle's Love Call". It is a very cute book. There is also one called"A Well-Watered Garden" A Gardeners Guide to Spirituality. It is a journal for writing your thoughts down, with scripture passages, and garden ideas, sprinkled throughout the book.

There is a book called, "Tales from the Plant Kingdom" that is signed by the author. It tells the legends and stories about the flowers and plants that we have in our garden.
I also got a book on lavender, entitled, "Lavender". It is one of my favorite plants and this book has tips on growing it, and using it. It has great pictures that I can look at in the winter months. I will just spray the air with lavender essential oil, look at the pictures, and pretend that it is summer outside.
Also, a book called "Kitchen Table Bird Book". Now I have lot's of bird books, but none specifically written to be kept on the kitchen table, and since this is where I mainly watch the birds from, how could I pass it up? It is a nice book, with drawings instead of photo's.I also picked up a copy of a book of "Frog's and Toads". I already have this book in my library, but I bought this one to keep outside with me so that when I run into one of these little guys in my garden, I know who I am dealing with.
These are the most unusual of the books that I bought at the sale, and all at a cost of $1.00 each. All of the books were like new, with no writing or highlighting in them. In this day and age, with books selling in the 10-20 dollar range, you just can't beat it. On that note, I think that I read that West Lafayette is having a book sale in the next few weeks...I had better make some more room on my bookshelves!

THE SENSITIVE PLANT

2008-03-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

After reading Gina, at My Skinny Garden's post on the Tickle Me Plant, I felt that I needed to write about my history with Mimosa Pudica, aka Sensitive Plant.
When I was in seventh grade my science teacher had us do a project growing these plants in paper cups on the window sill. I was totally amazed at these little guys. When you touched them they would wilt, and then recover in about 10 minutes. This plant is where I trace my interest in plants and growing things.
I moved from the sensitive plant to house plants, and then to a small garden behind our garage. I would spend summers with my Grandparents helping them in their garden and lawn. I also spent some time working in a florist shop in a high school job program.
When I graduated, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do with my life. It didn't occur to me that I could work with plants for a living. I lived up North in Highland at the time, and one day my Brother was visiting from Lafayette and suggested that I come home with him and see if I could get a job working in a garden center in Lafayette. I really didn't think that would happen, but I agreed to try. The first one that I walked into hired me. I then had to return home, pack up my belongings, and move to Lafayette. I lived for a while with my Brother, and then with my Sister, before getting my own place. I worked in that garden center for about 5 years. I met my husband there. We always joked that because we worked so many hours, if you didn't meet someone there, you would never meet anyone, because you never had any time off. I remember that the employees of the shop tied pots, and plastic gardening tools to the back of our truck, along with the "just married" sign.
After we were married I went to work for a company affiliated with Purdue University. My job was to transplant the plants grown in a lab, to flats in the greenhouse, and then into pots to be shipped to the customer. When that job ended, I was offered the greenhouse, if I wanted it. We just had to take it down. That was not a tough decision, and I am still using it today. Then in 1986 we started our own landscaping business. I never made it to school, because I never considered working with plants for a living. One day I just realized that I was doing it, and by then it was to late to go back. So, I am totally self taught, which I think is sometimes the best way.
Just the other night I was talking with my husband and son about the decisions in life that we make. I often wonder where I would be now if I had not taken my Brother up on his offer of coming to Lafayette in search of a job, or what my occupation would have been if I had had a different science teacher in seventh grade.
I have used the sensitive plant in many talks that I have given, especially if the talk includes children. I love to watch their faces when they touch the plant. Who knows, maybe the same thing will happen to them that happened to me. I can think of worse things to do with your life.

ENTER MARCH

2008-03-01T22:03:00.001-06:00

Well, here in Lafayette March came in like a lamb. I hope that doesn't mean what they say it means. I am ready for the snow to be over. The thing that I dislike most about March is that it seems to be windier than other months. I hate wind. I can take the cold, but when you add wind, I get very irate.
I have not made it to the greenhouse to do any planting yet. I did go out and check on the plants that I overwintered, and they all looked pretty good. There are a few that I will need to repot, but most will go directly into the beds. I just ran out of time last Fall, so I was happy to see that they survived.
The work at my church has taken a lot more time than I thought that it would, as those projects often do. But I should be able to begin filling the library with books by next week. It is very exciting to see a drab, ugly room, transformed with a little paint and carpet.
I am ready to put all of my painting supplies away now, and get out my gardening tools. It has been a productive winter, but I am so ready to get my hands in some soil. I know that all of you feel the same way.

(I borrowed the picture above from our local news station, I hope that they don't mind.)

FORGOTTEN ANNIVERSARY

2008-02-26T10:33:00.005-06:00

While shopping at Sam's this week I ran across one of the orchids that I had purchased a month ago for my friend that turned 90 years old. The plant was not in bloom anymore, so the price was reduced from $30.00, to $6.00. I quickly grabbed one up, and only one because my husband was along. if he had not been with me, I am not sure how many of them would have come home with me. The only problem was that I really wanted a yellow one, and could not tell what color this one will be. I guess it will be a surprise!
Well, as I stated in the previous post, I have been very busy. Therefore, I let my blog anniversary slip by. February 20 2007. I had jotted the date down on my notepad about a month ago, but I missed it!
So, happy late anniversary to me!
How did I get started blogging you ask? Well, it is kind of a funny story. I ran across Librarything while playing on the Internet, and thought that this had to be the neatest site I had ever found. I immediately decided to add my books. I had no idea how many books I owned, and how much of a job it would be to catalog them. After entering several hundred books I began to notice that there were several people that had a lot of the same books that I had. One of these people was from Indianapolis, Carol at May Dreams Gardens. I sent a note to her on Librarything, and she wrote back. She commented that when I got my blog going, to let her know. Blog???? I had never had any experience with a blog, what exactly was it? Wasn't it just a bunch of people that didn't have anything better to do than sit around and write about there daily lives, stuff nobody really cared about?
So, I went to Carol's blog, and from there to other gardening blogs. I was hooked. These people actually wrote about gardening!! This is great, other people that loved gardening as much as I did!! I have never been very good at journaling about my garden, what an opportunity this would be to keep track of my garden in a blog. Of course my Husband and Son made fun of me, and my Son's girlfriend even giggled one night when she was over, laughingly wondering how many people read it, 10 maybe 20? When I told her that over a period of a year, there had been over 4000 people read it, she stopped laughing. I said that she just didn't understand gardeners. We don't write about the date we went on last night, or the new makeup we were trying. we write about important things like which tomato variety was the best, and where was the best place to buy seeds. She looked at me like I was crazy, and walked off.
So, I continue to blog, whether anybody reads it or not. I can now enjoy going back and following where I was at this time last year. I would never have taken time to record these events in a notebook, it's just not as much fun. And I am so happy to have met all of the people that "garden" on their computer too. I have learned from your posts and hope that you have learned from mine. After all, that is what we are here for, to help each other out in the pursuit of the "perfect" garden.