Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine #gardening CANCER WARNING on my gardening gloves... say what?

Today in Our Garden

July 14, 2019

We've had a great gardening weekend, as always! I was hoping to attend Pat Sutton's garden tour yesterday, but we didn't get our reply registered in time. Maybe we will make it next year. As it turned out we got a lot done in our own wildlife friendly, native garden.

We added a few new stepping stones in Harry's Native Pocket Meadow. Recently, we have been diligently weeding out invasive mugwort. 

Check out the video I posted on Twitter this morning. Click here. Native plants in the video include: Hairy Mountain Mint, Woodland Sunflower, Blazing Star Liatris, Echinacea and Big Blue Stem grass.

Our lizards weren't out yet at the time of my video. We have lizards everywhere in the front and back yard. They are friendly and like the sound of human voices. They wait until the concrete stones are nice and hot from the sun before they emerge from their hiding places. I did get another video clip with a Lizzy. Stay tuned. I'll post it asap.

Yesterday, we got the supplies we were looking for; Harry replaced another rotted out raised bed. Raised beds made w/wood don't last forever. Wood rots and gets termites. We had some cedar planks that rotted and needed to be replaced. We bought concrete corner pieces and wood at Home Depot for the new bed (shown in photo above).

I also bought a much needed pair of new garden gloves. I was shocked that they came with a cancer warning!! Say what? ...Go figure, a cancer warning on gardening gloves! I found that really strange. I got the gloves at Home Depot and they said: WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov on the label. Had I read the label before I got them I would not have gotten them. I still have no idea what in the world is in my gardening gloves that could lead to cancer. Why would Home Depot even carry them? "Made in China"...

I took Mom out for a garden tour today! She hasn't been out back in a while. Here are a few photos of our outing. Lots of butterflies and blooms; we had fun!

 Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Holiday weekend Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine #July4th

4th of July 
Today in Our Garden

Bursts of Cleome and red Bee Balm blooms get my vote as the best garden flower fireworks. Blooms are everywhere, thanks to frequent rains that have kept our new rain barrel filled to the brim. I've been using Mother Nature's free water for watering potted plants. 

Tall tomato plants, gladiolus and bronze fennel surround free standing sunflowers that were planted by birds and chipmunks. I noticed our first sunny bloom today. Overall, the gardens are lush - and so are the weeds! A gardener's work is never done.

Speaking of fireworks and holiday weekend festivities, we took mom to the Moorestown NJ 4th of July parade yesterday. She loved it almost as much as the key-lime pie she had for dessert at Curtain's Marina the day before.

The spitting rain didn't damper our fun day. Hope you had a fun-filled July 4th too. 

Below are a few more blooms today in our Jersey garden. It's wonderful to see our cobalt blue hydrangea blooming again. The severe winter of 2013 left it alive, but unable to produce blooms last year. We bought the hydrangea flag last year as pretend blooms. No pretending needed this year!

And, now is the time to take notice of beautiful day lilies. Even if you don't grow them, take time to appreciate them in other yards and gardens. It's hard to believe each bloom only lasts one day.

Happy Gardening! 
Blog post and photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine #gardenchat #hops

Today in Our Garden

Hops (Humulus lupulus) twine above a wren's bird house. Hops vines add charm to any garden. The green blooms can be boiled to add characteristic flavor to beer. Hops extract also acts as a preservative. According to Mother Earth News, "It's not the flowers themselves, but the resin glands (called lupulin) at the base of the petals that give hops their distinctive properties. The resin itself contains acids that produce bitterness; the volatile oils in the glands yield aroma."

And, no, we've never tried to make our own beer. Why do that with Iron Hill Brewery right up the street!

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/home-brewing-zmaz88jfzgoe.aspx#ixzz36xsOeobV

Blogpost and photo Copyright (C)2014 Wind. All rights reserved. 

Today in Our Garden * hummingbirds * nectar plants * heirloom tomatoes * flowers * herbs #GardenCuizine

Today In Our Garden
South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b) 

July 27, 2013

This year our gardens are lush and green thanks to the most rain I can ever remember during the summer here in Jersey. The recent break in the heat wave has been wonderful too. Lots of wildlife activity today with birds and small animals seeking shelter, water and food.

It was hard not to notice the many ruby-throated hummingbirds that were zipping around our yard and gardens today - visiting salvias and other blooms rich in nectar. Besides all the blooms, our freshly filled hummingbird feeders were like a hummingbird magnet. I was able to photograph the silhouette of a hummer on a tree branch later in the day that you can see in the above photo collage. Our vegetable garden is bordered with tall, red cannas and chia salvia that invite the speedy little birds to circle the garden every day.

Harry dug up a batch of potatoes the other day as you know from my Potatoes Anna blog post. The Italian basil that was started from seed is about ready to harvest too. So is our blooming oregano. Bronze fennel is also blooming; I plan to let that go and harvest the seeds later. Our vine ripening, organic, tomatoes include Pruden's purple, Goldman's Italian American and French heirloom, Juane Flamme - shown below. 

Hope you're enjoying a summer full of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers from your garden and/or local farmers' markets. 
Related Links
Hummingbird Pollinators Dave's Garden article by Diana Wind
Find a Farmers' Market 
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Today In Our Garden #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

 

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

July 29, 2012  

In addition to several varieties of heirloom tomatoes growing well with fruits that are still green (see photo posted on twitter @GardenCuizine this morning), our kitchen garden features colorful flowers and fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and many varieties of herbs. We are especially thankful for some recent and much needed rain!

Clockwise from left to right:

• Tarahumara Chia (Salvia tiliifolia), which naturalized in one of our raised beds. It's thriving and expected to bloom in August. 
• Of all our tomatoes, the cherry tomatoes are ripening first. All plants were started indoors from seed saved from the previous year, using the fermentation process.
• Dahlias are blooming now too. Our dahlias are special to me because all of our tubers came from my late cousin, whom I greatly miss. He was a master dahlia grower and surely would NOT be happy with the size of our blooms. They are not dinner plate in size, because we didn't divide the tubers; but they are still beautiful and make a lovely addition to cut flower arrangements. 
• All varieties of Italian basil appear ready to harvest and have been beginning to bloom. When it becomes impossible to keep up with pinching off the bloom buds, we know it is time to process the leaves into pesto. We'll probably process some next weekend.
• We are still harvesting Swiss Chard Northern Lights Mix. Swiss Chard can take the heat and produces all summer long. Our Chard was grown from seeds that were directly sown in early spring.
• Perennial, 4 to 6 foot hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) are blooming now and are gorgeous. We have blooms in shades of pink and white. 

Today in Our Garden spotlights a mere sampling of what is in bloom at the present time. Of course, we have many other plantings in bloom too. Hope you enjoyed the brief garden tour.

Happy Gardening! 

Related Links

Check Out CHIA - A Super Salvia
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.