"Duh" Moment

BY SKEETER I am ever so busy with many things going on in my life right now. Yes, still too busy to be able to visit bloggers but I just had to pop in here and share this today.

The Saints parents and large dog have been visiting with us and we had a great time together. While entertaining at meal time, I took the easy way out and purchased a bakery cake rather then bake one myself. The cake is long gone but above you see the empty container.We recycle and I was looking for the number in the triangle to see if this container is a #1 or #2 as those are the only numbers our recycle center will accept. I easily found the number on the bottom but could not seem to find a number on the top/lid/dome of the container.
As I flipped the Dome over to look for the number, I had a "Duh" moment. Do you see what I saw???
What is a "Duh" moment you may ask? Well an instant when your brain goes, well Duh, I should have thought of that sooner! I have tossed many of these containers into the recycle bin, trash, etc. I have also purchased many of these type items for my plants. They keep water from going onto the floor after feeding a plant! I just had to share this little Tip for those of you that have yet to have your "DUH", MOMENT, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

A Good Skid Resistant Protector for Icy and Snowy Paths

From In the Garden

Snowy and icy paths and walkways are nothing new to folks who live in temperate regions, but they are dangerous and need to be taken care of in order to prevent falls. Many types of skid resistant materials can be used to reduce iciness on walkways including: rock salt, gravel, dirt, cat litter-and sunflower seeds.

Yes, I said sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are my choice for installing a slip resistant surface on my sidewalk and deck during the winter. The extra bonuses are of course that sunflower seeds are non toxic, readily available, and serve a functional purpose in that the birds can eat! The downfalls are the hulls can (and will be) tracked into the house, but can be cleaned easily. I'll take the cleaning any day if it means I can watch feeding birds up close and personal next to my deck and keep from slipping when I venture onto the deck....

in the garden....

No snow here, just some wonderful spring days and garden working days coming up but thought I'd share my tip for a slip preventer in case we or you get some more bad days this winter or spring.


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Keeping Water In the Garden From Freezing for the Birds

From In the Garden

Keeping your birdbaths free of ice in the winter time is a very big concern. As someone who loves to feed the birds I realize they must also drink so I had to figure out what do to with all my birdbaths and small water features. I think I have it all figured out and thought I'd share some tips-today after 20 degree temperatures and six inches plus of snow.

From In the Garden

Let's start with my front foundation bed garden. I have a small fountain located in the center of this bed. I like this fountain because not only do the birds drink from it, but my wonderful cat drinks from it too. She refuses to drink from water dishes (which I could never keep fluid in this cold) but loves this fountain all year. This fountain is about 4-6 inches deep and is larger than most birdbaths so it has been a challenge to keep fluid but I have a trick. I purchased a 'birdbath heater' from a local store (I think it was Rural King but most bird supply stores should have these small heaters). The cost was under $20. It works well to keep a portion of the fountain free of ice but some of the fountain will still freeze under normal winter conditions (as evidenced in the picture). Here is the trick for keeping the entire fountain fluid during the recent arctic conditions we've been experiencing. Place a tarp over the whole fountain loosely. This keeps in the heat from the small birdbath heater in and then the whole fountain is free of ice. It worked great even in sub-zero temperatures. The cat and birds have been happy drinking from this fountain.

From In the Garden

Next we'll move to my small bathtub pond. I have goldfish in this pond year round so I find it important to not only keep a bit of the surface free of ice for the birds, but also for the fish so they can get oxygen. My little pond holds about 35 gallons of water and is not more than 15" deep. A birdbath heater would simply not work. Instead I purchased a stock tank heater from Rural King (love this store!). It works wonderfully as you can see. There is not one speck of ice in this pond. I only use the stock tank heater when it looks as though the entire pond will freeze over (as in arctic blasts). Usually the running pump keeps an area in the pond free of ice but when temperatures below 20 degrees are sustained and winds are brisk, the bathtub will need extra help. In the opening picture the bathtub pond needs no extra help because the 6" of snow are serving as an insulator and the pump is keeping an area free for the fish. I think the stock tank heater would work for larger ponds too. Experimenting is the best way to find out what works best in your particular water feature. Birds of all sorts flock to this pond to drink as do the pesky squirrels and chipmunks. I have one particular mockingbird that loves to sit in the pot (not pictured) and drink from the pond. It will stay there a long time almost like it is savoring the water. It's such an enjoyable thing to watch birds in the winter.

From In the Garden

And one last picture. I don't leave all of my birdbaths/water features up to operate during the winters. This is a cement bird bath out front. I covered it with plastic left over from a mattress. If you ever buy something very large like a mattress-save the cardboard and plastic for use in the garden. They work great in a number of ways. Plastic can be used like a tarp to haul things like leaves, and also to cover birdbaths. Cardboard can be used as a mulch under leaves. I sure hope no one looks under my mulch-no telling what they might find there.

Any tips for keeping water from freezing in the winter?

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Plant of the Month November 2009-Camellias

From In the Garden

Do you all know how gardeners just have to have that one plant the 'experts' say they cannot grow? You know the one. It's usually hardy in one zone warmer or colder than yours. Or it is the plant that likes acid soil and you have only alkaline soil. Well for me it is the camellia. And the fact that camellias absolutely shine when they are in bloom or out of bloom coupled with their ease of care make them a favored plant of mine. In fact, I have chosen the camellia as my Plant of the Month for November. I think the bees agree don't you?

I lived in southern Alabama for a hot two years during my Army career. When I say hot, I mean hot. Really really hot and humid. I did not do much gardening there at all, but I did plant a a camellia. I had never seen camellias growing anywhere else I lived. They weren't in North Carolina, Maine or Germany (at least not in the areas I lived in). I had visions of seeing my camellia grow into a tall and handsome shrub while living in Alabama but I never did see that shrub grow because we had to move due to a new assignment. That's okay though because I figured I would at some point have another chance to grow camellias.
Once I moved into my current home I thought a camellia would be a nice plant to have here as well. Never mind I did not know they could not grow in my zone. The plants did not know they could not grow here and neither did my local big box stores. Nosirree. Lowes and Home Depot stocked camellias just like they stock oakleaf hydrangeas. Surely if they sell plants in my local big box stores then they must grow here? Right?I purchased my first camellia in a one gallon pot in 2002. I had no idea where I should put it but found a spot for it and in the ground it went. It grew and grew for about two years when I decided it needed to move 5 feet over. Big shock for the camellia yet it survived and even thrived and still it grew. Years went by and I became more involved in the garden circles and certain plant societies here in Middle Tennessee. I even attended a seminar by a local camellia expert that said camellias don't usually grow in northern Tennessee, but breeders are working on new ones that are more hardy (there's hope for you northern gardeners). Harumph I thought. Don't tell my little camellia it can't grow here. It was now over 10 feet tall and faithfully blooming each year. It has bloomed with snow on the ground, in frigid winds and hailstorms and has come through unscathed. It blooms in the sun and shade and lights up this side of my home.
In fact, the little camellia I first planted in 2003 has become a 12' tall camellia and invited several of its cousins and distant relatives to come here and live. I now have seven camellias growing happily in my garden. All of them are Camellia sasanquas with the exception of two; which are japonicas. I specifically seek out the sasanquas because my first camellia was and is a sasanqua. Besides its hardiness I just like saying the word sasanqua:) My first camellia is an unknown cultivar. I have the label that came with it but the label simply says 'camellia sasanqua'. It happens to be a camellia that blooms in the fall/winter time frame and is the one I am featuring in this post. There are many sasanquas that also bloom in the spring time as well. Oftentimes folks think camellias only bloom in the winter or spring or vice versa. They don't know about all the varieties that bloom at different times, and neither did I until I started adding more camellias to my garden. I currently have three camellias blooming. The other four will bloom in the spring and because all seven of my camellias are different cultivars they usually bloom at different times but sometimes overlap the bloom period. Needless to say I have camellias blooming here for a pretty long time. The one above is my most spectacular camellia because it is the biggest so it is usually the featured one on here. I have posted on the others as well though. Remember, one of my criteria for choosing a 'Plant of the Month' is that the plant must have more than one cultivar or variety that blooms easily and rewards the gardener because of its low care and spectacular bloom and growth habit. Camellias fit the bill when grown properly.

I wanted to share a few tips I have for growing camellias. I am no expert on growing camellias nor have I ever claimed to be an expert on anything I post on this blog. These tips are simply lessons learned through growing my camellias in different spots in my garden. They may not work for everyone but have worked well here. Remember, camellias are marginally hardy to my zone and are 'not supposed' to grow here. Here is the secret to successfully growing camellias in a cold zone-shhh-plant your camellias on the north side of something so as to protect them from the southern sun during the winter. What?? That doesn't make sense! It seems counter intuitive that you would plant camellias on the northern side of something (in my case my home and evergreen trees) because that area would be coldest. Yes! That is the point. Here is what happened when I planted a camellia in a protected southern exposure in my garden next to my deck. The sun shined on it during the winter and warmed up the leaves. Then the sun went down and the plant froze. The leaves turned brown and the plant began to decline right in front of me. I quickly moved the plant and it is doing fine now on the northern side of my deck. You do not want the plant to warm up and start its juices flowing only to be frozen at night. Therefore keeping a camellia on the northern side of a house ensures the sun never reaches the camellia and it will stay dormant-at least the above the ground part which is what counts in the winter.

More cultivation tips I have learned are that camellias appreciate a good mulch (I try to use pine needles I gather from the wild or from gardens but I also use oak leaves), they don't like to be disturbed, and the soil should be acidic (5.5-6) and contain a good amount of organic matter and be well drained. I do add a good acidic fertilizer in March to all of my camellias and hydrangeas as well. If you provide these conditions your camellias will reward you admirably each and every year and perhaps they'll be your plant of the month.

I hand prune my camellias lightly after bloom each year. I prefer the natural look so I mainly prune out errant branches. I have also limbed up a few camellias so that I can see the great structure of the trunks (note the picture of mine above); which are attractive in their own way. Camellias do seem to lend themselves to more formal pruning but why would you want to? The evergreen leaves themselves make this a shrub worth growing in the garden.

It is a clear winner and the most stunning specimen for November's Plant of the Month here at Tiger Gardens. Runners up were: Pineapple sage and mums.

What is your Plant of the Month for November?

in the garden....

Growing and Harvesting Garlic

Finally, a garlic harvest! The above pictures show the garlic I recently harvested from the vegetable garden. It is a bit dirty as this picture was taken right after harvest. The garlic has since dried and the dirt knocked off. Additionally I trim back the roots and stem with scissors in order to neaten the garlic bulbs up a bit.
Many people do not know when to harvest garlic and I am no expert as you will soon see. However, a general rule of thumb I use is to check the garlic when the foliage begins yellowing and dying back as is shown in the above picture. This technique works well for me. Remember, this garlic has been growing in the ground for about 9 months now and it is probably ready to come out. The problem is that since garlic grows underground it is difficult to determine if it has set cloves or not. I usually dig a plant and check for clove formation once I see the yellowing foliage before I proceed to dig up all the garlic. In this case the garlic was perfect.
Not so in this case and the problem was entirely mine. I did not pay close attention to the foliage and missed it when it began yellowing and dying back. As it so happened, the foliage completely disappeared. Since I knew where the garlic was planted, I just dug down and found all the heads of garlic. Most were okay but several had formed cloves a bit too well. The cloves separated and I wound up with several small cloves instead of one big head of cloves. It is okay. No big deal. I think I have enough garlic to go around and will have plenty for planting this fall too.

If you live in the south and haven't yet harvested your garlic you need to do so soon. If you live in the north and are watching your garlic, don't let it get ahead of you like I did. Check it frequently. My poor vegetable garden has been most neglected this year but I hope to soon rectify it. For now I'm....

in the garden....enjoying freshly harvested garlic.

Disbudding Peonies

Do you wish for big, really big peony flowers? Then disbudding is for you-NOT "This Bud's for You"! No, this is not a commercial for Budweiser:) Peonies have several buds, some primary and some secondary. When the plant sets many secondary buds off from the primary bud, the plant spends a great deal of energy growing more flowers; which can make the primary peony bud and resulting flowers smaller. Think quantity over quality in this case.

In the picture above there is a primary bud (the largest bud) with a side bud branching off from the from main stem of the primary bud. The secondary bud is clearly smaller than the primary bud.

I chose to pinch this secondary bud off from the plant in order to have larger blooms. I pinched several secondary buds off from my peony plants as an experiment. Do you see this peony above with all of its buds? It is 'Immaculee' and also grows multiple buds per stem. The peony I am showing you to demonstrate the difference in budded and disbudded peony blooms is 'Festiva Maxima' as pictured in the first picture. Most peonies form multiple buds though; which is fine but if you want larger blooms-redirect the plant's energy into fewer buds by disbudding.

Can you see how much bigger the peony flower that has been disbudded is than the one on the right? (I am holding the disbudded flower and you can clearly see the additional buds with the flower on the right where it has not been disbudded). The other two flowers in the pictures were also disbudded and are large as well. I am not sure if I'll do this all the time, but where you want a big impact or when you show your flowers, disbudding is a good thing to do. What an impact the large peonies make....

in the garden....

I will be on a Beachaven Garden Club tour and field trip today. See you all tomorrow. I hope everyone is out enjoying the gardens and spring! It sure is glorious this year!

Everyone, please head over to Dave's The Home Garden blog to find a link to vote for him in the Better Homes and Gardens Contest. He worked very hard on his arbor and did a great job and I know all of us bloggers can help him win the prize!

A Few of My Favorite Foliage Combinations

So many times we gardeners garden only for blooms. I myself simply adore blooms, but try to consider the foliage too. Blooms are fleeting whereas the foliage lasts a long time. Spring is an awesome time to notice foliage. Everything is so succulent, green, and full that the foliage really tends to grab an onlooker. Here are a few of my favorite fabulous foliage combinations. Some look good together based on color, or texture, or form, but all fit well together regardless of additional traits they possess. I usually do consider texture and form when planting, but some of these are just happy accidents. The first such picture is one of those happy accidents.

Santolina (Lavender Cotton) and Yellow Button Mum

Hosta and Feverfew

Dwarf Alberta Spruce and Nepata 'Walkers Low'

Daffodil, Iris and Asiatic Lily Foliage

One of my absolute favorites! Bishops Weed (yes I know you can never get rid of it, but mine is contained and I like it) and Lily of the Valley

'Goldflame' Spirea and Iris Foliage

Iris and Variegated Grass (I lost the name-sorry)

Hosta, Lamium and Woodland Phlox

Sedum and Tree Peony Foliage

Turtlehead and Goatsbeard and Astilbe

Lambs Ear and Anisse Hyssop 'Blue Fortune'

Yellow Primrose and Iberis (Okay, disregard the blooms!)

Oxalis and Iris

Iris Ensata and Shasta Daisies

'Powis Castle' Artemesia and Mom's Hydrangea

Some other great combinations not pictured: nandina and little leaf euonymous or boxwood, lambs ear with allium or sedum or 'Firewitch' dianthus, and daylily with salvia or shasta daisies. These are just a few of my favorites. What are some fabulous foliage combinations you find in your garden?

in the garden....

Mulch and Cultivation Tips

How many gardeners love to receive a big pile of manure? Or get stars in their eyes when they find good composted and mulched leaves? How about it? Is this you? I bet it is! Or you would not be reading this blog.

The above pile of composted, shredded, oak leaves is about 20 feet long, by 10 feet wide, by 4 feet deep. Talk about a goldmine! Problem is that it is in my neighbor's yard. I finally got up the nerve to stop and ask the neighbor if he had plans for his pile. He jokingly said no, and that he kind of liked his pile there. I think he thought I was going to tell him he should do something with it and that it was an eyesore for passersby on my road. Not so at all! You really should've seen the look on his face when I asked him if I could have those composted leaves and how I'd dearly love to see them in my garden. Wiping the drool here now. He might have been a bit astonished. I mean it is not everyday a stranger stops by your house to beg you to let them have your dirty ole leaf pile in the front yard. A deal was struck, and lucky me!!

Out comes the handy trashcan. This pile was so thick and full that it takes about two minutes to load the leaves into this trashcan. I simply scoop them up with my hands. While doing this I got a bit of a shock when I saw something slithery moving quite quickly out of my way. At first I thought it was a snake as it was so fast. Then I thought maybe slugs since it was so big and slimy. A bit more digging revealed the truth-worms! Big fat juicy worms. My neighbor just happens to be a fisherman and retired First Sergeant. Maybe he should take up worm farming? Some of those worms came home with me-intentionally too. I don't think he'll miss them-do you?

Into the truck the leaves go-one trashcan after another. Then into the garden on top of many layers of newspapers. I am so determined NOT to water this summer that I am willing to do a bit of hard work this time of year in order to avoid mucho watering and weeding this summer. That's what I keep telling myself as I haul these leaves. It really helps me to be motivated too! Don't mind the big rock. It too found a home in my garden.

The whole point of this post is to tell you to get out there and mulch now in order to avoid weeding and watering this summer when it is hot and dry and yucky. Most of the mulch I applied last fall in the form of uncomposted leaves, has blown away. All my gardens up close to my chain link fence (away from the wind) have tons of leaves, but the gardens further into the yard are bare. These leaves I just got will stay put and add super good organic matter to the gardens and save this gardener a bunch of work later on in the season. Like Nike says, "Just do it!" Excuse me, I have to get back to mulching....

in the garden....

Today is my grandson's birthday, and I want to wish him a very happy HAPPY #2!!!

Gardener Tip (and Story) Day

I said I would publish some tips from gardeners on Tuesdays-but don't hold me to it! I should have said I would publish tips and garden stories. The following is from a friend of mine in my garden club. I love the way Esther speaks of her gardens. She said I didn't have to use her name but I think it is important to mention her (at least her first name). She knows who she is though. The following is her story and tips in her words. She sent this to me after she read the newspaper post and I thought you all might enjoy it. It does concern newspapers, but it primarily concerns a gardener who loves to garden.

The way I got into using newspaper was about nine years ago when I moved back to Tennessee and lived in Erin. I was in a rental house and asked the landlords if they minded if I planted flower beds. They said no. They had apologized for an ugly black tree stump about 5 ft high in the front yard that they had attempted to burn. I told them "No problem. I love old tree stumps." I had found years before that not only do they provide an interesting natural look but they are constantly rotting, providing rich nutrients for the soil for years to come.

Anyway, I put a large square of cement blocks around the tree. I found these discarded in the yard. I then planted a whole pack of morning glories close up to the tree and trained them to grow over the stump. They twined and twined and grew to be thick, beautiful and showy. They completely covered the stump and were so dense I had to constantly keep them trimmed back. Then I planted various flowers all around the base filling up the square.

The cement blocks I had sat up on end and filled the holes with dirt. In these I planted parsley one year, carrots another year, and petunias in still another year. People passing along the road used to stop when I was out working in my yard and tell me how beautiful my yard was and what a miracle I had done with the old stump. Morning glories covered it from spring to fall. My neighbor said "You have taken an old ugly stump and turned it into a thing of beauty." They all said how much they loved to ride by my house just to enjoy seeing my flowers and that my yard beautified the neighborhood. Of course that made me happy.

Then I wanted more flower beds but the grass was thick. I did not dare attempt to hoe or shovel it with my back problems. I pondered and pondered how to kill all that grass so I could grow flowers.

I finally came up came up with this plan. I collected newspapers from where I worked and spread them out about an inch thick over the area where I wanted my beds. I figured it would take a good two years for them to rot and in the meantime they would smother the grass. I then placed my landscape timbers around the areas to hold the newspapers in place and to define the beds from the lawn mowing man who cut my yard. Then I started filling them with topsoil, potting soil, manure , humus and anything else I could get my hands on that would rot and make good dirt.

I always try to get the dirt rich enough to get the earthworms to come aerate the soil for me. The newspapers get wet with the rain and rot down under all the dirt. They were so thick that it took a couple years for them to rot and in the meantime they smothered the grass. Worked like a charm.

I bought dirt at Walmart everytime I went to town. I also buried food peelings in the dirt. I spent more money on dirt than food I think. I started with one bed and kept on until I had lots of them. I did not have a lot of money and grew tomatoes and other veggies in my flower beds with my flowers.

Curly parsley makes a beautiful border. Dill and Sweet Basil are lovely accents and smell so wonderful. In the spring I planted my beds first with all types of lettuce. I ate lots of good food from my flower beds.

When I moved here to Clarksville, I have used the same method to plant my flower beds here. There are pros and cons with my methods. Raised beds defined by landscape timbers are essential to keep the man who mows my yard from running all over my plants. (One yard man girdled both my little dogwoods trees with the weed eater and killed them. I had to start putting down newspapers and mulch around my trees to KEEP him away from my trees.) Also, buying dirt and such does get expensive. Another consideration is that with the newspaper under the dirt, I could only plant plants that have a shallow root base for the first couple years until the newspapers rot and the roots can get through enough to stablize a larger plant. I have found that bought dirt has been sterilized and it is sorry dirt for the first year. Plants simply do not grow and thrive in it. This past year I invested heavily in more expensive premixed dirt. I mix it about 1/2 and 1/2 with the cheap dirt. I also put down mulch in some areas in the fall so that rots each year and adds nutrients to the soil and increases the quantity of soil. It is amazing however, that in the fall when I pull up everything and clean the beds for the winter how much soil (quantity) I lose in the roots of the discarded plants. I thump as much as I can off but still lose a lot.

Thanks Esther!

in the garden....

Tip Day

I have been receiving lots of emails from gardeners with some great tips. I think starting next week I will try to dedicate Tuesdays to tip day from gardeners. Don't hold me to it on this specific day, but I will try. There is one good thing about not earning money from writing this blog-I can be my own boss and set my very own schedule! Do love that part of it and getting to know everyone!

Any gardeners who like to share with me through email and allow me to do a post on your tips, such as Lola did, just let me know! Even if you don't want a post on your tips, you are more than welcomed to share. It will be in the same similar format as I did Lola's post for great tips. I find gardeners not only want to share tips but stories (sound familiar) to go with the tips, so I will dedicate one post to one gardener. Sound okay?

in the garden....freezing but looking forward to some warm days coming up soon.

Saving Poinsettias and More Great Tips

There will be two posts today, as I want to get out some information later on regarding an important organization and meeting next week. Look for it this afternoon.

Lola, a faithful reader in Florida, writes she has saved this poinsettia by repotting it in the spring and placing in outside in dappled shade. It sure looks beautiful and it is not too late to still save those poinsettias for those readers up here too! Repot and leave in the house until May or so, then put into the garden and I bet you too might get some really nice blooms like Lola.

I introduced Lola a few days ago, but it bears mentioning again. She is originally from Paris, Tennessee and used to pass through Clarksville on her trips between Florida and Paris. Sadly, her days of traveling are few and far between due to a hip injury-but gladly she still gardens and promises to share some great tips-just like some of you other regulars out there! She tells me she has pots all along a chain link fence which she fills with flowers, mostly petunias. She also uses large black tubs nursery's sell trees in to do some vegetable gardening. Some vegetables she grows are: squash, Egyptian onions, carrots and tomatoes to name just a few. Like Skeeter, Lola has spider plants coming out her ears amongst impatiens, geraniums and others. Another great tip Lola has is to use wreath holders to hang flower pots up. The hook works great.

Lola is a proud greatgrandmother to two little boys, Nicholas and Anthony. I love those names Lola. When I was pregnant with my twins I was told I would have a boy and a girl. The boys name was to be Nicholas Anthony! What a coincidence. When I had two girls I split the girls name I had picked out, Christine Elizabeth, hence my twins are Christine and Elizabeth. Had I had two boys, it would have been Nicholas and Anthony, I am sure.

I especially enjoyed Lola's email because she talked about her grandchildren and teaching them about gardening. Her grandson was just five years old when he planted, tended, harvested and ate corn all by himself (with a little help from grandma in the form of guidance). Her youngest grandson was in awe when he first learned carrots come out of the ground. Brings a smile to my face because it is such a special picture. We can all probably see it in our minds or perhaps these stories bring some memories of our own to the forefront of our minds.

Thank you so much for sharing Lola. I look forward to many more stories and pictures. I plan to do a post on children and gardening. All you readers out there (you too Lola, anonymous, dawn with peaches and anyone else interested), if you have a special picture of your children and/or grandchildren you would like to see on here-send them to me at ramseytina5@gmail.com.

in the garden....thinking about people and gardens and life and memories.