Posts Tagged ‘squash’

Jul 21
2008

Today In My Garden

One of my plans when I first started blogging was to create an online journal of what was going on in my garden.

Somehow, that never really happened. I had other ideas I wanted to explore and topics I wanted to write about. I suppose I also worried that no one else would be interested in my little plot of land. I also worried that if I wrote too much about what was happening in my backyard, people wouldn’t come and look over my virtual fence and chat.

Well, now that I have my gardening column on Examiner as a forum for non-personal garden topics, I can get back to some of my original objectives and make Bumblebee more about my own gardening space.

So let me tell you about my day…

squash.jpg

Today I marveled at the perfection and beauty of my squash plants. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am fully aware that they won’t stay this lovely. These perfectly formed and perky leaves will start to wilt. The bugs will discover them and chew tiny holes in them, some in lace-like patterns. Some leaves will wither and yellow even as the squash starts arriving by the bushel full.

But for now, I love these squash plants. They are perfect. They are mammoth. My hand cannot even reach from one side of the leaf to the other. Today, they represent the potential of abundance and are an ornament to my garden.

Today I also picked blackeyed peas. I have never grown them before, but a family friend gave me some seedlings she purchased at the local Amish market. Frankly, it was during the throes of spring planting and I just plunked them in a convenient spot. They are, perhaps, a bit crowded. And at first I thought they would need some sort of trellis to climb. But they have done just fine here, shooting up their long pods above the plants.

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It was very satisfying picking a whole bucket of these beans today. Tomorrow I will shell them and find some appropriate dish to highlight their freshness. Secretly (okay, secret’s out), I am grateful that the men in my house do not like blackeyed peas. ALL MINE!

I also admired my pink bed today. When I planted the cock’s comb seedlings in the bed near the cone flowers I didn’t realize they would intermingle so companionably. But now I think I’ll do this again, since it’s a winning combination.

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The cone flowers also make me smile because they are from a clump of flowers given to me by a friend about four years ago. I always think of her and her husband when I see them.

I also started harvesting the seeds from my spent cilantro plants. These coriander seeds will be a fine, fresh addition to some dish. I’ll need to begin exploring recipes soon to take advantage of the new harvest.

So, aside from the watering and bush squishing, that was my garden today.

What was going on in your garden today?

Robin
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Right Now at Bumblebee

March 7th, 2010

It’s official. Dawn over at Owl Hollow News won the Grocery Gardening drawing.  Congratulations, Dawn. I hope you enjoy the book.

What’s on your plate today? The weather here is sunny and at least not frigid. I’ll continue my early spring garden cleanup and also clean and repair bird houses. The bluebirds have made their return and are already checking out the real estate. What a joy to watch over my Sunday morning coffee.

Robin

March 6th, 2010

I find this one of the most anxiety-producing times of the year in the garden.

As I head outside and begin the winter cleanup, the whole summer garden thing just seems incredibly overwhelming. There’s so much to do. And I’m just one person out there. Honestly, I felt like sitting down to have a good cry about mid-afternoon. But I managed to put one foot in front of the other and actually got a good amount of tidy-up work done. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Thank you everyone who left a comment explaining how you approach reading and leaving comments on blog posts. The cumulative input has been extremely helpful. The overall consensus is that you’ll read comments if it’s an interesting discussion. You don’t usually subscribe to comments because it clogs up your email box. And you’ll only check back to see if the author has responded if you’ve left a question. That about sums it up.

On another note, I have selected by random number generator the winner of Grocery Gardening. She’s been notified. When she responds back, I’ll announce who she is.

Thank you everyone!

Robin Ripley

February 22nd, 2010

My lawn is a wreck.

I went outside to re-fill the bird feeders—AGAIN. The parts of my lawn that don’t look like the frozen tundra resemble a swamp. With every step I take my foot sinks down at least an inch. Walking to the feeders I can see my path in the mud.

I also see that we lost one small ornamental tree by the driveway as well as one of my rose trellises, which succumbed to the weight of the snow.

Spring better hurry up and get here. I have a lot of work to do.

Robin

February 17th, 2010

Are you sick of everyone talking about the weather? I am too, but here goes…

There is so much snow on the ground, I don’t know when it’ll all melt. On top of that, much of it has iced to the extent that moving it from one place to another requires a pick ax. Walking in the back yard to fill the bird feeders is like walking on a bumpy ice rink. There are trees and bushes that need a bit of first aid to remove partially broken branches, but I don’t dare risk skating across the ice with my pruners. Not yet anyway.

Still, there is hope. Although we’re expecting snow flurries today, the weather should warm up into the forties in the next few days, providing some melting relief.

But really, all this unrelieved WHITE is getting to me!

Robin

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