Heather's Garden

Any Theater Geeks Out There?

How many of you did theater arts in high school?  We had quite a program in my high school and a bunch of alums have actually made it as professionals -- mostly in TV.  If you're not already watching Life Unexpected on The CW, could you please tune in on Tuesday at 9/8c? 

 

The last production I did with the Liz Tigelaar, creator of the show, was South Pacific way back in 1993 (Becki Newton played "a nurse" -- I told you we had some talent!).  It's kind of strange to see Liz quoted in EW, but completely awesome all the same.  Please help support this show, which I would watch even if it wasn't her baby!  Spread the word.

Didn't Get A Darn Thing Accomplished

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous and we just sat in the sun reading.  Lee didn't mow, I didn't plant, but I did finally get a decent shot of a monarch on the butterfly bush:

 

And pick some tomatoes and beans.  The one on the top left is a Brandywine that weighed 2 pounds.  It was lunch (with fresh mozz) and dinner (with tuna and a Caesar salad) that day:

 

And I finally have blooming dahlias:

 

Next year I promise I'll remember to fertilize you:

And then Sunday dawned dark, dreary, and cold -- a perfect football day, or in my case a chick flick and some football.  And it's been raining since then, but on the plus side at least I don't have to water!

I Blame My Mother For This One

Once upon a time my sister went to Italy and brought me back a murano glass fish.  We really liked the band Phish, so it was kind of a joke, but a really nice gift.  Then she went to visit our dad in WA and brought me back a ceramic fish from there.  A friend moved to Germany, my sister went to visit, you guessed it, 3 little glass fish came home with her.  Then my mother, queen of the thrift store and tag sale, joined in.  But unlike my sister, my mom thought anything with a fish on it or fish-shaped was fair game.  Fish shaped coin purses, wooden trays, sponge holders, tea towels, you name it, I bet at one point or another I've had one.  I finally had to ask mom to try and keep it to a minimum and for the past few years she's done a great job of finding fish items that I like and can actually use. Her Christmas gift to us was a beautiful almost abstract dip/chip set which we love and use often.  The first fish is all the way on the right on the top shelf in front and the chip/dip set is obviously on the left/middle of the next shelf:

 

So when I found a ceramic fish shaped planter at Christmas Tree Shops yesterday afternoon for $19.99 I just had to have it, but I blame it on my mom.  I instantly pictured my new planter with a grass coming out of its mouth like it was blowing water and when I got home and showed it to Lee he suggested lemon grass.  Perfect:

 

I had that lemon grass still hanging out in a small container so I just grabbed it and shoved it into the mouth of the fish and stabbed it through the center with a piece of bamboo:

 

Today I'll get it planted and then after the first frost (hopefully a full month from now), I'll move it to the basement to overwinter the lemon grass (cross your fingers), but also to protect the adorable fish planter because I think it might not fare well in sub-freezing temps.  Also on the agenda is Lee mowing the grass.  Can you believe how green and lush it is with how dry it's been in CT?  I can't:

 

But the most exciting agenda item for the day is harvesting the Yukon Gold potatoes.  I so hope there are many, many potatoes!  Of course, it's about 80 degrees, sunny, and muggy, so we might just end up hanging out in the sun instead.

Like Clockwork

It's the first day of Fall (partial or not), so guess what appeared today on my neighbor's steps:

 

Can you see them?  Pumpkins, on a nearly 80 degree day.  I can't stop laughing.  Back in the patio garden the one zuke is still hanging on, but I wish I had seen the male flower and the female flower before this afternoon so I could assist with pollination.  I'll try to remember to get out there early tomorrow morning:

 

I haven't shown you the herb barrel in a long time.  It's almost exclusively perennial herbs now, but that lemon grass in back won't overwinter successfully in my zone (6b).  I have two in small containers though which I will put in the basement.  They might make it:

I love it!  Lots of silver thyme, stevia, and sage dominating the front of the barrel:

 

Heading to the office tomorrow and I will miss my garden.  Don't know how many more truly lovely days I'll be able to spend enjoying it!

GGW's Picture This Photo Contest: Autumn Harvest

This month's GGW Picture This Photo Contest theme of Autumn Harvest isn't a particularly difficult one, but I still had a tough time with it.  I think it's because Charles Mann, this month's judge, provided such stunning photos to accompany his guidelines for the contest that nothing I came up with was nearly as good!    

I read, and re-read the criteria Charles gave us:

"I have chosen AUTUMN HARVEST as my theme.

September and October are my favorite months in the Southwest and just about anywhere else for that matter. In New Mexico, the gardens are lush with grasses and summer growth, the aspen and cottonwoods light up the mountains while towns and villages celebrate the end of summer with dances and festivals. Chile, corn and other colorful produce make harvest time a visual feast, too, with many products of the gardens and fields being used for ornaments as well as for the table.

Often the setting or context makes a rather plain subject take on a special charm... After finding a photo, remember to look at the subject again and try composing both some overall context shots and then framing in more tightly on dramatic details. Most good subjects offer more than one or two interesting photographs.

Remember to shoot both horizontal and vertical composition when possible. Each and every well composed photograph had a unique energy and feeling.

Don’t hesitate to go off track and shoot something you did not come to see. B.F. Skinner famously said “Serendipity is the ability to see something important when you are looking for something else.” Blurring the back drop by opening up the camera to a wide aperture, like f 4, is a way to create context or atmosphere that can contribute to the photo without fighting with the main subject for attention.

Some subjects, like produce or containers, are moveable. Taking the time to create an interesting arrangement is an opportunity to practice another aspect of composition.

Learn to notice the surreal and whimsical things nearby. Sometimes odd juxtapositions or patterns present themselves and make great photo opportunities. Rene Magritte could have painted this scene of levitating chiles on a visit to New Mexico.

Use your wide angle lens to look at a subject from a unique angle. Wide angle photos can take in a lot of information and have the added benefit of an almost infinite depth of field even, at wide apertures.”

But make sure you click over to the GGW post so you can see Charles' beautiful photos.  He gave plenty of information on what he would be looking for, but I could only come up with two photos that I liked that said harvest to me.  The first was a shot of Lee holding the first tomato harvested from our garden this year:

 

But I remember an earlier judge's advice that the photo must stand on its own and I'm not sure this one does without the knowledge that it's the first tomato of the year.  This is a photo* from last week and it kind of reminds of me some of Charles' photos, so I'm going to make it my official entry to the contest.  Plus the low angle of the light and the abundant tomatoes scream autumn harvest to me:

 

Let's see what James thinks. 

*You can click View this photo for a larger size version of my entry.

Meanwhile, Back On The Farm

Garden time these days is pretty much sitting in the garden and sunning.  Throw in a beer, a crossword, or a good book and I'm a happy camper.  75 degrees and sunny is my favorite weather:

 

My fall crops are enjoying the weather too -- kale, though this is an old photo and it's showing true leaves now:

 

The spinach also has true leaves developing:

The Chinese garlic chives are so cute:

 

Lots and lots of carrots:

I was pretty horrified when I found this potato beetle on the Yukon Gold potatoes and made Lee kill it as soon as I was satisfied with the photo I had (no gloves on or I'd have done it myself).  I'm glad I took the time to get a good one because after careful examination of the photo I figured out it was a false potato beetle and not really a concern:

 

Sadly this is the only photo I could get of the monarch butterfly that keeps visiting the garden:

 

This grasshopper hung around for a long time, but it was mid-day and so bright, it was difficult to get a decent photo:

I found this insanely large web next to the Black Russian tomatoes:

 

I'm having trouble deciding which of these is calendar worthy.  Weigh in with your favorite, please.  #1:

 

#2:

#3:

 

#4: 

#5:

 

I know some of you are squirming around and squealing (come on they're just photos), so I'll give you some cheerier subject matter.  The radishes are really coming along in the wooden box (must thin them soon since true leaves have appeared), but look at all those tomatoes:

 

And this beautiful little strawberry:

 

But increasingly I'm readying my mind for the end of the growing season.  Planning which pots will be moved to the basement for the winter or the kitchen to try and grow -- and I mean try with the dry heat of forced air and the too short winter days.  And the few weeks we're planning to spend in Florida at some point...going to have to keep it to a minimum so SS1 consents to water while we're gone.  So far, I've started rooting cuttings from the Basil Perpetuo and two of the coleus that I particularly like:

Don't forget to comment and tell me which spider photo you like best, and while you're leaving a comment, share how you are preparing for winter in your part of the country.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - September 2010

Carol's been hosting GBBD for years over at May Dreams Garden, and now I'm a monthly participant after years of observing.  The nights are getting colder, mornings have a nip in the air, and the sun only makes a brief visit each day -- the garden is definitely slowing down.  Will any of the flowers on the veggies make it to harvest?  The edible ornamental peppers might:

 

The Kentucky wonder beans probably will:

 

But I doubt this tomato flower will become a ripe tomato:

The ever-bearing strawberries keep producing a berry here and there, but this one might be a little too late:

The zinnias in the patio garden provide a much needed dash of color there:

 

And the butterfly bush is thriving in a pot on another corner.  It will be interesting to see how it overwinters and comes back in the spring:

 

The osteospermums picked up at Walmart for $10 were probably the best purchase of the summer: 

 

Not technically blooming in my garden, but eminently visible over the fence is my neighbor's sweet autumn clematis: 

 

It's absolutely stunning, even from all the way over on the patio: 

 

I did a terrible job fertilizing the dahlias this year, so this is actually the first blooming dahlia of 2010 and it's not even fully in flower yet:

 

I wonder what (if anything) will be blooming in October?

WIN FREE STUFF -- EcoSMART Organic Weed Killer

UPDATE: This contest has closed and the winner has been notified.

Every so often I'm contacted by a PR firm pushing some product or another, but I rarely participate.  The products often have no relation to the kind of gardening I'm doing (I think one early one was a fogging machine to get rid of bees -- seriously?) or just look crappy.  But when I received an email from representatives of EcoSMART offering organic pesticide to my readers, I was intrigued.  Could it really be organic?  Or at least not terribly toxic?  I don't want anyone to be robbed of the chance of seeing all sorts of bugs in their garden (even if they don't want them in their house):

 

So I clicked through to their site from the email and read carefully.  The only ingredient that gave me some pause was sodium lauryl sulfate and even that didn't seem so bad, so I agreed to host a product giveaway.  They had some specific requests for links, word inclusion for the title, and how I had to ask you to comment (more on that later) which will probably explain this random linked reference to organic weed killer.

Now let me assure you that I have not been compensated in any way for hosting this product giveaway, I wrote it myself (can't you tell?), and I have no affiliation with EcoSMART.

You can win one of the following:

- Safe Home Value Bundle

- Safe Plant & Garden Value Bundle

- Safe Picnic Value Bundle

- Safe Patio Value Bundle

How to win:

Comment and share why you want or need the value bundle. Make sure the email you provide with your comment is correct.  I will use a random number generator to pick the winning comment, but I will select again if unable to contact the winning commentor.

Contest ends:

Sunday, September 12th at midnight EST.  This thing can't run forever because I don't want to have to count too many comments! 

Contest open to:

Residents of the continental U.S. only -- sorry Alaska and Hawaii guess they won't pay for shipping to you.

Comment away readers and good luck!

Some Actual Gardening

The weather was absolutely perfect on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday was the warmer of the two so I spent some time laying in the sun reading a book and took a few photos around the garden.  But first a few photos left over from the 1st.  Not very good, but I love the clearwing hummingbird moth:

Slightly better:

This spider is huge and I keep almost reaching right through her web to strip dead branches off the tomato plant: 

Lee loves that it scurries up into the dead tomato leaf and blends right in:

 

I did do a little work that day.  I cut the runners off the strawberry plants and stuck them all in the big pot:

 

The eggplants did terribly there this year (something kept attacking the fruit) and I don't think there's enough sun here for a tomato plant, so this pot is now officially all strawberries from here on out:

 

So Saturday became harvest and then lay in the sun day.  This is not the harvest photo -- this is the Kentucky Wonder beans I didn't get last week the other side of our neighbor's fence (he had a sprinkler going) and the pepper and tomato had something burrowing in them, so this is the compost photo:

 

But there were plenty of good beans and peppers:

 

There's tons of bees visiting the basils in the raised bed:

 

The tomato plants look pretty crappy:

But when you look close you can see tons of tomatoes.  Ripen already!  I think a week or two and we'll have more tomatoes than we can handle again:

 

The Yukon Gold potatoes are starting to die back, so I pulled the remaining foliage up onto the containers.  We'll 'dig' them soon.  I have some great seed mixes that Shayna at Botanical Interests sent me and I'm planning to use one along this fence in the spring.  To prepare a bed now or prepare in the spring is the question:

I have to come up with some fall interest plants for this area.  The clematis didn't make it and I think they're too finicky for my inattentive gardening ways (water?, oh yeah, I guess we should water): 

 

On to Sunday.  Sunday was perfect gardening weather.  Just about 70 degrees and sunny.  First job of the day was harvesting the fingerling potatoes, which meant taking the zinnias out of the pots too (Lee planted them in the containers on the gravel patio where we have removed dead/dying tomato plants):

 

We probably only got a little less than a pound of fingerlings in total, but worth growing (more on that later).  Then I went on a planting frenzy.  The rosemary had definitely outgrown its old container, so it was up-potted into a nice blue one which will look lovely in our blue kitchen over the winter.  In the smaller containers I planted some Chinese Garlic chives (also from Botanical Interests -- thanks Shayna!) and I stuck a leftover silver edged thyme in an empty spot in the last container:

 

The Japanese maple got a new home in a larger pot.  I'm trying to plan ahead and research how to overwinter it, most of what I find says that it will be fine in my zone in a pot outside over the winter, but I think I might sink it into the raised bed for the winter to give a little extra insulation.  Spinach in the large black pot:

 

I just love this box and the self-seeded ornamental edible pepper in the driveway, oh and I planted radishes in the box:

 

There are actual peppers on that plant:

 

And this pot got kale seeds:

 

Lee planted carrots in the big grey containers, Burpee A#1 Hybrid on the left and Danvers Half Long on the right:

A row of Detroit Dark Red beets went along the right hand side of the raised bed:

 

And all of the potted herbs moved to the raised bed because with the shorter days they weren't getting enough sun over by the patio:

 

I rescued the various edible ornamental peppers that popped up all over the driveway and in various containers, the two clay pots of basil from the Triscuit packages (the dill bolted already), and some golden oregano (clipped from another plant earlier in the season and now well rooted), and threw them all in a beautiful pot found at a friend's house where it was empty and buried in weeds (and will be returned to her when she moves back to the U.S.):

 

All together a full four hours of hauling potting soil, adding fertilizer, transplanting, tidying up, and finally we stopped and had a cook-out for three (SS2 came home for the weekend from school).  The basil has been so great this summer that we always have some in the kitchen, but this photo's about our green beans:

 

And dinner included our tiny little fingerling potatoes which were the most delicious potatoes I have ever eaten and yesterday's bean harvest with fresh ginger (I can't tell you how delicious those beans are):

Really, the potatoes were like popping a little bit of joy into my mouth.  We will definitely grow them again.  I hope you're all enjoying your Labor Day weekend as much as we are.  Now some Advil (I'm telling you, gardening is a full body work-out) and some more quality time with SS2 before we have to take him back to school.

Sure, Now That I Have Some Free Time

I finally have some free time and could entertain the notion of putting in fall crops and all of a sudden we get the dog days of August.  It's been a few days in the 90s here and pretty darn muggy.  So a few photos from Saturday are going to be all you get.  I think we'll grow beans here every year given this year's success:

 

The moonflowers have some gigantic seed pods.  I wonder how many seeds I'll get from these:

 

The edible ornamental peppers that self-seeded in the driveway have tons of flowers and are setting peppers:

 

They're very pretty growing next to the planter where they grew last year, though I have no idea how they're growing with next to no soil:

 

The plants on top of the stump are a success, but the wildflowers aren't stopping any traffic:

 

Though they're prettier a little to the left:

 

The veggie garden looks pretty good from a distance (it's not quite as pretty up close):

 

You may have noticed that we emptied out the raised bed except for some basils:

I discovered onions growing under the nasturtiums.  I guess they're the ones I missed harvesting earlier in the summer:

 

The rosemary is so big you can't see the tarragon, but it's looking pretty good too.  Planning what will come into the kitchen to hopefully grow and use this winter is one of my tasks for the near future: 

 

And when the heat breaks maybe I'll actually plant some fall crops though I fear it's already too late.