the view from the demo garden

seeds for sale

2012-02-06T10:39:00.001-06:00

this past season, we gathered as many seeds from the garden as we could. while we plan to use some to start plants, we also have plenty to sell. before you groan in disappointment, keep in mind that we are an all volunteer organization and this is currently our only fundraiser for our garden. if ever there was a garden in need of funds and support, this is it! there are structures that need repairs and others that need replacing. we need supplies and small equipment as well as a secure shed to store them in. then there are the plants-can you believe that some despicable person came into the garden and dug up every one of our hostas? so, give us your support, buy a few packages of seeds and help us keep the garden growing!

seeds currently available:
false blue indigo
blackberry lily
pink hollyhocks
assorted marigolds(cannot be separated)
chives
assorted basils(cannot be separated)
assorted coneflowers(pinks, purples and whites, cannot be separated)
cayenne peppers
tennessee sweet potato squash
jeff poppen's butternut squash

all packages are $1.00 each and if you would like them to be mailed to you, a separate shipping and handling fee will be added. all applicable sales taxes will be added as well. but if you attend our monthly meeting on february 9, 2012, you can avoid the shipping fees.

by following the links, you will find all the information you need to plant the seeds and grow the specific item. since we are a small operation, all seeds are packed by hand and contain 1/8 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of seeds except the sweet potato squash; since we only had one to work with, each packet contains approximately 8 seeds. please remember that we are not commercial seed producers and we are not able to guarantee the results. hopefully, things will grow and you will be pleased and we will always be grateful for your support of our garden!

feel free to leave orders in the comment section or email me directly garden4groceries@bellsouth.net

thanks for your support and happy gardening!!!

we're still here!

2011-11-13T16:35:00.001-06:00

if you don't come out to the garden on sunday mornings, that cake is the sort of thing you miss out on! actually, we have been getting out there sporadically and on 11/6, i threw myself a birthday party in the garden and invited all of my volunteers to join me. so many came out and i cannot thank everyone enough! we got a lot done, the garden looks good and now that we have finally had a hard frost, we can work on putting the garden to bed for the winter. please come out and join us, contact me by leaving a comment or emailing me at the address listed.

wednesday evening in the garden, update-8/24

2011-09-06T16:11:00.000-05:00

as summer winds down and the days grow shorter, you would expect it to cool off. for the month of august, it only seemed to get hotter and even waiting until late afternoon to head out to the garden offered little relief from the heat. i had hoped for a larger group of volunteers but only margaret and shirley were able to join us in the garden. shirley brought a new friend to the garden and he has decided to stick around and keep an eye on the herbs for me...

this year, shirley thought it would be fun to make tin men with the junior master gardeners. it was a lot of work and then i asked her to make a giant one for the herb garden. he turned out great and we cannot thank shirley enough for making him!

our main task for the afternoon was to begin removing the passion flower from the herb garden. i confused two seedlings-passion flower and roselle(thai hibiscus) and the results were nearly disastrous. that passionflower quickly spread and we will be removing it for some time! we did want one for the arbor and i planted several roots into a huge pot that has been sunk into the soil near the arbor-lets hope that keeps it contained!

after the digging we set our sights on the small bed near the herb garden and it was quickly weeded.

sugar bear also joined us in the garden and she didn't like the heat much either. however, she did dig up and kill a mole first thing so we let her lounge in the dirt.

a look at what is going on in the garden:

ailanthus webworm moth on flowering chives

cinnamon basil in full bloom

egg plants

pumpkins in the compost corral

honeybees in the sunflowers

skippers like chive blossoms too

so many cayenne peppers

beauty berry loaded with berries

black and blue salvia in bloom-a hummingbird magnet!

the creeping jenny in the roof top garden glows

the dish is filling in nicely

but on closer inspection, it is obvious that the deer jump into the dish and eat the sweet potato vines!

garden update, july 31

2011-08-07T15:54:00.002-05:00

sedum in the rain garden glows as it grows-a striking contrast to the other plants

eggplants in the junior mg bed

the enemy-harlequin bug

basil in the herb garden has exploded!

a fountain of lemon grass

passion flowers-they will take over the world if we aren't careful!

bronze fennel-host plant for swallowtail caterpillars

cayenne peppers

gladiolus in the memorial garden

the dish garden is filling in nicely

chinese lantern

box elder bug on a black eye susan in the butterfly garden

carpenter bee

helianthus in the perennial garden-a meeting spot for the bees-can you see all the different types on the flower?

things are looking a bit like fall in the old compost corral-the squash plant that is taking over is actually several plants and at least one of them is a pumpkin plant that is bearing fruit!

june 2011 workday in the garden

2011-07-18T12:53:00.001-05:00

every june we gather the members to give the demo garden a makeover before the big fielday event. fellow dcmg member pam supplied these photos.

mid-summer; hot, hot, hot in the garden, july 17 update

2011-07-18T08:45:00.000-05:00

so hot in the garden!!! we need rain, anybody know a good rain dance? for all of you who come out to visit the garden, please keep in mind that this is a demonstration garden and the plants in it are on display. please do not pick the fruits and vegetables on the plants and remember, removing plants-even self sown seedlings as well as the fruits and veggies is the same as stealing! the pathologists in the building use the various plants and beds for research and you could skew the results and void reasearch that has taken weeks if not months to establish. that said, here is what is going on in the garden this week.

we have finally begun the task of moving the arbor to the herb garden. first it was taken apart and the top section was removed. the side sections were dug out and relocated to the main garden to await installation.

ti took all the effortt and muscles of our gardeners and despite the heat, they got it moved!

with the lack of rain, we have had to water. here is virginia giving the plants some much needed moisture.

the view from the main garden down to the perennials

ants like butterfly weed too!

black and blue salvia

i love to watch the butterflies! followed this one around and got some nice shots of him, enjoy!

july 10, mid-summer update

2011-07-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

at this time of year, most gardens tend to die off. intense heat and dry weather cause plants to shut down and die back. we aren't seeing that yet; there has been steady rainfall and the plants are looking beautiful. early morning arrivals make gardening a pleasure since it beats the heat!

taking it vertical; asian long beans are climbing the strings while cucumbers are climbing tall stakes.

a florida weave is holding up the tomatoes in this bed

all of the rain has caused a serious plant explosion in the herb garden!

basil anyone???

the raised beds are doing well too. here is the little garden that anne planted, the tomaotes are taking over!

when you have rain, you get mushrooms!

look carefully, at about the 7 o'clock position is a red object, that is a stinkhorn growing out from the cluster of mushrooms known as little helmets or fairy bonnets (coprinus disseminatus).

growing between the clumps of switchgrass that top the berm on the rain garden is thare these mounds of creamy white foam. they are called crust or parchment fungi.

witches butter on the work table, it is decomposing the wood pretty quickly.

the passion fruit that ate the garden...i really need to get this thing in a pot with an arbor to climb on.

this used to be a compost corral. it is now a squash arbor. unfortunately, it is a plant from hybrid seeds and no squash are developing-just plant and flowers.

the good thing about flowers, you can stuff them, bread/batter them and fry them for a tasty treat!!!

pretty painted lady getting a drink

carpenter bee on a sunflower

somewhere in here is the rain garden. the plants in it have outdone themselves and have completely filled the basin. no more erosion problems!!!

coneflowers in full bloom

phlox plants in bloom

jack in the pulpit in bloom in the shade garden

and it just wouldn't be sunday morning in the garden without cake; little muffins to be exact. mixed grain with carrots and apples.

another steamy morning in the garden, 7/3

2011-07-03T17:03:00.001-05:00

the big day has come and gone and now it is just a question of how well we can maintain the garden in it's current state. so far, so good; we have had a fairly steady flow of volunteers stepping up to the challenge and things look good. hopefully, they will continue to come out and support the garden.

we tried something new this past week, an afternoon work/picnic session and despite a low turnout, we had a good time. to make it easy, it was a pot luck and there was plenty to eat.

darry and sam manning the grill-the only photo i managed to take! i was too busy enjoying myself and i forgot to take more photos!!! after thhe fire was hot, darry grilled some sockeye salmon and zucchini-both were tasty.

now for the current garden update

the grapes are looking beautiful, now if we could only keep the birds out of them, we might get to taste them when they are ripe.

borage in bloom in the herb garden

as always, the garden is the site for skippers

the new block herb garden in the outdoor classroom is adjusting to the heat-wish i could...

reddening lepiota-a parasol mushroom found in the classroom. it is an edible but we left it to drop it's spores.

tansy in bloom-covered in tiny little bees

the pennyroyal was the busiest spot in the garden-it was covered in bees of all kinds, some wasps too!

hollyhocks

the new compost structures are in use. on the left we are building a new pile. in the center is the pile that is curing and when it is finished, it will be moved to the empty space on the right.

compost bins can be built of all kinds of things, here is one made from straw bales. it is not as durable but is still functional.

the big day-6/18, field day & gardening a-z

2011-06-20T20:11:00.001-05:00

each year, the week before our field day event is jam packed full of tasks that needed to be completed a month ago. this year was no exception. the difference, we had a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers helping us out! many thanks to all who persevered the heat and the hail to make it happen.

our last sunday workday before the big event-as always, cake. pumpkin spice with apples

one of the many beds to be finished, the new herb garden in the outdoor classroom

and speaking of the herb garden, we now have a bed of basil! it features different varieties of basil, one of my favorite things about summer.

just look at the herb garden-the plants have exploded!

the cinderblock garden on the pad formerly used for the satellite dish. and speaking of the dish, stay tuned for photos and videos of the transformation from dish to flower bed.

a close-up of the portulaca, aka moss rose, in the block garden

there is no end to what you can do with cinderblocks in the garden and if you add a little spraypaint...

there's no telling what you will get!!!

beans, bush and asian long beans

raised bed garden

the new memorial garden

over in the junior master gardeners beds-more cinderblocks!

and even more cinderblocks

the new enabling structure is home to tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and herbs

and around the garden, you will find buckwheat sprouts-a trap crop planted to draw beneficial insects to the garden.

oh, i did mention hail didn't i? well, here it is. it was egg sized when it fell but by the time i took this photo-an hour later, it had melted a bit.

6/5 baby it's hot out there...

2011-06-09T16:51:00.002-05:00

here it is, less than two weeks until the big field day event! we have been hard at work in the garden and are close to completing most of the additions. saturday, 6/11 is our big work day starting at 9am until ??? with a pot luck lunch (burgers/hot dogs provided-you bring salads or desserts.) we hope you will join us and help us finish the garden for field day.

the new raised beds for the junior master gardeners.

the beans are getting bigger by the day

new enabling beds filled with peppers, tomatoes and eggplants

new butterfly bushes will attract them by the thousands

the memorial garden has finally found a permanent location and it will look beautiful once the plants recover from this heatwave!

next to the herb garden is our new outdoor classroom. david is assembling a new mini herb garden

the herb garden was painted and now anne is filling it with dirt for the plants.

pam used a bucket with a pour spout to fill the cells of the blocks-they will hold herbs and flowers too.

on the old satellite dish platform, david and pam assembled a block wall garden.

each cell is sealed on the bottom and filled with soil. pam is planting portulaca (moss rose) in each cell.

david watering the plants

ta dah!!! see how easy it is to build an attractive garden in a small space!!!

on our way home, we saw some special visitors to the ag center-the budweiser clydesdales are bunking with the mounted police horses while they are in town for the big cma fest.

that's quite an operation for 8 horses!

during the week, i stopped by the garden to check on plants and found another special guest

isn't she cute? she followed me everywhere

and went for a climb too

***photos marked with an * were supplied by pam

update from the garden 5/29/11-new structures coming along nicely!

2011-05-31T15:06:00.003-05:00

it all starts with scones, apricot scones-sometimes, you have to do something different and today it was scones rather than cake.

one of the new raised bed structures. meant to be accessible to those gardening from wheelchairs, it is a great way to build beds quickly and inexpensively. wendi and shirley are painting the blocks in bright colors.

plotting and stacking the final layer of blocks

more painting!

you gotta love smart gardeners! alice and lynn moved the potting operations to the shade

lynn was totaly in the weeds...

amazing what a little mulch can do to a bed. the raised bed structures look so much better now.

the new memorial garden awaits soil and plants

ninja sam, armed with a water gun seeks hot gardeners to cool off

and in bloom this week, black and blue salvia

asclepia tuberosa-native butterfly weed

coreopsis

asiatic lily

the new classroom will be used during the field day event to demonstrate lasagna gardening

and did we mention cicadas? they are everywhere!!! can somebody make them go away now?

5/15-moving right along

2011-05-15T20:31:00.001-05:00

it was a dark and dreary morning but at least it didn't rain on us! we had a nice time and much was accomplished today.

and as always, i come with a freshly baked cake. this week's selection-almond poppyseed cake with a little lemon zest for zing. i blinked and the crew dug in and ate half the cake!!!

the first bluebird brood did not survive-mockingbirds! mr & mrs(that's her in the photo) are preparing for the second brood.

butterfly weed almost in bloom

what we did today-mulch the garden. two loads were delivered and the crew spent the morning spreading it out over the pathways. in the photo, darry fills the wheelbarrow while anne rakes it out.

in this photo, david dumps a load while anne continues to rake it out...

and as the morning progresses, the cake disappears...everyone, including myself, had at least two pieces!

st. john's wort in bloom in the herb garden.

nancy dividing plants in the herb garden

last year, i collected logs to construct the walls of the herb garden. many of them are sprouting mushrooms. while many of them are inedible, they are all interesting to look at. here are a few photos of the fruiting bodies present today

every bottle garden is a potential terrarium, ours is no exception!

now, doesn't that look pretty? amazing what a little mulch can do!

going, going, gone...there's a first time for everything! come join us some time, you know there will be cake!!!

5/8-happy mother's day (a week late)

2011-05-15T19:57:00.002-05:00

what a way to spend mother's day-in the garden surrounded by flowers! we were joined by new member, margaret and we had a nice morning.

ice plants in bloom

helianthum and cat mint-beautiful combination

heuchera-coral bells

columbine

it's just not a sunday in the garden unless there is cake-sour cherry buckle

and without babies, it's just not mother's day! robin chicks

it's swarm season! 4/24 update

2011-04-25T16:06:00.001-05:00

it may have been easter but that didn't stop this group of gardeners! we worked hard and it is really beginning to show. with the upcoming field day event in june, we have lots to do and luckily for us, we have a small group of dedicated volunteers. i would like to thank them for braving the weather-it threatened to rain and we heard the tornado siren go off 3 different times, and i would also like to say thank you for a job well done, we couldn't do it with out anne(and sam too), lynn, alice and virginia! one other note of thanks to barbara and her crew of merry men-chuck and turner, for making the grass garden look as beautiful as ever!

have you seen those commercials on tv for the exterminating company-if its spring, its swarm season...well be sure to look closely at the next few photos. i was working in the rain garden and all of a sudden, i was surrounded by a cloud of flying insects.

a termite swarm was happening as we weeded

darry lifted the lumber and we could see the tunnels that they built

the garden is also experiencing a problem with phlox plant bugs. they are tiny and they make quick work of the leaves. every phlox plant in the garden is covered with them.

you don't have to go to church to see the fancy hats and dresses on easter sunday-the plants in the garden put on one heck of a fashion show this week!

false indigo in bloom

chives in bloom

feverfew

thyme

when i ask for volunteers, i am serious-we really need more help to keep the garden looking like it is well kept and cared for. otherwise, it is in danger of looking like this:

our perennial garden, which is located by the old orchard, has been completely taken over by chickweed. we must have gotten a load of seeds in some mulch. it is choking out the plants in the bed. luckily for us, our newest volunteer and intern from the class of 2011, virginia, is taking this invasion seriously. she has been hard at work over the last week and what a difference it has made:

if you think that by yourself, you couldn't make much difference. think again. one person saw a need and has worked to fulfill that need. we would love it if more of our members would think that way and lend us a hand.

things are taking shape in the vegetable garden too. here is darry and sam as they plant the new bean garden. the strings are for the asparagus long beans to grow up and at the ground level, there will be bush beans. just goes to show you that you don't need huge spaces to garden. by thinking vertically, as well as horizontally, you can maximize your space.

anne and david are relocating the raised beds

the raised beds line the walkway leading to the grape arbor.

it will be beautiful when it is all full of plants

after moving the beds, again..., we needed to spread out the soil and make the remaining space level for the other beds that will be located here.

and as always, on sundays, i come with a fresh baked cake for all to share

cranberry orange bundt

and since it was easter, anne came with a basket full of eggs and sam had his own egg hunt in the garden. aren't they pretty? i love the pale blue one at the top of the photo!

come join us, from swarms to hunts, you never know what will happen out there but you can be sure that there will always be cake...

4/17-what's happening this week in the garden

2011-04-19T17:13:00.001-05:00

what a beautiful morning it was! warm and sunny with a little breeze but all in all, perfect for working in the garden.

the bluebirds have another clutch of eggs in the box by the herb garden. darry opened it up and we counted 4 eggs.

alice found a snake egg in the herb garden

after helping me weed the entire herb garden, alice joined lynn in the shade garden to cut back the liriope and to weed it as well.

lynn, hard at work, in the shade garden

our newest volunteer, virginia, decided to tackle the old perennial bed. it is in poor condition due to invasive weeds but there are still some beautiful plants hidden there.

darry and david are building cold frames for the field day event

we will be featuring cold frames at the field day event and david purchased this one. the center bar has a thermometer in it that causes the lid to raise or lower depending on the temperature.

we will be planting beans here

what's blooming:

clematis in the gazebo

columbines

lily of the valley

solomons seal

ajuga, kaitlyns giant

jacobs ladder

tiarella

false blue indigo

can you believe that i forgot to take a picture of the cake? well, we had a banana nut cake and with so many volunteers (anne, sam and will left before i could take photos of them) and there wasn't much of it left! come on out and join us, we could use the help preparing the garden for field day.

update from the garden 4/10/11

2011-04-11T13:40:00.000-05:00

it was a beautiful morning for the garden! sunshine, summer like weather, many friends-old and new and of course, cake! we met three new friends when lynn, alice and pam arrived to give us a hand. we actually felt as though we could accomplish something and we did!

darry cleaning up the grape arbor

pam filling the raised beds

anne and nancy also helped fill the raised beds

alice, lynn and i weeded the berms around the stream bed. here is alice hard at work while lynn and i slipped off for cake...

the cake-raspberry almond bundt

over in the herb garden, the comfrey is putting on a show

and so are the chives

not to be out done, the irises in the lasagna garden are doing their best to get noticed.

and if you take a peak in the shade garden, you will find brunnera as well as some columbines.

come on out and lend a hand-we need to get ready for the big show in june!

garden update-3/20

2011-03-23T10:53:00.000-05:00

sunday was a beautiful day-warm and breezy and perfect for working in the demo garden. we have begun cleaning out the beds and making way for all of the new growth. we are also changing some of the gardens a bit so keep checking back to see our progress.

from the left, brenda, kortney and nancy are working in the rain garden. it was totally overrun with weeds. it took most of the time we were there for the four of us to get it cleaned up.

once the weeds were out, i put a heavy layer of leaves in the bed to act as a mulch for now. we will hopefully have some real mulch soon but until then, leaves it is!

in between weeding the rain garden, nancy was busy tilling the walkways. we had so much weed growth that we decided to just turn it all under and hope for the best. the junior beds are being relocated to the new vegetable garden and this space will be an expansion of the herb garden.

two of the raised beds in the vegetable garden. david plans to use a lot of raised beds to demonstrate small space gardening for home owners.

you know it is spring when the asparagus starts sprouting!

darry and david are determined to get that old satellite dish out of the garden. if you happen to see a large blue morning glory roll by your house...

and as always, i brought a baked treat. today it was pineapple jam tarts made with my home made jam. if you want the recipe, click here

3/13-it's spring in the garden

2011-03-16T09:25:00.000-05:00

spring has sprung in the demo garden and we are seeing signs of plant life all over! mostly what is out are weeds-or are they weeds? many are actually considered winter wild flowers and we beekeepers are grateful for them. they provide much needed nectar and pollen for honeybees. in this photo, the top is a veronica (speedwell) plant that was purchased at a garden center. on the bottom, the native speedwell which is one of those "weeds" in bloom right now.

two prolific weeds, i mean nectar plants, on the top is henbit and the bottom is red dead nettle. both look very similar until you really take the time to look at the leaves. henbit has round leaves, dead nettle has pointed leaves. dead nettle also has red foliage at the top which becomes green as the plant grows.

violets are one of my favorite flowers of spring. i use them in my garden beds at home as a naturalizer. they fill in the open spaces and provide lots of green.

every gardener loves hellebore's! they are one of the first plants to flower in spring. we have two varieties in the demo garden. this one is located in our shade garden.

this lovely hellebore is in the bed near the greenhouse and it starts out a pale lime green and by the time it is fully developed, the flower is a creamy white color.

daffodils in the arbor with a cake eating ninja flower-sam!

in 2009, fellow dcmg shirley lee and i planted daffodils around the gazebo. here they are making a return appearance!

blackberries

blueberries

remnants of fall-oakleaf hydrangeas

grasses

and it just wouldn't be a sunday morning in the garden without cake! we had an upside down pecan-persimmon cake. when my tree at home has fruit, we wait for the first frost and then gather them. after washing them off, i run them through a food mill and freeze the pulp for later use. join us some time, i'll bring cake!

late autumn walk...

2011-01-11T09:11:00.007-06:00

we hike the roger's walk trail frequently with our dog. it is a small oasis in the middle of a bustling area. it gives us a chance to spend quiet time together and often, just a chance to talk without interruptions. just after thanksgiving, we went on one of these treks and decided it was a berry walk-lots of them to see. take a break some sunny afternoon and head out to ellington agricultural center, there are several trails to follow.

leafing the garden, 11/14 update

2010-11-14T13:34:00.002-06:00

we finally had that hard frost! anne, nancy and i (under ninja sam's supervision) spent the time removing the dead plants around the garden. then we got to work-sipping hot chai tea and nibbling on freshly baked pumpkin-chocolate bundt cake. honestly, you really should join us sometime!

as we sipped and nibbled, we formulated plans. some for the day, some for next spring. we are excited about the coming spring. okay, we need to have winter first...nancy set off for the perennial garden to plant bulbs-we were given a bunch that were leftover from the bulb sale. you may recall that we did that last year too and the gazebo was beautiful this past spring. well, next year the arbor will have its turn. nancy planted peonies, narcissus and crocus by the arbor. in one of the vacant beds nearby, she planted asiatic lilies and then anne relocated some iris one of the beds too. it will be very colorful out there next year!

remember last year's plea for leaves? we are asking for them again. as a matter of fact, i put a blurb into the upcoming newsletter. somebody beat me to it though! we counted out 66 bags today! most of them went into the leaf pile. others were used around the main garden and the perennial garden. so if you have them, we want them. please bring us leaves, AND ONLY LEAVES!!! NO YARD DEBRIS OR TRASH (you'd be surprised by what we found in some of those bags-silly gardeners...) keep them out of the land fill and let us put them to good use. we would prefer them in compostable paper bags but if you can only do plastic, okay.

consider working with us next spring, we have big changes planned and we need volunteers!

happy halloween, fall update

2010-10-31T17:37:00.003-05:00

the small spaces in the new herb garden that i was able to fill have spread out nicely. too bad the frost will knock it back!

more of the herb garden

kale and lettuce in the junior bed

we picked a bunch of peppers to save them from the frost

the garden is such a peaceful place

sorry to see the season end, can't wait for spring!

updates for 10/3 & 10/10

2010-10-11T13:06:00.003-05:00

we have been busy in the garden. it is music and molasses time, the event is on 10/16 &10/17 and we will have the garden open for tours on 10/16. we have been busy trying to make it look pretty for the visitors.

the shade gardens have been a bit neglected. we took a shovel to the compacted soil and turned in some leaves to add needed nutrients and substance. we will give the beds a lasagna layer or two as well in the hope that we can begin to amend the hard soil.

the herb garden got a layer of mulch for the walk ways. we have been adding lasagna layers to all of the beds and decided to mulch the walkways in the hope of keeping down weeds.

our rose garden is another neglected area. since the maple tree next to it has decided to drop its leaves, i raked up a bunch, with joy's help, and gave each bed a layer of leaves. we then wandered to the various pine stands around and collected needles.
each bed was given a layer of needles over the layer of leaves. this will add valuable humus to the beds and hopefully give the roses what they need to grow better next year.

in order to make room for the new herb garden, we had to move lots of plants. most of them ended up down in the area of the perennial garden. this garden was screaming for help! the lack of rain with the high heat of the summer took a toll on the garden. whether or not the new layer of mulch will do much remains to be seen.

the grasses look amazing. some have grown so much that they need to be divided.

last week, we had a special volunteer working with us

our daughter, devon, needed to perform community service as a requirement for school. she came and worked in the garden with us. here she is with darry in the vegetable garden.

they were harvesting eggplants and peppers.

our swallowtail caterpillars are getting big!

fall already? 9/26 update

2010-09-26T11:44:00.006-05:00

just another sunday in the garden with the usual suspects. we arrived to chilly temperatures and loved it! an urge to make a batch of danish dough resulted in a basket full of fresh cinnamon rolls and we started off the morning in style.

the asters in the rain garden are in full bloom

once the sun came out and warmed things up, the skippers flocked to the asters and just about every other flower in the garden.

sedum, autumn joy, before the sun came out and before the skippers arrived.

the berm is looking a little overgrown. the switch grass has multiplied and today we thinned it a bit to make it manageable-it was nearly impossible to get to the weeds around it.

ripe habaneros hanging like little lanterns.

i am just loving the hyacinth beans and their blooms.

over in the herb garden, things are looking beautiful.

my three dollar rose bush, chosen to demonstrate edible flowers and for rosehips, is growing like mad. it has pretty open flowers and is now beginning to develop some hips.

cayenne peppers

bronze fennel with swallowtail caterpillars and lots of seeds

the basil blooms are full of carpenter bees and there are a few honeybees too.

arrrrgh, i missed a week...

2010-09-20T07:20:00.008-05:00

ahoy matey, happy holiday to all ye scallywags...face it, we're master gardeners and that makes us landlubbers by default. we gave it a shot but the celebration didn't last long-none of us quite knew what to say and the conversation quickly changed. but it was fun, for a minute or two.

and how do a bunch of landlubbers/gardeners celebrate talk like a pirate day? by eating cake! today we had a sweet potato-pecan upside down cake. gooey pecans on top and sweet potato cake on the bottom-yummy! arrrrgh, now if ye jerns us in that thar garden, ye too might be havin some cake...

let's move on to what is happening in the garden:

perilla in the asian herb bed is now in bloom

habaneros!

long cayennes or cowhorn peppers

the climbing spinach is reaching out all over. i had two branches in water on my kitchen counter for a week. my cat enjoyed the leaves and then i noticed they had sprouted roots. into the home garden they went. they are now climbing my bean poles.

asters in the rain garden are blooming

texas star hibiscus. this plant has finally bloomed! here it is at 8am.

and again at 11am

such a beautiful flower!

we installed the soil fork in the herb garden. we will find some sort of climber to plant with it and i also want to hang a hummingbird feeder from it. i thought about a bird feeder but do not want to spend time picking sprouts.

we relocated our gate and will install the arbor where it was on the other side of the herb garden.

some wonderful landlubbers-gulf frittilary caterpillars on the passion vine in the herb garden.

hyacinth beans

sedum-autumn joy is a buckeye magnet

the herb garden has run amok! basil everywhere needing to be pesto'd!

while removing some logs, we found lots of these centipedes

anne weeding the pathway. she did a wonderful job of getting it all cleared. now if we just had some mulch...david???

hyacinth bean blooms are so pretty, i love the color they bring to the garden

now, doesn't that look better? the sign is standing and flowers are blooming below it.

9/5 update, getting ready for fall

2010-09-10T06:55:00.003-05:00

in october we will be opening the garden to visitors during the music and molasses celebration.
to be honest, the garden is always open and visitors are always welcome but unless you come out during our work sessions, there isn't anyone around to answer questions or give you a tour of the various beds. we usually hold a field day event in june but the flooding of may forced us to postpone the event and we have decided to hold an abbreviated event at the same time as the annual music and molasses festival held in the nearby agricultural museum on 10/16 & 10/17. be sure to mark it on your calendar and come on out to the festival.

in the mean time, we are attempting to get the garden ready for the event and this is what we are doing...

we are planting fall greens and crops in the junior master garden beds. this is a hyacinth bean that we have tied up on a sign in one bed. it is adjusting nicely. fall greens have been planted around this bed.

pineapple sage in bloom in the herb garden, hummingbirds love this plant and so do honeybees

basil in bloom, bees of all kinds love basil

do you have cannas in your garden? if you do then you know how much the tubers can multiply. apparently, so can the seeds that form on top. do you see the little canna that sprouted in our asparagus bed? it is in between the irises. they can be invasive and according to dave's garden, most seeds do not produce plants but i am a little skeptical of that claim.

anne and nancy turning the soil and adding leaf mold in an effort to get it ready for new crops.
they pulled out the tomatoes and soon we will have some fall veggies in this location.

construction of the herb garden is almost complete. we only have one more bed to outline and fill and then we can concentrate on adding plants and decorative accents.

the asian herb bed was out of control, at least the perilla was. it was cut back and now the path is easier to walk on. this is another bed we need to fill so if you have any interesting herbs, let us know.

we are a little overgrown; if you have the time, consider coming out and giving us a hand making it pretty for the party.

gotta love the buckeyes, they are easy to find in the garden. this one is sampling chive flowers.

one more note, we feasted on freshly baked cinnamon rolls this morning. every sunday, i bring some freshly baked treat out to the garden and today it was homemade cinnamon rolls. come on out and give us a hand and have some breakfast with us!

8/29, where has time gone-it's almost fall!

2010-09-01T13:38:00.005-05:00

the year is just flying by and i am not sure i am ready for the seasons to change. i am not a fan of the cold weather and i really like things to be green and colorful! you know that summer is in full swing when the herbs grow berserk and ours are just about there...

so much basil and so little time to eat it all

lemon verbena-it may just take over the herb garden!

(the catmint behind it is going to give it a run for its money...)

but no matter what, the perilla is the king of this jungle. that clump is at least 5 feet tall!

pretty little mexican petunia

butterfly weed and seed pods

we found this little sign laying in the greenhouse and decided to give it a home and a purpose. it will live in the junior master garden bed and we can put verbage on it or attach a poster or something. darry gave it a little red to make it stand out.

anne tied the hyacinth bean plant to it so it would have a place to climb

we were getting a little tired of seeing at the memorial sign leaning against the building in a bed of weeds. i got in there and yanked out all of the weeds and darry installed the sign so that it is now standing up and not leaning on the building. what an improvement! and by the way, if anyone decides to move it there are carpenter bees living in the posts and they didn't care for darrys use of the mallet to install the sign.

we picked a pile of peppers...

the climbing spinach (called malabar spinach) is all over. it looks like an octopus plant

and last but not least-what would sunday be without a cake in the garden. today we had banana bread. come on out and join us sometime!

8/22, another sunday in the garden

2010-08-22T10:59:00.006-05:00

first thing's first-currant scones for the gardeners

squash bugs have invaded the squash-these are the eggs

a group of juvenile squash bugs

a much larger one, not quite an adult yet

a leaf footed bug-another unwelcome guest in the garden

beauty berry in the rain garden-loaded with little purple berries

the little rose bush in the herb garden is covered in buds and blooms

two beautiful butterflies; on the top right, a silvery checkerspot and on the bottom left, a buckeye butterfly.

the belle of the ball, a monarch in the butterfly bush

sampling the nectar

in the spring, darry relocated the hibiscus bushes to the leaf pile to keep them alive until they could be permanently relocated. well, they have made themselves right at home here and are forming a nice little screen to hide the pile. we may just leave them there.

weekly update, 8/15

2010-08-16T14:08:00.006-05:00

the main garden is holding up under the intense heat. the outlying beds are showing signs of heat damage with the exception of the grass garden-it loves the heat. we need volunteers to come on out and help us with the various beds if we will be ready for the festival.

there is a small group of volunteers coming out to help and i really wish they wouldn't-look at my sunflowers! the branches are broken and the flowers are gone.

just look at what they did to this poor tomato bush. they also removed all of the leaves from the okra plants (sorry, no photo). who are these knuckleheads-DEER!!!

they don't like long beans because they are all looking good. we picked a bunch and ate them for dinner!

obviously, they do not like climbing spinach either. these plants are right next to the okra so they must not like the taste.

the poor little pot fellow is blanketed in spiderwebs.

eastern tailed blue butterfly

occasionally, someone will offer to dead head the coneflowers. i always ask them to just leave the dead heads right where they are and this is why. goldfinches love coneflower seeds. anne and i watched two of them make repeated trips to this flower to eat the seeds.

silvery checkerspot in the perennial garden

every now and then, i get a great shot with my crappy little camera. this one is so clear that you can see the little skippers antennae and tongue-he was sampling the nectar.

in the bee garden there were many bees in the mountain mint. here is a honeybee-left and some sort of black bee on the upper right.

today, i picked peppers, long beans and squash. i also trimmed the flower heads off the basil plants. we had a half basket of basil and we washed it, picked the leaves and darry made a quart of fresh pesto with it. one of the perks of working in this garden. darry also took vegetables from this garden and ours at home to make a coconut curry vegetable stirfry with rice. he added sprigs of the fresh basil and it was wonderful! come on out and join us, you may just go home with the makings of a great dinner-besides having cake for breakfast.

update, 8/8/10

2010-08-08T12:16:00.004-05:00

we took one sunday off, just one and oh boy what a mess!!! the weeds took off after the rainfall of last week and we had a job to do today! luckily, i had anne and nancy to help me.

my lemon queen sunflowers are supposed to be part of the great sunflower project but unfortunately, i have not had time to sit and count the bees. here is a green bee and a honey bee collecting pollen and nectar.

the sunflowers are the centerpiece of the herb garden and are in a bed framed with wine bottles

isn't this gorgeous! a thriller, spiller and filler; the large plant(thriller) is perilla, the grassy plant(spiller) is lemon grass and the small plant at the bottom(filler) is vietnamese coriander. this arrangement can be found in our asian bed in the herb garden. the perilla is commonly used in korean cuisine. if you visit a korean barbeque restaurant and have bulgogi (beef cooked at your table on a little grill) you may be served the leaves of this plant. to use the leaves, place a little meat in the center of a leaf and top it with some of the condiments in the little dishes that accompany the meat, roll it up like a wrap and eat it.

we filled the bin today-that's how many weeds we pulled!

pretty basil, time for pesto

onion flowers

nancy picking peppers, how many peppers did nancy pick-ask peter piper...

deer love okra leaves

climbing spinach

sam and sugar bear taking a break in the shade

breakfast today was a cranberry cake, come on out and join us-we need the help!

not your average harlequin romance story, 7/25

2010-07-25T13:49:00.002-05:00

in the medicinal herb bed, we have a horseradish plant. apparently it has been used for treating coughs and as a diuretic in homeopathic remedies. lately though, this plant has been nothing more than a magnet for harlequin bugs. what i did not know was that this plant is a member of the brassica family-a cousin to broccoli, mustard and cabbage. as you can see, the plant is looking a little stressed. that didn't help-it attracts more of the buggers.

on close inspection, there are lots of them in all different stages of life. it was time to make them go away. since we try to use natural methods in the garden, pesticides weren't necessarily and option. knowing that we are expecting some rain, using diatomaceous earth also wasn't an option. that left one method for removal and luckily for me i had two of them conveniently located on the end of each of my arms-two hands...

armed with a large bucket of water, some ordinary dish soap and a pair of scissors, i removed all of the plant parts with bugs and eggs. into the soapy water they went and there they drowned. the soap reduces the surface tension of the water and the bugs sink rather than skim across the top and fly away.

bye bye harlequin bugs, it's the end of your love affair with my horseradish plant!

not all of the bugs in the garden are pesky. this guy is welcome anytime

so is this tiger swallowtail

remember our lovely little cornfield?

this is what it looks like now. deer trampled it and ate the corn

the only little stalk left, i doubt it will do much though.

atomic cherry bombs-hot cherry peppers

over by the asparagus bed, we are a bit overrun by weeds and in the middle of it is a single pink petunia.

weed whackin and dirt stompin fun, 7/18

2010-07-19T07:07:00.005-05:00

sometimes, things just do not go as planned-need i say more? this week, i had a big basket of blueberries and i decided to make a blueberry cake to take to the garden. simple enough, just blueberries and an easy recipe that i have used many times before. well, if something is supposed to be simple, it should go well-no? NO!!! not this time...we finally purchased a table to add to our patio at home and after eating dinner at the new table on our newly finished patio, we decided to sit outside and enjoy the lovely evening-it really was nice out; not hot and humid with a slight breeze and lots of wildlife. i went into the house, quickly mixed up the cake, popped it into the oven and programmed the timer for 55 minutes. darry and i returned to the patio and watched bats fly over head, listened to a screech owl in the trees behind us and saw a little fox wander through the yard. then i checked the timer and realized that i hadn't started it-it was still set at 55 minutes...@#$* was my response. this was the beginning of the end for the cake.

although i made my best guestimations at how much time had elapsed and even checked it several times with a skewer, it just didn't work. after taking a shower and allowing the cake to cool on the counter in the pan for at least 20 minutes, it collapsed when i turned it out and it ended up looking like this. (insert loud sigh here). looks like i would have to make something new in the morning...

so i made muffins, a small mountain of blueberry muffins and they were perfect!

as i photographed the two, the cake disaster and the muffins, my new friend gave a running commentary. meow, meow, meow!!! this is the captain, he is a beautiful cat and one of the most lovey cats around. he is also in need of a home. we can't take him in because we have 3 in the house already and a dog too. let me know if you can take him, we will even help with the cost of neutering him.

it was an extremely productive morning. we completed work on several things in the herb garden!
after a run to the rock yard on friday, darry and i had lots of rocks and bricks to work with. here he is with sam, they are packing in the dirt around the brick/block wall they just assembled.

sam thought they looked like trains trudging down a track

many thanks to doris weakley for the bottles!

fellow dcmg doris, dropped off two boxes of bottles and with them, darry and sam completed the bottle wall. we had used some beer bottles but they were too small for this bed and the guys replaced them and used the others to finish the wall. darry actually pounded them in with a rubber mallet.

the completed bottle wall

while the guys were digging and pounding, anne and i were crawling around the ground by the compost bins-the weeds had completely taken over the area. it was a dense mat of unwanted residents with a few volunteers popping up. we carefully sorted through the plants and rescued some of the volunteers which anne will relocate to the garden at sam's school.

and this is what it now looks like by the compost bins

pretty garden phlox

on the coneflowers, a carpenter bee and a skipper

pretty little eastern tailed blue butterfly

metallic green bees, they move fast and it is hard to get a good photo with my camera.

community gardens

2010-07-14T17:27:00.003-05:00

while visiting the new woodbine farmer's market, we took a walk around the flatrock heritage community garden at the coleman community center

a clever use for a rake

tomatillos

red cabbage

beautiful sunflowers

herbs galore

peppers, peppers and peppers. oh and tomatoes too

something new to try, sweet potatoes, basil and tomatoes growing in a hay bale-no digging!

just another sunday morning in the garden, 7/11

2010-07-11T15:41:00.007-05:00

today was a productive day in the garden. we had just enough help to get the plants in the ground and some of the beds assembled. we also had plenty of fresh baked sour dough bread. you may recall that last year i made a sour dough starter using some of the grapes from the garden. well, it is still going strong and today i brought a loaf with me instead of cake.

take a gander at our herb garden:

darry and sam working hard at filling the beds with layers of leaves and other debris. all of the beds in the herb garden are filled using lasagna gardening methods-what a great way to compost and recycle!

we added layers to this corner and a few borage transplants. this is our medicinal herb bed and it has interesting things in it. comfrey, chamomile, horseradish, st. john's wort and feverfew are just a few of the plants in this bed.

another view of the medicinal herb bed as it stretches across to the fragrance bed. in the fragrance bed we have some southern wood, donated to us by dcmg member, waneta strickert.

sadly, all of the lavender in the bed has died due to the hot, dry weather we had right after the transplanting took place.

just another view of the medicinal herb bed, the big leafy plant is the horseradish which is currently being snacked on by harlequin bugs.

things over in the pepper patch are growing strong...

we have bell peppers

banana peppers

cow horn peppers and more not in the photo include serranos and habaneros

anne is watering some late season transplants in the hope that we can keep them going!

just look at the corn, it is really doing well in the vegetable garden.

lots of ears of corn are in our future-we hope, there are lots of deer and squirrels around to sample them too. once again, the deer came into the garden this week and this time they ate all of the leaves on the okra plants.

darry tying up the tomatoes

asparagus long beans

dr. hale's grapes-these are the same grapes i used last year to make the starter. i combined the red and white grapes and there was enough natural yeast on the skins to get a nice strong starter going.

dr. hale's white grapes-he grows these grapes to attract insects and therefore, he does not treat them with pesticides! great for the yeast if you want to make starter.

pretty hibiscus, most of these were removed to make room for the vegetable garden but we kept a few because they are pretty!

don't ask, obviously i was not paying attention and i took a picture of the bright blue sky...

happy birthday! 7/4/2010

2010-07-05T08:04:00.004-05:00

so how did we spend the fourth of july? why, out in the garden of course! at least for a few hours in the morning. it was hot, the mosquitoes were hungry and we had a great time. i have really begun to enjoy sunday mornings in the garden. we have a small group of delightful and dedicated volunteers who show up to work and they help make the time pass quickly.

taking the time to bake a cake each week is not a burden. it is more like a big thank you to this small band of friends who come out each week and to all of the new interns who stop by to begin earning their work hours for certification. this week, it was a sour cherry crumb cake.

the log wall is complete!!! a big thanks to john wallace, the log fairy. john brought out two loads of logs in the exact sizes we needed and we are now done!!!

this week we had lots of butterflies in the garden. this is an eastern black swallowtail.

like i said, lots of butterflies! on the left, a painted lady and on the right, a pair of skippers

my $3 rose bush from walmart is thriving in the herb garden. it is part of the old edible flowers bed and i am going to leave it right where it is. the foliage looks great and there are lots of hips developing so i am a little hesitant to move it.

another skipper on a coneflower

the last of the daylilies

the bluebirds are back this year. they liked the box last year so they came back. we also assume that they like the garden-must be lots to eat! free pest control, you can't beat that!

feeding the gang

they must be hungry

another shot of the swallowtail, so pretty!

today in the garden

2010-06-27T14:04:00.005-05:00

wow, what a concept-posting an update on the same day as i have been out in the garden! now that my book is finished-at least what i needed to do is finished, i have time in the afternoon to do things like put up a post to update everyone about the garden!

today, it was hot and humid and with all of the rain, the plants are thriving. unfortunately, so are the weeds. luckily, we had help today.

here is new intern, class of 2010, steven helping out in the vegetable garden. (hope i spelled that right, that's how my brother's name is spelled). he and darry spent some time relocating the sorrel from the herb garden, staking up the tomatoes and building a bean teepee for the long beans.

here is anne, she will be attending the classes in 2011 and is actively working now so that she will be certified when she completes the classes. today she relocated sedum plants to the rain garden.

this is anne's son sam, he worked hard today. his task was toll collector on the bridge and he must have raked in quite a load today! he was charging anywhere from a penny to two dollars to cross the bridge! the trolls under the bridge don't have a chance with sam on the job!

in the center of the new herb garden is an edible flower bed and we are outlining it with bottles.

the last little patch of wall that needs to be built, only about 12 logs are needed and then we will be done. a big thanks to the log fairy for the load of wood, we made lots of progress with this last load of logs!

next we will concentrate on the beds. we need rocks, debris for lasagna layers and oh yeah, plants!

in the center of the sunflowers (helianthus) there is a single blackberry lily bloom.

threadleaf coreopsis-it makes such a tidy little mound of flowers

bumblebees on the coneflowers

cabbage white-pretty but destructive little critters. the caterpillars can decimate cabbage plants.

come on out and join us some sunday, today's cake was a rhubarb coffee cake with almonds.

where did the week go?

2010-06-26T12:52:00.004-05:00

i blinked and missed the entire week! as some of you may know, i have been busy writing my second cookbook and this week was the photo shoot. needless to say, i have put in a lot of hours making sure that the desserts looked good enough for photos!

can you stand a few more pictures of the rain garden? we have been blown away by how much the plants have grown this year. some are so large that they may have to be split or relocated!

beauty berry, an american native shrub

in this photo, joe pye weed, helianthus, false indigo, coneflowers and more. the rain garden is beginning to look like a rain jungle!

over in the new herb garden, things are shaping up. here is a log in the border wall with a hollow limb that made a perfect little planter for some stray sedums in need of a new home.

just love the garden phlox-it is so fragrant

a shot of the new herb garden. most of the old plants have been removed from the area and now it is a question of making new beds and filling them.

a shot of the vegetable garden, it is slowly coming along

baby it's hot out there!

2010-06-14T09:56:00.004-05:00

how hot is it??? too hot!!! monarda, jacob cline is in full bloom and gorgeous!

a yarrow rainbow

this seemingly unruly bed is really not intended for people. this is the bee nectar garden and the plants are doing beautifully!

a close up of the blooms on the vitex-cut leaf chaste tree, in the bee nectar garden and it was buzzing with bees of all types.

the butterfly garden is not only shaped like a butterfly but is home to many host and nectar plants for butterflies.

the rose garden and gazebo. the clematis is liking the the gazebo and is climbing all over it!

5/30/10 update

2010-06-01T14:55:00.005-05:00

just so you know, we have our priorities in order in the garden:

EAT THE CAKE FIRST!!!

the rest is a look at what is happening in the garden right now

butterfly weed in bloom

ice plants in bloom

the new jungle in the rain garden

the berm for the rain garden, the sedums are gorgeous!

the herb garden, still working on it and i need logs and rocks

if you can help, contact me

asiatic lilies

the vegetable garden is taking shape

more asiatic lilies

blackberry blossom

blackberries

blueberries

and more blueberries.

update, 5/23/10

2010-05-25T14:28:00.005-05:00

it was hot and humid but we made progress. slowly but surely, we are catching up. the lousy weather that has plagued the region has set things back a bit but we have a long growing season and we will catch up quickly. this week the weather should be warm and humid with temperatures hovering 90 every day.

so what have we been up to? take a peek and see for yourself!

the new herb garden is taking shape slowly. we are in need of rocks, logs/stumps and plants. if you can help us, please email me and let me know what you can donate. the start of the medicinal herb bed in the herb garden.

the asian herb bed

this is the sage/oregano bed

another shot of the same bed

just look at what all of the rain has done to the rain garden! those plants are huge!!!

the new vegetable garden is taking shape as well. here is cherri building the pepper patch

the asparagus bed

the plant fairy visited the garden and left us a bunch of tomato plants. we have no idea what variety they are-can anybody help us locate the plant fairy so we can ask her?

well, wonders never cease. of all things to survive the winter-all of our annual begonia plants made it through the cold, cold weather and here are two of them.

another new garden. we moved all of the perennials from the color wheel garden to make way for the herb garden and now we have a pretty garden surrounding the old arbor.

these beds need to be filled, have any extra perennials (we prefer natives if possible) let us know, we need enough to fill the four raised beds.

mmm, peaches

and apples!

clematis on the gazebo in the rose garden

pretty spirea

cranesbill, brookside (native geraniums)

asiatic lilies

last but not least, helianthum

we will be out this weekend, 5/30 from 9am till ??? come on out and give us a hand. the monumental rainfall brought us unbelievable quantities of weeds and maple seedlings and we could use some help! there will be cake, i promise!

mother's day in the garden, 5/9

2010-05-13T14:13:00.005-05:00

well it was another beautiful sunday in the garden. we had sunny and dry weather. it was not hot. we had volunteers, thanks to nancy, gwen and joy. and we had my mother in law, linda. she was visiting from california and came out with us since she wanted to see the garden. not only did she tour the garden, she helped us relocate perennials to the new beds by the arbor. a big thanks to linda-she isn't even a member and she put in two hours!!!

the rain garden survived the deluge. if you look closely, you can see the lines from the overflow. lets hope we do not see that much rain in one weekend ever again!

the bunching onions that david planted in the junior bed are doing very well, despite the rain.

my log wall and lasagna beds also survived in tact but we do need to think about adding another rain garden.

here comes sarge from the horse barn. he is bringing over a load of manure for us to add to the vegetable garden. now that things are looking like we will not be doing the field day in june, we can work on truly improving the soil for the vegetable garden.

darry directing the drop

look out, falling manure!!!

pretty little iris-kaleidoscope

sedum in bloom

black gold-the leaf pile is worth its weight in gold if you dig down deep. it has completely composted and now it is wonderful black soil

the full view of the leaf pile

we had fun this week and we had cake-banana nut to be exact. please come out and give us a hand sometime. now that david has been assigned to flood duty (farmers need him more than we do) and field day has been postponed, we are looking at doing the work ourselves. this means we need more volunteers! we hope to see you there, and i'll bring cake!!!

we've been working hard!!! updates for 4/18 &4/25

2010-04-29T13:43:00.005-05:00

okay, i admit it, i have fallen behind in the updates! sorry about that but i have a good excuse. as you know i am working on my second cookbook and the deadlines are kicking my butt!!! i still manage to get out to the garden but any time leftover is utilized for testing recipes and formatting them on the computer. so here is what is happening in the demo garden:

first of all, a big round of applause for the following interns from the class of 2010: wendi micheletto, bari bacilieri, gwen mckinney, joy kosarsky, and roy miles for coming out and giving us a hand in the various shade beds and the grass garden. With Darry and Nancy leading the way, baskets and wheel barrows were filled numerous times and lots of weeds were shown the door!

Here are a few of the sights you will see if you come out to visit:

broccoli in one of the junior beds. we are utilizing the space for cool season crops

lettuce and radishes

spinach

as you may have heard, i am redesigning the herb garden. the entire garden will be planted using the lasagna method and found objects. this is one of the beds that 2010 intern laura reith helped me build.

we also built this bed and transplanted all of the sage plants into it

another view of the sage plants

to outline the garden, i am using stumps and limbs of all shapes and sizes.

one of the best parts of working in the demo garden, the chance to work with extension agents. the group of pathologists working here always have something going on and we get to watch the trials as they progress. we also get the chance to work with david cook and this week we had a visitor

the catapillar for an underwing moth. they feed on the leaves to the willow oak tree.

come on out and join us some time! we have many new features to build, lots of old features to revamp and a lot of weeds to pull.

update, 4/11/10

2010-04-12T16:00:00.004-05:00

once again, we are asking all who can to please come out and give us a hand. we have a lot to get done before field day and we can't do it alone!!!

the new herb garden has been laid out and marked with ribbons. we have two businesses donating plants and several members have given us some too.

darry is digging up the hibiscus to make room for the new vegetable garden. the shrubs will go to cumberland river compact for the rain garden program.

no more hibiscus!!!!

the old lasagna garden will become the asparagus bed. the iris will stay to keep the asparagus company.

sedums from the rock garden are now at home in the rain garden on the berm.

darry has added to the mushroom garden. more shrooms, of course

golden creeping jenny-it glows and it grows

beautiful gazebo, beautiful flowers

oh so pretty

the little loblolly pine in it's new home

if it's rhubarb, it must be spring

blueberries in bloom

speedwell and dead nettle look pretty together, now make them go away...

warner park

2010-03-28T11:08:00.001-05:00

took a walk in the woods and earned 3ceus...click here to look at the photos!!!

2010-03-26T09:53:00.001-05:00

Hello DCMG members

We have a new and exciting herb garden underway in the Demo Garden and we need your help. No you do not have to come out and dig holes-we plan to use lasagna gardening techniques to build the beds. What we do need are your plants and seeds. Have any herb plants that need to be divided or relocated? Have lots of extra herb seeds or are willing to start a few extra plants for us? Email me and let me know what you can do and I will tell you what we need the most. And as always, we would love some help in the garden so come on out and join us in this endeavor, there could be cake or fresh baked bread to sample too... Thanks for your help and support!

Happy Gardening!

You can email me at the address to the right (see the "need to contact me" box) or leave a comment on this page (see below)

a visit from the seed fairy

2010-03-18T14:26:00.004-05:00

sorry folks, no cake today but we did have a visitor. david and i had an opportunity to give a tour of the demo garden to monika mccurdy. she is a representative from ferry-morse seed company, the oldest and largest seed company in the country. it seems that she found us on the internet while searching for information on raised bed gardens for a project that the fmsc is building at their kentucky headquarters. what better garden to look at for examples could she have chosen-absolutely none!!!

the junior master garden is 4 large raised beds and behind them is the herb garden which is a series of small raised beds and the enabling garden-a raised table garden.

of course no tour is complete without learning all about our rain garden

the hibiscus shrubs will be removed and the area will become our new vegetable garden. many of the seeds monika brought us will be used in the vegetable garden!

just a small portion of the seeds that the seed fairy left us!!! thank you again monika and ferry-morse, please come visit us again and see what sprouts in the garden!

spring is creeping in slowly

2010-03-17T13:08:00.003-05:00

if you look carefully, there are little bits of spring popping up. along the roads you will see lots of early daffodils, although they are a little late this year. the cold weather has set everything back a few weeks. everything except the weeds. we made it out to the garden on both saturday and sunday to start the spring clean up.

the rain has sprouted a lot more weeds than we expected considering how cold it has been.

the gazebo is back in the rose garden after a short vacation in the fair grounds for the lawn and garden show. darry and mary put it back together and then they cleaned up the rose beds and gave them a new layer of pine straw mulch.

here is cherri planting seeds in the junior master gardeners bed. the seeds are for lettuces and radishes and they will be finished by the time the jmg's need the space.

the jmg beds are getting an addition of leaves to help amend the soil

nancy add the leaves and turning the soil in the jmg beds

mary, darry and nancy cleaning up the walkways in the main garden

what is left of the blackberry coffee cake. every sunday when we come out to the garden, i try to bring a fresh baked cake. join us for cake sometime!

lawn and garden show, 2010

2010-03-08T13:20:00.004-06:00

for the davidson county master gardeners, march is always an exciting month. not only is it the beginning of spring and the new planting season, it is also time for the lawn and garden show. this year is a little bittersweet for us, if the mayor gets his wish, the fairgrounds will be gone and the future of the lawn and garden show is uncertain. even so, this years display was gorgeous and all of the members who helped to design and build it should be proud.

we won! we won! we won! on display in the booth were the award for plant awareness and a lovely green ribbon. well done everybody!!!

the beautiful green ribbon

one of my favorite things to visit in the show is the floral display competition. they never fail to amaze me and this year was no exception. i didn't take photos of all of the entries, only 3

this had to be one of the most unique arrangements on display. darry and i really enjoyed it and we were surprised to see that the parrot was made from what appeared to be seed pods

a close up of the parrot

made by ken scott, ilex for flowers

this one took me by surprise. it was almost as if someone was hanging the flowers, as in executing them. they hung by their stems in a sad state of strangulation that caused the blooms to wilt and discolor.

carry ann misamore for fresh by carry ann

when we walked into the exhibit area, this was the first display i saw and wouldn't you know it, my favorite too! i loved the bright colors and the wild forsythia.

the nappa cabbage leaves around the base were a nice touch that camouflaged the base beautifully.

and last but not least, darry giving his talk on cultivating shiitake mushrooms in your garden. mushroom cultivation for the home gardener is becoming quite popular and we are excited about it. they are good for you and easy to grow.

REMINDER: 3/13 & 3/14 are work days in the demo garden! from 10am-2pm, bring your tools and a lunch if you like-we've got lots to do!!!

winter-will it ever end???

2010-02-26T18:21:00.002-06:00

i'm tired of being cold. i'm tired of the colors brown and white. with that said, i'm ready for spring. and by the looks of it, so are some of the plants in the garden. this is what we saw while working out in the demo garden on 2/21:

sedums popping up on the berms by the stream bed

more sedums popping up here too

sorrel in one of the herb beds is sending out new leaves

here come the chives

the lemon balm and the salad burnett are also sprouting

and here come the day lillies!

weather permitting, we will be out on sunday's by about 10am. come join us for cake!

last minute planning

2010-02-21T07:58:00.002-06:00

we're going out to the garden this morning about 10am. if you can join us, great! bring tools and wear layers. by the way, i'm bringing pie!

february update

2010-02-17T13:44:00.004-06:00

are we ready for some warm weather or what!!! listen in on any conversation any where at any time and you will hear people of all kinds declaring their dislike of the cold weather and snow. come on spring!!! we are hoping to have a work weekend on march 13 & 14 from 10am to 2pm at the demo garden. please dress in layers, bring your tools and a lunch if you like. we will be cleaning out beds and preparing for the new projects as well as taking care of the existing ones.

recently, we met out in the garden to have a look see and what not and this is what we saw: ice and lots of it on the ground. it was really neat to look at the crystal like pieces of ice formed from the water being pushed up from the ground.

and of course, if darry is around, chances are you will find mushrooms and he did. lots of them actually. they are wood ears and are commonly used in chinese cuisine. they grow on tree branches and we collected a bunch.

come on out and join us on 3/13 & 3/14, we will be working on the new herb garden, the expanded vegetable garden and who knows what else. oh and most likely, there will be cake...see you there!

january in the garden

2010-01-29T12:52:00.003-06:00

to say that all is quiet in the garden right now is an understatement! we haven't been out there much. it has been way too cold for digging in the dirt. but don't think for a minute that we have forgotten about the garden! we are actively planning this year's beds so watch out, we may be calling on you to help us. although we aren't working out there, we do visit regularly to dispose of things in the digester-things we can't compost like meaty and fatty foods.

on our last trip out, the sage was still going strong.

we aren't the only ones using the digester. it looks as if someone is living under it.

this was an unusually warm day for january so we went for a walk with the mutt on the new greenway trail. i can't wait for them to finish the entire trail. it will run from caldwell park near nolensville road all the way to the library. finally, i will be able to skate in my own neighborhood!

i like to look at the dried out dead flowers. some of them are still loaded with seeds.

a big creepy tree

next warm sunny day, take a walk on the trails at the ellington agricultural center. there are wooded trails that go around the grounds and the paved trail along the 7 mile creek. check out the garden, it won't be long before we get back out there!

december update

2009-12-27T11:21:00.002-06:00

the garden is sleeping and so are the gardeners...however, shirley lee met me out at the demo garden on 12/6 and we planted a bulb garden. she had leftover bulbs from the mg bulb sale and we decided to place them around the gazebo. there are lots of different daffodils and tulips and when they come up in march and april, we should have quite a show. thanks shirley!

november in the garden-11/8/09

2009-11-12T16:37:00.003-06:00

it's as if someone turned off the water. the rains have stopped, completely. we have had many sunny days with temperatures in the 70's, perfect gardening weather. what we also haven't had so far is a hard frost. we have had a few close calls with scattered light frosts but not a true hard fall frost yet and it shows in the garden. many of the plants are still flowering and many of the bees and butterflies are still visiting them.

now is the time to put the garden to bed for the winter. time to clean out the dead plants and prepare for the cold weather. it is time to plant spring bulbs and mulch cold sensitive plants. it is time to plant trees and shrubs and to dream of next years garden...

a skipper in the salvia

a cloudless sulphur butterfly-we have lots of them in the garden, every bed has them visiting in search of the nectar found in these late blooming plants. this one is in the bee garden sampling the pineapple sage.

here is another in the cannas.

we have cut back our visits to the garden since there isn't a whole lot going on right now. we are out there every other weekend. join us sometime. in the mean time, spring will be here sooner than you think!

if it's fall it must be music and molasses time

2009-10-22T18:35:00.005-05:00

it's fall...i'm sad to see summer go and i am not looking forward to colder and wetter weather. haven't we had enough already? we haven't been spending as much time in the demo garden. between the weather and the fact that there isn't much going on in the garden, we have been spending time on other things. we did get out there on the 18th and did a little cleaning up in the beds and around the garden.

the trees around the garden are starting to show some fall colors, and it should be quite a sight real soon!

the mexican sage is still going strong, it is covered with the purple spikes and it still attracts nectar lovers.

one of the sure signs that fall has arrived, the music and molasses festival which is held in the ag center near the demo garden.
we found the chuck wagon to be the most interesting part of the festival.

they were actually cooking the food in cauldrons over a fire and it looked pretty good.

here's the chuck wagon lady dishing up a scramble dog-hot dog with chili over it

the menu

this sheep did not seem to mind the shearing-he just laid there like a lump

many call it molasses but sorghum is a whole different product. it may taste like molasses but it is actually the syrup from sorghum canes that is cooked down. this menonite family comes out every year and they bring horses or mules to press the canes. the syrup is collected in a bucket and poured into an open kettle to be cooked.
the syrup cooking, 5 gallons of juice makes 2 quarts of sorghum.

it's not very pretty-rather green when it starts out but it takes on a deep amber color when it's done.

i don't care what you say, mules have very pretty faces!

they even had goat milking for the brave. somehow, i don't think she was enjoying this...

we seem to be getting out to the garden about every two weeks. catch us next time if you like, there may even be cake to enjoy!

it's october, already???

2009-10-05T08:30:00.003-05:00

rain rain go away come again another day...how about you just stay away!!! we have had so much rain in the last month that it has made working in the garden tough. we did manage to get out there this sunday. all things considered, it was in surprisingly good shape. there weren't as many weeds as i expected and most the plants look to be faring well for the season.

looking around the garden you can see fall creeping into the landscape. trees are beginning to show color and lose leaves. plants are dying back and fall flowers are screaming for your attention.

every time i look at the herb beds, the basil is bigger and more spectacular. it is beginning to look as if it could take over the whole garden.

one of falls show stoppers, the asters in the rain garden.

the burning bushes are showing a hint of red, the colors should be good this year. we have had a fairly cool and very wet year which is something we have not had for a while.

sunday, 10/4's breakfast was a blueberry muffin cake. sorry, no picture and no cake either. it didn't last long at home! see you next week, join us sometime!

september came and went

2009-10-05T08:25:00.005-05:00

its that time of year when things slow down in the garden, except the weeds. plants are responding to the lower temperatures and shorter days by going to seed and dying off. lately, we have just been working to maintain the beds, in other words, remove weeds. the increased rainfall for the month has made this a challenge. can you believe its already fall?

the raingarden still looks great despite the reappearance of southern blight. the asters have come into full bloom and are spectacular, so is the beauty berry.

a close up of the asters in the rain garden

another plant succumbed to the dreaded southern blight

a close up shows the formation of the blight-it looks like little seeds around the base of the stalks causing the plant to die off.

i just can't get over the basil, it has been spectacular this year!

the marigolds are still putting on a show

the junior beds look great but some of the plants are beginning to wind down for the season.

if you take a walk around and look at the various beds, you will come across the bee nectar garden. at first it just looks like an unruly patch of plants. upon closer inspection, you will find an unusual collection of plants that were selected by jim miles to attract and supply bees.

the basil plants in the bee nectar garden were teeming with bees of all kinds. in this photo are some carpenter bees.

coneflowers and plumbago look nice together.

if you come on out on a sunday morning, you will find us working and you may even get to share the cake with us. each week i try to bring a treat for all who come on out to visit or work. this weeks offering, a sourdough gingerbread cake made from my grape starter. you may recall from an earlier post that i gathered some of the grapes from the demo garden and made a starter with them. well, it has been very successful and we have been enjoying homemade sourdough bread by using the starter. you never know what i will bring to the garden for breakfast so you will have to come on out and join us sometime!

the last state fair

2009-09-21T10:11:00.004-05:00

each year when the state fair comes to nashville, the master gardeners maintain a booth. this year was no different except that it will be the last time we do it in nashville. the mayor announced last week that the city of nashville will no longer host the fair. talk around town is that the land will be sold for development, the city needs the revenue and the fair and auto racing as well as other events held there do not produce enough revenue so the land must go. too bad, it will be missed by many. although we had stopped attending because the quality had suffered in recent years and the prices had skyrocketed as well, we walked around this year and saw a definite improvement that made this a decision a slightly bitter one to swallow.

the booth for the master gardeners was well done, thanks to mike lannom and sue mcginnis. there was also a friendly competition between members to see who could make the best container garden with 4 catagories to choose from and everyone who visited the booth was invited to fill out a ballot.

the front of the booth

a large container that was actually a wheel barrow

one of my favorites

this one was placed by the entrance to the booth and it was very well done

another cute arrangement in a miniature wheel barrow

this one was very unique

how can you not like gnomes?

clever use of old shoes

the big draw for the booth, a display of carniverous plants. we had a lot of traffic due to this display, many came in just to see them and ended up seeing a whole lot more!

across from our booth was the nashville area beekeepers association. here you see fellow master gardener jim miles, who is also a naba member, encouraging this group to taste some different honey samples. jim is one of our faithful demo garden volunteers and he maintains the bee nectar garden all by himself.

transitioning to fall, 9/6 update

2009-09-06T11:44:00.004-05:00

i hate to admit it but it is beginning to look like fall. (insert big sigh here) as much as i hate the extreme heat and humidity of summer, i do not look forward to winter. however, the garden in transition to fall can be quite interesting. flowers producing seeds, leaves changing colors and insects laying eggs can be very exciting finds for someone with a camera.

i did not keep the hummingbird feeder full this summer and as soon as i finally filled it, they found it. literally within minutes of it being hung out the little ladies came out to investigate and sample the syrup.

our lady friend in the perennial garden is growing large in the abdomen. she will lay her eggs soon and then she will die. if we are lucky, there will be lots of little babies next summer.

the carpenter bees are loving the vitex in the bee nectar garden.

a beautiful monarch in the yellow butterfly bush in the butterfly garden

eastern tailed blue butterfly on the east friesland salvia in the lasagna garden

florence fennel in the herb garden. i remember my grandmother serving fennel at family dinners when i was young. she would cut it into strips and it resembled celery sticks but it sure didn't taste like celery!

soldier beetles in the autumn joy sedum

a tomato horn worm that has been attacked by a parasitic wasp. the white ricelike stalks are actually cocoons for the wasps and they are feeding on the caterpillar. natural insect control at it's finest!

another view of the caterpillar and company

one more view of the little bugger

it was a good day for viewing caterpillars, we also found this little wooly yellow guy

beautiful weather for gardening, 8/30

2009-08-30T12:02:00.003-05:00

the weather was perfect for gardening today. no heat, no humidity and very little sunshine. we couldn't have asked for a better morning to work on the beds. my thanks to katrina and nancy for coming out today, but katrina will have to hang out a little later to help us with breakfast!

we enjoyed fresh baked cheese and chive scones today.

while working in the perennial garden, darry found this beauty. a black and yellow garden spider (argiope aurantia), she was hanging out in her web enjoying a little breakfast! don't you just love the zig-zag running through the web. her mate made that design for her and then she most likely killed him! you go girl!!!

another shot of the lady and her web.

the main garden and some of the herb beds. it still looks great even though the summer is drawing to a close.

i love the color of this celosia, the little yellow soldier beetles add a nice contrast...

another plant(black eyed susans-rudbeckia) in the rain garden succumbed to the dreaded southern blight! nancy and i dug it out, removed some of the soil around it and tossed it into the trash. it is spread by water and we did have some rain this week so i hope we can stop the spread but it is likely to show up again.

not much else to report, come on out for a visit and see what we have done this year.

time flies, 8/23 update

2009-08-28T14:54:00.004-05:00

where have the days gone? i must have fallen asleep like rip van winkle; i've opened my eyes to see that summer is almost over. as much as i hate the heat and humidity, i am not looking forward to the impending changes. winter is not my favorite time. with the exception of the holiday season, i dread the winter months. considering it is late summer, the garden still looks pretty good. we have had a wonderful crew showing up to lend a hand and to all of them, i say thanks!

can you stand one more picture of the rain garden? here is the basin in late summer. still plenty of blooms to keep it colorful.

the junior beds are a riot of color thanks to all of the annuals.

i just love the zinnias in the junior beds, they are such happy colors. the skippers like them too!

skippers aren't picky, they like cosmos too.

a pollen packed green bee on a coneflower in the rain garden.

not sure what these buggers are but they are all over the hibiscus. send them packing please!

i apologize for the poor photo, my camera doesn't do well with close up shots.

august 16, garden update

2009-08-18T20:13:00.004-05:00

the garden looks pretty good considering the lack of rain and the fact that it is late in the season for some of the plants. a little weeding, dead heading and removal will spruce things up but a good soaking will work wonders too-anyone know a good rain dance?

we were confronted with the fact that deer apparently like okra leaves. they ate the leaves off every okra plant in the garden and we have them in various locations; the vegetable garden, the junior master garden and in the edible flower bed.

at least they left the flowers alone, they are so pretty

the hibiscus in one of the plant trial beds are dropping seeds. last week i gathered a few plantlets and put them in a pot. they are actually growing now and hopefully, i will get a plant or two out of them.

mexican petunias are also very pretty

the zinnias in the junior master garden beds are so colorful

the beauty berry bush in the rain garden is covered in berries

a close up of the berries