Author Archives: Benjamin

About Benjamin

Gardening, Raising a Family, Hobby Photography, Reading & Philoso-phizing...not necessarily in that order.

Our Oakleaf Hydrangea Is Having Babies!

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Benjamin

We love our oakleaf hydrangea. At our last home, we had them everywhere. They are indestructible, beautiful, interesting in every season, and did I mention indestructible? Our current plant was a baby propagated from the mama plant (more on that … Continue reading →

Posted in Flower Gardening, Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged boxwood, buxus, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, hydrangea, Kentucky, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Ohio River Valley, plant, plant propagation, propagate, propagation, shrubs | Leave a comment

Roses + Compost = Wow!

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Benjamin

Last fall we found the time to add quite a bit of compost to the the flower bed where our New Dawn climbing rose lives (as well as an Oak Leaf Hydrangea and our Peony.) The results have been spectacular: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged compost, compost tea, compost tea recipe, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, hydrangea, peonies, peony, rose, roses | Leave a comment

Ode to Homegrown Tomatoes & Tips for Growing Same

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Benjamin

Only two things that money can’t buy and that’s True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes. ~Guy Clark. We’re trying a few different varieties of tomato this year including Black Krim and Cherokee Purple. Bringing back many old faves, as well, including … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, black krim, brandywine, garden, gardening, gardening tips, growing tomatoes, heirloom, heirloom tomato, heirloom tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, spring, tomato, tomatoes, vegetable, vegetable garden | Leave a comment

New Dawn Rose, You Sexy Beast

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Benjamin

We planted a New Dawn climbing rose a couple of years ago on the southeast corner of the house and this year it is rewarding us with a spectacular display. I wish I had planned a bit better and installed … Continue reading →

Posted in Flower Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged flower, flower garden, flower gardening, gardening, New Dawn Rose, rose, rose garden, rose gardening, roses | Leave a comment

Yeah, Radishes!

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Benjamin

Spring means radishes. Crunchy and peppery. And quick! From seed to harvest in a little over three weeks for some varieties. About as close to instant gratification as one gets from gardening! Something the French love and I do, too, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged garden, gardening, instant gratification, Kentucky, radish, radishes, sea salt, vegetable, vegetable garden | 2 Comments

Peony, Heritage Edition

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Benjamin

We were a bit worried about our peony making an appearance this year. An exceptionally cold winter with hard freezes and a surprise snowfall in late spring did not seem to bode well. But this may be the showiest this … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, farming, flower, flower garden, flowers, garden, gardening, iris, irises, Kentucky, landscape, Ohio River Valley, peonies, peony | 2 Comments

Tomato Hornworm (Parasitized edition)

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Benjamin

Some days you know just aren’t gonna go your way…if you’re a tomato hornworm, and you wake up one morning all bedazzled with little white decorations, chances are, the day will not end well. These little adornments will hatch and … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, biological controls, braconid, braconid wasp, bugs, caterpillars, farming, flower gardening, garden, garden pests, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, tomato, Tomato Hornworm, vegetable garden, wasp | 2 Comments

Cherry Blossoms

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Benjamin

For a few days every spring, our house is at the center of a Venn Diagram of daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, a few early tulips, and our beautiful little weeping cherry–floral fireworks exploding in our yard. The cherry blossoms are especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cherry, cherry tree, crocus, daffodil, flower garden, garden, gardening, hyacinth, spring, tulip, venn diagram | Leave a comment

Bicycle Joy

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Benjamin

We tugged our bicycles out of the garage, pumped up the tires, greased the chains and took ’em for a spin on a lovely spring day not long ago. The sun was shining down from a sky as blue as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bicycles, bikes, family, garden, gardening, joy, sky, sun, Winter | Leave a comment

Heralds of Spring

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Benjamin

Crocus, hyacinth, and jonquil are springing up all around us, letting us know, with what we hope is certainty, that the long winter has receded. The daylight hours are beginning to stretch, giving us a few more minutes outside in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged crocus, daffodil, daffodils, flower garden, flowers, garden, gardening, hyacinth, jonquil, jonquils, narcissus, spring | Leave a comment