Growing pumpkins. It is not as easy as one would think.  I discussed in a previous post all the issues we’ve had with growing pumpkins in the past.  Last year was our first successful growing season.  Encouraged by our success, we grew pumpkins again this year. Our pumpkin patch lookedContinue Reading

I planted a cutting garden for the  first time last year, growing a variety of annual flowers from seeds.  I enjoyed the convenience of having a supply of flowers to cut for bouquets without having to worry about how they looked overall in the garden.  Once the seeds germinated, itContinue Reading

Summer is flying by and we are swamped with vegetables to harvest, flowers to pick, weeds to pull and grass to mow.  We enjoy a variety of fresh vegetables at each meal and inevitably eat too much.  The rewards of all the hard work in the garden are paying offContinue Reading

The harvest is on and I cannot pick the vegetables fast enough to keep up.  Although I try to stagger my planting times, every year it seems that everything ripens at once.  At the moment, we have wax beans, green beans, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, zucchini and onions ready for harvestingContinue Reading

The month of July is a time of transition in the perennial garden.  Many of the early blooming perennials are starting to wind down, allowing others to take center stage.  Aside from an early infestation of aphids on my Lupines, I am having a good year in the flower garden. IContinue Reading

I have planted sunflowers the last several years because I love seeing the beautiful blossoms towering above the garden.  They are such happy flowers that seem to smile all day long in the sunshine.  Of course, they have the added benefit of providing the birds with some tasty snacks onceContinue Reading

It has been a good growing year for the vegetable garden.  The plants are huge and everything looks good.  At the risk of jinxing myself, I am happy to report that the garden does not have any major pest, bug or disease issues.  The weeds are growing just as vigorously asContinue Reading

It was months ago that I decided to attempt starting perennial seeds by using a winter sowing method that I had read about in my Northern Gardener magazine.  I posted (here) about getting everything set up and flower seeds planted in these plastic milk jugs in the dead of winter.Continue Reading

Although my husband might disagree, it is my firm belief that you can never have too many perennial gardens.  So, after a few years of threatening to expand my gardens, I decided to go ahead this year. I always start my landscaping projects by laying out a garden hose inContinue Reading

Some time in January, my 87-year-old grandmother, who has always lived on her own, was hospitalized and underwent major surgery.  Eventually she was moved to a nursing home to recover.  She has been there ever since.  It turns out that recovery does not happen as quickly in an 87-year-old bodyContinue Reading