Goodbye Garden

Well, as you all know by now, I've all but abandoned my writing here on a regular basis. Now it's not because I don't love it! For those of you who know Bill and I, you know the circumstances. Besides, all the exciting parts of this past year's garden were pretty much done with anyway, right? My herbs live on, even with me not out there everyday looking after things. That's the true beauty of them I guess. Once they get going, very little keeps them down. Let's hope I continue to be this way also.

When things come around again to a more normal time and I restart my adventures in the garden, I'll be sure to let you all know! Meanwhile, thanks for reading!

Time to Hit the Gym

Bill and I had the dead branches trimmed off of our oak tree in the backyard this past week and in the process uncovered the most unusual freak occurrence of nature. If you look closely at this picture you can see a cross limb that has grown between the two trunks of the tree. Both ends are completely grown into two separate trunks of the tree. So, I had to get a snapshot of this pull-up bar before it was gone. Who knew I had a Gold's Gym for squirrels in my tree? Now I guess they'll have to work out somewhere else! I'm sure my dog China would be glad to help with that - anyone up for a run?

Come on squirrels

fall in line

don't you know it's pull-up time?

What! No bar?

I guess that's done

Time instead to have some fun!

Yes...borderline corny but I couldn't help it.

It's a Jungle Out There

Well, what have I been up to lately? I've been hibernating...While bears hibernate in the winter, I tend to hibernate in the summer. Now I'm not sleeping all through the summer but I am certainly cocooning myself inside the air conditioned house! It's so hot here! Just 10 minutes or less outside and a person is just damp from head to toe. So, needless to say, I have not seen much of my garden in the last month. Today was very overcast with rain thanks to Storm Ana passing through, so it was the perfect day to go out and inspect what's been going on and - Wow! It's a jungle out there! I actually had plants in front of my porch door, making it hard to open. Anyone who's ever seen my backyard knows I like things kind of woodsy but it's gone from woods to jungle. Must be all the humid, steamy air! Maybe I'll compromise and say it's a rain forest. Anyway...so I was cutting back the plant invaders from in front of my door and guess what I found growing in between the pavers - a lemon basil plant! I was quite surprised and wondering how it managed to establish itself there all on its own and then I remembered that last year when I cut down the old basil plant I laid all the stalks with the seed heads on the pavers so I could group them together to keep for seeds. I guess some of the seed pods fell into the cracks and - presto! - like magic a new basil plant is born in its time. What a pleasant, unexpected surprise!

Lemon basil, from where did you come?

Yes from seed, but did you travel some?

No, no, no you were left in this spot

a long time ago and then forgot

but now you appear and I'm so glad

Welcome back to my backyard pad!

Calling All Gardeners!

Pop quiz for today! What is this?

This is what Bill and I asked ourselves today. We were casually eating lunch at the kitchen table when we both spotted this creature flitting about the flowers. It was pretty big, at least 2 to 3 inches long and a wing span of about 3 inches. We wondered, "Is it a really big bee?" I grabbed my camera and went outside to investigate. Well, as soon as I saw it close up I knew it wasn't a bee...okay...but what is it? It has a third little "wing" on it. That little thing on the back end was flapping just like the wings...never seen anything like it before. I'm thinking to myself that it moves like hummingbird - wings flapping so fast a person can't hardly see them and flitting from flower to flower...maybe a really big moth or butterfly? So I snapped a few pictures and then away he flew into the sky. Now Google is a wonderful thing. It took me a little while but I did find out about this mysterios creature. Are you ready for the answer (or maybe you already know the answer)?

This amazing little flying machine is indeed (drum roll please) - a hummingbird moth (a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, Hemaris thysbe to be exact)! Who knew there was such a thing? I sense some skepticism from some of you. Just Google "hummingbirds/bird or bug" and you'll see.

This has been the most fascinating discovery this year in my garden. I'm completely enthralled. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go refill my hummingbird feeder!

Baby hummingbird?

Are you sure?

Can I take you at your word?

It has antennas don't you see?

It really is a mystery.

But look closer my dear friend,

wings fast as lightening

and a feathery rear-end!

Waterfall of Herbs

So my herbs are doing quite well on their own these days. With all the rain we've been getting, I barely even have to fill the planters with water. The chives, tarragon, and mint make this wonderful little cascade over the edge of the planters that I find really beautiful. They're just reaching for the sun, leaning and looking for the source of light. It's so similar to what our own souls do - always yearning and looking for the Source of Light, the Creator, our Maker, the One who shines on us. When it's dark in our lives we search, so it is with these little herbs. It's not surprising but it is wonderful how consistent and constant our Lord is with all of nature - including us!

Whether the sun be out or not,

Whether the clouds pass by my spot,

or the sun shines bright on a particular day,

My Creator is never far away.

So my soul look up and see

The gift of love that looks on me.

New in the Nursery

So here's nature at work. I cut back all my old tomato plants and look what I found below them - brand new tomato babies! I guess an unpicked tomato deposited its seeds in the planter and nature went to work. I'm so excited that I'll be having another crop of tomatoes.

And here are my cheap-o parsley seeds from Target. They're actually growing. I'll have fancy garnish in no time!

The wonders of my garden

oh how I have missed

all the little seedlings

growing in their bliss!

Alternative Ending

Well, my tomatoes have come to an end. These are the last few that were on the vine, so I picked them off before cutting back all the plants to the core. They had a good run. Six months for tomato vines is pretty good. At first I felt a little sad that they were done but then I felt this wave of excitement that now I can start something new - anything I choose, including new tomatoes if I wish. Endings can be sad but sometimes an ending is just really an exciting beginning to something else. So that was my garden lesson for the day. I suppose it goes along with, "When God closes a door, he opens a window." So here I am at the window, looking out and feeling glad instead of sad.

Will keep you posted on my new developments.

Goodbye to this Spring's garden

Hello to Summer one

Such fun we had unburdened

Now to work in the sun!

Remeber Me?

I know, I've been gone so long you were beginning to think I wasn't going to write anymore! Things here have been pretty busy but I think maybe this month will finally be back to my normal life. My six-month-old garden is beginning to decline a bit, partly due to my neglect in the last couple of weeks, but mostly due to age and all the rain, rain, rain, rain! My pretty rain chain is doing its job, guiding all that wonderful water into my rain barrel.

Tomato plants are about done, so I'm getting ready to cut off some shoots and bury them for a second go-around, although I imagine the fungus will be fierce now. Pepper plants are still going strong, although I have way too many of them. Next year I think I'll plant two instead of four. Chives are in love with their spot and are still looking good. Tarragon is beginning to decline and mint is still fighting that strange disease/bug this year, although it continues to grow. After all, things have to be really terrible to kill off the mint! Strawberries seem done for now, though the plants are still proliferating and hopefully will keep spreading and growing for next season's harvest. The new babies are parsley. Will keep you posted on how they come along. I sowed those seeds in the window box a couple weeks ago, so will see how they do. The seeds were from the Target $1.00 section so I'm curious about their quality. I am thinking I'd like to plant some lettuce and garlic, but I have to check on the Florida growing schedule for those. Hopefully I'll be back out in the garden soon. At least when it's raining it's not 95 degrees (only 90!).

Anyway...

Thanks for checking back on me

No, I wasn't attacked by the bees

I've really just been busy so

I'm constantly on the go, go, go!

So How Hot Is It?

It's hot here! It's so hot here! I don't remember the last summer it was this hot...and it's only June. What will the temp be in August!? So, if you don't live here in Florida you now have the picture that, yes, it's really hot but, truthfully, how hot is it? It's so hot that my beehive is actually melting off the tree. It's been an interesting week in my backyard. My beehive hangs underneath a great big branch at the top of a big oak tree, and this week pieces of it area actually falling off the tree because the wax is softening due to the heat. Now the bees I'm sure are very unhappy about this but they continue to be quite docile. They even let me take the fallen pieces of hive to harvest for honey and beeswax.

From this -

To this -

Pretty cool! It took a lot of work to do this (and now I have another even bigger piece to work on) but it was such a neat experience. I waited two days for most of the honey to drip out of the honeycomb and then I melted down the wax and filtered it through a paper towel to remove all the impurities. I'm sure with proper equipment, etc., it would be much easier, but I had fun with it. I'm thinking I would enjoy being a beekeeper...but I probably don't have the time for that!

Poor little bees

your home is falling at the eaves

but can you move over please

so I can harvest what I sees?

In the Eye of the Beholder

Yes, this is my current garden. It's gotten so big that it's actually getting hard to see out the kitchen window. What a wonderful surprise! Speaking of surprises...

This is my most recent harvest of peppers and tomatoes. I thought it was really the most beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow - like a little fruit rainbow. It's too bad I didn't have a purple eggplant in there to really make it pop! The big tomato on the right was as big as my hand - definitely the biggest I've ever grown.

I guess I owe some thanks to Mr. Edward C. Smith, author of Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers, for all that I learned this year, and to Gardener's Supply Company (the great online company that provided most of my supplies) for such a fantastic garden...and of course I always think of our great Creator from which all life in nature flows. Wow! He has made everything beautiful in its time. I may be the caretaker but He is certainly the Creator. I continually stand amazed!

In the wonder of it all

I find a calming sense of peace

Of all that is created

In my little garden space!

Lunch Anyone?

I was so excited to make a sandwich from my very own veggies and herbs. This is from a recipe I posted about a month or two ago. It consists of eggplant (from my backyard) and basil (lemon basil in my case - yes, from my own backyard). Now I didn't make my own feta cheese or make the mayo from scratch. So I guess if I really wanted to go crazy I could have baked my own bread and grown my own garlic to mix in with my own homemade mayo! Then I could have really been ecstatic (Forget making my own feta cheese. That would just be over the top now wouldn't it?).

However, I was quite proud of my little sandwich. It made a very good lunch and I was happy to have it. I really thought about adding some tomato to it but thought I would try the recipe as written the first time. Next time I'm going to add the tomato and some sea salt to make it even better. There's rarely a recipe that I don't tweak in some form or fashion. Over the years I believe I've truly developed a love for food. It has a creative vein in it that I enjoy. You can always explore, test, and create with food! Yes, it can be a chore if I'm tired or extra busy, but when it's a chosen activity, I find it most enjoyable. The garden is certainly a big part of that whole world of food. From the Earth, tended and cared for, and then to the table. Again, I never cease to be amazed by the turning of the seasons before my eyes. Oh, I know, I'm waxing nostalgic. I can actually hear Elton John singing Circle of Life in my head just now...

Lord above and us below

from springtime buds to hint of snow

multi seasons present and past

sometimes the world seems oh so vast

and yet here in my quite small world

a peace and awe amidst the whirl

Look at the Size of that Thing!

This was one massive tomato! I'm so happy about my garden this year. I have to say that I'm a firm believer in mixing one's own soil. I really believe that is why the garden has done phenomenally better this year than in previous years. I was careful to follow the soil "recipe" for proper nutrients and here are the results. My garden has had less pest problems and that fungus that was trying to take hold has been vanquished. My plants are bigger than me and the produce is amazing. Of course there's always room for improvement - my chamomile and dill will vouch for that. It seems that I'm having the most trouble with "wispy-type" plants. I think there is some small bug or some kind of disease that has been plaguing them this year. I went out and bought another dill plant but it's coming down with what the other one had, so I think I'm going to put my energy into planting some sweet potato slips and maybe root some tomato suckers for more plants/tomatoes in the fall. This is the time in the garden I work so hard for. The produce is rolling in and the only real work I do is make sure they have water (and of course daily checks for any upcoming problems). You go garden!

I'm so very happy

looking at my plants

They're not very sappy

and they resist the ants

In Disguise

Here it is - finished! My ugly blue food barrel is now this lovely looking rain barrel. The spigot is hidden at bottom left with hose attached. The only modification I may make is to buy another set of blocks to raise it up just a little more. The higher it is, the more gravity works for you and the better hose "pressure" you get (not that there's any true water pressure going on here).

This area I chose is a place where a lot of water runs off the roof. I'm used to getting a big hole in the sand in this spot, so it was the choice place for the barrel. Now most people put these under their gutter downspouts but we don't have a gutter system on the house, so this little corner works like a charm.

As you can see in the second picture, it's placed directly under the 90-degree corner where the walls meet. I am going to add a pretty copper rain chain that will hang from the roof and down to the barrel, to more directly catch the water, but that's on order from Amazon.com and I'm still waiting for it to arrive. However, my barrel is already 90 percent full from just one hour of rain yesterday!

Overall I'm so happy with how it turned out. I really wanted a rain barrel but I didn't want the ugliness that can some times accompany one, but I think the paint and the plants have made it look quite nice. Not bad for free (not counting the $25.00 I spent on spray paint)!

Go on clouds - drop your rain, I am ready for the same!

Rainbow of Colors

It's time to start pickling some peppers!

Tonight I had enough peppers to fill a mason jar, so I decided I better get busy chopping them up and pickling them before they go to waste. I decided to mix all three types of peppers for an interesting blend (sweet yellow banana, red banana, and my one jalapeno). They make such a beautiful rainbow of colors in the jar! I know they look canned but technically they're not. I don't go through all the trouble of boiling jars, etc., etc. After all, there's only one jar, so I'm probably going to eat them all in the next few weeks anyway. So, I just pickle them and then keep them in the refrigerator. That way they last about three months and they're so great in salads!

It's so easy to do! Here's my pickling recipe:

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Pickling Juice:

2 cups white vinegar

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

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Place all pickling ingredients in a pot and bring to a rolling boil.

Place peppers in jar(s).

Pour in pickling juice and let cool.

Place in fridge and leave for one week.

Enjoy!

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Rainbow of colors in my fridge, pickling, pickling now.

I just love your look and smell and taste you see, and how!

Over a Barrel

So, exciting news this week! Last Saturday was my rain barrel class through the Hillsborough County Extension Service, and yes this big ugly blue barrel is mine! China was helping me clean it out. Now all the barrels are food grade, so whatever was in there is completely safe, but when we drove it home in the car I wondered how many people thought we were transporting toxic waste! So we cleaned it out with vinegar and water, though it really wasn't all that dirty. The great thing is that the wonderful people at the extension service already drilled a hole and installed the spigot, so that was one less thing Bill and I had to do. The instructor did show us how to do it though, so if I get a second barrel I'll know what to do! Bill went to the class with me, which made it all the more fun. We were able to walk around their beautiful garden before the class. You would never guess when looking at the building that there is a gorgeous courtyard in the back complete with lighted gazebo, pond, and wonderful plants. We really enjoyed the morning.

Now I'm in the process of painting my barrel. I'm spray painting it with that special paint for plastic. Then we'll have to set it up in place to catch water. Will keep you posted with some more pictures as this project progresses.

Roll out the barrel
Roll out the barrel for rain
Roll out the barrel
For this drought has been a pain
Roll out the barrel
Roll out the barrel today
Now is the time to roll out the barrel for here comes the rain!

In Memory

There comes a time every year when I start to feel the garden is overtaking me. That such time is now. The tomatoes are bigger than me and literally engulf me when I go to water them, but this is a good kind of overtaking. My grandpa asked me today why they were so big and I honestly don't know. They must be the indeterminate kind that just grow and grow and grow until they're done and dead. They still have a little bit of fungus but I think they're so big and strong that they're overcoming that on their own. So I must say that the self-watering planter and special soil mix will be worth repeating next year - I just won't use the leftover mulch!

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Now, the bad news. Little Dill is gone. Dill has not done well since being re-potted. Something about the pot I chose he did not like and so he began a progressive decline. Last weekend I transplanted him into a different kind of pot in hopes of saving him but, alas, it was not meant to be. And that's not all, my beautiful chamomile have done the same thing. I think I over-watered them a couple weeks ago. I have to be very careful with them in the self-watering pots. They like moist but not wet soil and if I completely fill the water reservoirs it turns out to be too much. However, one or two of the four might make it through, but that's still to be determined.

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My peppers are in abundance, so I think I'll be pickling peppers soon. When I do I'll be sure to blog it, as that is part of the fun. Meanwhile...

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I'll be in the garden

Hope that you can find

me in the vines

looking for tomatoes

or peppers for to dine

Harvest Time!

Well, you are looking at the very first picked tomato of the season and, wow, did it taste good! I know we've all heard it and said it, but let me say it again - Store bought tomatoes can in no way compare to homegrown. For the first time ever I noticed that they even smell different. Maybe I need to have a blindfold smell test (would I need to be blindfolded for that?). Well, you know what I mean. Can Lisa tell the difference between homegrown tomatoes and store bought tomatoes by smell alone?...

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Anyway, it looks like I have a really big harvest this year. So I'm looking forward to much yumminess!

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Ode to the homegrown tomato

To you no other compares

In the grocery store

you're extinct you are so rare!

Birthday Garden

So for my birthday on Thursday Bill and I took a day trip to Epcot to see the flower festival. While there we toured the high tech garden of hydroponics and aeroponics, and this very perfect looking vegetable garden. I wonder how many people and how much machinery it takes to have the perfect garden...mmm

Check out our pics if you like:

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4-30 was so special
off to Epcot we did go
they let me in for free
on my birthday, don't you know

The Sequel

Come on in, meet my fungus. So I thought maybe this year I wouldn't have to deal as much with this particular plague, as rain has been pretty scarce. However, here it is again, even after all my precautions of bleaching my container and sterilizing soil, etc., etc.

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Now I've been pondering this problem of Attack of the Killer Fungus, Part Two, for the last week and have pinpointed my mistake. I had half a bag of leftover mulch from last season and so I used it on my tomatoes and peppers. I took a good look at my planters and realized that the fungus came from the mulch. I never even gave it a thought that after having sat in the garage for a few months the mulch may have fungus on it, but it did. So, okay, important lesson number two learned this year - If you use old mulch, inspect if carefully! Hopefully this won't take over my tomatoes. The peppers don't seem affected by it so I guess they're fairly fungus resistant.

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So I have a new and exciting challenge. No more sitting around - Back to work!

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Fungus, fungus go away
don't come back another day
I dislike you very much
for, alas, you do make such a fuss!

Hola!

So things are getting spicy around here! Last year's jalapeno pepper plant has its very first fruit. Now last year it had one pepper all season and that one was punctured by a bird beak, so I'm hoping I actually get to try some home grown jalapenos this year. Caliente!

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Overall garden chores are lighter than they were a month ago. Not much to do but water (and water some more) and check for bugs and disease. I just watch and wait for fruit to eat - Sweet!
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Jalapeno, jalapeno
You're the only one I've got
and I and assuming that you are very hot.
Ripen little pepper and be sure to make some more
So I can breathe some fire into recipes galore!