Tag Archives: vegetable

As Summer Slips Away

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Benjamin

Summer loosens her grip on us reluctantly in our part of Kentucky, snug on the southern shores of the Ohio River Valley. The heat and humidity claw at us through the month of August and well into September. Occasionally, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, bees, beneficial insect, bugs, compost, cucumber, daisy, Eleanor Perenyi, Ernest Dowson, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, lemon cucumber, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, photography, propagate, straw bale gardening, summer, sunflower, sustainability, tomato, tomatoes, vegetable, vegetable garden, zinnia | 28 Comments

Cherry Blossoms & Blackberry Winter

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Benjamin

Our Weeping Cherry is waking the bees from their winter slumber and tempting us into the garden. A string of warm days sends us, pell-mell, to the the garden store, for (at least) a little window shopping And although we’re sorely … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, Blackberry Winter, cherry blossom, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, garden store, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, photography, seed catalogs, spring, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter | 36 Comments

September’s Warm Embrace

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Benjamin

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer’s best of weather And autumn’s best of cheer. ~Helen Hunt Jackson If April is the cruelest month, as T.S.Eliot suggested, September may be the kindest. And September in Kentucky … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged autumn, backyard, bees, birding, birdwatching, Brussels sprouts, Cincinnati, compost, coneflower, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom tomato, Helen Hunt Jackson, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, perennial, photography, September, Suburban garden, suburbia, summer, T.S.Eliot, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter, Winter Landscape | 29 Comments

And the Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down.

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Benjamin

July showed up wet and topical here in our part of the Ohio River Valley. Brief but angry thunderstorms. Long, gentle rains. Soakers and Sprinkles. Gully Washers and Frog Stranglers. And when it’s not raining, it may as well be, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged backyard, bees, coneflower, daisies, daisy, farming, flower, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, landscape, organic gardening, photography, rain, roses, summer, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter | 52 Comments

Sharing the Garden-Passing Along Love & Blisters

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Benjamin

I often think about gardening with my mom and grandmother when I was young. Time has softened the experience now, but the (hard) time spent in the garden as a wayward youth was usually as punishment. Failure to do chores? … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, beneficial insect, birding, birdwatching, bugs, corn, daddy blog, English Peas, family, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, kids, onion, parenting, Peas, photography, spring, sugar snap peas, summer, sweet corn, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden | 28 Comments

“Not yet,” Spring whispered. “Not just yet. But soon.”

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Benjamin

A string of warm, bright days coaxed the jonquils and hyacinths and early tulips from their earthy slumber. Happily, these sturdy plants are built for early spring because, as luck would have it, the warm weather was quickly followed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged backyard, cold, compost, daffodil, farming, flower, flower garden, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, hyacinth, jonquil, Kentucky, landscape, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, propagate, spring, sugar snap peas, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter | 23 Comments

Bees & The Sweetness of October

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Benjamin

“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” ― Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine October is the month that always seems to pass too quickly for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, bees, Blackberry Winter, coneflower, Dandelion Wine, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, frost, garden, gardening, gardening tips, Indian Summer, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, Ray Bradbury, spring, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter | 46 Comments

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

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