There’s still time to plant bulbs

Not only am I wondering how long the scallions will last in the snow, and trying to grow scallions indoors, I planted some bulbs today. In short, I’m making triple sure to have scallions around. The bulbs were a gift, the sort of thing that gardening friends swap among each other. This baggie is holding […]

Tomato in the snow?

After a snowstorm, you expect to see scallions poking out the snow. You’re not even all that surprised to find snapdragons cheerily smiling at you. But a tomato plant should not be looking frisky when a couple inches of wet snow melts away. Nor should you be glimpsing red under the vines. So you can […]

What’s a little rain and slush to a raspberry bush?

What’s a little rain and slush To a hardy soul like a raspberry bush? More raspberries!

These are definitely the last tomatoes

There’s a chance of wet snow tonight, and even though I don’t entirely believe it, that’s still cold enough to tell the last two tomato hangers-on that it’s time to come in. This is nothing like the end of season bowls brimming with green tomatoes that I’ve harvested in the past. Just two. If I […]

A thread of hopeful cilantro

I planted two or three pots of cilantro over the summer, which all bolted before I cut more than a few leaves from them. The seeds I tried to start outside got eaten by slugs and snails with gourmet tastes. But I’m not giving up hope. This cilantro shoot is part of my winter garden. […]

Twin mystery squash are fraternal

The two mystery squashes are definitely different squashes. One looks to be descended from a sugar pumpkin that went rotten last winter, the other from one of the acorn squashes I ate. It’s nice to have a clear idea what they are, but no way are they going to ripen before the first frost hits. […]

In which I inflict a grainy photo of a goldfinch on you

The sunflower patch is getting so ratty looking, I’m considering cutting them all down. But just when I begin to contemplate such drastic action, I come round the corner of the house and get rewarded by the up and down swoops of a goldfinch flying away. I can’t cut the sunflowers down yet! There are […]

Separated from the soil, separated at birth?

I thought I was just pulling up a scallion, but look — it’s Sideshow, I mean Scallion Bob!

Sometimes red means go put on a sweater

The first bits of autumn are hitting the yard. There’s red in the leaves on the Burning bush. There’s red in the leaves on the blueberries. There’s red in the leave of the Virginia creeper. Are there oranges and yellow? Probably, but what I notice is the red warning of the coming cold.

Sometimes red means go ahead and eat

The various bright reds in the garden are catching my eye. Tomatoes are red. Strawberries are red. Raspberries are red. Even crabapples and rose hips are red. They are the reds of little round traffic lights, Reds that mean Stop and pick me, Reds than mean Go ahead and eat me.