Also known as Gardenia jasminoides ‘Veitchii‘, I purchased yesterday three of the last remaining small plants from a local gardening center. The soil in the containers was very dry so I rushed home, dug holes, planted them, and soaked the soil. I’ll be doing the same again within the hour.

I’ve not had success in the past growing gardenias, but I felt the time was right to try again, as I’ve always enjoyed their beauty and fragrance.

I don’t think I ever really “give up” on a plant because it dies the first (or more) time I attempt to grow it. When I revisit past “difficult” plants, I make note to perhaps plant them next time in a different part of the garden, where the sun or shade is different, water on a different schedule, feed them with different plant food, etc. I’ve experienced my share of plant deaths, even with plants known to thrive in my area, so it does sometimes require a bit of trial and error to know what will help my plant to thrive in my location, specifically,  in my own garden.

It’s just two days after Thanksgiving, but I’d forgotten to say my “thanks” for my bountiful container garden! Started from seed, this Waltham butternut squash vine has been fruiting these past few weeks. The squash blossoms are very impressive. I have a few other Waltham butternut squash vines fruiting as well, growing in other containers in my back yard. The only task that I’ve had so far is to make sure that my vines get enough air circulation, to reduce the chances of powdery mildew (see my previous posts on this topic).

As the vines grow longer and longer (and hopefully dotted with more squashes), I will likely prop up the vine (and off the ground) on upside down, empty 5-gallon containers.

Check out the lovely purplish-colored flower on one of my Black Beauty eggplants! These flowers signal that the eggplant fruits themselves will be arriving. I’ve had only leaves up until this point, so am very happy about this development! For more information about eggplant, check out this informative site:

http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/pubs/0203/eggplant.html

Certainly there are many pink-colored roses, but the Silverado rose has a color that echoes the Spring season to me, so vibrant and also very fragrant, a truly wonderful member of my backyard garden, especially in the autumn and winter months!

It’s been about two months since I planted my succulent garden and sprinkled wildflower seeds around it. The seeds have exploded with life, peacefully co-existing with the succulents. Over the next several weeks, more of these wildflower seedlings will be in flower, making for an even more dramatic display. I can’t wait!

My 3-in-1 apple tree sapling has produced flower blossoms. Oh, the shades of pink are simply too stunning to describe! As mentioned in my previous post, I started out with two of these 3-in-1 apple trees and the second one died, so I was not sure how the remaining sapling would do. From the looks of things, this tree seems to be doing well. Apples follow from the blossoms so I will keep my eye out for fruits. A very informative site for growing apple trees can be found here:  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8301.html

CONSUMER ALERT UPDATE:  Apple seeds are highly toxic if ingested. For more information, please visit: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/PoisPlant/Tox-COM.htm

I just finished watering my front and back yards. The front looks fine, lawn is still green and my various bushes and plants are thriving. That’s the good news.

The bad news? My back yard had a combination of hits and misses.

The hits:  Most of my roses (primarily hybrid tea) are standing strong (a few perished), the wildflower seeds that I planted recently directly into the soil are peacefully co-existing with my also recently installed (and very lovely) succulent garden, the Waltham butternut squash vines are fruiting, both of my Nagami kumquat saplings are bearing some small fruits, both of my 3-in-1 pear trees (delicious fruit) and 1 of my 3-in-1 apple trees still stand (1 perished), and the seedlings for my eggplant and carrot plants are still growing.

The misses:  Hands down, the biggest miss this year has been my beloved tomato plants. As in previous years, I started from seed and planted them in containers (as in previous years) and though I enjoyed tomatoes for a week’s worth of meals, the vines just fizzled out!  Despite good efforts, I (and other gardeners as well) can experience feast or famine at any time, and I’ve gone through the latter this time around for this crop. Undeterred, I will plant tomatoes from seed again next season!

When the winter rolls around, I will evaluate if I will be replacing the defunct plants, plant wildflower seeds in their place, or leave the spaces unoccupied for the time being.

CONSUMER ALERT UPDATE: The non-fruit parts of tomato plants are poisonous if ingested. The seeds of apples and pears are highly toxic if ingested. More information on toxic plants can be found here: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/poisplant/tox-com.htm

One of my Waltham butternut squash plants is fruiting. We had a few days of rain here recently and I had not had the chance to visit this plant until yesterday, and was happy to see a little butternut squash (along with its corresponding blossom) peeking out.

I’ve grown various crops in containers over the years, but winter squashes have been quite reliable.

I”m happy to report that one of my Black Beauty eggplant plants, started from seed, is thriving in its container. So leafy! I’m hopeful that this plant will be productive, to yield delicious eggplants to enjoy!

Also known as Coccinella septempunctata, I captured an image of this lovely ladybug within the hour in my backyard garden. It was introduced to North America as a predator against aphids. More information about this helpful insect can be found here: http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/predators/c7.html