growLively

Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

Just thought I'd post this shot of the Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon. If you're traveling this Memorial Day weekend and you happen to be in Portland, be sure to stop by this garden. It's lovely and you can also enjoy their tea house. Gorgeous!

Have you harvested your garlic?

Texans..it's about that time to harvest your garlic, if you haven't done so already. Click HERE to read more about garlic!

Time to harvest Blackberries!

If you have blackberry bushes, you've probably already started harvesting...Mmmmmm!

Other fruits that are ripening in my garden now are peaches and plums...what's ripening in your garden?

Urban Backyard Beekeeping

Here's the story on NBC5, with Omar Villafranca, on urban backyard beekeeping! Enjoy.

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

One quick note - the frame they do a close up on and say it's capped honey, is actually brood (bee larvae), not capped honey. Just a clarification!

Backyard Bees!

Shot a segment today with NBC 5's Omar Villafranca on backyard bees in the city! Should run this evening on the 10pm news, but if it's rescheduled I'll repost.

if you're interested in keeping bees in the DFW area, check out TBA www.texasbeekeepers.org for links to your local group, where you can take classes and attend regular meetings.

Wordless Wednesday: Farmer's Market in Banos, Ecuador

 

Whirling Butterflies...

Looking for a super hardy drought tolerant Texas native that is also beautiful and blooms FOREVER?? Ok, maybe not forever, but let's say April through fall. That's a pretty long time. Plus, it attracts butterflies. If that sounds up your alley, then Gaura lindheimeri needs to be on your garden shopping list. 'Whirling Butterflies' is a favorite white-flowered varieties, but it also comes in pink...'Ballerina Rose'...lovely!

Start Your Fall Tomato Seeds!

Yep, it's that time folks. Time to start your seeds of fall tomato transplants! (Here in Texas, DFW area). Tomatoes need a good 8-weeks from seeding to transplant time and you'll plant your transplants into the garden in late-June through mid-July. Never fear though, if you don't want to mess with starting your own transplants, local nurseries will have transplants available during that late-June, mid-July planting time!

Tomato 'Golden Mama' in my garden now. One of my favorites!

Saving Arugula and Dill Seeds...

Were you a smart gardener this spring? Did you let some of your cool season herbs and veggies to flower (which is always lovely) so you could collect seed? If so, then you'd have been collecting seed over the last few weeks. Arugula and Dill are two species that are particularly giving with their seed (most of my dill plants are actually volunteers from last year) and nows the time to collect seed from both.

Arugula seed. I've been harvesting this past week.

Dill seedheads...so pretty! I'll be harvesting seeds today.

Both Arugula and Dill are two edibles that make fantastic ornamentals, so it just makes sense to let them go to flower and then seed in your garden. Now, this only works with open-pollinated varieties, not hybid cultivars. For example, 'Celebrity' tomatoes are an F1 hybrid...the seed you save from that plant won't come true to type (you'll get seedlings with a lot of different variants that express characteristics of the original parent plants). But with 'Green Zebra' tomato, an open-pollinated heirloom, you can save the seed and get another generation of 'Green Zebra' tomatoes. So for plain old Arugula and Dill, you can save the seed.

Old 35mm film containers with the lids make great storage for seeds. Or use any container that will keep your seeds completely dry. Make sure to label the container with the plant and date. Some folks keep them in the fridge to preserve viability. I'll be starting these Arugula and Dill seeds outdoors in September for the cool season!

Fragrant Echinacea

I'm still in love with all the new Echinacea varieties out on the market these days. It's prime conflower season right now with them all coming into full bloom. Most are highly fragrant, which you don't get from the standard E. purpurea. A few that are blooming in my garden right now are 'Mama Mia', 'Sundown', 'Summer Sky' and 'Tangerine Dream'. Sooooo lovely! What's blooming in your garden?

Echinacea 'Sundown'