Yes, spring! This is an old-fashioned 'snowball bush' in bloom a few days ago. I planted this just because I thought it would be a nice, old-fashioned large shrub to fill a spot in the back yard. My 'city grandma' had one, and I presume that my 'country grandma' probably had one, too.I got the last of the weeding under control this weekend, and so I am ready to head out on Monday to start buying plants for containers and various flower beds. I hope all the greenhouses and nurseries are getting … [Read more...] about Snowball Bush and Weekend Update

The Dogbane is just starting to bloom.The botanical name is Amsonia tabernaemontana 'Blue Star', also called Blue Dogbane. It's a nice perennial, one of the few "true blues". The picture doesn't really show how blue it really is. This perennial gives me no trouble and has been reliably blooming for several years now. I recommend it!Other thoughts from today:I forgot to include chocolate mint on my list of plants I knew I shouldn't plant. I had some in a pot and I let it "get out" a few years ago … [Read more...] about Dogbane

"Gardening Vacation 2006" has officially started. Stop by for occasional updates. First tasks tomorrow are to "lay in supplies", including top soil and peat moss, trim and mow the lawn, put out the rest of the pots and garden ornaments, and then start getting some plants!The weatherman says we'll have sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's through Tuesday. Perfect! Time to put out the "Do Not Disturb - I'm in the Garden" sign and get to it. … [Read more...] about Gardening Vacation

Get out a piece of paper and a pencil or fire up your printer. Following is my Potting Soil recipe that I use for my outdoor containers. Ready? Here it is:Ingredients:40 lb. bag of Top Soil or Organic Peat. This is the rich, dark stuff.VermiculitePerliteSphagnum Peat MossDump the top soil into a wheel barrow large enough to hold the entire contents of the bag and allow room for mixing.Add in a couple of scoops of vermiculite and a couple of scoops of perlite.Cover the whole thing with some … [Read more...] about Potting Soil Recipe

Those who also check on my blog "Grandma's Diaries" will find that 81 years ago today, Grandma was out gardening, sowing clover in her lawn, digging new flower beds and planting bulbs and seeds. Exactly what seeds and bulbs she planted, we'll never know.I think I have a pretty strong "gardening heritage". Many gardeners in the family came before me!Several years ago, I asked my Aunt Marjorie (also a gardener) to send me a list of the plants she remembers from Grandma's garden, so I could have a … [Read more...] about Gardening Heritage and Gardening Genes

Regarding the weather, someone posted a question on my blog about Grandma's diary for the April 24, 1925 entry asking if I would say it was okay for them to plant early that year, since a record high temperature of 90 degrees for Indianapolis was set on that date. Nope, 'fraid not. Check out the weather records blog entry on weather records published in March (March 21st to be exact). It's too easy to get burnt (or frosted), regardless of what happened before May 10th. For example, in 2002, we … [Read more...] about On weather and lawn mowing