Author Profile
Articles
Desert Rose
One of my kids brought this home from a plant salel she was at. It looks like something out of Jurassic Park, but the flower he's really pretty.
Red Burgundy Onions
Planted these from seed back in early March and finally harvested this week. It's a great onions for those of us with short days in the south. Great color and a nice, spicy onion flavor.
“Cheddar” Cauliflower
We're all used to seeing big white heads of cauliflower in the store, but I'm partial to this particular variety called "Cheddar" that you have to buy from a seed supplier (in this case, Pinetree Garden Seeds). Every bit as good as the snowy white variety, Cheddar is even better when you sprinkle a little olive oil, garlic and pepper on it and roast it in an oven for 20 minutes or so.
Flowers Gone Wild
So I spent $4 on a Bird & Butterfly Garden packet, threw in a little water, and voila! Two months later a full blown North American Wildflower garden.
Jasmine on a chicken coop
Chicken coops are generally drab affairs, but mine is draped in snowy white and wonderfully fragrant star jasmine.
Pink Mallow
Around here we've got a variety of mallow with a tiny white flower and a great big taproot that likes to take over just about everything. Fortunately, there are prettier, less invasive varieties native to other parts of North America. This one's a big mallow with a really showy pink blossom blooming in the butterfly garden.
Ring Around the Marigold
10 or so years ago my youngest daughter brought home a packet of marigold seeds called "Little Tiger" (or something close to that) she'd won in a drawing at school. The first year we grew them they were, in fact, striped orange and yellow like a tiger. Each year we saved some seeds and planted them again. But as time went the stripes faded and a new pattern emerged with an orange flower ringed by a yellow band. Perhaps a tiger no more, but still a sunny little flower in a pot.
Blackberry Season
Blackberries are ripe and ready for pies, jams and other good stuff. Now it's just a race between me, the squirrels and the birds to see who gets more.
Almost Corn Time
My father-in-law, born and raised on an Iowa corn farm is fond of say that corn should be "knee-high by the Fourth of July." It's only early June and we're well past knee-high with the sweet corn. By the Fourth we'll be eating it!
Peppermint Twist Rose
A floribunda rose I picked up nearly 20 years ago from a little nursery tucked back in the hills of Fallbrook. The lady said it was called "Peppermint Twist" because the red and white spirals of the flower resembled a peppermint candy. When the flower is still a bud it does really look like a peppermint, but as it opens it un-swirls to reveal red and white streaked flowers. Not really heavy on the fragrance, but it does bloom almost continuously from April through November.
Let’s Socialize