Category Archives: Gardening

Break Out the Mittens, Here Comes Winter!

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Benjamin

The weather map shows ominous arrows sweeping down from the frozen tundra of the North and pointing straight at our little slice of the Ohio River Valley later this week. This is when we realize (and usually quickly forget) that, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, books, compost, farming, flannel, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, polar vortex, reading, weather, Winter | 39 Comments

Wrap Yourself in Daisies

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Benjamin

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit…” ~e.e.cummings. Ms. Professor and I grew our first patch of these confident little daisies (actually Chrysanthemum carinatum) this year. They’ll definitely be … Continue reading →

Posted in Flower Gardening, Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum carinatum, compost, confidence, curiousity, daisies, daisy, e.e.cummings, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, Painted Daisy, procrastination, propagate, Winter | 42 Comments

August and Everything After

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Benjamin

August surprised us this year in our part of the Ohio River Valley. Mild temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s (F) are unusual during what we usually refer to as the “dog days of summer.” Felt much like late September. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged backyard, bugs, climate, compost, farming, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, peonies, peony, snakes, summer, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden, weather | 38 Comments

Summer Betwixt 2 Slices of Bread

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Benjamin

Ben’s Southern Summer Tomato Sandwich This sandwich is almost too simple. But also easy to screw up. Ingredients are the key to this southern sandwich’s culinary mysticism. You need: White bread. Soft, white bread. The kind of white bread everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Recipes, Uncategorized | Tagged black krim, farming, flower garden, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, recipe, south, southern, tomato, tomato sandwich, vegetable, vegetable garden | 39 Comments

The Nostalgia of Cleome

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Benjamin

A friend gave me a few seeds from her Cleome hassleriana several years ago. We planted the seeds, enjoyed the flowers, saved the seeds and continued burying them in the soil at a couple of different homesteads, spreading the joy … Continue reading →

Posted in Flower Gardening, Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, cleome, Cleome hassleriana, compost, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, Kentucky, nostalgia, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, propagate, seed, seed saving | 32 Comments

We Seek the Black Krim

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Benjamin

It’s our first year planting the heirloom variety tomato, Black Krim. We’re excited! The one pictured is just starting to ripen and we’re curious how long it will be before it develops that lovely deep, dark crimson. We’ve had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged backyard, black krim, farming, flower garden, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, propagate, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden | 12 Comments

Daisy, the Poet’s Darling

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Benjamin

We love our Shasta daisies. Some may think them a little too “Mary Ann” and not enough “Ginger”, but we like their cheerful little faces and carefree abundance. And they need almost no maintenance except for a little fertilizer and occasional deadheading and division. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Flower Gardening, Gardening | Tagged backyard, daisies, daisy, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, landscaping, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, perennial, propagate | 4 Comments

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

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