Tag Archives: Ohio River Valley

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

Wordless Wednesday-Our Backyard Owl and His Brave Neighbor

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Benjamin

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, birding, birdwatching, farming, gardening, great horned owl, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, owl | 10 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

Daisies, Coneflowers & Bees (Oh, My)

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Benjamin

July means the Purple Coneflowers and Daisies are competing for the lavish attention of the bees in our neighborhood. So far it seems the coneflowers are winning. There’s a symphony of bees constantly hovering on and around our stand of Echinacea … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, bees, Carpenter Bees, coneflower, daisies, daisy, Echinacea purpurea, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, june beetle, june bug, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, summer | Leave a comment

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

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

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