The Gay Gardener's Gazette

I am still alive!

2012-02-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

What can I say but the life of an Apple employee is a busy one!

I am working on using my free time to catch up on this blog as well as learning new things!

So currently I am studying up on some herbs and such, learning guitar and learning mandarin chinese.

Don't ask me why I am doing all of that now, but I guess I will blame it on the new year!

I have not learned much chinese besides simple things, but I am learning a lot!

So, until my next post, I will leave you with some of what I have learned:

这个男孩子和他的猫在吃饭。这个男孩子爱他的猫！

See whether you can figure that out...without cheating! :-)

New update on my seed wishlist!

2011-03-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

So, I have been busy at work collecting seeds from my wishlist still! So far, I have knocked the list down by 13 more plants, some of which I have started indoors since last frost is approaching fast! I will be planning my garden as soon as possible, and will share my ideas, etc. soon! Also, look forward to some beautiful photos from this year's cherry blossom festival in Washington, DC. I get to go with my best friend and her husband in about a week!

Here are the seeds, cuttings, etc. That I have now! Only 41 more to go!

Chard
Bell peppers
Purple cabbage
Celery/celeriac-
Eggplant
Broccoli
Honeydew
Dill
Basil
Chives
Parsley
Watercress
Horseradish

Photo of the Week!

2011-03-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

So, I had been running out of photos that I had taken earlier on before winter came along, but with spring on its way in, I grabbed my camera and took to shooting some of the blooms already peeking through at my house! I love this picture of the hyacinth blooms that I took this morning! It sums up spring in Maryland for me currently: rainy, gloomy, but still beautiful and promising of the bright colors ahead!

I have been a naughty blogger.

2011-03-14T08:14:00.001-07:00

I am ashamed to say that I have been slacking on my posts here! My cilantro post has been lying here half finished and much has come to a halt as I excitedly prepare and plan for spring and my upcoming garden. I have not forgotten about my historical posts and will be starting them back up, as well as sharing with you my spring updates soon, once I finish my preparations.

Also, feel free to check out my extra writing, now being published on ehow.com in the gardening section!

- Posted from my iPad

Question: I live in Maryland, and am wondering what kinds of flowers are there that don't attract bees?

2011-03-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

This is a great question! I had to research this one a bit! Overall, its hard to think of flowers NOT having bees all over them, since bees are the major pollinators out there. I know that it can sometimes be a challenge and a pain to have a beautiful garden full of flowers while keeping it from becoming a bee social spot. But, bees are not the only pollinators out there! In the list of plant pollinators, bats, birds, wind, gnats, humans, and flies are responsible for a lot of pollination as well. When it comes to picking an anti-apiary flowering plant, there are a few factors to consider.

This happens to me every time I go out in the garden!

The first thing that you would want to look at is the colors of the flowers. Color plays an important role for when bees are searching for nectar hotspots. Blue, violet, purple, white, yellow are popular colors that bees have been found to flock to. Reds, oranges, and pinks are well-known for attracting birds and butterflies. But that being said, color alone is not the determining factor for what drives bees wild over flowers.

The shape of the flower plays a very big role in what flowers are bee-friendly. It may not seem like much when looking at a flower, but to a bee the shape of a flower can affect whether it can even get to feast on any of the nectar. For instance, a tiny flower like a daisy is going to be easy for a bee to suck nectar from, since it's proboscis (it's straw-like mouth) does not have to go far to reach it's destination. But if the flower were a long tube-like flower such as sunset hyssop (agastache rupestris), it is going to be much more difficult for a bee's short proboscis to reach the nectar. This also applies similarly with single-blooming flowers versus double-blooming flowers: the cluster of petals in a double bloom make it harder for the bee to get access to the nectar.

A bee's proboscis (the orange colored "straw")

Easy for a bee to get nectar from

A much longer proboscis on a butterfly

This flower was made for a hummingbird's long bill or a butterfly's long proboscis!

Scent of a flower plays a large role in attracting bees, as one would imagine. The more fragrant the flower, the more attractive it is to bees usually. So, avoid things like honeysuckle, jasmine, and so on. Local wildflowers or native flowering plants attract more bees in general than more exotic plants. Lastly, bees are more attracted to plants in the sun than in shaded areas.

So to summarize, all of the factors I mentioned should be things to consider when making floral choices. Of course, it would be untrainable to find a plant that fits all of those requirements at once, but out of all of the bee deterring features, the top things that I would recommend looking for first would be low scent flowers and long tubelike blooms.

Some plants that come to mind quickly would be hyssop, salvia (some of the longer blooms), moonflowers (it blooms more at night, though it blooms in the shade as well), peonies, day lilies, irises.

Great question!
G.G.

- Posted from my iPad

Question from Jack: I love your fishcicles. How can I do that on my blog?

2011-02-21T20:06:00.000-08:00

Hey jack!

Glad you like my little fishies! Well, I don't know what type of blogsite you use, but I use blogger here. I found the widget for some virtual fish and it allows you to change the background. I just used an image of icicles as the background!

G.G.

Photo of the week

2011-02-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

A beautiful ice plant bloom (probably Delosperma cooperi) from earlier in the year. I miss summer! So sorry for being a bump on a log about getting my Cilantro post up, folks! It seems all I want to do when I get off from work is sleep, sleep, SLEEP! I Definitely am working on it!

Photo of the week

2011-01-31T07:34:00.001-08:00

Can you tell that I can't wait for summer to come? A beautiful barrel cactus photo I took way back when the temperatures were much more favorable.

- Posted from my iPad

Question: can you recommend an evergreen shrub that will flower all year long and will survive in full sun that I don't have to water?

2011-01-20T20:56:00.001-08:00

When I used to work in local nurseries, I got this question surprisingly often! With no offense meant, I usually told folks that it was silk flowers that they would be looking for. I don't presume to know where in the world you live, since I have readers from around the world on here. If you live in tropical zones, perhaps there are technical evergreens that flower quite often or that like the sun. Looking for an evergreen shrub that flowers all the time in full sun without needing water is like looking for a Ferrari that waxes itself and doesn't need gasoline! You'll be hard pressed to find one. Perhaps this is solely based on the area I live in and studied plants in, and would love to hear others' opinions on the matter.

Quickly, I will go over why this usually doesn't add up. Most of the flowering evergreens that I know of have very delicate blooms, which is why most flowering evergreens require partial to full shade. When these shrubs are grown in too much sun, the blooms usually develop burn spots.

With anything flowering, usually flowers can only occur when a plant is very healthy or very sick. When the plant is very healthy, the plant is able to devote extra energy to reproductive features (I.e., flowers). When the plant is not so happy, when it reaches a point where it feels like it may die, it goes into a sort of "panic mode" and flowers as a last ditch effort to keep it's species alive. Either way you look at it, flowering with a plant just isn't something that can be done forever. It takes so much energy from the plant, that you would need to constantly feed it nutrients and water for it stay alive while flowering.

Which brings me to the next point, of watering. No plant (or very few should I say) can survive without water. In the chemical equation for photosynthesis (how plants create energy), water is one of the fundamental ingredients! The best thing I can recommend if you don't want to water your plants is to naturalize them. With a new plant, when it is first planted in the ground it must be babied a bit, but as it becomes accustomed to it's new environment, you can begin to wean it from your care and have it become used to natural waterings from the rain.

Of course, all of this information is a general statement on plants, not to be taken literally for each and every plant out there; Azaleas and hollies respond better to naturalization than annual plants and such. Overall reader, I believe you are going to have to sacrifice something to have a beautiful, healthy plant:

1. No water + full sun = unhappy (unless you're interested in cacti)

2. Water + shade = happy evergreen flowering plant

To those in other areas, I would love to hear whether your flowering evergreens are any different, or if you have any advice on the matter as well!

G.G.

- Posted from my iPad

R.I.P. Chickpeas

2011-01-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

The poor chickpeas were doomed from the beginning it seems. The bag of soil that I purchased from Lowe's was ripe with fungus gnat larvae eggs it seems as my house was plagued with fungus gnats flying about! After 3 soap washes and not much result, I decided to euthanize the poor chickpeas by placing them and their offending houseguests out in this past week's snowstorm! The chickpeas will be restarted later on in the month.

Thanks to the herb roulette (in other words, I said at work "Hey, somebody name a random herb for me."), the next herb that I will be doing a biography on is cilantro/coriander!

Photo of the Week 12

2011-01-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well, if you can't tell, I love macro photography and I also love asymmetrical photography! Here is a photo of a beautiful Iris that I took. I wish I could remember where I took the picture, but it is nonetheless beautiful!

Hooray for blogpress!

2011-01-10T08:14:00.001-08:00

So, finally downloaded blogpress so I can post to blogger straight from my iPad!

So, thinking of getting a wireless keyboard since writing blogs is a bit more keyboard intensive than a touch screen can do at once. Not saying that it can't be done, but the touch screen is pretty sensitive at times and typos occur easier than if I were typing on a physical keyboard. Plus, my typing speed is pretty much halved on a touch keyboard.

I think, since the time has passed for the season, I may forgo doing the holiday season herb history. I frankly found crap on the history of christmas herbs, just a few tidbits. So maybe I will save that for next year when I have more info.

Taking suggestions on the next herb to discuss! There are so many to choose from! Eeeny, meeeny, meiny....

- Posted from my iPad

Photo of the Week 11 (belated)

2011-01-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Poppies in the middle of March! From the campus of CalPoly Tech in sunny California!

The post-Christmas post!

2010-12-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

So, I have been quite a lazy one with the blog lately! I missed my last deadline to put up a photo of the week! Let's just chalk that up to Christmas festivities and holiday work in the retail business taking up my time.

So, takaeko will be pleased to read that I have just today received my iPad in the mail! I must say that the iPad is even more amazing than I thought. I sell these things all day long, but actually having one in my hands to call my own is something else! I have finally had time to sit with the iPad and notice how amazing the multitasking abilities of it are! I have safari, iDisk, mail, iPod, photos, and like 10 different apps open and still running and there is no lag! (for those that are like, so what, just imagine a computer from about 5 years ago trying to do all of that while being less than 3 pounds without a fan!)

That is all to this post. Soon to come, my late photo of the week and my belated Christmas herb post. Getting back into the swing of things for 2011. See everyone next year!

Bean sprouts! Yum!

2010-12-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

So, I checked up on the bean sprouts, and we have delicious, juicy, crisp mung bean sprouts ready for salads and so forth!

So far, they turned out to be a bit shorter than I would like, which is partially my fault. I should have left the sprouts in the dark where they would grow long, twisted and blanched. So, I just grabbed a few sprouts, and put the rest of the sprouts back into the dark to see whether I can get any bigger sprouts.

A large clump of mung bean sprouts, pre-plucked.

Post-pluck, with the roots removed. Note to growers: putting the mung beans in the light caused them to leaf out too fast, and it gives the sprouts a spicier, somewhat onion flavor at times. Keep them in the dark!

By the way, as I speak, I have my eyes up in the skies, watching the beautiful total lunar eclipse! To those who aren't able to see it tonight, I'm so sorry. I tried taking photos, but night shooting and my camera just don't agree.

Photo of the Week 10

2010-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

A deciduous Saucer Magnolia (I think a Jane Magnolia?) from Descanso Gardens.

The Indoor Garden

2010-12-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

So, work has become very hectic with the holidays fast-approaching in the retail world. Working at Apple with only a week until Christmas has proven to be one crazed whirlwind affair so far! It is stressful at times since there are probably 300 customers within a store that is no bigger than my kitchen and living room combined. That being said, I would not want to work in any other mall store for the holidays! Each coworker that I work alongside of is very friendly and helpful no matter how crazy it gets, and most of us act like silly high school kids when we have free time. So, that was my intro into saying that I've been so busy that I haven't gotten to post about my seedlings that I started!

So, you got to see my chickpeas that I started. Well, since then, they have sprouted quite well and are already quite leafy! Here is a small progression of their growth in the past few weeks.

Also, I have added mung beans to my repertoire in my indoor kitchen greenhouse. I bought just bulk mung beans from the local Whole Foods market, a supermarket that prides themselves on all-organic products (though I believe that organic products do not have to be as expensive as they are there; I think they know that they can mark up their products because they market themselves as totally organic and some people will pay through the nose to get organic products...I could go on and on about this...I'll stop). So, here is what has been happening with my bean sprouts!

I used a large yogurt cup and some napkins as the growing container.

I soaked the mung beans overnight to help the beans shed their outer coat.

Before and after soaking.

The bottom of the yogurt cup had holes poked into it to allow drainage and then a wet napkin was used as a filter and rooting medium to keep conditions moist and humid. I then covered with cling film and placed the beans in a cool and dark room.

Day 3

Day 5

Today - day 14

Every day or so, I rinse the mung bean sprouts so keep them moist and I make sure that the container is well-drained before I leave it so that mildew doesn't set in. I have moved them out into a bit of light to see if they will get a bit meatier so I can eat them with salads and pho.

In the other room, I have moved the cuttings of rosemary that my grandmother gave me into pots since they have finally begun to root.

The rosemary and the oh-so-professional rooting technique of sticking 'em in water
and leaving 'em on the kitchen counter.

Some of the roots on the rosemary. I stripped the leaves off up to where the roots were and potted the cuttings. The leaves went into a delicious rosemary chicken recipe.

2 cuttings started, interspersed with mung beans (I want to make my own mung beans for sprouts next year)

So that is an update on the plants I have started. Sadly, the update on the potato is that it has been unceremoniously chucked out back into the cold, unforgiving winter climate. I didn't start the potato properly so it was getting leggy up top instead of growing downwards, but mostly it was attracting fungus gnats badly. I have another potato sitting out, waiting to grow sprouts from its eyes. I may start it in a trash can later this year where it will have much more room to grow!

Soon to come, I am working on mistletoe and some of the herbs of Christmas lore! If anyone knows of Hanukkah herbs, Kwanzaa herbs, and so forth, pass them along! I have had no luck finding many that aren't Christian-related! Taking suggestions on the next herb after that. Thinking chamomile, basil, mugwort, anything really. The sky's the limit!

Photo of the Week 9

2010-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

An indian hawthorne, taken on-campus of the Cal Poly Technical College in Pomona, CA.

And the next herb will be.....

2010-12-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

I am currently perusing my encyclopedias and herbal books to decide on the next herb to start research on. So I am open to suggestions: What herb would YOU like to see featured next?

I personally have been thinking of doing something in the spirit of the holiday season coming up, but not too plentiful with ideas yet. I have looked into possibly doing frankincense or myrhh (you know, the three wise men's gifts...even though those are technically RESINS...not pure herb...). If anyone knows of herbs that are prominent in kwanza, hannukah, or any other holiday celebrations I would love to discuss the history of them in light of the season.

If not, then I shall take ANY suggestions! Thanks!

Photo of the Week 8

2010-12-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

Even though the shot is a little blurry (it's so hard to get a good shot of fish that NEVER sit still!), this picture is in honor of my cute little fishy widget on my page. It's the one thing that I love to go to my blog page for and just like to feed them every once in a while. I know they're not real, but I like them still! :-) If you have not noticed, I make sure to change their colors and the background to reflect the seasons!

Originality Acheived!

2010-12-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

So it took me a few hours, but I am finally satisfied (for now at least) with the new layout of the page. It's quite dark as compared to the previous page, but it has a bit more personality to it. I may change the color, who knows. Let me know how it looks, and please let me know if there are any kinks!

Thanks!
G.G.

The Quest for Originality!

2010-12-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

So, not that I have too much of an issue with this, but in perusing blotanical.com for interesting new posts by other bloggers, I seemed to notice that there are at least 5 or more blogs with the same design, layout and graphics on their page.

Wishing to stick out like a sore thumb, I am interested in coming up with an original background. Whilst I ponder and poke about for ideas, if anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

G.G.

Wishlist check off

2010-12-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

So, I guess just trying to be ambitious, I already got a few of the seeds that I had on my list. Checked off of my list now are:

Beets "Gourmet Duo"
Radish "Pink Beauty"
Lettuce "Crimson Crisp"
Carrot "Tendersweet"

...in addition to all of the previously highlighted items. I put the remaining list up on the right side as a checklist to help me remember! Any superb recommendations on varieties would be great! I also couldn't help myself: I grabbed some spring onion seeds and some lemon and lime basil seeds...

I had forgotten to check off that I had chickpeas as well! When I was at the grocery store last, I grabbed some dried chickpeas to make hummus. Well, I took about 10-12 of the chickpeas and wrapped them in some moist paper towels, stuck them in a clear sandwich baggie and placed them on the windowsill. Well, only about 2 days later, I noticed that they were already sprouting! I've never seen seeds sprout that fast!

Also, my potato that I started about a month ago is getting tall. I am going to have to move it to a larger, deeper pot earlier than I thought!

Dill: AKA Spearsleymeg

2010-12-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Dill, or Anethum graveolens, has two different word origins. It's botanical name anethum comes from Dioscorides (a very well-known Greek herbalist) in his pharmacopoeias, he refers to a plant which he calls anethon. Many believe that dill was what he was referring to based on his in-depth description of the plant. The common name comes from the Norse word "dilla" which meant to soothe.

Dill is a very tough annual herb from the Umbelliferacae family, which can be almost stubborn at times. I know personally trying to uproot a dead dill at the end of the season was one of my toughest battles in the garden this past season. It originated in the Mediterranean region of Europe and in the southern Russian region and made its way around the world from there. It is well-known for its wispy leaves, dominant flavor and umbels of bright yellow blooms. It is a wonderful companion plant with onions, cabbage, lettuce, and cucumbers, and is well-known for attracting beneficial insects with its alluring blooms. Dill is not recommended as a companion for carrots and tomatoes. A very happy dill plant can reach heights of almost five feet within a season! The herb prefers well-drained soil in full sun and is prone to tipping over once it gets taller, so staking may be needed.

Dill has had many uses throughout history (what herb hasn't?): In Egypt, according to records, it was used in a pain-killing medicine by doctors. Romans would adorn returning war heroes with a crown of dill, since dill was considered an herb of luck. It was a sign of wealth to the Greeks. The Norse warriors would drink dill tea before battle to ensure their luck in battle. A reading from the Gospel of Matthew tells us that the Jews of biblical times used dill along with mint as a payment of tithes (taxes): "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hyprocites! You tithe with mint, dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law..." In the medieval times, mystics would wear a satchel of dried dill over their heart to ward off the "evil eye" or bad magick. It was thought that if you served a witch dill tea, she would be robbed of her powers. In puritan times of the North American settlers, the dill seed was chewed on during long sermons to stave off hunger and came to be known as the "Meeting House Seed". Dill infusions or "gripe water" became a treatment for colicky children because of its abilities to help with indigestion. Remember the discussion of the language of flowers in Japan and in the Victorian era? Well, these "tussie-mussies" (as they were called in the Victorian era) included dill, which was an herb meant to convey the sentiment of good cheer.

Tussie-mussies: the Victorian precursor to modern-day texting.

Dill has its place in witchcraft as well, thought to be an herb of the god Mercury/Hermes, the speedy messenger god. As such, the herb is thought to be infused with the element of air and is thought to help speed up your thinking. Remember the famous lines of Macbeth?

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

...well, they don't mention dill in there. BUT, Shakespeare WAS mentioning many other different types of herbs! This language that he used is what is known as the herbal code. Herbalists/magicians would use coded phrases to discuss their recipes rather than plainly state what they used. For example, "tounge of dog" was code for hounds tounge and "adder's fork" was a plantain (the plant, NOT the fruit). Dill was very important in this herbal code, having many different codes such as "Seed of Hermes" for dill and "Hair of a Hamadryas Baboon" for dill seed.

^Not this^ ^THIS^

I would be remiss if I did not mention the most common area of dill use: the kitchen! Dill and its seed are used thoroughly in the kitchen, though not just with fish as most people would think of immediately. Dill is suggested as a wonderful compliment to: eggs, pork, lamb, chicken, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes....AND THE LIST GOES ON! Dill leaves, seeds and flowers are vital in the flavoring of pickles. For those looking at decreasing their salt intake, crush some dill seed on your next meal instead of sprinkling some salt! In Lao cuisine, dill is known as Laotian coriander and is used in different curried dishes. Dill is also an herb used in the following cuisines: Arabian, Indian, Vietnamese, Iranian, Thai.

Medicinally, dill has a variety of uses: making an infusion of dill seeds is great for indigestion, the hiccups, for insomnia, or even as a nail-strengthener. What makes dill oil good for indigestion is its antispasmodic qualities, which calm the muscles of the digestive system. The essential oil of dill contains four different compounds: carvone, myristicin, and dillapiole. Carvone, as discussed in my post about mint, smells strongly of spearmint. Myristicin is a compound found in parsley, dill and in larger quantities in nutmeg. Dillapiole is a compound that has the flavor similar to parsley.

I know that the last chemical discussion was a bit silly to mention, but I thought it was quite interesting to see that essentially, dill is nutmeg, parsley and mint mixed together! So next time that you taste some "Hair of the Hamadryas Baboon", see if your finely-tuned palette can detect those three distinct flavors!

Spring Wish List

2010-11-30T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, fixed the old clunker in the living room for the time being until I get myself that iPad I've been lusting after. (teehee. that's funny to visualize)

Alright, I am being proactive (for once!) and planning what I will be putting in my garden NOW, so that I can slowly collect my seeds and such ahead of time and start them inside.

This way, I will have a much better crop than this past season. I will admit that my garden did not do as well as it could have from just sheer laziness at times. 1 - I did not weed as well as I should have, and we all know that is essential, 2 - when spring came around I sort of scrambled and started most of my seeds outside and so I lost many to the elements and such.

But I will not dote on the past! On to the future prospects! So, I am starting a checklist on here of things that I want to grow next year and will begin to check them off. Of course, suggestions are very readily wanted!

Veggies

Summer squash - I have yellow acorn squash right now.

Winter squash

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Snow peas

String beans

Avocado

Mung bean sprouts - an ingredient in my favorite soup, Pho

Kidney beans
Lettuce
Chard
Arugula
Bell peppers - Green/red/yellow
Purple cabbage
Carrots
Spinach
Artichoke - but do I have enough space for it.

Potatoes - I started one potato already in the house.

Celery/celeriac
Radish
Okra
Eggplant
Parsnip
Chickpea
Cabbage
Broccoli
Kale
Beets

Fruits

Watermelon

Cantelope

Honeydew
Lemon
Lime
Orange - those last three I might not even do, since I wouldn't be able to keep them outside...I need to live in Florida...somewhere warmer so I can grow these things!
Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Figs
Concord grapes
Kiwi?

Herbs

Anise

Tarragon
Dill

Rosemary

Basil
Lavender
Chervil

Cilantro/Corriander

Bay
Spearmint
Peppermint
Thyme
Thai basil - an ingredient in my favorite soup, Pho
Bergamot
Borage
Cloves
Chives
Garlic
Parsley
Lemongrass
Fennel
Turmeric? - getting the powder is somewhat extensive to make, but interested in it. I love curries.
Paprika - I might make it from some spare bell peppers I have.
Wasabi?
Watercress
Oregano
Nutmeg?
Jasmine
Horseradish
Cumin
Ginger
Passionflower

Of course, a lot of these things on my list are a wish list, but I have a few months before spring, so let's just see how much I can pull together and realistically work with. The things you see that are highlighted, I have seeds of. Would love to hear people's opinions on what VARIETIES people prefer! Will keep everyone posted on what I get!

Of course, still working on my herb histories and will bring you Dill very soon!

The Gay Gardener's Gazette

I am still alive!

New update on my seed wishlist!

Here are the seeds, cuttings, etc. That I have now! Only 41 more to go!

Chard Bell peppers Purple cabbage Celery/celeriac- Eggplant Broccoli Honeydew Dill Basil Chives Parsley Watercress Horseradish

Photo of the Week!

I have been a naughty blogger.

Question: I live in Maryland, and am wondering what kinds of flowers are there that don't attract bees?

Question from Jack: I love your fishcicles. How can I do that on my blog?

Photo of the week

Photo of the week

Question: can you recommend an evergreen shrub that will flower all year long and will survive in full sun that I don't have to water?

R.I.P. Chickpeas

Photo of the Week 12

Hooray for blogpress!

Photo of the Week 11 (belated)

The post-Christmas post!

Bean sprouts! Yum!

Photo of the Week 10

The Indoor Garden

Photo of the Week 9

And the next herb will be.....

Photo of the Week 8

Originality Acheived!

The Quest for Originality!

Wishlist check off

Dill: AKA Spearsleymeg

Spring Wish List

Chard
Bell peppers
Purple cabbage
Celery/celeriac-
Eggplant
Broccoli
Honeydew
Dill
Basil
Chives
Parsley
Watercress
Horseradish