Frank turned the big 1-2 a couple of weeks ago. Hard to believe next year he’ll officially be a teenager. We celebrated by taking him and some buddies to a bowling alley. It was a boys day, just Chris, Henry, Frank and Frank’s pals. They got out of school at 11:00 that day and headed over to Woodburn Bowl, a stereotypical old school bowling alley. … Continue reading Frank is 12!
Ten and some change… Fall came at us fast!! Hard the believe Henry has been apart of our family for an entire decade now. I know it’s cliché, but it truly feels like just yesterday that I started having contractions mid-morning and headed towards the hospital. But not before a quick stop at Burgerville for lunch. Chris was too nervous to even eat as I … Continue reading Henry is T.E.N.
A summer with cousins is a summer well spent. Continue reading Cousin Summer 2023
Before a few years ago, I had no idea there was a difference in types of tomato plants. Now, I knew there were different varieties, Beefsteak, Roma, Early Girl, etc., but I had no idea there was a difference in the plants themselves. Tomatoes come in either a determinate or indeterminate variety, meaning they have two very different growth and production habits. Maybe I paid … Continue reading Tomatoes: Determinate vs. Indeterminate
Typing that out seems so foreign. Like I’ve spelled a word wrong in the sentence. There’s no way she’s seven, right?! But here we are. It’s so cliché, but where has the time gone? I have so much I can say about her, yet I find myself at a loss of words. I take solace in the fact that she still has those knuckle dimples … Continue reading Josie is Seven
If you’ve followed me long enough, it comes as no surprise that salvia is one of my favorite perennials. I love the look, the colors and the scent of the foliage. I love that each little bloom looks like it has its own personality. It’s also incredibly pollinator friendly, I love watching the hummingbirds obsess over it as much as I do. My favorite one … Continue reading Propagating Black and Blue Salvia
I work at a local garden center and the other day I received a phone call from a customer with some questions about petunias. We spoke for about 7-8 minutes about all things petunias, ‘why are mine leggy?’ ‘why aren’t they blooming profusely?’, etc. I got home and told my husband about this conversation over dinner and sort of scoffed at it. How did this … Continue reading Petunias!
One of my flower beds is in almost full bloom right now (mid-June). Which in theory is great, but the colors in bloom are yellows, reds and oranges. I’ve got Stella D’Oro day lilies, red asiatic lilies, orange day lilies, white calla lilies and sunflowers in bloom. (So many lilies!) The one thing these colors have in common is that they project a ‘hot’ feeling … Continue reading Adding Cooler Colors to a ‘Hot’ Garden
If you’ve been in a garden center lately or follow any garden accounts on social media, you probably know this week is Pollinator Week! Pollinators include birds, bats, moths, bees and more. They play such a huge role in our gardens, according to Pollinator.org, “pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops.” That website is a great resource … Continue reading My Favorite Pollinator Friendly Perennial Plants
My roses have bloomed out their first flush of roses and are starting to fade. They were gorgeous with multiple blooms on each shrub. But now it’s time to deadhead them. By doing this, you’ll promote a new flush of blooms to come on in another round. You’ll know your roses are ready to deadhead when the petals are soft and falling off. The inside … Continue reading Deadheading Roses
The Vachter Six 