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Small Fish in a Big Pond

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Hardening off the freshly-sprouted seedlings!

After waking up to thunderstorms in the wee small hours of the morning, I didn’t have tremendously high hopes for the day. But, in the afternoon, the sun came out, and it turned into a lovely time for gardening.

Today is the first of May, my favorite month in the garden. All the perennials are coming back up, there’s lots of trees and flowers in bloom, and it’s not yet so hot and humid that being outside for any length of time is miserable. We’re not quite past our last frost date here in Central Ohio, so I haven’t moved everything outside quite yet. But, I was able to start hardening off the tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, and flowers that I’ve been growing from seed indoors. The process takes about ten days/two weeks, so by the time they are ready to plant in the ground, it will be warm enough to plant them in the ground.

The deck is already packed full of pots. I started a bunch of native grasses from seed to add to the borders along our fence: Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), Big Bluestem (Andropogon geradii), Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans), and Broom Sedge (Andropogon virginicus). There’s also pots full of strawberries, potatoes, thyme, chives, mint, and a bunch of native perennials, like Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). The cold frame filled up very quickly this year, but we’re about past the time where I need it. Looks like I skated by starting too many seeds for yet another year!

Out in the raised beds, things are also filling up. Our asparagus is in its fourth year, so it’s really coming in nicely. We’ve already been able to enjoy a few harvests on the grill. The garlic I planted last fall is also looking quite nice. It should be time to harvest those bulbs here in a few weeks. Also out in the beds are some carrots, leeks, onions, snow peas, and potatoes. We’re going to have potatoes coming out of our ears this year. I have four grow bags full of them on the deck, and two more rows of potatoes out in the raised beds. I’m just trying to represent my Irish heritage well!

As usual, the deck is filling up with potted plants.

Just off of the raised beds is the wildlife pond that went in last year. I’ve had a few people ask how the pond had its start in life, so I thought I’d share the tale again, and give an update.

I’d had a small water feature in mind for a few years, but I wasn’t sure about what to put in. Fountains are EXPENSIVE and I thought a pond would be too much upkeep. Two years ago, I added a few small, shallow pots to the landscape, filled with water for the birds and pollinators to enjoy. I highly recommend this. It’s a simple way to help lure more wildlife into the yard, and things are easy to clean and maintain. But, with every viewing of the BBC’s Gardeners World, I wanted more.

Our lot is just over 6,000 square feet, which is below average for the US (you people with acreage are really throwing off the curve). It’s more than big enough for two fairly lazy people who hate lawn maintenance, and as I searched online for examples of wildlife ponds, I knew the yard was large enough to fit what I had in mind as well. I wanted something about 3′ by 3′, in a circle-ish shape, and shallow enough that I wouldn’t have to do much digging to put the thing in. So, one day, I told the husband that we were putting a pond in, and we started to dig. Well, actually, back that up. First, I called 8-1-1 and had the utility companies come out to mark our electric and cable lines so we wouldn’t hit anything. If you’re ever doing any digging in your yard, for a tree, a pond, or any kind of larger hole, Call Before You Dig!

So, yard spray-painted with lines marking the important things, we mapped out the spot for the pond with an old hose. I’ve seen this done before, and it’s a great way to “see” what your new project is going to look like before you start digging around. Just use the hose like a border, and make the shape you want. Once we had things outlined, we started digging.

The pond is about 2′ deep in the center, with tapered edges, and a little beach on one end. I specifically wanted a wildlife-style pond in the yard, and for animals to be able to get in and use the thing, I knew a gradual entryway was required. Once the digging was complete, we added a lining, using plastic sheeting. The sheet is fairly thick, and I folded it in half to add even more oomph to the lining.

The perennials are coming back in nicely this year, framing in the pond and helping to provide food and shelter to any critters who may be in the area. Now that the rocks have settled in, I have a few more to add, but I’m happy with the progress so far!

Next, we added some river rock and pebbles to the bottom, and along the edges. Then, larger flat stones went in around the border of the pond and along the sides, to hide the plastic sheet. Once that was finished, we filled the pond with water, and I used some old branches and sticks to line one end of the pond and make it look more natural and wild. This makes a great space for wildlife to hide and nest. After a simple bubbler went in to circulate the water around, that was that for the pond.

The area where we put the pond is mostly in the shade. It was a damp area to begin with, that grew a lot of moss and henbit. So, I added in plants that liked the shade and wet conditions, and used mostly species native to our area to lure in even more o the things we wanted, like dragonflies and caterpillars. There’s a lot around the pond, all perennials: an eastern redbud tree, a buttonbush, maidenhair ferns, wild geraniums, creek sedge, blue flag irises, sweet flag irises, jack-in-the-pulpits, rue anemones, sea oats, spiderwort, a pitcher plant, and a little grouping of hostas and heucheras. The native plants and trees (all but the last two) support over 100 species of caterpillars!

Today, I added the bubbler back into the pond for the season. I started with a little, floating solar fountain. But, after a couple of months, it bit the dust. So, I added in a little aquarium pump, that plugs into an outlet on the deck. It helps keep water circulating and the sound attracts more birds to the pond for bath time.

Other than that, I don’t do a thing to the pond, except weed around it. (And, today, I pulled a few leaves out of the water so they wouldn’t clog up the bubbler). I don’t use any chemicals to clean the water- the bubbler takes care of that. And we’ve had the neatest wildlife show up in the short time the pond has been around: all kinds of birds, dragonflies (just one can eat up to 100 mosquitoes in a day, in case you’re worried about the water in the yard attracting too many of the bloodsuckers), beetles, spiders, other insects, and most excitingly, frogs! Two arrive last summer and I hope we see more this year.

Some of the shade-loving plants and trees in bloom right now: great white trillium, dutchman’s breeches, rue anemone, and flowering dogwood

So, that’s the wildlife pond. It’s doing exactly what I’d wanted: luring in wildlife. And, it’s been fuss-free. Is the water always 100% clear? Nope. Does it look like a well-manicured water feature? Absolutely not. But, those things weren’t my goal. I wanted the space to look natural and I think we succeeded. This spring has already been filled with joyful moments and I wander around the pond, looking at the different wildlife which lives there- the insects, the native wildflowers, and the occasional bird, stopping by to wade around the beach.

Hopefully, this helps get you started if you’re interested in adding your own pond to the yard. There’s lots of books and resources out there to inspire, including this one that I used from the Conservation Foundation. Happy gardening!

It’s Blooming Springtime!

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The “Blue Moon” Crocuses are in bloom and bringing me so much joy every time I see them.

The season of spring has officially started here in Central Ohio and I am all a flutter. We’ve been having some very warm weather lately, and so many of the bulbs have popped up before their usual time. The crocuses, hellebores, and mini “tete a tete” daffodils are in bloom now, and the garden is definitely waking back up again.

I’ve had to stop myself from running outside with the pruning sheers (don’t run with shears, kids) to start cleaning up the beds. Until the daytime temps average in the mid-50s, bugs like solitary bees and black swallowtail butterflies could be hiding away in the stems and debris so I’ll wait just a bit longer to make sure that everything has a chance to hatch and fly off before I start cutting back the perennials.

The husband and I did spend a bit of time doing some invasive species removal today, though. Amur Honeysuckle grows along the back side of our fence, and into the woods behind the house. It’s a nasty plant, that’s taken over many areas in Ohio and the Midwest. Amur honeysuckle grows very quickly and is tough to get rid of. We head behind the house every few years to take out a winters worth of frustrations on the stuff, hacking away at the branches before the plant wakes back up and starts throwing seeds all over the place again. We didn’t make it terribly far yet (the prickly branches of another invasive plant, Multiflora Rose, put up a good fight and wore us out), but that’s the current project.

There is a LOT of multiflora rose and amur honeysuckle to rip out back here!

Next on my agenda is to have some dirt delivered to top off our raised beds before I start filling them back up with veggies and herbs over the next few months. I’ve started a few of the seeds for the season already: the peppers, tomatoes, indigo, rudbeckia, yarrow, leeks, and cantaloupe are under the grow lights now, inside. Soon it will be time to start a few of the cool season crops outdoors, like our spinach. I also need to haul the cold frame back up from the basement to the deck. I don’t have enough space inside to start all of my seeds so the cold frame will save me some space indoors, as well as the need to have to harden off any sprouts I start outside. Score!

In plant-adjacent news, I am officially finished with my Master Gardener Volunteer classes! Our classes have been taking place every Friday since January, and we have a final exam later this week. Then, we are able to begin volunteering at different spots all over the county as Master Gardeners, helping with every thing from addressing food insecurity in our community, to cataloguing trees at the local arboretum. I’ve learned more than I could have ever expected in our classes, and can’t even express how honored I feel to have been chosen to participate in this years program. There are so many outstanding people in our area doing amazing things with plants, and I am so excited to be a part of their work.

Our training manual and all the extra class notes are… extensive!

For our first year as MGV interns, we’re expected to volunteer at a variety of spaces, to make sure the hands-on portion of our training is well rounded. I am really looking forward to getting outside this spring. I spent a few hours this weekend drafting up a spreadsheet (my favorite activity, aside from actually gardening) with a list of the sites I hope to work at, and this gardening season is definitely shaping up to be an exciting one.

That’s all I have for this week. Hope your spring season is off to a pleasant start. Happy gardening!

I Wonder if My Garden Misses Me?

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We’ve had some chilly days this month, but pretty sunrises!

We’re most of the way through February, and I am ready for springtime to begin. Unfortunately, here in Ohio, we have another two/two-and-a-half months before temperatures are warm enough for much spring gardening. The weather this month has been weird. We’ve had everything from flooding rains and thunderstorms, to the sleet and snow one would actually expect at this time of year. A few days ago, the temps shot up to 60 degrees, and then, a front blew through and things dropped 40 degrees in 4 hours. So, the weather has been a little unpredictable.

Usually, February is one of our driest months, but that has not been the case this year. I have to wonder how all the plants will handle the wet winter, especially our lavender. I guess we’ll find out in a few months when the garden wakes back up.

In the mean time, Master Gardener classes continue. We’re more than halfway through the class portion of the program, and I have really been enjoying it all. Every week, I find something new to be excited about in the garden, and I can’t wait to get outside and planting.

Because I can’t help myself, I’ve also spent the last few weeks acquiring more indoor plants. In my defense, the husband has been 3-D printing lots of new pots. I have to buy plants to stuff into them, right? I’ve also started the first of the indoor seeds, the leeks. Leek seeds take awhile to germinate, and then even after they finally sprout, they seem to take awhile to grow up. So, I’m starting them inside, early, and hopefully, once it’s warm enough, I can transplant them as larger plants for some beefy leeks come harvest time.

The native seedlings have spent much of the winter burrowed in snow. All the freezing and thawing we’ve had will help the tough outer shells of the seeds break up so they sprout in the springtime.

Next on the planting list are the peppers and tomatoes, but that’s probably a few weeks out. I’ve been steadily adding recyclables to the deck, stuffed with wildflowers and other native plants that need the cold weather to break their dormancy (winter sowing is my favorite seed-starting method!). So far, there’s Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya), Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea), Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), Ironweed (Veronia gigantea), Common Blue Violet (Viola soroia), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginia), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), and Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). I have most of these species growing out in the garden already, but the goal is to pepper in more of each to really bulk up the prairie look in the borders this year.

Well, as winter carries on, I don’t have much else to report. Hope the season is treating you well and that, even if things aren’t flowering yet in your own garden, you have the chance to enjoy color in a greenhouse or botanical garden someplace. The bulbs will soon be popping around here, and hopefully your garden is also showing some of those early signs that spring is on the way. Happy gardening!

Wrapping Up The Year

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From winter through the spring, 2021 was filled with lots of activity and color in the garden.

2021 was quite a year for me in the garden. I started a blog, to keep track of all of my adventures. We put in a wildlife pond, a new pollinator bed, built two more raised beds, filled the deck to bursting with pots, and I planted more seeds than ever. I added quite a few native plants to the yard, tried winter sowing, started growing a few exotic (for Central Ohio!) plants like pineapples and a banana tree, and I’ve stuffed every available surface indoors with potted plants.

The yard saw quite a few visitors this year, everything from dragonflies and bees, to hawks and cats. Our birdfeeder collection multiplied (much to the delight of the local sparrow population), and the compost pile has continued to grow, then break down, only to grow again.

Recently, our lemon tree has started forming flowers for the first time! I’m so excited at the prospect of lemons.

Our raised beds had a productive year. Things kicked off with asparagus and lettuce in the springtime, then the herbs, garlic, shallots, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and green beans from the summer into fall.

2021 was a warm year, and a wet one, too. According to the local weatherman, who keeps track of these sort of things, this will have been our 7th warmest year since 1879. Just this month, which has been unusually warm, we tied our record for the 3rd warmest December since 1878. We’ve spent a few days with the windows open this week, which has never happened before at this time of year. Our hellebores are budding already (which usually doesn’t happen until March or April) and while most of the perennials dies back last month when we had a bit of snow, the yard is looking pretty green.

I made a few ceramic tiles this fall, with impressions of ferns and leaves from the garden.

Despite the temperatures and rainfall, the garden seemed mostly happy this year. I only watered the pots and raised beds with veggies and annuals- all the plants and trees out in the flower beds were left up to their own devices. I put in a lot of natives, which grow very deep roots that can withstand the summer heat. And I tend not to plant perennials that require much in the way of fussing.

When not gardening, I spent some time crafting up artwork and gifts for friends and family, inspired by, and borrowing from the garden itself. I made up some beeswax candles with bits of dried lavender from the flowers beds. I also dried up a bunch of herbs, like thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, bay leaves, parsley, fennel, and dill, some of which ended up in mixes for friends. Finally, I made up some little clay tiles and pendants, which I “printed” with impressions of ferns and other plants around the yard. I painted them, and shipped them off for some one-of-a-kind art for friends. They turned out rather nicely, if I do say so myself, and I hope to make up some more.

The lavender candles, mid-wax-pouring

I’m really looking forward to the next gardening season. This winter, I’ll be working on my Master Gardener certification, and soon, it will be time to start sowing seeds again. I’ve already been pouring over the seed catalogues as they arrive, and may have already purchased my body weight in seeds… I’m excited to see which new (to me) plants, flowers, and trees catch my eye and end up in the garden this coming year.

As pandemic life continues, and things in the world feel uncertain, I hope that your garden is still bringing you peace and joy. While those seed catalogues pour in, and you find yourself deep into springtime daydreams, may 2022 find you safe and healthy. Happy gardening!

Summer and fall were filled with flowers and treats for the pollinators and I to enjoy!

I Think It’s Fall?

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Fall sunrises seem extra special, with the light shining on all the colorful leaves.

Anyone else having some odd weather? It’s mid-October, and here in Central Ohio, we’re having near record-breaking temperatures… it’s been close to 90 degrees, which is not at all what I expected when we made it home from our vacation. The weekend started off foggy and humid, but the sun came out quickly, blazing hot, and it’s been warm ever since. The trees have started changing color. Our locust tree has dropped most of her leaves. But, the crisp cool autumn days I live for every year are, well, not here yet.

Before our trip, I cleaned out most of the raised beds, planted cover crops, emptied the deck pots, and moved plants indoors. The water pump in the pond was brought in and de-algae-ified (that’s the technical term). I thought there’d be a frost while we were away, or that it would at least be cool enough out that the fledgling pineapple plants would have some words for me. But, the changing climate is definitely making an impact. It seems like every year here, autumn starts a little bit later.

We went for a hike at the local metro park to catch the foggy morning air over the prairie.

Looking online, our first frost date doesn’t seem to be listed as having changed, but my own notes indicate that the frosts here are happening later each October (I’ve taken notes on the daily temps each day for a few years now, because I am a data-loving weirdo). We’ve been setting record highs quite often over the past few years, and the last frost date in the beginning of springtime, in May, seems to be moving as well (towards the middle of the month).

Notes like these are handy when it comes to planting out tender vegetables like tomatoes in the spring, because a frost will kill them off. I’ve also been taking some notes about rainfall, when it’s happening, and how much. This year, we had a LOT more rain than usual, at times when it normally doesn’t occur. The summer months are usually dryer, but we had quite a few days with flooding rains. My tomatoes caught blight, so next year, I’ll look for some varieties that are less likely to catch this disease. And, I’ll plant them even farther apart so their leaves have a better chance at drying as quickly as possible, keeping the blight spores away.

This is the latest I’ve ever harvested peppers. Our italian sweet peppers seem to have enjoyed the extra steamy days this month.

For now, there’s really not much to do around the yard but wait for the frosts to arrive. Once they do, I’ll cut the hostas back to the ground (their leaves get really slimy after the cold hits), but everything else will stay put until the springtime. I know I’ve written about the benefits of waiting to do the annual clean up until the spring before, but I’ll just quickly recap to say it’s best for the wildlife to leave as much as you can standing. The birds, pollinators, and other insects will thank you, and your yard will be healthier and happier.

Since many of the flowers have finished for the season, my attention has really turned to the trees, both in and around our yard, and out at the park. Autumn is such an art show for trees in my area. I’m so fascinated by their display each year, because things always seem to look a little different. Water and temperature impact the color of the leaves, and of course, there’s always new trees, trees that are no longer growing, and trees that have grown quite a lot to change the landscape. This time of year, I find myself wandering out of my garden quite a bit more than usual for a nice walk in the woods.

Hopefully you are having a wonderful start to October and the fall season (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere). Happy gardening!

We’ve been having some really gorgeous sun rises, which I’m finally catching since the days are getting shorter and the sun pops up later each day.

Freezers: Not Just for Ice Cream

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Our calendula and marigolds, autumn joy sedum, lantanas, zinnias, coral honeysuckle, and nasturtiums continue to bring the color this year.

August carries on. The heat probably won’t really break until mid-October here, and the humidity makes just standing outside an unpleasant experience. Last week was filled with rain, sheets of it would come down every day. At least I didn’t have to water at all. And rain at this time of year usually makes for pretty autumn color from the trees come fall.

The cicadas are out in full force, screeching over the hum of the grasshoppers and crickets. This time of year is tough, for me. I really love autumn, and it feels so far away on these endless hot days. Summertime is probably my least favorite season, which is probably a weird thing for a gardener to say. I think I like fall and springtime best, though. I like the changing- the new life in spring after winters long, cold days where everything is finally wake up again. Then, in fall, where all the colors change and the air feels so crisp and cool. I like the feeling that a big shift is on the way.

The wildlife pond has been surprisingly easy to maintain. I haven’t had to add any water, and the bubbler is keeping it all moving around. I don’t touch the space at all, other than weeding as needed.

But, for now, it is definitely still summertime. Our monarch caterpillars have all finally made their lime-green and gold chrysalises. We could have our first hatching this upcoming weekend, though it will probably be next week before we see butterflies. The rest of the life on the deck seems to be thriving still. We have one last baby pumpkin ripening on the vine, and all the flowers are doing well. The other day, I saw a gorgeous tiger swallowtail hopping from zinnia to zinnia and enjoying the lantanas. It was looking a little beat up, but still flying fine. I checked the dill and fennel for eggs, but the butterfly was either a male, or it just didn’t have any eggs to lay. (Usually, you’re able to identify the gender of a swallowtail by their markings, but this one was missing pieces in the spots where I would normally do that).

I also saw a hummingbird on the deck yesterday. They’ve been all over our nasturtiums this year, as well as the zinnias. I’m definitely going to be growing zinnias from seed again next year- they’ve been a wildlife magnet this season.

This tiger swallowtail was a treat to watch!

Out in the yard, I’ve been continuing to harvest tomatoes, peppers, and green beans daily. The freezer is filling up with veggies, and the Family Canning Day for our salsa has been scheduled for the fall. It’s been a great year for tomatoes so far. I don’t want to jinx myself, but even with the extreme heat, I haven’t had any issues so far with blossom end rot like in years past. We seem to have had pretty steady rains, and when we haven’t, I’ve been keeping up with the watering and fertilizing. We’ll probably have at least another month/month and a half before there’s even a chance of frost, which is plenty of time for me to have to TETRIS the freezer contents to make everything fit.

The wildlife pond doesn’t have a lot blooming at the moment, but there’s lots of happy plants around the water. I see birds stop by every so often, and there’s usually a dragonfly or two hovering around the rocks. This past week, I had a huge surprise: a frog was sunning itself on the rock edge! When I put in the pond, my goal was to help attract wildlife to the area. I was so hoping for a frog, but the closest water to our house is a creek, some 100 yards away. I wasn’t sure any would find their way through the field, where the hawks and neighborhood cats hunt, to my little fenced-in water feature. But, this one made it. The husband named it Stanley, and Stanley likes to hide in the brush swimming all day. In the afternoon, Stanley sun bathes on the rocks, warming up and maybe grabbing a bite to eat. I hope Stanley tells its friends and they all have lots of lots of little froggo babies.

Stanley the Frog, soaking up some rays on the rocks around the pond.

Around the pond, I managed to do some weeding last week. Our original shade garden was looking extremely scruffy and there were SIX rogue tomato plants growing beside the compost bin. I removed them (seriously, I can barely keep up with all the tomatoes I planted on purpose) to inside the compost pile, and cleaned up the space.

The black-eyed susan’s in the front yard are looking extra gorgeous in their second year. Just beyond them is the new native plant bed.

In the rest of the beds, the mid-late summer plants are really starting to flower and come in, like the new england aster, black-eyed susan’s, and goldenrod. I do really enjoy these plants that stretch into autumn, giving the pollinators the extra boost they need for their flights south or to overwinter in the yard here. The swamp milkweed, which flowered earlier this year, is seeding already. The seed pods unfurl, revealing a bunch of dark brown seeds on tiny wisps of silky fluff that fly on the wind to carry the seeds to new homes. I collect most of mine to plant out the following year.

It’s easy to remove the seeds, and to get them to grow. The seeds just require the winter cold to break their dormancy and to open up their tough outer shells. You can either do this by placing them in the fridge, or simply planting them in the ground in late fall, the winter, or early spring. Last winter, I grew a bunch in milk jugs on the porch, using a process called winter sowing. It works shockingly well, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to grow native seeds in their spaces (if you have winter temperatures where you garden).

The milkweed starts looking pretty scruffy by this time of year. You can see the columns of brown seeds in the newly-opened pods, and a gaggle of tiny, yellow aphids, which usually haunt the milkweed in July and August. A few visits from a ladybug or a praying mantis will clear them right up!

Well, that’s all the news I have this week. Hopefully, Stanley will have a buddy soon, and we’ll see some more rain so I don’t have to get back to my watering schedule. I imagine I’ll see some more wildlife around the yard this week while harvesting herbs and veggies, and I might try making up a little flower arrangement. I don’t pick our flowers too often, but I always enjoy seeing them on the table when I do manage to put together a bouquet. I also have some dark purple pokeberries to harvest for use in dye projects later this year. Our poor freezer is going to be stuffed to the gills…

Happy gardening!

And suddenly, rain!

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The reds and oranges of these coral honeysuckle, nasturtiums, marigolds, and zinnia just scream summertime, to me.

It’s a rainy morning today. Actually, it’s looking like the whole week may be pretty rainy. After the extreme heat and thunderstorms we had last week, things are pretty water-logged, but at least I don’t have to go out to water, or weed. By this time of year, my motivation to do much of anything in the garden has waned. In my defense, most of my energy outdoors is spent picking veggies and herbs now-a-days, and by the time I have everything washed, blanched, peeled, diced, dried, and into the freezer or pantry, I’m pretty spent. The green beans and paste tomatoes, especially, are really demanding this month. Whose idea was it to plant so many this year anyway?!?

Our hungry little monarch caterpillars are going to town on the milkweed as they finish growing.

Up on the deck, our monarch caterpillars are starting to move into the next phase of their little lives. Yesterday, two of them formed their chrysalises, and the remaining cats are very close to leveling up as well. They really mowed down the milkweed plant I had in the butterfly house with them (as expected), but it’s always such a wonder to watch them grow up as quickly as they do.

Some of the lettuce in the garden bolted in the heat, but I let it keep going so it would flower for the pollinators. Aren’t the dainty little flowers pretty?!

The plants on the deck seem to be enjoying the heat and humidity this year. We have a third pumpkin growing beneath a lounge chair, and the rest of the flowers and herbs are still looking happy. Our ‘ever-bearing’ strawberries have started producing fruit for the second time this year, and they are even tastier than the first batch back in June. The three pineapple plants I started this year are also looking well. It’s still wild to me that you can bring a pineapple home from the grocery store, pop off the top, peel back a few leaves, and then plant the thing to grow a new pineapple. The process takes a bit of time, but still, I’m growing pineapples in Ohio. That’s pretty awesome.

The wee, baby pumpkin, hiding under my lounge chair on the deck.

Out in the rest of the garden, the summer season is definitely not nearing its end, but things are starting to shift. The cottonwood trees won’t start turning gold for another month, but the late summer flowers are starting to take over. Our goldenrods, joe pye weed, and new england aster have finally reached their full height (which is taller than I am), and the aster is starting to flower. The blanketflowers and some of the smaller grasses, like little blue stem provide a gorgeous fiery red and orange contrast to the tall, green plants behind them. I love the effect of having these prairie plant gems around the garden, and each provide important resources to the pollinators which are out and about in the late summer season.

Carnivorous plants seem like something that belongs in the jungle someplace, but these pitcher plants are actually native to our area. I started growing this one in our pond and it’s been happily munching away on mosquitoes as it grows in the water.

In garden-adjacent news this week, I am finally applying to become a Master Gardener. This program is something I’ve been interested in since I first heard about it, but the timing never worked out quite right. This year, I’m going to go for it. The program starts over the winter, with 50 hours of coursework covering a variety of horticultural topics, like botany and plant pathology. I’m really excited to learn more about the science of plants, soil, and the critters around the garden. After the classes are finished, the real work begins, with 50 hours of service at different community garden locations around the county. Once I have my certificate and become official, there will be more volunteer opportunities and I’ll be able to inflict (or share, depending on the audience) my new-found knowledge with others.

A few days ago, one of the cooper’s hawks that lives in the woods behind our house stopped by onto the deck for a visit and dinner. The whole yard went eerily still as this big lady sent all the other birds into hiding.

I’m really looking forward to process, and to learning how to better serve the life growing in my own yard, as well as being able to help out in the gardens around the city. Gardening has become my favorite past time (when the heat index isn’t over 100 degrees), and I’m itching to learn more. Also, maybe if I’m distracted by the coursework this winter, I’ll have less downtime to plant too many seedlings. Anything could happen, right?

Hope that, if it’s summertime in your area right now, things are growing well. Happy gardening!

The Rise of the Monarchs

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Some of the pretty summertime native plants and wildflowers are in bloom this week: swamp milkweed, anise hyssop, queen anne’s lace, new england aster, coreopsis, black-eyed susans, joe pye weed, and cranesbill

Happy August, everyone! August is usually our hottest month here in Central Ohio, but it’s hard to imagine it getting much warmer and humid than it was in July. We finally had some rain the other day, and the thunderstorms cooled things off a bit. I sprang into action to weed, tie up veggies, and deadhead a few of the annuals. I know these nicer temps won’t last long.

The daily green bean haul is getting out of control!

We had some exciting news last week in the garden. A friend who also helps to raise monarch butterflies had a bumper crop this year, and needed some assistance. She gave us ten little eggs, which have now all hatched. They start life as the most wee little creatures, but seem to double in size just about every day.

Monarchs life cycles kind of happen like clockwork. The heat and humidity will slightly impact the speed at which they grow, but for the most part, it’s pretty easy to track how long each will take to move from an egg, to a butterfly. Once the eggs hatch, the monarch caterpillars start munching on milkweed leaves. Milkweed contains a toxin that is poisonous for most animals (and humans) to eat, but monarchs contain a special protein in their bodies that keeps them safe. The caterpillars only eat milkweed plants, and this is why it’s vitally important to provide them access to native milkweed species in your garden (if you live in an area where you have monarchs!).

A few of the newly-hatched monarch caterpillars. They are hard to spot when they are this small!

As the caterpillars dine on the milkweed leaves, they grow, and quickly! As they bulk up, they shed their outer layer every few days, by molting. They will do this five times, growing larger and larger. Their antennae become longer, and their white, black, and yellow stripes really come in brightly. They have pretty cute little black feet, too, all the way down their bodies. Once they’ve made it to their fifth instar, (their fifth molt) the caterpillars are ready to form a chrysalis.

The caterpillars can crawl quite a ways to find the spot they’d like to utilize for this next step. Since we keep ours in a mesh butterfly house, they typically crawl up to the top of the enclosure, and then they form a little silk net to hang from. They shed a final time, and then form their chrysalis, which looks lime green with gold rings. While in this stage, which usually takes a few weeks, the caterpillars actually liquify inside of the chrysalis and then transform into butterflies. The shell of the chrysalis is clear, so as the butterflies form, you can actually see them inside. When they are close to emerging, you’ll be able to see the pretty black, white, and orange colors, and you’ll know it’s just about time!

This past week finally saw some much-needed rain. The pokeberries, pumpkins, bay laurel, cornflowers, hardy hibiscus, and lettuce were definitely pleased!

Once the butterflies bust out of their shells, they hang from their feet and pump hemolymph (a substance like blood) into their wings to stretch them out and once their wings dry off, which takes a few hours, they are ready to fly away for a snack and to make more butterflies. It’s a fascinating process to watch and one that I feel lucky to enjoy every summer.

In addition to our pollinating friends, we’ve recently received quite a few visits from a far more wily critter: a racoon. Based on the number of vegetables and fruit this little trash panda has been consuming, I’m shocked that he’s even able to scale our 6′ privacy fence. Every few days, he waddles up onto the porch for a night of wild partying and debauchery. He seems to have developed a taste for our peppers, ginger, and strawberries, and he’s not at all impressed by my arrangement of the deck pots. After each of his visits, I have to right the deck pots, and move them back into position.

The poor pumpkin carnage

I’d taken all of this pretty well, up to this point. I like that my garden doesn’t just belong to me, and I enjoy sharing it will the local wildlife. However, last week, the little bandit took things a step too far! We have a few pumpkins growing in the little patch on the deck, and our little friend decided to partake of the smallest one. On the plus side, at least we know they must be tasty little pumpkins! I hope to get a picture of the raccoon at some point. He must have quite the bowling ball belly going on with all the treats he’s been enjoying this summer.

Our freshly-ripening pumpkin- keep off, little friend!

As summertime charges on up in our hemisphere, I hope your garden is looking well, and that you have some time this week to sit back and enjoy it all! Happy Gardening!

Could It *Be* Any Hotter?

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The garden is full of color, from goldenrod, to madder root, pokeberries, prairie blazing star, joe pye weed, and heuchera

Does anyone else feel like summer is completely flying by?! I’m having trouble wrapping my brain around the idea that it’s going to be August in just a few days. It certainly doesn’t feel like fall is anywhere on the horizon, though. It’s been very hot and humid out, and we haven’t had any real rain in the garden in quite a few days. While I water the veggies and some of the other annuals, it’s hot summer days like these that make me grateful for all of our native plants. They are designed to withstand all the temperatures that Ohio has to offer, as well as a lack of rainfall. Most native plants have extremely deep root systems, so they can weather just about anything Mother Nature throws their way.

Spotted this katydid while watering… they have some seriously good camouflage going on!

Some of my favorite native plants are in bloom right now: the tall, willowy joe pye weed, the deep purple stalks of prairie blazing star, with flowers like fireworks, fiery pink echinacea (coneflowers), and the sunny, bright yellow rudbeckia (black-eyed susan’s). We have quite a few of each of these plants peppered all over the yard, and I love the bursts of color they provide. These flowers draw in plenty of pollinators, too, and it’s a joy to watch all of the bees and insects humming around the garden all day.

There’s lots of cheery golden color in the yard this summer: black-eyed susan’s, nasturtiums, sunflowers, tickseed, and blanketflowers

And, luckily for me, all of these gorgeous pollinators are benefitting the rest of the garden in a huge way, by pollinating the rest of our flowers and vegetables. The veggie garden is blowing me away this year. I’ve grown veggies for a few years now, but feel like, finally, I’m starting to understand what I’m doing. Our tomatoes and peppers have never looked happier, and I’ve been harvesting oodles of each a few times a week. The red skin potatoes have also continued producing plenty of goodies.

The potato and green bean plants are sending us a bountiful harvest this year!

Our two bunches of green beans, the marrowfat bush beans, and green pole beans are also going wild. I check the plants every morning while watering, and have been filling my pockets with piles of each for the past few days. The other night, we grilled up some steaks, and enjoyed the first of the green beans (cooked up with the shallots I harvested a few weeks ago, and some bacon), as well as the first of the potatoes. Being able to pop out into the garden to grab the veggies I’ll be cooking for dinner is such a treat. I love that I’ve watched their entire growth, from seed, to mealtime, and it’s important to me that no pesticides were used on our food.

The other day, while stuffing my pockets full of beans, as one does, I discovered something a little… odd. At the bottom of our steps leading off the deck, there were two plants growing that I had not planted. After a little inspection, I discovered that they were tomato plants. I have no clue how these two plants got there- it must have been from seeds that made it into the compost we used in the springtime? That or the birds have grown must more aggressive in their gardening techniques…

Two of the Rogue Tomatoes

Then, while watering the compost bin, I noticed another tomato plant growing beside it as well. That plant is most assuredly from some seeds that made it into the compost pile. I could pull the plants out, but anything that is fighting that hard to grow where it will deserves to keep at it, in my opinion. I’m curious to see what varieties these tomatoes will be, something that I grew this year, or in year’s past?

Spotted this gorgeous dragonfly yesterday. It was very tough to photograph, but I *think* it’s an eastern pondhawk dragonfly, a native in our region.

It looks like this week will continue our hot, summer weather. I imagine I’ll be outside harvesting lots more veggies and herbs, stalking the local bug population for pictures, and making sure my collection of odd (for Ohio) plants like our banana and lemon trees have plenty of food and water. I’m hoping the skies open up at some point so the neighbors aren’t subjected to my alarming attempts at rain dancing. I have some weeding to do, but have been trying to put it off for a cooler day… at this point, I may be waiting until winter if I keep stalling for reasonable weather.

Hope it’s nice out where your garden lives, and that you are able to get outside to enjoy it this week! Happy gardening!

A Whole New World, Garden Edition

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The deep red hardy hibiscus plant is in bloom again! I love it against the pink echinacea and light purple anise hyssop.

I was away from the garden for a bit, and when I returned, it felt like a whole new space. So many flowers were in bloom, and the near constant rain we had helped add a ton of growth to all the plants. The gardens are looking pretty jungle-ish now, all sprawling with lots of green leaves and summertime color.

The hostas, garden phlox, sunflowers, bergamot, cranesbill geraniums, blanket flowers, penstemon, zinnias, borage, cornflowers, day lilies, and coneflowers are still blooming their little heads off, and the blazing star, joe pye weed, jacob’s ladder, hardy hibiscus, and black-eyed susan’s are now also flowering. Mid-summer in the garden seems to be the time for bold, bright color. Even our amaryllis bulb is about to flower again! It lives in doors all winter, usually blooming a little after New Years’ Day, and I plant it out in the summertime to recharge. I can’t believe it’s about to flower for the second time this year. I must be doing something right!

Met this little grasshopper while watering the pumpkin patch.

With all the flowers blooming away happily, lots of pollinators have been visiting each day. The gardens are packed with happy bees, butterflies, moths, and other pollinators. The black swallowtail caterpillar I rescued from some carrots a few weeks ago made its chrysalis and hatched yesterday. She has gorgeous black wings, tipped with yellow, orange, and blue. I found a second caterpillar on the carrots over the weekend and escorted it into the butterfly enclosure to grow up safely as well. The monarchs should also be visiting the yard soon. I’m keeping an eye on all the milkweed plants for eggs and caterpillars. They always find their way here!

The newly-hatched Black Swallowtail Butterfly <3

In food news, it’s been a bumper crop for all of our herbs. I’m continuing to harvest chives, chamomile, mint, basil, oregano, parsley, dill, fennel, thyme, lavender, and rosemary every week. Some of the herbs are dried, and some I freeze. Many of the things I use most, like basil, I’ll probably bring indoors once it cools off this fall to keep growing. Being able to enjoy fresh herbs year-round is a treat.

Our sugar pie pumpkins are growing! I am SO excited!

When I left, the pumpkin plants were flowering and the vines were winding their way around the deck. They are now taking over the chaise lounge and grill, and we have three baby pumpkins growing! The pumpkins are already about 5″ tall, and still green. I am day-dreaming about the pumpkin pies the husband will be making us to enjoy this fall and through the winter. It seems a bit odd to be thinking about fall crops when it’s in the 90s outside, but at least something enjoys this hot summer weather we’re having!

Somewhere under the green beans lives a trellis. These pole beans are growing wild in the heat and rain! The lettuce growing next to the beans is also a bit unruly. We can’t eat the stuff quickly enough!

Out in the raised beds, I picked our first tomato this weekend! It was one of the san marzano paste tomatoes. The sweet italian pepper plants have also been going wild- I’m pulling off peppers a few times a week now, and dicing and freezing them for use in the family salsa we make up and can each fall. This weekend, I also harvested our garlic, which is now drying in the pantry. The lettuce we have is growing larger than I’ve ever had lettuce grow before- it’s absolutely delicious, and has made for some excellent salads.

The jacob’s ladder flower is in bloom! She lives in the shade, by the wildlife pond. I love her dainty, pale purple flowers.

I also pulled up our first carrots and a leek. The rest could use a little more growing time to bulk up, but the first ones look quite tasty and will be used in some salads this week. It was really nice at the grocery store, just breezing through the produce section- everything I’d normally buy, we have growing in the garden!

Harvest Day! I pulled up the garlic, a tomato, some peppers, red potatoes, a few wee carrots, and a leek. Yum!

Finally, I harvested the first of our red potatoes this week. That was really exciting. It’s my first year growing potatoes, and wow, I will definitely be doing that again next year. What an easy, no maintenance crop. I popped the starters in a grow bag about four months ago, and that was it. I didn’t water them much, no fertilizer, no pruning or trellising… nothing to it, just some dirt and sunshine! To harvest, I just dumped out the bag on a mat, and grabbed my spuds. The first bag had a nice little bounty, and I have three more bags to go through this week. I washed them off, and set them in the pantry to store. Can’t wait to try them out!

The black-eyed susan’s are always so cheery, and the bees love them!

This week looks to be another hot one, but things are drying out a bit. I have some weeding and pruning to do to tame the jungle a bit. I may fertilize the tomatoes and peppers again here and I’d like to do a little clean-up around the pond (the creeping charlie is starting to creep a little too much). It may be about time to harvest the bulk of the basil for some pesto-making as well. That, or I’ll just sit down next to the anise hyssop and bergamot to listen to the bees for awhile.

Hope your week is enjoyable and relaxing. Happy gardening!

The zinnias, blazing star, cranesbill geraniums, hostas, and garden phlox are putting on a real show!