My Dad's Hydrangea in November

One day I should check to see if I have a photograph of a hydrangea in some stage, whether leafing out, in bud, a bouquet or dried in winter from every month of the year. Maybe not, but it just might be close.

Ag Class Sunflower!

Some people know how to give me a little thrill. I received a picture of this sweet harvest from my nephew's ag class just the other day.

Some Scenery From This Sunday's Sidewalk Hike

Passing a yellow Hibiscus, for a second it was as if I was transported to Hawai'i.

This summer's annuals, like purple Angelonia, were still going strong while some freshly planted fall annuals were on display in sidewalk planters.

I guess you could say I took the scenic route to my dad's Dahlias? It wasn't over a river or through the woods but there was plenty to see without leaving the pavement.

A Little Bit of My Dad's Garden in Late August this Year

Dahlias and caladium and eggplant.

Because the only thing better than watching your own garden grow is checking out someone else's.

A July Past's Bouquet From My Dad's Yard

I just came upon this picture dated July, 2nd from 2015 of a bouquet I made one late afternoon from what was blooming and growing in my dad's garden. It kind of makes me want to go outside right now with some clippers on a mission to snip just enough for a small bouquet.

One For my Mom's Table

This year I harvested most of my garlic scapes about a month ago. Those scapes made their way into salads and one tasty pasta dish that I was surprised came from my own hands at the stove. The rest remained on the garlic plants which were just pulled this week to cure. Those remaining scapes just opening made their way into the bouquet for my mom's table above. I was getting teased down at the community garden though about leaving those scapes on. But it's win/win as far as I'm concerned. I had some scapes for eating, some for flowers and still enough garlic to harvest and of decent size to be happy with. There's more than one way to skin a cat or so I've heard.

Controlling Pests the Easy Way

 What you need is a nephew with very quick hands and an interest in insects.The pictures are bad, but the day was good and I don't think I've ever seen that squash vine borer above actually flying around in my garden before, even though every year it always manages to kill my zuchinni. I told my nephew that my garden would not disappoint for bughunting, but I had no idea that he was going to be doing me such a big favor. The cucumbers and zuchinni just might have a chance this year thanks to him.

From a Walk in My Dad's Garden (not entirely and for Jane)

The Hosta leaves, their glorious buds, and daylily after the flowers from a walk in my dad's garden, armed with clippers and the permission to cut away. The ammi from the farmer's market in a mad dash by Susan as flowers harvested in a heat wave began to give way. The bouquet from two sides.



This post is part of chain begun by Jane over at Small But Charming. The theme is flowers in houses and from gardens. As Jane so aptly put it, it all starts with a walk in the garden. I could forever be going for walks in gardens. The last bouquet pictured here came from at least four different ones, some steps taken by me and some by Susan.

One From Today

Thankfully my father was willing to donate some hosta buds, so beautiful in that about to open stage, and Susan's friend could part with a few roses. It takes a village it seems to grow one small bouquet. And there were many today.

Yeah I know You're Supposed to Eat Them

but sometimes that feels beside the point. Pictured here, Jen's fire escape chives. I still think everyone ought to have a sweet little box or pot of them.

It's downright ridiculous how many pictures I have of chive flowers. But you know, I've got a thing for the allium flowers. Right now, there are some sweet ones blooming behind a locked fence that I can't get to and drumsticks still to come.

I did manage to nab this lone sweet moly though before the addition of bigger badder lock on the lot.

Emma's Bulbs

 The alliums are getting ready to go and most (but not all) of the muscari have passed. I'm not sure that she'll stick with the gardening. She's eight-years-old after all and there aren't a whole lot of things that really hold her attention for a long while. But that's ok, because you can't really expect every kid to have a profound and sustained interest in gardening even if it excites most of them in the moment. They're kids after all and their world moves fast and their interests flit and evolve. But if she remembers those birthday alliums and enjoys them when they finally open, it won't matte if she leaves her interest in gardening behind until she's older or perhaps forever, it will still have been worth the fun of planting those bulbs together last fall.

Perry's Newest Fig Trees

Since Joe and I caught the gardening bug, whenever we visit my parents we make it a point to stop in on Perry's yard across the street, just to see what he's growing and what he's propagating and have a little gardening chat. Invariably at some point during the conversation this means turning down a fig tree, one of the things Perry prodigiously propagates. One day though we're hoping we'll have room and can accept.

Getting Girly

Even if your hands are starting to look kind of scratched and beaten up and there are moments of gardening work that make you feel kind of manly in a good way, all it takes is the daintiest of flowers to make you feel ridiculously girly. The dainty ones make me think of my nieces, especially Emma, the gardening one and how we need to make a visit to a nursery together soon. The colors in this woodland phlox match this kid's world where everything is pink and purple.

There's No Way Your Nephew Is As Cool As Mine

Photo by Aaron

If your nephew isn't sending you pictures of flowers and foliage and reptiles to boot, well then there's just no way your nephew is as cool as mine. I got a supersweet slideshow via email on a rainy end-of-winter day full of Hawai'ian sunshine.

Photo by Aaron

Does this kid know how to win his aunt over or what? He is just light-years ahead of me in knowing where it's at. I hope he doesn't mind that I hijacked some of his photos for here.

Photo by Aaron

Seriously. I kid you not. My nieces and nephews are supercool.

Christmas Trees

but not the decorating kind, just two London Plane's across the street from my brother's, where we celebrated.

The Garden, Moving and Curious

The Moving Garden, Brooklyn Museum

Last minute shopping at the Brooklyn Museum, I passed "The Moving Garden" an installation that encourages of all things, people to give the gift of a flower as a participatory work of art. And then I bought a work of art for my young gardening niece Emma, this beautiful book The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, where both a young boy and his garden are the curious charactors. This kid likes to draw pictures too.

A Candle on Your Birthday

Joe makes crepes and he also makes candles. When Joe is making candles it looks very similar to when he is making crepes, the beeswax melted in a pan like a flat pancake and then rolled, but it smells a lot different. This year he tried adding some lavender from the garden to the beeswax for scent, but he doesn't think it worked. It's Joe's birthday again and this post is to celebrate.

The Ladybug in the News

Harmonia axyridis (methinks primarily from the M shaped markings on the pronotum. Not native.)

I check out the insects to charm my bug-loving nephew and I check out the insects because I am curious to know what pollinators are visiting my garden, but I also pay attention because it's important to know both your beneficials and your pests when you are gardening organically. And now that I know that the nine-spotted ladybug has recently been spotted on Eastern Long Island, there's also the possibility of seeing this native species so rarely seen in the last three decades to keep me interested.

Planting Bulbs With Emma

What beats planting bulbs with your second-grade, gardening niece on one of the best weather late afternoons of fall? Not much, I'd wager. I'm hoping the alliums and muscari come up better looking than the sad picture I drew to explain to her exactly what her birthday present was. I'm no artist, but I think they'll pass for symbols at least of the plants that she will be watching next spring, and I'm pretty sure she's gonna love them.

Another Day, Another Stage

in the life cycles of a butterfly and an allium. I bet the Black Swallowtail caterpillar above is nearly ready to overwinter in its chrysalis and man, if I could get a picture of that for my bug-loving nephew, it would be cool. I'm betting that he can figure out which end is which on this caterpillar just by looking at its legs.

Below: garlic chives going to seed.