Category Archives: Gardening

2015_Day 208: Purslane pretty and edible?

 
It’s not like I go looking for new flowers all the time, but when I do see one that catches my eye, more often than not, it seems to find its way into my shopping cart. That’s how this pretty succulent called purslane came to be mine. Continue reading

2015_Day 207: Making room for pumpkins

Three pumpkin plants now share a raised bed with several green pepper plants and a few marigolds.

Three pumpkin plants now share a raised bed with several green pepper plants and a few marigolds.


I’m not used to pulling dried-out tomato plants out of the garden until September or even October, but three that were well past their prime got the boot today to make room for several pumpkins. I had intended to be out in the garden by 7:30 or 8 a.m. to beat the hot sun (forecast high was 97), but as usually happens on a Sunday morning, I was feeling a bit lazy. I finally got to work a little after 9 a.m., and the sun, she already was a wee bit warm. Continue reading

2015_Day 206: Just another pretty face 

 
It’s no secret I love flowers. That I fall in love with new flowers all the time. Lately it’s the vinca, a flower that’s supposed to tolerate heat well. So far, it’s lived up to the hype. And I love the way the flowers open. So symmetrical. So precise. So…pretty. Continue reading

2015_Day 205: Gonna be a green weekend

 
Doesn’t matter how hot it’s gonna get this weekend — the tomatoes need transplanting. There’s about a gazillion of them in peat pellets, so I’m gonna have to whittle them down to just a handful. Continue reading

2015_Day 204: Cleaning out the zinnias

Before deadheading and cleanout.

Before deadheading and cleanout.

Not sure how much of a difference it made, but I deadheaded and cleaned out the zinnias and cosmos in my three-tiered flower bed tonight. The hope is that the flowers will be tricked into some new growth. Whether that will actually happen with temperatures between 95 and 100 for several weeks remains to be seen. But I’m giving it a try. Continue reading

2015_Day 203: Peppers and pumpkins, oh yeah

A little green pepper.

A little green pepper.

It’s itty-bitty, but there’s finally a green pepper on one of my pepper plants. Actually, it looks like there are several, although only one really looks like a pepper. I first saw flowers on the plants last week, four months after they were planted. Then I saw the flowers in the dirt a day or two after that, and I’ve never planted peppers before, so I didn’t know if that was good or bad. Continue reading

2015_Day 202: Unexpected pleasures in hot summer sun

IMG_1833I hadn’t been holding my breath that the poppies in my flower bed would ever actually get flowers on them, but I was okay with that because the poppy leaves were a nice contrast both in color and texture from the gazanias and petunias also claiming a spot in the bed. So I was a bit surprised to see two yellow poppy flowers had bloomed during the day. Continue reading

2015_Day 200: Sunday snapshots 

My flowers — everything from the zinnias and gazanias to the marigolds — are holding up pretty well despite the heat and the fact that they were planted back in March. Continue reading

2015_Day 199: Can tomatoes stand the heat?

Tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill.

Tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill.

On this hot, summer Saturday, I’m happy to report that I’ve got a windowsill full of tomatoes from my garden. But looking at the forecast for the next week to 10 days, I think it’s going to take a lot of extra water to keep that sill full of the red fruit. Continue reading

2015_Day 198: Peppers struggling under tomatoes

Flowers on peppers.

Flowers on peppers.

I’ve never grown peppers before, but I think it’s odd that it took four months for them to flower. Maybe it’s that the tomato plants have moved in on their territory, so they’re getting less direct sun than they might need. Although given it’s been in the 90s for several weeks, the shade may be helpful. I honestly don’t know.
Tomato plants tower over peppers.

Tomato plants tower over peppers.

I’m not sure how much longer the Easy Girl and Better Boy tomato plants will hold up to the heat. They’re getting plenty of water, but they’re still getting pretty brown. There are still a couple dozen green tomatoes on the vines and even a few yellow blossoms, but at this point in the hot summer, I doubt the flowers will amount to anything. The cherry tomato plants are finally full of red and green tomatoes. FINALLY! And they’re delicious, too!
Cherry tomatoes.

Cherry tomatoes.