Gardenia Veitchii

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 [...]

Waltham Butternut Squash Vine, Fruiting

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 [...]

Eggplant, in Flower

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

Silverado Rose in My Autumn Garden

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!

Succulent Garden with Wildflowers!

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!

Apple Tree Flower Blossoms!

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, [...]

Autumn Garden: A Season of Review

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), [...]

Waltham Butternut Squash, Fruiting

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, [...]

Eggplant in Container, Thriving

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!

Seven-spot Ladybird Beetle

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