Gino's Garden

The Galloping Gardener doesn't know an asparagus from a fennel plant. Here's the proof.

Queen Anne's Lace

  Up close, it's not the same boring plant you see growing in fields and roadside ditches.

Wild Asters

  A dry end of summer spell does not stop the wild asters from blooming. This is only one variety. Wild plants like Chicory or Aster have keen survival skills.

The Dreaded Goldenrod

 

The appearance of Goldenrod heralds the waning days of summer.

Let the Sun Shine

 

The Way

 

Quiet Moment

 

Mystery Garden

 

Hibiscus

 

Moss, Mantis, and Vines

 

Dry Flowers: Summer's Not Over Until It's Over

September comes and the days are often hot and dry in the Northeast. There is the occasional drop in temperatures. The grass isn’t growing as fast, the flowers have begun to droop and go to seed. A tinge of sadness seems to hang by the garden gate.

Don’t give it up, not just yet. It’s the drying season. You can keep the cheerful blooms you loved so much in spring and summer by bringing them indoors and drying them.

Though drying has gone hi-tech, you don’t need fancy equipment if you’re just trying to get a little cheerfulness into your environment. Our forefathers have been drying things for about a thousand years or more. All you’ve got to do is tie a bundle and hang them upside down in a well-ventilated and dry area. The most important things about selecting plants for drying are:

Gathering materials: Select and cut the stems on a bright, dry and sunny day. Avoid picking the plant stems when they are wet with dew or rain. Make your selection when the plant is just short of full maturity, and when the flowers are near their most colorful point. It’s important to know your plants as the proper time for picking is different for each plant.

Remove all unnecessary leaves from the stem. Doing this will speed drying. You might leave a few leaves for the proper effect, but use discretion.

Shape the plant while it is fresh. At this point, it’s easier to bend the plant stem into the shape you desire. Once you have the plant stem and flower in the desired shape, you can tie them at the base and hang them upside down to dry.

The space you use for hanging plants should be warm and dry with good air circulation. Plants shouldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight as this could cause discoloration. You want to keep as much of the natural color as possible. The majority of plants

Spring & Daffodils

 

Refuge from the Rain

 

Tomatoes: So Easy to Grow

So many times I've wondered why people don't take the time to grow a few easy things like tomatoes, or hot peppers, or anything. You can grow tomatoes in containers if you live in the big city. You can grow herbs in a window box. I guess people would rather go to the supermarket and buy inorganic ones thinking maybe that'll raise the kid's scores on the SAT.

But even less do I understand people who move to the country and don't grow anything. I wonder if the garden shows are to blame. Maybe those HGTV types in OSHKOSH overalls and designer sunhats are just too perfect and fussy and make it all appear to be such a drag.

I plant a little garden every year, not a big deal garden, but just enough to share the food with a few family members and the deer. If I didn't plant a little extra for the deer, they'd take all of it. As it is now, we share. And I grow regular tomatoes, too. The pictures were taken when the tomatoes were green. They're mostly ripe now, except for a few.

Old Grain Mill

Kettle Creek Falls

 

Artificial water features are ever popular on HGTV but we favor the real ones. This tiny falls creates a melodious rush of soft sound when the spring rains come...

Triple Reds

 

Pink Dogwood

 
 

The Garden Gatekeeper

Snakes are part of the country life. Like this one, most are harmless. This one's fat, apparently having swallowed something large. I'd rather it was one of the ubiquitous moles (shrews, to the English) than the toads. The toads have become scarce due to environmental changes.

Peonies break through...

 

Early peonies are red when they break through the soil in spring. One bad thing about Peonies?...ants and beetles are atrracted to their sweet flowers. Some good things about Peonies? The deer don't like them very much. They have interesting foliage and large, bright blooms....

Signs of the Summer's End

 

A plant in the Allium or Onion group. These go to seed early but you don't pay attention because, at that point, you're in intense denial that the summer will ever end.

Forget Me Not

 

Forget Me Nots: tiny, compact, powerful.... and they come back every year!

 

The Hollyhocks are gone by late summer but, while the last, they offer some durable vertical structure to a horizontal landscape. They won't topple over if they're placed closed to a wall or supported by wooden stakes or structures. The bees like them, and so do the hummingbirds.