weekend gardening events

news flash: this weekends' gardening events involve you raking leaves...lots and lots of leaves. so forget the house and garden tours...rallies to restore hope and/or insanity...and any homecoming activities that you might know about: grab your rake and get yourself outside to get it done...you will burn lots of calories! this year i am without my beloved oak, so my chores are so much less than in the last thirty years (thankfully!), so i will be attending the rally: hope to see you there!

the sphinx

moths can be pests (gypsy moth) or beneficial (major pollinators)...i am  not sure what category this waved sphinx moth falls into, but he landed on my television today so i took a photo! quite impressive markings, i would say!

fall foliage

more fall color from another maple...we are still not in full effect foliage-wise, but the strong storms that blew through earlier today made it seem like fall. now leaves are swirling through the air...mounding on the ground...and beginning to change from green to awesome. one weird note: it's 76°!

dwarf fothergilla

other than the sugar maples, we are not seeing a lot of color around here yet...which is fine by me: hold off winter til the last second, please! while weeding today, i found this blazing leaf in the middle-at the bottom-of my completely still green dwarf fothergilla. a peak at things to come.

herb preservation

it's the end of the season and i need to figure out what to do with all my basil...my first go-to is the herb saver, available everywhere... 

sugar, sugar maple

hands down: my favorite shade tree for autumn color is the sugar maple...at the first hint of fall, the sugar maple's leaves go from chartreuse green to golden yellow... depending on weather, rainfall, blah, blah, blah...the large leaves may gyrate through various gradations of red, hot pink and orange: 

it can be stunning, especially when the autumnal sun illuminates them like so many stained glass windows in an outdoor cathedral... the thing about the sugar maple is, you have to be fast to catch the color wheel transformations: the tree can do its thing in like, 48 hours and then drop everything to the ground. i feel fortunate i was able to see this old specimen while walking the dog, because its gone now!

tons of purple coneflowers

i was fortunate to have not one but two of my coneflower pieces feature in this lovely echinacea treasury on etsy by lahara.

lessons learned from the field

as i watched the final (sunny) sunset of this week while listening to the chatter of the kingfisher, i contemplated this past season's garden and the lessons i have learned...

1. smaller is better for me...at least when it comes to gardening...i dont have time (apparently) to deal with my city garden and a fairly large (for me) vegetable patch in a community garden: square foot gardens are the answer.
2. containers also appear to be my forte´ when it comes to edibles and i got a fair amount of food out of my pots...some died in the drought, though.


3. self watering containers are good.
4. self watering containers are good, but other contraptions didnt work that well for me. my fancy upside down tomato planters were weak...

i dumped my spring potato bag after there was nothing in it at the end ( i have since replanted for a possible fall crop)
...my weed blockers didn't work.

5. figure out the edibles you really need and grow them prolifically. work edibles into every possible nook and cranny, because fresh foods rock.

6. get vertical.

7. compost rules...bottom line: it rules!

worst planter ever

why? why would someone do this to these lovely succulents? these victorian-headed planters are nothing but ugly and tacky and will enhance zero people's decors: yuch. hideous...go get a chia pet instead.

orchid show

tomorrow is supposed to be as beautiful as today so go to the orchid show at the national arboretum. the 63rd annual national capital orchid show is thru monday: get your checkbooks out!

wooly bear

i saw this black caterpillar the other day. turns out, it is a wooly bear which will eventually turn into a tiger moth. wooly bear caterpillars predict the weather with the color of their wooliness: more brown equals a milder winter, while more black means harsh conditions...oh, man.

today's haul

i quietly abandonded my garden in the field a few months ago...the drought killed most everything, and what didnt die was neatly trimmed of all fruits by the deer or infested with one kind of insect or another. i hate giving up on anything, but the fact that i am the only gardener up there not using multiple pesticides and chemicals combined with only once-a-week maintanence of the plot makes for no food: thank god for farmer o'bier's or we would have starved! luckily, my little square foot garden rocked the earth and has provided me with a little something every day. today, i got the last of the ripe pear tomatoes, some of the gazillion green beans planted, a few more mini banana peppers and an eggplant to roast. smaller is indeed better, in this case!

hyacinth bean

here it is, october and one flowering plant is still around, standing head and shoulders above all others: the hyacinth bean! decorative and delicious, the Lablab purpureus has edible leaves, flowers, pods, seeds and roots and is slated to save the world. this is not my plant shown in the photo above, but my neighbor's lovely front gate. i will make sure i dont forget this beauty next year: i opted to plant green beans in my limited space this year, and have been having a difficult time harvesting them amongst all of the same color foliage!

heavenly blues

today has been mostly overcast and rainy here in the nation's capitol, but i managed to sneak in a dog walk between torrential downpours...despite the fact that it was well past noon, these heavenly blue morning glories were wide open and shining like a beacon through the heavy mist.

modern chicken coop

i dont think chickens are allowed within city limits...but if they were, mine would live in this awesome coop. the hand crafted nogg is made of cedar, and provides urban farmers with room enough for 2-4 chickens...

this could work!

the mid atlantic red fruit festival

seeds to schools has a benefit tasting,-the red fruit festival- tonight 6-8 featuring local farmers and chefs downtown in the golden triangle...tickets will be available at the door or online. make it a super hot downtown city night starting with a free concert at woodrow wilson plaza followed by this celebration of the tomato!

hello, stink bugs!

the brown marmorated stink bugs have arrived to much fanfare: now everyone wants to know how to eradicate them! they are a very harmful non-native pest that eats everything: roses, fruit trees, vegetables...it doesnt matter: they eat it all. i had a wonderful crop of tomatoes this year (just perfect for me and the mister, not much more though), but several of my larger tomatoes were devastated at the last moment by-you guessed it-the stink bugs. now as days are getting shorter and nights a little cooler, these guys are clamouring to get inside your house to over winter: stinky! the pesticide people and exterminators are trying to capitalize on stink bug mania, but reports from the people studying these beasts DO NOT recommend pesticides and/or fogging devices as they are not effective against stink bugs, kill good bugs and may cause harm to you and your pets over the long term. i have also noticed they are lumping all stink bugs into the same category, whereas the brown marmorated is an introduced non-native bug and we have many other native stink bug species which are not harmful and do serve various gardening purposes. parasitic wasps seem to be the best control for the beasts, but if you are spraying insectacide around, you will kill them also, and have a doubly nasty problem next season. i am just flushing the ones i see inside- which is a lot, btw.

lamborghini garden tools

put this one on my christmas list:  the tonino lamborghini electric chainsaw...and the lamborghini grass trimmer: please dont forget the shears! i have never used a chainsaw-nor do i intend to in the future- but i would just like to have this one hanging around, like a piece of art.

power of pollinators

this summer had super hot 90°+ days for a really long time without rain. this prolonged dry heat resulted in a lack of pollinators...(did you know clustering flies are the most prolific pollinators? i did not). for example, my squash had a million blooms, but only four (delicious) actual squash,,,also no white squash moths...but now temperatures have dropped into the 80's...nights have also cooled...the sedum has bloomed and finally the bees have returned. and, yes: i have some baby squash developing!

volunteering

i love a volunteer!

while weeding the completely-overgrown-despite-no-rain-and-record-temperatures backyard, i stumbled upon a volunteer purple  rose of sharon! sweet: now i have a coordinate for my volunteer pink one!

saturday gardening events

saturday gardening stuff...coast to coast...

•there's an orchid auction in florida...yes: the central florida orchid society is auctioning off rare stock: add to your collection today, 9-3...
•get your fill of blooming african violets and their cousins at the african violet and gesneriad show and sale in capital city, saturday 1-4 and sunday 11-3.
•delight in dahlias at the rochester dahlia society dahlia show...get there early: opens at 9:30 til sold.

web worm alert

well i guess i am a little late because they are here...the web worms that is! i am fortunate to not have many in my yard, but, wow: check out my neighbors tree: engulfed! the fall web worm creates the characteristic webbed nests on tree limbs of a wide variety of hardwoods in the late summer and fall: it has been recorded in 636 species. this worm is mainly an aesthetic pest and is not believed to harm otherwise healthy trees. the moth is native to north america, with a range from canada to mexico, and is one of the few insect pests introduced from north america into other continents: sorry, people.

weekend gardening events

its beginning to look a lot like fall...and that means weekend gardening events!

•go native at the australian plants expo 2010 saturday & sunday! dont miss the water bug attraction today 10-4.
• be part of the gathering of gardeners symposium and plant sale in rochester: it's glamourous and winter will be here before you know it!
•learn to be water-wise in dallas for free saturday 9-5
• its an open house and plant sale in york: mid-atlantians should sleep in, stock up at 1:00pm, then prep to plant during the rainy season...if it eventually comes!
• i cannot grow dahlias, but others show off their abilities at the rhode island dahlia show and the powell garden dahlia show in kansas city.
• check out the situation saturday at the 39th annual jersey shore rose society show: sweet!
•while in the tri-states area, sample something delicious at the heirloom tomato tasting in delaware ... new jersey...
• meet up for the annual iris meeting in columbus: it's mandatory!

hurricane watching

i was going to drive down to the bay and put our kayaks up on the porch and secure any other loose items before earl hit virginia, but i decided to wait and see what is going to develop...and what has developed is a stronger, more determined storm that the forecasters arent so sure about. so, i am rethinking my plan! i took the above photo during tropical depression ernesto a few years back: it was really scary with many, many tornadoes and millions of dollars in damage done in my modest neighborhood alone: the red cross was there for a week while we didnt have power and that was just a depression! this category 4 hurricane is strengthening and wait...oh, great: they just posted a state of emergency for both maryland and virginia waters!

perfectly pastel parasols

this installation of pastel parasols in cordoba, spain provides cover, color and charisma to the train station and farmer's markets...kind of awesome, actually.

what is eating my parsley?

what is eating my parsley? the same thing that's eating my fennel: swallow tail butterfly caterpillars! just as the fennel was coming back after the last round of butterfly babies, an unexpected second batch appeared...i counted 32 caterpillars and am not sure if they will have enough to eat considering the most i have seen previously was six! i put up a little protection from my little wrens because i would love to have a flock of butterflies!

floating in air

i love these upside down planters designed by fellow etsian mudpuppy specifically for tillandsia. very simple. very modern. i bet they would look just as great with bromeliads or orchids!

bird seed sale

i live about a mile from the audubon naturalist sanctuary, so i see a lot of birds: the more i see, the more i want, so i try to do everything i can to encourage all of the local peeps to visit my yard...and they do! i have a few birdbaths (including one that is warmed during the winter) and i have multiple feeders. i get a  tons of robins, bluejays, titmice, chickadees, various finches, woodpeckers and sapsuckers, yellow billed cuckoos, king birds and other fly catchers, phoebes, cooper's hawks, red tailed hawks, red shouldered hawks, and ruby-throated hummingbirds to name  but a few: mostly pedestrian birds, but enjoyable, nonetheless. this month the audubon society has their bird foods on sale, so i am making a bee line to stock up: you should too. the above photo shows sunflower seed sacks, which may or may not be available: i liked the graphic design of these bags at ace hardware, so i took a shot or two.

tango at the tangga house

forget the amazing roof gardens: check out that crazy pool! this gorgeous mod house and gardens in singapore definitely makes me feel like dancing!

Digitalis lutea

i love foxgloves! but they are short-lived, and that always makes me sad. so when i saw these self-sowing sunshine-y yellow numbers, i was thrilled! digitalis lutea is offered by my friend barry at sunshine farm & gardens: an awesome place!