During the winter, these books give food for thought, ideas to incorporate in your garden for the following year. In other words, these books can give you another view on not only how others garden, but why they garden the way they do.

Burpee Complete Flower Gardener (Burpee) This is one of those must have garden books. My copy shows signs of wear as I've spent many hours planning the flowers for the previous years gardens. I've also loaned out to friends and amazingly enough got it back. Most of the time it was after the person ordered their own copy! What I really liked were the photos, but the growing tips were also a big help as well.

The Best Flowers for Midwest Gardens: The Plants You Need to Create Spectacular Low-Maintenance Gardens That Bloom with the Seasons Year After Year This book is an oldie, but definitely good one. I entirely forgot about it, till the people who had bought our former home in Indiana mentioned it in the holiday letter they sent.  The tips included were very helpful. In fact, the gardens were one of the reasons the couple bought the house, especially when we said they were low-maintenance. So we left the book and the gardens as well. I do miss all the lilies in the front beds and the red buds in the back yard in springtime. It's amazing how each part of the country has its special plants, those you like in each garden.

Planthropology: The Myths, Mysteries, and Miracles of My Garden Favorites Though I haven't seen this book yet by Ken Druse, it's on my list of books to get. I first became acquainted with Ken Druse's writing when he wroteThe Passion for Gardening. Druse writes in an entertaining yet informative style. It's like sitting down listening to an old friend who loves gardening. You both share the interest and the conversation is always a good one.

Potted History: The Story of Plants in the Home If you've always wondered why certain houseplants are popular and then go out of style, this unique history of indoor house plants is a good guide. It gives the reader the fashion approach to why certain plants are popular and the reasons why. Truly a different gardening book for the gardener who has everything.

The Water Garden This is one of those beautiful coffee table books with a difference. Leslie Geddes-Brown is a former gardening editor for an architectural magazine. The photos of the gardens clearly show her flair for picking exquisite gardens for illustration. But it is her glossary of plants to choose which make this book a truly unique one. If you are looking for inspiration as to how to incorporate a water feature in your yard, then this book can provide many suggestions.

Art and the Gardener If you are an artist or hope to be one, this book can show you how to transform your like for a particular period in art and translate it into a garden. Through pictures and words Gordon Haywood takes the reader step by step on a plant to translate a period or style  of art feel into a living piece of art.  The illustrations are gorgeous and I guarantee after reading this book, you'll never look at a garden in the same way again.

Enjoy the reading. Let me know your favorite gardening books so I can add some to my list as well. After all, I do need to get some new titles to explore this winter.

All in a gardener's day,

My thanks to jnystrom for the use of the photo.

What I like about this rain catcher is that it has a built in hose, so no heavy lifting. You can use either the built in brass faucet or the built in hose.

And all during the winter you can recycle dead leaves, eggshells, and other table scraps that would just go in the garbage and landfill. With a quick rotate once a week, come spring your garden will be able to have some rich compost.

This shopping online is great. No problem with parking at the mall or dealing with traffic.
All in a gardener's day,

Decorating the inside of your home for the holidays is always a fun part of the holidays. Here's some ornaments that can go on your tree or mantle.They are replicas of the old time gazebos part of many gardens. The green ornament reminds me of the orchid conservatory on the Bonnet House grounds right on Ft. Lauderdale's beach.

For those who prefer old fashion garden lights I found these pretty replicas. I've ordered these ones for my wife. She likes having different table arrangements and the description says you just add LED tea lights. Sounds like just the thing she'd enjoy.

I've also added some solar lights for the garden. These stars can replace the solar lights on the patio for the month of December and January. While it's a little chilly to have a glass of wine outside and admire them, I know I'll enjoy them through the patio doors.

Hope you've enjoyed looking at these pretty choices for the holidays. I'm working on my holiday list for tools and things for the kids and my wife to pick up. Will share those with you in the next few days. Enjoy the holiday season with your family.

All in a gardener's day,

For those of you in milder climates, who haven't had snow yet, I received an interesting news release about Epsom salts. Yes, Epsom salts, the thing your grandmother suggested for achey muscles. The Epsom Salt Council, honest there is one, put out suggested uses for epsom salts.  Epsom salts has magnesium in it which helps seeds germinate, so when your flowers and lawn are ready for growing next spring the magnesium will be there ready to use.

• For spring ready beds, as you till and turn over the soil add 1 cup of Epsom salts every 100 feet. Or just mix into the soil before planting.
• Don't ignore your lawn now that the growing season has slowed down. Apply three pounds of Epsom Salt for every 1,250 square feet with a spreader or dilute in water and apply with a sprayer.
• Give your compost pile a boost. Compost can provide a constant source of fertilizer and soil conditioner for your yard. Add a cup of Epsom Salt to your compost pile every 2 weeks.
• For those on the west coast, if you plan on planting some shrubs or evergreens before winter really sets in, add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt for every 9 feet. Reapply over the root zone every 2-4 weeks.
• For those of us who container garden,  dilute 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts per gallon of water; feed plants monthly.

One advantage of using epsom salt is the low cost. Also it doesn't burn like using nitrogen based fertilizers. Dissolves and goes right into the soil. Evidently sage doesn't like it though. So for all the herb gardeners, skip the epsom salt on your sage plants. And if you have some Epsom salts left over, put 2 cups in a hot tub. Get in and let your muscles unwind.

All in a gardener's day,

Thanks to Billy Alexander for the generous use of the tomato graphic.

Today I'm getting to enjoy the last of the tomatoes from the garden as well as the bakers dozen of sweet potatoes. All were grown in their container and thrived throughout the heat of the summer and those cool autumn days.

The harvested plants are being recycled as part of the mini compost pile I've made at the corner of the garden. And so the plants will continue the cycle of renourishment for the next generation of plants in my garden.

No matter where you are, I wish you a bountiful harvest and times for which you can give thanks.

I'm off for my slice of pumpkin pie.

All in a gardener's day,

Photo courtesy of Monmart

As the holidays approach I'm seeing more and more of the showy Christmas cactus. These tropical houseplants are fun and easy to grow. Though they grow in a similar environment to orchids, the Christmas cactus doesn't require as much care as the orchid in order to produce its flowers. It's an ideal container gardening plant as it can live quite easily inside.

A long living plant, some Christmas cactus plants have even been passed on beyond one generation indeed lasting hundreds of years.  To insure lots of flowering of these plants, it's important to remember a couple of tips on  light, temperature and amount of watering.

Christmas cactus likes darkness at night, so place the plant where it receives total darkness at night and indirect sunlight by day.Professional growers encourage these plants to blossom for the holidays by putting them in darkness for up to 3/4 of the day.  A tropical plant originally from the Brazilian mountains, where warm sunny days mixed with cool nights the Christmas cactus requires humidity to successfully grow and blossom.

It's a good idea to place the plant pot on top of a humidity tray (gravel on a saucer filled halfway with water).  Even though the plant likes humidity it does not like wet feet.  Over watering is a cause of the flower buds dropping off the plant.  The Christmas cactus flowers best when pot bound.

Want to create more plants? Break off a segment of the plant, dip in rooting hormone and place in potting soil. In about 2-3 weeks your new cutting should be nicely rooted.

As it's easy to grow and care for, the Christmas cactus is particularly well suited to adaptive gardening and enabled gardening. Consider this a plant to add to your inside plant collection for adaptive gardening enjoyment.

All in a gardener's day,

Photo courtesy of Emmanuelm

When the writers Clodagh & Dick Handscombe mentioned you could grow strawberries, citrus, peach apple, pear, pomegranate , avocado and fig trees in less than a square metre it got me to thinking.   They suggested using dwarf root stocks in containers filled with nutrient rich soil in well draining containers.

Fruit trees offer many benefits. Flowering in the spring then filling with fruit in the summer and finally the colors of autumn. The fruit trees are truly a multi season plant to not only bear fruit but color your yard. And it's just perfect for a small yard or balcony. Imagine home grown kiwi.

I've had fruit trees but always grew them in the ground. Never ever thought of putting them in containers.  So as I sit here I'm looking at fruit trees in the plant catalogues online.

Peaches grow really well in this part of Texas so will see which dwarfs will grow well. Also will need to look for some sterile trees as the odds of finding another fruit tree to pollinate will not be really good odds.  I've grown strawberries in a field and in one of those strawberry barrels. I could fit a strawberry barrel next to the bouganvilla.  Lemons also are a good choice.

Olive trees are also another type of fruit growing well in south Texas. In reading it seems like most of these dwarfs are grafted to a particular type of root stock to keep the tree small. And some are kept small by using bonsai techniques.  All sorts of possibilities

All in a gardener's day,

Photo courtesy of Dr. Zsolt Zátrok

The dragonfly is made of specially designed paper with wildflower seeds placed in the paper. Originally conceived as a wedding favor, I see this idea could be used by businesses who want to promote themselves supporting the environment.

What better way to do that than giving customers some seeds to plant.  The dragonfly is planted and blossoms come spring. What a great way to improve your corner of the world! It sure beats having some pen that never writes.

You can find out more information for using this to promote a business or to use as a wedding favor at Once Upon A Favor

All in a gardener's day,

When you look at the tips they're really about common sense gardening. Native plants have learned to adapt to their environments. So often when we choose a plant we do so because we find a picture we admire or hope to duplicate in our own garden. Sometimes it works but often the plant doesn't make it.

Mulching is always a good way to keep the moisture in the soil and prevent weeds from overtaking the garden. In addition mulch decomposes to make rich fertilizer. I'm always amazed at how composting and mulch can make a difference in the soil.

When I started my patio garden not quite two years ago the soil could have passed for chunks of broken cement. Though I still garden in containers, the base soil is becoming enriched with the mulch and compost I spread on the ground.

The pothos left in an old pot by the previous owners has now moved out of its pot and is trailing the length of the garden. It makes for a lushly green ground cover. Just shows what a little water, mulch and natural fertilizers can do.

Take a moment, please and share your tips on how you've decreased the use of pesticides in your garden. Thanks in advance for sharing.

All in a gardener's day,

Photo courtesy of Mateusz Stachowski

Here's some reasons to consider stopping or at least decreasing pesticide use in your garden:

• Pesticides are toxic to many forms of life. Beneficial insects such as ladybugs and honeybees can be killed by pesticides which can lead to worse insect problems in the future.
• Pesticide residues can accumulate in the food chain. These traces may cause damage to birds, fish and other forms of animal life. In many cases these side effects are not immediately apparent, but may show up later, for example, in the abnormal eggs of birds that have eaten pesticide-laced insects.
• Children are especially at risk from pesticides and are much more susceptible to these chemicals than adults. Kids have more skin area relative to body volume than adults and their skin may be more permeable to pesticides. Young kids also tend to play for hours in the yard, putting dirty fingers, other objects and dirt in their mouths.
• Pesticides don’t remain on your lawn and garden. Storm water runoff carries toxins into nearby streams, rivers and lakes harming fish and other water wildlife. These water bodies may also be the source of your drinking water.
• Many pesticides contain ingredients known or suspected of causing cancer. Studies also suggest strong associations between pesticides and other serious health consequences.  (Source: David Suzaki Foundation)

Colony collapse is one of the problems facing bees and beekeepers today. Some scientists think it is due to the increased use of pesticides which honeybees are unable to tolerate. If honeybees are not available to pollinate then nature as we know it dies.

Personally I became aware of the effects of pesticides after our neighborhood had been sprayed and our dog had a reaction to the spray.  He experienced tremors, and seizure activity.  We were able to get him to the emergency vet's office in time.  But it made me much more aware of the effects of spraying and pesticides.  Until that time I had never actually seen the effects of the chemicals directly. It definitely makes me more aware.

Many locales such as Ontario have enacted legislation to decrease the use of pesticides. Here are some tips from another Texas group, the Arlington Organic Garden Club.

Consider visiting some of the links to see how you can decrease or eliminate the use of pesticides in your garden. You can make the decision to go organic and still have a healthy garden. And the health of you, your family and pets will be better as well.

All in a gardener's day,

Thanks to Mateusz Stachowski  and Katarzyna Lipi?ska for  use of the photo