All of nature is centered on the premise of “survival of the fittest”. As I like to tell my students, the struggle is real.
Continue reading That Circle of Life Thing
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)
Being in zone 9 makes growing cool weather crops a bit of a challenge, especially if you are trying to follow the instructions usually given on seed packets. I finally gave up and used science as my guide. What do you know, it worked.
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An Exercise in Patience
Gardening requires the utmost levels of patience. I am not a patient person. At all. Houston, we have a problem.
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Caring for Roses Part 1: Pests & Pruning
What’s not to love about roses? Okay, other than the thorns. At our peak, the Old Man and I have had over 30 rose plants of various forms in our yard. We just ripped out a few, but it’s okay, we’re expecting four more to be delivered soon. We don’t have a problem (twitch twitch).
Continue reading Caring for Roses Part 1: Pests & Pruning
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Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
I didn’t use to pay much attention to chrysanthemums in my earlier days. They just seemed so “common place” and were always the cheap plants at the nursery. But at some point I decided that my garden needed that quintessential splash of color in the fall, so I thought “what the heck”.
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Protecting Frost Tender Plants
The last time it snowed where I live was December, 1998. My oldest was my only at that time, and a wee one at that, being only four months old. The snow was about 1 inch deep, if that much, and was gone in a day. Continue reading Protecting Frost Tender Plants
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Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)
If you live in a part of the world that doesn’t get snow (jealous?!), most of the growing advice for cool weather crops won’t work for you. Trust me, I’ve tried following the seed packet instructions, only to get nothing. Zip. Zero.
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Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
Take everything you thought you knew about the taste of fresh strawberries and throw it out the window. You know nothing! Nothing at all!! Not until you have tasted an Alpine Strawberry can you speak to me about the amazing goodness of strawberry flavor. They’re like candy, but so much better. It’s strawberry, but like strawberry flavor on steroids. There is just no comparison.
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The Winter Garden
Most gardening blogs don’t relate to me. I don’t have deer, I have snails. I don’t have 10 feet of snow in November, it’s sunny and the windows are open. I can’t start spinach in April, it’s too dang hot.
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Purple Basil (Ocimum basilicum var.)
Purple pesto, anyone? Deep purple color, sprays of pink flowers, amazing basil taste. It’s kind of nice when nature wraps up all the best features into a single plant. This basil makes a stunning addition to any salad and turned my basil jelly a lovely garnet hue.
Continue reading Purple Basil (Ocimum basilicum var.)
Mostly Greek 