2019 Gardens

[dado potato]

But then, garlic is the stuff of life itself.

The Gilroy Garlic Festival ended very badly this year. The festival site was fenced, and there were metal detectors at the gates. But a shooter got in by cutting the fence, and reportedly used a semiautomatic rifle to inflict death to 3 people (including a 6-year-old boy) and injury to 15 others. Police arrived and killed the shooter. Elected officials and business leaders were all tweeting or talking about the crime on Sunday. For example Senator Kamala Harris remarked, Our country has a gun violence epidemic that we cannot tolerate."

[beckyliz]

I've never gardened before (vegetables). This year, I planted two tomato plants in a large tub that I had. I put them in late, because that's how I roll. I was so excited to see a tiny green tomato yesterday morning!!! It was still there this morning after our storms and wind last night!

[iris lilies]

The star of my gardens this year is Plumbago! I planted two of these shrubby herbaceous plants in late May in Hermann and they have grown and bloomed for many weeks. They are lovely because they are a heavenly shade of sky blue. The deer have not touched them.

Deer have decimated my highbred daylily collection. I did not see one bloom. They are destroying the few hostas that were here when we bought the property. I will not move my nice hosta collection to Hermann only for them to become deer salad. The nasty creatures are tromping around within 9 feet of our house.

Here is an update on plumbago: it doesn’t survive through the winter, it is a tender perennial that grows in garden zone eight through 10. I am in zone six so it will not survive or winter. Bummer.


I like it so much and I may just buy it again next year at $29 a plant because it is so prolific in blooms! It is still blooming and we’re going on three months now! And the deer do not touch it even though they are chomping everything around it

[JaneV2.0]

Hmm. Parts of Portland veer into 9 a/b. I'll alert my gardening friends.

[KayLR]

Iris, do you notice bees or butterflies liking the plumbago?

[catherine]

I've been so busy this summer with work that my garden wound up (so far) being totally half-butt. I did get tomatoes in, but not as many as I would have liked. But I was thrilled because my neighbor gave me a couple of tomatoes he had grown from seed, but they were like little sticks. He gave two containers to our other neighbor and they're like sticks. He gave me a couple and they went bananas. He was shocked to see how green and plush they were. Given my very spotty record with a green thumb, it really made me feel good.

So, he turned over his other tomatoes and an eggplant, which are also doing pretty well. I had heard a tip from a gardener who kept up gardens at a really nice little hotel in Southern Vermont that his "secret sauce" is composted cow manure. I do fertilize, but this year I also laid down the cow manure and I'm wondering if that's helping...

Anyone else have good tips for good soil?

[razz]

Had to check out plumbago. They are lovely and have a variety of colours as well. I am zone 5 so no plumbago for me. My pots have been a joy and the perennials vigorous bloomers with optimum growing conditions this year. Thought that I would share some of the pots with you.

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[catherine]

Had to check out plumbago. They are lovely and have a variety of colours as well. I am zone 5 so no plumbago for me. My pots have been a joy and the perennials vigorous bloomers with optimum growing conditions this year. Thought that I would share some of the pots with you.

IMG_1011.jpg

Beautiful, razz!!

[iris lilies]

Razz, your flowers are beautiful!

[Yppej]

My neighbor uses something called Black Cow that I want to try.