My Bit of Earth

Lemons!!!

Despite what might seem like an inhospitable time of year for it, it's once again time for May Dreams Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Follow the link to see what's blooming this month all over the world.

This month, I am ever-so-proud to announce, I've got lemons!!!

Yes, my little "Meyer" lemon tree--a Christmas gift from Sweet Husband way back in 2004--has finally produced it's first fruit.  They've taken about four months to finally turn yellow, but I think they're finally done.  Now...what to use them for? 

Wishing You All Had Sniffable Internet

My Annual Paperwhite Pep Talk

OK, I know I post about this every year, but really, they're so easy--if you enjoy fresh flowers there's really no reason not to plant a few paperwhites.

For those who haven't heard my schpeel, just get a few bulbs (your local garden center will have them, or you can get little kits at a big box store), a small pot, and some rocks.  Add the rocks to your pot, nestle in the paperwhite bulbs, and put in just enough water to barely touch the bottom of the bulbs.  Place in a sunny spot, keep the water topped up, and *wahlah* in 4-6 weeks you'll have beautiful, sweet smelling flowers.

(Cross-posted at BlogHer.)

The First Fire, Frost

And now for the most important statistics of the year!

Our first fire was attempted on Wednesday, October 22, and successfully completed on Friday, October 24.  (Not the greatest wood for the first try!)

Our first frost was this morning.  Although it's not quite as exciting as waking up to the first snowflakes, it's certainly a start!

Milkweed and Mums

It's once again time for May Dreams Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Follow the link to see what's blooming this month all over the world.

My milkweed is still going strong and making lots of poufy seeds.  Meanwhile, the lovely mum I got from Pendleton's (in exchange for some scarecrow building) is happily exuding Fall.

October Surprise

I stopped over at the community garden today for the first time in a few months, and lo and behold, I had peppers.  Two "Scotch Bonnet" peppers were ripe, as well as four "Poblano" peppers.  They're all a little hot for just any application, but I think they'll be perfect in chili this winter.  To that end, I decided to pickle them.  Here's the recipe, if you're interested.

Early Foreclosure

The morning glories came down yesterday.  As previously stated, I usually try to wait until after the first frost in order to provide the local critters a place to hang out as long as possible, but the vines were just getting too raggedy.

In the process of hacking and pulling, we found three gigantic praying mantises.  Although we took their home, Sweet Husband did at least carefully relocate them to a nearby hedge.  For a few more pictures--including a shot of one having a snack--click onward.

Mike the Monarch Catepillar

I brought in a monarch caterpillar to watch last weekend.  I have him in a little terrarium on my windowsill with some milkweed for munching on.  He seems satisfied with the arrangement, as far as I can tell.

At first it didn't really seem like he was growing all that much, but these past few days he's really started getting nice and long and fat.  I can't believe how much he eats!  I've been giving him five or six milkweed leaves every evening--leaves about twice as long and wide as he is--and they're usually decimated by the next day.  And, although I shouldn't be surprised considering what I just said, I also can't believe how much he poops!  It's not really messy--I have a paper towel at the bottom of the terrarium that's easily changed each day--or smelly, but given his size the quantity is a little unnerving.

Although I admit I'm easily entertained, he's just a lot of fun to watch.

Garden Dying

It's once again time for May Dreams Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Follow the link to see what's blooming this month all over the world.

Around here I have a few bedraggled sunflowers, some cosmos that's mostly gone to seed, and morning glories that have seen better days.  We've gotten enough run-off from the hurricanes that it's been very Fall here these past few weeks, and I imagine it's beginning to get hard to be a bee or a butterfly. 

I always wait until after the first frost to really get in and start hacking things down--just to help the critters out a bit--but I don't know how much it actually helps.  I found this guy tonight, either dead or very close to it.  I actually touched him and he didn't move.  I think it's just a little too chilly for his kind.

A Baker's Dozen

We were starting out for a walk the other night, when I stopped to count caterpillars in the milkweed.  Between Sweet Husband and I we found thirteen.  I'm considering bringing a few inside so I can watch them form chrysalises.  Based on information from the Monarch watch site it doesn't seem they'll be too hard to keep alive as long as the milkweed holds out.

Monarchs in the Milkweed

I've been seeing little caterpillars for about a month now, but this weekend I saw my first Monarch butterfly.  Hope she enjoyed the snack!

Bud Before the Bloom

It's once again time for May Dreams Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Follow the link to see what's blooming this month all over the world.

When I dug up the garlic at the end of June, I planted some summer bulbs (lilies, dahlias, freesia) to fill the space.  While I was planting them, a fellow gardener came over and offered me some zinnia seeds.  I'm not a big fan of zinnia's--I just don't dig the purpley-pinky color combinations they seem to come in--but it seemed like bad ju-ju to refuse something so generously offered, so I planted a row.

A month later, I'm still waiting on my sprouted, but pathetic looking bulbs, but the zinnia's are knee high and flourishing.  I still don't care much for the flowers really, but I've noticed that the buds that form before each flower opens are really unique.  They're almost geometric--like something I might have made with my spirograph when I was a kiddo.  I wonder if I could make little bouquets out of the buds?

At any rate, the rest of the garden is beginning a slow, steady decline into fall.  The tomatoes are tired, and this weekend I'm planning to collect the rest of my basil to make pesto to freeze.  The flowers that were going crazy last month, are now going crazy making seeds.  I've thought about planting a Fall garden, but, as is usual by mid-August, I'm feeling kind of ambivalent--maybe in a few weeks, eh?

Gardening Guest Blog at the Crunchy Domestic Goddess

I have a gardening guest blog up today at Crunchy Domestic Goddess.

"My grandfather was an avid gardener.  He grew tomatoes, beans, peas, corn--he even had a small orchard from which he would pick fruit for my grandmother's fabulous pies.  He gardened for 70+ years, all within 100 miles of where I live today, making any advice he could have given me invaluable as it would have been both well-tested and specific to my climate.

"Unfortunately, my grandfather died years before I caught the gardening bug, so I've had to learn the hard way--experience."

I go on to discuss seven important gardening lessons I've learned.  It was really fun to put it together--sort of "wow, I really have come a long way".  I hope you'll go check it out!

Seed Saving

Now that my flower blooms are fading, I've started going out each evening to collect the seeds they're making.

While seed saving might not seem to make sense to some--after all, I could just go buy new seeds each year for a few dollars a packet--I really like the sense of continuity it provides.  For example, the morning glories and some of the sunflowers I'm growing this year are the children of last year's, and I hope to be planting their grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the years to come.  It's kinda fun to think about.

The process of collecting seeds is also entertaining.  Each flower makes it's babies just a little differently, and you have to watch carefully to know when to harvest. 

Today's Tomato Haul

Tons more "jelly beans"--there were even more than this, but they, um, didn't quite make it to the photo shoot....

Four "Old Brooks"--slightly split from the rain, but tasty nonetheless....

And a big handful of Cuban oregano--this kind of succulent-like herb is growing like gang-busters even though it's, like, 200 degrees outside.  And it tastes pretty much like regular oregano.

A Beautiful Home

Another bee shot.  (Promise I'll get over them soon!)

This lucky one found a home in one of my volunteer sunflowers.

How to Get Tickled at the Fair

Wanna know how to get tickled silly at the county fair?

Take a few photographs that you really love.  Have one chosen as champion of all the photographs, and have the other take second place in its category.  Works like a charm--you will leave happy!

The other stuff I entered was a little more ho-hum. 

My sunflower took second place, as did my garlic (although there were only two garlic displays entered, so I don't know if that counts!) 

Came in third on the salsa (again!) despite my extensive recipe testing.  (But the person who won made this zucchini salsa that was creative, tasted amazing, and used up her extra garden produce all in one!) 

And the other flowers I entered (a hibiscus and a cosmos) got the "thanks for showing up".  (Although my hibiscus was obviously much prettier than that when I entered it on Tuesday--more like this.)

Oh, and we had funnel cake for dinner, which was more exciting than the flowers, but less than the photographs!  ;)

Musings on a Bee, Dying

I found this bee clinging to a cosmos after a rain storm tonight.  He was obviously, old, dying.

I had to fight the urge to pick him up and comfort him.  I don't know what comfort I could offer to a dying bee--maybe I would have just frightened him?

Which made me think--do bees know about fear?  Or death?

How strange to go through life with no knowledge of your own mortality.

Gratuitous Produce Photography

I got these blueberries from the farmer's market the other day in this blue tub. The blue on blue was just so pretty that I couldn't quit looking at it. So, loosely inspired by these pretty berries from Wren and Chickadee, I set up a little photo shoot out in the garden.

While I was at it, I decided to play with this garlic bulb too.  This is one of the Czech bulbs that split--not so good for storage, but a lovely photo subject just the same.  I love the colors and the way the outside layers open up to reveal the cloves within.

It's the Bee's Knees

One thing I'm pretty proud of in my garden this year is that, each afternoon when I get home, my flowers are full of bees.  Bumblebees, honeybees, little brown bees--I actually don't think I've ever seen so many kinds. 

And once I got over my initial fear that they might sting me--completely unfounded, as they couldn't care less that I'm there--I discovered their buzzing is really a very pleasant music to read a book to.