What hides in the garden all summer and then reveals itself in the fall? Michaelmas daisies! You may know them as asters, or Asters. Or by their new botanical genus name Symphyotrichum, which for good reason no one actually uses. They are often called Michaelmas daisies because they are usually blooming on the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, September 29th. There are other things celebrated on this day besides St. Michael. After a quick search, I discovered it is also … [Read more...] about Michaelmas Daisies
Even the Air
Even the air wanted to hold onto the rain that fell overnight, embracing it after so many days without rain. So when I looked outside this morning and saw the flog, I quickly got dressed and headed out to snap a few pictures and check the rain gauge. 1.3 inches. A most welcome rainfall. And enough of a fog to hide the houses of the neighbors, to make it look like I live way out in the middle of nowhere, for at least an hour or so. The other thing I noticed while running around in … [Read more...] about Even the Air
How to Write a Garden Blog Post
First, find an interesting picture. Second, decide what kind of story it's going to tell. This particular picture has several possible stories in it. Front and center is the story of my second children's book, The Halloween Hare, which is coming up on its one-year anniversary. Book-aversary? Is that what they call it? I'm doing a little bit to promote it this fall because when you write a book around a holiday, people will generally buy it around that holiday. My tagline this … [Read more...] about How to Write a Garden Blog Post
Garden Fairies Take Stock
Garden fairies here. We are garden fairies and we are taking stock this morning. That is why you are seeing a picture of the leaves of some rather gigantic stock, Matthioloa incana, that Carol grew from seeds she bought earlier in the spring for 11 cents a packet. As she may or may not have noted on this blog—we are garden fairies and have no time to look it up to see if she did, hence the "may or may not"— she hedged her bets and bought two packets of stock seeds when she saw them, the … [Read more...] about Garden Fairies Take Stock
Welcome, Fall.
Welcome, Fall. Welcome to another season for growing pansies! And violas if I can find them. I bought a flat of pansies last week, just as soon as they arrived at my local greenhouse. Then I was out in my front garden the following day and told one of the neighbors walking by that the greenhouse had pansies now. "Oh, you can plant pansies in the fall?" You bet you can! And why do people know so little about pansies and violas? Pansies, and violas if I can find them, love the … [Read more...] about Welcome, Fall.
Toad-Da, Toad-ay’s Post
I happened to walk into my house via my garage last night and as I punched in the code on the opener, I looked down and there she was, sitting on top of a rabbit statue. "What is that?" I thought. A leaf? A chunk of dirt? Random litter? None of those. A toad! Anaxyrus americanus! A symbol of good luck, good fortune, good health, and prosperity! Good grief! Where does Toadianna (yes, I've named her) live during the day? How did she get here? What does she eat? Where is … [Read more...] about Toad-Da, Toad-ay’s Post
