Rain, Rain, Flow Into My Rain Garden

It has been a wild wet spring as well as the start of summer here in Southwestern Pennsylvania. We have had such an abundance of rain that I can't even get in to my rain garden to weed it out and expand it. For the first time since planting my rain garden, I have standing water again in my lower yard. The garden usually remains damp throughout the summer but it has rained so much that that it can't take on anymore water. In the past water would lay in my lower yard for days. Over the past two years, I have slowly expanded this area and plan on doubling the size of the garden again this summer. Plants wait in my driveway and porch to be planted. Plants in the garden such as Joe Pye Weed and Green Eyed Coneflower look like they are on steriods because the abundance of water.

In the last seven days the garden has collected about 91 gallons of rain water. Since the completion of the garden in the fall of 2008, the garden has been estimated to have collected 2,942 gallons of water. That is pretty awesome for a 195 sq. foot garden. Thanks to a program established with Three Rivers Rain Garden Alliance, they are able to estimate the collection of rain water in each registered garden.

Learn more about rain gardens in the Pittsburgh area by going to:
http://raingardenalliance.org/ or look to lots of good resources on the internet and think about those wet areas in your yard that could benefit from a rain garden.

If You Can't Beat it Join In

While visions of flowers and spring planting dance in my head....the only thing that is visible is lots of snow. Before the big snow fall of February, I actually saw some of my daffodils pushing their leaves out of the ground. At this time of the year I would be seeing the first blooms of my Witch hazels but all I see are small tress buried in snow. And before I built a snow wall, the deer decided that they would eat half of my Oakleaf Hydrangea to the ground.

So if I can't fight the snow , or the deer, I may as well have some fun with it. Pardon me as I share some fun with my furry friend. I took time from all the snow shoveling to dig a dog run around our home. It became the envy of the neighborhood. Here is my Merit enjoying her time in the snow. Time change is less then three weeks away. Hopefully Spring is not far behind.

Planting Bulbs and Garlic

A special friend of mine gave a talk this past Sunday on bulb and garlic planting. As he shared some of his favorite bulbs, he reminded me of how much they can remind us of our past. He always plants yellow crocuses because they remind him of his old homestead and his mother.

I too remember my grandfather's bulbs blooming each spring. He had one area of his yard that was more of a naturalized area where he would plant crocuses, tulips, grape hyacinth and the annual hyacinth plant we would always give him each Easter. We would walk down there each spring to see if the crocuses were blooming yet because it was a sure sign that spring had finally arrived. Those bulbs are still there today, some 100 years later.

My father still lives on a piece of that property and owns that parcel of land where my grandfather always gardened. He gave up a portion of his father's estate money so he could own that bit of land. He added a huge daffodil bed that contains thousands of bulbs. Last fall we dug up many of them to thin them out and I planted some of them at my new home.

My father also has hundreds of tulip bulbs along his sidewalk and driveway. What a sensational site to see each year. The few tulips that I have planted in my garden must be encased in deer netting to help them survive any attacks from these voracious visitors. But seeing my father's daffodils bloom in my yard last spring made me feel like I had a little part of him with me.

My friend told the guests at his lecture that he tells his own sons that some day they will come back to their homestead and remember planting all the daffodil bulbs and be amazed at how they have colonized throughout their woodlands.

All his stories made me think of my own wonderful memories. Not only did I leave with the ten daffodil bulbs that were given to each attendee, but I also purchased another fifty. There was only one small detail I that I did not really think about while taking my sentimental journey. I have to get out there and plant them all of them before the ground freezes. So much for memories.....back to reality.

Buckeye Barns are wonderful!

I have been searching for a good quality utility shed for over the past two years and have finally found and installed one that I am really happy with. First, most sheds that I have found consist of pressed wood, particle board or plywood. Secondly, most came prebuilt or prefabbed. And finally, the price was so high that I would have to go in debt to afford one.

I did find one company in eastern PA that will deliver these beautiful buildings but they would have cost a small fortune. My last shed was built by my dad and me. It was a salt box pattern that I found in one of my garden magazines. I was at the point of building my own shed again when I found Buckeye Barns out of Ohio.

These barns are absolutely beautiful and made from real natural solid wood. The floor is tongue and groove plank flooring that can hold an elephant or vehicles. The side walls are tongue and groove horizontal siding so that you never get water in the seams like those that are built vertically. The building is built on site from the ground up. There is nothing prefab about it. But best of all is the price is easy on the wallet. Most people have said that they could never afford a shed like this . When I priced several prefab buildings they ran several thousand dollars more than this shed cost me. So if you are near PA or Ohio, by all means consider a Buckeye Barn.

I have attached the pictures of one man constructing our 10 by 12 building with double lofts in one day.

Invincibelle Spirit Campaign

I received a blog entry from Tim Woods, The Plant Hunter this week about Proven Winner Color Choice pairing up with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to raise $1,ooo,ooo.oo for breast cancer research. They are calling it the Invincibelle Spirit Campaign and we’ll be donating $1.00 for each Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea sold towards the cause.

http://plant-quest.blogspot.com/2009/07/steal-this-widget-and-save-lives.html

At the end of June, one of the women that regularly participates in discussions on The Organic Gardeners Forum shared with us that she was about to undergo her third breast cancer surgery. Two of these surgeries were in May and now the third one was a little over two weeks ago. What was truly inspiring was how important her gardens have become in her recovery. Though I have never met her in person, her incredible spirit and love for live shows through in her entries.

A number of years ago, I lost a very dear friend to breast cancer. She unfortunately went through the struggles to get one of the trial drugs that are now commonly used drugs to help people survive this horiffic disease. Through the generous donations from the people at my workplace, I designed and planted a garden at my work place in memory of her. I asked her what was her favorite flower color and she of course said pink. The bed still thrives today with lovely pink tulips and bleeding hearts in the spring and lots of pink coneflowers and bee balm throughout the summer. Whenever I put time weeding, watering or dividing plants I think of her and her courageous fight against breast cancer. She loved gardening as much as I did and even more, she loved life.

Another of our forum members said that she has found so much strength from her garden and that she was going to plant a pink flowering plant in honor of breast cancer survivors. So I found it very fitting to share this information and encourage each of you that may read this to get involved in helping breast cancer research by purchasing an Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea. This plant is due out on the market in 2010. http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/inv_spirit.html

Do it for your mother, your sister, your daughter, your grandmother and for all the women in your life. Here is the link to donate if you should so also wish to do so.

https://support.bcrfcure.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=31

Holy Hot Peppers!

It is my usual daily walk through my vegetable area. The dog looks for me to take her with me. Ahh...I should put her eCollar on but figure we are only going to the backyard so she should be fine as long as I keep her near me. We walk out back to look at the plants and everything looks okay. Potatoes look great, onions need to be pulled, cucumbers are forming nicely, lettuce is going to seed and there is some garlic ready to pick. I head to my earthgrow boxes of tomatoes and cauliflower to put water in the storage well. I turn the water off and start back to the house. I take a look at the bell peppers and eggplant and reach down to touch an unidentified hot pepper just before going in. Some are about 2 to 3 inches long and are just about rip. I am tempted to sample one to see how hot it is but decide that I better not because I may regret it and head back to the house because it is starting to rain again. I get to the porch with the dog in front and I can't resist stopping to deadhead a flower on a geranium plant. My mistake.

My dog takes off ahead of me and makes a mad dash to the front street. When I round the corner I see the neighborhood bully dog walking up the street. I reach for the remote control and realize that my dog does not have her E. Collar on and my worst nightmare is coming true right in front of my very eyes. I brace for the bloodshed, fur flying and emergency room visit for the dog and for me. The woman starts screaming hysterically and is trying to drag her dog into my neighbors front yard. She is a petite feet tall, weighs all but 100 pounds and she has this massive German Shepherd in a death grip. It is taking all of her strength to hold him. I yell for my dog and she is still on the move and then one big yell to come and she suddenly turns and comes back. I give her an emergency down and she drops in the driveway. I breath a sigh of relief and thank God for attending dog obedience classes. The woman is pale white and probably thinking that she is never coming up this street again. I take my dog by the collar and haul her inside as I mumble under my breath, "Why did I not give her the dog pamphlet for our local dog training center". Unfortunately my dog has a good memory and does not forget that this dog goes on attack mode each time he walks by us when we are out walking.

In my haste I forget that I was going in to wash my hands. Now there is sweat rolling off my brow partly from the humidity, partly from the stress of the situation and most likely from the surge of hormones that leads to a hot flash. I wipe my forehead and mouth. Suddenly my skin lights up on fire. My lip and throat start burning, my temples are throbbing and my left nostril is stinging. I remember that I touched the hot pepper and never washed my hands.

Going back to the end of May, I went plant shopping for my annual vegetables. I came to the bell peppers and selected a nice three pack. I planted them and in a matter of a few weeks realized that I did not have bell peppers but that someone moved a hot pepper into the section of bells and I end up getting the wrong plant. I don't have the heart to throw them out and figure I will give them to this nice older gentleman in my church and my brother who love hot peppers.

Now I am basically thinking lots of nasty thoughts in my head. I am mad at the dog for taking off and now have her in a down stay. She does not move and she dare not look at me. I am splashing water on my face with no success. I get the Dawn dish detergent and put it on my hands. After all Dawn is boasted as the degreaser they used to clean wildlife in the Valdez oil spills. Everytime I think I am fine and touch another spot, the burn starts again. I go and scrub my face again and again. Three hours later and my lips are still tingling and my skin feels like I got into a batch of Stinging Neetle.

Do I rip the peppers out, ask my new neighbors from Brazil if they are in to hot peppers, or print a disclosure warning and make everyone sign a waiver that does not hold me personally responsible for their injury or death? I dare not give them to the older gentleman at church for fear he will need to call 911 after eating them.

There is one bright moment in all this pandemonium. I can not wait to go to dog obedience class this week and thank all the trainers for teaching me an emergency down and a good recall. And to boot, my dog never moved from her downstay for 20 minutes which is a new record time for her. Now what to do with those darn hot peppers?

You say Tomato and I say Tomahto. First it was Salmonella and now it is Late Blight..Now what do you do?

It wouldn't be summer without an annual vegetable scare. Last year it was the Salmonella scare. Was it tainted tomatoes or tainted onions? I wasn't worried because I grew my own. Now this summer it is Late Blight. It is the same strain that caused the Irish Potato famine. Read what the Pittsburgh Post Gazette had to say about Late Blight hitting the eastern US.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Late blight can also affect potatoes and eggplants. This one more reason why gardeners need to support their locally grown nurseries. Most of mine start their plants on site and sell them to their consumers. I also find that big box stores may sell them cheaply but they do not have the variety that can be found from the locals. In our area, we have a place that specializes in heirlooms. Heirlooms can often be found to have better durability to disease then some of the common hybrid that everyone seeks. Better yet,...there is no greater satisfaction then starting plants from seed. It is a fun process and a great learning experience for young and old alike.

There are some organic treatments that can help supress late blight spread such as copper sprays and compost tea foilage spraying. But proper planting, watering and mulching can make all the difference in growing a healthy plant.

So please Mr. Late Blight, don't come stocking my plants....because "No tomatoes!" is fightin' words. There is nothing better than the taste of fresh off the vine rippened tomatoes. Ask anyone and they will tell you there is no comparison.