Topping Annuals When You Get Them Home From The Nursery

I’ve been a consumer for a long time. A long time. Yet I still fall prey to smart marketing that sells me the wrong thing. Hard to believe? Its true, and I bet you do it too.

Take annuals for example. As someone who has run garden club plant sales, I know that trays of . . . → Read More: Topping Annuals When You Get Them Home From The Nursery

The Dahlia Garden In May

Want this?

Start with this:

Or in our case, this:

This preview brought to you at 7:30 AM by Carol, who promises that Mike or I will write more tonight!

Transitioning, transitioning, transitioning…

It is now 9 PM and it is Mike’s turn to make good on my promise of  ‘more dahlia information tonight’.  . . . → Read More: The Dahlia Garden In May

Southwest Pasta Skillet

Linda and I got free samples of Philadelphia Cooking Creme. I never really expected to like it. My gosh, it even sat in my refrigerator for a month before I figured I might as well use it. Let’s say I’ve had a ‘learning experience’, as I can see this Southwest Pasta Skillet becoming a staple . . . → Read More: Southwest Pasta Skillet

4 Out Of 5 Mums Came Back

I tried a mum experiment last fall.  It was my justification for doing what I wanted to do anyway – buy mums!  My quandary with buying mums in the autumn is that they don’t often come back for me.  If I can find some this spring, I’ll plant them now.  It will be cheaper. I will . . . → Read More: 4 Out Of 5 Mums Came Back

Groundcover Envy – Candytuft on Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day

If a groundcover is going be covering my ground, it better do more than just that.  I expect my groundcover to bloom too.  Candytuft must have gotten that message, because bloom it does. 

Let’s try that paragraph again with a capital BLOOM: 

If a groundcover is going be covering my ground, it better do more . . . → Read More: Groundcover Envy – Candytuft on Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day

Not Your Ordinary Tulip

I propose that there is no such thing as an ordinary tulip. This tulip is one of many many many we saw at Sun City in Huntley this weekend. At first glance, we saw just rows and rows of tulips. But Mike pulled the car over because he knew I’d see more than that through . . . → Read More: Not Your Ordinary Tulip

The Characters At The Elk Grove Plant Sale

The Elk Grove Garden Club had their plant sale Saturday. As always, a bunch of characters.

More sales this weekend:

Saturday May 14, 10 AM – 2 PM Central States Dahlia Society at Kinsch’s Garden Center 301 West Johnson Street Palatine, Illinois

Saturday May 14, 9 AM – . . . → Read More: The Characters At The Elk Grove Plant Sale

Garden Club And Dahlia Club Plant Sales

Mike is hardening off his dahlias and calla lilies for the plant sales that start this weekend. Each day we drag a few hundred plants outside then back in. It’s been too darn cold this spring to leave them out overnight. Soon, many of his babies will be ready for their new homes.

Here are . . . → Read More: Garden Club And Dahlia Club Plant Sales

This Picture Is Not In The Shadows Anymore

I’ve so excited! I won an honorable mention in Gardening Gone Wild’s April photo contest. That’s huge for someone who had never even entered a photo contest before. To see more of the entries, meander on over to Gardening Gone Wild. You can also see more of the pictures I considered entering by looking at . . . → Read More: This Picture Is Not In The Shadows Anymore

Gardener Bloggers’ Muse Day – May 2011

The month of May, per Edith Holden’s “Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady” …

The name of this month is of doubtful origin. Ancient writers suggest it to be derived from Maia, the mother of Mercury; to whom the Romans were accustomed to sacrifice to on the first day of the month.

And from the . . . → Read More: Gardener Bloggers’ Muse Day – May 2011