Wild Flowers and Wooly Caterpillars
I know all of you who have a love of gardening also love the wild and natural world. I went hiking recently in the Hocking Hills region of Southern Ohio, and I want to share some pictures of a little critter I met, and a beautiful example of a flower. It is important to know [...]
New Addition
Dear Ivy,
I just got a 6″ Celosia plant as a gift. How do I care for it? Where do I place it? How frequently do I need to water and fertilize it?
-Curious
Dear Curious,
I would say that whomever gave you this plant surely thinks you have good taste, and a green thumb! Celosia are beautiful [...]
Beans, beans, the magical fruit…
Oh, Summer camp. The valuable songs you taught me…
In spite of the recent high temperatures, my garden has finally started pulling its weight around here! In addition to the salad greens, radishes, sunflowers and raspberries, I now have delicious and nutritious green beans! I used plain old fashioned elbow grease. Also, compost and manure! I [...]
Christmas Cactus Quandary
Dear Ivy,
How often should I water my Christmas cactus?
-Christmas Chris
Dear Chris,
Let’s explore some things about this interesting little exotic! First off, let’s get one thing out of the way… The “Christmas Cactus” Is not actually a cactus. In fact, it’s an epiphyte, like an orchid. CC’s and orchids share the same habitat in the wild. [...]
The Fruits of My Labor :D
I’ve been harvesting quarts and quarts of raspberries over the last few weeks! A couple times a week, I go out in the back garden and pluck a few quarts of the delicious fruits. The plants I have are called “Everbearing”, and they should produce all Summer. I pruned them back really heavily at first. [...]
Spring blooms!!
My birthday gardenia is blooming!
I was worried about it for a while, because several leaves turned yellow and fell off. Then, about a week ago, I noticed these:
The buds are pretty large in comparison to how big the plant is. They are about two inches long, and as big around as a sharpie [...]
More Sprouts!
My dwarf sunflower sprouts are anything but! They are about 4 inches tall, and they are towering over all the other sprouts in the growing trays. I did some research and found out that the projected date for the last frost here is May 9th. It seems so far away!
…But in reality, I don’t have [...]
Spring Cleaning
A few night ago, I attacked the dungeon, err I mean, basement. That thing is the nastiest, dirtiest, scumiest little room I have ever been in. It’s really just a room I tip toe through to get back to the washer and dryer.
But no more! I filled a bunch of boxes and crates with stuff [...]
Indoor Edibles
Dear Ivy,
Are there any edible plants that will survive as indoor plants?
-Hungry Heather
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1970
Dear Hungry,
There are loads of edible plants that will thrive indoors! It’s only a matter of what you want to put into them that limits your options. Most plants that have a high output (i.e.- that create food or lage flowers) need high [...]
It’s raking time!
I remember when my parents used to make my little brother and I rake the yard as kids. We would gather all the dead leaves from under the tall sycamores into little piles, then scrape and push all the little piles together until we had one gigantic mound of leaves. Then we would jump into [...]