tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84885992012-01-27T10:18:18.112-05:00All year I dream of the days of May when the sun is warm, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the garden is all new again!Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.comBlogger18531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-48578934073415091762012-01-27T06:36:00.002-05:002012-01-27T06:36:43.959-05:00

Obligatory Garden Picture A quote that I love from the book that I love titled The Garden that I Love... "What would be the good or the pleasure of a garden if one did not make experiments?" (Alfred Austin, The Garden that I Love, 1894) Have you "made experiments" in your garden lately or have you played it safe, afraid to risk a season with a mistake or misstep? Maybe this should be the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-57240901058003321822012-01-25T21:00:00.000-05:002012-01-26T06:31:45.996-05:00

Plopper's Field, now in a zone 6a garden My garden has moved... sort of. When the new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map came out earlier today, I dutifully entered my zip code and discovered, as I suspected might be the case, that my garden has moved. It has moved from zone 5b to zone 6a. What does this move mean? No longer will I start my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts with "here in my zone

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-12389038416606240392012-01-22T22:15:00.000-05:002012-01-25T20:42:10.971-05:00

The universe, aided by my garden designer, gently pushed me toward a new rabbit hole.  After skirting around it through a busy weekend, I've finally fallen in. I got my first glimpse of this rabbit hole on Friday afternoon, when I arrived home just before dusk and spied a bag hanging on the front door knob.  Inside was a book "The Garden that I Love" by Alfred Austin (Macmillian and Co., LTD,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-47649588286623103362012-01-21T08:32:00.001-05:002012-01-21T10:00:51.298-05:00

"How cunningly nature hides every wrinkle of her inconceivable antiquity under roses and violets and morning dew!" Ralph Waldo Emerson Bring on the roses, violets, and morning dew, it's time for another meeting of the Society of Gardeners Aged 50 and Over (SGAFO). Fun times we are having, too, as today there are no roses, violets, or morning dew anywhere in sight to cover the "inconceivable

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-64377978526102433782012-01-20T04:30:00.000-05:002012-01-20T04:30:01.694-05:00

 I received some unexpected mail yesterday, a manila envelope from an aunt. Inside the envelope was a copy of a letter my Aunt Marjorie wrote in 2004 with memories of her father, and in particular her recollection as a child of how he spent his last months in failing health before passing away in 1937. Of course, I did not know him, her father, my mother’s father, my maternal grandfather. I

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-28355746476251302132012-01-18T23:40:00.002-05:002012-01-19T20:25:41.143-05:00

The observant reader may have noticed that in my previous blog post, where I outlined the points listed in "The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers and Other Plants Which Thrive in the Open-Air of England by Harry Roberts With Numerous Illustrations Reproduced from Drawings by Ethel Roskruge, copyright MCMI (1901),  I went from number 5 to number 10, skipping numbers 6, 7, 8, and 9. Why? I'm glad you

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-29929344743945315162012-01-17T21:06:00.002-05:002012-01-18T07:59:39.012-05:00

Points from The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers and Other Plants Which Thrive in the Open-Air of England by Harry Roberts With Numerous Illustrations Reproduced from Drawings by Ethel Roskruge MCMI (1901) pg. 109 - 111 "1.  Grow no plant which does not strike you as either beautiful or interesting. 2.  Learn the requirements of every plant as far as possible before ordering it, and have

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-12284661275465946502012-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:002012-01-17T05:55:33.861-05:00

Welcome to my new rabbit hole, The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers and Other Plants Which Thrive in the Open Air of England by Harry Roberts. With numerous illustrations reproduced from drawings by Ethel Roskurge. Published in MCMI, which if I remember my Roman numerals correctly, is 1901. "Aught One" It took me mere seconds to download it to my iPad thanks to Google and Apple. It took me

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-13738806169976539142012-01-15T00:05:00.000-05:002012-01-15T08:43:07.196-05:00

Helleborus niger 'Josef Lemper' Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for January 2012. Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 5B garden in central Indiana, winter finally arrived last week after ten plus days of above average temperatures. This helleborus, which has been blooming since mid-December, is frozen in mid-bloom, half covered by snow. When warm days return, which we are told will happen

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com93tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-80715049397459091132012-01-14T10:40:00.000-05:002012-01-14T10:43:16.588-05:00

Garden fairies here. We are garden fairies and we went outside because Carol went outside.  She was taking pictures for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, which is tomorrow. We garden fairies weren't helping with that, we just wanted to get some fresh air, as in 18F fresh air, but the sun is shining so it doesn't really feel that cold. Well it feels that cold but if you have a coat on and stay out

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-76006510963410064362012-01-12T22:02:00.000-05:002012-01-12T22:18:49.674-05:00

"Dear Ms. Hoelove, Something has been nagging at me for some time now, and I hope that you can help me. A year ago I decided to dig up another area of the back lawn to create a new flowerbed. Usually I don't consult with my husband before doing such things, but I thought it would be courteous of me to mention it to him since he is the head of lawn mowing here. To my surprise, he wasn't very

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-6491760427097198672012-01-10T21:53:00.002-05:002012-01-10T22:31:40.503-05:00

Sunday, January 1, 2012 Dear Gardener's Journal High 51F, Low 35F I heard winter was finally coming so I rushed around and took down all the outdoor Christmas lights, then I potted up some house plants. There was a little Johnny Jump Up Viola blooming by the garage. Love, Carol Monday, January 2, 2012 Dear Gardener's Journal High 31F, Low 20F Welcome, winter! Oh, look a dusting of snow on the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-80679057318268238652012-01-08T21:51:00.000-05:002012-01-08T21:51:20.688-05:00

Euphorbia milii I confess. I broke one of the cardinal rules of gardeners. Namely, when you see a plant you want, get it. I saw a crown of thorns, Euphorbia milii, for sale. It had bright yellow bracts instead of the pink bracts that are more commonly sold, that I already have. I wanted it. I picked it up. I looked it over. It was the last one. It was a little rough looking. You'd be

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-13760888531659513442012-01-07T12:04:00.001-05:002012-01-07T14:29:21.899-05:00

     The Old Woman at the Door showed up again this morning. She seemed familiar to me, dressed in blue jeans and a dark green sweatshirt. I let her in right away, as I always do. She has visited often enough over the past year that we didn't really need to spend much time hem-hawing around. She came right to the point of her visit. "Carol," she said, "I think you spend too much time sitting

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-29696337572959575242012-01-05T22:05:00.003-05:002012-01-06T18:30:05.970-05:00

My Wheelbarrow (2008) I like my old red wheelbarrow. I bought it back in 1987. Yes, 25 years ago this spring. I look at it now and can hardly believe that I've used the same wheelbarrow for 25 years. In all that time, it has served faithfully. It still has all its original parts except for a new tire that I bought 10 years ago, and maybe one or two new nuts on the bolts that hold the barrow

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-11821559917986684052012-01-04T06:47:00.003-05:002012-01-04T19:30:39.479-05:00

Viola in the garden on Jan. 1. A waited a few days before I decided on a New Year's resolution. I just didn't want to rush into anything and let myself down if I failed at my New Year's resolution before the sun set on the first day of the year. I wanted to think it over. Once I thought of my resolution, just to be sure, I actually floated the idea of it on Facebook and many people "liked" it

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-78697557189169944882012-01-02T21:51:00.002-05:002012-01-03T06:17:16.904-05:00

A dusting of snow on the garden brings wintry thoughts. Winter time is one of the best things about gardening in a temperate zone. In the winter time, snow and ice and wind wipe the garden clean so we have a fresh, new palette for planting in the spring. In the winter time, we sow the seeds for a happy summer -- seeds of ideas, seeds of spring and summer time plans, seeds of new garden

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-20482464640845693712012-01-01T10:34:00.000-05:002012-01-01T10:34:33.784-05:00

Hi Dr. Hortfreud. Hello Carol. I hear you saw several movies last week. Oh yes, I did, Dr. Hortfreud. I saw three of them. Care to tell me about them? Sure. First I saw War Horse. There were some great scenes of the Irish country side in it. I can see why they call Ireland the Emerald Isle. It was so pretty. There was also a scene where the horse was hitched to a plow and they were trying

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-62482429144647126982011-12-31T05:30:00.040-05:002011-12-31T07:57:14.367-05:00

The old rabbit, Eleven, sat in the green chairs left out in the garden for the winter and watched the gate on the far side of the garden for signs of his replacement, a young, energetic bunny named Twelve. As he sat and waited, he began to reflect on the past year. He had some things to be proud of. He had made sure that the new beds and borders that Ten had left him were well-planted. He also

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-40557458932103197252011-12-30T00:05:00.029-05:002011-12-30T00:05:03.506-05:00

Dear Membership Committee of the Society of Gardeners Aged 50 and Over (SGAFO), As a member in good standing and the president and founder of The Society of Gardeners Aged 50 and Over (SGAFO), I bring before you a petition for the proposed membership of my baby sister who turns 50 years old today. Let's call her Sherry. Sherry's qualifications include first that she is my sister and secondly,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-3514092470974436792011-12-29T06:39:00.002-05:002011-12-29T06:52:59.168-05:00

hortisma: n 1. a special personal quality or power of a garden making it capable of influencing or inspiring large numbers of people 2. a quality inherent in a garden which inspires great enthusiasm and devotion Examples of its use in a sentence: The Lurie Garden in Chicago had a special hortisma about it that caused people to visit there many times on a single visit to Chicago. Or Her

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-84040761721603586732011-12-26T12:56:00.001-05:002011-12-26T12:57:48.691-05:00

'Tis the day after Christmas, the official beginning of houseplant season. Did you forget to water your houseplants while your attention was distracted with shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking, gift-giving, gift-receiving, traveling, eating, greeting, and other ings of the Christmas season? Then you are in luck because the best way to celebrate houseplant season is to water your houseplants.

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-58656418547829336342011-12-24T08:15:00.001-05:002011-12-24T11:59:20.772-05:00

Garden fairies here! Greetings of the seasons from all the garden fairies here at May Dreams Gardens. You would not believe what has been going on around here. Or rather, you would not believe what has gotten into Carol. We call it the Helleborus Hysterics. When she saw that Helleborus niger 'Josef Lemper' blooming in her garden outside in December she went off on a tear to find out more

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-17775969586612720442011-12-20T19:23:00.000-05:002011-12-20T19:23:43.791-05:00

We are putting a rush in our hurry up* here at May Dreams Gardens. But even with hurrying up our rushing around, there is still time to grab the two hoes with red handles, wrap them in white streamers so they look like giant peppermint candy canes, and pose them by the fireplace. I wish I had thought of this pose earlier so I could have used this photo for my Christmas cards. But I didn't

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-50615129438135632262011-12-18T19:11:00.001-05:002011-12-18T21:56:38.796-05:00

When a gardener decorates her mantel for Christmas she decides to give it a garden-y theme. She finds inspiration from an article on garden-themed holiday decorating sent to her by the Hoosier Gardener. She starts out with some faux greenery mostly because she doesn't have enough real greenery but also because she is a bit afraid of setting her house on fire after the dry summer. To this she

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-35460413702238126892011-12-17T07:52:00.004-05:002011-12-17T08:27:19.716-05:00

Helleborus niger 'Josef Lemper' I can no longer deny it. It's becoming just too obvious to hide. I must come out in the open with it. I know many will understand, but others will shake their heads and click their tongues with a little "tsk tsk". I am a Ranunculite. I've come to realize that many of the flowers I love and have become obsessed with are in the plant family Ranunculaceae.

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-6204814370430943592011-12-15T00:05:00.084-05:002011-12-16T17:18:32.475-05:00

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for December 2011. Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 5b garden in central Indiana, I'd expect by now to have a scene like this one from December 2010, when there was snow on the ground and the temperatures were consistently below freezing. But as they say, that was then and this is now and nothing is ever the same, even though from year to to year we think it

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com74tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-8107206209871361032011-12-12T23:01:00.002-05:002011-12-12T23:11:39.383-05:00

One of my college text books* I don't know what we'll do or how we'll celebrate. I don't know who will join in or who will think it is a bunch of horse manure. Mark your calendars... I'm declaring one year from today, December 12, 2012, to be... International Fertilizer Day Yes! 12-12-12, good ol' Triple 12, will be  a day to fawn over fertilizer, pontificate on plant nutrients,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-82400791876785690672011-12-11T18:52:00.001-05:002011-12-11T21:12:23.388-05:00

I opened up a box containing some silverware that my mom gave me several years ago and my thoughts turned to gardening, as they always do. Via the Internet, I was able to figure out that this silver plate is the Moonlight pattern from the Wm. Rogers Co. I remember that my mom bought it one place setting at a time as part of a promotion at a local grocery store. You all remember how that

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-54328317646308487332011-12-10T12:27:00.003-05:002011-12-10T19:18:28.584-05:00

Life of a Christmas WreathA One Act PlayBased on a True StoryByCarol M. Cast of Characters Wreath ………………………....… A simple wreath made from white pine boughs Various flowers, leaves, and berries ... A few simple adornments on the wreath TIME: Winter SETTING: A gardener's workshop ACT ONESCENE 1 (We see the pine boughs, dried flowers, leaves and berries strewn about a workbench.) EVERYONE(All

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-69297890340483315322011-12-08T23:45:00.004-05:002011-12-09T06:56:35.161-05:00

Garden fairies here. We are garden fairies and something happened recently that has all just quivering a bit. We were almost discovered. We are garden fairies. Let us repeat that. We were almost discovered. That's right, Sweetpea Morningdew opened up the garden fairy door just a tiny crack and we think Carol saw Sweetpea out of the corner of her eye. Ol'Sorghum Spittlebug saved the day,

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-58368600498926256052011-12-06T22:10:00.002-05:002011-12-07T06:36:09.162-05:00

Do you know how to sell a rosemary plant to a gardener who has a sun room full of house plants? I'll tell you how you sell a rosemary plant to a gardener who has a sun room full of house plants. It really is quite easy. First, have two rosemary plants for sale. Then wait for the gardener to come by your booth at the farmers market where you have the two rosemary plants for sale. When the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-36330787201309314622011-12-05T06:47:00.000-05:002011-12-05T06:47:13.121-05:00

Rabbit hole alert. But oh, what a fun rabbit hole this is. I lost my footing and starting to slide down this little rabbit hole when I found David Perry's new blog, A Photographer's Garden Blog. His most current post is about using your iPhone and the Camera+ app to create some interesting pictures.  He made it look easy, fun actually, with no fancy talk of apertures, f-stops and multiple

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-17151449398732989962011-12-03T11:25:00.002-05:002011-12-03T15:31:27.535-05:00

Dear Garden, Dearest Garden, Dear Garden in Winter, I am entrusting to your care these little plants that I was not able to find just the right homes for before it got cold, so I planted them out in their pots up next to the house in an area that is somewhat protected. These include a mix of plants I bought and some that were sent to me to try out. I hope you will take good care of them.

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-80402109880927238752011-12-01T05:00:00.075-05:002011-12-01T05:16:18.706-05:00

It's December. The squirrel knows it. The calendar shows it. Many of us will pause as we flip our calendar over to this last month of the year and wonder how it came to be that another year has nearly passed. We'll think of the plans we made for our gardens at the beginning of the year, and wonder what became of those plans, if we can even remember them. We may have started the year with

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-87770268539094649412011-11-29T22:53:00.002-05:002011-11-29T23:08:13.692-05:00

Garden Fairies here. We have decided to write a very rarely seen garden fairy poem as a follow up to Carol's post from the other day in which she wrote a poem and also posted a poem that a squirrel supposedly wrote. We say "supposedly wrote" in regards to the squirrel's poem because after reading it, we are highly suspicious that a squirrel actually wrote that. We are garden fairies and we

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-4226294216663618902011-11-27T18:02:00.003-05:002011-11-27T18:22:14.349-05:00

I thought at first it was a lost fake fur stole. The villain has arrived. She easily climbed up the shepherd’s crook and draped herself upside down on the feeder to reach the bird seed. She began to gorge herself, for who knows how long, until I opened the door and hollered at her. Then with one jump she was on the ground and sat there looking at me, no doubt waiting for me to leave. I

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-41606369369129622032011-11-26T08:50:00.001-05:002011-11-26T10:03:38.481-05:00

Some gardeners are afraid to plant large shrubs that grow wide and tall. I'm not. This Snowball Viburnum is a mass of branches and has many suckers around its base. But I leave it in its natural form because it provides cover for the birds in all seasons. In winter, the lack of leaves reveals just how many birds enjoy the cover of this shrub. When I'm not standing nearby trying to take a

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-55922776578909090782011-11-24T00:05:00.044-05:002011-11-24T09:21:07.403-05:00

Dad's turkey picture circa 1930's Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. On this special holiday, I am grateful for family and for my siblings who have graciously bestowed upon me all of our parents' old papers, pictures, and mementos for safekeeping. I went through some of them yesterday and found this picture of a turkey that my Dad made sometime in the 1930's. He made it by cutting out

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-54846464323074370502011-11-23T07:00:00.010-05:002011-11-23T07:24:22.770-05:00

Boltonia, a perennial flower native to the Eastern United States, grows in my garden in two places. In the August Dreams Garden border, a named variety of Boltonia, Boltonia asteroides 'Snowbank' covered part of the high summer blooming border in mid-September. In an area that I call The Shrubbery, Boltonia asteroides bloomed in mid-November where I never planted it. Based on that, I called it

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-10887761182742893502011-11-22T11:10:00.001-05:002011-11-22T11:46:58.177-05:00

Garden fairies here. We are garden fairies and we have come inside to write a guest post because it is raining outside and we are garden fairies and we did not see that Carol was going to post anything so we decided we would come in, dry off, and impart some of our garden fairy rainy day wisdom on any readers who happen to read this post. We are garden fairies and so we are wise, wiser than

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-8387823559290491362011-11-20T11:01:00.001-05:002011-11-20T15:42:08.565-05:00

Welcome to Hoe Talk where we talk about hoes and other gardening tools. Here at Hoe Talk, we like to cultivate our interest in gardening hoes and dig deep into the world of shovels, trowels, and other gardening tools. Today, I'd like to address the whispers. Yes, I heard the whispers, the talk behind my back when people realized that my vast hoe collection did not include... An oscillating

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-45700407121098525552011-11-18T18:04:00.003-05:002011-11-18T18:45:38.275-05:00

The paradox of gardening is that you can lose yourself in a garden while finding yourself in a garden. If you are a gardener, this makes perfect sense. If you are not a gardener, you may have to think about how someone can do two seemingly opposite things at the same time. You may have to ask a gardener what it means. Raise your hand if you have lost yourself in a garden while finding

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-27632326770136586272011-11-16T22:21:00.000-05:002011-11-16T22:21:18.394-05:00

I love vintage gardening tools. Who doesn't? Just imagine if those old tools could tell us about who used them, about the gardens they helped create, about that one winter they were left outside to fend for themselves. Oh, the adventures, the secrets those old gardening tools have locked up inside of them. What if they could tell us those secrets? What if the handle of one was hollow and

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-15780035895408110622011-11-15T00:03:00.001-05:002011-11-15T18:34:35.714-05:00

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for November 2011. Here in my central Indiana Zone 5b garden, any blooms I found outside could best be described as errant blooms, like this lone blue flower on Vinca minor. Our growing season is over and we've finally had a killing frost, though it was later than in most years. I checked my bloom day posts from past years just to remember how Novembers

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com96tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-40482016862947814692011-11-13T19:26:00.001-05:002011-11-13T19:29:54.556-05:00

I stowed summer away for the winter under a big tarp that looks like camouflage. The garage is full and I don't have a shed, so this is the best I could do. I've hidden a table and four chairs, two lounge chairs, two birdbaths, several large pots, a small bench, and other decorative garden items under that tarp. It was windy as all get out when I tied that tarp down so I feel pretty confident

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-38342681398319799732011-11-12T00:05:00.011-05:002011-11-12T16:30:38.915-05:00

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --After extensive study and observation, Dr. V. Q. Hortfreud recently determined that those who have house plants generally follow a predictable and repeatable pattern in caring for their house plants. She further observed that this pattern of care can be broken down into four phases. In the first phase, which Dr. Hortfreud labeled Acquire, the indoor gardener acquires the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-54977939337954103422011-11-11T01:11:00.031-05:002011-11-11T06:18:33.819-05:00

On this eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year, our thoughts turn to gardening as they always do. I have eleven random thoughts about gardening to share. 1.  Writing a gardening post about elevens is a lot harder than writing a post about tens back on 10-10-10. 2.   I counted the deciduous trees in my yard and I think I have eleven trees. One scarlet oak, one Japanese tree

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-2450657932251758352011-11-08T21:18:00.002-05:002011-11-08T21:29:00.660-05:00

Give me those old time gardening tools. Give me simplicity of design. Give me quality that lasts for decades. Give me the patina of age, of tools well used by past gardeners. My sister-in-law found these two old garden claws at an antique store and wonder of wonders, she thought of me when she saw them and thought I might like them. She's very smart that way. I do like them. I like to think

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-18999549411554464562011-11-06T22:02:00.001-05:002011-11-07T06:09:33.531-05:00

One of the most important preparations a gardener can make for winter is to set up a winter lair. The winter lair should be indoors for obvious reasons, like snow and sleet and ice and rain and cold winds that knock the breath out of you. It should be comfortable and if at all possible situated so that the gardener can see out into the garden from the lair. I've never set up such a spot for

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-47164112778915782642011-11-04T22:34:00.002-04:002011-11-05T10:27:27.939-04:00

Garden fairies here. We are very excited about upcoming events that will be taking place this weekend here at our year-round home and garden, May Dreams Gardens. We get an extra hour. That's right, we are garden fairies, and we get an extra hour on Sunday because Carol is going to turn the clocks back one hour. Just for us garden fairies. We are garden fairies, we appreciate these kind

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-22129681485010881622011-11-03T21:49:00.002-04:002011-11-04T06:39:21.892-04:00

The garden is bare now, except for the weeds left from a season that silently, softly slipped away. With fall days that felt more like summer,  the only sure sign that this was the end of the season was the curtain of dusk that fell earlier each day, until finally a freeze brought the curtain down for good a few days ago. Now it’s time to reflect on the past season and plan for a new season.  

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-46680092368816953022011-11-01T17:16:00.005-04:002011-11-01T21:18:50.432-04:00

The last violet of the season I spent some time cleaning up the vegetable garden earlier today. A slight breeze rustled through the last of the corn stalks as fallen leaves from the nearby grape vine danced across the garden. The remnants of tomatoes I never picked hung from the frost-blackened vines. I worked crop by crop, pulling out the spent plants and piling them on to the compost pile.

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-24084574103985113472011-10-31T21:00:00.000-04:002011-10-31T21:00:38.506-04:00

I am thrilled to announce that I have hired a new personal assistant - Miss J. Hortaway. Miss Hortaway will help me organize the list of bulbs I just planted, so I can easily determine the names of the flowers when they bloom. Then she can assist with cataloging all the other plants in the garden. She used to work for a banker in Beverly Hills, California, and for some reason keeps calling

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-63967177616006363142011-10-28T19:36:00.001-04:002011-10-28T19:37:41.671-04:00

I finished planting bulbs today, in the generic sense, meaning that I planted bulbs, corms and tubers for spring flowers. Some gardeners, both new and experienced, take great delight in correcting people who say they planted bulbs when they actually planted corms, like these crocus corms that I planted in the lawn out back. I planted 800 crocus corms which should result in a nice display for

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-3071842957370191072011-10-25T14:53:00.001-04:002011-10-26T18:21:28.784-04:00

Garden fairies here. We are garden fairies and we are doing this special guest post to explain fall foliage color. Many gardeners, as we call people who come out into our gardens and plant, prune, primp, etc. while taking full credit for what we garden fairies do but we are garden fairies so we don't mind, we actually do not like to be in the spotlight and so we have our ways to put these

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-34486549347157991252011-10-22T14:55:00.002-04:002011-10-22T16:22:25.523-04:00

I did a bit of traveling last week for work and found myself in a Cracker Barrel where much of the decor included old gardening tools.  Hoes, shovels, rakes, grass trimmers, even an old wheelbarrow, were hanging on the walls and suspended from the ceiling. I took some pictures with my iPhone, most of which didn't turn out because of the lighting, but you can just imagine how surreal exciting it

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-47550185523114667362011-10-20T21:24:00.001-04:002011-10-21T06:33:05.595-04:00

I've not seen my garden in the daylight since Monday. I hope it is okay. I was gone. It rained. When I got home, I went out in the dark and checked the rain gauge. There was water up to the five inch mark. Is it right? I don't know, but a plastic bucket left out seems to have water to about that same depth standing in it, so maybe it is close. I have other hopes yet for fall. I hope for

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-5886232837095434712011-10-18T07:00:00.001-04:002011-10-18T07:01:25.514-04:00

I was working about in the garden on Sunday when out of the corner of my eye, I saw her walking toward me. She was wearing her usual attire, this time it was jeans with a long-sleeved green t-shirt. Once again she reminded me of someone I should know, but I wasn't quite sure who. As she walked toward me, with a smile on her face, I greeted her like an old friend, wondering all the while what she

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-46336165987042604812011-10-16T21:32:00.001-04:002011-10-16T21:34:03.885-04:00

INDIANAPOLIS - A fothergilla was recently found to be blooming at May Dreams Gardens.  This plant, Fothergill gardenii, generally blooms in early spring, in the April timeframe, and has  previously not been known to bloom in the fall. "I was walking along the east side of the house when these blooms caught my eye", said Carol M, the owner of May Dreams Gardens. "At first, I didn't know what they

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-54817368046643532372011-10-15T00:05:00.070-04:002011-10-15T00:05:00.859-04:00

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for October 2011. Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 5b garden in central Indiana the first two weeks of October have been some of the best "summer" days we've had all year. Out in the vegetable garden, it looks like summer with a volunteer petunia growing in a fallow bed where lettuce and radishes grew earlier in the spring. The marigolds look as fresh as

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com91tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-49575018464874311572011-10-13T21:44:00.000-04:002011-10-13T21:44:24.051-04:00

Given a choice would you prefer to have one garden that was yours to tend for many years so that you could enjoy the trees and plants you planted and see how they mature and how the garden evolves over time? Or would you prefer to have many gardens, each that you tend for only a short time so that  you could start over with a new garden every few years or so and try new plants and designs that

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-10154356958737453192011-10-12T22:25:00.002-04:002011-10-13T17:56:27.904-04:00

Garden fairies here! We are garden fairies and so we never do anything when we are supposed to do it. We procrastinate.  In fact, we are procrastinating right now and doing a mighty find job of it.  After all, what's the big rush all about? We are garden fairies, we need to think about what that really means because "rush" isn't really part of our vocabulary. We do feel like there are some

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-17796712520230214382011-10-10T22:22:00.002-04:002011-10-11T06:21:54.066-04:00

Throw me a liana and  hoist me up out of this new rabbit hole I've been exploring. Liana, you ask?  Yes, liana - a woody vine that is rooted at the ground and uses trees and other vertical structures to climb up. That's the first thing I found in this rabbit hole. Liana - like this Trumpet Creeper vine, Campsis radicans, that is growing up and over a metal trellis in my sister's garden. I

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-90061832161602128152011-10-09T09:09:00.002-04:002011-10-09T21:24:29.992-04:00

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'October Skies'. These October days have been the best days of summer so far this year. In all likelihood, we probably did have some nice summer days, but they are crowded out by the memory of one hot, dry day after the next through most of July and August. Now that it is October, the mornings are cool and the afternoons are warm, but not hot. The sun is shining

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-17694189825336853122011-10-06T21:59:00.002-04:002011-10-07T16:35:02.128-04:00

"Golden leaves carpet the ground beneath the honey locust, each one a memory of summer." Dear Hortense Hoelove, What is it about fall that makes us become reflective and sedentary? Signed, Goldie Dear Goldie, Speak for yourself. I've got four bulb orders on their way and an entire garden to weed and clean up for fall. I also need to clean up the garage and make sure that all of the hoes are

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-403707645974950052011-10-05T00:05:00.008-04:002011-10-05T18:54:55.581-04:00

Management at May Dreams Gardens has been advised by staff that many gardening "to do" lists published for October are not complete. They lack certain key tasks that are regularly part of the gardening activities here. Following are five of these missing tasks offered freely to  readers to add to their own lists. (Management also believes in giving credit where credit is due and so has

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-90955413592480112622011-10-04T06:46:00.001-04:002011-10-04T06:48:19.171-04:00

October has been declared to be "Fall in love with your garden all over again" month. You'll find no links to the source of the declaration because THIS is the source. The weather is perfect, the garden is waiting. If you've ever loved a garden, this month is for you.

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-69751351807269552012011-10-02T16:49:00.003-04:002011-10-08T15:45:38.433-04:00

Last night, I started watching episodes of Brad Meltzer's Decoded on The History Channel. For those who missed out on season one and the re-running of several episodes last night and this morning, Decoded features a professor/journalist, an engineer and a trial lawyer/skeptic who help author Brad Meltzer prove or disprove different mysteries and rumors of history. I watched episodes about

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-18955888547144198332011-09-30T17:44:00.002-04:002011-09-30T18:40:11.609-04:00

"Lonely garden seeks gardener who loves purple asters, winding paths, and a crispness in the air. The ideal gardener isn't afraid of bugs, likes to weed, and enjoys growing vegetables in addition to flowers. I'm willing to over look your flaws, dear gardener, if you'll over look mine. Signed, A Garden Somewhere in the Midwest." Dear Garden, I'm sorry I haven't had time to spend with you. If

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-90292044137601877662011-09-28T07:03:00.002-04:002011-09-28T21:21:23.582-04:00

How to tame a wildflower. You can give it fancy leaves... Heliopsis helianthoides 'Loraine Sunshine' You can give it double flowers... Heliopsis helianthoides '(Variety Name Forgotten*)' You can let it play amongst the other flowers... You can even banish it to the compost bin... But you can never really tame it. It will never really leave. Once you let a wildflower into your

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-61446083976760732442011-09-26T22:29:00.001-04:002011-09-26T22:37:31.775-04:00

One day, as I came up the front walk to see if I had a package of bulbs waiting by the front door, I saw a little rabbit jump off the first step to the porch and dart off. I think he ended up under a nearby spruce tree because I saw him run under the low hanging limbs of the spruce but didn’t see him scurry out the other side. Oh, well, what could one more rabbit do in my garden at this point

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-34680617366019371832011-09-25T17:39:00.002-04:002011-09-26T06:12:24.809-04:00

The little rabbit huddled beneath the big shrub, waiting for the rain to stop, waiting for his opportunity. He could not believe that he, the smallest and slowest rabbit at May Dreams Gardens, had been selected to present Carol with the twelfth secret to achieving happiness in her garden. While he waited for the rain to slow down, he checked and double-checked that he had the note with the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-13142804098333197712011-09-24T10:00:00.003-04:002011-09-24T12:01:00.866-04:00

When a gardener orders pizza, she is delighted to find some of her favorite toppings on the menu -- Brassica oleracea, Solanum lycopersicum (which she used to know as Lycopersicum esculentum), and a new one, Cynara cardunculus. When she orders, the gardener translates these toppings for the waiter as broccoli, tomatoes, and artichokes because she doesn't want to embarrass him if he doesn't know

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-88962490613483689722011-09-22T17:34:00.000-04:002011-09-22T17:34:28.213-04:00

Garden fairies here. We have taken over this blog to bring you all some exciting news. But first, we are garden fairies and we have not posted anything in awhile so we would like to provide an update on what we have been doing. We are garden fairies, we have been doing what garden fairies do.  Just yesterday, when Carol came home from work and immediately took a nap instead of going out to

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-69882737272436471332011-09-20T22:23:00.001-04:002011-09-21T22:46:41.861-04:00

As soon as a gardener declares an area to be a garden and plants that first plant, it is time to start weeding and removing plants that are not part of the garden plan. This is because a garden is not made just by adding plants, though this is a major pleasure of gardening.  A garden is also made by removing plants. Are you familiar with the Hierarchy of Weeding and Plant Removal? At the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-68314599985265903402011-09-18T22:06:00.000-04:002011-09-18T22:06:59.227-04:00

What joy is ours when we go out to the garden to find bounty in it. It's why we grow vegetables, isn't it? And flowers, too, like this verbena that I let self sow all around my garden. It is bountiful right now, even as the vegetable garden, which was bountiful earlier in the season, slows down its giving. The Free Dictionary online defines bounty as "liberality in giving". I like that way of

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-20371945401132941582011-09-16T18:41:00.001-04:002011-09-18T18:58:24.448-04:00

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Alma Potschke' Before the festivities of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I attempted to post a secret I learned from the praying mantis. The garden fairies boldly intervened, however, and ripped the secret off the post. I would like to thank everyone who posted about their blooms for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. You all provided a great resource for everyone to check

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-88491239271213663322011-09-15T00:05:00.094-04:002011-09-15T00:05:01.755-04:00

Short's Goldenrod, Solidago shortii Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for September 2011. Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 5b garden in central Indiana, I feel as though I am reliving the same September that we had in 2010, yearning for some rain to fall. The primary difference is that this year, I have a garden border that was designed and planted to be in prime bloom late in the season.

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com104tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-78152353738051986082011-09-13T22:18:00.002-04:002011-09-14T07:07:19.803-04:00

We see it all in the Fall. There's a remnant of spring in the new yellow rose buds, a touch of summer in the white rose flower, and a bit of fall in the orange rosehips, all on the same branch of a rose. If you look carefully, you'll see that there is also a praying mantis hanging from the rose, looking at me as I happily snapped pictures for the upcoming Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. What? The

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-55184547011188005962011-09-11T21:41:00.001-04:002011-09-12T08:29:38.960-04:00

As soon as I read the headline, a thousand thoughts went through my mind. Did I buy enough bulbs this spring for fall planting? People are hoarding bulbs. Why are they hoarding flower bulbs? Do they know something I don't know? Is there a shortage of bulbs this fall? Maybe I should go buy some more now? People are hoarding bulbs. Should I send emails to make sure the bulbs I pre-ordered in

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-65367707774606387742011-09-10T08:19:00.004-04:002011-09-10T11:44:28.327-04:00

Fall, and the insects line up on the flowers like actresses and actors at an open audition. They hover, waiting to be noticed, to be discovered. Who will be the big star, who will be the next "glamour bug" to be featured on a blog, or in a magazine article, or even in a book? "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up." Some like this un-named waspy type insect with that menacing

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-86503696889310354782011-09-07T22:01:00.002-04:002011-09-19T18:31:48.378-04:00

At a recent gathering here at May Dreams Gardens, those who claim residence in this humble place came up with a list of daily habits that they thought would make people happy and gardeners even happier. It was quite the meeting with everyone talking at once, the usual suspects claiming superiority (hint, they are garden fairies) and the peace makers sitting back at the beginning to observe the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-24773066608725764192011-09-05T22:12:00.001-04:002011-09-05T22:15:59.087-04:00

I feel the rush of time moving through the garden. It rides the breeze that brings the cooler weather. It rattles the dry stalks of corn, still standing in the garden. It scurries by with the first leaves blowing across the patio. There is still much to do as summer winds down. I should be rushing around the garden like I do in the spring. But I feel like taking it much slower, as though

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-85331917505141552982011-09-04T08:44:00.002-04:002011-09-05T07:26:41.820-04:00

When a gardener shops for furniture, her eye is drawn to the wood furniture with the carvings of leaf branches. She wonders what plant that might be and if it is botanically correct. After all, she would not want just any plant to twine up her bed post or decorate the corner of a chest of drawers. She decides, though, that this plant is okay because it does  not have "leaves of three" so it

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-90420005566144499622011-09-02T18:19:00.005-04:002011-09-20T22:47:45.676-04:00

I sat down last night to write out a blog post based on a presentation I gave as a participant in a panel discussion on garden blogging at the recent Garden Writers Association symposium in Indianapolis.   Dee of Red Dirt Ramblings and Mary Ann of Gardens of the Wild West were on the panel with me and we titled our discussion "Down the Garden Blogging Path". We wanted to tell others how garden

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-24531087571663972362011-08-31T05:33:00.001-04:002011-08-31T18:20:23.910-04:00

I see the world through garden-colored glasses.All around me I notice plants and flowers and I must have them around me as well. I rarely walk by a plant without an impulse to touch it. I see soil and I want to feel it and smell it.I will go places I wouldn't normally go if someone dangles words and ideas in front of me that relate to gardening. And I can relate most aspects of my life to

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-8002312107436246992011-08-28T23:42:00.002-04:002011-08-29T06:02:56.836-04:00

I now have a copy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin No. 1677. Yes, that one. No. 1-6-7-7.  "Planting and Care of Lawns".  Published in 1931, updated in 1935. I now know the truth. I know that in 1931, when this booklet was originally published, "A beautiful green lawn is the ambition of most home owners... but few are willing to expend the effort necessary for a

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-12952625151264895602011-08-26T07:28:00.001-04:002011-08-26T11:23:22.583-04:00

Everyone here at May Dreams Gardens is quite excited to be included as one of Horticulture magazine's Best Gardening Blogs. Apparently, they asked Thorn Goblinfly, the chief scribe of the garden fairies around here what she thought of the idea and she thought quite a lot of it.  She also kept it a secret from everyone else.  Garden fairies are good at keeping secrets, apparently.  It does make

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-19782227112873283602011-08-24T05:56:00.003-04:002011-08-24T06:12:25.161-04:00

Please include more wildflowers and native plants in your garden. Chosen well, these plants, more so than many others, seem to survive, if not thrive, in a wider range of weather extremes. In my own garden, the black-eyed Susans, Rudbeckia hirta, anchor one end of a new garden border designed and planted with mostly native plants that bloom in late summer. I believe... Garden fairies here!

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-47095474935295552782011-08-21T23:48:00.004-04:002011-08-22T22:19:44.996-04:00

"This book is for those who in treading the garden path have no thought of material gain; rather must they give, -- from the pocket as they may, -- from the brain much, -- and from the heart all, -- if they would drink in full measure this pure joy of living." (The Garden, You, and I by Barbara (The Macmillan Company, 1906) This is a most fascinating book. Barbara turns out to be Mabel Osgood

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-22168001739613702402011-08-20T07:12:00.005-04:002011-08-20T11:35:01.785-04:00

At Dragonfly Farms Nursery You might be a gardening geek who went to Seattle Fling if… Before you left home, you spent more time making notes on how to water and tend your garden in your absence than you did providing instructions on how to care for your kids or pets, if you have them. Your reading material for the long hours on the plane included the most recent issue of Hortus plus

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-3902554985642124572011-08-18T20:27:00.000-04:002011-08-18T20:27:18.271-04:00

Rake 'n Hoe from Kaizen Garden "You jest about what you suppose to be a triviality, in asking whether the hen came first from an egg or the egg from a hen, but the point should be regarded as one of importance, one worthy of discussion, and careful discussion at that."  (Macrobius, Roman Philosopher) Which brings us to the question that my new hoe, the Rake 'n Hoe from Kaizen Garden poses

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-30871383962169438212011-08-17T00:05:00.002-04:002011-08-17T06:40:54.798-04:00

A large rabbit hole showed up on my porch Tuesday evening. Summer is so busy, this is no time for large rabbit holes. There are weeds to pull, gardens to water, and vegetables to harvest. The house needs to be cleaned, again, even though I swear I cleaned it right before Easter. There is a loose brick on the porch that needs to be glued back into place. There is mulch to spread. There are work

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-39886145428984996432011-08-15T00:05:00.054-04:002011-08-15T06:24:21.362-04:00

Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for August 2011! Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 5b garden in central Indiana, the blooms are set against a backdrop created by the driest July in recorded history and a stretch of days with high temperatures that were 90 F and above for over three weeks, besting a record set in the dust bowl year of 1936. I ventured out into the garden early Sunday

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com115tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-50177425433711417492011-08-13T07:00:00.017-04:002011-08-13T12:25:57.485-04:00

At our last stop of the Seattle Fling, Dragonfly Farms Nursery, in Kingston, Washington "where abnormality is the normality", all of us were treated to an wonderful reception hosted by Proven Winners and and some gift bags with books provided by  Timber Press. I picked up a bag that included My Garden, the City, and Me: Rooftop Adventures in the Wilds of London by Helen Babbs, illustrated by

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-42180782168640906022011-08-11T22:49:00.002-04:002011-08-12T19:22:54.652-04:00

"How's your garden doing?" That's usually the first thing I hear when I see my aunt and uncle from the southern part of the state. I don't have to ask "which garden" because I know they are asking about my vegetable garden. They also have a vegetable garden. We compare notes. They plant their garden earlier, usually by several weeks. Then they often use a hotbed to get a jump on the season

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-6583766502053748132011-08-10T00:00:00.001-04:002011-08-10T06:32:58.412-04:00

Bloedel Reseve I've become aware that there is a lack of reliable information on fairy holes available on the Internet, while at the same time I've noticed an increase in these gateways to another world in my garden and others I've visited recently. These are odd times we live in! I will attempt to remedy this situation, this lack of knowledge, by providing, as best I can, a complete guide

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-875115817933679182011-08-08T22:35:00.000-04:002011-08-08T22:35:02.379-04:00

Now, that's a pretty leaf. I don't know who you are, where you been or what your taste is in leaves, I just know you can't deny how striking that leaf is. Just look at it. Good lines, fine gradient change from a good, basic green to light green to cream to a rosy edge. It's the best corn I have growing right now, Zea mays Quadricolor Variegated Ornamental Corn. That's what the seed packet

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8488599.post-46077396202114900132011-08-06T09:21:00.003-04:002011-08-06T12:05:36.718-04:00

Out in the vegetable garden, the harvest continues on a near daily basis.  I'm currently picking tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, and for the first time this morning, edamame. Edamame as in soybeans. While the harvest is wonderful, there are a few missing players.  My green beans were a flop.  They were starting to form just as I left town for a week and temperatures during the

Carolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796344366326535406noreply@blogger.com9