Tag Archives: gardening tips

The Bittersweet Melancholy of Summer’s End…

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Benjamin

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.~John Steinbeck September and the remains of summer have all but slipped away. The warm spell we’re experiencing in our part of the Ohio River … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, basil, birding, bugs, cilantro, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, gardening tips, goldenrod, guacamole, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, pesto, squirrel, steinbeck, summer, sunflower, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter | 41 Comments

A Swiftly Tilting Planet and the Autumnal Equinox

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Benjamin

This swiftly tilting planet (to steal a phrase from Madeleine L’Engle) is approaching equilibrium again today, giving us equal servings of light and darkness. And now those of us in the Northern Hemisphere begin our journey into night and winter … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, equinox, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, soccer, vegetable, vegetable garden | 29 Comments

Summer’s Ghosts

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Benjamin

“We know that in September, we will wander through the warm winds of summer’s wreckage. We will welcome summer’s ghost.”~Henry Rollins September has been beautiful in our part of the Ohio River Valley…Except for the allergens. This part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, summer, vegetable garden | 39 Comments

Gardening Home Away From Home

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Benjamin

Whenever we go on holiday, we like to scout out the cool garden shops in the places we’re visiting. Sometimes it takes a little bargaining with the kids. “We’ll give you 4 hours at the waterpark for an hour of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, birding, birdwatching, compost, daisy, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, nursery, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, peony, propagate, rose, summer, vegetable, vegetable garden | 23 Comments

End of Month View-August 2014

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Benjamin

August ended the way it usually does for us in this part of the Ohio River Valley–Hot, humid, a thunderstorm or two. The days are noticeably shorter now, and the plants have noticed. A burst of productivity in the vegetable … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, black krim, bugs, cleome, Cleome hassleriana, compost, coneflower, daisies, daisy, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, landscape, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, pepper, propagate, romanian pepper, rudbeckia, summer, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden | 43 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

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

Our Accidental Hanging Dahlia Experiment

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Benjamin

It started with a couple of seed heads, lying forgotten on top of the soil in a flower pot in the garage. I’d brought the pot into the garage before a hard freeze last winter, placed it in a corner … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, dahlia, farming, flower, flower garden, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, organic gardening, propagate, serendipity | 12 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