Garden With Me

Wild Fires in Texas

2011-09-07T03:46:00.000-07:00

It is heart breaking to see fellow Texans lose their lives and homes to this devastation. Please pray for all of Texas and for the ones whom have lost their homes. A Mother and her child lost their lives in the fires just days ago. Please give to the American Red Cross or give where you can in any way, blankets, money, any thing.....please pray.

New Blog

2011-01-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

This blog is closing and will be combined over at:

http://www.ourhillcountryretreat.blogspot.com/

Thank you and I hope you follow me there! Pamie G.

Not much going on

2011-01-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

End of year was so busy that I have had not much time to post anywhere. I am going to work on a new website combining all my loves and will post the change here. Happy New Year! Pamie G.

Growing Cotton

2010-10-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

I have been reading with great interest home gardeners growing cotton. There is a horrible pest called the boll weevil that invades cotton crops and for this reason, if your state farmers grow cotton, it is rumored to be illegal for you to grow it in your home garden. I think there could be a very good reason for this -- the same reason why Texas won't let citrus be brought it in from Arizona and Florida, there is no control over hobby farming to maintain a pest free product. So please, please....if you live in the state of Texas, do not grow cotton in your garden. Texas Department of Agriculture told me that until Texas is totally eradicated, to please not grow cotton in your home gardens and that there was a $5,000 fine for doing so! Yikes, I won't be doing that and I hope people reading my blog will pass it on. Let's don't ruin someone's crop!

Fall Gardening

2010-09-30T03:49:00.000-07:00

Don and I have been working very hard on our property. I mixed three bags of compost in my raised beds in the vegetable garden and turned the soil very well! I planted broccoli, Big Boy tomatoes, two kinds of lettuce, onions plants and sugar pea pods' seeds and corn seeds. This is my first time fall gardening so I am excited. The pumpkin vines continue to grow but only one tiny little pumpkin on it. Also the last of the watermelon vine is still growing with two melons on the vine.

For the front porch, I repotted my urns with pansies, mums and ivy. A friend from dh's work sent me six Blue Tequila Agave. I will share them with my friend R and my neighbor C. He has more too!

Happy Fall Gardening Friends! Pamie G.

Weekend Gardening with my Wonderful Husband

2010-08-10T04:06:00.000-07:00

Don and I worked many hours in the front of our property. He is wonderful and we are finally starting to look neat!

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches

2010-08-03T04:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a Peach of a day! I made pineapple-peach preserves and four of them I added pecans! Today I will finish them off making freezer jam and a Peach Cobbler!

Watermelon from seed...

2010-07-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

I am feeling so accomplished. Here is my Sugarbaby watermelon that I grew from seed I picked from MY garden tonight! So cute....hope it tastes good. It is light yellow on the bottom and when I thump it, it sounds hollow...instructions I read on when to pick it! I will cut it tomorrow!

Rain!

2010-07-27T03:37:00.000-07:00

I spent four hours mowing and weedeating today. I put down 5lbs of Scotts Southern Weed and Feed for Zoysia grass on the front just before the sky opened up and watered it in for me. Thank you God! I can always count on you!

Lemon Cucumber

2010-07-22T18:16:00.001-07:00

I love trying something new or unique in the garden and this cucumber is at the top! It is so pretty and I have read that it is called "lemon" not for it's taste but for it's shape similar to that of a lemon! I will try it out tomorrow! Happy Gardening! Pamie G.

There's is blooming indoors today....

2010-07-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

makes me smile....

Maniac Gardening

2010-07-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

My garden has gone crazy...I have never had so much to grow so fast in such a short period of time. I have under mulch drip lines but have only used them twice this summer since we have had so much rain. I am feeling like it needs to be tidied up a bit, help!!!
This is my flower bed!

This is my kitchen garden, tomato plants and cucumbers and somewhere hidden is a pepper plant!

This is my front porch area, the verbena has grown like weeds and not flowering as much as the spring, should I cut it back?

Fall Gardening

2010-07-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it is almost time to start Fall gardening! The next round of tomato plants will be going in shortly. I will pull out the ones I planted (I won't name the brand because it could just be me!) and replace it with a local suggested tomato plant. My cucumbers have not produced too much and my blue lake green beans are just starting. That really seems strange to me! Anyway, I found an awesome chart for our area to share:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/fallgarden/fallgrowing.html and our gardening region guide for Texas (mine is III)
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/fallgarden/zones.html
and for direct seeding:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/fallgarden/falldirect.html

I was just out in the garden collecting cukes, squash, tomatoes and put them in the window above my sink, it is about full don't you think? :)

Happy Gardening my friends! Pamie G.

Dynamite!!!

2010-07-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

I have searched every where for a "Dynamite" Crepe Myrtle....the red is just beautiful! Ace Hardware rocks, got one yesterday!!! I wish they had more than one -- I just love these trees!

Vegetables are coming in!

2010-07-02T03:06:00.000-07:00

My neighbors and I are sharing the bountiful wealth of our garden. I picked jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, zucchini yesterday. My neighbors brought me lemon tomatoes (so delicious), greenbeans and cucumbers. For dinner I boiled the green beans in spices, then sauteed them in maple bacon and sweet Texas onion. OMG...they were so delicious. There is nothing like home grown vegetables! And at this early hour, the rain is pouring down!

Lavender Festival -- Blanco, Texas

2010-06-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

My favorite festival in Texas!! My neighbors and I had such a wonderful time and they gave me a surprise birthday party on the way there! There were over 82 different varieties in the Variety Garden!

My favorite thing to do this time of year!

2010-06-10T20:00:00.001-07:00

http://www.blancolavenderfest.com/ -- my neighbors and I are having a party tomorrow!

A day's work paid off.....

2010-06-03T04:30:00.000-07:00

I spent all day wednesday potting up plants, dividing plants, added three trailor loads of mulch to my vegetable garden and mowing (for the first time) my new front yard that we seeded and.......thank you God for the blessing of rain to complete my day. I can always count on you!

Should I flower or should I not?

2010-05-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today one of my full grown hen and chicks flowered....sadly that just means death....I hope all the babies wait a while!

Come Fly with me....

2010-05-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

I promised Hannah that she could see the process of life with a Swallowtail Catepillar! I planted fennel and parsley -- and yes, they came. My neighbor loaned me an aquarium and here we have the beginning of what will be a fabulous educational project with her and my grandsons!

Outdoor Wednesday

2010-05-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Prettiest Bluebonnet of all!

This is my first outdoor Wednesday -- hope you enjoy!

Choosing Flowerpot colors with their flowers and surroundings

2010-05-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere recently about choosing the right color combinations for your flowerpots, flowers and surroundings and it sounded good, so I decided to put it to practice. I have three lightweight material flowerpots I use on my deck. I bought two mandevilla, one white and one cherry, and one purple fountain grass. I have green, white and red wood colored pots. It was easy choosing the pot for the white mandevilla. The green pot made it show up beautifully. The purple grass was perfect in the white pot as it seem to showcase the beautiful purple upright grass blades and last but not least, the cherry mandevilla with a redwood trellis in a redwood colored pot on my redwood cedar deck....see how easy that was!

Red Sky In The Morning, Sailors Take Warning

2010-05-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

We had a really good lightening and thunderstorm last night. I love the way my flowers dance in the raindrops....taking in every bit of moisture!

Grasshoppers!

2010-05-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

Name one good thing about thing, arghhhhhhhhhh

Plumeria are budding out!

2010-05-14T03:44:00.000-07:00

I love it when my Plumerias bud out early in the summer! I will have to find a place to put them all this year!